Social Engagement

LöwenMutKids celebrated their anniversary at the Steinmühle

Collaborations & Partnerships, Events & Celebrations, News, Social Engagement

This month, the association Leben mit Krebs Marburg e.V. invited guests to a celebration at the Steinmühle for several occasions. Not only were the association’s 30th anniversary and the 10th birthday of the LöwenMutKids celebrated, but the handover of the association’s leadership from Christiane Schmitt to Anke Scheld was also marked. After Steinmühle School Principal Bernd Holly retired, school board member Tobias Karlein took over the role of maintaining contact with the association, particularly with the LöwenMutKids. He himself was present at the anniversary celebration, along with his colleague Tim Elmshäuser, whose advanced sports class provided sports activities for some of the students at the event. Technical support was also provided by Jaron Häußermann from “Sound and Light,” who is also from Steinmühle.

Review and Overview of the Programs

Just how many—and how many different—people are working together toward the goal of improving the quality of life for cancer patients and making the challenges faced by patients and their families more bearable was evident from the packed hall filled with public figures and from the well-wishes offered to the association during the traditional birthday cake candle-blowing ceremony. In addition to wishes for the future, there were reflections on the association’s history, such as the move to the “Krebsbüro” in Niederweimar, the St. Lucia services during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and the “Lichtblick” project, which continues to have an impact on some families to this day.

New Movie About the LöwenMutKids

The new film about the LöwenMutKids along the Lahn River was also presented. This group provides help and support to children whose parents or family members are battling cancer. Following creative interview segments, a heartfelt thank you was extended to the founders, longtime companions, volunteer supporters, and sponsors. Those who could no longer join in the celebration of this anniversary were remembered, and despite the colorful program, there was room for silence. Above all, it was an anniversary of caring for one another and giving, and one farewell in particular made it clear just how much passion has gone into strengthening this organization: After 25 years, Christiane Schmitt is handing over the leadership of the organization to Anke Scheld. The mark she has left—the big footsteps she leaves behind—will remain, but as Anke Scheld aptly summarized in her speech: “We can walk side by side. That way, your footsteps will always remain, and I’ll leave my own behind.” Following the varied and colorful program, everyone celebrated, laughed, and danced together until sunset, and many good conversations took place, as Hannah Golin, Anke Scheld, and Theresa Ottenthaler reported in closing. Our selection of photos gives a glimpse of the event.

Contacts for Those Affected

The association Leben mit Krebs e.V. hopes to remain a point of contact for anyone affected by cancer for the next 30 years as well. Email: beratungsstelle@lebenmitkrebs-marburg.de, Phone number: 06421-162625.

23. September 2024

The MühlenMinis are now playing in the log cabin

Collaborations & Partnerships, Life at Boarding School, News, Politics, Business & Responsibility, Social Engagement

The Anneliese Pohl Foundation is providing 40,000 euros in funding for the “MühlenMinis” daycare group project at the Steinmühle. To celebrate, the little ones were given a “grand welcome.” The newly renovated log cabin on the Steinmühle grounds has now been officially opened for the two daycare groups serving children ages 1–3. In attendance were School Association Chairman Egon Vaupel and his deputy Gerhard Müller, local government representatives, and Arzu Kurt-Duran, Executive Director of the Anneliese Pohl Foundation. She presented the Steinmühle with a check for 40,000 euros to support the project.

“We are very fortunate to have a local foundation that supports such projects,” Vaupel explained at the beginning of his speech. In order to meet as many criteria as possible as a family-friendly employer, Steinmühle wants to give its employees the opportunity to place their children in safe and reliable care even during working hours. Two professional child care providers, Sarina Rösler and Debora Schmidt from the Marburg-Biedenkopf Child Care Association, ensure that this is fully achieved by caring for the children in two groups, each with a maximum of five children.

The “MühlenMinis,” as they are affectionately called, are housed in the former log cabin. Built in 1980, the building was completely renovated to create a thoroughly modern environment. The facility now offers everything parents could want for their children: a children’s bathroom, a kitchen, an attractively designed lounge, sleeping and quiet areas—and, of course, plenty of opportunities to play.

A safe outdoor area for kids to run around

Foundation Manager Arzu Kurt-Duran was impressed by the building’s cheerfully designed interior and its amenities. To ensure that everyone could get a good look at the facility’s exterior as well, the official opening was intentionally scheduled for spring. The outdoor area was completely redesigned for the children and securely fenced in. There, they can play, run around, and explore to their heart’s content. A large sandbox invites them to dig, and it is protected by a sunshade.

The facility had already been put into operation last fall: The first MühlenMinis, including the son of project manager Fabian Küster, had already moved in on October 23.

Arzu Kurt-Duran, herself a former student at Steinmühle, was delighted to present the donation on behalf of the Anneliese Pohl Foundation and wished the institution every success. The Anneliese Pohl Foundation and the school association have agreed that any daycare spots at Steinmühle that remain unfilled will be made available to parents in the Anneliese Pohl Foundation’s community.

A representative from the second partner, Sparkasse Marburg Biedenkopf, also attended the official dedication ceremony for the MühlenMinis building: Steinmühlen Managing Director Dirk Konnertz welcomed Human Resources Manager Michaela Weiser. Also present were Mayor Nadine Bernshausen and Petra Prenzel from the City of Marburg’s Child Care Department. The mayor was very impressed by the “wonderful grounds” and brought gifts. The opening ceremony was attended by many Steinmühle staff members, including Principal Björn Gemmer, Boarding School Director Anke Muszynski, and members of the school administration Tobias Karlein, Frank Wemme, and Dirk Lange.

14. August 2024

Class 6i of the International High School Program: Cookies and Bracelets for a Good Cause

International High School, News, Social Engagement

As part of their English class (“Think globally, act locally”), Class 6i organized a fantastic and interactive fundraising campaign. The idea came up during class when the students were asked what they themselves could actually accomplish with just a little effort. The students came up with various ideas for raising money for a good cause and presented them to the class. It quickly became clear that the ideas presented should not only be thought through theoretically but also put into practice, reports Theresa Großer, head of the International High School Division.

After all the students had promoted their project, it was time for the final vote. This led to the organization of a cookie- and bracelet-making workshop for a fee of 2€ per participant. The event was planned with the children’s enthusiastic involvement and promoted using posters they created themselves, as well as through announcements during class council meetings and at lunch.

Soon the time had come: 17 students from grades 5 and 6 gathered in the 6i classroom during lunch break. The classroom was quickly transformed into a small baking and arts-and-crafts room. They baked 10 trays of cookies and made bracelets at the same time. Of course, all the participants got to take a delicious cookie and their bracelets home with them. That same evening, some of the children continued baking and stringing beads at home, as the remaining cookies and bracelets were to be sold during recess the following day—also by the students of class 6i. In total, the class raised €130.30, which was donated to the Cappel Animal Shelter.

Thank you for this wonderful initiative!

29. May 2024

Seventh-grade girls read aloud to the MühlenMinis

News, Social Engagement

There are plenty of things you can do during a free period to help pass the time. Some 7th-grade students recently decided to get involved in a special project. Without further ado, they knocked on the door of the log cabin. For the past few months, a new group has been meeting there on our school grounds: the MühlenMinis! The seventh-graders gathered the interested children around them and read to them from a book. It was a wonderful surprise and a nice change of pace for everyone. Dear students, Steinmühle thanks you for your warm and dedicated involvement!
The MühlenMinis is a daycare group currently consisting of five children between the ages of one and three, who are cared for during the day by a daycare provider in a log cabin. This service is intended for Steinmühle employees and their children. If there is sufficient demand, there are plans to establish a second group.

4. May 2024

A big thank you to the families: Once again, school backpacks were sent on their way to Sibiu, Romania

Collaborations & Partnerships, News, Politics, Business & Responsibility, Social Engagement

Once again this year, we received active support from the students and parents of Steinmühlen School for the Children’s and Youth Parliament’s charitable campaign, “School Bags for Romania.” The families of 5th-grade students were asked to donate well-preserved “second-hand” backpacks from their elementary school days for the new school year, to be sent to Sibiu, Marburg’s sister city. There, many children can only afford a backpack and quality school supplies to a limited extent—or not at all! So, on November 10, the backpacks collected over several weeks set off on their journey—first to the Haus der Jugend in Marburg, and then, in even greater numbers, to Romania. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the children and families who donated a backpack and, in some cases, even filled it with school supplies.

22. December 2023

“Smoke in the chemistry lab”: Volunteer fire department extinguishes the fire and evacuates the building

Collaborations & Partnerships, Life at Boarding School, News, Social Engagement, STEM

The Marburg-Cappel Volunteer Fire Department conducted its annual drill at the Steinmühle. The simulated emergency: a fire in the chemistry lab! Late in the evening, in the darkness of November 9, a fire engine arrived with its emergency lights flashing: After the bollard was lowered, five vehicles—including a turntable ladder—passed through the entrance to the school grounds and skillfully positioned themselves between the flower beds in the courtyard and on the adjacent open area.

When the alarm was sounded, reports indicated that several boarding school students were on the first floor of the main building, where smoke was coming from the chemistry lab, though the cause was unclear. While fellow firefighters were busy rolling out the fire hose, four firefighters equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus had to make their way up the stairs to guide themselves and the people in danger through the smoke—realistically simulated with stage fog— and to guide the students to safety. The rescue was carried out by leading the students down the stairs; in some cases, they were also evacuated via the turntable ladder.

The Tasks: Water Supply and Rescue Operations

A total of 31 firefighters—both men and women—had come to the Steinmühlen campus for the drill. “In cases like this,” reported Steinmühlen teacher Jonathan Gröb, “some are tasked with the water supply, while others are responsible for rescuing people.” There’s a special reason why Jonathan Gröb is so knowledgeable about this: The math and physics teacher is himself the fire chief in his hometown in the Vogelsberg district, and thanks to the close ties between colleagues, he was happy to agree when Cappel’s fire chief, Dominik Wagner, asked about a training opportunity.

This is a win-win situation. While the fire department can fully practice such operations a short distance from its station on the bypass, Steinmühle learns specific rules of conduct and procedures for emergencies. It is no coincidence that Jonathan Gröb also serves as Steinmühle’s fire safety officer, and an updated fire safety policy—tailored to the building’s current layout—is already in the works.

“Mr. Gröb, we want to ride the turntable ladder.”

Once the students participating in the drill realized that, depending on the situation, these kinds of operations can sometimes get a little rough, their spirits lifted all the more shortly afterward. They didn’t exactly sing “Hurrah, hurrah, the school’s on fire” like the band Extrabreit did back in the legendary ’80s, but they did ask for a bit of fun: “Mr. Gröb, we want to ride the turntable ladder,” they pleaded at the end. And so it came to pass that a group of students, under professional supervision, was lifted a good 20 meters into the night sky in the basket of the extended turntable ladder and was able to enjoy the view of Marburg.

Steinmühle would like to thank the Cappel Volunteer Fire Department, the students who participated, and our teacher Jonathan Gröb for giving us the opportunity to have these experiences and expand our knowledge of the work of the fire department!

24. November 2023

Host Town Gathering: Touching Memories Came Alive Again

Collaborations & Partnerships, News, Social Engagement, Sports & Health

The Steinmühle hosted representatives from the Hessian host towns, who last week took an emotional look back at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin and their respective host town programs. In addition to representatives from the university town of Marburg, one of the host towns, guests from the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district, the city of Neu-Isenburg, Darmstadt, Hanau, Kelkheim, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, the Vogelsberg district, and Fulda gathered in our school’s forum.

“The numerous videos filmed during the Host Town Days have brought the intense and touching memories of that time back to life,” summarized Luisa Nicklas, project coordinator for Special Olympics Deutschland in Hessen (SOH) e.V. A moving highlight of the event was the interview between SOH basketball and soccer athlete Manuel Fichtner and track and field athlete Annika Meißner. As Team Germany’s first medalist, Annika shared candid reflections on her preparation and experiences at the World Games, while also praising the human element of the entire event: “Friendships were formed here.”

“Proud of Our Inclusive Processes”

In group work sessions, participants then looked ahead to the future, planned projects and initiatives, and gathered ideas for further actions. After lunch together, the conference participants welcomed a special guest: Peter Beuth, Hesse’s Minister of the Interior and Sports. He praised the commitment shown by all parties and provided important impetus for continuing the work on inclusion. As a token of appreciation for their outstanding work in the municipalities, the host towns received a set of World Games medals. Luisa Nicklas: “We are incredibly proud of the inclusive processes created by the Hessian municipalities before, during, and after the World Games, and we look forward to the further measures that will be implemented in the future.”

“Taking on tasks with passion”

Among the Marburg guests at the event was City Councilwoman Kirsten Dinnebier, who also serves as the department head in charge of sports. Silvia Ruppel, president of SOH Germany in Hesse, praised Dinnebier’s “commitment to our causes.” Egon Vaupel, chairman of the Steinmühle School Association and an active networker in the Special Olympics community, also expressed his appreciation to the city councilwoman as well as to Jana Keller, who had taken on her responsibilities within the Marburg Host Town organization with great passion and had also launched a training program for assistant coaches.

Recognition for the Steinmühle

During a group lunch, numerous conference participants expressed their appreciation and respect for the Steinmühle for its campus design—which includes an all-day school, a boarding school, and the grounds—as well as for the fact that it also “takes on special challenges” in terms of its educational content. The Steinmühle, which has also served as an inclusive water sports center in cooperation with blista since July, will continue to uphold this commitment. A unified team, formed before the pandemic, trains at the facility every Monday evening.

9. November 2023

RuS Summer Festival: Inclusive Water Sports Center Steinmühle Opens

Events & Celebrations, News, Rowing, Social Engagement, Sports & Health

Hessian Television conducted interviews and filmed our inclusive eight

Shortly before the start of summer break, we marked our partnership between Steinmühle and the German Institute for the Blind (blista) with the official opening of the inclusive Steinmühle Water Sports Center: At our club’s summer festival, a team of visually impaired and sighted athletes rowed in the “Blind Date” eight to the applause of all visitors, while a team from Hessischer Rundfunk broadcast the event live on the “Hessenschau” program.

Hessenschaureporter Robert Hübner and his team arrived at the boathouse early this Monday, before the start of summer break, to get everything ready: Interviews with Olympic eight-man champion Filip Adamski, para-rower Moritz Hagen, and Martin “Stromi” Strohmenger, the successful coach and rowing instructor at Steinmühle. blista and Steinmühle have been working together on inclusive initiatives for a long time, and now this collaboration is visible to the outside world as well. Across from the Steinmühle boathouse, a sign on the dock points to the inclusive water sports center. People with other physical disabilities are also welcome there, as long as their condition allows them to row.

Active Inclusion

At the summer festival, para-rower Moritz Hagen impressively demonstrated how visual impairment and rowing can go hand in hand. “It’s really about body control,” he told the reporter, adding that he was happy to be actively integrated as an athlete with a disability.

Moritz Hagen has been training intensively for about a year alongside Björn Eckert, another visually impaired rower. Both are highly ambitious.

Several prominent figures from the rowing world attended the event at the Steinmühlen Boathouse, where RuS Chairman Aron Stürmer and outgoing principal Bernd Holly led the program. In addition to Olympic champion Adamski, the event was also attended by the former world champion in the double sculls, Stephan Krüger, Steinmühle’s current rising star Marc Weber, and Lucas Schäfer—a native of Gisselberg, 2016 Olympian, and holder of the 6,000-meter ergometer world record, which was set at Steinmühle—were also in attendance. Steinmühle students Maxim Dyck, Maurits Juhre, and Lennart Holly were also in attendance. The athletes now row in the Bundesliga. We were also delighted that public figures attended our event, including First District Deputy Maria Zachow and Cappeler Mayor Peter Hesse.

Significant investments

“We see ourselves as part of the city’s community,” explained Egon Vaupel, chairman of the Steinmühle School Association, in his speech, referring equally to Steinmühle, rowing at Steinmühle, and the founding of the inclusive water sports center. Vaupel described Claus Duncker, the former CEO of blista and current treasurer of RuS Steinmühle, as “one of the driving forces behind this sustainable partnership.” The Steinmühle School Association alone has invested half a million euros in the project to date. The project, including its infrastructure and personnel resources, can currently be used equally by both institutions. Steinmühle maintains a cooperative relationship with blista and its new CEO, Patrick Temmesfeld.

Michael Neirich coordinates

When it comes to rowing, Steinmühle is looking to the future with optimism. The boarding school and the school have provided the team with more top rowers, as well as some who have (re)discovered rowing. Steinmühle physical education teacher Michael Neirich has taken on the role of coordinating the rowing program.

In light of these structures, RuS President Aron Stürmer, Vice President and Steinmühle School Principal Björn Gemmer, and School Director Dirk Konnertz look back on the summer festival with satisfaction and are optimistic about the future of rowing at Steinmühle. The sport is and will remain an important part of the school and boarding school.

Link to the Hessenschau report:

https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/hessenschau/inklusives-wassersportzentrum-eroeffnet/hr-fernsehen/Y3JpZDovL2hyLW9ubGluZS8yMDc0MTQ

31. August 2023

Proper Use of Rescue Shears and Fire Hoses

Collaborations & Partnerships, News, Social Engagement

What happens during a fire department operation? How do I connect a fire hose? When do you use the rescue shears, and how do they work? — The participants who chose the fire department as their topic for the GÖK Project Day explored all these questions in depth. Fortunately, the Marburg-Cappel Volunteer Fire Department is located just a few hundred meters from Steinmühle, and the firefighters agreed to provide on-site training to the Steinmühle students.

The project, titled “Rescue, Extinguish, Recover, Protect—Fire Department and Volunteer Work,” was initiated, fully planned, and carried out by Jonathan Gröb, a fire captain who was still a student teacher at Steinmühle at the time the project was developed. A heartfelt thank you also from the school administration!

It was an interesting topic, as all the participants agreed. They learned a lot about the procedures—from the initial alert to taking action on the scene—and gained insight into the individual steps that take place behind the scenes during an emergency response.

Steinmühle would also like to send a big thank you to the base on Cappeler Umgehungsstraße! That was very interesting!

31. August 2023

Spring Wreaths for a Good Cause

Ecology and Sustainability, News, Social Engagement

Teacher María Ramos and her students in the elective course (WU) “School Garden” come up with new ways to share their artistic and creative ideas with the outside world every season. Currently, students in grades 5 and 6 in the WU class have made decorative spring wreaths out of flowers and greenery—just in time for the start of spring! Some of these wreaths, which María Ramos crafted with her “little bees,” are being sold. With the proceeds from the gardening activities, the elective course supports the chicken project at the One World Secondary School Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Already at the fall festival, elementary school students, together with their teacher Lori Herrmann, had raised funds for the chicken project. This winter, Dr. Karl-Heinz and Swantje Köhler gave a detailed presentation at the Steinmühle about the African school they run and its educational philosophy. We’ll be reporting on further activities.

5. April 2023