Clear the ring for the Glamour Girls Circus!

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The audience clapped enthusiastically in time with the music as the 22 children from the 5th and 6th Grade Theater Club marched into the ring to the sound of circus music: clowns, magicians, acrobats, a snake charmer, an escape artist, a belly dancer, circus performers, and even trained foxes with their trainer, along with the director, her assistant, and her makeup artist.

For the next half hour, everyone watched with bated breath as Alfonso, the muscleman, tried to find his place among this group of women, only to be met with rejection at every turn. It wasn’t until he suddenly disappeared that the circus troupe realized they might have been too mean to him.

The Theater Club developed this truly enchanting play on their own over the course of the last school year. Taking the circus as their theme, the children first created characters during the first semester, then improvised short scenes using these characters, and finally developed a storyline based on them. The second semester was then devoted to rehearsing the individual scenes. The students came up with all sorts of creative ideas, ranging from funny clown antics and absurd magic tricks to an impressive choreography for the acrobats. The costumes were also largely put together and procured by the participants themselves.

A truly outstanding performance by these young actresses, which was rewarded at the end of the show with well-deserved applause and calls for an encore.
Nina Merzenich

Faculty Summer Party at Steinmühle: An Evening of Gratitude and Farewells

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This year’s Steinmühle School summer festival took on special significance: For the first time since the school and boarding school merged, the festival was celebrated jointly by all staff members. In addition, the 2023–24 school year marked a special milestone in Steinmühle’s history: In May, our educational institution celebrated its 75th anniversary with a week of festivities. These remarkable events presented both emotional and physical challenges for the staff.

Principal Björn Gemmer and Managing Director Dirk Konnertz took the opportunity to extend their heartfelt thanks to all their colleagues. Special thanks were given to the planning team at the Hotel Management School, which was responsible for organizing parts of the celebration that evening.

 

Those who have passed away leave their own unique mark

As is tradition, the celebration also included a farewell: Several colleagues left Steinmühle at the end of the school year. Among them were Leonie Zapf, an English and German teacher; Florian Portsteffen (physical education and geography); and Moritz Zöckler (English and physical education). Jessica Schuhmann (German and Political Science) and Susann Siegfried (Chemistry and History) also said their goodbyes after completing their teaching internships, heading to Battenberg and Lauterbach, respectively. Marc Kevin Zopf moved to Herborn.

Particularly painful was the departure of Claudia Natterer, who had been teaching German and Ethics at Steinmühle since 2008 and had distinguished herself through her great dedication and her special ability to communicate on an equal footing. She will be working as a university professor in Heidelberg in the future. In their speeches, Ines Vielhaben and Nicole Hohm paid tribute to Claudia Natterer’s dedication, while Kristina Sokoli, on behalf of the German Department Student Council, wished their valued colleague all the best for the future. The staff council, represented by Dr. Rainer Nietzke, also bid her farewell with warm words and best wishes: “We hope you had a good time.”

 

A warm welcome to our new members!

Steinmühle also welcomed some new additions: Christina Becker has joined the team at the Bilingual Elementary School; psychologist Hanne Wolf moved into an office on campus after the start of the new school year.

At the conclusion of the official portion of the event, Dirk Konnertz addressed the boarding school staff personally, thanking them for their trust since he took over as CEO at the turn of the year and emphasizing the value of their collaboration.

An atmospheric musical performance set the stage for the more relaxed part of the evening, which was also attended by several former teachers: Over a lavish buffet and refreshing drinks, everyone celebrated and looked back on an eventful year—a wonderful tradition that strengthens the sense of community among the faculty.

 

Instructions for replicating the plus-MINT-Boot project are now available online

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With their boat project, Clara Steiner, Luis Gerloni, and Fabian Sotonica from the plus-MINT program at Schule & Internat Steinmühle advanced to the national “Jugend forscht” competition, which took place this year over four days at Germany’s largest science center, Experimenta in Heilbronn (as we reported). Reaching this level marks Steinmühle’s greatest success to date in this field!

You can now also find more information and replicate the platform on our website (https://boatproject.steinmuehle.de/). The first schools in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and the Central Hesse Student Research Center (SFM) have already expressed interest.

The “Boot Project,” which involves the construction and programming of a low-cost measurement platform for automated water analysis, was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Christoph Reudenbach from the Department of Geography at Philipps University of Marburg.

Marlene Bigeschke from the plus-MINT program also helped build the platform. The project was supervised by the plus-MINT team at Steinmühle, which includes Antje Seel, Dr. Patrick Szabo, and Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf, who was also present for two days in Heilbronn.

Exploring New Waters—A Personal Reflection on the National “Jugend forscht” Competition in Heilbronn

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Just making it to the national round of the “Jugend forscht” competition is something special in itself. That’s quite an achievement! Our “MINTies”—Steinmühle boarding students Fabian Sotonica, Luis Gerloni, and Clara Steiner—have actually done just that. All three attend our boarding school as part of the plus-MINT program. Fabian Sotonica looks back on this amazing event from the second semester. What does he wish for? You get three guesses…

It’s an impressive sight as you ride the escalator down into the exhibition hall: a bustling crowd of young researchers, parents, and chaperones—107 projects with 175 participants. Our booth was located a little further back in the Earth and Spatial Sciences section, number 51. Along the way, you could already see some of the other projects, which, thanks to their uniqueness, size, or significance, made it clear that this was where the competition’s finals were taking place.

We had until the afternoon to travel there and set up. That turned out to be necessary, since it turned out that our Raspberry Pi (microcomputer)—the “brain” of our measurement platform—had been damaged and was no longer working (properly). Fortunately, we were able to turn to the “Jupas” (young researcher mentors), who had accompanied us throughout the four days. Thanks to them, we were able to borrow one of the Raspberry Pis from the Maker Lab there. Their extensive help with all our questions and needs was an unexpected but wonderful introduction to Experimenta, the science center in Heilbronn.

After that, we checked into our rooms at the youth hostel—where we were staying—or rather, at the hotel, though there wasn’t really any difference in quality between the two. On the way to the hostel, we were able to enjoy the beautiful view of the green banks of the Neckar. The evening concluded with a delicious dinner at Experimenta, as well as workshops and presentations at the “Science Dome” on topics such as the Apollo 13 mission.
Project Presentation in No Time
On the second day, things got serious, as the jury interviews were scheduled following a brief briefing (which took place every morning). Each project had two separate jury teams, to whom they had to present their project in 5 minutes before moving on to a 25-minute interview. Outside of these sessions, participants could visit the Experimenta exhibition or relax in the Jufo Lounge. The evening was spent at Campus Founders, where a workshop on starting a startup was presented after dinner.
Search for a spot for the live demo
On Saturday, we had the opportunity to speak with juries from other fields—if they were interested—to prepare our booth for the public, or to evaluate the other projects. In addition to the scheduled photo shoot for our booth, however, we spent a good portion of the time looking for a suitable spot on the Neckar River where we could launch our platform for a live demonstration. But we were unsuccessful: heavy rain and high water levels blocked the few accessible points. At noon, we walked to the “Harmonie” event hall, where the awards ceremony would take place on Sunday. There, we had lunch and went over the ceremony’s schedule.
After we returned, the public exhibition began, and a surprisingly large number of alumni—that is, former participants—took part. During the exhibition, we were able to get brief feedback from our judges at specific times.
After a lively, interesting, but also exhausting exchange with the visitors, we took buses to “RedBlue,” an InterSport event hall where the special awards ceremony took place. Interwoven with the various courses of the meal and the entertainment (the drum group “Bounce”), groups of projects and award presenters were called to the stage. About halfway through, it was our turn: “Award for Original Work in the Field of Geosciences,” sponsored by the German Geological Society – Geological Association.
Afterward, the dance floor opened up and the evening ended with a party, while a regular shuttle service took people back to their accommodations either earlier or, at the latest, by 2 a.m.
Great New Friends
Sunday was the shortest day: another exhibition was held for the (honored) guests of the awards ceremony to give them a chance to get acquainted before the ceremony began.
While the winners in each category from 5th to 2nd place were announced all at once, the national champions were presented individually on stage. Each also received an impressive laudatory speech from the jury. The event also featured a variety of entertainment: European beatboxing champion “Robeat” and “Prof. Bubbles” with his soap bubble tricks provided plenty of variety.
Of course, at the end, we had to take down the booths again. It was a truly wonderful experience, one that involved meeting many great people at all levels and in all areas. I hope and look forward to experiencing this level of competition again.
As a team, we would like to once again express our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for their extensive and active support, as we could not have carried out this project without their help!

Fabian Sotonica

Get a Taste of the Atmosphere at Family Day at Steinmühle Boarding School

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It’s simply a tradition at the end of every school year: Family Day at the boarding school. Here, parents of current and prospective boarding school students have the opportunity to get to know one another, exchange ideas, and get a feel for the school.

Boarding school director Anke Muszynski and her team were on hand in the parents’ lounge in the courtyard to chat, while students had a blast on the water slide, playing beach volleyball, and soccer. The Beach Bar was a popular spot to cool off—unless, of course, you preferred to take a dip in the Lahn River. The boarding school kitchen treated guests to delicious buffet-style fare. The creative part of the day took place right next to the parents’ lounge. Colorful headbands and flowers, silver pendants, and cords invited visitors to get crafty. Many visitors later took home a temporary tattoo as a souvenir of this wonderful day.

There is great anticipation for the day the boarding students arrive—Sunday, August 25—when everyone will be reunited. At the same time, the new boarding students will be welcomed—a forward-looking day full of emotion!

 

Theater Workshop for 7th Graders: Carefree Performances Despite Extensive Scripts

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What could be better than seeing the people the evening is meant for having fun? As is the case every year, the 7th-grade theater workshop took place toward the end of the school year, and shortly after the event began, the young actors had the audience in stitches. In the nearly packed Forum, classes 7c, 7a, and 7b—in that exact order—shone with their plays, which they had each rehearsed alongside professional actors. This approach has proven successful for years: Professional actors help the students learn how to best use their bodies, voices, and stage presence when performing on stage in front of an audience.

What are the basic elements of theatrical performance? How do I create my own characters on stage and develop a script? And how do you gradually bring the whole thing to life on stage? — Throughout these steps, the professionals, as well as Steinmühlen teachers, provided guidance and assistance during the final phase of the last few weeks, helping to refine the production and take the essential step of running through it again and again from start to finish.

A Love of Performance and Playful Wit

“Cooperation among ourselves is also important,” explains Frank Wemme on behalf of the entire team. As spectators, we could certainly attest that he, his colleagues from Steinmühle, and the professional actors all demonstrated a great deal of imagination, a passion for performance, and a playful spirit when it came to the students. Also striking was the lightheartedness of the performances, despite the extensive amounts of dialogue. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that, despite a few cases of illness, the performances were staffed by understudies and went off without a hitch.

“The Final Boss” was the performance with which Class 7c opened the evening. Dagmar Müller and Michael Köckritz directed this piece. The second play, “Krakow’s Theater,” was performed by Class 7a under the direction of Nina Merzenich and Frank Wemme. The evening concluded with the neighborhood stories presented by Class 7b, directed by Frank Wemme and Michael Pietsch. In every case, the cheerful energy spread from the stage to the audience. The occasional well-known song that fit the scene—such as “Macarena,” “Cotton Eye Joe,” or “Eye of the Tiger”—created a lively atmosphere at just the right moments. But there was something to feast your eyes on as well as your ears: Many of the costumes on display were on loan from the Hessian State Theater and, combined with professionally designed lighting—for which Frank Wemme was responsible this time—contributed to the impressive overall effect.

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.

Celebrate, chat, dance: Parents’ Party Was Another Huge Success

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A party—for parents? In fact, this type of event has become a tradition at Steinmühle! For the third time, the School Parents’ Council invited the parents of our students to celebrate together and get to know one another in a new setting. For the first time since the merger half a year ago, the invitation was extended to parents of boarding students as well!

With music alternating between the Boptown Cats and recorded tracks, and no dress code, parents from all grade levels had the opportunity to chat with one another. Thanks to the reliably efficient organization by Bianca Zenker, the acting chair of the school parent council, many parents actively pitched in with selling merchandise, setting up tables and chairs, and serving drinks.

“We are delighted that this Steinmühle event was once again so well received,” said the company and school management, who were of course in attendance that evening, along with Steinmühle employees from all departments.

The party was held in the renovated small gym, which, with a little decoration, was quickly transformed into a cozy setting. We say: See you next time!

Fascinating Images from Nature

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In collaboration with photographer and animal ecologist Dr. Sascha Rösner, Steinmühlen teachers Ines Vielhaben and Antje Seel put together a digital exhibition and presented it in the lobby of the main building on International Biodiversity Day.

At various, specifically identified locations across Europe, the photographer succeeded in capturing images of wildlife and ecologically significant regions. Explanatory notes helped convey to viewers an idea of the diversity and importance of the examples presented. A laminated poster with captions was hung on the wall next to the screen in the entrance of the main building. Meanwhile, the photo presentation played on a loop on the screen.

The Steinmühle would like to thank everyone involved for their dedication to raising our awareness—once again—of the beauty, value, and significance of our natural world.

 

 
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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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