First Annual
Alumni Dinner
March 10th 2012
(See page 2 for details)
Issue Two December 2011
Two
The Importance of Handwriting
The Science Behind a Glenaeon Education
Les Miserables
AEON Issue Two December 2011
First Annual
Alumni Dinner
March 10th 2012
We are pleased to announce the newly appointed
directors of the Glenaeon alumni group, Daniel Beasley
(GG 1998) and Cody Sheehan (GG 2006). The alumni
group meet on a monthly basis to plan and discuss
upcoming events and ideas for the Glenaeon community.
Aeon gives a glimpse into the
rich learning community that
is Glenaeon, established as
Australia’s first school for Rudolf
Steiner education. The magazine
will be 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: we look
forward to a reinvigorated future
where we can celebrate the
unique community that has grown
around the school. Aeon will
be a voice and forum for the rich
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.
We have many exciting events planned for next year
including a Glenaeon Cabaret (1 June) and mentoring
programs, but our first official alumni bash will be held
on Saturday the 10th of March 2012. This event will be
a summer garden party taking place from 7 pm on the
round oval of the Middle Cove campus under the stars.
Reconnect with old friends, parents and staff over a
festive dinner with live music performances throughout
the night. The cost is $50 per head and we encourage
you to reunite with your old classmates and make a
table. We are also happy to link you up with people
you know if you wish to purchase single tickets!
If you would like more information on the garden
party, to purchase tickets or to join the Glenaeon alumni
group please email Nikki the Alumni Coordinator on
[email protected] or phone her on 9932 2313.
1
1.Sylvia Brose with
students in 1957.
2.Sylvia Brose OAM
with 2nd generation
students in 1998.
2
Glenaeon Alumni and Friends is the new body bringing together our diverse
community of present and former students, parents and friends of the school.
We look forward to many events celebrating the Glenaeon community and
our 54 year history.
Nikki Crow is our new Alumni Coordinator and she welcomes enquiries about
alumni activities and feedback about Aeon. For all details of alumni events,
contacts and general information, including if you would like to receive Aeon
electronically, you can contact Nikki on: [email protected]
Design: Campbell Van Venrooy (cvvdesign.com.au)
Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School Ltd ABN 94 000 385 768
5a Glenroy Avenue, Middle Cove NSW 2068, Australia
Phone: 9417 3193, Fax: 9417 5346, www.glenaeon.nsw.edu.au
Page
2
p14
Year 10's production of
Les Miserables, another
great Glenaeon show,
played in July.
p16
p8
elcome to the second edition of Aeon,
journal of the Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School
community. In this final edition of 2011 we
bring together some of the events of the year,
memories of the school’s early days as well as some
articles on current research into education that will
be of interest to Glenaeon community members.
Madeleine Van Leer shares her memories
of the creation of what has become our school
logo, the Glenaeon Tree of Life. Beginning as a
student project, Madeleine’s design lives on as an
iconic emblem on the wall of the Alice Crowther
Building facing the walkway, as well as becoming
our logo on school stationary and signage. We
are all indebted to Madeleine for a design that
captures so much of the spirit of the school and
which has now become part of all our lives.
And as we end the year we are mourning the
recent loss of three personalities who each made an
enormous contribution to Glenaeon: Tom Hartigan,
Stuart Gentle and Erwin Berney. Later in Aeon we
remember their lives and their work for the school.
We wish all members of our community a
joyous Christmas and a fulfilling summer break.
W
Andrew Hill
Collegiate Chair
Chair, Management Group
p18
contents
04 The Tree of Life
»» Madeline Van Leer
06 Graduation assembly
address
08 The importance of
handwriting
10 The roots of resilience
»» Giving children strength
for the future
p14
12 Neuroscience
»» The science behind a
Glenaeon education
14 Les Miserables
»» Year 10 performance
p16
16 Glenaeon 2011
18 Where are they
now?
Pioneers
»» The Green family
In memoriam
»» Tom Hartigan
»» Erwin Berney
»» Stuart Gentle
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AEON Issue Two December 2011
1
2
3
“‘The tree of life'’'
Madeleine van Leer
Attended Glenaeon 1961-1972
It is 1972, I am 16 and in Year 11, when artists and senior students are asked to
submit ideas for the façade of a new school building. My design is chosen, it is a tree…
‘The Tree of Life’. The tree is in positive and negative, day and night, yin and yang,
the cycle of life, the seasons.
nd so the process begins. I am
supported in the early stages
by Mosaic artist, Mitzi Finey.
I bring together slivers of brilliantly
coloured Belgian stained-glass, with
fine Italian glass mosaic tiles, to
create a richly sculptural surface.
I take over a large room in the
house of my incredibly patient family
for the next 2 years, as I juggle
full-time tertiary study in Colour
and Design, with the completion of
this large work (1.53m x 2.14m).
Many cuts and splinters later,
in late 1974 it is ready to be
installed, scaffolds are assembled
and the final screw-holes are
covered by glass mosaic tiles.
Sometime during these years,
I create a programme cover for a
fund raising concert at Glenaeon
organised by my parents, Dick and
Beryl van Leer. The cover design is
A
Madeleine van Leer
Artist/ Sculptor
Event Facilitator
1. Original 'Tree of Life' design, 1972
2.Mosaic before installation
3.After installation
4.The mosaic window, 2011
5.Installation, 1974
6.Solar Radiance, 2009
7.Living Flame
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based on the original ‘Tree of Life’
design but changed by adding a
shoot below the roots and below
this, the seed. The concert is with
renown international musician/
concert pianist Hephzibah Menuhin
(sister of Lord Yehudi Menuhin).
Sometime after this, I start seeing
the image appearing on the covers
of Glenaeon Main Lesson books
and eventually on car stickers.
‘The Tree of Life’ has found its
roots and is flourishing in the school
that helped nourish its essence.
4
5
The living tree…
my life today
oday I am living in a beautiful
bush location on the edge
of Brisbane, in a relationship
that is deeply sustaining.
My journey since leaving
school in 1972 has lead me along
many paths, both as a creative
artist and many years working in
various roles with youth, people
with a disability and refugees.
My work today is richly varied
and my creative expression
extremely broad. Whilst I have
an arts practice in sculpture and
drawing, my deepest inspiration
is my work with my partner, who
is a facilitator of workshops and
retreats on self-transformation
and a medical doctor, counsellor
and healer, practising Eastern
and Western medicine.
T
‘The Tree of Life’ is a powerful
metaphor reflecting our inner and
outer evolution. It is symbolic of
our deep connectedness with the
mystery of life and all that is.
I see my life today as this
tree… roots deeply connected with
the ground and essence of life,
branches reaching an ever expanding
potential. My foliage, flowers and
fruit are the constantly changing
cloak I wear, reflecting the cycles
and the seasons of my life. 
6
7
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AEON Issue Two December 2011
Farewell
Year 12:
Graduation Assembly Address
to our
We say farewell red
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20
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Year 12, if you can bear one more fairy tale, here it is…
there was once an Academy in a far off kingdom,
the Academy of Is and U, ruled over by the fairy princess Lady Is
and the charming Prince U.
ady Is was known as just that,
and when people asked, “Why
is she called Is?”, the answer
was always, “She just… Is.”
She led the young people in wild
rapturous dances that invoked
the cosmic movements of the
universe, dances which the young
people longed to come to an end
but which she assured them would
enable their souls to move in
harmony with the universe. When,
they asked? “In many years time”,
she said. “Oh”, they answered.
Prince Uman was her companion
in the arts of the academy, and to
all alike he was know just as U.
He was the dashing diplomat who
wore special garments fashioned
on an island far to the north. He
played the ancient instrument of
cosmic music, shaped from the
rare and fragrant timbers of the
Levant and made in the form of
the body of a woman. Known in
the kingdom as the U-kel-ay-lee,
this ancient instrument moved the
young people deeply. When Prince
U played his mournful melodies
he brought tears to their eyes.
The young people had come
from different places to be in the
Academy: most had come from
L
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a village ruled over by an ancient
priestess who had taught them the
laws of life, of music and art, and
cosmology, and how to spell words
with more than five syllables. Others
had come from the village ruled
over by the beach maiden Lisaluu,
who had taught them how to draw
borders in fluro colours, and wear
bright rainbow coloured T shirts.
But the time had come for the
young people to leave the Academy.
They realised they would never
again hear the deep and mournful
strains of Prince U’s U-kel-ay-lee;
never again would they dance the
passionate, cosmic dances with
Princess Is. What would they do?
They determined to spend one last
night in the grounds of the Academy,
as a mark of their deep and abiding
devotion to the ancient laws and
customs of their elders. Not all the
elders were happy: one, the keeper
of the golden seal, of the customary
law of the academy said: “This
contravenes the OH&S regulations,
and our insurance company wont like
it”. But the other elders concurred
and allowed the young people one
last and happy evening of wild
revelry in the Academy grounds,
so long as they followed all due
custom and procedure. After all
the other students and professors
had left, all except Prince U, they
built a bonfire and made merry. But
the young people wanted to leave
their mark, their insignia and they
decided that while Prince U slept,
they would commit a desecration.
The young people chose two of
their most skillful climbers to scale
the walls of the academy: “we'll
give them a message”, they said,
“something to remember us by.
Something outrageous”, said one
with a big voice, “something to
shock the elders”. So they painted a
massive emblem on a vast tapestry.
They deliberately chose an ancient
fertility sign which they knew was a
secret and arcane symbol only to be
seen by the initiated and the elderly.
They thought they would drape it
across the walls of the academy's
fortress so that all who passed
by in the morning, young and old,
would see it. They knew they were
breaking the sacred covenant they
had been given, that the Academy's
insurance company would not like
it. Nevertheless in the early hours
of the morning, the two climbers
scaled the walls of the fortress,
clinging to the vertical stone walls
with the skill of a monkey, and a
pretty clever monkey at that. There
they hung the tapestry right across
the main gate of the fortress so
that all who entered in would see.
Meanwhile two of their number
wanted to leave a different insignia.
So quietly they took themselves
away and toiled through the night
at decorating one of the academy's
many deep recesses: they too
painted an ancient sign, but this one
encompassed the mysteries of day
and night, the cosmic rhythms of
light and darkness. It was a sign that
all could see, indeed should see,
as a reminder of the vast ebb and
flow of the tides of time in which
all life is bathed. It was a beautiful
sign, and into which they poured
some of the wisdom which they had
drawn from their long stay within
the Academy’s hallowed walls.
But beneath the walls of the
fortress, the other young people
waited until morning, eager to
see the reaction of the elders to
this blatant desecration of the
ancient sign. Would they cause
the offence they wished, and be
allowed to finish their time in the
Academy in peace? Or would they
be ordered away, in disgrace, to be
exiled from the academy forever
with the dread words, never to
return, echoing in their ears?
The first elder who arrived looked
long and silently at the tapestry.
Finally he said slowly, “our insurance
company won't like this”. Then
there was great debate among the
elders: Princess Is urged forgiveness
for the young people, while Prince
U said, “well, maybe they should
be held accountable, maybe they
should be forgiven, maybe they
should…let's have a long talk about
it”. So the elders held a council
and they weighed the arguments.
They had sent the servants of the
academy to bring down the tapestry:
the servants weren't like monkeys
and with great trepidation and great
labour and fear and trembling they
too scaled the heights of the fortress
and brought down the tapestry.
The elders were concerned about
their beloved workers and their
safety. They were also concerned
about their responsibilities to the
little children in their care: how
could they justify to the parents
that the little ones had witnessed
a secret sign such as this one?
But when they came into the
deep recesses of the academy and
saw the sacred sign which the other
two had wrought on the wall, the
sacred symbol of light and dark,
their hearts were softened and
they said: “Lo, the young people
have given us a gift, one that will
live on in the academy and lift the
hearts of all who walk by it every
day. It will feed us in the way that
great art always does, just as the
body needs food, so our souls need
feeding with ancient signs.” So the
elders relented, they pardoned the
young people, made their peace with
them, and all ended well, and they
made ready to make their departure
from the Academy of Is and U.
f course fairy tales bear no
relationship to real life, and that
story has no bearing on any
recent events, or any personages
known to you! Dr Steiner did not
believe that however, and he did
suggest that a metaphor a day keeps
the mind agile and the heart full.
Year 12 it's a tradition at these
kind of assemblies to pass on to you,
the graduating class, the selected
wisdom of your teachers, the wise
guidance of the school, some key
directions for a successful life. So
I set out to ask your teachers for
some thoughts that would equip
you with emotional intelligence,
guide your feet through the
treacherous shoals of life ahead,
and would win you wreaths in
your personal and professional
lives. I asked a few teachers what
they would like to pass on to you,
our graduating class of 2011: and
the sad news is, the best I could
come up with goes like this:
O
When you live in a share
house, never squeeze the
toothpaste at the top of the
tube: it can cause house wars.
Sad but true, as individuals
we’re not that wise.
But the remarkable thing is,
together we can carry something
much bigger than ourselves,
collectively we can carry what
Dr Steiner called “the wisdom of
humanity”. And that is what this
school carries, this something
more, a vision of the perfections
that lie behind this imperfect
world, and the story of the
remarkable struggle of humanity
through the ages, a story which
in itself has a kind of perfection.
From all the time you have spent
here, we hope that from the story
we’ve told you will come to see that
the world despite it's imperfections,
it's troubles and it's limitations, is
still a beautiful place. It's worth
being here, for each to play our part,
for each to unfold our individual
journey, our individual story. We
have told you many stories, but they
are all part of the one big story, and
that story is the story of humanity,
the story unfolded through the main
lessons of this school from Class
1 to Year 12, from fairy tales to
Faust. They all fit together as one
golden thread that has been woven
through your entire education.
And now today we've brought
you up to the moment when you
can now step out and play your
part to carry on that great story.
As you drive up the driveway
for the last time as students later
today, you will pass the sign
outside the office which reads:
Receive the child in reverence,
Educate them in love,
Let them go in freedom.
I can assure you we did receive
you in reverence, and though at
times it may not have seemed like
it, we hope you felt educated with
love (even though you might have
been in the Conduct Book a few
times: love is not fairy floss).
I have a problem though with
the last bit: just...let you go?
Sounds like opening the doors of
the wire cages at Taronga zoo, and
that is not what today is about. I
prefer to think of us as falconers,
ready to let you, our falcons, take
to the air. Falcons that have been
trained and prepared and now have
the moment to find your own air
current, to get the wind under your
wings, and take to the skies.
o Year 12, today is the day
when the falconers send you
off, when we as a school
release you to the elements of the
world. We hope that we’ll see you
again as alumni, that you’ll remain as
part of the Glenaeon community and
its widespread network. We hope
you’ll drop in from time to time, to
remind us that you still exist, and to
keep us aware that every student
in our care today, will one day be
a citizen of the world. You will
remind us that we, your teachers,
have through you, our students,
a sacred responsibility towards
the future of the planet. So for
today, we simply say goodbye,
God bless, and don't forget
that bit about the toothpaste.
S
Andrew Hill
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AEON Issue Two December 2011
“The importance of
Some interesting research appeared recently on the importance
of handwriting. As the world moves more and more from handwriting to
typed script, there has been little original research on the impact of
this fundamental shift in how we express ourselves in print.
For a summary: http://www.fyiliving.com/research/handwriting-is-beneficial-to-childrens-cognitive-development
he article pointed out the
significance of writing by
hand, and the conjunction of
visual, motor and cognitive activities
that underpin handwriting. The
researchers discuss the significance
of forming each letter individually,
so important for children learning
to shape and embed the forms
of the letters of the alphabet as a
foundation for a life of literacy.
After sending it around the
teachers’ email circuit, English
teacher Jim Provencher, our unofficial
poet in residence, sent me this
personal response to the article.
T
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Even in my personal experience
I find I must handwrite first drafts
Of poems, that the very shaping
Of the letters, using my own physical
Style of handwriting, is integral
To the creative process where
I am connecting to deeper
Elements of my self and my nature….
And I very much enjoy
The fuller engagement in
Many layered process
Jim’s response reminded me
of the importance we place on
handwriting at Glenaeon, and how
the early years of the Glenaeon
Learning Journey lay a rich
foundation for developing what
used to be called “a good hand”.
In today’s world of course we
need to prepare our students for
a rigorous use of contemporary
technology and professional
practice in ICT. How do we build
a bridge between the demands
of study and the adult the
workplace, and the human value
of handwriting (and drawing)?
Like all aspects of our curriculum,
age appropriateness and an
understanding of child development
guide us in placing any educational
experience for the growing child.
Foundation:
Kindergarten to Class 4:
Intermediate:
Years 5 to 8:
In these early years we lay a
rigorous foundation of human skill
and ability, both gross and fine
motor. These years are the time of
unfolding human based faculties
when the child learns to develop
his/her senses, particularly what
we call the four lower senses of
touch, life, movement, and balance.
These senses need to unfold in the
real world of the three dimensions
of space, and they need real world
sensory stimuli to unfold healthily.
Fine motor skills unfold in using
pencils and crayons, developing a
healthy pencil grip, and in learning to
shape first straight lines and curves,
then the letters of the alphabet in
formal written script. Main Lesson
books involve students making
their own records of learning in
the form of handwritten texts and
illustrations. They work through print
and move to cursive handwriting,
usually in Class 3. We continually
review our practice, and this year
Ann Jacobson has introduced cursive
writing in Class 2 with remarkable
results in fluency and style.
This first stage comes to a kind
of kind of finale in Class 4 when
we introduce Pen, Paper, Ink: The
History of Writing Main Lesson,
which this year’s Class 4 will be
enjoying at the end of Term 3. Here
the children learn about the long and
fascinating journey that humanity
has made over thousands of years
in the history of writing: from the
origins of script in pictograms in
ancient Asia, through cuniform
and clay tablets in Mesopotamia,
through papyrus and hieroglyphs in
ancient Egypt, the emergence of the
alphabet in ancient Greece and the
illustrated manuscripts of the Middle
Ages. They practice different forms
of script and experiment with their
own handwriting style, and often
make their own quill and an inkpot
as a lead into using a fountain pen.
All these skills are based
on traditional human faculties,
building skills appropriate to the
needs and stage of this step
in physical development.
ON this strong foundation we can
build the next step into technology.
From Class 5 we introduce a laptop
program based in the library where
the students learn on two fronts:
»» touch typing, keyboard
and screen functions
»» research and study skills as a
preparation for an intelligent
use of the internet.
One of the biggest challenges
facing education today is the
explosion of information. Traditionally
the question in learning was how
to gather information: simply to
get the information together and
assimilate it was the problem.
Today the paradigm has flipped
to the reverse: there is so much
information available via the internet
that the question is how to exclude
information that is not valuable
and reduce the mass down to the
useable and useful. For students
starting to learn research skills, the
sheer mass of information available
today can be bewildering. How
do you know what to use, and
importantly, how do you evaluate
the quality of information?
Then there is the question of
internalising: with the Cut and
Paste function a student has the
ability to simply lift whole chunks
of information and present it as his/
her own. Learning to summarise,
paraphrase and put into one’s own
words takes a long time to do well.
Too often students can plagiarise
(as Tom Lehrer famously rhymed:
“let no one else’s work evade your
eyes!”) without knowing. Just as
sadly, students can assemble
information via Cut and Paste
without ever internalising or thinking
This intermediate stage is the
time to build useful IT skills that will
enable students to become proficient
in information technology and good
researchers. From Year 5 onwards
there is guided research integrated
with the Main Lesson program
that fosters the necessary skills in
evaluating websites and information,
then in summarising, paraphrasing,
and presenting information.
Students continue to create
Main Lesson books based on
handwritten texts and illustrations,
and the learning in information
technology runs in parallel.
Seniors:
Years 9 to 12:
In the senior years the school
is working towards being fully
technology-integrated, with
projectors in each high school room,
wireless connection throughout
the Middle Cove campus and
each student having access to an
individual computer. We have used
the available DER funds to purchase
laptops for students now
in Years 10 and
11, and we are
presently looking
at options for Year
9 including iPads
Teachers will
continue to integrate IT
into lessons, including
Main Lessons, through to
Year 12. Always striving for
balance, the school will also
continue to stress a strong
and aesthetic handwriting in our
students. While there is talk the
Board of Studies may introduce
some online examinations into
the HSC in the future, the general
consensus is that for a good few
years yet students will be assessed
in the HSC by handwritten scripts.
For this reason, a number of schools
will not accept typed assessment
tasks from students from Year 10
up. For Glenaeon this is one reason
for maintaining a strong education
in handwriting in our students, but
there are many others as well. 
As Jim puts it so beautifully, handwriting is
a “many layered process” and as a school,
we foster, develop and honour this fundamental
human attribute in complete harmony with
the IT demands of the contemporary world.
Page
9
AEON Issue Two December 2011
© AWSNA Publications/David
Mitchell and is reprinted here
with their kind permission.
Page
10
How do we prepare
children to grow up to
be resilient individuals
who can cope with life’s
challenges?
he research that deals with this
is research into resilience—
research into the overcoming,
the processing of, ‘insurmountable’
experiences, research into the
source of resistance (resilire =
to spring back, to rebound).
This research began after World
War II, when people were faced with
the fact that there were those who
inwardly overcame their experiences
of war or prison and were able to
resume a ‘normal’ life once their
soul wounds were healed. However,
at the same time, they realized
that there were those who never
really overcame these experiences
and instead kept suffering from
the trauma affecting them.
The question arose on what
this ability to inwardly overcome
experiences depends. What makes
one child strong in taking life’s
knocks, what makes another child
react so much more sensitively?
From regions where people have
been hit by great natural disasters,
we hear relatively little of the
problems that they have in inwardly
coming to terms with them.
Research into resilience has
arrived at several conclusions that
have considerable significance
for educators in particular. The
first issue was to follow up on
the question of whether the
soul’s power of resistance may
be explained by heredity. If the
parents have inner strength, is it
passed on to their offspring? After
numerous studies the conclusion
was reached that this is not the
case. Resilience is not inherited.
However, resilience is definitely
connected with the experiences of
the early years of childhood. One
researcher thinks it is a matter of
the first four or five years, while
another thinks the whole time of
childhood is significant, that is,
until the tenth year. Leaving aside
the different viewpoints, there is
agreement that the soul’s power of
resistance, or resilience, is nurtured
and developed, if children have had
the following five experiences.
T
by Christof Wiechert
“Research into Resilience”
by Christof Wiechert is
from the Waldorf Journal
Project #17: From Images to
Thinking
giving children strength for the future
Christof Wiechert served
as the head of the
Pedagogical Section of
the School of Spiritual
Science at the Goetheanum
in Dornach, Switzerland
from 2000-2010. His task
was to encourage, advise,
and inspire Waldorf
educators around the
world. He did this with
great energy, wisdom,
insight, and humor. 
“The roots of resilience
How do we cope with
traumatic or otherwise
shattering events in
our lives?
A Stable Relationship
A reliable, stable relationship
with one person. This person
does not necessarily need to
be the mother, but it is necessary
for it to be a single person in the
beginning. Later on this person may
be joined by others. Neurologists
also point out that at the start of
life there must be only one person
to relate to. Later on, there may
be a second, followed by a third or
fourth person, who is added to the
circle of people the child relates
to, but just not in the beginning.
1.
An Experience of
Authority
The growing child needs the
experience of an authoritative
upbringing. This means that
the child needs the fundamental
experience that others (involved in its
upbringing) decide for him/her, and
that he/she is completely relieved of
the necessity of making decisions,
It is simply from the experience that
others make the right decisions that
the child gains a sense of security
in life, in other words, trust. This
experience cannot be estimated
too highly. In the first place, others
decide what is good or bad for me,
what is right and wrong, healthy and
unhealthy. A deep feeling of security
comes about: I can leave it up to the
world to take over; I can rely upon
my surroundings in all circumstances.
2.
Learning Through
Example
Children need the experience
of learning through example.
This has to do with two
qualities, firstly, a moral quality that
makes a deep impression: What
the child experiences through the
example of the behavior of those
around him should be completely
compatible with what is demanded
of him. If the child is forbidden to
watch television and the people
he relates to watch unlimited
amounts of television, the child’s
understanding of his surroundings
as a totality cracks open. You
can add many other examples.
There is something else at
stake too. When the Canadian
psychologist Albert Bandura
discovered the mirror neurons and
their activity in human beings,
the interesting question arose as
to whether, in general, the child
learns with his/her intellect or
from imitation, from “doing it
like this too.” Bandura argues
vehemently that the young
child learns from imitating, not
through cognition, something he
documents impressively through
the process of learning to speak.
To date, in the practice of
teaching, this most significant idea,
the idea that children learn in a
more carefree way through imitation
rather than laboriously drumming
things into their heads, is scarcely
to be found. In this case we are
talking about children up to the
age of ten. Through the process of
a child’s learning, for example, to
do arithmetic by developing habits
rather than through the intellect,
self-confidence is developed as
he learns ‘externally’; he feels
affirmed through the sure habit.
The research described here is
mainstream research. It is, therefore,
legitimate to emphasize that,
according to Steiner, from around the
twelfth year cognitive learning takes
on more and more significance. Only
with Steiner is this whole complex
called “becoming capable of forming
judgments.” In other words, the
learning process is guided and
determined by the child’s own power
of discrimination, no longer by habit.
3.
Positive School
Experiences
The child needs a definite
surplus of positive school
experiences. The fifth condition
from research into resilience
scarcely requires an explanation.
Many school traumas will
accompany the individual for his or
her whole life, wounds of which the
school (or the teachers) are often
not aware. If they were aware of
them, the schools would set things
up differently. In other words,
whatever basis is laid down for the
mood of soul at school plays a key
role in the memory of individuals
for their lives. This is an important
reason for schools and teachers
to ask themselves how the pupils
are faring. This is by no means to
deny that school is a place where
pupils can go through a crisis; this
will also need to happen. What
is at stake is the overcoming of
difficulties and whether pupils feel
sufficiently accepted by the teachers.
We will have no difficulty, after
reading the above account, in
establishing the basic requirements
of the art of education. That is to
say, the art of education is based
on resilience. We are dealing with
one aspect of resilience. Another
aspect is concerned with the
so-called education for dealing
with emergencies. How do we
help children who have survived
natural disasters or war disasters?
Nowadays, we know that what
enables children to work through
trauma more than anything else
is art or artistic activity. This fact
has been documented in lots of
places and it confirms the healing
power that can come from art.
Art needs to become a normal
part of every form of education.
5.
The Quality of Time
Children need a qualitative
experience of time. What
is the difference between
morning and evening for our
feeling about life? What is the
difference between autumn and
spring, summer and winter for our
feeling about life? Within a Christian
context, how does the Easter
festival differ from Christmas? Or
within an Islamic context, how does
the sugar festival differ from the
beginning of Ramadan? How does
the child experience the ordering
of time, how do we help him to
experience the ordering of time?
Lots of biographies describe
rituals that are linked to the seasons.
There is also the simple fact of
going to bed. Is it a random activity
because we are tired, or is there
a small ritual belonging to this
moment when we take our leave
of the day that is entirely different
from waking up in the morning?
We can see from the way
in which this fact is reflected
in Waldorf kindergartens and
schools that these festivals are
not celebrated just for the sake of
it, but rather out of some insight.
Whoever wants to give shape to
his or her life, whoever refuses
to be ‘lived’ has to shape time.
4.
Page
11
AEON Issue Two December 2011
Dr. Regalena Melrose, is a psychologist and parent at a Waldorf (Steiner) school in California.
(“Waldorf” is the name for Steiner education in the US, derived from the name of the factory in
Germany where Dr Steiner’s first school was established in 1919).
The following piece is an extract from an article by Dr Melrose: the final paragraph resonates strongly
with our current educational funding debate and you may be inspired by her suggestions.
“The
Neuroscience
science
behind a glenaeon education
Why Waldorf Works: From a Neuroscientific Perspective …Dr Steiner’s approach
to education was a holistic one. He recognized that our senses, feelings, and
cognitions must all be actively engaged at the appropriate stage of development
in order for students to maintain, over the long term, a joy and love of learning.
aldorf educators do not
make the same mistake
made by a number of other
more traditional, conventional, and
mainstream models of education.
Waldorf educators do not overvalue
the development of the neocortex
and left brain to the exclusion of the
right brain, that which senses and
feels deeply. It does not focus at too
young of an age, before the brain is
ready, on purely academic endeavors
that attempt with rigor to engage a
part of the brain that the child has
little access to, the underdeveloped
neocortex. (The neocortex is not
fully developed until we are in our
mid- to late twenties!) Instead, what
Waldorf educators do successfully
is involve and nourish the sensing,
feeling parts of the brain, those
easily accessed by young children,
so that essential foundational
neural connections needed for later
academic learning are solidly laid.
W
…Our children need ample
time and practice to “marinate
in their mastery,”…
Page
12
Let me expand:
Take the case of play.
You now know that the brain
develops in a hierarchical fashion
from more to less primitive, from
the animal to more uniquely human.
What that means is that the
healthy development of the more
sophisticated neocortex DEPENDS
upon the healthy development of the
feeling, limbic brain which DEPENDS
upon the healthy development of
the sensory brain. The problem with
today’s mainstream educational
models is that they want the brain to
walk before it can crawl. Well, let’s
be accurate: Most school systems
today want children to RUN before
they can crawl. We encounter proud
parents who say, “My child was
walking at 9 months! She didn’t
even need to crawl, just up and
went! Isn’t that terrific?” And what
I want to say is, “No! No, that’s
not terrific! Push her to the floor!
Make her crawl!” That might be
an overzealous reaction, but it is
grounded in sound knowledge that
every single stage of development is
essential to the next, laying a neural
foundation to support what is to
come. Our children need ample time
and practice to “marinate in their
mastery,” of one skill or another,
at each and every juncture of their
development. This is not happening
in enough schools across the country
today, but it is happening at Waldorf.
From the very beginning of
a child’s educational career at
a Waldorf school, he or she is
supported to play in a variety of
different fashions and settings
throughout the entire school day.
Steiner knew that play is the
invaluable foundation for any kind
of healthy, human growth, including
academic progress. And let’s
be clear about what kind of play
this is. It is what Dr. David Elkind
calls “the purest form of play: the
unstructured, [spontaneous], selfmotivated, imaginative, independent
kind, where children initiate their
own games and even invent their
own rules.” This kind of play, he
warns us, is disappearing from our
homes, schools, and neighborhoods
at an alarming rate with great
cost to the health, well-being, and
achievement of our children.
Numerous studies have
shown that play at every stage of
development improves IQ, socialemotional functioning, learning, and
academic performance. The findings
of several studies conducted over a
4 year period found that spending
one-third of the school day in
physical education, art, and music
improved not only physical fitness,
but attitudes toward learning, and
test scores, according to Dr. Elkind.
Furthermore, when the performance
of children who attended academic
pre-schools was compared to
the performance of children who
attended play-oriented preschools,
the results showed no advantage
in reading and math achievement
for the “academic children,” but did
show that they had higher levels of
test anxiety, were less creative, and
had more negative attitudes toward
school than did the “play children.”
This is precisely the point we
are missing in today’s achievementdriven culture. We have bought
into a myth in education that “more
equals more.” A formula of more
time spent on academics, starting
earlier in development, with more
homework, is not increasing
the output of our children. It’s
decreasing it! Cutting time out for
the arts, physical activity, and time
in Nature, so our children can spend
more time reading, writing, and
doing arithmetic is not the answer.
It is the culprit. Our children are
burning out and dropping out at
catastrophic rates not just because
more doesn’t equal more, but also
because it equals shut-down.
The brain functions its best
only when in an optimum state
of arousal. Our children cannot
attend, listen, process information,
retain, or perform well when in
an either under- or over-aroused
state. Overwhelm is what causes
these states. When before the
brain is ready children are exposed
to and required to participate in
academics, media, technology,
and organized play, such as team
sports, the premature and often
prolonged stress they experience
can eventually shut the system
down. Teachers all over the United
States and Canada tell me they see
“it” by the beginning of third grade.
In far too many of their students,
they say “the light has gone out.”
The joy, curiosity, and wonder that
are essential to the learning process
are already dulled by too much of
one thing and not another. Whereas
the mainstream educational system
today focuses almost exclusively
on academics, a mostly left brain
function, Waldorf educators
focus more on the whole brain,
emphasizing the right hemisphere
at each stage of development.
Steiner could only have observed
and therefore hypothesized that this
keeps our children in the optimum
zone of arousal where all of learning
and adaptive behavior are possible.
With current scientific findings, we
now know he was right. Tapping
…“the purest form of play: the unstructured, [spontaneous],
self-motivated, imaginative, independent kind, where children initiate
their own games and even invent their own rules.” This kind of play…
…is disappearing from our homes, schools, and neighborhoods at
an alarming rate...
into the sensory gifts of the right
hemisphere provides the “flow”
necessary for the marathon of
achievement, not just the sprint.
Now that we’ve learned about
the importance of holism and play to
the learning process, let us consider
the invaluable role of Nature. A given
within education is the engagement
of the left brain. Learning almost
always involves a verbal, analytical
process. What is not a given, is
the stimulation and expression of
the right brain. The functions of
the right hemisphere of the brain
have somehow been deemed less
important to the achievement and
ultimate success of our children, at
least “success” as most define it in
the U. S. Our bodies are asked to
move less, our minds to race more.
Cuts have been made not only to
recess and physical education, but
also to creative endeavors such as
theater, music, and fine art, all of
which make important contributions
to the optimal functioning of the
brain, achievement, AND success
no matter how you define it. What
does Nature have to do with it?
A whole lot, according to the
neuroscience: nothing stimulates
and resonates with the right brain
more powerfully, and therefore,
nothing keeps us in the optimum
zone of arousal better than Nature.
Remember, the optimum zone
of arousal, when anxiety is neither
too high nor too low, is the only
physiological state within which all
of learning and adaptive behavior
is possible. Nature beautifully
promotes that state. According to
years of research recently compiled
by Dr. Eeva Karjalainen, natural
green settings reduce stress,
improve mood, reduce anger
and aggression, increase overall
happiness, and even strengthen
our immune system. Nature is one
critical antidote to the increases in
stress, overwhelm, burnout, and
dropout we are witnessing in the
educational system today. Lack of
exposure to Nature causes such a
detrimental state to the brain, and is
so pervasive today we have a name
for it: “Nature Deficit Disorder.”
Dr. Karjalainen reports that “after
stressful or concentration-demanding
situations,” we do not recover nearly
as well in urban settings as we do in
natural ones. When we experience
Nature, our blood pressure, heart
rate, muscle tension, and level
of stress hormones all decrease
faster than when we are in urban
settings. In children in particular,
we know that ADHD symptoms are
reduced when they are given the
opportunity to play in green settings.
As a mother myself, I can’t
imagine a parent on earth that
doesn’t want all of these benefits
and more for their children. I can’t
imagine that once parents and
educators know the research
findings pointing the way to optimal
brain functioning, that any of us
would ever agree to the kind of
educational system we have now.
…results showed no advantage in reading
and math achievement for the “academic
children,” but did show that they had higher
levels of test anxiety, were less creative,
and had more negative attitudes toward
school than did the “play children.”
The alternative of Waldorf exists,
and I am grateful. I urge every parent
to learn more about it and strongly
consider it for their children.
I am also aware, however, that
not every parent has access to
a Waldorf school for financial,
geographical, or other reasons.
For those parents and all of us
really, I have an additional urging,
that we vote, petition, write
letters, make calls, and fight
however we can to ensure that
the reform about to take place in
the current educational system
be founded on the invaluable
neuroscientific findings of the
last 20 years. We must demand
changes that are backed by
sound science, based on how
we know the brain works best,
not just in the short-term, but
for all the years to come. 
You can read more of
Dr. Melrose’s work on her website:
www.drmelrose.com
Page
13
AEON Issue Two December 2011
Les Miserables
and Year 10
Year 10 continued the tradition of great Glenaeon
shows last August. After Year 11’s performance of
West Side Story in Term 1, we have had a feast
of musical theatre this year.
es Miserables has become one
of the classic and best loved
of musical theatre shows over
its short 25 year history. A tale of
passion and commitment, the show
is emotionally engaging at all levels,
with an outstanding musical score
and a visual treat in its presentation:
its a big show filled with extremes of
emotion including both big numbers
and big scenes right down to the
intimate and the tender. Year 10 told
this rich, compelling story with
verve and a wonderful dramatic
and musical commitment.
L
Page
14
Our thanks are due to the many
parents and teachers who worked
so tirelessly behind the scenes
to bring the production to the
stage, with special thanks to
Year 10 Guardians Donna Miller
and Nigel Hoffmann. Director
Liz Chan and Musical Director
Manu Prasad put in countless
hours of rehearsal and preparation
over the past year, and we
thank them for this wonderful
gift to the students (who will
never forget this experience)
and the community. 
Page
15
AEON Issue Two December 2011
Glenaeon 2011
From Glenaeon
Parents and Friends:
Family Fair
Saturday 5th November
hat an absolutely
Beautiful Day, the
weather gods certainly
smiled on us on Saturday…
I think we were due for it
after last year’s rain & the year
before we had the Red Dust
Storm. I am as always warmed at
how well our community comes
together on these occasions.
For me it was full circle. Our
family joined the school after the
Glenaeon Fair back in 2002. I walked
in the gates and was absolutely
sure this was where I wanted my
son to be. I couldn’t name the
quality I felt, but it was soulful.
On Saturday I had at least
six people ask for directions to
the School’s Showcase Room,
as they too had obviously fallen
under the spell of the Fair.
As only the second Class 4 to
hold the event, I think I can say on
our behalf that it was challenging,
tiring and ultimately rewarding.
If Class 4 is ahead of you,
don’t be daunted creating the
Fair it’s a wonderful experience
and allows the Class to Shine.
W
Page
16
For me personally the best
bit was the way the school
community rallied into service.
Parents walked up to me all day
saying “where can I help”? others
just arrived with this willingness to
participate after finding the roster
challenging (I promise next year
it will be more straight forward).
Senior students helping the
little ones all over the place, and
the Class 4 students leapt in to
help as well.
So thank you everyone for
creating a delightful community
event. Well done to this year’s
Art Show Committee for
growing that aspect. Friday’s
Opening Night was fabulous.
Thank you to Kindy, Classes
One & Two – the craft was beautiful
& sales were high. Thank you to
Class 3 who made the produce
stall & lemonade stands such a
hit. Thank you to our entertainers,
our bakers & our cooks.
Thank you to all the teachers for
the extra hours they put in creating
artworks for the Silent Auction.
Thanks to Rodney Dean-who made
a delightful Prince of Pockets.
Thank you to the Staff at
Middle Cove & Castlecrag for
not complaining about the last
week of chaos. And thank you
to all of Class 4 for embracing
the new way of doing the Fair.
And a special mention to all the
students who sold raffle tickets
in the lead up to the Fair, this too
was a record. I’d like to single our
Blaze Miller-Hill here who sold the
highest number of raffle books.
Nine books! Well done. And finally
what I love about our Fair is that
it’s all not about measuring profit
and consumption. It’s the magic
something we bring together
as a community that makes
this event such a stand out.
Oh and by the way it
appears we made a record
turnover on the day of over
$53,000. That’s the bonus! 
With Respect & Gratitude
Deanne Harwick
on behalf of the P&F & Class 4
Greek
Olympics
2
3
Festivals
ime leaves its traces in the
passage of the year, as each
season offers different shades
of experience to the perceptive
soul. As a community we celebrate
these different shadings in the
festivals for each season, and
provide the growing child with a
year of differentiated experience
to mark the passage of time.
While traditional communities
always lived out a rich cycle
of festival life as a heritage
from the past, contemporary
research on resilience points to
the strengthening quality which
this cycle provides children,
deepening their feeling life and
giving a sense of a meaning
behind the changes in the year.
This year we have enjoyed
our usual Harvest, Winter and
Spring Festivals, each with a
traditional flavour and each
with something fresh and new.
T
1. Harvest Festival.
2.W inter Festival.
3.Spring Festival Maypole dancing.
alfway through term 4 class
5 travelled to the Athletics
Oval at West Chatswood to
participate in a much anticipated
celebration of the Greek Olympics.
They were joined by Class 5
students from the Blue Mountains
Steiner School, the Central Coast
Steiner School and Kamaroi. After
arriving at the oval dressed in white
tunics which were spectacularly
decorated in the colours of the
five city states (Athens, Sparta,
Megara, Thebes and Corinth) the
children proudly assembled for the
Opening Ceremony and proceeded
to wholeheartedly share a selection
of beautifully presented verses,
songs, recorder pieces and dancing.
The children were all thrilled when
the High Priest of Zeus appeared
before the crowd and after some
words of encouragement he
finally spoke the words that all had
awaited, ‘Let the Games Begin!’.
Despite the rising temperature
and the very hot weather conditions,
there were few complaints and the
children enthusiastically embraced
each event. Following the boys’ and
girls’ marathon, each child competed
in the five events of the pentathlon
– javelin, discus, long-jump, running
and wrestling. Competitors were
judged not only for their skill but also
for beauty, grace and sportsmanship.
Finally after a generous and
delicious shared lunch of Greek
inspired food, spectators and
competitors gathered for the finals
of the sprints and wrestling. The day
ended with a short closing ceremony
and the presentation of twelve olive
wreaths to the winning athletes.
Thank you to all those parents,
teachers and children who
participated with such enthusiasm
and willingness in this day and
helped make it such a memorable
and special occasion. 
H
1
Harvest
At Harvest the school enjoyed
international story teller Ashley
Ramsden as part of our festival:
in the 80’s Ashley was part of the
Glenaeon community so it was a joy
to welcome his return from the UK.
Winter
At our Winter festival we again
celebrated the winter solstice
with the children’s annual spiral
walk to the lyre playing so ably
orchestrated by Coral Paterson.
Spring
This Spring Festival was an
indoor event due to the weather
but we enjoyed both Maypole
and African dancing as a joyful
prelude to the onset of Spring.
Carol Service
We will close the year with our
annual Carol Service at Pitt Street
Uniting Church on December 5th. 
Catherine Pilko
Class 5 Teacher
Page
17
AEON Issue Two December 2011
Gleanaeon 2011 continued
our garden of life
Summer Planting time
What better way to learn about
the seasons and the cycles of
nature than through gardening!
Watching the plants change from
seed to tiny seedling, then into
something we actually cook and
eat, eventually followed by the
flower that withers and drops
seed, brings many moments
of wonder. Learning about the
seasonal fruits and vegetables
is a normal and natural process
as we learn by doing.
Over the last term, summer
planting has been in full swing. We
try to plant quite late in Spring so
that the bounteous summer harvest
can be enjoyed when school returns
in February, and not before (though
the holiday workers usually get
a good feed of passionfruits and
Page
18
cucumbers). Classes 3 and 4 have
their own class gardens which are
now filled with tomato, cucmber,
zucchini, beans and many other
vegies. We often make a big bowl
of salad to eat at the end of the
lesson, and just this week Class 4
ate cooked silver beet covered in
fetta cheese and olive oil. One child
said, “I can’t believe something so
simple could be so delicious!” Class
5 children have group gardens; their
lessons are filled with energetic
and enthusiastic activity. Class
6 children grow cash crops and
propagate herbs to sell to the staff,
and they have often prepared stalls
for canteen and other events such
as Mothers’ Day and the Family
Fair. The money they raised this
year is being used to help set up
a chook pen, and they also paid
for the new garden bubbler.
The Pizza Oven
The pizza oven has been at the
centre of a number of occasions this
term. A group of Class 6 children
made pizzas topped with garden
herbs for the visitors to our recent
Open Day. As part of their ‘Food
Chemistry’ Main Lesson, Year 8
brought their own toppings, added
herbs, and baked enough pizzas to
share around. A Thank You event is
being planned for all the wonderful
garden volunteers, where, of
course, pizzas will be served. 
Ruth Purves
Gardening Teacher
Garden Calendar 2012
This year we entered the Harvest
Table Competition being run
by CountryStyle magazine, and
though we did not win, we have
a wonderful collection of garden
photos. Our thanks go to ex-student
Bree Hutchins and ex-parent
Jane Hann for their creativity
and expertise in producing these
gorgeous shots. We used some of
them to design a Garden Calendar
which is available to purchase
from the school office for $15.
Glenaeon holiday dates, moon
phases, and all other important
dates are included. They would
make a lovely Christmas gift. 
Page
19
AEON Issue Two December 2011
Gleanaeon 2011 continued
2
1
Class 4
Camped on the round oval at the
Middle Cove Campus earlier this year
Class 5
Bushwalking on their
camp at Blackheath
3
4
Class 6
1.At Warrumbungles Central West NSW
2.On their camp at Bathurst
3.Panning for gold at Bathurst
4.At Wellington Caves
Year 7 On their kayaking camp up the Hawkesbury river
Active wilderness
t Glenaeon we start our
Active Wilderness Program
in Kindergarten with regular
bushwalks which we continue in
Classes 1 to 3, the hikes growing
in challenge and distance.
Camping begins in Class 4:
learning to put up tents, dealing
with the unpredictability of the
weather, sleeping on the ground
and generally going without home
comforts are all the challenges.
The challenges though are far
outweighed by the positives. The
benefits we have observed so
many times can be life-changing
to students on their journey
into successful adult living: a
sense of adventure, the seeing
A
Page
20
of each other in new roles and
responsibilities, the raw experience
of Nature, the beautiful moments
that spontaneously arise in an
unfamiliar place, the thrill of stepping
outside the comfort zone and
finding a new sense of being.
Above all there is the joy of
comradeship, of sharing adversity
and adventure and building personal
relationships that could last a
lifetime. In a planned and consistent
manner the Active Wilderness
Program aims to build the resourceful
spirit that will be able to meet life’s
challenges and will be, as Tennyson
famously put it in Ulysses…
strong in will. To strive, to seek,
to find, and not to yield. 
Year 11
Above: On the road in Central Australia
Below: Year 11 and their guardians
Scott Henderson & Pamela Laycock at Uluru
Silence louder than
the shrieks of darkness
ath
Night inhales; an icy bre
Melanie Olsen
Year 10 Snow Camp reflections
“
I believe because
11 had a positive
attitude towards
the camp, I was able
to get the most out
it. My attitude let
me try things I was
a bit scared of and
push through pain to
achieve my goals. I do
think it is possible to
change your attitude
and think positively
so you can change
the outcome of your
day. Throughout the
snow camp I was
able to change my
attitude towards
situations so I could
gain the most out of
the experience.
Year 11
ren
Hannah MacGregor with child
ol
of the Alice Springs Steiner Scho
Lousia Hartley
The snow camp
was setting out to
teach us how to
survive in the snow,
but I think it achieved
more than just that.
I think it brought our
class closer to one
another and made
us all stronger.
Sophia Gallaher
”
Thomas Lockwood
Crisp breeze
tall earth stem
ever lasting distance
Demie Manuele
” “
“
The difference
between camp and
school was that we
were in the snow
and we needed to
learn new skills
and understand the
importance of team
work. We learnt to
not depend on our
teachers and parents
– but ourselves.
Taleah Pharo
“
The moon smiles upon
Sparkling snow
White to perfection
”
My attitude
determined what I
did on camp: if I felt
positive, the people
around me would
feel positive and we
would achieve this
in a better more fun
Way. Although I did
not volunteer as a
group leader, I did
help out with tasks
during the times
we were skiing.
I enjoyed it and had
fun whilst learning
quite a few lessons
to do with teamwork,
participation,
preparation and
determination.
”
Lincoln Macgrego
Page
21
AEON Issue Two December 2011
where are they
?
now
The Green family boy
s
David Green
Pioneers
The Green family
eet the Green family, Glenaeon
alumni and early pioneers of
the school who along with
other dedicated parents of the
1960s and 70s were revolutionary
in their spirit and activism, united by
a common goal, Glenaeon school.
These families set the bar for
future parents. Warren Green, who
was treasurer of the P&F for many
years, attributes this active spirit
to the close bond shared between
M
These families set the bar
for future parents.
the parents. He felt Glenaeon
had good quality and interesting
people which lead to good social
cooperation. Warren said you
wanted to be involved because it
was fun and parents enjoyed being
a part of it. Warren and his wife
Margret had four sons who went
right through Glenaeon David,
Michael, Cameron and Martin.
For the boys it was the bush
setting of the Middle Cove campus
that made their school days so
enjoyable. They fondly remember
running out at morning tea and
lunch to go caving and termite
bombing, as well as sneaking out
to the shops across the bridge
to buy lollies at lunch. David
described the bushland setting as
a ‘magic kingdom’, and it was this
kingdom that enabled young boys
at Glenaeon to bond with each
other and form strong friendships.
It was not only their friendships
the Green family took with them
when they left the school, Glenaeon
still influences their daily lives. David
feels that Glenaeon taught him to
be self-sufficient and conscious
of his individuality. He said he has
never felt the need to conform
for the sake of conformity.
Cameron said that he has great
general knowledge, particularly in
history and geography. People are
Page
22
amazed that he still remembers
things he learnt at school. He
believes it was the way in which
he was taught that has made all
the difference. By learning through
stories, he said, the information
has the ability to stay with you.
For Michael, Glenaeon laid the
foundation for diversity. With his
scientific and mathematical abilities,
at another school it would have
been easy for his education to
become isolated. The philosophy
that resonated with him most was
the core idea that human beings
are spiritual beings; he particularly
liked the fact that Glenaeon
supported this ideal without
pushing any specific religion.
Martin similarly believes that
education continues and develops
with you when you leave school
and that the Glenaeon motto of the
time, Education for Life. supports
this lifelong learning. However, even
more significant than education in a
young person’s life is family. When
asked about his memories from his
youth it is a conversation with his
father that Martin recalls. In year
eleven or twelve he wanted to leave
school. His father sat him down
and said that you must finish what
you start; it’s about getting the job
done the best you can. Martin still
lives by this philosophy today and
respects his father more for it.
David was the first of the Green
family to come through Glenaeon.
He graduated in 1977, and if his
name is familiar it’s because he has
been a History and English teacher
at Glenaeon since 2006. Before
coming to Glenaeon David did a
variety of jobs. He was a freelance
and commercial writer; he did some
travelling and worked for ten years
for the family business. Following
that he completed a Bachelor of Arts
in 1984 majoring in modern history
and English as well as a Graduate
Diploma in teaching in 2003.
Michael has achieved a great
deal since graduating in 1978. He
has completed Bachelor Degrees
and Honours in both science and
mathematics for which he won the
University Medal at the University
of New South Wales. Michael then
completed his PHD at the Australian
National University in System
Engineering. He later returned to
ANU in a variety of roles, including
lecturer, Associate Dean and
Head of Engineering. Since 2001
Michael has worked as a general
manager at the Department
of Industry and Innovation.
After graduating in 1979
Cameron did some engineering
and manufacturing work before
moving to the country to work in
the environment and landscaping
industry. He now is a project manager
with the Department of Health.
Martin was a great sportsperson
in his youth. Following his graduation
from Glenaeon in 1982, he studied
accounting at TAFE. He has used the
knowledge to run the family business
with his father Warren since 1990.
As parents Warren and
Margaret learned from the school
the importance of developing
an individual’s intellect through
art. Warren went to a traditional
“sandstone” school whilst Margaret
went to a state school. Both agreed
that something was missing and
sought a different education for
their children. They both liked the
way in which Glenaeon focused on
the needs of the individual rather
than the collective group. When
Warren thinks back to his days
at Glenaeon as a parent, his
mind is instantly taken to the
parent community and school
spirit. In years to come when
our current parents look back at
their days at Glenaeon we are
sure they will feel the same. 
Tom Hartigan
Erwin Berney
Stuart Gentle
in memoriam
Since the end of last term three great workers for Glenaeon, all former members
of the School Council, passed over into the spiritual world.
Tom Hartigan
Stuart Gentle
Erwin Berney
he end of the year saw the
passing of another Glenaeon
stalwart of many years standing.
Tom Hartigan had been battling
cancer for a long period, but he
became gravely ill in November.
His passing was very peaceful
surrounded by his wife Felicity and
children Patrick, Hugh and Kathleen.
Tom was a major part of Glenaeon
over many years. His three children
attended the school, and he was
Chair of the School Council for eight
years. As Chair it was essentially his
work that secured the Castlecrag
Infants School for Glenaeon in 1993
and we have largely him to thank for
our beautiful campus there today.
In later years Tom made an
unprecedented move into the
classroom, teaching Main Lessons
on Commerce to Years 8 and 9.
He used his skills and experience
as a company director and forensic
accountant to bring the world of
commerce alive for students. He
was a natural educator, and brought
the complexities of politics, money,
the legal system and commercial
entrepreneurship down to easily
communicable concepts and stories.
He arranged excursions to the
Supreme Court, the NSW Parliament
and a gelato factory. Tom loved his
new found role as a teacher in the
high school and he was much loved
in return. His ebullient personality
translated naturally into the
classroom setting: when he became
ill, one of his biggest concerns was
that he would not be able to continue
with his beloved main lessons.
We remember Tom's enormous
contribution, his dedicated hard
work for the school, and his warm
and personable presence, one that
will live on with all of us as part of
the fabric of our community. 
tuart Gentle was President
of the Glenaeon Parents
Association, one of the
initiators and drivers of the Craft
Expo’s which brought thousands of
people to visit Glenaeon, producer
of a good number of school
musicals, and an initiator of the
Aaron MacMillan Scholarship.
Stuart was a member of the
Glenaeon School Council for
25 years and in this role worked
on many projects. One significant
one occurred when Glenaeon
took over a small failing school in
Newport, refounded the school
as a separate entity and Kamaroi
Rudolf Steiner School was born.
Stuart was the founding Chair of
the Kamaroi School Council and for
9 years built the vision and strategy
that laid a foundation for Kamaroi
to become the thriving school it
is today. Fortunately he lived to
see his vision realised as Kamaroi
celebrates its 21st birthday this year.
Stuart was also a tireless
supporter of his wife Rosemary
who was a Chair of the College
of Teachers, a Co-Chair of the
School Council and then Executive
Officer of Steiner Education
Australia. Stuart and Rosemary’s
two daughters Belinda and
Fiona attended Glenaeon. 
S
rwin Berney’s early pioneering
efforts for the school included
Artists Holidays and much
physical labour: Erwin made and
installed a beautiful stained glass
window of St Christopher and the
Christ child in the “turret” of the
then Kindergarten locker room,
still to be enjoyed in the current
Class 5 locker room. He was the
founder of his own photography
business Berney Studios.
His work for Glenaeon was
but one initiative among many
others devoted to furthering the
work of Dr Rudolf Steiner, any
one of which would be a fitting
life achievement: he was also
the founder of Demeter Bakery,
the Goethean Science Institute,
Tridos Bank, Parsifal College (now
Sydney Rudolf Steiner College),
the EduCareDo Learning program,
and finally in his 90th year he was
founder and CEO of Bio-Agriculture
Ltd, a pioneering company working
with the UN and the Commonwealth
government developing organic
farming as a method of carbon
capture in fighting climate change.
Erwin’s three children
Kathy, Peter and Michael
attended Glenaeon, as did
three of his grandchildren Luke,
Serena and Theodore. 
We send our deepest sympathies
to Rosemary, Belinda and Fiona;
Ann and her extended family; and
Felicity, Hugh, Patrick and Kathleen.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home….
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.
T
E
William Wordsworth
If you wish to advertise in Aeon in 2012 please contact Nikki on 9932 2313 or [email protected]
Page
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AEON Issue Two December 2011
Coming Events
We welcome all former students,
parents and friends to join us for these key events
in the upcoming year.
 Annual Alumni Dinner 10 March  Fiddler on the Roof Production 2-4 April
 Alumni Cabaret Night 1 June  Midwinter Festival 20-21 June  Year 12 Showcase 23 August
 Spring Festival 14 September  Year 8 Play 17-18 September  Family Fair 3 November
 Glenaeon Carol Service 3rd December
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