Before the fun - the Night of Friends - comes the work, namely the general meeting. But before the items on the agenda, a little warm-up program is also good. And thus, archery was first on the agenda at noon. Archery trainer Aik Reuter showed the Friends of Salem members how to hold the bow correctly and how to draw the string, and they were then able to try their hand in the course and shoot at 3D animals. The lifelike animals and the new bows are thanks to funding from the Friends of Salem. There was another ‘hands-on’ funding request: The Spetzgart fire brigade presented its new fire fighting vehicle to the sponsors in front of the Schrote and explained which equipment items are still missing in the vehicle. For these , the Friends of Salem will cover half of the costs. These are two of 20 projects that were approved at the general meeting that day and will be funded this school year. Over 63,000€ will go to projects in the areas of boarding, sports, services, guilds, clubs and teaching.

Between the general meeting and the evening event, guests gathered at a reception in the foyer of the Schrote, meanwhile the Hanno Beck auditorium was rearranged. Then Oliver Fischer, Chair of the Friends of Salem, Henrik Fass and Thomas Obitz from the school, and Andreas Zeiser-Radtke from the Parent Council opened the Friends of Salem Association's ‘Night of Friends’. The school band from Salem and the College band under the direction of Konstantin Krechting set the mood right from the start. With almost 200 guests - parents and members of the Friends of Salem – the Night of Friends broke its previous record, Henrik Fass and Thomas Obitz were pleased to say, as they had not had so many guests in the past ten years. The kitchen was well prepared for the onslaught and provided a varied buffet. After even the biggest hunger was satisfied, the dance floor and cocktail bar were the centre of attention – of course besides the conversations. Thanks to the Premium Style Event Band, which has been providing an exuberant dance atmosphere at the Night of Friends for years, the dance floor was occupied non-stop. Until it suddenly became quiet and exciting at 10 p.m., when Gesa Meyer-Wiefhausen took the stage. While the students served popcorn, she announced the highlight of the evening: The film premiere of the drone film about Outward Bound. An impressive and emotional almost 12-minute film about the eleven-day expedition into the wilderness of Norway by Year 9 students. For many participants, the Outward Bound excursion is one of the key experiences of their Salem school days, and so at the film premiere, one or two old Salem students probably felt transported back and reminisced. Afterwards, the students and supervisors involved in the film project, as well as the cameraman Dominic Fritze, came on stage and talked about the expedition and the filming. After the film premiere, the dance floor was reopened and the Friends of Salem danced until 1 am. A big thank you to Gesa Meyer-Wiefhausen and Britta Stocker for the organization!