The sun was shining as the 5th and 6th graders competed for the best times during this year’s spring run.

In the individual 1,300-meter races around the boathouse, Franka Louise Preising (5c) and Josephine Schmölz (6a) proved to be the fastest girls in their age groups. Among the boys, Max Posingies (5c) and Luca Balbaaki (6c)—who beat his time from last year—took the top spots.

In the relay races that followed, the students from Class 5a (in the fifth-grade race) and Class 6a (in the sixth-grade race) were the first to cross the finish line.

The team of teachers led by school sports coordinator Michael Neirich ensured that everything ran smoothly during the timing and the awards ceremony. The young participants proudly accepted their certificates from Principal Bernd Holly.

The results:

Individual Standings

5th-grade girls

1. Preising, Franka Louise 5c 5:31
2. Schmidt-Dege, Hanna 5a 5:32
3. Herwig, Finja Malu 5b 5:44

 

5th-grade students

1. Posingies, Max 5c 5:05
2. Krantz, Luca Paulinus 5c 5:15
3. Hess, Thorben 5c 5:16

 

6th-grade girls

1. Schmölz, Josephine 6a 5:31
2. Rumpel, Anna Franziska 6c 5:49
3. Seifart Arwen Aimée 6a 6:02

 

6th-grade students

1. Balbaaki, Luca 6c 4:41
2. Steinmetz, Anton Karl 6c 4:43
3. Templer, Jan 6a 4:48

 

Relay competitions

Grade 5

1. 5a 3:48
2. 5b 3:49
3. 5c 3:52

6th Grade

1. 6a 3:39
2. 6c 3:42
3. 6b 3:50

 

The 25th Inventors’ Lab, organized by the “Center for Chemistry” (ZFC) association based in Lorsch, South Hesse, held its finals at the Darmstadt-based chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck. Among the approximately 200 applicants from all over Hesse, a total of 16 highly gifted students from 16 schools made it to the finals, including Sam Tadjiky, a 12th-grade student at Steinmühlen High School.

In front of an audience of about 170 prominent figures from the business community, schools, universities, and government ministries, the student teams concluded the event by presenting their research ideas and proposed solutions under the overarching theme of “Organic Electronics.” The organizer honored the “stars of tomorrow” as “Hesse’s next generation of business leaders on the cusp of the future.”

Chemistry teacher Dr. Jutta Töhl-Borsdorf eagerly awaited the presentation by Sam Tadjiky, who is currently taking his Abitur exams. She had supported him with his application. Constanze Oestreicher-Gold, head of Subject Area III (Science and Mathematics), and Principal Björn Gemmer were also thrilled. Sam’s tutor, Elke Karasek (advanced math course), had even traveled to Darmstadt to follow everything up close. A week-long workshop culminated that day in a vivid presentation of the solutions to the problems that the young researchers had developed as part of the Inventors’ Lab.

Sam Tadjiky and his three team members focused on the production of organic semiconductors for use, among other things, as photovoltaic cells. Conventional cells are made of silicon—an efficient but expensive way to generate electricity. As an alternative, the team synthesized their own polymers, which actually worked as long as they ensured purity and took great care during the manufacturing process. The ingress of oxygen destabilizes the polymer chains—making it a labor-intensive process that, under ideal conditions, however, works and delivers the desired results. Research on this topic is still ongoing.

Sam, who is taking advanced courses in math and physics, said he was “not nervous during the presentation—more relaxed.” In any case, he had fun. He sees his application to the Inventors’ Lab as a step on the path to finding his career. He’s really into the STEM subjects—math, computer science, natural sciences, and technology. But he doesn’t plan to make the competition’s subject matter his career: “We’ll see. Computer science, maybe.”

About the Contest

The 25th Inventors’ Lab took place at Merck and at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Department of Chemistry (Prof. Matthias Rehahn). In addition, the event was supported by, among others, the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transportation, and Regional Development, and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). The Inventors’ Lab is part of the “School 3.0 – Energy Transition in the Classroom” initiative.

In previous years, Steinmühlen students Jan-Eric Wichmann, Lisa Kemena, and Philipp Kreiter had already qualified to participate in the Inventors’ Lab.

 

The Steinmühlen soccer team narrowly missed advancing to the Hesse finals at the regional qualifying tournament for “Youth Trains for the Olympics” in Age Group II (born 2002–2004) at Georg-Gassmann Stadium. At the last second, AFS Linden managed to turn a 0–1 deficit against ASS Alsfeld into a 2–1 victory, thereby catching up to Steinmühle on the way to Grünberg.
Ultimately, however, second place was more than coach Michael Neirich had hoped for before the tournament, as a large portion of the winning team from the district finals—including several key players—was absent due to school trips. For this reason, the Steinmühle team had to be bolstered by younger players from grades 7 and 8.
Consequently, there were still some coordination issues in the 0–2 loss in the first game against the eventual tournament champion from Linden, but by the second match, the team had gelled and won surprisingly convincingly against GS Gießen Ost (2–0). This improvement in performance continued, and the Steinmühlen team emerged victorious 2–1 in their third and final match against ASS Alsfeld. “Finishing in second place in the regional tournament is a major success for us given the difficult circumstances,” summarized Michael Neirich.
The goals for Steinmühle were scored by Jakob Reinhard (2), Dejan Boguslawski, and Robin Konnertz.

Nela Haeberle from Class 6c has advanced to the next round of the reading competition once again. After winning the Marburg city round in February, she has now also won the district round of the reading competition, which was held at the Giessen City Library. On May 24, Nela will compete in the state finals at the Sparda-Bank in Frankfurt. There, she will face Sophie-Charlotte Richter from the Herderschule in Giessen for the second time. Nela shares the top spot she earned in Giessen with Sophie-Charlotte; first place was awarded twice.
Nine participants appeared before the five-member jury in Giessen, in alphabetical order. The jury consisted of Prof. Dr. Sascha Feuchert (Institute of German Studies at Justus Liebig University in Giessen), Manuela Gries (deputy library director of the Giessen City Library), Anna-Lena Heid (Program Director of the Literary Center in Giessen), Dr. Ira Kasperowski (Deputy Director of the Giessen University Library), and Ralph Kohlheyer (Managing Director of Rickersche Universitätsbuchhandlung).
The judges evaluated reading technique and interpretation, as well as the contestant’s choice of book. Nela Haeberle had chosen the book *Hexendämmerung* by Magnolia Steel. Afterward, she had to read a text by another author.
The Steinmühle student handled her performance with poise and confidence, though she doesn’t hide the fact that “…you’re always pretty nervous beforehand.” After all, she says, it’s all about conveying the right atmosphere, speaking clearly, and maintaining the right reading pace.
Steinmühle, led by German teacher Lisa Braun, is keeping its fingers crossed for Nela as she moves on to the next stage of the competition in Frankfurt. The reading competition is organized by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association.