On the evening of 10 December, the Admont Abbey Church was filled with the sounds of Christmas. The music classes of the Stiftsgymnasium gave their traditional Advent concert in the church, which was filled to capacity. Well prepared and with great commitment, the pupils from Years 1 to 8 delighted the audience with their instrumental and vocal contributions. The selection of works was wide-ranging, with popular songs as well as very demanding choral pieces (e.g. Kodaly „The Shepherds and the Angels“; Bruckner „Tota pulchra es“). There were impressive performances not only from the individual classes and ensembles, but also from the whole choirs of the lower and upper school, which demonstrated how the interaction of many musical forces can produce particularly festive sounds.
This was also demonstrated by the festive finale of the concert evening, the motet „Jesu, wirst du bald erscheinen“ by G. Ph. Thelemann: teachers and pupils of the grammar school performed together as soloists, in the choir and in the orchestra, leaving the audience in awe with this demanding and touching pre-Christmas work.
The Stiftsgymnasium will celebrate the contemplative end to the Advent season on 23 December with the traditional Rorate. During this hour of contemplation on the last day of school before the Christmas holidays, prayers and songs are sung in the collegiate church before lessons, followed by a breakfast where pupils, parents and teachers come together to get in the mood for the upcoming festive season.
There was an early „present“ for the youngest pupils at the grammar school in the second week of December: the pupils in Year 1 received their „welcome gifts“. Each and every one of them received a T-shirt with the school logo.
In addition, the pupils were also given the tablets that are subsidised every year for the 5th grade by the „Digital School“ initiative of the Ministry of Education. This means that the first-graders can now really get started with digital learning.
As a special surprise, the pupils were presented with a cloth bag filled with goodies from the company ENVESTA. The school community would like to express its sincere thanks for this generous donation, which will provide all first-graders with additional positive energy.
Another particularly pleasing development this year is the renewed cooperation between the grammar school and ENVESTA: for the second edition of the „Technology in the region's companies“ project, pupils in Year 3 will be introduced to the world of electrical engineering and given the opportunity to experience working in the energy supply company in a practical way.
