James’ message – Dec 2024

We must be educated in inner human modesty, 

So we can recognise that we are not, even for a moment, complete as human beings. 

Instead, we continue to develop from birth until death. 

We must recognise that every day of life has a special value, 

That it is not without purpose. 

We need to learn that each new day and each new year offers continual renewal. 

Rudolf Steiner 

Our theme for the year has been Together we learn. We have all learned a great deal this year. Our task as educators and community members is to be interested in the world and each other and continue to learn together. As we reflect on our work and life as a community over 2024, I feel very grateful that we have lived and worked with real purpose this year. There have been challenges, learnings, joy and achievements. The year started with great promise and celebrations with the opening of the Ironbark Building. This has served the music department well this year and will continue to do so in the future. There have been whole school events such as the beautiful seasonal festivals, working bees, community markets, twilight concerts, the Spring Fair, parent education evenings, strategic planning sessions, the AGM, as well as class events including parent evenings and plays. All these big events are important in building our community but all the little, incidental interactions are also very important. Thank you to the many members of our community who have communicated with skill, grace, understanding, generosity and sensitivity throughout my first year at Orana as principal. We really do have a wonderful community here. 

As a school community we faced challenges this year. Many families have been going through financial stress and this has had an impact on their home life, their capacity to contribute to school fees and the cultural life of the school. From a school governance and management perspective, we needed to operate on a tight budget. We managed to balance the budget with a small surplus in 2024 and, although enrolment numbers are slightly down on last year, it looks to be on the path to turning around in 2025. Our strategy for maintaining and lifting enrolments is to provide high quality education, build community connection and communicate our work effectively. This is a slow but authentic task – grounded in truth, collaboration and care. I feel very proud of our achievements of building connection between the main bodies of the school this year – the Board, the Orana staff, the parents and the students. We have sought opportunities to communicate effectively with kindness, respect and accountability. We have worked collaboratively. Whilst we have not always agreed on all matters, and sometimes made errors, we have learned from our mistakes, owned them and tried to resolve issues. This is what it takes to be in a community and we owe it to the children in our care to model this level of care with each other as adults. Thank you.  

Special thanks to the leaders of our school bodies with whom I have worked closely: Board Chairs, Jack Percy and Tracey Taylor, Deputy Principal Kelly Armstrong (High School and Senior College), Deputy Principal Sharaine Talip (Primary and Early Childhood), College Chairs, Michael Thompson and Michael Jansen- Gibson, Business Managers, Kaitlynn Jones and John Forman, P&F President, Gemma Rose. They have worked with integrity and good will. 

In the last couple of weeks, I have had the great pleasure of being involved in what we might call the Year 12 Festival running over four days including Year 12 project presentations, graduation assembly and Year 12 formal. I also attended the wonderful Year 10 formal. Additionally, I had the pleasure of singing with Year 1 children and seeing the Kindergarten Christmas plays. It was interesting to reflect on the start and finish of students’ school life at Orana. What was different and what common elements ran through these events? I saw great skill development and intellectual prowess in the Year 12 presentations and the high quality, university-standard research and analysis – this of course was very different to the Kindergarten play. However, what was common in these events was the high level of engagement and participation – that is, all students fully involved in the work – mind, body and soul. This was also clearly evident in their teachers – modelling the behaviour, skill, work ethic, reverence and sense of fun they expect to see in their students.  

As we draw near to our final end of year school celebrations, the holiday period, the Summer solstice, Christmas and New Year celebrations, I hope you and your family experience a deeper connection to each other and the cosmos. Through the many personal challenges and shocking world events throughout the year, there is a sense of comfort in the cycles of the seasons and annual celebrations, especially for children. As I watched the Kindergarten nativity plays this week it struck me that, regardless of our religious beliefs, the story of Jesus’ birth, is essentially celebrating the birth of a helpless child, the reverence for human life and the joy and love of family and community. As I observed the families watching and the children experiencing the singing, speech and movement, we all shared this sense of love and the joy of a good story. Through the challenges of bringing this new life into the world, there is hope. My wish for you in this holiday season is to experience this sense of hope in the new year ahead.