Dear friends of Stella School!
The last few weeks have been characterized by Easter joy in the burgeoning spring and intensive work at all levels. As you can read in the many contributions from the pupils, the children have experienced wonderful outdoor adventures in nature and carried out technical experiments in class, they have grown more responsible in the various tasks at school and home, and they have made great progress in English and much more. In Vienna, construction work on the new campus is continuing apace and we are already making preparations for the move to the Donauplatte in a few weeks’ time. Stella is becoming increasingly well-known in Seebenstein and Salzburg, with many families coming to the open days to see the schools. What all visitors notice is the joy and good cooperation in the school community. I would like to thank everyone for their great commitment, which contributes to this school climate!
I wish you an enjoyable read and remain
With best regards
Your
Heidi Burkhart & the team of Stella International School
Contents
- Stella Salzburg
- Stella Seebenstein
- Stella Seebenstein Kindergarten
- Stella Seebenstein Elementary School
- Stella Seebenstein Middle School
- Stella Vienna Kindergarten
- Stella Vienna afternoon care
- Stella Vienna Elementary School
- Stella Vienna Secondary School
Stella Salzburg
You can find the current Salzburg Newsletter here.
Stella Seebenstein
Resurrection celebration on campus with Episcopal Vicar Josef Grünwidl
The joy of Easter was and is palpable throughout the house. It was particularly nice that we were able to celebrate our school mass with Episcopal Vicar Josef Grünwidl during the Easter Octave. Dr. Thomas Kenner, Inspector Herbert Vouillarmet and our Chairwoman of the Stella International School Association, Dr. Heidi Burkhart, also celebrated with us. Afterward, there was an ominous Easter snack for our children and also for our guests of honor. We would also like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU for the donation of a statue for our house chapel: the Risen Christ.
On April 5, all our doors were open. Parents from near and far stopped by visited the lessons and kindergarten, or listened to the information presentation about our educational facilities. Thanks to the beautiful weather, we were also able to use the garden. During the big break, there was a soccer match with our guest children, some of them visited our small animals and explored the extensive grounds. When the horn sounded, all the schoolchildren quickly gathered again at the pavilion and the lesson continued.
The students of the second secondary school level guided our guests through the building and explained all the rooms and processes. Not only the teachers, but also all the visitors were incredibly enthusiastic about what a great job the children did.
We are very grateful for the great interest in our Stella Seebenstein campus.
Stella Seebenstein Kindergarten
The month of April is almost over and it is with great joy that we remember our resurrection festival at our school campus. In the morning, we attended the atmospheric Holy Mass with Episcopal Vicar Grünwidl in our house chapel. Afterwards we had an extensive Easter snack and searched for Easter nests in our garden.
There have already been some hot days here in Seebenstein and we have already discovered some insects and creepy-crawlies in our garden. Mia and Evi have decided to start a new project with us “From egg to butterfly”. We also have a “caterpillar cup” in our group, which contains 7 butterfly caterpillars. Every day we watch our friends and notice how they grow and change their appearance!
We are very interested in the various songs, finger games, movement games and factual discussions with Evi and Mia!
On our nature day, we made our way to Seebenstein Castle with Evi. We found some interesting “caves” on the hiking trail. There were also some remarkable trees growing on slopes and their roots were visible!
Stella Seebenstein Elementary School
Picnic in our school garden
We like to enjoy our morning snack together on a picnic blanket. Whether in the sunshine on the meadow or in the pavilion in our self-built cave in rainy weather. It simply tastes better together!
Easter egg hunt
After the Easter vacations, the children of the 1. and the 2. class set off in search of the Easter eggs hidden in the classroom. The discovery sites were “recorded in writing”. The eggs were then eaten, of course.
Advertising and music
In one of our last music lessons, we thought together about the importance of music in our everyday lives. Even if we are hopefully not confronted with advertising much, we still encounter it. We dealt with the topic of music in advertising using a station operation. Finally, the pupils were allowed to try to film their short advertising clips in small groups. Finally, the best advertising clip was voted on. And the winner is the advertisement for – Stella Seebenstein 😊
Video: Florentina and Johanna – Stella Seebenstein ADVERTISEMENT
Confidence game and team building
The last student in each row was responsible for leading their group safely to a previously agreed destination. It was important that not everyone talked at cross-purposes, but waited for the signal from the person behind and trusted them. If they succeed, they will reach their destination safely together. We then tried to make this experience a part of our lessons: Be considerate when someone speaks and listen to each other 😊
Visit to the Scheiblingkirchen swimming pool
All the children at the school started swimming lessons in April. This takes place in the Scheiblingkirchen indoor pool. Many children are already excellent swimmers and are still practicing to improve their technique. Some are just learning to swim. But it was fun for everyone and we are already looking forward to our next swimming lesson.
Road safety education with the police officer
The traffic education lessons of the 1. and 2nd grade was enriched by the visit of the police officer. He not only explained important behavior in road traffic, but also practiced it with us in front of the school. Now we are already very safe road users.
Visit to the provincial capital of St. Pölten
On Friday, April 12, 2024, the 4th grade elementary school of the Seebenstein educational campus visited St. Pölten as part of the campaign “Lower Austria’s pupils get to know their state capital”. After a slightly longer journey with ÖBB and a warm welcome, we went with a city guide to the modern government district. There, we visited the Landtag Hall and the Hubertus Chapel in the “Landtagsschiff”. The government district is also home to the Klangturm, from where we were able to enjoy a magnificent panoramic view over St. Pölten. We had a lot of fun experimenting with instruments, sounds and tones. Before we went to the old part of the city, we had a good lunch. Strengthened by the lunch break, we visited the old town with its famous sights, such as the town hall, the Tellerhaus, and the Stöhr house. We were also given lots of historical information about St. Pölten. After that, we went home again. It was a fun and interesting day out in the state capital.
Stella Seebenstein Middle School
Asphalt stick shooting
Our secondary school pupils were guests at the Seebenstein curling club and were able to try their hand at asphalt curling. We would like to say a big thank you to ESV Seebenstein for this special experience.
New place for the statue of the Virgin Mary
The class’s statue of the Virgin Mary was given a new place and, in keeping with spring, a flower decoration created by the children.
Pharmacists – Workshop
The secondary school pupils took part in a workshop organized by the Chamber of Pharmacists under the direction of Mag. Pharm. Tina Narosy General information about the pharmacy.
They were then allowed to complete various stations:
- Mix healing ointment and insect oil
- Recognize essential oils by smell
- Blend teas and
- Tasting of different types of tea
Stella Vienna Kindergarten
At our kindergarten, everything currently revolves around the caterpillar and the butterfly. “Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt” is a classic and consistently popular with our children. We took this joy in books as an opportunity to launch the “Project: From Caterpillar to Butterfly”. For two weeks, different activities are offered in all groups in the mornings. During the project time in the morning, the children can decide which activity they want to do. They spend the mornings in different groups, which they really enjoy.
During the activities, we try to cover the different areas of education and give the children the opportunity to experience and understand the development process from caterpillar to butterfly in a holistic way.
Stella Vienna afternoon care
We would like to remember a few moments we shared with the children at the after-school care center. We try to build togetherness as a group with games or activities that remind us how good it is to have each other when we’re not traveling somewhere. This was the activity before Easter, for example, when every child received a crown. As a sign that we are children of a king. And what goes with every crown: small diamonds that the children wanted to earn for good deeds. During Lent, we tried to turn little whinges into something positive, so the children rewarded each other for positive things. This was also linked to a message from our King: “Your Father, who also sees what is hidden, will reward you.”
Stella Vienna Elementary School
Reading day at Stella elementary school
All the children at Stella Primary School were sent across the school building to discover their “movie theater” on Austrian Reading Aloud Day. Before that, they received their “book cinema card”, lovingly designed by the 2A teacher. Thank you for that!
When they arrived at the “cinema”, the children did not know which book would be read to them or who would read it to them. Our Stella children gladly and gratefully accepted this reading offer and are already looking forward to the reading day in the new school building on the Donauplatte.
Many thanks to all the teachers and our reading mentors for presenting the books!
Stella Vienna Secondary School
Since 2006, every year on 21.03. World Down Syndrome Day.
On this day, some people put on colorful socks or stockings to draw the attention of others to this day. The date of 21.03. was certainly chosen. It symbolizes the characteristic feature of Down syndrome, the triple presence of the 21st chromosome. People who have Down syndrome are more limited in their abilities than we are, yet they have special social skills and should have a chance in life, just as we do.
Visit of the first classes of the grammar school to the theater museum
On Thursday, March 21, we went to Palais Lobkowitz in the Theater Museum. Right after the entrance, there was a slide that we could use to swing into the theater hall. We had a lot of fun with Mr. Ernst, who taught us some acting tricks. At the end, we worked in small groups to perform our own fairy tales. It was really great and interesting.
Lighter experiment
Our students are regularly assigned experimental homework in physics. A student from 3A removed a piezo igniter from a lighter and explained how it works.
English Days
From the 15th to the 19th of April, the English Days took place at our school in cooperation with the Company LiLac. During this time, teachers from New Zealand, Ireland, America and South Africa looked after the children. For six hours a day, the children spoke only English and studied the history, geography, and culture of these English-speaking countries.
The biggest benefit, however, was that they were able to gain confidence in their English skills with typical text forms such as “Creative Writing”, but also with games such as “20 Questions” and “Two Truths and a Lie”, and had a lot of fun at the same time.
Project week for personality development in Maria Enzersdorf, 3rd grade
From April 8-12, 3A spent an exciting time at the youth hostel of the Franciscan monastery in Maria Enzersdorf. It was the first time that we had spent a whole week together as a class, which was very exciting for some of us.
The program included a daily sporting highlight and a workshop on personal development topics such as “Mentalization and communication”, “Temperament and character” and “Developing talents”. We practiced sports such as climbing and judo and visited the Jumpin Warrior. We also had an excursion day where we hiked to nearby Lichtenstein Castle and the Hinterbrühl lake grotto and took part in interesting guided tours. The joint celebration of Holy Mass was a must. Mass in the middle of the week with Prof. Spalek and short daily times of prayer together in the morning and evening.
In addition to these very different inputs, we also practiced being responsible in a very practical way by taking on kitchen and cleaning duties in the youth hostel because we catered for ourselves.
We were particularly grateful that the weather was also perfect! The week was a great enrichment for everyone, in which everyone took something away for themselves and the relationships within the class were strengthened by the lively exchange with each other.
Many thanks to the teaching team – Prof. Kropfreiter, Prof. Schenkir and Prof. Volochschuk – for organizing and running these days!
