AEON 2022 Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School Magazine Issue 15

AEON gives a glimpse into the rich learning community that is Glenaeon, established as Australia’s first school for Rudolf Steiner education. The magazine is a record of school life, featuring people and events that are important in our community.

Glenaeon pioneered the vision of a creative and collaborative education in Sydney, and we celebrate the unique community that has grown around the school.

AEON is a voice and forum for the unique learning that remains the school’s core impulse. Whether currently involved with the school, or one of our many alumni families and friends, we invite you to enjoy in the following pages the unique vision of a Glenaeon education.

Andrew Hill together with incoming Head of School, Diana Drummond

Photo: Nikki Botha

AEON Editor: Kath Kissell Editorial Assistant: Anette Babula Design: Campbell van Venrooy

Welcome to AEON 15

It was the stop-start year, like waves coming into a beach and then retreating, then rolling in again. Just when we thought we were about to get back to normal at the start of Term 1, we were warned that another surge in COVID infections would peak in Week 4 and we needed to be cautious and keep events on hold. So we did.

The situation eased in the back end of the term and we returned to some normality. Then the same thing all happened again in Term 2. … then again in Term 3!

Finally at the end of 2022 we are back to something like a pre-COVID existence, and it seems like an emergence from the Ice Age. But despite all the restrictions and the changes, the school achieved a huge amount through the year and made up for the three years of COVID challenges.

AEON 15 chronicles the people, the students and the events of Glenaeon during 2022. There is a rich feast of all that makes Glenaeon the colourful and dynamic school community that we are.

As my last AEON, I remember well our very first. I look back on a wonderful journey that has been my privilege to enjoy with colleagues, parents, students and friends in sharing the story of our unique school.

The word aeon suggests eternity, and I like to think that behind all our educational work, there is a sense of the universal human spirit that exists beyond time, one of the essential elements of a meaningful life. 

first edition of AEON magazine was published in 2011. Scan the QR code to read the first edition.

The

Spring Festival

Issue One June 2011

Bob Ellis on Glenaeon

Our Story: Glenaeon, Castlecrag, Australia West Side Story

Andrew Hill

Head of School

The Journey Continues

FAREWELL ANDREW HILL and WELCOME DIANA DRUMMOND

I wrote to members of the Glenaeon community earlier in the year to advise that our long-standing Head of School, Andrew Hill, would be stepping down from the role at the end of this year.

Andrew has served the Glenaeon community with distinction for over 28 years since joining as a Class 1 teacher way back in January 1994, taking two classes through the class-teacher period, and then taking on the Head of School responsibility in 2010.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have had an educational leader of Andrew’s calibre at Glenaeon. He has

been an outstanding advocate for Steiner education, both within and beyond Glenaeon, and has established himself as one of the pre-eminent Steiner educators in Australia.

Andrew’s achievements at Glenaeon have been exceptional.

Most significantly he was instrumental in stewarding the School through the implementation of the new management structure that came into effect following the Renewal process of 2007. This set Glenaeon on a new course of achievement, enabling us to meet the challenges and demands of contemporary schooling whilst remaining true to our core Steiner principles.

Organisationally, Andrew has developed the School Executive into the professional team that we see today; facilitated successive Strategic Plans that have guided the School’s achievement of its educational mission; and instituted AEON now its 15th edition.

Educationally, Andrew initiated a new direction for Glenaeon’s High School programme which has resulted in HSC results that are

consistently within the top 10% of high schools in NSW; guided the re-visioning the Class Teacher journey in the two sections of Primary and Middle School; was instrumental in establishing the Mentor system of vertical pastoral care in Years 9-11; and championed the music program that is such a distinctive feature of Glenaeon’s offering.

On the facilities front, Andrew spearheaded the establishment of the Gentle Café and Deck; as well as numerous improvements to our facilities and grounds all the while ensuring that our natural bushland setting was protected and nurtured.

Above all, Andrew will leave behind an outstanding legacy of a flourishing contemporary school in which Steiner education and its underlying philosophy remain the foundation of both our teaching practice and our community spirit.

On behalf of the Board and the entire Glenaeon community, I would like to thank Andrew for his enormous contribution to the success of our school over the past 28 years and wish him every success and happiness in the next stage of his career.

Peter Candotti

Chair, Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School Board

Class 1 teacher Andrew Hill, 1994

Andrew at the Opening of the Gentle Café event in 2019

ITwas always going to be a challenge to find a new Head of School to follow on from Andrew, however the Board drew comfort from the fact that such a strong platform had been built through Andrew’s leadership.

Following an extensive and robust process to find a successor for Andrew, we were delighted to announce the appointment of Diana Drummond as Glenaeon’s new Head of School with effect from January 2023.

Diana will join Glenaeon having completed more that 15 years in leadership roles, most recently at Wenona, where she was a Deputy Principal, before finishing up at the end of Term 3 this year.

Diana is a committed and passionate educator and leader, whose values align with Glenaeon’s holistic, nurturing, and creative approach to teaching and learning.

The Board and I have full confidence that Diana will build on Andrew’s legacy and continue to inspire, build, and sustain Glenaeon’s unique culture that optimises learning for all –students, teachers, parents and the community.

Please join me in welcoming Diana to our Glenaeon community and wishing her every success as Glenaeon’s new Head of School. 

Candotti Chair, Glenaeon School Board

Peter

Above. SMH photographer Steven Siewert gets the shot. Left. Meet the Parents event June 2022.

Hill Head of School

Things I'll Miss

As I prepare to make an exit stage left, I am making a list of all the things I’m going to miss at Glenaeon. So here, to quote My Favourite Things from Rogers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, are a few of my favourite Glenaeon things.

I’ll miss the people:

My very first professional experience of Glenaeon was applying for the Class 1 position at the end of 1993. I walked into the staff room to be interviewed by the entire College of Teachers, all 18 of them, sitting in a big circle. I laugh now when we interview for positions and someone says, “don’t make the panel too big (ie more than three), it might put them off”.

It was my introduction to what I now affectionately call the People’ s Republic of Middle Cove. We have a sense of collaboration that would be the envy of those mainstream schools which over the past twenty years have realised the 21st century tide was turning in a new direction, and have collaboration as a “thing” to embrace. The people of Glenaeon remain an extraordinary group of human beings: supportive, friendly, trusting and most importantly, fun to be with. I’m going to miss them terribly.

At the Preschool and Castlecrag I’ll miss…

» The enchanting world of young children and their self-directed play, creating a universe of infinite possibility

» Our beautiful Kindergarten rooms, the teachers, and the unique and compelling world they create, the crown of early childhood

» The Marion Mahony Griffin Hall and the living embracing space created by the interlocking geometric forms of hexagon, pentagons and triangles.

At Middle Cove I’ll miss...

» Our bush primary playground: endless children jumping, running, climbing and chasing

» Hearing the sounds of Katherine Arconati’s Class 6 singing every morning to start the day: it lifts my heart

» The tree ferns, the creek, the mangroves, the waterfalls and Lindsay Sherrott our guardian of the bushland

» Walking into any primary classroom and being embraced by a living imagination and learning that warms and nourishes

» Saying the Morning Verse with a high school Mentor group and feeling the mindful moment of solemn reverence

» Chatting to Year 10 as they retreat from their lockers and head off to class in the morning

» Watching the Year 10 Musical: how an entire class of 16 year olds can produce such gems of musical theatre is always mystery and a wonder

» Teaching a Year 11 Main Lesson and enjoying the challenge of sparring with young minds

Andrew

Castlecrag (above) and Middle Cove Campus Staff 2022

Lindsay Sherrott

The Crown of Early Childhood

»

The Sylvia Brose Hall, scene of so many memorable events, concerts, conferences, assemblies and shows, and its wave-like undulating ceiling

» Doing my weekly gate duty in the afternoon and chatting with parents about all the important things that matter to them

» Seeing our Art Therapist Julia Byrne’s gentle but exquisite colour

» The Gentle Café: seeing our café under the trees with students and teachers happily enjoying a coffee in the sunshine has been a special joy, and one that I’ll miss

» Being part of the Year 12 Graduation assembly: watching a group of 18 year olds speak in unison “I look into the world…” for the last time with a powerful soul force shining through their sparkling eyes.

And finally, I’ll miss the 8:21 sound

There’s one sound I really enjoy every day. The students are supervised outside Class 5 from 8 am to 8:20 am, when they’re released to walk down to the high school area. They take a minute to come down the walkway, and they pass beneath the window of my office at about 8.21 am. The sound of those bubbly voices is always a joy: this sound of young people, ready to embrace the new day, gives me a lift without fail.

It’s the sound of a new generation, ready to embrace the world, and an inspiring thing. It’s what should inspire any educator as a sacred responsibility, preparing the next generation to take on the task of guiding the planet into a better future. I’ll miss the sound, but like all my favourite things, I’ll take the memory with me and cherish it forever. 

Andrew Hill Head of School

Morning Verse

I look into the world In which the sun is shining, In which the stars are sparkling, In which the stones repose; Where living plants are growing, Where sentient beasts are living, And we to Spirit give, A dwelling in the soul.

I look into the soul, That lives within my being: The World Creator moves In sunlight and in soul light, In wide world space without, In soul depths here within.

To Thee, Creator Spirit, I now will turn my heart, That strength and grace and skill, For learning and for work, In me may live and grow.

2022

12 Mystery

The Seven Habits

of Highly Effective Glenaeon Graduates

It’s a regular thing for graduating addresses to offer wise words of advice, and to send graduates off with some choice notes for the road, as it were. Personally I don’t like to give advice for the simple reason that all the wise things should have been said already. So instead of wise thoughts, I want to look at the wise things that you’ve done, more or less every day, here at Glenaeon.

Here is my list of things I hope we’ve hammered into you over many years, and are worth keeping doing. So I’m going to take seven things that you’ve all done for years, and suggest you keep doing them. They could even become habits. To paraphrase the hugely successful book of Professor Stephen Covey, I call them The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Glenaeon Graduates.

1Learning Like a Main Lesson

Why? Not just because we do it, but because it’s the most effective ways of learning anything: immersion, depth, narrative, image, and sleeping on it.

It ’s a bigger picture of what learning can be, learning that has been not just acquiring information or assembling details, but also growing you as a person and expanding your view of the world. Current research is validating it.

That’s the important idea behind our Main Lessons: any topic, or Big Idea, is a story in itself, it has a context, it has development, it’s a living thing and you can see

it from many sides, whether it’s the Pythagoras Theorem, The Renaissance, The Birth of Literature or The Chemistry of Salts.

Learning like a Main Lesson will help you turn complex information into an understandable narrative, into an organic whole. I have known Glenaeon graduates who have turned their university lecture material into Main Lesson books so they could grasp it more thoroughly. The Golden Globe award-winning US actor Julianna Margulies, who went to Rudolf Steiner schools in New York, wrote how she would turn any script she received into a Main Lesson book before taking it to the Director of the show for guidance. You might want to do the same.

2

Drawing I

n one sense we’re all visual learners. You only understand something when you can make an inner picture of it. This is the reason why we’ve got you to draw so much. It’s not just decoration, its actually about learning, and putting your mind on paper. Drawing helps you process the world and see it more clearly,

whether it was learning the letters of the alphabet in Class 1 or the world ocean systems in Year 10.

Our school’s form of shading with vibrant colours also calms your mind and nourishes your heart. And by the way, it can look beautiful as well: beauty in this difficult world is a precious thing, and being able to create beauty at your fingertips is no small gift that we hope you take with you, and keep practicing.

3

Singing

f drawing calms the mind, then singing calms the heart. In this age of instantly accessible everything, we live with recorded music on tap every second. Why bother singing yourself? You may be surprised how little people sing these days as part of ordinary life. But you have been in a school that puts singing, and quality music, up there as a fundamental human trait, and we hope you have had your voice developed and prepared to take with you wherever you go in life. And singing in harmony with others is even better, a little touch of heaven in this ordinary world.

I

Walking

This one might seem strange, but good old fashioned walking on the earth in a forward direction has a lot going for it. These days there are so many alternatives that get in the way, so many other options. Humanity evolved as a walking being, and there’s a wisdom in the phrase, being grounded. Walking grounds you.

There is so much of our organism that’s built around the calm, gentle rhythm that comes from moving those legs back and forth, our metabolism for starters.

We hope you’ve had enough practice here: from bushwalks in Kindergarten through to strenuous hikes in Outdoor Education trips. If walking’s an option anytime, take it. You’ll always be the better for it.

Making W

e live in a throwaway world, of course. Just go down to General Waste, section #7, at Kimbriki tip and see what gets thrown out on any given weekend. But at the same time it’s interesting that over the past few years the Artisan impulse is now so prominent: there’s artisan coffee, artisan bread, artisan beer, artisan markets. People making things, and making them locally. It seems like the humans strike back against the machine.

If you’ve been through our school, you will have made a lot of things, all useful and hopefully, beautiful: recorder bags, pencil cases, craft bags, wooden toys, knitted scarves, beanies, cross stitched patterns, roman shields, bowls, metal fence pieces… the list goes on. Your parents probably have cupboards full of the stuff you’ve made. We didn’t get you to make all those things just to fill those cupboards of course. It was to give you skills and confidence in your skills.

These are the attributes of the entrepreneur: to have a vision of your product, to assemble the materials, to apply your will with strength and specific skills, to communicate your product to an audience. These are all the skills of the entrepreneur, the skills of the 21st century, and you take them with you into the future.

Playing W

hen you were little we not only let you play a lot, we encouraged you to play and made it part of the curriculum. We’ve certainly encouraged you to climb, and run and explore.

It sometimes seems that real play is an endangered species. I was speaking with a mainstream Kindergarten teacher last week who told me she has children coming in now who physically can’t even climb.

Play creates another reality, another culture. Children do it most beautifully in self-directed play, when they play out what they have seen adults doing, and they express

their imitation by creating scenarios. They process their learning through play. Glenaeon’s playgrounds at lunchtime are a whirlpool of movement and play. As you got older that play became more formal, in games with sets of rules. But even those adult games are another reality, with their rituals and their ceremonies.

Now there are wise people who have said that we are most human when we play. There was a famous book written just on that topic. Play keeps you fresh, and attentive, and lifts us out of the hum drum routines where just for those precious moments we are free from the workaday world. Keep playing!

7

Feeling

This last one might seem counterintuitive: doesn’t everyone get emotional and have feelings? Doesn’t any normal person get sad when their football team loses, happy when their football team wins, ecstatic when their football team wins a grand final, and totally incoherent when their country wins the World Cup? But “feeling” is different.

Let me give an example. We’re taught by physics that what we see as colour is actually light with different wave lengths: blue and violet have short wave lengths, red has the longest wavelength. That’s so important to understand as the physical basis of the world. But is that all? Is that all colour is?

One of the first things we show you in Class 1 when we do water colour painting is that red feels different from blue, and both feel different from yellow. The wavelengths are only one side of the reality of colour. The feeling of colour, as any of you who’s had to decide on colours to paint your bedroom will know, is an another reality again. That’s what the water colour painting in primary school was all about: growing your feelings so you have stronger feeling “muscles”.

It goes on. The sun is a ball of burning gas. For thousands of years, who hasn’t been moved in their feelings by the awe and majesty of the sun slowly rising over the horizon and beginning a new day. The moon is a ball of rock that reflects sunlight. What normal person hasn’t been enchanted by the feelings of a silvered moonlit evening or felt romantic when walking through moonlight with a special person?

Unfortunately, there seem to be more people in the world today who, maybe as a result of a one-sided education, only see wavelengths, gas and a ball of rock. That’s a pretty dismal outlook on the world, and not one to make you want to get up in the morning and shout for joy.

We talk about having “feelings” for someone (it means you like them a lot!): I hope as a Glenaeon graduate you will also have “feelings” for the world and all its wonderful enchantments. Then, like an able bodied person standing on two legs, you will both understand the current science of the world, and “feel” it as well. You will be, in short, a complete human being.

So those are seven habits of highly effective Glenaeon Graduates, things you take with you as a solid foundation of good habits for a meaningful life.

Year 12, every graduating class leaves a trace on our hearts and you will too. I wish you all happiness and success on the great journey of life, and I invite you now, for the last time, to stand and say your Morning Verse. 

Andrew Hill Head of School

Harry Aboud

Malachi Hailemichael

Scarlet McQueen

Sophie Brien

Pipi Joannou

Olivia Pethard

Marcel Cope

Isak Lindsay

Charlotte Simpson

James Gianoutsos

Riley MacPherson

Minyu Vandenberg

Wesley Arconati

Andrew Hicks

Marc Monnet-Demarbre

Remy Browne

Grace Leong

Baxter Segers

Alex Dow

Jaydon Low

Si Yun Tan

Thank you to all the parents who have so joyfully come again to craft mornings, helped cook in classrooms and most of all, we celebrate your beautiful children!

classrooms. The educators take great care of our physical space and plan the design of the rooms to be an extension of the creative home environment where children and teachers joyfully participate in meaningful work. This sense of feeling at home at Preschool has been paramount this year as many children regularly left their homes for the first time after lockdowns and needed to strengthen their sense of belonging and joy.

Outside

Over fifty families with their children came apple picking and attended our Mid-Winter and Spring Festivals together. Our community is central to who we are as a Preschool.

The parents have all done an incredible job in the last few years keeping light and warmth in their homes. We wish to pay tribute to the families and their dedication to the children.

In joyful relationship to each other and to their third teacher: Our beautiful environments

New parents who entered Glenaeon Preschool immediately noticed the simplicity, the beauty and the deep attention to detail that permeates our

Inside

Teachers have been creating a gentle environment where the space has been beautifully organised to support engagement and connection.

Our toys, made from natural materials with differing forms and gestures, have allowed the most imaginative play. Stones, shells or pine cones were directly collected from nature and brought into their play. Silks, crowns and cloaks have been used for pretend play and to create stories.

Our flexible pieces of timber furniture have promoted open-ended play opportunities- chairs used for sitting around the lunch table were also used for a school bus.

The time outside has allowed children to play in a variety of inventive ways while fostering a strong connection between them and the natural world. They have learnt to care for and nurture the garden, they have hunted treasures amongst the trees or built rivers and bridges in the sandpit, they have sought imaginary wilderness animals or ships at sea from the top of the climbing frame looking into the park. They have been engaged in endless opportunities for imaginative play.

We have visited the park every week and listened to birds soaring over the treetops and examined little creatures creeping around the ground. As seasons were changing, children were exposed to the subtle and delightful changes that transform their play spaces and bring great connection with the natural world.

Our environment is intended to make the children feel safe and immerse them in the surroundings, deeply nurturing their sense of life. 

Soraya

Garcia Preschool Educator, and Peggy Day Preschool Director

What joy and hope we have experienced at Preschool this year!

PLAYGROUPS

In cheerfully scripted and improvised rhythms, Glenaeon Playgroup Educators provide a diversity of stories at the six separate playgroups, each taking place on their respective days across two campuses each school term.

Adults witness that the children know ‘just what to do’ as they take their cues from the teachers who are modelling the behaviours they expect and that the characters also embody in the story.

Rudolf Steiner encouraged the use of stories as a vital and graphic way of coming to know the world. As the puppets and props speak, we are reminded that children believe in the personification of objects.

From the moment each family arrives at their Playgroup, they witness that the Playgroup room and outdoor settings are all prepared as if ‘something is about to happen, to be led by the educator or by the children themselves. The setting is a story of ‘Welcome Home’ to everyone who joins the Playgroup.

Many stories happen in each two-hour Playgroup session. Some stories support adventure in the garden, sandpit and playgroup room. Some stories accompany the baking, playing, cleaning up and saying goodbye.

All activities accompanied by songs filled with stories whose tunes and families quickly figure out the clues in the Playgroup.

At every Playgroup, there is a central ‘story time’ for which the families gather in an ‘audience style’. Soft music plays on an instrument, a candle is lit with a match, and the story begins on the small stage which hosts the puppets and stage props.

‘What Story? What story do you tell? What story do you tell?’

This question is in the mind of each participant, young and old. The Playgroup Educator begins to say: ‘Once upon a time…’ Slowly and steadily, the puppets and stage props move along with the rhythmic beat of the voice of the experienced storyteller.

Faster, slower, funny, and serious, the story unfolds until the end, when the conclusion is reached. The candle is snuffed. The audience watches the smoke twirl towards the ceiling. ‘Ah’… satisfaction.

The atmosphere of wonder, grace, learning, joy is established for the time spent together in the Playgroup.

We are entertained, yes, but above all, we live a celebration of human dignity for each other and our environment.

The Playgroup story aims to nourish, educate, heal and celebrate the abundant soul life that we have the ability for.

Our Playgroup Educators are honoured to have the opportunity to craft the stories and mediums that enrich us all in our Glenaeon Playgroups. 

Sandra Frain Playgroup Manager and

Leader

'What Story? What story do you tell? What story do you tell?'

Kindergarten Teacher and Senior Teacher at Castlecrag

Community building at Castlecrag

At the end of Term 3, as we welcomed the Spring here at our Castlecrag campus, it felt that we were not only able to celebrate the life forces and regeneration of nature but we were also able to celebrate the life forces and regeneration of our community after a long period of restraint and uncertainty following COVID restrictions.

On the last day of term, the day of the Spring Festival, Castlecrag parents arrived early to help with preparations and garland making. While Classes 1 and 2 along with a number of enthusiastic parents excitedly prepared to join the rest of the school at Middle Cove for a wonderful whole school festival celebration, the Kindergarten children and parents prepared for their festival to be held at Castlecrag.

At this festival the Kindergarten children joyfully shared their Spring circle for the parents. This was followed by a beautiful community picnic where the children had made delicious rainbow fruit sticks and lemonade to share with parents.

Festivals, along with the sharing of class circles and plays, always provide a wonderful opportunity for our parents and children to come together to, not only share the fruits of the children’s work, but to also share the life-affirming and positive experience of being part of our school community.

Building community through parents working together to support the education of children has always been an important part of life here at

Castlecrag. Each class has committed Class Parent representatives who help weave the social fabric of the parent community. They also liaise with the teacher who will suggest ways in which the parents can volunteer their time to support the class. In addition to helping prepare for festivals and plays, the parents may support a variety of other class activities such as bushwalking, gardening, seasonal crafts and reading.

Apart from directly helping in the activities of particular classes, there are a number of other important community building activities that happen each week at Castlecrag.

Each Wednesday a dedicated Parent Craft group meets in the Hall Kitchen. This group of parents create beautiful hand-made crafts to sell at the school fair. The children love to use their tokens to purchase some of these items in the Children’s Grotto, while other more elaborate handcrafted items can be purchased at the parent craft stall.

Each Thursday morning a group of parents come together in the Hall Kitchen to share in ‘Kitchen Conversations’ over a cup of herb

tea from the Castlecrag gardens. Catherine Pilko facilitates these conversations which are focussed around selected topics that support parenting and family life.

Regular parent teacher nights and parent education sessions provide further opportunities for parents to come together with other parents from their child’s class or from the wider Castlecrag community.

Another vitally important community building activity that happens each weekday morning at Castlecrag are our Playgroups hosted by our experienced playgroup leaders and educators. These provide a wonderful opportunity to bring together a fledgling community of parents and children many of whom will join our Kindergartens in the years ahead.

We welcome a wonderful variety of parents to our Castlecrag campus each week. Nurturing and supporting the many layers of our community is an important part of our daily life here at Castlecrag. 

Catherine Pilko

Wet Felting Parent Craft workshop with talented felter Yuki Tomashima. (See her work on Instagram @yuki_australia)

Class 2 parents enjoying Spring Festival preparations

Below. Families connect at the Kindergarten Spring Festival Bottom. Parent Ed session on Understanding Children’s Drawings with Catherine Pilko

PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Class 1 year begins with a ceremony where the children are farewelled by their Kindergarten teacher and cross a 'Rainbow Bridge' which leads them to their Class 1 teacher who is waiting to welcome them.

The Class Teacher Journey

In any case, the formation of the disposition or feeling life suffers greatly when the children are passed every year to a fresh teacher who cannot develop what was instilled into children in earlier years. It is part of the teaching method itself that the teacher should go up with their own pupils through the different school-stages.

Rudolf Steiner – Practical Advice to Teachers – Lecture 6

There is that moment of pause in any conversation where I reveal that I have moved along with my class since Class 1, when the bewildered listener considers the implications of this unusual practice. The inevitable questions follow – What if you don’t get along with a child? What if a parent doesn’t like the teacher? Isn’t that a huge commitment? These questions raise real potential issues, but the benefits of the Class Teacher journey far outweigh them in comparison.

Rudolf Steiner indicated the constancy of the Class Teacher as an essential aspect of the school. She is a conscientious gardener planting seeds in the souls of the children, patiently waiting for them to bear fruit.

When I was introducing skip counting in Class 1, I knew that it would lead to the times tables in Class 3 and algebraic number patterns in Class 6. Gross motor and social skills developed in the Class 2 morning circle, lead to abseiling down the Warrumbungles with the supportive cries of classmates below. It is slow education, perfectly seasoned and timed to coincide with each phase of the children’s development, all to be savoured with reverence by the ever-present class teacher.

Three words come to mind when I reflect on this experience – Economy, Empathy and Enthusiasm.

Progressing with a class is economical because I know what they have been taught, what I will teach next, and what my aim is by the end

of Year 8. Though the children grow and change, I know them thoroughly and have a strong relationship with them that supports a harmonious, productive classroom environment. If I had a new cohort each year, I would need at least a term to decipher how each child is best met, and where they are in their learning.

The relationship to the children is not one of like or dislike, but one of empathy. I have shed many a tear over the accomplishments of children who others may have passed over as incapable – whether this be the lead role in a class play, producing a coherent piece of writing or learning about percentages.

Likewise, I have been floored by the achievements of students, especially when completing project work

Katherine Arconati Class 6 Teacher

and they extend the task to match their personal interest. Our success is a mutual one, independent of quantifiable results.

Enthusiasm is the word that perhaps relates most closely to Steiner’s indications. We all love looking forward to things, and the Class Teacher is in a position to “preview” what is to come with great excitement. For both students and teacher, there is always something fresh on the horizon, whether it’s the next main lesson, the next class play or next year’s camp. Though preparation can be arduous, I have always found learning new material to teach inspiring. Reading Roman history, I found myself picturing which children would most connect with each story. When I prepared the

myths, I honestly could not wait to share them with the children. Though I am not yet at the end of this Class Teacher period, the transition from Class 6 to Year 7 is a Rubicon crossing that marks the end of primary school and the intimacy of our single class cohort. I look forward with enthusiasm to meeting and getting to know a whole new group of children, whilst also continuing to observe the children I know so well metamorphose through adolescence. I cannot imagine teaching any other way. 

Greek

Note: Rudolf Steiner originally indicated that the Class Teacher should continue from Class 1 to Class 8. Because high school begins in Year 7 in Australia, many Class Teachers cycle back after Class 6. At Glenaeon, this decision is made each year in consultation with the Class 6 Teacher.

Class 1 Wonder of Numbers

Class 2 Painting

Class 3 Exploring Measurement

Class 4 Zoo Excursion

Class 5 Indian Festival

Class 6 Play Roma Amor

Rhythms re-established

2022 focused on the reestablishment of familiar rhythms and cultural practices that give meaning to our human journey, and the wellbeing of the high school again began to be supported by punctuating events that mark time, celebrate growth and provide us with the knowledge that we are developing and progressing.

The autumn, winter and spring festivals were moments of celebration that highlighted our human connection to the world and, while not necessarily the activity towards which most students look forward, the regular examination periods for those in Years 9 to 12 brought back a sense of certainty and trust in the pulse of the academic year.

The secure knowledge that the outdoor education expeditions and Year 10 musical could go ahead, a little tweaking notwithstanding, provided students with special events to anticipate and our knowledge that we will round out the year with the Carol Service, the Shepherds’ Play, Gleno Cup and the ‘big handshake’ assures us we are back on track.

The Glenaeon ‘cycle of the year’ again began to take form and we realised how important it was to firmly re-establish our cultural events, to recognise the annual progression that combats what has familiarly become to be known as ‘ground hog day’.

Many rhythms may be observed in daily life and as adults we are conscious of the additional will and focus required if we need to navigate

a day or week when our familiar routine is disturbed. We can manage a chaotic period for a short span of time but become fatigued when a lack of rhythm begins to become the norm. The daily (Sun) and the weekly rhythms (planetary*) are important and provide continuity that allows us to ‘get on with the job’ but these cycles relate primarily to the here and now and not to the future.

Throughout 2020 and 2021 these rhythms were largely retained, although sometimes altered in their form. In that same period, however, while the yearly seasonal progression could still be observed, the human or cultural annual cycle was lost as gatherings were not permitted, events were cancelled and future planning was put on hold.

At Glenaeon and as we saw that increasing numbers of students were becoming burdened by a lack of direction and meaning, we became starkly aware that we were no longer supported by the cycle of the Glenaeon year. The task in 2022 was to bring that back!

In a Steiner school, the significance of rhythm as an

essential element of education is well understood. In particular, it is acknowledged that rhythm strongly supports ‘will’ which is the capacity to engage with interest and sustained focus on a task. Actions that form our daily habits are ‘will activities’ that have become automatic, requiring less conscious determination. In the school context, rhythmic habits that support ‘will’ include the recitation of the morning verse that connects feeling and thought and lets the students know it’s time to learn, the Main Lesson period that calls for prolonged absorption in a theme, and the lessons in the latter half of the day which have their own rhythmic breathing as they journey through theoretical content and practical experience.

These established daytime practices are then followed by the hard-won homework routine that, if embedded, means it’s just that much easier to pick up the pen again after school.

The weekly cycle too has its value and provides a breathing that allows us to perform our daily habits without them becoming monotonous.

Elizabeth Nevieve Deputy Head of School Years 7–12

Year 10–11 Winter Spiral Spring Festival The Cove Year 9

Wednesday’s tasks are just a little different to those that occur on Thursday, and five days in the school environment followed by the weekend provides a needed balance between a structured stretch and time that is more our own. Students return to campus after the weekend not because of a conscious decision to again engage with lessons, but simply because Monday follows Sunday, and the Year 9 cohorts’ willingness to arrive at 7:30am for the morning Cove session doesn’t happen because of an inner desire to rise early for a run, but because it’s a regular expectation.

The daily and weekly rhythms therefore can be seen to provide the structure that supports concrete learning and engagement, but our assimilation of knowledge and development of skill feels purposeless if there isn’t a larger cycle present that allows us to feel connected to life’s journey. It is the yearly cycle, the connection to something larger than ourselves and the familiar return of dates and events that give reference to our development over a greater span of time, that allows us to experience our lives as meaningful. It is this assurance, felt subconsciously, that

ultimately provides us with real inner drive, with sustained ‘will’.

With Meaningful Lives as our school motto, Glenaeon teachers felt the very real wish to bring the yearly cycle to the forefront of our work. Re-establishing cultural rhythms during 2022, however, hasn’t been easy. Memory was there, but felt practice wasn’t. Years of Glenaeon tradition told us that it was possible, but both teachers and students ‘muscles’ lacked conditioning.

Conscious effort and resolve were needed! The 2022 yearly cycle therefore didn’t yet provide the level of inner support that the annual rhythm has gifted in the past, but we laid the foundation, the future seeding, and for that we are grateful. Rhythm is, after all, something that takes time to establish, something that is only recognisable if it occurs more than once! 2023 will be a little easier and I hope that by 2024 students, parents and teachers alike find themselves subconsciously supported by happenings that again link us, with inner joy, to the future. Our ‘will’ will therefore be enlivened because it is the future, and not the past, that the ‘will’ seeks.

A side note: Interestingly, we often equate ‘meaning’ with ‘consciously understanding’ or ‘comprehending’. The latter two states arise as thoughts, they are in their nature cerebral. But a sense of meaning in terms of a Meaningful Life comes about through a felt sense of purpose, and purpose can be clearly seen to be related to the activity of ‘will’. A meaningful life is a purposeful and valuable life. It is not a life looked at and deconstructed, it is not a life that is necessarily cerebrally understood. Instead, a meaningful life is one that is ‘felt’ and where our many actions and tasks are seen to unite and weave together into a thread that creates the stream of our individual journeys. Hence, while on the surface the word meaning may be seen to relate to the realm of ‘thinking’, at its deeper level it can be understood as something that is intrinsically linked to the activity of our ‘will’. 

*The days of the week are named after the seven ‘planets’ that are visible with the naked eye as ‘shining objects’ that are seen to move across the sky. Important to note is that the word planet comes from the Ancient Greek word, (asteres) planētai, meaning wandering (stars), hence the inclusion of the Sun and the Moon as they are also seen to move over the sky when observing from the earth perspective. Further detail can be read here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/planet

Spring Festival High School Assembly

Into the Woods

Music

and Lyrics

by STEPHEN SONDHEIM Book by JAMES LAPINE

Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapin Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick Licensed exclusively by Music Theatre International (Australasia) All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia

When I told other drama teacher colleagues, we were doing the full adult version of Into the Woods their jaws dropped. You must have done rigorous auditions within the high school population they asked? Well, no, I explained that the Glenaeon way of approaching a school musical was a deviation from the norm.

The whole of Year 10 performing, most having never acted, sung, or danced on stage before and each child working outside their comfort zones. I grew used to their reactions and when the same people came to see the show and were in awe of what this cast had achieved, I fully understood the power of theatre to create unique life transformations. There is no greater test of teamwork, cooperation and communication than being involved in live theatre, especially a piece of work by Stephen Sondheim.

From the get-go, the cast were up for the challenge, keen and eager with choreography, character and blocking suggestions and alive with creative impulses. We watched them struggle, practise, persist and succeed in learning and unravelling the tricky songs and dialogue within an incredibly convoluted script. It was a true collaboration and one which required me to get out of my own way to allow the process to evolve. It was a very moving experience for me as a teacher, performer, and director to experience.

One of the students told me at the lavishly jubilant cast party that being in the production had changed their life — the purpose of my career crystalised in that moment. I have learned never to underestimate the teenage spirit. I can’t wait to see what the next Year 10 student cohort will create in 2023! 

Caroline Farrell Director

MUSIC

Ian Munns Head of Department (Music)

Above. Big Band, Northern Beaches Instrumental Festival

Right: Northern Sydney Symphonic Wind Ensemble

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is considered by many as one of the most influential creators of musical theatre. One of his most well-known and loved musicals is ‘Into The Woods'. Famously, Cinderella states at one point in the show, ‘Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor’. What Sondheim means by this is; one must take opportunities when they are presented so as not to miss out on what can be most rewarding.

It has been our aim once again in 2022 to provide as many opportunities for our students to experience music as performers, creators and appreciators. After what was a reasonably disrupted 2021, we were so fortunate to be able to get our music program up and running almost fully again this year.

The biggest highlight of 2022 was undoubtably the Year 10 musical ‘Into The Woods’. The show was a challenge from start to finish; musically, being interrupted by COVID and having to be postponed, and the general demands of a full-scale Broadway show, but our Year 10s rose to the occasion and presented a most amazing season of shows. To watch our students transform into consummate performers and work as such a coherent ensemble was truly a privilege. So it was also in working with a wonderful team of creative and expert colleagues. All these elements combined to produce a near professional level performance and congratulations should go to all involved.

Our Twilight Concerts provided the opportunity for many of our students to prepare and perform for their peers, parents and friends. These concerts are important in our school’s life, as they give students the chance to work towards a performance and present their ever-developing musicality to an appreciative and encouraging audience. To have primary and high school students performing alongside each other as soloists or small ensemble members is important to the growth of both the individual performer and our music program.

Our co-curricular program has been able to continue and grow this year and we have had the opportunity to hear performances by some of our ensembles in assemblies. In Term 4 we were able to put on our first Jazz Café in a number of years, ably supported by our Music Support Committee. This gave our community the opportunity to come together and hear performances by our Concert Band, Big Band and Jazz Combo (among others) and to raise some funds for the Music Department.

We also had the opportunity to come together at our Carols Service for the first time in a number of years. This is an event which celebrates a significant time in the year and provided an opportunity for musical contributions from Sinfonia, Chamber Choir and our combined Year Level Choirs . As well as our Autumn Harvest, Mid-Winter and Spring Festivals, this event allows us to come together as a school community and celebrate through music.

Thank you to all those who contributed this year to our Music program and to all those students who ensured they took the opportunities presented. 

‘Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor’

Above and below: Jazz Festival

2022 Snow Tour

ears 9 and 11 were able to partake in the diversity of an alpine environment, challenging conditions, skill development and social dynamics not available during the regular school day. Staying in Berridale with our host Igor, at the Snowgate Motel for the 5th year we had a record number of students, over 60, participate in the tour.

Skiing at Perisher under the tutelage of the instructors and our fearless leader Jonas Stoebe (with assistance from Rhianna, Andy, Stanley, Kim and myself) the students

laughed, cried, boarded, skied and learnt what they could in the short three days they spent on the snow.

The benefits of this sort of trip are many and varied. Observing young people working together, supporting one another, learning new skills, pushing themselves outside their comfort zones, stepping up to and beyond expectations is always rewarding and is what pushes us to continue to offer these valuable opportunities. What a trip!" 

Donna Miller PDHPE Teacher

After a two year hiatus Snow Tour 2022 became a reality!

Jonas Stoebe PDHPE Teacher

“Y

Williams Outdoor Education Teacher

A more normal…

2022 saw the return of a more normal Outdoor Education at Glenaeon after the recent years of relative uncertainty. Our students have seen the return of the Glenaeon classics, as well as the reappearance of experiences outside of the standard program.

The previous years have necessitated flexibility and reactivity, limiting the potential for ambitious thinking and grand plans. Instead, simply finding achievable ways to including outdoor learning into students lives had become the new normal.

Our societies more recent shift forward has allowed the Glenaeon Outdoor team to look forward with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of the impact and the importance of time spent outdoors in the lives of our students.

The Year 7 program on Newnes Plateau followed extensive rainfall which inundated Deep Pass – our regular campsite was at least 5m under water! Perhaps a fleet of canoes would have been at home here on top of what is typically a small creek?

With no ability to pull the plug at the bottom of the valley, we instead explored the nearby River Caves area – where the eyes of students and staff alike lit up under the light dappled green mossy fern walls of the canyon.

The flooded valley floor provided a stark contrast to the fire scorched hilltops of the area, not dissimilar to society – undergoing recent severe changes, followed by necessary recovery.

Nine students made the journey up to Far North Queensland for the 2022 Hinchinbrook Sea Kayaking trip. Leaving the cold wet winter of the south, they escaped to the warm northern sun, beaming down onto the turtle laden clear coral waters and tree lined beaches under the omnipresent skyline of Mount Bowen. 

Scottie

Chris Scrogie Operations and Facilities Manager

This year has been a very busy and very wet time for the Operations team. Months of endless rain created new creeks and leaks across our campuses, for many months we had two wading pools instead of playing fields.

The challenge of maintaining the exterior of the buildings and the grounds was great, also with a concentrated schedule of events to support, however the team performed admirably, almost like an Olympic Synchronised Swimming Team.

We have continued our program of air conditioning teaching spaces and staff areas to support education with comfortable environments across all campuses.

New stairs have been installed through the centre of the Middle Cove Campus and further works are

Creating Space

planned for pathways and roads as the weather permits.

Our program of painting and refurbishing areas continues across the School.

Over the last few years the Bushfire regulations in NSW have become significantly stricter and as part of our ongoing maintenance of the grounds we continue to undertake a fire fuel reduction program around our buildings. As part of this we have needed to create a wider open space around the Walter Burly Griffin Building. This has involved the removal of some trees, to open up the canopy, but has also created an opportunity for a new space. As part of this work we were able to partner with Harvest Nursery, who were able to harvest many seeds, seedlings and cuttings of the plants in the

area. They were also able to relocate several grass trees that would have been affected by the works. We will explore the exciting options this space presents, to how best utilise this new open space. 

Annual Giving Campaign

Borrud Glenaeon Foundation Chair

In May this year, the Glenaeon Foundation launched our 11th Annual Giving Campaign: A gift that lasts a lifetime! aiming to raise funds to support our bursary and scholarship programs. Over the six-week campaign we raised over $36,000. The Foundation would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed. Driven by a commitment to making our enriching education as accessible to children as possible, Glenaeon proudly provides scholarships and bursaries that literally change lives. Over the past five years Glenaeon has supported over 100 families with bursaries and has provided over 60 part and full-time scholarships. These are gifts of opportunity that touch so many.

Additionally, the Foundation has continued to work closely with the Building Committee to develop the Masterplan and secure a building project. As this is a complex process the timeline for launching a major capital campaign has been moved into 2023. We invite everyone to stay tuned for further exciting developments as we look to the future building of Glenaeon. 

Robin

Mid-Winter Ball

Back in May, a crowd of 200 gathered at the Roseville Golf Club for a fun filled evening on the Glenaeon Green at the Mid-Winter celebration. There was music, games, food and drinks plus great company as the community gathered together once again.

Thanks to everyone who came along to support the GPA event. 

Art Show & Family Fair

The 2022 Art Show and Family Fair took place from 4-6 November.

The event was back after a two year hiatus and it was bigger than ever with fun activities for the families, music, storytelling, stalls, food, craft and of course the Art Show.

The Fair was heaving with visitors and was a huge success on many fronts. Huge thanks to the Class 4 Fair Coordinators who worked so tirelessly on this event. 

GLENAEON RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL BOARD

culture within the school. In 2016, Stephanie joined the Glenaeon School Board, and currently serves as the Deputy Chair, as well as Chair of the Marketing & Enrolments Subcommittee and a member of both the Risk Committee & Nominations Committee.

Peter Candotti (Chair of the Board)

Peter has been a member of the Glenaeon School Board since 2018 and was elected Chair in 2021. He has over 25 years of finance experience and brings to the Council a breadth and depth of finance knowledge, developed both locally and internationally.

Peter and his wife Uli have had a long and deep association with Glenaeon going back to 2001. Their children, Luca and Chiara, both spent their entire school lives at Glenaeon from playgroup through to Year 12; Luca, graduating in 2017 and Chiara in 2020. Peter and Uli have both been very active members of the school community throughout this time. Peter also serves as the Chair of the Risk Committee and Co-Chair of the HR and Leadership Committee.

Professionally, Peter is a Chartered Accountant and is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Lawcover Insurance, a provider of professional indemnity insurance to the NSW legal profession. Prior to joining Lawcover in 2018, Peter spent 16 years at QBE Insurance Group, where he held a number of executive management roles in finance, treasury, capital management and reinsurance, as well as sitting on numerous management Boards.

Stephanie has a professional background in training and education in the finance sector in roles ranging from course development, student support services, and the development of tailored training solutions to international clients. She is experienced in adult education, project management, marketing, volunteer management, staff recruitment & development. More recently, Stephanie completed postgraduate study at the UNSW Business School in the field of social impact and now consults on ESG matters for a renewable energy company.

Robin Borrud

Robin Borrud is an experienced social entrepreneur, changemaker and international philanthropist. She has been an active member of the Glenaeon community for the last ten years.

Robin’s belief that change begins with people rather than issues informs her commitment to facilitating partnerships with aligned organisations and projects which work toward socially integrated and sustainable goals.

Robin sits on numerous Global non-profit boards, providing governance and developmental guidance to organisations that serve marginalised, underserved and at-risk populations.

Stephanie Graham (Deputy Chair)

Stephanie has had a long association with Glenaeon with all three of her children having attended the school beginning in 2006. In her time as a parent at the school, Stephanie undertook a variety of roles in over ten years of service to the Parents Association, including Co-Chair of the GPA, Parent Education Coordinator, Class Parent Coordinator, Fair Coordinator, and Chair of Art Show Committee.

In 2011 she was appointed to the Board of the Glenaeon Foundation and was an active contributor to the work of that body in developing a philanthropic

Helen Wicker (Treasurer)

Helen has been involved with Glenaeon since 2004, when her son Henry joined Class 1. Her daughter Mirran started kindergarten the following year, and both children completed their HSCs with Glenaeon, in 2015 and 2017.

The family moved to Middle Cove to be close to the School, and enjoy being part of the local community. Helen’s husband Jonathon has also been actively involved with Glenaeon over the years.

Helen joined the Glenaeon Board in 2016 and became Treasurer in 2017. She is Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee, and a member of the Bursary & Scholarship Committee and the Building Committee.

Professionally, Helen is a specialist tax partner with SW Accountants & Advisors, advising on international and domestic taxation issues. Her clients operate in a wide variety of industries, including insurance and financial services, sports and entertainment, motor vehicle dealerships, marketing, distribution and wholesaling, and primary production. Helen is a board member of SW Accountants & Advisors, and has experience in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, succession planning, strategy, business growth and governance. Helen has a Bachelor of Business from UTS, and is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser.

Robin has served on the Glenaeon Council since 2011, where she has focused on working with the marketing team. In 2017, she was named Chair of the Glenaeon Foundation. As Foundation Chair, Robin is committed to continuing to develop the identity of the Foundation, raising the profile of the Annual Appeal, and building the Foundation’s programs.

Georgina Michaelis

Born and raised in Sydney, Georgina and her family lived in Bellingen on the NSW North Coast from 1980 to 2001.

Georgina and husband Peter spent many of those years parenting, volunteering and working as part of the then newly established Chrysalis Rudolf Steiner School community where their three children were educated from 1982 to 2000. In 1996 she was appointed Business Manager of the School.

In 2001 Georgina and family returned to Sydney where she worked for the Children’s Garden Steiner School in Randwick. Her youngest son was enrolled in Year 7 at Glenaeon in 2002 and in 2003 she joined the Glenaeon Board, serving until 2009. She joined the Board again in 2018.

Georgina was appointed CEO of Miroma in Sydney’s east in 2002, then Warrah in Dural in 2012, both Steiner

based organisations providing services to people with disability. This was work that she loved, supporting both organisations to grow and flourish in the rapidly changing environment of disability services.

In 2019, Georgina stepped away from the demands of executive roles, and took up part time work as a Quality Management Auditor for SAI Global, auditing the standards of disability services funded by the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme).

Georgina is a member of the Anthroposophical Society. She has an enduring enthusiasm for, and practical commitment to supporting Steiner based initiatives with their unique approach to meeting the challenges of contemporary life.

Tim Perkins

Tim Perkins joined the Glenaeon community in 2018 when his son Max arrived at the school for his final 3 years of education. Max graduated from Glenaeon in 2020 after 3 wonderful years of thoughtfully considered and nourishing education. Tim is an educator with more than 30 years’ experience as a primary school teacher, an academic and as an executive coach and consultant. He holds a Bachelor of Education, a Masters of Education and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Sydney, exploring Maths education in Primary schools.

Robert St Clair

Robert is the Chief Legal Counsel –Transactions, for the Downer Group (a large listed Australian Infrastructure Services company), leading a large team of lawyers. He has over 15 years’ experience as a commercial lawyer and adviser. Robert advises on strategic commercial direction and the management of commercial and legal risks. He has fronted and negotiated some of Australia’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects, regularly working with Government customers. Robert enjoys mentoring and building high performing teams.

Ganesh is the Group General Manager, Reward, Culture and Capability Human Resources for the Westpac Group. Ganesh returns to the Human Resources Executive Team after three years in the Business division, most recently as General Manager, SME & Connect Now, Business Bank. Ganesh has led a team of over 700 bankers and senior leaders across Australia, covering four brands –Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne, that support Australia’s thriving and growing Micro, Small and Medium Business sector.

Ganesh has held senior roles in Westpac’s Institutional Bank; Westpac’s Consumer Bank as General Manager for Premium & Growth Markets; and General Manager in Westpac Group Human Resources where he was responsible for Reward, Performance Management & Employee Relations.

Prior to joining Westpac, Ganesh held senior roles in management consulting firms in Australia, Asia and the Middle East for several years including a role focused on Mergers & Acquisitions. Ganesh has also worked in the Hospitality and Hotels sector for many years.

Ganesh has worked in the financial services and banking sector for 12 years; and has over 17 years’ experience working in Human Resources. Ganesh holds a MBA from the AGSM. He also serves on Westpac’s Community Board which exists to drive greater support for community partnerships and sustainability.

Since 2018 Tim has been a Senior Associate at Cut Through Coaching and Consulting where he facilitates world leading workshops which focus around themes of wellbeing, mindset, engagement, motivation, resilience, leadership, and change. Tim is an Executive and Personal Coach with a Certificate in Executive Coaching from the Institute of Coaching and Consulting Psychology. Tim works one-on-one as an executive coach for school leaders, elite sportspeople and clients in the corporate world. He is the co-host of the Habits of Leadership podcast and he has a monthly column School of Thought, in the Australian Teacher Magazine.

Prior to his work at Cut Through, Tim was a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia. His areas of specialisation were Mathematics education and Social Justice through Service Learning. Tim is also on the Board at the Living School in Lismore, a progressive P-12 school. He is in the final writing stages of two books, one on the nexus between Resilience and Mindset exploring the extraordinary personal journeys of more than a dozen individuals and the second is a series of educational provocations he has been publishing in the Australian Teacher Magazine 2019-2022.

Empowering people to flourish personally and professionally is his skill and passion.

Prior to Downer, Robert worked in private practice at a large national law firm advising blue-chip listed organisations, developers and contractors. Robert has a BA LLB from Macquarie University and is admitted to practise Law in NSW, the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. He joined the Glenaeon Board in December 2021 and serves on the Building Committee and the Risk Committee.

Robert is an ex-student of Glenaeon (Kindergarten to Year 12), and is also the parent of two students currently in the junior school. 

Ganesh Chandrasekkar

2022 GlenX Reunion

The GlenX Alumni gathering on Saturday 17 September drew 80 GlenX from graduating years 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012, plus a few others. It was a great afternoon and the stories were fascinating: who would have guessed that Dylan Barclay from the Class of 2012 is a pilot flying passenger aircraft in New Jersey and will now return to the US to fly 747 jets out of Boston airport? Thanks to all who attended. 

2023 G len X REUNION DATE

In 2023, we will host a single reunion gathering which will be open to all GlenXers but will have a special celebratory focus on the:

» Class of 2013, 10-year reunion, » Class of 2003, 20-year reunion, » Class of 1993, 30-year reunion, » Class of 1983, 40-year reunion and » Class of 1973, 50-year reunion.

We encourage GlenX from all cohorts to save the date: Saturday 16 September 2023, 3pm–6pm.

Alumni are encouraged to join the Glenaeon Alumni Facebook Group to receive updates about the reunion event: www.facebook.com/glenaeonalumni/

WE WILL MISS YOU

Rene van den Tol

“A

nother day in Paradise!” was the standard greeting I used to get back from Rene when meeting for the first time every morning, certainly in the first few years of joining the teaching staff of Glenaeon. The phrase has worn off in more recent years, perhaps as he got used to being in Paradise on a long term basis, but he has stayed unfailingly positive throughout all the years since.

Rene has one of the most interesting backgrounds for a teacher. Originally an army officer who studied Surveying, Rene ended up as a Colonel in charge of the Australian Army’s Survey Corp. If that was no small achievement in itself, he took early retirement and worked for the Senior Executive Service at state government level, picking up an MBA on the side. As if that wasn’t enough he also has a Bachelor of Theology and has been a lay pastor in his Lutheran church.

After all that, Rene joined Glenaeon in a very part time basis to teach HSC Maths Extension 2 to one student in 2009. He was so successful, and enjoyed the work so much, that the part time role soon became full time, and before too long he had become our Head of Maths. The past few years has seen a remarkable series of achievements in Maths results, supported by the program which Rene developed of identifying very able Maths students in Years 7 and 8, then accelerating their Maths progress through the high school. For example in 2019 his HSC Advanced Maths class had 60% of students reaching a Band 6 or highest result (< top 10%), a truly stellar achievement.

Rene has embraced our Steiner culture with a passion, particularly the Maths Main lessons. He says the Morning Verse every morning with his Mentor group with gusto, and has managed the potentially difficult Conduct role with a happy blend of firmness and fairness. He has been a role model of wisdom

and compassion, and inspired a generation of young mathematicians.

Rene retires, this time for good he says, and leaves a remarkable legacy of Mathematics success. He has been, and will continue to be, very active in the handover to his successor Caterina Romeo, herself a highly gifted mathematician. We wish him all happiness in the coming years with the promise of travel with wife Ruth and more time with grandchildren. 

Glennis Mowday

How could Glennis be retiring? She began at Glenaeon in 1981, and has been a fixture ever since, but in so many different roles. Glennis began as a Kindergarten teacher but due to her unusual combination of university subjects, became an Ancient History teacher at HSC level. She was soon teaching across the high school in many different guises, covering a range of Humanities Main lessons and subjects.

Glennis comes from the time when everyone was involved in everything and it seems she was everywhere: she was a Guardian of high school classes numerous times, a Chair of the College of Teachers, an enthusiastic participant in outdoor education, and in the school plays and choirs, and supporting colleagues in so many ways. It seems the only thing she hasn’t done is mow the lawns, but she may have and would have if it was needed. The 80’s were still very much

Rene van den Tol

GlenXers enjoy a tour of Middle Cove some 30 years after graduating. Including a beautiful GlenX baby!

the pioneering time in Glenaeon’s history, and Glennis lived out the spirit of the pioneer, throwing herself into everything to support the school.

Her fascination with all things historical led her to an interest in Glenaeon’s own history. She researched the unique story of Glenaeon from documents and oral sources, interviewing everyone from Sylvia Brose herself through all the surviving founders of the school. The result became her research Masters of Education (Honours) thesis from Sydney University, and it remains the definitive history of Glenaeon. Her ancient history passion has inspired generations of Glenaeon students in the subject, a professional interest that has taken her to numerous archeological digs and trips to sites in the classical Mediterranean world. Her interests have always been wide: she expanded her teaching to Society and Culture, taking a class trip to Vietnam, and her enduring interest in Australian First Nations has infused the many classes she has taught over the years.

In recent years Glennis has stepped back and reduced her load, retaining a few of the treasured Main Lessons which have meant so much to her. Her final lesson this year has been the Year 11 Parzival Main Lesson, a signature Glenaeon lesson that combines her historical interests with a commitment to personal growth and self-awareness, a perfect metaphor for the inspiring person Glennis has been in the school.

Glennis has been one of the enduring and unique personalities over the past 40 years of Glenaeon history, emblematic of the school is her uncompromising personal path and commitment to the greater community. The school will be smaller without her. We wish her all happiness with her partner Brooke in a future filled no doubt with culture, music, travel, and of course history. 

2022 STAFF MILESTONES

Glenaeon is a great place to learn, but it’s also a great place to work.

We thank our staff for their service and celebrate these milestones.

40 years plus » Glennis Mowday » Peggy Day

30 years plus » Brigitte Tietge-Rollans

20 years plus » Alisan Smotlak » Anne Rouse » Catherine Pilko » Elizabeth Cooper » Elizabeth Ellean » Keiko Takahashi » Lindsay Sherrott » Liz Nevieve » Lynne Collett » Pamela Laycock » Yura Totsuka » Andrew Hill

15 years » Donna Miller » Rodney Dean 10 years » Anthony Fiore » Nancy Amini » Rohan Wijesinghe » Scott Williams

2022 CLASS PARENTS

Our sincere thanks to the wonderful parents and carers who have supported the school this year, in the important role of Class Parent.

» Alison Grant » Amanda Monnet-Demarbre » Amity St Clair » Angela Lakkis » Anne Mundie » Bec Hinzack

» Dani Demos » Deahne Moore » Emily Hughes » Erika Hosoyama » Guchi Garcia Guevara » Jodie Anagnos

» Jungah Kim » Kristina Watson » Martina Merchant » Monica Neve » Monika Tan » Naomi Abbott » Naomi Roberts » Natalia Perera » Rebecca Zeus » Rose Aung Thein » Sam Gibson » Victoria Hynes

Peggy Day

Scott Williams Rohan Wijesinghe

Anthony Fiore

Donna Miller Rodney Dean

Nancy Amini

Yura Totsuka

Glennis Mowday

Brigitte Tietge-Rollans

ABC TV Catalyst filming an episode of “The Secret Life of Our Urban Birds” with Dr Ann Jones at Glenaeon, Middle Cove Campus.