Just in time for Steinmühle’s traditional fall festival, the scaffolding had been removed from the main building, and the historic half-timbered structure shone in new splendor—renovated inside and out! The event held at the end of every September is not only a crowd-pleaser for the Steinmühle boarding school, but also always a day full of challenges—for students and teachers alike.

The school grounds were filling up rapidly on Saturday afternoon, even before the official kickoff at 3 p.m. Parents, relatives, and friends of Steinmühle gathered in the schoolyard, inside the buildings, and at the boarding school’s sports facilities to learn more and marvel at the activities the students had put together this time.

Boarding school students baked 55 cakes

Of course, food plays a special role at a celebration like the Fall Festival. The boarding school students have always been in charge here: preparations begin as early as the Friday before. There’s a flurry of activity in the dorm kitchens, and the aroma of fresh cake fills the living quarters. A total of 55 cakes, baked by the boarding students, end up on the sales counter set up between the main building and the administration building.

In no time at all, all the treats were sold out on Saturday, and the more than 2,500 visitors flocked to the barbecue stand, the beer tent, and the wine tent. The boarding school students also worked and served at these stations, with occasional help from volunteers. Everything tasted great, which explained the large crowds of people who weren’t deterred by the overcast weather or the rain that came later.

A celebration for alumni, too

The Steinmühle Fall Festival is always a celebration for alumni as well. Some of them travel from far away to spend a pleasant time at the place where they went to school, enjoying each other’s company and reminiscing. A “10-Year High School Graduation Reunion” took place in the tea room. But there were also visitors who had graduated from the “Mühle” long, long before that.

An atmospheric celebration with drinks at dusk that lasted until 1 a.m. left its usual marks the next morning. Here, too, boarding school students step in on Sunday at 10 a.m. sharp to clean up, return the dishes, and take down the decorations. With the support of the teaching staff, the grounds are tidied up as if nothing had happened. After all, classes begin promptly at ten past eight the next day for everyone.

This year’s Steinmühle Soccer Tournament was held for the first time under a new format at the Steinmühle outdoor sports facilities. School sports coordinator Michael Neirich reports:

The six participating teams from the day school (grades 8–12/teachers) and the boarding school were once again selected by lottery before the tournament began this year. The student council and the boarding school supported the players by providing drinks, fruit, and energy bars.

A new feature this year was that teams could earn points not only in the 4-on-4 small-field game but also in a penalty shootout. The games were marked by a spirited and fair atmosphere and often featured impressive technical skill. As a result, spectators were treated to many beautifully crafted goals and some impressive technical feats.

In the combined results of both competitions, Team 3 ultimately emerged as the clear tournament champion with a six-point lead and celebrated winning the gold medal.

The result:

1st Place: Team 3 ( Olaf Schubert, Veit Gemmer, Paul Wolf, Sam Kempkes, Jamal, Louis Kirschstein)

2nd Place: Team 6 ( Micha Killian, Linus Ingenbleek, Jakob Reinhard, Dejan Boguslawski, Michel Hermens, Jannik Anfang)

3rd Place: Team 1 ( Frank Wemme, Maxi Lotz, Nils Blessing, Johannes Korn, Bijan Teymoortash)

Over the past five years, the Steinmühlen soccer teams in Competition Class II of the “Youth Trains for the Olympics” program have advanced at least to the regional round—but this year, the journey ended at the city level for the players born in 2003 and 2004. Unfortunately, three key players were absent due to injuries and a stay abroad, though this should in no way detract from the strong performance of the Martin Luther School team, led by their outstanding player Linus Gsöllpointner. The team won all four games in a very strong and evenly matched field, thereby clearly qualifying for the district finals.

Taking both tournaments together, Steinmühle was the strongest of all the Marburg schools overall, as it also took second place in Competition Class III (born in 2005 and 2006) among the five Marburg schools. It wasn’t until the final, decisive match that the Elisabethschule prevailed, defeating Steinmühle 2–0. Up until that matchup, neither team had conceded a goal.

All the coaches agreed that this year’s two tournaments were of a very high standard. Despite the sweltering heat, the players on the Steinmühlen teams showed great enthusiasm, team spirit, and tremendous fighting spirit—and we can be very proud of our two second-place finishes!

“Tom Herfert, Talea Funk, Fynn Konnertz, Samuel Ruff, and Marit Winterstein were the extra splash of lemon in the band’s cocktail, making the music sound just a little fresher.” That’s how the Oberhessische Presse raved after the magnificent performance by the musicians of the Steinmühle Jazz Ensemble. In front of nearly 400 listeners in the packed small hall of the Erwin-Piscator-Haus, the five musicians seamlessly blended into the high musical standard and quickly dispelled any sense of awe in the presence of such great musicians as Lisa Pollard and Joe Wulf of the Gentlemen of Swing. Whether it was Tom’s rousing saxophone playing alongside “Sax Lady” Lisa Pollard, Talea’s soulful vocals, Fynn’s expressive blues guitar solos, Samuel’s spontaneous trombone battle with Joe Wulf, or Marit’s precise euphonium playing—the joy of performing among our students and the audience’s great enthusiasm were palpable throughout the evening.

For an entire week, the musicians of the N.N. Swinging Wodka Lemmon Gang rehearsed for this concert together with our JazzEnsemble after classes in the large music hall at the Steinmühle. Lisa Pollard’s intensive coaching paid off, and the result was clearly evident on Saturday: The JazzEnsemble kicked things off together with the N.N. Swinging Wodka Lemmon Gang; after the intermission, Joe Wulf and the Gentlemen of Swing showcased their musicality and exceptional skill; and the evening concluded with a grand finale featuring all the musicians. A highlight was the spontaneously arranged final piece, during which 91-year-old drummer Arno Funk demonstrated his skill on the bongos. The evening concluded with a standing ovation for all the musicians.

An unforgettable evening that leaves you looking forward to more performances by these musicians.

For many years now, students at Steinmühle have been able to earn the DELF certificate—the DELF is an internationally recognized certificate for French as a foreign language issued by the French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, and Research; To earn the certificate, participating students must take a written and an oral exam on two separate mornings. This year, 16 students at various proficiency levels achieved their goal. Congratulations! Our group photo shows (back row, from left to right) Philipp Zoremba, Lucia Wormsbächer, Moritz Mägerlein, Amelie Schulze, French teacher Jeannine Walter, Louisa Merle, Elisabeth Teetz, Niklas Diedrich, Pablo Mediavilla, (front row, from left to right) Pauline Fehlinger, Anna Nollen, Rebecca Hermann, Laura Sälzer, Alexander Seip, Evelyn Damer, Janina Seip, Chantal Harder. The last two mentioned, Janina and Chantal, have reached language level B1, while the others have reached A2. Congratulations!