Studying abroad isn’t just a short Erasmus semester: Alumni share tips

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Instead of spending time speculating about studying abroad, ask those who’ve already done it: This unique opportunity recently presented itself to the soon-to-be high school graduates at Steinmühle. In an online seminar, former Steinmühle students Leo Mengel, Marco Cokic, and Philipp Kreiter supported the current graduating class, allowing the students to benefit from their own experiences in life after high school.

 

A Reunion After the Podcast from Festival Week

The trio had already visited the Steinmühle in June during the festival week with their podcast “Des Pudels Kern” to record a live segment as part of a larger panel discussion. The topic: “What Schools Today Must Learn to Foster Tomorrow’s Innovation” (episode here: https://steinmuehle.de/blog/2024/07/15/zurueck-an-der-steinmuehle-mit-dem-podcast-des-pudels-kern/). The three young men feel such a strong connection to the Steinmühle and their former teachers that they launched another initiative. They used online platforms to facilitate a Q&A session and, afterward, made the presentation slides and the recording available. Based on their own firsthand experiences, the focus was primarily on applying to universities in Europe, with an emphasis on the UK.

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations on earning your Cambridge Certificate!

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Once again this year, students at Steinmühle who earned the Cambridge Certificate achieved outstanding results. This was reported by teachers Nicole Hohm and Matthäus Otte.

The English language plays a central role at Steinmühle: Students at the Bilingual Elementary School begin learning English in first grade; they can later deepen their knowledge of the language in the International High School track or, if they enroll in the regular high school track, further develop their language skills by earning the Cambridge Certificate.

Congratulations to our recent graduates!

The following people participated (front row, from left to right): Flora Endres, Marvin Preis, Marc Wirth, Julius Henkel, David Immel, Joel Rucker, Hessein Koheil, Leon Schmidt, Elsa Stremme, Anna Reinhardt.

Back row, from left to right: Zoe Reisch, Janne Elsasser, Aurora Valente, Lia Kraft, subject teacher Nicole Hohm, Mia Dotzauer, Hanna Schmidt-Dege, Rebecca Zenker, Alicia Bruchmann, Emilia Sperl, Emily Böth, Marharyta Diachenko, Amelie Laukel, subject teacher Matthäus Otte.

Missing from the photo: Sophia Nolte, Joshua Müller-Brodmann, Leticia Günther, Ivo Hamann, Mike Klatt, Zoe Potthoff, Alexander Trofimov, Rakim Tsegay, Lukas Zimmer, Melina Mengel.

Success on the DELF French Language Diploma Exam

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This year, many younger students also took the plunge to earn the DELF, the European-recognized French language diploma, and successfully passed their first DELF exam at the A1 level. We are delighted that Emma Edelmann, Hannah Fischer, Felice and Sophie Gurschi, Mattis Hoffmann, Lotta Steinfeld, and Anna-Lena Wilhelm from 8th grade passed the exam.

There were also great results in the upper grades. Lina Hoyer from 10th grade achieved the A2 level. Dihia Emilia Ouaissa demonstrated her skills with an outstanding result on the most challenging school exam at the B2 level. With a few practice sessions in class and some individual practice at home, the students mastered the challenge.

The oral exam took place on a Friday afternoon in Giessen, and the written exam took place at the Steinmühle on a Saturday morning.

We are delighted by this extracurricular involvement and extend our warmest congratulations to everyone.

Congratulations!

Our photo shows the students with their teacher, Kristina Sokoli.

A Great Visit to the Steinmühle: Exchange with Castle Rock (USA)

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Welcome to Steinmühle! The Friends of Steinmühle welcomed the exchange students from Castle Rock (USA) along with their accompanying teachers and immediately presented them with special T-shirts. The photo of Chairwoman Jasmine Weidenbach in front of the Atrium, our middle school building, shows (from left) Friends of Steinmühle board members Christian Finance and Bernd Holly, as well as Steinmühle teacher Linda Hörner, alongside Lilly Reyes and Allison Harrison (both teachers from Castle Rock).

9th Grade: Back from the language trip to Vila-real, highly motivated

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The second exchange program to Spain for the Steinmühlen 9th-grade class took a group to the city of Vila-real, made possible by ERASMUS funding. “This support enhances the quality and organization,” reports María Ramos, offering insight into the preparation and planning of these projects, which she applies for together with her colleague Laura Cubillas. The exchanges pursue goals in the area of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

“For the students, these trips always mean new experiences,” said María Ramos. “A different climate, a different environment, an even more mindful approach to water, and different flora and fauna. We were delighted to have found a partner school in Vila-real that also operates sustainably. This school works on practically the same projects as the Steinmühle.”

Activates dormant vocabulary

The trip to Vila-real was very rewarding for the students on several levels. Many activities were woven into the program, including tours of caves and rock formations, a boat trip, and a visit to the city of Valencia. The group of 9th graders from Steinmühle benefited linguistically through the active use of Spanish, English, and, of course, German, and more than a few of them realized during conversations just how extensive their foreign-language vocabulary actually is.

María Ramos: “It was a wonderful language trip, and the students came back highly motivated. What’s more, they even made friends.”

 

The following photos give a glimpse of the trip—not only of the English classes, classroom discussions, and various field trips, but also of the visit to City Hall and the soccer stadium of the quite popular soccer club Villareal CF. There, students from Steinmühle clearly had a lot of fun simulating a press conference.

 

Supported by Erasmus: 9th-grade exchange to Granada, Spain

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The trip to Spain for Mar Montenegro’s group began with a flight on a very small plane via Madrid to Granada, where we were picked up at the airport by our respective host families. Over the next few days, after a Spanish breakfast with our host families in the morning, we went to our exchange students’ schools with them. Our class was split among three different schools, all located in the center of Granada.

In the mornings, we sometimes participated in the Spanish students’ regular classes. At the schools, we were also able to continue working on our ERASMUS projects. Since our exchange was funded by ERASMUS, we focused on four topics:

  • Interfaith Dialogue/Coexistence of the Three Religions (Cultures): Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—Then and Now
  • Environment/Climate Change: Water as a Fundamental and Indispensable Resource; Water Management in Marburg and Granada Then and Now
  • Sustainable School: Mobility/Waste Separation/Sustainable Consumption
  • Environment/Climate Change: Changes in the Surroundings After class, we often met up with others from our Spanish course in the city and went on excursions together, led by our three accompanying teachers (Mar Montenegro, Ronja Heckmann, Stephan Kersten). A major highlight for us students was the trip to the Alhambra, the ancient fortress built by the Moors. We were able to explore the entire interior, and the magnificent architecture and the view over the entire city were particularly impressive. In the afternoons, we had free time with “our” Spanish friends and could go shopping in the city or go on our own excursions. On the weekends, some of us went on individual outings with our host families, such as trips to the beach. But we also went as a group to the big “Corpus” fair, which took place for Corpus Christi. With all the rides and the traditional clothing everyone was wearing there, it was a wonderful experience. To wrap up the trip, we went hiking in the mountains and then swam in a lake. The next morning, we drove to the airport together and arrived safely back in Marburg after a 12-hour journey. Overall, we thought the Spanish exchange was really cool, and it was definitely an eventful exchange.

Jael Bieber (9b) and Evelyn Hildermann (9c)

 

The Latin Students in Trier: Two Student Reports

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For the 9th-grade Latin field trip, we traveled to Germany’s oldest city, Trier. After a long train ride and a brief detour to the beautiful city of Luxembourg, we checked into our hostel, which was located right in the city center, just a few hundred meters from the Porta Nigra. After getting an overview of tranquil Trier through a city scavenger hunt, we had the chance to explore the city on our own. The next day, a “Roman slave girl” guided us through the city. She took us to many places where traces of Roman life are still visible. We also gained deeper insights into Roman life through a guided tour of the Rhineland State Museum in Trier, featuring mosaics, sculptures, and everyday objects. The tour ended with a look at the gold treasure that was discovered in 1993 during the construction of an underground parking garage in Trier. In addition to the Porta Nigra, we also visited the Basilica of Constantine and the thermal baths. Our visit to Trier was rounded off with a private theatrical tour of the amphitheater. Isaac Boateng used a dramatic performance to tell us the story of a gladiator who attended a gladiator school in Trier and took part in fights in the amphitheater.

Nele Heinemann and Lotta Ritter

 

This year’s Latin field trip took us to the historic city of Trier, considered Germany’s oldest city. There, at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, a truly impressive exhibit awaited us: the Trier Gold Coin Hoard.
This sensational discovery is one of the largest and most significant coin hoards ever found worldwide. It was discovered in 1993 during excavation work in Trier and handed over to the museum. In total, the hoard comprises 2,650 gold coins that were minted during the Roman Empire between 63 and 196 AD.

From Emperor Nero to Marcus Aurelius, the coins feature the portraits of 27 famous Romans. The discovery gives us a fascinating glimpse into just how splendid Trier was during the Roman Empire. The gold used in these coins alone is worth several million euros today.

However, something so valuable also attracts shady characters. In October 2019, two masked men attempted to steal the treasure by force. Fortunately, the robbery failed because the thieves were unable to break the display case’s security glass. Since then, security measures have been strengthened, and the “
” gold treasure of Trier can now continue to be admired by interested visitors.

My conclusion:
Trier is great! If you ever find yourself there, immerse yourself in the history and richness of a city that was once almost as resplendent as mighty Rome itself.

Clara Victoria Meinrad

 

 

Trampoline jumping and Carnival with our French guests

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French teacher Ulrike Wilmsmeyer sent in a student report on the Marburg-Châlons French exchange:

On Tuesday, February 6, our exchange partners from Châlons-en-Champagne arrived. After a nine-hour train ride to Marburg, we gave them a warm welcome at the train station.

Our extensive program began on Wednesday with a day at school. We showed them around our school, and they observed a German class. In the evening, we got to watch the revue premiere with our exchange students. On Thursday, we went on our first group field trip, which took us to the Chemikum Marburg. There were two different labs there where we were able to conduct many experiments. The dry ice experiment was the most popular.

Afterward, we went to the climbing gym together. There, we had the chance to boulder and climb. After refueling with tarte flambée, we walked to St. Elisabeth Church. Due to the bad weather, we then ended our outing. On Friday, we took the train to Frankfurt to visit the Film Museum. We started with a detailed guided tour of the exhibition, and then we were divided into small groups to shoot our own films. These films were created using still images played back one after another. This is called pixilation.

After a wonderful weekend with our host families, which included individual outings, we drove to Linden on Monday to visit the trampoline park. Afterward, under the theme “bleu-blanc-rouge,” we headed to the carnival parade in Marburg. In the evening, we gathered at the Forum for a closing party. We enjoyed a large buffet and a lovely look back at the past week, as Mme Barrière had put together a great slideshow for us with photos and videos. On Tuesday morning, we took our exchange partners to the train station at nine o’clock and said our goodbyes.

Looking back, we can say that the exchange was a wonderful addition to our regular French classes, as it gave us the chance to experience things firsthand. Our French skills have, of course, improved significantly over the course of this week. Hopefully, this will also be the case during our return visit to Châlons in May.

We are grateful for this opportunity to exchange ideas and hope that future students will have an equally wonderful opportunity and great experiences.

By Lilli Ansorge, Sophie Böhm, Luna-Marie Körner, and Nils Rettig (9th grade)

 

Sewing Project Showcases Diversity and Community

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Steinmühle has always been a place of internationalism, diversity, and tolerance. Our international students are part of a vibrant community characterized by openness to the world. This is what Principal Björn Gemmer wrote on this occasion to call for a demonstration in support of democracy and against right-wing incitement and violence.

In Class 6i, in addition to German and English, the students also speak Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Turkish, Polish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Flemish, Persian, Marathi, and Kurdish at home, according to Theresa Großer, head of the International High School Program. This linguistic diversity reflects the international character of our school.

To celebrate this diversity, art teacher Ines Vielhaben came up with a collaborative project for the entire class as part of the “Clothes Make the Man” initiative. The planned mural is intended to symbolize the natural diversity and sense of community among the global citizens within this class. Each student in the class sewed and decorated their own leaf, fruit, or insect onto this tree. The photo was taken by Gisela Glatzl, who has been actively supporting the sewing project as a volunteer for many years.

 
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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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