DS 11 presented a captivating theatrical performance titled “Titanic 2.0—A Reconstruction”

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The 11th-grade DS class, under the direction of Ines Vielhaben, presented a magnificent performance at the Theater am Schwanhof (Tasch). The ensemble performed the play “Titanic 2.0—A Reconstruction” so authentically that the audience felt not as though they were sitting in front of the stage, but almost as if they were right in the middle of the action themselves. The 45-minute performance was extremely captivating and provided a few goosebump-inducing moments, which were due not only to the play’s title but also, to a large extent, to the actors’ skill.

 

Praise for Outstanding Teamwork

The performance at the Theater am Schwanhof took place as part of the Central Hesse School Theater Festival, as Ines Vielhaben reported. She was most pleased with the excellent teamwork among the students in the drama course, even in the run-up to the stage performance: “Together, the students found solutions for recasting roles due to illness. Everyone took responsibility for the props and all the stage equipment.”
The larger stage, Ines Vielhaben continued, was obviously a great challenge, and it was worth enriching the play with two additional scenes so that the versatility of the actors and actresses could be showcased even more.

It will be interesting to see what the audience will get to see during the Q phase.

(Heinm)

Grade 7 Theater Workshop: Who can do something like that?

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Who could possibly do something like that?

Young actors and actresses in 7th grade can do that. They can tell entertaining stories of their own, create a wide variety of characters who bring these stories to life, and reliably slip into their roles, entertaining the audience brilliantly with wordplay, theatrical performances, and plenty of surprises. This is exactly what happened in the performances by all four 7th-grade classes as part of the theater workshop on May 7 and 8.

 

We got a glimpse of a dangerous school day where a dog was causing trouble (“Pipi, Piss Off” by Class 7c). “Werewolf” became a game that went beyond the boundaries of a children’s game (“The Werewolves Among Us,” Class 7a), Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and other fairy-tale characters boldly traveled back and forth through time, with plenty of predictable twists and turns (“Once Upon a Time” by Class 7b), and finally, there was an entertaining talent show featuring hilarious dancers, a dazzling three-generation band, and one of those worldly-wise scientists who, after all, has something dangerous up his sleeve—including the usual strong clichés in the jury members (“Who can do something like that?” by Class 7i).

The audience enjoyed excellent entertainment and warm hospitality from the Class of ’13 and responded with warm, well-deserved applause. Thus, another Theaterworkshop season came to a very joyful and satisfying conclusion.

Many thanks to everyone involved, both on stage and behind the scenes. For cast lists and additional information, see the program: Theaterwerkstatt. Flyer. 2026

(Frank Wemme)

 

To get a sense of what it’s like, we recommend scrolling through the photo gallery (Photos: Rainer Waldinger):

From Poetry to Slam: A Treasure Waiting to Be Uncovered

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Literary talents from Steinmühle met with the well-known author and spoken-word artist Leah Weigand to prepare for the 1st Marburg School Slam. It is a treasure waiting to be unearthed: the ability to transform one’s own thoughts and experiences into artistic words and to inspire others with them. This goal united the 11th-grade students who met with Leah Weigand at Steinmühle on May 8 to write—in a way that was quite different from how they usually have to write in school.

 

“Respect the poet”

In a pleasantly relaxed and highly motivating atmosphere, the participants gained valuable inspiration through various creative writing exercises. The result was a range of texts, both short and long—sometimes funny, sometimes mundane, occasionally philosophical, thought-provoking, and poetically striking—all guided by the event’s theme: “Respect the poet,” and captured on camera by Björn Wagner.

 

How It All Began

It all started at the poetry slam at KFZ last December. Class 11a attended the event, was very impressed by the artists there, and our colleague Björn Wagner—who also performs as a slammer in his free time—put us in touch with Leah Weigand, who hosted the slam at the KFZ, who is also a bestselling author and a sought-after slam poet in her own right.

 

Cross-School Collaboration

The desire to nurture not only scientific but also artistic and literary talents at Steinmühle has long been a priority, and now the opportunity has arisen to bring a professional woman to our school. But that’s not all. When discussing how to finance this project with the Hessian Innovation and Advisory Network for the Promotion of Gifted Students (HIBB), the idea arose to establish a cross-school collaboration.

 

The project’s highlight on June 10

We were able to recruit a teacher from the Elisabethschule and a teacher from the Philippinum, who also offered poetry workshops at their respective schools. The highlight of this project so far is scheduled to take place on June 10 at 7 p.m., when students from all three schools will compete in a literary contest at the Forum der Steinmühle and celebrate the 1st Marburg School Slam, moderated by Leah Weigand.

We’re really looking forward to it and say: Don’t miss it! Mark your calendars.

(Kristina Sokoli)

 

So Good, So Diverse: Steinmühle’s “Bands on Stage” Takes a Historic Top Spot

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Principal Björn Gemmer called it the “best ‘Bands on Stage’ ever.” And indeed: There were plenty of goosebump-inducing moments at this year’s concert, which has a permanent spot on the Steinmühle calendar every March. Music teacher and organizer Frank Wemme, as well as the entire music department, received high praise from many quarters for the performances in the Steinmühle Forum. There’s truly a lot of talent, hard work, and perseverance behind it all.

 

All age groups on stage

It’s a well-known fact that you can only do well what you enjoy doing. A promising and diverse program was on the agenda—featuring participating artists ranging from elementary and high school students to members of the current graduating class. On stage were the Bilingual Elementary School’s AG Band (conducted by Olaf Roth), its successor group, the AG Band for Grades 5/6 (led by Frank Wemme), 12th-grade singer Annica Bartsch and Mio Bender on piano, the Laubfrösche 2026, as well as the Jazz Ensemble and the StoneMill House Band, all led by Frank Wemme. The Sound & Light team ensured everything ran smoothly from a technical standpoint. — We highly recommend browsing through our photo gallery below!

 

Plenty of energy among the youngest

That was pretty awesome—what our youngest performers just put on! From “Girls on Fire” to “Dance Monkey” to “Umbrella,” they showed tremendous energy. Olaf Roth’s live band is always a key element of Steinmühlen’s musical performances. A round of applause for so much rousing music!

 

Annica Bartsch with her crystal-clear voice

For several years now, whenever Annica Bartsch takes the stage, the audience knows: here comes someone with a crystal-clear voice. Once again, the 12th-grade student at Steinmühlen proved that she has tremendous talent and received long, sustained applause for her performances.

 

Special trip from Munich

Then the tree frogs got ready for their performance. And let’s be honest: Not everyone would make a special trip all the way from Munich just to perform with the school band one more time at “their” school. But Constantin “Consti” Franz did. And the audience in the packed rows realized: He’s still got it!

The jazz ensemble, led by and featuring the active participation of organizer Frank Wemme, then struck a somewhat more subdued note, performing, among other pieces, the Sinatra classic “Fly Me to the Moon.” Was there a connection to current events?

 

Recognizing Potential – Nurturing Talent

This energizing journey—which offered insights into various genres and once again showcased the musical potential of the Steinmühlen students—came to a close with classic tunes performed by the legendary StoneMill House Band. There is no doubt that the prerequisite for all of this is having teachers who recognize this potential, nurture talent, and, through their personal enthusiasm, help students develop the skills needed to perform on stage.

And luckily, Steinmühle has them.

(Angela Heinemann)

 

Fear is a reaction; courage is a decision: DS 12 performs *Antigone*

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The ancient tragedy *Antigone*, written by Sophocles—in which Antigone defies King Creon’s law and, despite the threat of the death penalty, attempts to bury her brother Polynices with dignity—has been reinterpreted in various ways time and again over the centuries. Joining the ranks of translations and adaptations—from Hölderlin to Schimmelpfennig, Brecht, and Anouilh, all the way to Bodo Wartke—is now a completely new, fresh adaptation, developed by the “Performing Arts 12” class under the direction of Nina Merzenich.

The students recently performed this version—which is almost entirely in rhyme—at the Steinmühle Forum, captivating the audience from the very first second.

 

The people of Thebes danced to “YMCA”

Whether it was the moving moment right at the beginning, when Antigone gently sprinkled sand on her dead brother Polynices, who lay on a platform right in the middle of the audience, or the battle for Thebes, fought with lightsabers to the beat of techno music; whether it was the tender love scene when Antigone and her lover Haimon met one last time on the catwalk among the audience before her death, or the coronation party for Creon, where the people of Thebes danced exuberantly to “YMCA”—every scene captivated, fascinated, was fun, and enchanted.

Not only did the course demonstrate how to pull out all the stops when it comes to theatrical magic (lighting, sound, fog, proscenium, set design, costumes, ensemble acting, dance…), but each individual also delivered a magnificent performance.

 

Impressive amounts of text

The People of Thebes (Sophie Becker, Gregor Bigeschke, Amely Blazek, Ron Georg, Dominik Koerth, Antonia Kurlinsky, Felix Schlegel, Jesko von Werder, Jan Ole Wollersheim) captivated the audience with constantly shifting formations, battle and dance scenes, and both choral and solo speech and action. In the role of Polyneices, Gregor Bigeschke gave a compelling performance as the enraged brother who had been cheated out of his rightful claim. Jan Ole Wollersheim gave a magnificent performance as his brother Eteocles, portraying him as majestic and statesmanlike. Kimo Achteresch and Alrik Keßler provided top-notch entertainment time and again in the roles of the two guards. Antonia Kurlinsky gave a moving portrayal of Queen Eurydice, who struggled to maintain her composure and ultimately took her own life out of grief. Orlando Geisel appeared eloquent and self-assured as Creon’s son Haimon, while Celia Giebing gave a wonderful performance as Antigone’s sister Ismene, portraying her as both tender and courageous.

 

“Antigone” provided some spine-tingling moments

Jaan Ebbing portrayed the blind seer Teiresias as a figure somewhere between a god and Gandalf, a role he brought to life brilliantly on stage. He was guided by a child, a guest role lovingly played by Mona Merzenich (6th grade). Sophia Rogosch’s performance was also outstanding; as Antigone, she repeatedly gave the audience goosebumps. Last but not least, Maximilian Glock impressively portrayed (and with an impressive amount of dialogue!) the harsh ruler Creon as a figure caught between power and self-doubt.

Kimo Achteresch, Ron Georg, and Anna-Lena Grießler (11th grade) made sure the sound and lighting set the right mood. We would like to thank the Freie Waldorfschule Marburg for the stage design (columns, throne, fog machine) and the guards’ costumes.

Hats off to everyone for a fantastic stage show!

(Nina Merzenich)

A Journey Through Time in a Rowing Boat: The Steinmühle from an Artistic Perspective

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What was originally intended as a substitute for a written exam eventually developed into an impressive artistic expression: The students in the advanced art class in 13th grade were tasked with looking back on 76 years of Steinmühle’s history in their final project, artistically reflecting on the present, and at the same time designing a vision for the future. The result was to be a mural adorning the interior of the main building.

 

From Individual Figures to the Big Picture

“It’s truly amazing how the dynamic evolved from individually designed single figures toward a shared overall image of all five students,” says art teacher Ines Vielhaben, commenting on the creative process. It quickly became clear: All the figures should be sitting in a boat. To achieve this, the group decided to take on the challenge of creating life-size figures using the stencil art technique, which is well known from street art—particularly through Banksy.

 

Workshop in Giessen as preparation

In line with this, the class took part in a workshop led by Kai Krieger of 3 Steps at the HUETTE38 Art Hub in Giessen. Armed with their prepared stencils, the students used graffiti spray paint to spray-paint the rowboat and figures onto three strips of smooth wallpaper under expert guidance.

 

A work with multifaceted content

In terms of content, the work is multi-layered: The figure in the background, with its black face, symbolizes the fading memories of prominent members of the school community. The next figure refers to the successes in the important Steinmühlen “Jugend forscht” program—depicted by a bubbling laboratory experiment. The next figure, wearing the distinctive red one-piece uniform, represents the school’s current successes in rowing and its international victories, accompanied by the German flag as a symbol of the international context. Another figure, composed of pixels, embodies the future, shaped by digitalization and artificial intelligence. Finally, the coxswain looks ahead, pointing toward a hopeful future. His jersey features a combination of various versions of the Steinmühle’s past and present logos.

 

Display during Senior Year Theme Week

During the graduating class’s theme week, they managed to enlist the help of the facilities staff to install the mural. Together with the art class, the artwork was installed in the main building next to the cafeteria entrance. The event was accompanied by lively music and applause from fellow graduating seniors. Special thanks go to the students involved—Cilia Evelbauer, Janice Houdek, Raphael Richard Miller, Nele Schultheis, and Lina Zippel—as well as their art teacher, Ines Vielhaben, for the successful completion of this extraordinary project.

 

Move & Relax, Lego, Creative Activities: 10th-grade students offer extracurricular clubs for elementary school students

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As part of their project-based learning, the 10th-grade classes at Steinmühle offer various extracurricular clubs for students at the Bilingual Elementary School. You can read about which clubs took place during the first semester in this summary:

“This school year, as tenth graders, we have the opportunity to offer after-school clubs for elementary school students as part of our project-based learning. The clubs take place during the elementary school’s lunch break. In the first semester, we organized the following activities, among others:

  • In our “Move & Relax” club, we offered a variety of movement games for first- and second-graders. We made sure the children had a lot of fun as a group and that their interests and wishes were taken into account.
  • The Lego club was especially popular—and there were even two of them! Our Lego club was designed to boost the children’s creativity and offer them a relaxing break from the usual school routine. At the same time, it gave us insight into the work of teachers and educators. Overall, we really enjoyed the club, and we hope the children did, too!
  • In the second LEGO club, we also did a lot of building and playing. We often worked on group projects where we built larger objects. But we also made sure to set aside free time when everyone could build whatever they wanted.
  • In the Creative Club, we did a lot of crafts, danced, and had a lot of fun. It was challenging, but we gained some educational, important, and wonderful experiences.
  • As part of an exciting detective club, we organized a big treasure hunt. The children solved the clues with the help of little riddles. They had a lot of fun solving the riddles scattered across the schoolyard and were especially happy when they found the stolen goods and were allowed to keep them.

 

Teaching the meaning of responsibility through play

  • In our “Fun with Knotting and Threading” club, we made Loom Bands and beaded bracelets, and we also braided bracelets. We worked with many different materials, created some beautiful pieces, and the atmosphere was relaxed. The children and we had a lot of fun, and we enjoyed our time together.
  • “In the Games Club, our goal was to teach the children the importance of community, cooperation, and responsibility through various games—and we succeeded! Some of our clubs will be offered again in the second half of the year, though with a slightly different lineup. We’re already looking forward to it!” (Stm)

Interdisciplinary Project Combining Mathematics, Geography, and Art

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To help 5th-grade students develop a sense of space, time, and dimensions, math teacher Malte Klimczak launched a project to create a planetary nature trail—right on the Steinmühle school grounds!

 

How long is 15 million kilometers?

How long is a meter? How long is a kilometer? And just how vast—almost beyond our imagination—is a distance of 15 million kilometers? —It’s impossible to visualize this, but even the youngest students at Steinmühle High School can get a sense of it: Along a 300-meter-long stretch, the planets of our solar system were to be placed at the correct distances from the Sun.

 

A small group chose “their” planet

Working in small groups, the girls and boys set up a station in the schoolyard for a planet of their choice. Geography quickly came into play: How big and heavy is the planet? How far is it from the Sun? And how long would it take to get there from Earth?

Using this key information, the students then designed an information board and a model of the planet—the artistic aspect. Using the scale—where one meter in the schoolyard corresponds to 16 million kilometers in space—they then calculated where each planet should be located in the “schoolyard solar system.” This required mathematical skills.

 

Explaining the Solar System in Five Minutes

To help people understand these very large numbers and their significance in terms of distance and time, illustrative comparisons were made: how many times one would have to circle the Earth, how many years one would spend traveling by car, and so on.

Since even younger children can develop a basic understanding of this, the young experts from Grade 5 presented their planet project to the students in Grade 4 at the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School. The fifth graders mastered the challenge of explaining the topic as clearly as possible in just a few minutes with flying colors. The fact that preparing for this presentation had taken several school hours beforehand was quickly evident in the quality of their presentation.

This fantastic project, which not only drew on interdisciplinary knowledge but was also implemented across grade levels and school types, must be considered a complete success. Creative, challenging—and yet accessible even to the youngest students at Steinmühle.

The sun—which is often mistakenly referred to as a planet but is actually a star—certainly seemed to be in a good mood on the day of the event. It cast its wintery rays over the Steinmühle grounds.

Angela Heinemann

 

Intercultural Family Festival in Cappel: Together We Are ONE

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The tables were beautifully decorated, the buffet was constantly being restocked, and the stage was still closed off. Hanging on the walls were works of art by children and teenagers from the two neighborhood schools—the Steinmühle and the Erich Kästner School—as well as from the shared housing facility on Raiffeisenstraße. These paintings and sculptures reflected a wide spectrum—not only because they were created by people of different ages, but also because they came from very different backgrounds and had diverse life experiences.

The Intercultural Family Festival was opened by City Councilwoman Kirsten Dinnebier and Local Council Member Michael Korte, representing Local Council Chairman Peter Hesse. Cappel’s neighborhood manager, Vanessa Binzen, who organized the festival, guided the audience through the program. Clown Gina Ginella then took the stage—there were squeals, rumbling sounds, and things falling down—just the right kind of entertainment for the preschool- and elementary-school-aged children in attendance. And for us adults, she always struck just the right (off-key) note to amuse her audience. There were more than three rounds of hearty laughter. With delicious treats on our plates and in our cups, we came together and struck up conversations. It was a lovely afternoon.

Katrin Reichel

 

At the event, the Steinmühle displayed various exhibits on the topic. The artwork was created by Ella, Paul, Hannah, Josephine, Arvid (formerly LK 13, Rado), and Cilia (now LK 13 Vielhaben).

 
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Do you have questions about the school?

School Administration & Management

Björn Gemmer & Dirk Konnertz
Phone: 06421 408-20

schule@steinmuehle.de

Do you have questions about the boarding school?

Boarding School Administration & Management

Anke Muszynski & Dirk Konnertz
Phone: 06421 408-0

internat@steinmuehle.de

Do you have questions about the school?

School Administration & Management

Björn Gemmer & Dirk Konnertz
Phone: 06421 408-20

schule@steinmuehle.de

Do you have questions about the boarding school?

Boarding School Administration & Management

Anke Muszynski & Dirk Konnertz
Phone: 06421 408-0

internat@steinmuehle.de

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