Governance at Abbotsleigh
The Council of Abbotsleigh (Council) is a body corporate constituted under the Anglican Church of Australia (Bodies Corporate) Act 1938 and has its functions determined by the Abbotsleigh Ordinance 1924.
Council was formed for the purposes of managing and governing Abbotsleigh School particularly in relation to its policies and strategies, its property and finances and for the appointment of the Headmistress and the Chaplain.
Abbotsleigh is located with the Sydney Anglican Diocese and Council has reporting obligations to the Synod of the Diocese.
Day to day management and operation of the School is delegated to the Headmistress. The Headmistress is supervised by and has reporting obligation to Council.
Council is comprised of 14 members, nine elected by the Anglican Synod, three by the Abbotsleigh Old Girls’ Union and two by other members of Council. The Archbishop of Sydney is President of Council (ex-officio).
The work of Council is supported by Council committees including the Finance and Administration Committee, The Governance Risk and Compliance Committee, the Property and Development Committee and the People and Culture Committee.
The Council of Abbotsleigh consists of the following members:
| President | The Very Reverend Kanishka Raffel Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales BA(Hons) LLB BD(Hons) DipMin MA |
| Chair | Ms L Ellis, BEc LLB(Hons) FAICD ATCL |
| Treasurer | Mr R Dring, BEc FCA GAICD |
| Council Members | Rev Dr R Chilton, BCom LLB MDiv DPhil DipA(Theol) OAM Mrs J Cochrane, BEc LLB(Hons) FAICD Ms J Davidson BA(Hons) LLB LLM Dr C Janssen, MBBS MBA FAICD Dr J Lim, BSc(Med) MBBS FRACGP DCH Mr A Loel, DipLaw Ms B Matthews, BEc MCom CFA MAICD Ms B McGuinness, BEc LLB AMusA GAICD Mrs J Robinson, MEd BA DipEd OAM Ms M Southwick, BLArch(Hons) ExecMSc in Cities CPPD MAIPM GAICD Mr J Ward, BA MA DipTech MAICD MDIA |
Our School motto
Tempus celerius radio fugit – time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle
Our motto represents the rich tapestry that is Abbotsleigh:
The ‘warp’ (the lengthwise threads) represents our strong foundations: our Christian faith, our moral purpose and our strong values and culture.
The ‘weft’ represents the woven pattern created by the weaver’s flying shuttle where the beautiful tapestry of Abbotsleigh’s rich and complex history continues to grow: day by day, month by month, year by year.
The motto was given to the School by Miss Marian Clarke, whose family’s crest was a weaver’s shuttle and whose family’s motto was: ‘Time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle.’
