Community News

Community News

Births In memory Joyce Smith (Tallent, Class of 1948) passed away on 3 March 2020. Joyce’s sister Marjorie

The School congratulates the following The School extends its sincere sympathy (Class of 1945) also attended Korowa. Both

Korovians on the birth of their children: to the family and friends of the following were granddaughters of Mr John Tallent, an Korovians and members of the early benefactor of the School and a member

Milly James (Stockdale, Class of 2005) Korowa community. of the School Council. Joyce’s aunts both and her husband Rorey welcomed their first attended Korowa, Doris Tallent (Class of 1911) child, Matilda on 7 September 2020. Matilda is Alison Mackay (Inglis, Class of 1958) passed and Myra Tallent (Class of 1926). the first grandchild for past staff member and away on 5 August 2020. She was House

Honorary Korovian, Sue Stockdale. Captain of Clarke in 1958. Alison had a great Pamela Donaldson (Millar, Class of 1942) zest for life as her tribute in The Age revealed: who passed away on 24 June 2020 was Korowa school girl, occupational therapist, incorrectly recorded as Pamela Davidson in farmer, drover, home builder, gardener, the August 2020 edition. tragic Dees supporter, artist, opera and MTC enthusiast, cryptic cross-worder, and a loving Barbara Worrell (Class of 1954) passed away guardian of all her furry and feathered friends. on 6 September 2020. Barbara’s three sisters also attended Korowa: Janet (deceased, Class Jennifer Lawrence passed away on 28 July of 1958), Helen (Class of 1963) and Elizabeth 2020. Jennifer was a member of staff in the (Class of 1966). Barbara was a dedicated and ELC from 2002 to 2010. talented theatre sister in Melbourne hospitals for most of her working life. Alison Mitchell (Class of 1946) passed away on 3 August 2020. Alison’s three sisters also Jayce Symes OAM (Hargreaves, Class of attended Korowa: Valerie (Class of 1946), 1949) passed away on 16 January 2021. Brenda (Class of 1952) and Janet (Class of Jayce was a boarder at Korowa in the 1940s. 1955). All of the sisters were Boarders. She gave a lifetime of service to her local communities in various capacities, particularly Jennifer Whiffen (Trood, Class of 1963) in Yarrawonga. In 2019, Jayce was awarded passed away in London where she had lived an OAM in the General Division in the Australia for the last 52 years. Jenny’s sister, Sue Day Honours for service to community history. (Class of 1967) also attended Korowa. Jenny was a lifelong friend of Margaret Callaghan (Vanderkelen, Class of 1963).

Matilda James.

Tania Richter (Class of 2002)

and husband Damon Cuming welcomed their first child, Matilda Henri Richter on 2 June 2020 at 3.42pm. Tania recalls ‘It was certainly an adventure becoming parents during lockdown in Melbourne, however Matilda is thriving and enjoying discovering the world’!

Fleur Coe (Kharsas, Class of 2008)

and her husband Ian welcomed their daughter Elliott (Ellie) in July 2019. A little sister for Sullivan. Fleur currently resides in Seattle in the USA Felicity Smith (Goddard, Class of 1957) passed away early in 2020. Gwenyth Lewis (Hast, Class of 1943) passed away on 13 January 2021. Gwenyth was a friend of Ula Eddie (Hill, Class of 1943) for 80 years.

Baby Ellie with her brother Sullivan.

Marriages

Karrie Long (Class of 1989) and current School Council member married Cam Wilkinson on 2 January 2021at the Regent Theatre, bringing together their ‘Brady Bunch’ of children – Ben, Charlie, Grace, Mille,Tessa (current Korowa student) and Gracie.

The wedding was attended by Karrie’s sisters both Korovians, Chelsea Long (Class of 1991) and Melissa O’Keefe (Long, Class of 1995).

News

Dr Kathleen Neal (Hutson, 1994) moved from a career in neuroscience to retrain as a medieval historian in 2009. Her first book, The Letters of Edward I: Political Communication in the Thirteenth Century, an academic study of political rhetoric in medieval England, was released in January 2021. She lectures in History at Monash University.

Mary Drost OAM (McMahon, Class of 1949)

Despite the constraints imposed by the pandemic, Mary has continued her community activism in advocating for better planning laws and heritage protection across Melbourne. Her more recent efforts focused on preserving a fine example of modernist architecture in Balwyn designed by the late Robin Boyd.

Kate Hart-Smith (Class of 1989) wrote of her time at Korowa: “I was blessed to have many wonderful teachers… but there is one in particular who made a pivotal difference to my performance in VCE, who I have always wanted to find a way to thank. Miss Marriner … had an incredible gift for teaching us how to read deeply into our novels, to connect with the themes and ultimately deliver our best in exams. I would not have reached the score for my chosen Uni course without those crucial extra English marks that you helped me achieve. Thank you.”

Tania de Jong AM (Class of 1982) recently launched her third charity, Mind Medicine Australia, with her husband Peter Hunt AM. Her first two charities are The Song Room (1999) and Creativity Australia and the With One Voice program (2008). Both helping tens of thousands of people. Mind Medicine Australia has rapidly become Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisation working on the safe and effective use of medicinal psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapies to treat a range of mental illnesses. These medicines are currently being researched for dementia, eating disorders, OCD and many other conditions.

Wanda McCallum (Wilkinson, Class of

1911) featured in the August 2020 edition and the School was delighted to hear from her grandson who wrote “it was with great interest to read this article today, and it makes our family very proud to know that she is still remembered in such glowing terms… Thank you for keeping Wanda’s story alive.”

Dale Shumack (Harrison, Class of 1951)

during lockdown, Dale moved in with her youngest daughter Meredith and she writes “they were home schooling, which I acknowledge was an enormous burden for a working mother. I could be of only minimal help because, as I discovered, an eight-year-old was more technologically sophisticated than I. It was pleasing to grasp how remote teaching of primary students was accomplished, and all staff are to be applauded.”

Karlie Stocker (Class of 2004) has been appointed Head of Senior School at Korowa for 2021. Karlie joined the staff in 2010 in the PE Department. Since 2014, she has held various leadership roles within the School, most recently as Head of Senior Years 9-12.

Dinah Rowe-Roberts (Jowett, Class of 1991) and Mia Northrop (Lyons, Class of

1991) launched a podcast together in 2018 called Life Admin Life Hacks. The podcast was borne from the ‘mental load’ challenge of managing family life with careers. Dinah is currently the Chief Operating Officer of mental health charity SANE Australia, and Mia is a Customer Insights & Strategy Manager at the University of Melbourne. They have now recorded more than 37 podcast episodes and are thrilled to have recently signed a contract with Harper Collins to publish a book on the topic.

Pamela Snow (James, Class of 1977)

and Tanya Serry (Korn, Class of 1981) In early 2020, Pam and Tanya established the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab at La Trobe University, with a focus on teaching reading in accordance with cognitive psychology evidence. They graduated from the former Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences in Speech Pathology and both have longstanding research careers in children’s oral language development and the transition to literacy. In 2020, they both commenced in the School of Education at La Trobe University focusing on teaching reading in accordance with cognitive psychology evidence. They ran a successful online short course entitled Introduction to the Science of Language and Reading. They often reflect on the excellent grounding in reading, writing and spelling that they received at Korowa, and would like to see more students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, deriving similar benefit from high-quality classroom instruction.

Marion Oster (Swanson, Class of 1959)

Marion writes from her home in California: Many years ago, as an 11-year-old, I moved from California to Melbourne with my family. All these years later, I remember Korowa fondly. I bravely traveled by train to school and home. My friends and I would often stop for ‘fish and chips’. My classmates accepted me even though I ‘talked funny’. I learned to enjoy learning, and loved the sports and activities. I was fortunate to get to know Miss Beatrice Guyett. After 2 ½ years, I returned to California. As an historian, I have continued my connection to Australia by collecting materials for our Heritage Room on Phar Lap.

Susan-Gaye Anderson (Class of 1955)

Susan writes: The Class of 1955 held a reunion luncheon on 4 March. It was a lucky date, for we had no idea of the coming restrictions. We shared stories of our misdemeanours and triumphs, and the teachers who influenced us. Miss Pask, whose Bunsen Burner experiments were dramatic and thrilling; Miss Cerutty, whom we all respected and loved and Miss Lea Wright, who made English fascinating and created in me a lifetime love of poetry. We talked of going in buses to play sports, singing all the way, and morning assemblies singing hymns, especially the lovely ‘Bless This House’.

Jennifer Jaeger (Class of 1978)

Jennifer is Green Racing Captain at the Albert Park Yacht Club, not a former Commodore as reported in the August 2020 edition.

Betty Crozier, photographed on her 99th birthday.

Our oldest Korovian – 99 Years Young!

Betty Crozier (Lawrence, Class of 1938)

celebrated her 99th birthday in September 2020 and the School sent flowers to mark the occasion. Betty is our oldest Korovian! Betty began at Korowa as a 5 year old in 1926 and completed Leaving Honours (Year 12) in 1938. Betty made lifelong friends at Korowa – Joan Cover (Sim, Class of 1939), Edna Hambridge (Furze, Class of 1938) and Joan Henty (Class of 1938). Betty has many fond memories of her time at Korowa – starring as Princess Rosebud at the end of year play in Kindergarten, of her favourite teacher, and the Remove Class (Year 7) painting their face with the threat from the Headmistress, Miss Dickson, of a dose of castor oil for this transgression – fortunately never carried out! Betty’s four daughters all attended Korowa: Elizabeth Kirkby (Crozier, Class of 1968), Pamela Rowler (Crozier, Class of 1970), Jennifer Stubbs (Crozier, Class of 1972) and Robyn Crozier (Class of 1975).

TRY US FOR A DAY

Discover what Korowa has to offer by participating in our Try Us for a Day Program. Girls can attend a full day at Korowa, joining their peers to see what Korowa is like, make new friends, explore the School and meet our teachers.

Please contact our Enrolments Office for more information Mandy Andrews Director of Enrolments P + 61 3 8808 8888 E admissions@korowa.vic.edu.au

10-16 Ranfurlie Crescent Glen Iris VIC Australia 3146