Dear Annesley Community,

It’s my pleasure to provide the following update on the Annesley Council’s planning day with members of the School’s Leadership Team last Saturday. It was a day of great collaboration, rigorous analysis and creative thinking as we boldly step forward into the future.

Strategic Planning

Our commitment to the original vision of Annesley’s founders, to create child centred education that breaks the mould of traditional grammar school education is strong and unwavering. Council is committed the ongoing development of personalised learning and the development of strengths, passions and skills. We continue to expand our investment into staffing, programs and spaces to develop our students and staff. We are also grateful for the input of outside experts in this process and look forward to sharing our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan during Term 4.

Staffing Update

We are in the final stages of what has been Annesley Junior School’s largest recruitment drive. We were overwhelmed with a very large field of diverse, quality and experienced candidates. Various panels of students and staff have interviewed 36 candidates for various teaching and leadership roles. We are pleased to announce that we have a range of outstanding professionals joining our team in 2021 from leading schools in South Australia and interstate. We look forward to sharing news of our new team members early in Term 4.

Middle School

In order to effectively explore the myriad of Middle School options before us, including the possibility of commencing our own middle years program, it is important to note we are committed to not compromising our current ELC and Junior School in this process. The Council is investigating the creation of a bespoke position for 2021, reporting to the Principal, to investigate our options at depth in order to inform our decision making.

Patchell Building Development

The Council assessed a range of high quality proposals from leading experts on the design phase of the remodelling of the Patchell Building to make fantastic, upgraded learning spaces. The Patchell Building is Annesley’s stately and historic building located on Greenhill Rd. We are pleased to announce that leading firms Sarah Constructions PTY LTD and Swanbury Penglase have been selected for the initial concept design and planning phase of the project. We are not wasting any time, with this major project commencing next week.

Thank You

I want to acknowledge the hard work of our Principal and every member of the Annesley team this year. I thank them for their dedication to the School’s students, families and also to each other.

Bruce Spangler AM
Chair of Annesley Council

Poetry Recital Competition

For the first time, Annesley entered competitors in the IPSHA (Independent Heads of Primary Schools Association) Poetry Recital Competition which was held on 16 September at Loreto College.

The interschool poetry recital competition is open to students in Years 4, 5 and 6 in schools belonging to IPSHA. One representative per school for each grade level is permitted. After an internal poetry competition, Oliva (Year 4) and Ella (Year 5) were chosen to represent Annesley.

Olivia and Ella performed a set poem and another poem of their choice at the Loreto Auditorium. Both girls completed their poems with confidence and without hesitation; representing themselves and their school admirably.

Thank you to Sophie Waller for her preparation, guidance and support of Olivia and Ella.

Gail Millar-Luke
Personal Learning Coordinator

The Quest

The last fortnight on The Quest has seen the Year 5 and Year 6/7 Students embark on their culminating events for The Quest this term. The Year 5 Students had a family member join them for their last night of their camp at Adare, Victor Harbor. Students cooked their family members dinner on camp stoves and together they collaborated in tribal challenges and reflected on their growth. The Year 6/7 Students had a family member join them at Cleland Wildlife Park and they discussed their research projects and engaged with the staff and animals from the park.