Dear Orana School Community,
Thank you for accepting me onto the Orana Steiner School Board at the recent AGM. I am honoured and excited to be able to contribute to the community and I thank the board directors for trusting me with the role of board chair. I am looking forward to working with the board and James Goodlet, and would like to thank Jack Percy, outgoing board chair for his time and commitment to the Board.
Working collaboratively together, our job is to ensure the school has the vision, strategic direction, leadership and resources to enable the Orana staff to deliver excellent Steiner education; to nourish the intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual development of all students.
So why did I nominate for the board? My passion for Steiner education. I have been a Steiner primary teacher, taking two classes through from Class 1 to 7 at Casuarina Steiner School. I was school principal of Michael Park Steiner School, Auckland and at Samford Valley Steiner School, Brisbane. Being CEO of Steiner Education Australia (SEA) for almost 7 years gave me the wonderful opportunity to visit all Steiner schools in Australia and work with teachers, school leaders and school boards.
I also love being involved in governance. I have been a board director for SEA, the Association of Independent Schools NSW, Glenaeon Steiner School and Casuarina Steiner School. I am currently Director, Education Policy with Independent Schools Australia, the national peak body for the Independent school sector based in Canberra.
I have missed being in a Steiner school community since I moved to Canberra 2 years ago and community is what it is all about. That old saying about a village raising a child is just so true. One of my favourite Steiner verses is:
A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.
Tracey Taylor
