{"id":46106,"date":"2021-07-30T11:37:03","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T09:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.steinmuehle.de\/blog\/2021\/07\/30\/high-school-graduation-2021-the-class-of-2021-leaves-steinmuehle\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T17:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:35:12","slug":"high-school-graduation-2021-the-class-of-2021-leaves-steinmuehle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/blog\/2021\/07\/30\/high-school-graduation-2021-the-class-of-2021-leaves-steinmuehle\/","title":{"rendered":"High School Graduation 2021 – The Class of 2021 Leaves Steinm\u00fchle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2021 high school graduation\u2014it was a special adventure for the nine students at Steinm\u00fchle Boarding School who earned their college entrance qualifications this summer. The Abitur, already an exciting journey, was made even more thrilling for this graduating class by COVID-19 and what we might call the \u201cunique challenges of the learning environment.\u201d <\/p>\n

And so it\u2019s no surprise that this year\u2019s graduating class has been compared to the nine companions from *The Lord of the Rings*. For as individual and unique as these nine students may be, they are united by their shared journey at Steinm\u00fchle. The Steinm\u00fchle boarding school as \u201cElrond\u2019s House\u201d\u2014a safe haven and second home that provides strength and perseverance. <\/p>\n

“The mill will always be my home as long as I’m here!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

As is the case every year, in addition to the official presentation of report cards, the graduating boarding students were also treated to a separate farewell ceremony organized by the boarding school and their homeroom teachers, which they attended together with their families. In an idyllic setting on the banks of the Lahn, over brunch and a toast together, each student received their very own personal farewell speech. The occasion served as a reminder of the wonderful moments they shared together: for example, Charles, who couldn\u2019t imagine living anywhere other than the mill during his time here at the boarding school. Like Charles, however, all the high school graduates now face the major challenge of this new chapter in their lives. <\/p>\n

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Steinm\u00fchle Brings People Together\u2014Even Beyond High School<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the traveling adventurers\u2019 time at the Steinm\u00fchle comes to an end here, their hope for a reunion was also expressed in their farewell speeches: \u201cLet us hear from you!\u201d, \u201cYou can do it!\u201d and: \u201cI\u2019ll do what I can\u2014no longer as a teacher, but as a colleague and friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

The warmth of the relationship between students and teachers was palpable in those moments. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled by these emotional speeches,\u201d says Ms. Kersten, mother of our graduating senior Timo. \u201cI could totally recognize my son, and I\u2019m so proud of him and what he\u2019s accomplished here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Roksana Stronzeck expressed how the Steinm\u00fchle can continue to be a home even after graduation. With tears in her eyes, the former student\u2014who is currently completing her internship year for her vocational diploma at Blista, a residential group for the visually impaired in Marburg\u2014shared how much she misses her time at the Steinm\u00fchle: \u201cI was at the Steinm\u00fchle for six years. I knew in advance that I would miss that time. But it\u2019s only when you\u2019re really no longer here that you realize just how much the Steinm\u00fchle meant to me.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Remembrance as a Tradition\u2014The Time Capsule at the Steinm\u00fchle<\/strong><\/p>\n

And precisely because these memories of our time together at boarding school can be so wonderful, a new tradition has taken root over the past three years: Graduating seniors receive a metal time capsule in which they can place personal items, letters, and mementos. These time capsules are buried on the Steinm\u00fchle grounds and dug up again at the Fall Festival after 10 years. In seven years, the first graduating class will be able to reminisce together at the Fall Festival. <\/p>\n

This year’s high school graduates, on the other hand, will have to wait another 10 years. “Whatever,” says graduate Luca Ledro, shrugging it off, “I come back here every year for the Fall Festival anyway.” <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here’s to saying goodbye and to seeing each other again<\/strong><\/p>\n

“What a wonderful farewell!” says Ms. Gorges, mother of graduating senior Kris, “I’m so glad we were able to enjoy this moment one more time with our small boarding school group.” And so, after the official farewell portion of the graduation ceremony, everyone came together to bring their time together to a joyful close. Tears were shed\u2014some out of emotion, some out of happiness, and a few out of sadness and thoughts of parting.<\/p>\n

But by the time the Fall Festival rolls around\u2014which we hope will take place again this year\u2014everyone is warmly invited to visit Steinm\u00fchle Boarding School once more. Until then, the boarding school community wishes our nine classmates a successful and exciting journey into this new chapter of their lives, filled with happiness, courage, hope, and, of course, good health. <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2021 high school graduation\u2014it was a special adventure for the nine students at Steinm\u00fchle Boarding School who earned their college entrance qualifications this summer. The Abitur, already an exciting journey, was made even more thrilling for this graduating class by COVID-19 and what we might call the \u201cunique challenges of the learning environment.\u201d And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":46110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,101,89,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contests-awards","category-events-celebrations","category-life-at-boarding-school","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49291,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46106\/revisions\/49291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}