About Us
The River School is an independent, co-educational Primary School and Early Childhood Centre located in a beautiful rainforest valley in Maleny, Queensland.
The guiding philosophy of The River School is Neohumanist Education. Based on Neohumanism, the philosophy of the innate oneness of all things, we seek to instill in children an innate sense of love and compassion for all beings: people, animals, plants, and even the inanimate matter of the whole universe.
Our school is a loving community of like-minded families who honour children as individuals and work to create a harmonious learning environment where children, families and staff feel a sense of belonging, respect and community.
School History
In the mid 1980s, 52 acres of farm and rainforest land was purchased by a group of like-minded individuals keen to establish a community housing cooperative. The yellow house, current classroom to our Lillypilly (Yr 1) class, is the original farmhouse and communal living space that was fondly referred to as the “pink house”.
Initially the land was known as the Maleny Land Community and a number of the original shareholders still reside on the community land above the School, now known as the Prout Community Settlement Cooperative. Many of the original residents identified as Ananda Marga, hence the Sanskrit name for the land – Ananda (bliss, happiness) Kamala (lotus).
Once the community of residents were settled they began thinking about schooling options for their children and possible service projects. Some Maleny locals had heard about the Ananda Marga community in their town and drawn by the Neohumanist philosophy of love and caring for all, decided to befriend their town’s newest residents.
Read more...
It wasn’t long before the vision of creating a Neohumanist school as a service project on the land gathered momentum. A preschool run by Prabha (Pepa Demasson) was the first step towards a school. Often held at the creek, this preschool was attended by Ananda Marga children and other local families. It was these children that came up with the name The Wet and Wild River School that was later amended to the Ananda Marga River School.
In 1995, the 25 acres of land set aside for the school received the stamp of approval by the Department of Education. The school began with 23 students of mixed ages learning as one family in the little pink house. Dada Ratnaprakash (whom many knew as Dada Ratnadevananda) was appointed Principal in October 1995, and remained in that position until December 2010. Prabha was appointed Administrator and spent eighteen dedicated years, including three of those years in the Principal position, developing, nurturing and building the heart and love that is the River School. In mid 2013, Jenny Oakley took over the helm as Principal, and in 2017, Ann Donoghoe, a staff member of the River School since 1997, was appointed current Principal.
The first River School teacher was Trudi Cauley who remembers “… the way everyone loved and cared for each other. All the children played and learned together. The younger children adored the older children. They would create games together, a favourite being a make-believe world in which they made up rules, teams and characters.” Today that same magical sense of fun and love is captured in games at lunch times, buddy classes, service projects, yoga and meditation, the Arts and a dedicated staff team committed to achieving the objectives of the Australian Curriculum while creating a learning environment that ensures our young people are safe, happy and free to learn.
Over time the School has witnessed many changes as a result of its physical and social growth, however the one constant has been our commitment to Neohumanist Education.
“Neohumanism takes the inner spirit of humanism (love of humanity) and expands it to also embrace plants, animals and indeed the entire universe. Neohumanism recognises diversity but also emphasises the interconnectedness of all things. A Neohumanist education seeks to cultivate in children their already innate capacity for love and compassion. In the words of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar who first propounded the philosophy and who founded a global network of Neohumanist schools:
“When the love of the human heart extends its embrace to the entire living and non-living worlds, this is Neohumanism.”1
Today our beautiful River School and Early Childcare Centre is a thriving, loving community providing multi-dimensional learning to close to 200 young people and their families. We are grateful to the many adults, including our Dada’s and Didi’s, the children and events that have shaped and will continue to shape the River School way. It is with great enthusiasm we move into The River School future firmly wearing our Neohumanist lenses with the love and care that embodies the heart of our School.
A Great Foundation Lasts a Lifetime.
Our Wonderful Staff
Ann Donoghoe
Principal
My journey as an educator began in 1990 when I was accepted into Edith Cowan University in Western Australia to complete my Bachelor of Education. After graduating in 1994, I taught in a number of Government and Independent Schools. In 1997 I was delighted to take up a permanent teaching position with The River School.
Read more about Ann
I was drawn to this particular School as its Neohumanist philosophy aligned beautifully with my belief that young people need access to a variety of opportunities to positively develop their social, emotional, spiritual, physical and mental capacities.
In the 22 wonderful years I have been with The River School, I have gained valuable experience in the positions of Senior Teacher, Deputy Principal and now Principal. With my Restorative Practice background and deep passion for education, it is an honour to lead The River School on its continued journey of real and rich learning for our young people to grow into responsible global citizens who will make positive contributions to the world.
Rebecca Judah
Business Manager
I’ve been lucky to be a part of The River School community since 2009 and a staff member since 2013. I bring to my role as Business Manager a diverse background of knowledge and skills from my years working in the Finance sector as a Finance Analyst, as well as my previous career in Hospitality and Events Management.
My two children called The River School home during their early learning and Primary School years so I’m acutely aware of the special environment and community that we are blessed to be a part of.
I often say that I have the best job in the world but my favourite part of my job is knowing that students and families always know that they can call on me for help. My work is diverse and fulfilling and I feel very lucky to be able to build and nurture amazing relationships with our beautiful school community.
Pira Bereziat
Administration
Since I began here at the River School in 2007, I’ve experienced a number of roles, familiarising myself with different aspects of education and childcare. I began initially as one-on-one support, then a Learning Assistant for the Prep class as I completed my Cert 111 in Education Support. In 2013, I jumped over to the Role of Officer Manager, where I remain to this day!
Read more about Pira
Mark Hamlett
Administration/IT Specialist
Paula Beaumont
Puggles (Prep/Yr1) Teacher
I am Paula, the Prep/Yr1 teacher at the River School in Maleny. My family and I emigrated to Australia from England a few years ago. I am married and have a son and daughter who are now teenagers. We live in Palmwoods with my two gorgeous dogs who emigrated with us. I have a Primary School Teacher Bachelor of Arts teaching degree which specialised in Early Childhood. I have over twelve years’ experience of teaching children in lower primary class.
I believe that children in Prep/Yr1 learn successfully through a play based environment. I enjoy teaching and strive to make it a fun, enjoyable, educational experience for all children. I ensure that my teaching is accessible for all learning styles and is differentiated for all abilities within my class. I also consider a child’s personal, social and emotional education is paramount to a child’s overall education and well-being. The children in my classes learn through a thematic approach based on their own ideas and thoughts. The learning is based on a wide range of play activities focused on the current theme. It provides the children with a balance of child initiated, teacher initiated and teacher led learning in the classroom and in the outside environment. I consider that when the children enjoy their learning they are interested, motivated and learn to become independent focused learners.
I feel very lucky to work in this beautiful school and teach in such an amazing environment, alongside such a dedicated, caring team of people. I love working at the River School because all the teachers are dedicated to fostering and cultivating every child’s whole self through developing their emotional, physical, spiritual and mental knowledge and understanding of themselves, each other, and of everything in the world around them in a supportive, caring environment.
Mary Sullivan
Kingfisher (Yr1/Yr2) Teacher
Hi, I’m Mary and I feel privileged to be the Kingfisher teacher at The River School this year. I am a qualified primary school teacher, and have been teaching for 20 years, with experience across all year levels including multi age classrooms. I value hands on, play based learning for all ages and I love to design outdoor activities and lessons to support learning, maintain engagement, develop self-awareness, extend problem solving skills, build resilience, engage nuerodiverse thinkers and involve students in real life activities. I encourage self-directed learning and exploratory play. I support children to find solutions to their problems and to build the confidence they need to risk failing, and then to try again. Resilience is a key component of my teaching philosophy. First and foremost to a successful learning journey is the rapport that needs to be developed between myself and my students and I pride myself that this is one of my strengths. My classroom becomes my school family and we work and grow together over the year. I also value community involvement in my profession and have been responsible for the organisation and implementation of many school events at several of the schools I have worked and volunteered at, always working collaboratively with staff, families and children.
Read more about Mary
I am married with grown up children and even some grandchildren. I enjoy walking, cycling, hiking, gardening, nature, photography and exploring new places. My husband and I recently travelled around Australia for a whole year, which has given us both a new appreciation for our wonderful country. We live in the lovely green Hinterland area of the Sunshine Coast where family and friends are very important to us. I am very excited to be part of the teaching team at The River School this year.
Annie Willrich
Piccabeen (Year 3) Teacher
I gained my Degree in Education at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. I majored in psychology and sports science as they were my interests at that time. I absolutely loved my years of study there and knew, without a doubt that I had chosen the right career as I knew I wanted students under my care to sincerely believe in themselves and feel valued, supported, understood and encouraged as learners and as people and also to embrace their own subtle individuality and creativity.
It is important to me to foster self- awareness, self-management, motivation & independence in my students as well and be a catalyst in their life long love of learning.
I have taught at a variety of schools ranging from small schools with a dominant indigenous demographic, such as my first position at Stradbroke Island where I experienced the most amazing professional and personal life, surfing with many of my students and enjoying the rich, indigenous culture to large inner-city schools.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my many and varied teaching experiences spanning over the past three decades of my life and have held a variety of positions within this time. My other passions have included English and Speech and Drama, so I have spent time pursuing an associate degree with Trinity College –London in Speech and Drama ( A. S . D. L – Hons) and another associate degree with Speech and Drama of Australia, (Hons). I have run many drama workshops and staged musicals and child drama productions in Brisbane. I also used my skills to support psychologists and other related professionals with motivating and helping young students in crisis and experiencing difficulty, as an act of service outside of my working life.
Read more about Annie
Another of my life long passions is yoga. My first experience with it at 16 had such an impact on me that I became a teacher of yoga when I was 23. Yoga plays such an important and integral part of my everyday life and I practice it daily! I engage my students in it daily aswell and have found it has a deep and positive effect on their social and emotional development, health, attitude and therefore their ability to learn.
I am currently teaching Year 3 at our amazing River School and apart from enjoying our beautiful, natural environment I thrive under the expectation of versatility and teaching excellence. I am extremely grateful also that I can bring my creativity, love of yoga, my passion for facilitating rich pedagogy to challenge students and support a variety of learning styles and my love of nature all together in the one place. I have certainly found my place here at The River School as it is so important to me to work in an environment with like minded individuals with open, curious and questioning minds and compassionate hearts who wish to make a difference to the world. It is also a privilege to be part of a supportive school community where I feel I belong, as I understand just how important this type of compassionate scaffolding is to the life long happiness and development of young students.
Lynne Corbett
Wattles (Year 4) Teacher
My life has been full of variety and adventure having been self employed in several businesses prior to my teaching career.
With a Bachelor of Communications in Creative Writing and another in Digital Arts I am creatively driven. As such I try and bring as much creativity into my teaching practice. When I chose to complete my Masters of Primary School Teaching it allowed me a final career destination that satisfies my adoration of children. My motivations while children are under my wing is to inspire them to be curious, creative and caring.
I am very social, enjoying the company of an eclectic group of friends. Family is very important to me so I am fortunate to have loving parents, siblings, partner, our three children and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Chanel. Chelsea is our eldest and she has completed her Bachelor of Music (Musical Theatre). Chelsea has been performing since she was little on the stage as pianist, singer and actress. Hopefully Chelsea will be able to join my class for some musical inspiration. Sebastian is completing his degree in International Business and Economics at the end of this year. He is also a musician playing piano and guitar so my house has always been full of music. Kouta is halfway through his engineering degree and has a love of road trips, both in Australia and overseas.
My spare time is spent at the gym, hiking, photography, writing, reading, travelling and cooking. Having moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland, I have fullfilled a lifelong dream, so we are enjoying the stunning hikes and drives in the area.
I am delighted to be a valued member of the teaching staff at this beautiful school that aligns with my teaching and life principals and look forward to meeting the many families that help make up our special community.
Robert McIntosh
Regents (Year 5) Teacher
Rob brings a fantastic mix of passion for art, literacy, and poetry to The River School and loves to incorporates these creative elements into his lessons.
When he has a spare moment, you’ll find Rob catching waves at the beach, enjoying the great outdoors, or rocking out at live music gigs.
Fiona Stewart Mills
Red Cedars (Year 6) Teacher
Sharon Crane
LOTE (Japanese) Teacher
I started my Japanese studies at Griffith University and completed a BA in Asian studies and then a Graduate Diploma in Japanese language. I then received a Japanese Government Monbusho scholarship to attend Akita University in Northern Japan where I completed a 1-year intensive Japanese language course and then a 2-year Master of Education. I then returned to Sydney to work for Nikko Securities and after 1 year, I was transferred to their main office in Tokyo. Nikko was bought by Citibank so after 3 years in Japan I was transferred to Citibank London and 2 years later I moved to Tokyo Mitsubishi Ginkou London. In 2004 my daughter was born so I moved back to Australia and complete a 1-year Graduate Diploma in Education at USC. I hope that my students, by learning Japanese, will be able to access some of the amazing opportunities that I have. In the words of Frank Smith,”One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
Alieta Belle
Curriculum Design, Arts & Cultural Studies Teacher
I am a passionate advocate for integrating creativity with learning, and promoting quality Arts, Media and Environmental education for young people. I love being the Arts and Cultural Studies Teacher at the River School; teaching Visual Arts and Media Arts to the students across the school. I have a Bachelor Degree in Visual Arts and a Grad Dip in Primary Teaching.
I have a professional background of over 15years working in digital video production, particularly working with young people and Indigenous communities on diverse community cultural development projects. In Media Arts classes at the River School, I teach students clay animation and video editing skills. I was asked to provide work samples to the Australian Curriculum Authority (ACARA) for the national Media Arts curriculum.
Each year I program numerous Arts and Cultural experiences for our students to engage with, such as excursions to theatres, participation in local art events and workshops with local artists and parents. I am really proud of The Arts program offered at the River School! In 2015 I trained as a facilitator for the ‘Celebration Day for Girls’ program. This is a unique program offered at our school, which celebrates what it means to be a Girl!
I also co-ordinate the Year 5 River School student’s involvement in the ‘Kids in Action’ environmental conference. Each year, we explore a new theme and I work with the students to create a workshop, display and film about their topic.
I have been involved with the River School since 2006, when my daughter first came here. I have three children and they all have attended to the River School. The River School nourishes children’s childhood and grows a deep love of learning and belief in self. Equally, the River School is a great environment to teach in!
Opal Sternbaum
Learning Support (Empowerment) Teacher/HOC
I am passionate about educating and supporting the whole child and creating an environment of trust and collaboration. I focus on providing an equitable learning experience and fostering inclusive communities. I use a trauma-informed approach and identify and celebrate each student’s strengths. I have taught in a range of settings from the Northern Territory to Victoria and I am excited to be taking on the Empowerment Teacher role and using my skills to support and empower young people to engage with their learning.
Kerrie Kirwan
Librarian/Teacher
I think from the first day of school in Year One I dreamt of becoming a teacher. As a little girl we would play schools at home and guess who ALWAYS got to play the role of teacher? I taught my little brother to read when he was only four years old, I was a very mature nine at the time! I feel blessed to have been taught by some truly inspiring teachers who have been role models throughout my career.
I studied in Toowoomba following Year 12 and was posted to Biloela to teach Preschool after graduating. Most of my teaching career has been spent in the Callide Valley and I think I have taught at every school within a 50 kilometre radius of Biloela except for Biloela State High School. My teaching roles have been extremely varied and covered a broad spectrum from classroom teaching (Kindergarten to Year 7) to the more specialised roles of Enrichment Coordinator and Teacher Librarian.
I believe that the most important factor that influences learning is the relationship and connection between the students and their teacher. Once this is established, students feel valued and respected for their beautiful uniqueness and individuality. Coming to The River School was like a breath of fresh air in a teaching career that felt, at the time, a little stale. I just don’t believe that any other school I have taught in fits so well with my personal beliefs on education and the values and virtues that I hold as central to my core as a human being and as an educator. In a world that is becoming more disconnected as a result of so many social and technological changes, it is so reassuring to have the opportunity to play a small part in creating the amazing environment that is The River School. Being the Red Cedars teacher (Year 6) is a huge responsibility and one that I just love.
It is an honour to have the privilege of guiding our school leaders in their final year at The River School. They are amazing young men and women who will certainly make a difference in the world.
Katchia Avenell
Music Teacher
She has a genuine passion for learning and a remarkable ability to cater to learners of all needs and abilities with gentleness and care.
Arion Bereziat (They/Them)
Student Wellbeing Officer
I’m very excited to be moving into the Student Wellbeing role this year, offering our students extra social/emotional support as needed. I bring to the role a Diploma of Counselling, a qualification in Youth Work, and a continued interest/education in Sociology. While this role does not offer professional counselling sessions, my background and passion for these subjects largely informs my ability to connect with students and identify areas of need.
Quick Links
Latest school events
There are always so many exciting and enriching events and activities happening at The River School. Take a look at some of the latest news from around school and beyond...
Contact Information
Latest school events
There are always so many exciting and enriching events and activities happening at The River School. Take a look at some of the latest news from around school and beyond...