At the start of each school year, on the first weekend after summer break, the individual house groups at Steinmühle Boarding School travel to different destinations to get to know each other better away from their everyday routines. The residential groups change slightly every year. The weekend is a great and important opportunity for each group to bond anew.

As a general rule, weekend activities are of great importance for the future: the first close friendships are formed, and the first shared experiences are had. These are moments that people look back on again and again later in life.

 

Stammhaus is camping at Lake Bigge

The residents of the main dorm went camping at Lake Bigge in the Sauerland region. There, they first went swimming in the lake and had a barbecue before the group later retired to their tents. On Saturday, the team drove to Plettenberg to visit the Aquamagis water park. There, they were drawn to eleven slides where speeds of up to 100 km/h could be reached. The boarding school students also tried out the free-fall slide and enjoyed endless loops.

Eco-Home Explores the Surrounding Area

For the Biohaus, a new residential group consisting entirely of new students in grades 5 through 8, the program included getting to know the city of Marburg to familiarize themselves with their new home. The girls and boys traveled to the Waldhaus on the Richtsberg—the future weekend retreat for international students—and spent an active weekend there, enjoying a walk in the woods, a trip to the movies, pedal boating, a tour of the castle, and a visit to the climbing forest to round out the weekend.

Mühle travels to Wolfsburg, the “Autostadt”

The residents of the mill headed to Wolfsburg to stay at a campground with an on-site swimming pool. On Saturday, the group visited the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, which offered not only cars but also a wide range of recreational activities. They also explored other places of interest in the city and the surrounding area.

The Westfalenhaus is moving to the Netherlands

The group with the most participants—24 students—traveled to South Holland to visit a farm with its own petting zoo. On Saturday, the itinerary included a visit to The Hague, about 40 kilometers away. Since the weather was ideal, the beach there was one of the most popular spots. The group wrapped up the weekend in the neighboring country with a barbecue, games, and a campfire. Of course, the traditional game of Werewolf in the evening was a must.

Hessenhaus Visits a Climbing Park Near Fulda

The students from the Hessenhaus moved into a vacation apartment near Fulda. On Saturday, the plan was to visit the climbing forest, try out the ten courses, and ride the 800-meter-long Europa cable car, which is one of the longest cable cars in Europe. The Hessenhaus group watched for the first signs of the Perseid meteor shower and its shower of shooting stars on the night leading into Sunday. Armed with sleeping bags and warm clothing, the girls headed out to a field where they could enjoy an unobstructed and clear view of the starry sky. The night of shooting stars required some concentration, so time literally flew by. After returning to the Steinmühle boarding school on Sunday, the group was able to relax a bit to recharge for the upcoming school week.

With cheerful music and singing, Steinmühle welcomed the students of the new fifth-grade classes to the Forum. The sixth-grade class showed a lot of enthusiasm. A year ago, these girls and boys stood in this very spot, waiting to find out their class assignments. Today, they were the ones welcoming the new fifth graders with performances from last year’s hit musical, “Götterolympiade.”
The audience, consisting of parents and family members, showed great stamina in the completely packed hall on what was perhaps the hottest morning of the week and cheered on their own children: Would their best friend end up in the same class? The homeroom teachers—Nicole Hohm, Stephan Steinebach, and Nina Kvachko (the latter standing in for Dirk Lange)—kept everyone in suspense as they took turns drawing “their” students’ name tags. The now complete and brand-new classes 5a, 5b, and 5c first posed together as a group, then individually for the photographer.

 

Steinmühlen T-shirts from the Friends Association

While all the guests helped themselves to coffee, cold drinks, and cookies, the new fifth-graders at Steinmühlen made their way to their classrooms together with their homeroom teachers. – The starting gun had been fired for everyday life at the new school! The first day of school was rounded off with the presentation of Steinmühlen T-shirts by the chair of the booster club, Jasmine Weidenbach. A few students have already been spotted wearing their new shirts…
The event, organized by Frank Wemme in his capacity as educational director, was opened by the school principals, Björn Gemmer and Bernd Holly. They had deliberately avoided long speeches to test the new students’ patience as little as possible, given the warm temperatures and the already exciting nature of the day. Ulrike Wilmsmeyer, Daniel Sans, and Frank Wemme were responsible for creating the perfect musical atmosphere, both in an organizational capacity and as performers. As members of the musical theater band and the StoneMill house band, respectively, they inspired the students—Nela Haeberle, Tom Herfert, Fynn Konnertz, Janne Schweitzer, and Flûte Seifart. — A wonderful testament to the fact that music is part of the culture at Steinmühle right from the start.

Nothing stays the same—not even at Steinmühle. So the school administration and Steffen Ullwer, a member of the teaching staff, took the opportunity of the end-of-school-year barbecue to announce some personnel changes at the school.

When colleagues leave, there’s always a touch of sadness. Anja Zelle, for example, will no longer be teaching students at Steinmühle but will instead be teaching in Thuringia. Thomas Korte’s move isn’t quite as far—he’s heading to the neighboring district of Frankenberg.

Steinmühle wishes them both all the best!

With Fido Wagler’s departure, Steinmühle is losing a true institution. “A void we cannot fill,” said Principal Bernd Holly. Friedhelm Wagler, the English and dance teacher with a passion for movement and good food, has carved out a strong reputation among his colleagues through his inspiring dance activities and his deep commitment to the party catering business. That’s why we really don’t want to let him go into his well-deserved—yet far too early—retirement.

“We’d like to thank you for your work in the sports department,” said Bernd Holly, and he was relieved to announce, “that Fido will be staying with us a little longer to work in the catering service.”

The English Department, led by Nicole Hohm, paid tribute to their colleague with an elaborate, heartfelt, and enthusiastic performance. Wearing “Fido wigs,” the members performed several skits under the theme “International Fido Day” and were rewarded with enthusiastic applause. Of course, later on, all the colleagues had to rise from their seats and, following Fido’s instructions, join him in a lively performance in a circle—which, naturally, they did willingly.

 

New Teachers for the start of the school year

As sad as the Steinmühle faculty was to see their departing colleagues leave, there was still cause for celebration. That’s because, in turn, René Schulenberg and Michael Schmidt will be joining the teaching staff starting next school year. While René Schulenberg has come from just a short distance away at another high school in Marburg, Michael Schmidt is transferring to the “Mühle” from Frankenberg.

An experienced teacher will be joining the boarding school team. Heidi Kesting will be supporting the team at the Bremerhaus.

The contributions of Oleg Koch, the Steinmühle caretaker, should not be underestimated; following his colleague’s departure, he has recently been handling all the work entirely on his own. Starting in August, he will have some help: Viktor Kreuz is the new addition to the team, and he will be responsible for maintenance work and much more.

We wish all our new employees a wonderful time at Steinmühlen!

The goal has been achieved; the high school diplomas are being handed out. Great joy dominates this day, but there’s always a touch of wistfulness as well. This year was no exception: A total of 74 high school graduates earned their general university entrance qualification at Steinmühle in 2018. During the graduation ceremony on June 16, the speakers paid tribute to this high-achieving class, which produced the highest average Abitur score in Steinmühle’s history. Furthermore, not a single student failed to pass the Abitur this school year.

Nevertheless, in his speech, Principal Björn Gemmer spoke of the “second chance as an important virtue.” No one should be stigmatized because of their failures: “Failure doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

During the morning, which was hosted by Principal Bernd Holly at the microphone, Manfred Schwarz spoke as a parent representative. For him, that day marked the end of a 51-year history with Steinmühlen—including his parents’ time at the school, his own, and that of his five children. So it was no surprise that the themes of “gratitude” and “pride” were given special emphasis in his speech. Rosie Boebel and Gisela Opper represented the teaching staff with a vivid joint presentation. The event was accompanied by music from the upper school choir.

The photos show the entire graduating class as well as the individual tutorial groups and provide a glimpse of the numerous tributes and award ceremonies.