“Here Comes the Mouse”: Lower-Grade Carnival with Lots of Fun

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Exuberant and cheerful, a polonaise of children from grades 5 and 6 winds its way through the Steinmühle gym to the music. Everyone is in high spirits, and it’s a joy to watch: school beyond grades and studying.

And yet, the annual Carnival afternoon for the lower grades requires some preparation on the part of the teachers. Decorations must be arranged, and the dance must be rehearsed. – Who will stand at the front, and who will be the lead? This is where teachers Nicole Hohm and Stephan Steinebach step in to help. Then it’s time for the can toss—a tried-and-true and popular activity. Next up on the program is the disco. After a playlist featuring requests from the 6th-grade classes—compiled by teacher Dirk Lange—Sam Kempkes (Sound & Light Club) plays all the selected songs in his usual style: “Hier kommt die Maus,” “Helikopter 117,” and other songs that get the party started. If you open the door to the outside, you can already smell it: the unique aroma of french fries. They’re simply part of the tradition of the Steinmühlen Lower School Carnival and are enjoyed with relish after the disco.

This Carnival afternoon in the new decade also came to an end, and there will be another edition next year. General organizer Frank Wemme thanked the colleagues who participated, including others not mentioned here who supported the event through their assistance and presence.

Party hard—drive sober: Good advice, not just for Carnival

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The workshop is known as “Aktion BOB,” and every year, in the run-up to Carnival season, the police use it to educate 11th-grade students about the dangers of drinking and driving. However, the content of the two-hour course goes beyond simply describing the dangers of alcohol and is, of course, relevant all year round.

Senior Police Inspector Thorsten Frey from the Regional Traffic Division of the Marburg Police Department spent two mornings giving very vivid presentations to two classes each day, explaining where dangers lurk for drivers, what behaviors to follow, and which ones to avoid. The entire project was organized by Steinmühlen teachers Heike Rabben-Martin and Nicole Hohm.

 

Also dangerous: old glasses, medications, and time pressure

Drawing on real-life incidents from the local area, the speaker described the tragic outcomes of car trips where alcohol was involved. But danger can also lurk from other sources. For example, many medications contain substances that impair reaction time. Outdated eyeglasses impair vision, and a leg or arm in a cast no longer allows for reliable control of the vehicle. In addition to faulty brakes or tires—which must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm—distractions such as cell phones, children in the car, or restless passengers are often underestimated. If you’re pressed for time, it’s not a good idea to mention the stress or time pressure you’re under when filing a report after an accident. “By doing so, you’re essentially admitting that you intentionally exceeded the speed limit or, at the very least, accepted that you had broken it.” The police officer also warned against driving or continuing to drive while extremely tired: “Before you risk falling asleep at the wheel, please pull over!” (Hei)

Christmas Party for Grades 5 and 6: Music, Singing, and a Socially Critical Artistic Fairy Tale

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The joint Christmas party for grades 5 and 6 is a particularly festive occasion every year. Students and parents gather in large numbers in the festively decorated Forum to enjoy coffee, pastries, and the program together at beautifully decorated tables. “It’s amazing how the 5th-grade wind ensemble is already able to play their instruments after just a few weeks,” enthused Principal Bernd Holly about the ensemble, which performed under the direction of their teacher, Andreas Jamin. The performance of “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” by the youngest students at Steinühlengymnasium was every bit as impressive as the instrumental music. Ulrike Wilmsmeyer and Frank Wemme, among others, had overseen the preparations for this performance. Other teachers worked with the students to stage a shadow play adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Match Girl.” – A story about a little girl who dies on a cold New Year’s Eve. In this play, which conveys a strong sense of social criticism, the students Jana Farsch, Paul Fischer, Simon Glowacz, and Anna Harnisch delivered compelling performances.

5c: Christmas Decorations and English Traditions

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Till Buurman photographed the handmade Advent decorations created by Class 5c, and we believe these decorative items should be shared with a wider audience. At the suggestion of their homeroom teacher, Jeannine Walter, the students set to work with great enthusiasm.

“Some children, for example, are very talented at folding stars using origami-style techniques,” says Jeannine Walter. This gave the 5c classroom (Room 310) a festive Christmas atmosphere.

Another Christmas tradition in the lower-grade classes where Jeannine Walter teaches English is the so-called “crackers,” which are part of the English tradition during Christmas dinner. These are crackers that the teacher presents to the Steinmühle students strung together like a necklace. When a cracker is opened, three things fly out with a pop, in keeping with English tradition: a paper crown, a toy, and a slip of paper with jokes and riddles. In early December, Jeannine Walter surprises the classes with the cracker chain, and during Advent, the students take turns opening a cracker. Each student’s name is drawn from a pot of names.

 

Record Attendance at the Steinmühle Fall Festival

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The school and boarding school celebrated their 70th anniversary and introduced numerous new initiatives

During the weekend of its annual fall festival, Steinmühle had a second reason to celebrate: the 70th anniversary of the institution. Over the years, the family that owns the boarding school and the school association have transformed a site with old, dilapidated buildings surrounded by mud around a mill into a campus with new and completely renovated buildings, where students from the boarding school, high school, and the bilingual elementary school feel equally at home.

 

Numerous construction projects

Never before had so many visitors come to the Fall Festival on Steinmühlenweg. Never before had there been so many new things to marvel at. Following the completion of the new Forum and Learning Center 5/6 buildings, the Atrium—a new building for the middle school—was inaugurated earlier this year. Once that was finished, renovation of the main building began and was completed just in time for the start of the school year. The renovation of the cafeteria took place at the same time. This was accompanied by the redesign of the schoolyard, the completion of the parking lot, and the relocation of the bus turnaround loop in front of the school. A second, smaller schoolyard is now located in front of the Atrium.

 

Congratulations from the County Administrator

“These are the final projects for this year,” says Dirk Konnertz, executive director of the school association, with satisfaction and full of praise for the contractors. The collaboration between the school association, principals Björn Gemmer and Bernd Holly, and the boarding school’s governing body worked brilliantly and made these results possible in the first place. On Friday evening, Steinmühle celebrated its 70th anniversary with a small gathering featuring speeches and a festive dinner prepared by the boarding school kitchen. Guests of honor from the business and political worlds, including District Administrator Kirsten Fründt, congratulated the key players and the entire school community not only on what was on display but also on the ongoing successes evident in all areas of the school.

 

A Look Back at the Decades

In his speech, Egon Vaupel, chairman of the school association, highlighted the school’s tremendous progress since the association’s founding and emphasized the currently excellent collaboration between the school and the boarding school. Johanna Buurman-Rogalla, a witness to history who has lived in Steinmühle since the very beginning—for 70 years now— gave a detailed and vivid presentation, accompanied by many photographs, describing how Steinmühle has flourished and grown over the years, even though it was not spared the consequences of a fire and a flood.

 

Preserving Our Connection to Nature

Despite the absence of these hardships, and despite new construction and renovations, the Steinmühle campus today still bears many similarities to that era. Thanks in particular to its unspoiled, natural surroundings, the trees, and its location as a “small village on the outskirts of town,” the school and boarding school have been able to preserve their character. “That’s exactly what makes Steinmühle so unique—you won’t find anything like it anywhere else,” gushed a visitor to the Fall Festival. Adults and children alike took full advantage of the opportunity to stroll across the grounds at the Fall Festival on that sunny, warm Saturday before the start of fall, explore the buildings from the inside, visit the diverse booths set up by the Steinmühle students, and marvel at the experiments in the chemistry lab. “We’re overwhelmed by this atmosphere and the positive response,” summed up school principals Björn Gemmer and Bernd Holly at the alumni’s evening get-together, which didn’t end until late at night.

Steinmühle Boarding School Takes on Multiple Roles at the Fall Festival: In Charge of Catering, Actively Involved in Class Performances

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The boarding school students baked a total of 60 cakes for the annual big fall festival, which drew more visitors than ever before to the Steinmühlen campus on the Saturday before the break. How good it was to have made such thorough preparations! It wasn’t just the baked goods that were a hit on this sunny Saturday; the barbecue stand, with more serving stations than usual, also treated the many guests to a sumptuous feast. The boarding school handled the demands with flying colors: two bratwursts here, fries there— it went on nonstop well into the evening. There was also a lively crowd at the beer tent and in the wine tent. Here, too, the boarding school staff, supported by individual volunteers, kept things running smoothly.

With good organization

For the Steinmühle Boarding School, the Fall Festival is a crowd-pleaser every year—and comes with many challenges. It’s not just a matter of setting up the event and organizing food service for the numerous visitors. At the same time, the boarding school students are also participating in school projects with their class groups. That means juggling multiple tasks—for both students and teachers!

Lots of new things to marvel at

The fact that so many people came to Steinmühlenweg was clearly due to the fact that there was so much to see: the new building, the renovated main building, the redesigned schoolyard, and the cafeteria—which was almost unrecognizable. Parents, relatives, friends, and guests of Steinmühle gathered to get a firsthand look at what they had already heard about from their children. Stations featuring activities from all school grades were spread throughout the entire grounds and in individual rooms. Visitors completed a veritable obstacle course as they toured all the presentations and gladly accepted the invitation to take a guided tour of the new buildings.

Reminiscing

The Steinmühle Fall Festival is also a celebration for alumni, some of whom travel from far away to see “their” class again. “Do you remember…?” was a phrase heard in many corners. People shared memories and raised a glass or two. The younger students and current residents of the boarding houses also had plenty of fun. The dancing in the festival tent lasted well into the night.

Everything Under Control

Nevertheless, the next day, the boarding school students returned to the campus promptly at 10 a.m. to clean up, return the dishes, and take down the decorations, with the support of the teaching staff. And sure enough, the campus looked clean again in no time, as if the many visitors had never been there at all. The course of this traditional festival once again made it clear that work and celebration definitely go hand in hand. The feedback made it clear: Everyone had a great time at the Fall Festival!

Mobile Chemikum Returns to the Steinmühle Fall Festival

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As it does every year, WU-Forschen is represented at the Fall Festival with a hands-on booth. This year, our students received support from the mobile Chemikum Marburg—just as they did in 2015. The Steinmühle Friends Association made this collaboration possible.
In addition to hands-on experiments with secret codes, alginates, dry ice, and much more, the Chemikum also demonstrated the popular “ball explosion” (photo).
There was a lot of interest at the booth. Younger children, especially those from the bilingual elementary school, were able to learn a lot and have fun here.

Steinmühle Welcomes the New 5th-Grade Classes

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At the orientation ceremony in the Forum for the 5th-grade classes, they rose somewhat hesitantly from their seats when it came time to be assigned to their classes: 5a, 5b, or 5c. However, the principal and teachers know from experience that it won’t take long before Steinmühle’s youngest high school students are moving around as if they’ve been at the Steinmühle campus for ages.

Every seat in the auditorium was taken—and those who couldn’t find a seat stood along the walls. Many of the new fifth-graders brought not only their parents but also their grandparents and siblings with them on their first day of school. To set the mood for this special day, the audience was treated to a special performance: The sixth-grade classes—who, it seemed, had only recently been in the newcomers’ shoes themselves—performed an excerpt from last year’s musical: spirited, rhythmic, and with powerful vocals, accompanied by the musical theater band. Teachers Ulrike Wilmsmeyer, Daniel Sans, and Frank Wemme ensured the professionalism of the performances.

After a brief welcome from principals Björn Gemmer and Bernd Holly and a few remarks from Gisela Opper about swimming lessons, it was time to divide the students into classes. The boys and girls in the hall were very excited to find out which teacher they would have—and, above all, which classmates they would be grouped with. The homeroom teachers—Almut Sersch, Dr. Rainer Nietzke, and Theresa Großer—called the individual students up to the stage before the entire groups headed off to Centrum 5/6 to take their places in their classrooms.

Meanwhile, parents and families enjoyed coffee, pastries, and conversation. Before heading home, the children received their Steinmühlen T-shirts from Jasmine Weidenbach (chairwoman) and Ilona Voigt-Laske, representatives of the Friends of the School Association. Many of the photographer’s pictures will certainly serve as lasting memories of this day for our new fifth graders.

End-of-School-Year Celebration in Beautiful Summer Weather

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To mark the end of the school year, the boarding school community gathered for a barbecue in the schoolyard on their last evening together. Under bright sunshine, everyone ate together and reflected on the year before the summer break began.

Students and faculty members who are leaving Steinmühle were given a send-off. In addition, several students received academic awards for outstanding academic achievements.

The start of summer vacation also means saying goodbye to the Lahn grounds—even if it’s only for six weeks. Because of the warm weather, many people took advantage of the opportunity to go for a long swim one last time.

Steinmühle Boarding School wishes everyone a wonderful summer vacation and looks forward to the exciting school year ahead!

 

 
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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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