In April, a group of students, accompanied by Ms. Ramos-Iglesias and Ms. Montenegro-Auque, visited Granada, and their experience there was almost entirely positive. It was wonderful that we were then able to welcome our Spanish friends to our school in June. Of course, we did our very best to return the warm welcome we received in Granada, and we feel that we were quite successful in doing so.

This year, 10 Hungarian students once again took part in a three-week course on the German language and culture at our school. The scholarship recipients had previously participated in a nationwide competition and were selected based on their strong performance in German class.

During their stay, they not only got to know school life at Steinmühle, but also went on several field trips, for example to Frankfurt, Kassel, and the Rhine.

The continued implementation of this nationwide popular program run by the Pedagogical Exchange Service is only possible if schools and host families remain highly committed to fostering international exchanges. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.

A visitor from Maine-et-Loire

It’s not just about group exchanges; we also regularly host individual students. For the past few weeks, we’ve had Thérèse Conchin and Marie Cazaux visiting us. They’re both 16 years old, already speak German quite well, and come from the Maine-et-Loire department (49). They’re really enjoying their time with us and have quickly made friends.

Click this link to view photos from the 2014 high school graduation ceremony.

2014 High School Graduation Ceremony

You can download full-resolution images by clicking “Information” in the bottom navigation bar on the archive page while an image is open—this will open an additional navigation menu with a link to the high-resolution image.

For quite some time, Steinmühle had been looking for a way to set up an exchange program with a school in the British Isles in addition to its U.S. exchange program. Now, St. Augustine’s, a school comparable in size to ours in Dungarvan (a small town of about 10,000 residents on the southeastern coast of Ireland)!

For the first time, a two-week exchange is taking place, involving 10 Irish and 10 German 10th-grade students. The Irish students are currently visiting and are doing their very best to put their German language skills (acquired over five years of study) into practice. The return visit to Dungarvan will take place before or during the fall break. We hope that many more exchanges like this will follow! CE’AD MILE FAILTE!

The ZFC Inventors’ Lab has been in existence for 15 years now. It is organized by the Center for Chemistry in Bensheim, Merck in Darmstadt, the Chemical Industry Fund (FCI), and the Technical University of Darmstadt, and is supported by the Hessian state government. Lisa Kemena qualified for this event from among nearly two hundred applicants.

Together with her research group, Lisa was tasked with “semiconductor synthesis via chain growth reactions and testing an organic light-emitting diode.” Under the guidance of chemists from Darmstadt University of Technology, the group had just under a week to complete the task, which included designing an OLED (organic LED).

At the end of the week (May 16, 2014), the young scientists—as guests of Merck—presented their findings to a large audience of experts. For the sixteen participants in the Inventors’ Lab, there were no winners or losers, but rather detailed feedback from mentors, who were consistently impressed.

In the end, Lisa Kemena was still able to celebrate being awarded one of four W. von Hohenheim Special Prizes.

That was the one thing still missing from the otherwise superbly equipped Centrum: a drinking fountain. The Marburg Rotary Club and the Friends of the School Association made it possible for students in grades 5 and 6 to enjoy a water fountain that not only meets the highest design standards but also guarantees germ-free water at all times thanks to its Hygiene Solution System.

On May 15, 2014, Ms. Leimbach, president of the Rotary Club of Marburg, and Ms. Weidenbach from the Steinmühle Support Association presented the fountain to the students, who immediately expressed their gratitude with a well-done presentation on the topic of water. This made it clear once again: Water isn’t just for drinking.