Our ‘Meet the Team’ series aims to highlight the exceptional staff and volunteers who work hard to make Camphill School Aberdeen the wonderful place that it is. Next up in our ‘Meet the Team’ series is Anita Grabowska, one of our House Coordinators at St Hilda’s on Camphill Estate.

How long have you worked at Camphill School Aberdeen?

I’ve worked in St Hilda’s house for seven years but have held other roles at Camphill School Aberdeen on Murtle Estate and in an ASN role.

What does your role at Camphill School Aberdeen consist of?

My role is to make sure everything at the house runs smoothly. I make sure the young people who live there are safe, I liaise with parents and manage staff too.

At St Hilda’s we’re very family-orientated so I always make sure I’m in frequent contact with parents and that they’re as involved in what we do as possible. We also organise lots of house events which helps to bring everyone together and create a sense of community.

My role also consists of tasks such as ordering food, managing finances and, most importantly, ensuring the young people who live in the house are happy.

Are there any highlights that stand out to you during your time at Camphill School Aberdeen?

I have so many highlights of my time at Camphill School Aberdeen. However, one that particularly stands out to me is a tradition that we started during Covid. Every morning we’d go round the room, staff and students, and share our highlights from the day before. This helped keep everyone positive during a difficult time and brought everyone at St Hilda’s closer to each other. It’s a tradition that we’ve continued to do years after it first began!

I also always enjoy taking the young people on trips. St Hilda’s recently went on an overnight trip to Badaguish which was so much fun! We’re hoping to do a similar trip again soon but even just going on walks around Aberdeen is always a lovely experience.

How much difference will our fully inclusive outdoor adventure playground make to children, young people and the wider community when it opens?

The development of the new playground on Camphill Estate is very exciting! It’s going to have specialised equipment to make it accessible to young people with sensory disorders and other additional support needs.

I know that all the young people at St Hilda’s can't wait for it to open as they love being outside and spending time in the nature that surrounds the estate.

What’s really special about this project is that the young people were involved in the design process and got to provide feedback and share their opinions on what they’d like the playground to look like and feature!

When complete, how much of a difference will the capital appeal campaign make to children, young people and their families at Camphill School Aberdeen?

For Camphill School Aberdeen to be able to expand its services and workshops is huge. We will be able to help many more young people and their families who need our support. We’re such a community here and we work hard to make sure every young person who walks through our doors views Camphill School Aberdeen as a second home.