The time of year has come when we are planning and preparing for the next one. Part of this involves the timetabling of classes, and of course the recruitment of new staff to teach them! You may have noticed a few of our teacher vacancies being advertised out and about. GHSS is fortunate to have wonderful staff retention rates, so no, teachers are not leaving! The school is growing quickly, and as a result, so is our staff body. While our Woodwork teacher, Gill Irvine is retiring from teaching as of the end of this year, all our other advertised vacancies are new positions.

On the topic of staffing, I am incredibly excited to announce the appointment of our 2026 Class 1 teacher, Lauren Fenwick. Lauren is a parent of two GHSS students, and has been a regular fixture around the school as of late, helping out with lots of relief teaching work. Lauren is feeling enthusiastic about beginning her Steiner teaching journey and comes very highly recommended. We are very fortunate to welcome her to our dedicated team of teachers! Other teaching appointments and finalised class configurations for 2026 will be announced in the next issue of the Golden Quill.

Next year will of course also be our first year of running a Class 10. Lots has been happening in the high school space, and acknowledgement must be given to Sam Vinton-Boot, for establishing and running many of our wonderful new elective activities this year. Community Sport has been a hit of late, with students out and about playing golf and tennis, and subjects such as surfing and outdoor education were well received last semester.

This week marks our inaugural high school assembly, which will be a more ‘grown-up’ version of the traditional GHSS assemblies, to be held twice a term. Students will be given reminders and information, as well as enjoy a photo slideshow of high school happenings over the past few weeks.

The Steiner curriculum is very much based on an in depth understanding of child development, and the idea that our ways of learning change as we mature. For example, the young child learns predominantly through play, whereas during the high school years, students develop the ability to think critically and independently. The curriculum becomes more academically rigorous, with a strong emphasis on analytical thinking, problem-solving, and self-reflection.

With this in mind, we believe that our high school students are ready to take on more personal responsibility and decision-making. This means that occasionally, rules differ between primary and high school students. A couple of examples include the choice for high schoolers to wear their hair down, or to go barefoot during recess/ lunch. However, our school dress code still stands. Clothing should be modest, appropriate and comfortable. Any pictures, commercial logos, or slogans must be smaller than a fist, and clothing needs to cover the midriff area. This still leaves is a plethora of clothing choices and outfit combinations whereby students can express their individuality.   

Wishing everyone a wonderful, warm Djilba/ Kambarang holiday!

Warm regards,

Eliza Allan