Dear friends of Stella School!
Sincerely yours
Heidi Burkhart the team of Stella International School
Contents
- Stella Salzburg
- Stella Seebenstein
- 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
Campus: “1 million children pray the rosary” – We were there
On October 18, our children enthusiastically took part in the worldwide prayer initiative “One million children pray the rosary”. It was moving to see how our pupils prayed the rosary together with joy and devotion.
The trusting prayer of the children brings many graces to the world – we could all feel that together today.
The initiative, which was launched in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2005, is based on the words of St. Padre Pio: “If a million children pray the rosary, the world will change.” This message is still powerful and inspiring today.
Many thanks to all the children and families who prayed. We are confident that this prayer campaign will be a great blessing for our community, the church and the world.
The week before, our pupils made around 70 Stella rosaries in religious education lessons. We are happy to offer these for a donation (approx. €10) – with the request that you pray for us.
Campus: St. Francis Festival
This year’s St. Francis Festival was all about community, music and gratitude. Our students prepared musically for this special day with great dedication. Their talented performances, including the Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis, created a festive atmosphere and showed how much joy there is in making music together.
In addition to the musical contributions, they also baked diligently and cooked delicious pumpkin soup. This gave everyone the opportunity to celebrate together, be creative and experience the community in a variety of ways. It was a wonderful moment to come together as a school community and be grateful for the many talents and activities that enrich our school.
Campus: World Animal Day – Focus on our school bunnies
To mark World Animal Day in October, we would like to draw attention to our four school bunnies. They are an integral part of our school life and pupils have the opportunity to stroke and care for them during the breaks. The connection to the animals not only promotes the children’s sense of responsibility, but also makes every break a special experience. A big thank you to everyone who cares so lovingly for our animal friends!
Kindergarten: The Feast of St. Francis – Harvest Crown
In October, we had a cross-campus celebration in honor of St. Francis. The kindergarten children contributed with the song “You have given us your world”.
We also worked on the song of St. Francis – the “Canticle of the Sun”.
To conclude this theme, we visited the Seebenstein parish church, where we were warmly welcomed by the new local priest. Together with him, we marveled at the harvest crown and the beautiful image of Our Lady of Fatima.
Kindergarten: Visit to the “Mater Salvatoris” residential and nursing home
After the long summer break, the residents of the “Mater Salvatoris” residential and nursing home in Pitten were once again delighted to receive our visit. The train journey to Pitten is very exciting for us alone. Together with the residents, we sang songs to each other. Our contributions were “Hallo Du”, “Hallo, wir sind froh”, “In meinem kleinen Apfel”, “Grün, grün, grün sind alle meine Kleider”, “Aramsamsam” and “Einfach spitze”.
Kindergarten: Park excursions
Our educational campus is located right on the edge of the forest and there is a beautifully landscaped park right in front of our school building. We currently use this park almost every day for our “movement time”. Here we have the opportunity to climb, jump, swing or play with sand.
After-school care:
If the weather is very rainy, we have the opportunity to use the kindergarten’s exercise room in the afternoon. During free play time after lunch, the children like to build new creative “fortresses” with the Wesco parts or set up the table tennis table and play.
Even after the task, the children like to grab the construction materials and build tall towers!
Elementary school: Fragrant toadstools
It’s not just nature that’s full of this year, but also our school. Our felt toadstools, which were sewn by our primary school children, are not poisonous – they contain fragrant lavender.
Elementary school: Fun learning letters
This makes learning letters fun: we don’t just write them, we also lay them out, poke them, stamp them and sometimes even eat them!
Elementary school: Canticle of the Sun in the music lesson
The rehearsals for the St. Francis Festival once again showed how much musical talent there is in our school. The pupils prepared themselves musically for the festival with enthusiasm and joy – making music is really fun!
Elementary school: Fun and games in the autumn sun
The elementary school enjoys the last rays of autumn sunshine with fun and games! The children took advantage of the beautiful weather to play outside with colorful leaves and let off steam in the fresh air. A wonderful moment to enjoy the fall to the fullest!
Middle school: Outdoor sports
The 1. and the second-grade pupils from the Middle School took advantage of the beautiful fall weather to take their Sports-Lessons outdoors. A game of „wrestling“ on the table tennis table and a few baskets playing Basketball or Soccer were not to be missed.
Secondary school: English lessons with a native speaker
Our pupils regularly work with a native speaker in English lessons. The “Listen and Draw” activity, which requires concentration and attentive listening, is particularly popular. The children creatively translate what they hear into drawings. This method not only promotes listening comprehension, but also brings a lot of variety and fun to the lessons.
Middle school: hard-working Striezel baking
In preparation for the St. Francis Festival, the middle school baked a traditional Striezel with great dedication and joy. The pupils were eager to knead the dough and shape the Striezel. This joint baking was not only a culinary preparation, but also a nice moment of togetherness and anticipation of the festival. In the end, everyone was proud of the delicious result and looked forward to the party, which of course included the Striezel!
Stella Vienna Kindergarten
Stella Vienna afternoon care
There was a lot going on at the after-school care center in October! There was a colorful mix of different activities. The children had lots of fun experimenting with colors and making homemade key rings or animals out of chestnuts. They also enthusiastically took part in decorating the outdoor area by painting a flower pot on the terrace.
In one day, we exploited the full potential of the large gym and transformed it into an exciting parkour that not only challenged us, but also fostered the creativity and team spirit of everyone involved.
Under Judith’s guidance, the children had the opportunity to experience worship for the first time. So it was noticeable who is the king here 🙂
And finally, an after-school group took a trip to the Museum of Illusions, where the children learned through optical illusions that it is often enough to look at things from a different angle. This resulted in one or two exciting illusions!
Stella Vienna Elementary School
The first classes visited the Lobau forest school. On an autumnal walk through the forest to Dechantlacke, the forester showed us wild boar and beaver tracks and told us lots of interesting facts about the forest and its inhabitants. After a break at the forest school playground, we were allowed to see and stroke many forest animals up close. Now the children even know what a fox feels like in its winter coat.
In October, 1b celebrated an in-class harvest festival. We ate, celebrated, prayed and played together.
We were also able to take part in the consecration of the altar. Later, we made a chain of thanksgiving that we carried into the school chapel. Each link in the chain was decorated by a child with all the things for which they are particularly grateful. It was a really nice day at school together.
In the first classes, the children work on a new letter every week. Soon they will also be able to write and decompose the numbers up to 10 . The story “The little one” is used to introduce the new number and the children lay it out in the form of tally charts, play money, dice pictures and a 20 field, before practicing the correct spelling on the blackboard and in the exercise book.
And we also practice the numbers in English. Inspired by the story “Ten Apples Up On Top”, we repeatedly counted how many “apples” the children could stack on their heads. Our record is “nine apples”.
Stella Vienna Secondary School
“Peace Days” at Schlaining Castle
This year, our new classes were once again able to spend “Peace Days” at Schlaining Castle, filled with all kinds of adventures, nature, sport and a great sense of community. The 1A and 1B classes spent a total of three days in southern Burgenland and were not only able to experience nature, but also compete in soccer and other games. At the same time, a coaching program run by two coaches ensured that the new classes grew together noticeably just three weeks after the start of school and that the children not only had fun and enjoyed themselves, but also gained a lot of character development.
3A and 3B at FLiP Erste Bank
On Friday, September 27, we went to FLiP (Financial Life Park) and spent a lot of time learning about money. It was interesting to see, for example, that the average Austrian spends the most on housing, followed by leisure and travel, and only then food costs. We had a great tour and took part in many stations. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. (Annamaria & Bella)
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
As in past years, Stella has actively implemented Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) across our curriculum this Fall, using English to enrich students’ subject knowledge and language proficiency.
These are just some examples of our CLIL initiatives: In second grade Physics, students explored foundational concepts like “mass and power” through hands-on projects. In 6th Grade Religion, students incorporate English through Bible readings and discussions, fostering both personal growth and language skills. As part of the Leader in Me program in 3rd grade, students participated in a team-building activity by constructing spaghetti towers to strengthen collaboration skills. Following the inspiring visit from Dr. Gary Lewis, they are now focusing on the “Three Rs” of Respect, Responsibility, and Readiness. In History, second graders have been learning about the prehistoric period, reading stories like Bronze and Iron and Red Ocher in English, offering an immersive introduction to early civilizations. We look forward to upcoming projects as we approach the end of the semester, continuing to foster bilingual education through innovative CLIL initiatives.
Character education at Stella International School – An inspiring day with Gary Lewis!
We had a very special guest with us: Gary Lewis, character education expert from the UK! He gave our teachers great practical insights to further improve teaching at Stella International School. Gary’s many years of experience as Head of Kings Langley School and as Chairman of the Association for Character Education (ACE) inspired us greatly.
Our goal? To create the best framework for the personality and character development of our students! We are grateful for this inspiring day and look forward to continuing to support our students in their development.
