“Jugend Forscht”: Grade 12 Team Takes Second Place in Darmstadt

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At the regional “Jugend Forscht” competition, the two 12th-grade students, Lena Noelle Joußen (17) and Janina Seip (18), qualified for the Hesse state competition in Darmstadt. This meant they had to keep putting the finishing touches on their project right up until the very end.

The two-person team set off for Darmstadt the day before the competition, right after school ended. The next morning at 8 a.m., they were admitted to the Merck company’s gym. A total of 36 teams from the fields of the working world, biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, mathematics and computer science, physics, and technology set about setting up their booths, taking the opportunity to check out the other participants’ projects.

Each team received two partition walls as well as tables and chairs; parents and guardians were not permitted to attend that day. At 9 a.m., the opening remarks were given, highlighting this year’s motto, “Don’t ask me, ask yourself,” and outlining the schedule for the day. A list of the jury’s evaluation times was passed around. This was much more enjoyable than at the regional competition, since we didn’t have to stand at the booth the whole time but could also attend various workshops on topics such as dual study programs or patent law, etc. We also got to know the other teams better, who also had very good projects to present.

 

45-minute evaluation by a four-member panel of experts

The wait until the jury’s questioning seemed relatively long, and our nerves kept getting worse. At 12:15 p.m., the jury arrived at our booth, “Microorganisms and Plastic Degradation: Identification of Bacteria in the Larval Intestines of Galleria mellonella.” Our presentation was followed by questions from the four-member expert jury, after which a sort of conversation developed, making the 45 minutes go by faster than expected.

We were done just in time for lunch, so we were able to spend the rest of the day in a more relaxed manner. Until 4:00 p.m., camera crews, photographers, and radio teams were on the move, interviewing the candidates. The jury also conducted their final evaluations. This was followed by a dress rehearsal for the awards ceremony, which seemed a bit unnecessary. Then, after a long wait, the moment finally arrived: buses took us participants to the Kinopolis so that everyone could watch the movie “Ex Machina” and then enjoy dinner together. During this time, the atmosphere among us grew increasingly lively, and by the end of the evening—when everyone had settled into either a youth hostel or a hotel—many new connections had been made.

 

“Feel free to put your own ideas into action!”

The next morning, we had breakfast, and afterward everyone was driven back to the Merck campus. There was a lot of excitement about the awards ceremony, as well as a noticeable sense of fatigue among everyone. However, the schedule didn’t allow for any long breaks. The tour of the Merck Innovation Center, where ideas for the future are brought to life, was very impressive and innovative, and our fatigue quickly faded away. We were given an insight into the idea development process—which usually takes more than two years—and a startup entrepreneur explained his company’s process to us in a very relaxed manner, encouraging us to put our ideas into action.

After spending nearly three hours at the Merck plant, we made our way back to the gym, where parents, chaperones, and science enthusiasts were now waiting to hear explanations of the projects. This part was exhausting but also very interesting, as a noticeable number of interested people came to our booths.

 

Vince Ebert as host

At 3:30 p.m., the awards ceremony began as the participants entered the hall, and host Vince Ebert welcomed everyone in his usual warm and friendly manner. This was followed by many more speeches from Merck representatives, mayors, and the Minister of Culture.

With its second-place finish in the biology category, along with 200 euros in prize money, Steinmühle achieved a very gratifying result, which delighted our parents as well as our advisor, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, and our chemistry and physics teacher, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, who had also traveled to Darmstadt. Dr. von der Ahe, as our advisor, received the Advisor’s Award. All in all, these two days were extremely enlightening, interesting, yet also very exhausting, and were filled with many wonderful experiences. Janina Seip

 

Lena Noelle Joußen and Janina Seip won second prize at the state-level “Jugend Forscht” competition for their research on “Microorganisms and Plastic Degradation: Identification of Bacteria in the Larval Intestines of Galleria mellonella.”

 

This speaks to the quality of the education at Steinmühle: Just like his colleague Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf (right) at the “Schüler experimentieren” junior competition, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe (left) also received the Mentor Award at the “Jugend Forscht” competition.

 

Four Awards at the Kangaroo Competition

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Just under 1 million students in grades 3 through 12/13 participated in the Kangaroo Competition in Germany this year, 80 of them at Steinmühle, mainly from grades 5 and 6. However, some seventh- and eighth-graders had also signed up for this voluntary test. Subject teacher Gisela Opper reports:

The Kangaroo problems are usually very stimulating, sometimes entertaining, and can be solved using a wide variety of approaches. Sometimes all it takes is common sense, a bit of ingenuity, or a creative idea. In addition, it is a multiple-choice test, which students really appreciate. At the end, all participants received a certificate, a small game, and the Kangaroo workbook containing all the problems and solutions.

 

Mathilda Lambach was particularly successful

In each grade level, first, second, and third prizes are awarded to the top 5 percent of participants from across Germany. These prizes are usually engaging games, math puzzles, or books. This year, Steinmühle had four prize winners: Juliana Stry (5b) received a second prize, while Teresa Dinges (5b) and Arvid Mayer (7c) each won a first prize. Mathilda Lambach (6b) was once again particularly successful this year. She scored 115 out of 120 points and received not only a game as her first prize, but also a Kangaroo T-shirt for the “longest kangaroo jump”—that is, the highest number of consecutive correct answers.

The photo shows (from left): Arvid Mayer (7c), Mathilda Lambach (6b), Teresa Dinges, and Juliana Stry (both 5b).

Spanish Diploma Program Launched at Steinmühle

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Eleventh-grade students Chantal Boßhammer, Marie Bastian, and Melina Busch (pictured, from left) are the first to have taken the Instituto Cervantes exam to earn the DELE Spanish diploma. DELE stands for Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera. The program was presented to 10th-grade students in 2018 and subsequently introduced during the second and third terms.

The three students’ strong performance has led to excellent results. They have all received the official DELE A.2 diploma. “We congratulate them wholeheartedly and encourage other students to give it a try as well,” say Spanish teachers María Ramos and Mar Montenegro. “Steinmühle is an international school, and we look forward to preparing our students for the world and, in particular, for the requirements of the European Union.”

The DELE A2 exam consists of various components, which are divided into two groups: reading and writing skills on the one hand, and oral language skills, including listening comprehension, on the other.

The Most Traditional Competition: Boarding School at the BoulderCup

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Once again this year, Steinmühle Boarding School sent a small group to compete in the DIV Schools’ BoulderCup. Christian Schäfer, a member of the teaching staff, provides a glimpse into how the competition unfolded:

This year, we met at the Lietz School in Bieberstein near Fulda for the BoulderCup. Bouldering is rope-free climbing at jumping height and a recreational form of climbing. The competition took place for the 16th consecutive year and is by far the most traditional and regularly held competition among the schools of the DIV (Die Internate Vereinigung e.V.). A total of 38 students, 7 alumni, and 6 teachers competed for a top finish.

In good seats

Although we had no chance of winning the overall trophy, we were still determined to secure as many individual victories as possible. And in the end, we didn’t do too badly at all. In addition to doing something meaningful as part of a community of many enthusiastic climbers, we had a lot of fun, met or reconnected with like-minded people, and took home many new climbing experiences.

We even have a few podium finishes to report: Johannes Tetzner took second place in the U13 boys’ division, Kris Gorges placed third in the highly competitive U16 girls’ division, and Christian Schäfer took first place in the Educators/Alumni category. Unfortunately, due to the strong competition, Velten and Jacques were unable to secure a spot in the top three. Landheim Ammersee once again won the overall trophy this year.

Here’s how it went

We set off on Saturday morning after breakfast and arrived in Bieberstein at noon after a peaceful drive. Since we were the first to arrive, we were able to pick the best spots to sleep in the gym and also got the best mats to sleep on. After lunch at 1:00 p.m. in the dining hall of the castle—an impressive building—the competition began at 2:00 p.m. following a few opening remarks by Mr. Lange, a teacher and climbing coach at Bieberstein, and a warm welcome from the boarding school director, Mr. Meister. Until 6:00 p.m., everyone bouldered to the best of their ability, trying to secure the win. After dinner, there were tiebreakers in the U13 girls’ and male educators’ categories. After that, the evening was free for everyone to enjoy as they wished; people could continue climbing—which many did—and later, the “Schopp,” Bieberstein’s student tavern, opened. Tired but in good spirits, the evening drew to a close late. It wasn’t until half past midnight that things finally began to quiet down in the gym, where everyone was sleeping.

Breakfast was served at nine on Sunday. On the way home, we stopped briefly to take a look at the rock face and thought wistfully about the “lost” day >Rock Climbing<. Unfortunately, it had snowed on Saturday morning and again overnight into Sunday, so our original plan to go rock climbing at the Steinwand near Poppenhausen couldn’t be carried out because the rock was wet. The drive home flew by, and we were back at the Steinmühle just in time for SchniPoSa.

 

It’s all about exchange and interaction with others

 

Beyond the actual bouldering, however, the competition is primarily about fostering exchange among students from different boarding schools—allowing them to learn about the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of their own schools, as well as other ways of life, meet new people, and interact with them. For educators as well, the gathering is invaluable for gaining insight into their own professional lives and receiving an outside perspective on their own approaches, and it offers many benefits. As a result, many strong friendships and connections have been formed across Germany in recent years.

We’ll keep training hard and compete next year to once again vie for the overall trophy in bouldering. Next year, Landheim Ammersee will host the competition.

 

Spring Run: Konrad Was the Fastest

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Last year, the sun had brought hot temperatures, but at this year’s spring run, the fifth- and sixth-graders had to make do with temperatures around 12 degrees Celsius. This did not detract from the traditional run around the boathouse. At the end of the day, fifth-grader Konrad Rothmann emerged as the fastest participant of the day.

With a tradition dating back more than 10 years, the Spring Run has a firm place on the school’s sports calendar. The goal for students in grades 5 and 6 is to complete the 1,300-meter loop around the boathouse in the shortest time possible.

The race is organized by grade level, with girls and boys running separately. The event concludes with a relay race. In the relay, all 5th-grade classes compete against each other, followed by all 6th-grade classes.

“The help from our colleagues is a vital source of support in organizing the event,” emphasized school sports director Michael Neirich. He also praised the dedication of the students in the 11e sports track: “All of this together ensured that everything ran smoothly.” He also noted the great enthusiasm and willingness of the participating students to compete, even in cool weather, and added: “It’s wonderful that our school has the boathouse grounds, which provide an ideal location for a running event like this.”

The Results

Boathouse Loop (1300m) Girls, Grade 5:

  1. Place: Janne Esaßer (5:31)
  2. Place: Sophia Rogosch (5:32)
  3. Place: Teres Dinges (5:45)

Boathouse Circuit for 5th-Grade Boys:

  1. Place: Konrad Rothmann (4:54—best time!)
  2. Place: Caspar Schul (5:18)
  3. Place: Mats Egbring (5:24)

Girls’ 6th Grade Boathouse Circuit:

  1. Place: Finja Herwig (5:25)
  2. Place: Hanna Schmidt-Dege (5:29)
  3. Place: Emiloa Pick (5:31)

Boathouse Circuit for 6th-Grade Boys:

  1. Place: Max Posingies (4:58)
  2. Place: Leon Schmidt (5:17)
  3. Place: Max Preidel (5:27)

Grade 5 Relay:

  1. 5a, 2. 5b, 3. 5c

Grade 6 Relay:

  1. 6b, 2. 6a, 3. 6c

Pangea: Ten students have advanced to the next round

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Every year, Steinmühle participates in the nationwide Pangea Math Competition.

A total of 10 students from the participating 5th through 9th-grade classes have currently advanced to the intermediate round. The results are expected to be released in early June. This was reported by Constanze Oestreicher-Gold, head of the mathematics and science department at Steinmühle.

Principal Björn Gemmer is delighted: “These are excellent results!” He thanks the math teachers “for their great work in math class, which makes such results possible, and for motivating the students to take the Pangea competition seriously.”

The Pangea Math Competition combines the joy of problem-solving and pondering with logic and the art of calculation. “Students who feel averse to math begin to embrace it again and even find it fun,” says the organizer.

Second Place for Talea Funk at the National Foreign Language Competition

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A major success in English for Steinmühlen student Talea Funk: The 10th-grader won second prize in the “Solo” category of the individual competition at the National Foreign Language Competition. As the organizer has now announced, the jury’s evaluations have been completed. During the competition in January, Talea “demonstrated exceptional language skills, subject knowledge, and creativity in English.” The award ceremony will take place on June 11 in Friedberg.

In this year’s National Foreign Language Competition, 242 students in Hesse competed in the “Solo” category in English, French, Spanish, Latin, and Ancient Greek.

In the “Modern Foreign Languages / Solo” category, the jury awarded two first prizes in English to participants from Hesse. In addition, a total of 15 second prizes and 6 third prizes were awarded in the modern foreign languages category, according to Thomas Boiselle, the competition’s regional representative for Hesse.

The Federal Foreign Language Competition is part of the German federal government’s program for promoting gifted students and the corresponding programs of the state governments. It is organized by Bildung und Begabung gGmbH. Bildung und Begabung is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization operating under the patronage of the Federal President.

Justus Schneider on the Gifted Students’ Team at the 27th Inventors’ Lab

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At the 27th Inventors’ Lab organized by the Center for Chemistry, based in Bensheim an der Bergstraße, 17-year-old Justus Schneider, a student at Steinmühlen High School, was one of 16 highly gifted students who spent a week at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences exploring the topic “Electromobility—Fuel Cells.” In front of a large audience, including prominent figures from business, academia, and government ministries, he and his group presented their research ideas and proposed solutions at the event’s conclusion.

Out of nearly 200 outstanding applicants from all over Hesse, Justus was one of the 16 selected participants. He and Luca Weigel from the Lahntalschule in Biedenkopf were the only representatives from the entire county. At the Inventor Lab in the Department of Engineering at Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences in Rüsselsheim, the young inventors were given their challenge. The challenge was to build a small vehicle on site that is powered by fuel cells. But that wasn’t all: the vehicle also had to be capable of powering other devices at the same time, including a lamp.

Fuel cells and a capacitor were among the components provided. But that was the extent of the assistance. Justus Schneider’s team built a car body out of wood and cardboard. The wheels were created using a 3D printer. The young researchers used the capacitor as an energy storage device. This allowed the lamp to stay lit even when the car was no longer moving.

 

Inspired by the topics of electric mobility and fuel cells

Producing hydrogen proved to be a test of patience. Since the fuel cells had two ports for hydrogen, this was the stated goal. In the lab, the talented young scientists broke down water through electrolysis. However, the endeavor to store hydrogen in balloons required the staying power necessary for research work. “Don’t give up” was also Justus Schneider’s motto when the balloon burst several times. It ultimately took five hours to make everything airtight.

The successful completion of this project has inspired Justus Schneider. Although he had already planned to pursue a career in research in mathematics or physics before the project, he can now imagine working on the further development of vehicles powered by fuel cells. Although such vehicles already exist, Justus Schneider says, they are relatively expensive to purchase. Justus Schneider’s idea is that gas stations could produce hydrogen themselves or have it delivered by industry. Based on his observations, he believes it would be easy to make changes in this area.

Justus was encouraged by his Steinmühlen teacher and STEM coordinator, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, to enter the competition, which had previously required practical skills. She, along with his physics teacher Dr. Rainer Nietzke and the entire school, is delighted that Steinmühle’s “streak” of participation in this prestigious event has continued this year as well.

If Justus’s work in the Inventors’ Lab did indeed serve as a catalyst for his career—so much the better. Who knows: Perhaps one day it will be a team led by Justus Schneider that achieves a breakthrough in the further development of fuel-cell-powered vehicles.

The Steinmühle team won three awards at once

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Lena Joußen and Janina Seip, along with their advisor Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, won the “Jugend Forscht” competition

Things couldn’t have gone better at the “Jugend Forscht” regional competition for Central Hesse, held at the Klein-Linden Community Center, as Steinmühle’s participation resulted in three awards: Students Lena Noelle Joußen and Janina Seip, together with their teacher Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, won the Project Prize, the Environmental Prize, and the Advisor Prize.

“Keep going, make the most of this project’s potential, and enter the competition again.” That was the jury’s advice exactly one year ago, when the then-11th-grade students first presented their hypothesis to the panel of experts at the “Jugend Forscht” competition. They suggested that the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) might offer a solution to the plastic pollution problem. For the experiment, honeycombs infested with wax moth larvae had been placed in plastic bags. Just a short time later, the plastic was riddled with holes and crumbled. Laboratory tests confirmed that the larvae do indeed break down polyethylene (PE).

In Search of the Right Enzyme
To delve deeper into the topic, Lena and Janina set out to investigate whether the larvae of the greater wax moth harbor so-called symbionts in their intestines—that is, microorganisms that help break down plastic. Their work on the freshly deceased insect—including isolating the bacteria into a culture medium, allowing the bacteria to grow, creating bacterial clones, and performing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)—revealed that a specific gene from the bacteria was amplifying —and at the same time raised the question of whether this gene exists in nature as part of a similar enzyme that may already be known, and whether this enzyme, through its ability to break down carbon compounds, can make a decisive contribution to plastic degradation.

“We’ve taken a decisive step closer to the result,” reports biology teacher Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe. “It’s not just one bacterium. We’ve narrowed down the list of bacterial candidates to about two dozen,” says the expert. Conducting further research in this area is a matter of time and, above all, cost.


wasn’t discouraged by setbacks. According to the biologist, who holds a Ph.D., it looked as though the research wouldn’t work out until November. The twelfth-grade students carried out over 200 PCR reactions and ultimately refused to let themselves be discouraged. Thanks to plenty of words of encouragement, effective coordination, and a well-thought-out project strategy, Steinmühle also won the Advisor’s Award. The timely and pressing topic of “plastic” was a fitting focus for the environmental award. The competition’s Sponsorenpool Hessen awarded the 1,600-euro project prize in recognition of the students’ persistent, precise, and determined work.

Prerequisites Provided by the Steinmühle Student Lab
The Steinmühle student lab, equipped by the Friends of Steinmühle Association, is an essential prerequisite for the work of the young Steinmühle researchers. Jasmine Weidenbach, chairwoman of the Friends of Steinmühle, had applied for funding (5,100 euros) from Roche Germany as the main sponsor in June 2014. Headquarters approved the application a month later, and the lab was set up in the fall of 2014. The official opening of the lab took place in February 2015.

The national “Jugend Forscht” competition is organized by the foundation of the same name. Its goal is to inspire young researchers to pursue mathematics, computer science, the natural sciences, and technology, and to foster interest in these career fields.

 

“Youth Researches”: Young researchers from Steinmühlen took home plenty of awards

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Of the 15 students, 13 qualified for their respective state competitions
Steinmühlen students explored interesting everyday questions related to nutrition and nature in the “Schüler experimentieren” competition. Under this competition title—the “Jugend Forscht” category for lower and middle school students (up to age 14)—the youngest Steinmühlen students won numerous prizes: They were able to prevail against mostly older competitors. They took first place five times and second place once. The early-intervention program—featuring the so-called “GuFi Lab,” where both basic and advanced work is conducted—has thus proven its worth in an impressive way.

Phosphate in Food—How Delicious Food Can Be Dangerous
Under this title, students Mats Böhmer, Marvin Preis, and Joel Rucker, along with their advisor Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, entered the competition in the field of chemistry.

Excessively high phosphate levels in the blood can lead to cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. The group of students developed testing methods to analyze the phosphate content of various foods, such as döner, bratwurst, and cola. In the process, they discovered that you consume far less phosphate from the much-criticized doner than from a cola. The project was awarded first prize and will compete in the state competition in April.

Does Diet Coke Make You Fat? – A Study of Blood Sugar Levels
In their biology class, students Rebecca Zenker and Hanna Schmidt-Dege studied blood sugar levels after consuming various sweeteners, as well as cola, Diet Coke, and potatoes.

Based on their findings, they concluded that it is best not to consume artificial sweeteners at the same time as sugar, and that potatoes do not cause blood sugar levels to rise as sharply if they are allowed to cool beforehand. The project, conducted in the Biology department under the supervision of Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, won second place.

How and how quickly does milk really go bad?
In search of an answer to this question, students Joshua Wieder, Morten Köhler, and Benjamin Schul conducted research in the Department of Chemistry. The team investigated how different types of milk spoil under various conditions. To do this, they built a temperature-control apparatus, determined the timing of curdling, and took bacterial swabs. Among other things, they found that added sugar accelerates spoilage, while longer shelf lives—even at room temperature—can be achieved by adding the sugar alcohol xylitol and by introducing air. The judges awarded first place in the same age group to the project, which was supervised by Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf. The team will now compete in the state competition.

Sunscreen for Trees
Once again in the field of chemistry, fifth-graders Mats Egbring and Leonard Berger entered the competition under the guidance of their teacher, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe. Because his partner was unable to attend on the day of the competition, Leonard Berger presented the results. The two students isolated the leaf pigments from various colored autumn leaves and plotted them on a chromatogram. They used the leaf pigments—green, red, yellow, and brown-yellow—in solution as “sunscreen protection” against UV radiation, which simulates sunlight, on agar plates containing oral bacteria. Without color filters, bacterial growth is inhibited. The protective effect of the pigment filters ranges from 30% to 80%. The red filter provides the strongest protection against UV light. Leonard Berger received a special interdisciplinary award (equivalent to first prize) for his presentation and has been admitted to the state competition “Schüler experimentieren.”

Herbs, Tea, and More to Fight Bacteria
In their biology experiments, students Teresa Dinges, Neyla Fritz, and Sophia Rogosch (all in 5th grade), under the guidance of their teacher Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, investigated the effect of various types of tea, herbal infusions, and food-based beverages on bacterial growth. The various solutions were mixed into liquid agar, poured into Petri dishes, and oral bacteria were spread onto them. By counting the bacterial colonies, the students were able to test the inhibitory effect of the herbal, tea, and food solutions on bacterial growth. Peppermint tea and ginger tea inhibit bacterial growth the most. The project was presented by Neyla Fritz and Sophia Rogosch (Teresa Dinges was unable to attend due to her participation in the Math Olympiad). The project won first place and has thus qualified for the state competition.

The young researchers (Schüler experimentieren) in Kassel with their mentors:
From left to right: Mats Böhmer, Joel Rucker, Morten Köhler, Joshua Wieder, Leonard Berger, Marvin Preis, Benjamin Schul, Neyla Fritz, Dr. Dietmar von der Ahe, Rebecca Zenker, Hanna
Schmidt-Dege, Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, Sophia Rogosch. Not pictured are participants Teresa Dinges and Mats Egbring.

 
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School Administration & Management

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Phone: 06421 408-20

schule@steinmuehle.de

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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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