High School Small Group Tour with Head of Student Support Services
Date: Friday 28 August 2026
Time: 9:15am - 10am
Location: 5A Glenroy Ave, Middle Cove NSW 2068

We invite families to join a small group tour of our High School, led by our Registrar and Head of Student Support Services, Anna Wetzel. Enjoy a guided walk through the campus and time for conversation to learn more about our High School curriculum, Steiner philosophy as well as our Learning Support and Wellbeing Program. We look forward to welcoming you.

Registration: Book Now

Primary School OPEN DAY 2026 - Castlecrag Campus
Date: Saturday 5 September 2026
Time: 10am - 12pm
Location: 121 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag NSW 2068

Glenaeon's Primary School Open Day 2026 offers parents the chance to learn about our curriculum and philosophy from Kindergarten - Class 6 and see our Kindergarten to Class 3 Castlecrag Campus. There will be student work on display, you will meet staff, current families and students, observe demonstration classes, and learn more about Steiner education and teaching approach in the primary years. Meet our Head of School, Diana Drummond, and our Deputy Head of School K-6 Dani Finch as well as teaching staff. We look forward to welcoming you and your family!

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High School Small Group Tour with Director of Studies
Date: Thursday 10 September 2026
Time: 10am - 10:45am
Location: 5A Glenroy Ave, Middle Cove NSW 2068

We invite families to join a small group tour of our High School, led by our Registrar and Director of Studies and High School Mathematics and Science Teacher, Dr Stanley Tang. Enjoy a guided walk through the campus and time for conversation to learn more about subject offerings, academic pathways and Steiner philosophy. We look forward to welcoming you.

Registration: Book Now

The primary school had a wonderful time celebrating Book Week! Students enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book characters and sharing their love of stories at our book week assembly. Thank you to Class 6 for their very engaging play about 'the Book Character's Complaint Department', as well as our delightful year 7 MC's.The gold coins collected for Dress Up Day were donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Thank you for your generous donations to this important cause. 

The students have had many fruitful discussions around books they've enjoyed reading recently, whether stories need to have happy endings, and which book they would choose to live in, if they could spend a week inside that world. 

Book Week is a valuable opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading and to recognise the important role that books play in developing imagination, creativity, empathy, and a lifelong love of learning. It has been wonderful to see students so enthusiastically sharing stories, discussing their favourite books, and engaging with literature in meaningful ways. We hope the excitement of Book Week continues to inspire our students to read widely and discover new stories throughout the year.

Ellen Brown
Junior Library

In 2010, Year 10 students Yuka Otsuki and Claire Brown swapped schools and families as part of a cultural exchange between Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School and Kyotanabe Steiner School in Japan. Sixteen years later, their paths crossed again when Yuka returned to Glenaeon for a long-awaited visit. For Yuka, coming to Australia was a big change. She remembers being struck by the size of Glenaeon, the “big sky” and beautiful natural surroundings. She fondly recalls the warmth of her Australian host family and adventures to the Blue Mountains, Sydney Harbour, the South Coast and Taronga Zoo. Her exchange experience gave her the confidence to travel overseas again, eventually leading her to university in the UK to study Music. Today, Yuka lives in Osaka and works as a primary school teacher.

For Claire, her time at Kyotanabe offered an equally rich cultural experience. She was warmly welcomed by Yuka’s family and immersed in Japanese traditions, visiting temples and festivals, taking part in tea ceremonies and learning the art of kimono dressing. One particularly memorable experience was arriving at school to find the whole community learning a traditional fishermen’s dance. Older students taught younger students, and the completed dance was later performed at a whole-school gathering. It was a wonderful expression of community and intergenerational learning. Although communicating in Japanese was challenging, the experience grew Claire’s independence and sparked a lasting passion for travel. She especially remembers the onsen visits, followed by warm robes, bowls of udon and a good night’s sleep.

Looking back, both women recognise how much their exchange shaped them. Their story is a beautiful reminder that a Steiner education extends beyond the classroom. It fosters curiosity, connection and a sense of belonging that can last a lifetime. Yuka always wanted to come back to visit Glenaeon and just recently, she did! A full circle moment. Glenaeon families of Year 9 elective language students who are interested in exploring the possibility of a Year 10 Exchange for their child should get in touch with Amelia Gonzalez, Glenaeon’s Spanish Teacher and Exchange Coordinator. Click here to learn more.

Playgroup families are experiencing the shifting seasons through a magical shadow puppets presentation on the Three Billy Goats Gruff story. Playgroup Educator, Natalie was delighted to speak with some Kindy children outside their classroom, as she was preparing for Playgroup. She was nostalgic remembering when they were in Playgroup and told them she was preparing a story that they once loved. They guessed immediately that it was the one with "the Billy Goats"! How wonderful that those days still live in their memories after their years of Preschool and now well into Kindy, they still remember their mornings spent at Playgroup.

We are the woodcutters sturdy and strong

With saw and axe we stride along

Woodcutter's steps are heavy and bold

Logs we cut in the winter cold

This August, the Kindergarten children have been busy preparing fires in the fire pit each week, finding twigs, snapping branches and working together to build a chimney for the fire. Once the fire is ready, we take our damper dough and pat, pat, pat it around our long sticks. Then comes the patient waiting by the fire, carefully turning our bread together as it slowly cooks. When the damper is just right, golden brown and crispy, we enjoy it warm with honey. It is so yummy!

Cold grey winter's here

Fires give us cheer

Snug together

Winter weather

Cannot make us drear.

Class 5 recently embarked on a journey back in time. Their day started at the picturesque Maritime Museum on a specular winters day. They boarded a replica of the Original Endeavour. They learnt how to scrub the deck and all about how to set the sails correctly for a journey across the seas. It was soon time to venture below deck where they saw the tough living conditions experienced by the ship’s crew and met a cat who was there to keep the rats at bay. After their short stay as a crew member, they moved to the more luxurious living conditions of the specialist team who were chosen to travel abroad. There was the botanist and the artist quarters along with the surveyor who was chosen to map the other side of the world. They finally moved through to Captain Cook’s Quarters and were amazed at how lucky he was to travel in such a beautiful way. They also had a chance to explore the HMAS Vampire and the rest of the museum. They were able to see the incredible hand carved Polynesian boats that they are currently learning about in their Main Lesson, Early Explorers.

The second part of the adventure took Class 5 across the city to the historical Rocks area, for a walking tour with their guide, Harry. Harry told them stories about many of the buildings and areas that we often see but don’t know all the history behind them. They had a fascinating tour and learnt so much about the history of the beautiful Sydney Harbour. With very tired feet, they headed back to school where they were able to discuss about all the fascinating facts they had learned that day. Thank you to Class Teach Jamie Loftus and Class Assistant Maya Ryan-Sudell for guiding the students on this adventure.

Class 6 created these beautiful individual mosaic designs in their art class with Julia Byrne as part of their Ancient Rome Main lesson. They spent a number of sessions carefully cutting and arranging the colourful glass tiles before delicately gluing in place. To complete the process they applied a mix of grey grout to set and seal the tiles ahead of polishing to reveal a shiny finish. What a striking variety of mosaics from an impressive group of students.

Year 12 Society and Culture students went on an excursion to Auburn, visiting both the Gallipoli Mosque and the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia. This allowed them to review the philosophy, customs and practices of Islam, their depth study for Belief Systems. They were also able to practice cultural literacy by interacting in an informed and respectful way with people and environments outside their own social group. The students enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the mosque, the highly informative and engaging talks offered by ISRA, and particularly enjoyed the Turkish buffet lunch.

Coach to share words

We are delighted to share that our very own Jasmine L-M. (Year 12, 2026) will be starring in episode 4 of Portrait Artist of the Year (Season 2) on ABC TV this Sunday 6 September. The show brings together talented artists from across Australia to compete in a challenge to capture iconic celebrities in a race against the clock. The ultimate winner is commissioned to paint a portrait that will hang in the National Gallery in Canberra. Tune in to support Jazz.

Portrait Artist of the Year airs Sunday’s at 7.30pm on ABC and ABC iview. https://iview.abc.net.au/show/portrait-artist-of-the-year

Winter time is citrus season.

Class 3 is getting ready to make lemonade concentrate for the Glenaeon Family Fair lemonade stand.

If anyone has a lemon tree or knows neighbours or friends willing to donate lemons, please reach out to Maria 0483818013.

After nearly six wonderful years on the Castlecrag campus, Grassroots Eco Store is moving into its next phase. The online store will be continuing at grassrootsecostore.com.au, with the same carefully chosen range you know and love.

What is changing is that the shop on the Castlecrag campus will be closing its doors at the end of this term, on Wednesday 23rd September. It has been such a privilege to be part of this community and to share this magical little space with so many of you over the years. As a commitment to continuing to support the Glenaeon community, I will be offering a free weekly delivery service to the Castlecrag campus reception, Middle Cove campus reception and Willoughby Preschool reception, so your orders can still reach you conveniently.

In the meantime, the shop is open as usual and there are some lovely in-store specials to take advantage of before the shop closes. Come in and say hello before the term ends.

Term 3, 2026 – Opening Hours:

Tuesday: 8:30am—12pm & 2pm—3:45pm
Thursday: 8:30am—12pm & 2pm—3:45pm
Friday: 8:30am—12pm & 2pm—3:45pm

Visit the Castlecrag shop before 23rd September or continue shopping anytime at grassrootsecostore.com.au

Thank you for supporting local and choosing products that nurture creativity, sustainability, and imagination. A portion of every sale goes to support Glenaeon.

Grassroots Eco Store is located on the Glenaeon Castlecrag Campus, next to the Marion Mahony Griffin Hall. 121 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag.

The GPA Steering Committee met again this week and we’ll have a recap in the next newsletter (highlights of last meeting shared here in case you missed it).

The Class Parents Forum for Term 3 was held last week in Glenaeon’s Senior Library and hosted by Sou Ewins – Class Parents Mentor, Steering Committee member and Year 9 parent. Diana Drummond joined Sou and the Class Parents for this important opportunity to share information, answer questions, discuss issues, and acknowledge successes of significance to parent communities across our school.

Key points covered in this Forum:

Open discussion with Diana on how the school and community are responding to the current and emerging developments with AI, social media, and use of devices/technology – including practical issues and next steps (and please read Diana’s note here if you missed it).

Update on “Creating a Thriving Culture at Glenaeon” (Parent Education evening held recently), including a parent guidebook which is currently being developed.

Thanking the Class Parents in Years 7 and 9, as organisers of the 2026 Mid-Winter Party & Silent Auction, for their wonderful work which ultimately funded the GPA’s contributions to the school of requests to support new musical instruments and playground equipment this year ( see newsletter ).

Reviewing the 2026 Mid-Winter Party & Silent Auction with an open discussion on what went well and improvements suggested for next year.

Updating on the 2026 Family Fair, noting planning is overall on track and challenges being addressed by the Fair Coordinators. The Fair Coordinators are keen to engage more interested high school students as volunteers and contributors for this year’s Fair and currently discussing with the school.

Discussion around the ongoing challenges of making the various formal and informal communication channels work best for the parent community.

If parents or carers have questions or feedback on any of these topics, we encourage you to contact the school through the usual channels.

Thank you to the Class Parents for their hard work and dedication to Glenaeon parent communities in support of our school! Special thanks to Sou for hosting the Forum and her tireless support and advocacy of Class Parents.

Huw Morris (GPA Chair) & Alex Pampel (GPA Secretary)

Glenaeon Parents Association (GPA)
GPA in GLO | Contact the GPA | GPA on website

The Glenaeon Family Fair is on Saturday, 14th November, 10am - 4pm, proudly hosted by the GPA.

Please take a moment to see the Fair updates in this newsletter .

You can also check out the Fair microsite on Glenaeon’s new website. And feel free to contact the wonderful Fair Coordinators via fair@glenaeon.nsw.edu.au if you’ve got any questions or suggestions.

So many parents and staff in the Glenaeon community are already working hard to bring the 2026 Fair to life:

- The GPA Fair Committee led by Class 4 parents Sylvia, Amelia, Eva, Huw and Ben as Fair Coordinators, Nick as Fair Mentor, Aimee (Glenaeon staff) as Fair Manager, supported by more volunteers and staff

- 18 Activity Coordinators (a few more still needed), 24 Stall Coordinators, 8 coordinators of other areas – parent volunteers busy organising behind the scenes

- The Parent Craft community who has been busily creating beautiful pieces since shortly after last year’s Fair (led by Carolina, Clare, Cintia, Elianna and Charlotte)

- Class communities who have taken on roles for the Fair and are quietly working on their contributions

- Teachers and other staff working with colleagues, students and parents on tasks and contributions for the Fair

- Class Parents who support the Fair in so many ways not least with communication

Thank you to one and all for everything thus far!

Parent Craft have been busy making beautiful things for the school fair in November. They have made the most wonderful pencil cases, token bags, ornaments, animals, Autumn fairies, crowns and beautiful moon cycle and felted advent calendars. Organised by our craft volunteer parents, it is a wonderful coming together of our parents and families who are so creative. Look out for our workshops which happen mostly on Friday mornings at our Castlecrag Campus. This week, parents are making wet filtered pictures which will be embroidered next week. If you are interested in coming to Parent Craft please contact castlecrag@glenaeon.nsw.edu.au or phone 02 9958 0774. We welcome everyone and it is held in a warm space with an enclosed garden area for young children.

Beyond the sessions offered at Glenaeon, parents and carers are warmly invited to take part in the inspiring workshops and talks hosted by the Steiner Parent Education Initiative. Upcoming sessions are shared regularly in our Newsletter. As part of our ongoing commitment to meaningful parent engagement, Glenaeon parents and carers are able to attend these events free of charge .

All 2026 + 2027 Term dates for K-12, Preschool and Playgroups can be found on our website, click here .

Our Newsletter is published Week 1,3,5,7 and 9 in term time.
Please see our publishing schedule for exact dates.