St. Peter am Hart/Austria. APD (Adventist Press Service). The high school of the Schloss Bogenhofen seminary in St. Peter am Hart, Braunau/Inn, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Austria, has obtained the “North Austrian School of Health” award for excellence. This certificate was presented in Linz by the governor, Dr. Josef Puehringer, the president of the Department of Schools, Fritz Enzenhofer, and the regional president for health care provision, Felix Hinterwirth.
According to the school’s director, Cornelia Zachhuber, the award is conferred to all schools able to show that they take health and prevention seriously in their school curricula. An ad hoc committee examines the way the school tackles nutrition, mental and social health, physical exercise, general environmental and health conditions and prevention of addictions.
The director, Zachhuber, says that health is traditionally at the center of attention at the Bogenhofen seminary. However, it is also thanks to investment and structural changes that this award has been achieved. “The opening of our new cafeteria came at just the right time.” The time allowed for breakfast was also increased by almost one hour. The “BogiShop” analysed its products and now offers valid alternatives to chips and chocolate. Furthermore, the cafeteria now offers students fruit and vegetables during the main break. A part of the supply of fruit and vegetables comes from the school’s organic garden. It is then carefully prepared in the school kitchens. The fluid requirement is provided for by the seminary fountain and the cafeteria “bar”.
Physical exercise is guaranteed by the multi-purpose sports facility. In addition, health education is a core subject with a particular focus on physical exercise. Prevention of addictions is also a fundamental subject and relates to Adventist education. “There has been a huge change in mentality in the educational sector with regards to this issue.”
The high school has four classes with a total of 98 students and prepares them for the final Matura examinations. The Faculty of Theology, which awards a ‘Bachelor of Arts’ in theology (B.A.) also forms part of the Schloss Bogenhofen seminary. Thirty students originating from Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the Ukraine are part of this faculty. German language classes, ‘German for foreigners’, are also offered, with 17 students currently enrolled.
The Adventist Schulzentrum Marienhoehe campus in Darmstadt is also a ‘health-promoting school’. Its director, Gunter Henzler, received an award to that effect last year from the Regional Counsellor for Culture, Dorothea Henzler (FDP). The Marienhoehe has a total of 660 students, including those in its high school, elementary and secondary schools.
