Saul Brady
Robin Rowe
Karen Austin
Irena Cashman
Grace Camelleri
OUTSTANDING schools, students, teachers and staff in the Great Lakes were recognised at the regional director’s awards ceremony, part of Education Week celebrations, at Tuncurry Public School.
The awards recognised high achievers in both primary and secondary educational institutions throughout the district. Tuncurry Public School principal Tim Putland and assistant principal Janet Northey were the MCs for the ceremony.
Students Grace Camilleri from Forster Public and Irena Cashman from Pacific Palms Public both received regional directors awards for excellence in student achievement in primary school while Katie Gilfillan of Great Lakes College Tuncurry and Saul Brady of Great Lakes College Forster Campus each received the same award at high school level.
Pacific Palms Public’s school administrative manager Robin Rowe was honoured in the outstanding school administration and support category while JilIian Davies, head teacher welfare at Great Lakes College Tuncurry Campus, and Kim Hamilton, deputy principal at Great Lakes College Forster Campus, each received awards for outstanding leadership.
Deb Elliott and Sue Lowe of Bulahdelah Central received awards for excellence in teaching, as did Karen Austin of Forster Public.
Great Lakes College Tuncurry Campus and Great Lakes College Forster Campus received a school achievement award while Elizabeth Worth of Forster Public received an award for regional staff for excellence in educational support.
Several performances were held during the ceremony including Liam Johnson playing the piano prior to the ceremony, Tuncurry Public School stage two choir performing several songs, The Bungwahl Skippers demonstrating several skipping routines and Taleesha Easton performing a dance routine.
Award presenters included Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead, deputy mayor of Gloucester Council John Rosenbaum and the vice chairperson South Parents and Citizens Association Jenny Quiring.
Regional Directors Award for Excellence in Student Achievement – Primary School
Grace Camilleri is an extremely talented student at Forster Public School who has achieved outstanding success in the academic, cultural and sporting arenas. Grace has made significant contributions to the school community through her role as a School Captain, Counsellor, Public Speaker, Canteen helper, Year 6 kindergarten buddy for kindergarten students, choir member, state manager of K-2 concert and representation in numerous high level sporting teams. She is a wonderful ambassador for the Public Education and a great role model for her peers. Grace is a well-respected student of our school who always has a beaming smile on her face is always humble and willingly acknowledges and supports the successes and achievements of other students. Congratulations Grace.
Irena Cashman is truly an exceptional Year 6 student at Pacific Palms Public School and is certainly deserved of this 2012 Education Week Award for Student Achievement. Irena constantly undertakes challenges and completes any task with commitment, diligence and a genuine love for learning. Her ability to interact positively with others is a credit to her. As an active member of the Pacific Palms Public School support team, Irena leads with a quiet confidence and can always be relied on to complete any task with maturity and grace. Irena participates in many extra curricula tasks with a positive attitude and high aptitude including; school music programs, sporting teams, extension maths and writing groups. She also has a lead role in the school’s drama performance and displays a genuine love and talent for performing. Congratulations Irena on an outstanding 2012. You are an exceptional school citizen.
Regional Directors Award for Excellence in Student Achievement – High School
Katie Gilfillan has been an active member of Great Lakes College Tuncurry Student Representative Council since 2009. She has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills as 2012 School Captain, leading the student body through her enthusiasm and superior organisational skills. As a student leader Katie has actively encouraged her peers by her positive attitude and compassionate approach to others less fortunate. Katie has actively participated in numerous school based initiatives, not only in her role as school captain but she also freely gives her time for many other activities which have included volunteer work at the Great Lakes Meals on Wheels, the community ANZAC Day march, organizing school fundraiser and social events. Katie’s tireless energy and attention to detail have been the catalyst to many successful events. Congratulations Katie.
Saul Brady is a leader of the future. Saul attends Great Lakes College Forster Campus. He is a hardworking, innovative and successful young man who has that magic touch that makes everything succeed because he can not only come up with an idea, but also because he has that outstanding ability to plan thoroughly, acquire, through excellent communication and hard work, the necessary resources, secure the enthusiasm and commitment of people to support him and constantly review and revise the work of the task at hand. Saul facilitated the ‘Forster’s Got Talent’ event for the past 3 years, an event which last year raised over $7,500.00 for an improvised school in south Africa and involved the whole school community. Saul has been a member of the Student Representative Council for the past 4 years and is the elected vice captain of the school. Saul also excels I public speaking, debating, drama and music and yet remains humble and popular. He is truly outstanding candidate for this award.
The Regional Directors Award For Outstanding School Administration and Support
Robin Rowe is an outstanding School Administrative Manager based at Pacific Palms Public School. Robin has demonstrated a willingness to be involved not only in her personal professional development, but to assist other School Administrative Officers, both in her own school and across the region, to develop their skills and knowledge to work more efficiently and effectively. Robins’ work as a writer and presenter of the SAM Toolkit in collaboration with the Professional Leadership Learning Development Directorate has been a credit to her. The esteem she is held in within the Southern Network and the broader North Coast is evident with her desire to establish networks of support for all School Administrative Managers. An example is the establishment and coordination of the SAM Collegial leadership network in the Lower North Coast and Manning Camden Haven School Education Groups. This is an active group who meet regularly; run workshops based on the needs of the group and plan school development day activities for school administrative support staff. These have proved very successful and extremely well attended over the past few years.
Regional Director’s Award for Outstanding Leadership
JilIian Davies is the Head Teacher Welfare at Great Lakes College Tuncurry Campus. Jill has introduced, organised and run a wide variety of welfare programs for students. Many of the programs that she has run and organised have incorporated outside agencies. The success of these programs means that the school now benefits from strong, supportive relationships with these agencies.
She advocates the strategic directions of the school with all staff, especially in the area of conflict resolution. Jill works with many students to resolve conflict and keep harmony in the school. Harmonious relationships help promote a positive culture within the school and are enhanced and developed through our Core Values. Congratulations Jillian.
Kim Hamilton is an extraordinary Deputy Principal at Great Lakes College Forster Campus who works hard to ensure that she is at the cutting edge of her profession and this has been recognized by her election to the State Deputy Principals’ Congress. Kim is friendly, supportive, knowledgeable and thoroughly professional. Because Kim possesses outstanding conflict resolution skills and has such as strong focus on welfare she is highly regarded by her colleagues. Year Advisers as well as Head Teachers value her tracking of students and their progress. Parents are very appreciative of the huge efforts that Kim makes to ensure that all children reach their potential. Kim’s ability to plan and coordinate all manner of school events and processes within a college system is second to none. She sees’ the big picture but never loses sight of the small things. Kim thoroughly knows all of the students and staff within her care and works hard to support them all. She is a wonderful example of quality within the Department of Education and Communities. Congratulations Kim.
The Regional Directors Award For Excellence in Teaching
Deb Elliott and Sue Lowe were nominated by the executive team at Bulahdelah Central School. Both Deb and Sue are Norta Norta mentors who go above and beyond the program’s expectations in their personal relationships and interactions with the students. Their dedication to the students is widely acknowledged and highly respected by the staff, students and parents at Bulahdelah Central School. Their passion for the program goes beyond just providing targeted support to Aboriginal students to accelerate progress in achievement in literacy and numeracy. It encompasses the whole student; their physical, emotional and educational wellbeing. The senior indigenous students at Bulahdelah Central School are indeed very fortunate to have Deb and Sue as mentors. Their passion and dedication is unsurpassed and the students will benefit greatly from their support, guidance and friendship. Congratulations to you both of you.
Karen Austin is an outstanding teacher at Forster Public School who has demonstrated excellence throughout her teaching career. Her commitment to students with disabilities has enabled these students to excel and exhibit their skills and talents in integrated settings including the arts and sport. Karen has had a significant role in the welfare programs at Forster Public School and is a strategic leader in this area who shows empathy and compassion to others. Her commitment to supporting students with challenging behaviours has resulted in a reduction in the number of students accessing the school discipline system. Karen always goes out of her way to investigate and implement new and innovative methods to engage her students in learning with extraordinary results. She has earned the respect of her colleagues, parents and the wider community and has been instrumental in creating an honest, respectful school culture in which teachers are motivated and committed to the implementation of quality teaching and learning programs. Karen is a worthy recipient of the 2012 Regional Director's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Congratulations Karen.
Regional Directors Award For School Achievement
Great Lakes College Tuncurry Campus & Great Lakes College Forster Campus In 2011 a partnership was formed with 'The Great Lakes College', where students from Year 10 actively became involved in their volunteer program with Meals on Wheels. Students undergo the same training as Meals on Wheels volunteers, learning about food safety and handling requirements. Each day, a rostered team of two students go to the production kitchen at the Community Centre in Forster and assist in the preparation and packaging of meals. They take part in centre based meals and meal delivery. The initiative has allowed students to develop an understanding of of volunteering and what can be achieved through volunteering. It has had a positive impact on student social/emotional learning providing an outstanding opportunity for student leadership development. The program interfaces with the school's workplace learning through expanding student understanding of career paths in hospitality or aged care services. Not only does this initiative provide students with the opportunity to interact with older generations and encourage younger persons to see the value in volunteering, the students develop hospitality skills, general workplace skills. The program allows Meals on Wheels clients to forge relationships with the students. This provides benefit to the community and in turn has a positive impact on student wellbeing in that they feel valued as part of the program. In 2011 the program was awarded the NSW Meals on Wheels Award for Innovation.
Regional Director’s Award for Regional Staff For Excellence in Excellence in Educational Support
Elizabeth Worth is a valued member of Forster Public School and has had a long and successful teaching career. Elizabeth has been a supportive and caring member of the teaching staff for a duration of 40 years, including some years as a valued casual teacher. Her dedication to the Year Two Swimming Scheme is an incredible value to the community wellbeing and our educational outcomes. Elizabeth has continually demonstrated an exceptional work ethic towards her work place and colleagues. She has held the welfare and educational provision of all children high within her priorities for life. Elizabeth is a worthy recipient of this award for her many years of dedication to educating young people and her consistent caring for the welfare of the staff around her.