Wenona School

Wenona School
Address
176 Walker Street North Sydney , New South Wales , 2060 Australia
Coordinates	33°50′1″S151°12′32″E / 33.83361°S 151.20889°E / -33.83361; 151.20889
Information
Former names	Woodstock School
Type	Independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding
Motto	Latin: Ut Prosim (That I May Serve)
Established	1886;139 years ago (1886)
Founder	Miss Edith Hooke
Educational authority	NSW Department of Education
Chairman	Catherine West
Principal	Ms Linda Douglas
Staff	320 (Full-time)
Years	K–12
Enrolment	1,350
Colour(s)	Navy blue, red and white
Slogan	Empowering young women to serve and shape their world
Affiliations	Independent Primary School Heads of Australia Australian Boarding Schools' Association Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools
Website	www.wenona.nsw.edu.au

Wenona School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for girls, located in the Sydney suburb of North Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.

Founded by Miss Edith Hooke in 1886 as Woodstock School, Wenona has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,350 students from Kindergarten to Year 12, ^[1] including 50 boarders in Years 7 to 12. ^[2]

The school is affiliated with the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), ^[2] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), ^[3] and the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS). ^[4]

Wenona Principal, Ms Linda Douglas, is an Executive Governing Director of the International Coalition of Girls' Schools.

History

Woodstock School was founded in 1886 by Edith Hooke who was prominent in educational circles at the time. Miss Hooke selected the motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve, which she transferred to Wenona School in April 1913, a preparatory school with the same colours and crest and an enrolment of 40 which she established in place of Woodstock. ^[5] The close relationship between the schools is reflected in the name Wenona, thought to have been chosen by the school's founder, a devotee of Longfellow, from his poem The Song of Hiawatha, in which Wenonah is a first-born daughter. ^[6]

When the founder left the school in February 1920 due to an illness in her family, Ms Messiter, a former pupil of Woodstock, stepped in to watch over the school. ^[5] Another former Woodstock student, Edith Marion Ralston, became Principal and owner later in 1920. In 1922, she moved the school to its current site in Walker Street, North Sydney, through the purchase of an extensive property, and opened the school's first boarding house. ^[6] In 1930 there were 200 students and Ralston bought three surrounding properties to allow for further expansion. When World War II started she refused to relocate the school deciding that "Business as Usual" should be the school's approach. ^[6] Ralston was a strong personality and she rose to be the President of the Headmistresses' Association of Australia. When she retired and sold the school to a non-profit in 1959 there were 650 girls in the school. ^[6]

Principals

The following individuals have served as Principal of Wenona School:

Ordinal	Officeholder	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
1	Edith Hooke	1886	1920	33–34 years
2	Dorothy Messiter	1920	1920	0 years	Acting
3	Edith M. Ralston	1920	1963	42–43 years
4	Frances M. Mills	1963	1966	2–3 years
5	Barbara Jackson	1967	1994	26–27 years
6	Margaret Hadley	1995	2007	11–12 years
7	Denise Thomas	2007	2007	0 years	Acting
8	Dr Kerrie Wilde	2008	2010	1–2 years
9	Dr Elizabeth Guy	2010	2011	0–1 years	Co-acting Principals
	Julie Wiseman
10	Dr Briony Scott	2011	2024 [7]	13–14 years
11	Ms Linda Douglas	2025

Awards

Australian Education Awards:

2022 National School Principal of the Year (non-government): Dr Briony Scott, Wenona's Principal

Other nominations: Wenona also received nominations for Best STEM Program (non-government), Boarding School of the Year (non-government), and Secondary School Teacher of the Year (non-government)

Teachers' Guild of NSW:

2023 Phyllis Evans Medal: Dr Briony Scott was awarded the highest honour from the Teachers' Guild of NSW

Other Wenona educators recognised: Nine other Wenona educators were also recognised with prestigious awards

ACEL Awards:

2024 NSW Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) Awards: Ms Tiffany Crittle, Head of Drama, won an ACEL Leadership Award (individual)

Team Award: Wenona's school leaders received an ACEL Leadership Award (team) for their work on literacy research

Campus

Situated on Miller and Walker Streets in North Sydney, Wenona comprises a Junior School (Kindergarten to Year 6), including Woodstock Infants and Hooke Primary, a Middle School (Years 7 to 8), an Upper School (Years 9 to 10), and a Senior College (Years 11 to 12). Up to 50 boarders are housed in the heritage Messiter and Ralston Houses. An Evening Study Centre is staffed by teachers four evenings a week for Senior College Students. Sporting facilities include a gymnasium including cricket nets, a tennis court and many more courts and indoor fields; a smaller gymnasium catering to dance and circuit activities; a 25-metre indoor swimming pool; and a weights room. ^[8] A campus highlight is The Athenaeum, which won the 2021 Museum of Architecture and Design – International Architecture Award, and the 2022 Master Builders Association of New Sough Wales Excellence in Construction of Private Schools award.

Flagship Educational Programs

Renaissance Studies

Renaissance Studies is Wenona's signature educational program, designed to develop well-rounded, thoughtful individuals prepared for a complex world. This distinctive curriculum extends beyond traditional academic subjects to cultivate critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and ethical reasoning. A ‘Renaissance woman’ is immersed in an holistic education that spans academic learning across a diverse curriculum, including STEM, ethics, philosophy, culture and humanities, creative and imaginative expression and physical development.

This educational approach helps students cultivate emotional intelligence, explore a deeper understanding of their identity, find purpose through connection to community, and gain confidence in exercising leadership.

The aim is to help students graduate Wenona as Renaissance women; creative, resilient, articulate, well-educated, filled with a sense of humour and a capacity for adventure. It is achieved in two ways. The first is by implicitly modelling these qualities throughout the School, weaving them into the curriculum through pedagogical approaches and the expectations of the students. The second is explicit, through the Renaissance Studies courses the students undertake. Modelled on the Socratic method of teaching, a form of cooperative dialogue and debate that encourages critical thinking, there are no ‘right answers’ in the course. The point is to consider, contemplate and question.

Renaissance Studies began with Year 12 students in 2013 and has since been extended to Years 5, 7, 10 and 11. The intention is for every student from Kindergarten to Year 12 to benefit from this unique, life-enhancing course. Each year group has a stage-appropriate focus.

They are: • Year 5: Ethical questioning arising from moral dilemmas • Year 7: Adolescent psychology and social engagement • Year 10: Sociology with a focus on gender and the place of women in society • Year 11: Politics and religion with a focus on contemporary global issues • Year 12: Life-matters; topics and information to prepare girls for life beyond school.

Pioneering STEM

In 2015, Wenona became the first girls’ school in NSW to offer Engineering Studies as an HSC subject. A year later, Wenona launched the Stage 5 STEM Elective, a two-year course for Years 9 and 10. Designed by staff, the STEM elective uniquely engages students in coding, computing and engineering.

Co-curriculum

Music and performing arts

Music is compulsory in a number of junior and middle school years and for elective music students in Years 9 to 12. Music groups include vocal ensemble, senior choir, middle school choir, junior choir, infants choir, contemporary vocal group and petite voices. There are three rock bands which perform in an annual rock concert combining dance, vocals and instrumental music. The school also offers wind symphony, concert band, stage band, brass ensembles, flute, clarinet, and saxophone ensembles as well as string groups and an orchestra.^{[ citation needed ]}

The school runs a musical in both the senior and junior school, which alternates with the Performing Arts Showcase every second year. Musicals have included The Wizard of Oz, Kiss Me Kate, Little Shop of Horrors,High School Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and others. Other concerts include an annual choral concert, ensemble concert, carol service, rock concert, elective music concerts, and other events throughout the year.^{[ citation needed ]}

Independent Theatre still operates in the building opened as the Coliseum Theatre in 1939, now run by Wenona School. The theatre provides the students a high-quality venue for the performing arts, as well as being a community facility. ^[9]

Sport

Co-curricular sport is not compulsory at Wenona; however, students are encouraged to participate in competitive sport on Saturday mornings and at carnivals. Wenona teams participate in the competitions run by the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) for primary students, and the Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association (IGSA) for those in the Senior School. ^[8]

Sports offered to junior students (Years 4 to 6) through IPSHA include: Basketball, Football, Hockey/Minkey, Touch Football, Netball, Tennis, Athletics, Swimming, Water Polo and Gymnastics. Junior Schools girls may also compete in Skiing, Snowboarding and AFL through a separate interschool competition. ^[8]

Through the IGSA competition, Senior School students may participate in: Rhythmic gymnastics, Artistic gymnastics, Athletics, Basketball, Cricket, Cross country, Waterpolo, Diving, Swimming, Hockey, Tennis, Touch Football and Netball. External to IGSA, Wenona students may also participate in AFL, Equestrian, Indoor hockey, Indoor soccer, Fencing, skiing, snowboarding and Touch football. ^[8]

Notable alumnae

Alumnae of Woodstock/Wenona are known as Old Girls or Wenonians, and may choose to join the school's alumni association, the Wenonians Inc. ^[10] Notable Wenonians include:

Academic

• Ann Moyal AM – Author; Biographer; Social Historian of Science, Telecommunication and Technology; Recipient of the Centenary Medal 2003 (also attended Canberra High School) ^[11]
• Beatrice Lilias Rennie – Headmistress and founder of Queenwood School for Girls ^[12]

Medicine and the sciences

• Lindsay Dey – pioneer in paediatrics including developmental disabilities ^[13]
• Shirley Jeffrey – marine biologist

Politics, public service and the law

• Annabelle Claire Bennett (née Darin) – judge
• Peta Seaton – former member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

Entertainment, media and the arts

• Ashleigh Cummings – actress
• Jacqueline McKenzie – film, stage and television actress, artist and singer.
• Lyndey Milan – food and cooking show personality
• Wendy Paramor – artist ^[14]
• April Rose Pengilly – model, actress ^[15]

Sport

• Hannah Buckling – Water polo player
• Alexandra Lisney – Bronze medalist at Paralympics
• Nicole Wickert – rugby union player

See also

• Schools portal

• List of non-government schools in New South Wales
• List of boarding schools in Australia

References

1. "Annual Report 2006" (PDF). Governance. Wenona School. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
2. "Wenona". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools' Association. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
3. Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
4. "Heads of New South Wales Independent Girls' Schools". About AHIGS. The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools. 2004. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
5. "History of Wenona" (PDF). The Wenona Prospectus. Wenona School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
6. Souter, Ngaire M., "Edith Marion Ralston (1894–1967)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 1 March 2024
7. supposed to be leaving the role in 2024
8. "Sporting Life" (PDF). The Wenona Prospectus. Wenona School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
9. "About the Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
10. "Welcome to Wenonians Inc". Wenonians Inc. Wenona School. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
11. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (17 November 2006). "MOYAL Ann Veronica". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
12. Curnow, Jill (2002). "Rennie, Beatrice Lilias (1893–1971)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 16 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 77–78. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
13. Denise Thomas and Michele Ginswick (28 April 2011). "Paediatrician ahead of her time-as-Feminist-Activist". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
14. McGillick, Paul (2000). "Paramor, Wendy (1938–1975)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 15 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 565. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
15. St John, Ed; INXS (1992). INXS: The Official Inside Story of a Band on the Road. Mandarin. p. 9. ISBN   1-86330-207-7.

External links

• Wenona School website