On 26 January 2024, after their internal class introductions, grades 9b and 9d participated in team-building sessions in classroom C-II-2.

The class teachers, Ms Risser and Ms Horenburg mixed the two classes and organised the learners in five different teams. Let the competition begin! The task to construct the highest self-standing tower, using materials such as paper and pen for writing and reflections, spaghetti and mini marshmallows, and cardboard for the base.
The time limit for this creative challenge was set at 30 minutes.

The winning team was the one that successfully built the tallest tower that could stand independently for at least 10 seconds.

Some participants dove right into building, while others meticulously devised construction plans or thoughtfully chewed raw spaghetti. For 30 minutes, everyone engaged in meticulous working, discussions, laughter and testing construction methods (and the marshmallows!). The towers rapidly took shape.

One group stood out for not giving up when their construction collapsed. Undeterred, each team member promptly assisted in repairing the damage.

After the winning team was determined, the groups engaged in reflective discussions about their teamwork, addressing questions such as "What went well?", "What could have been improved?", and "What wasn't so good?". The learners realised the importance of planning, agreements, and fair task distribution and that working as a team yields greater achievements and more fun when shared with others.

Unfortunately, to Ms Horenburg's dismay, the award ceremony turned out to be somewhat meagre, as the contents of the marshmallow bag, which was intended as a prize, had miraculously dwindled....

Nevertheless, everyone had great fun and all agreed that they would like to repeat such a team-building session as soon as possible. – However, this time, with more and bigger marshmallows!