Awards recognise excellence in Far North Queensland state schools

Four schools from Far North Queensland have been recognised at the 19th annual Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools tonight.

Education Minister Grace Grace said the Showcase Awards recognise, celebrate and reward excellence and innovation in teaching and leadership practice in Queensland state schools.

“Our schools, principals and teachers are committed to achieving outstanding education outcomes, and are continually searching for new ways to engage and educate young Queenslanders,” Ms Grace said.

“The calibre of finalists for this year’s awards was outstanding, and all of our Far North Queensland winners and finalists should be incredibly proud of their contribution to education.

“Atherton State High School teacher Carly Sopronick won The Teachers Health Showcase Award for Teacher of the Year for her extraordinary skills, dedication and leadership in everything from classroom delivery to curriculum development.

“Balaclava State School won The Queensland Teachers’ Union Showcase Award for Excellence in Indigenous Education for increasing student attendance and improving learning outcomes.

“Woree State School won The Teachers Mutual Bank Showcase Award for State School of the Year for developing a whole-school culture of learning, collaboration, professional responsibility and accountability.

“Mount Molloy State School won The RemServ Showcase Award for Excellence in Community Engagement for turning a humble vegetable patch into a successful catering business, restaurant and market program.

“And Atherton State High School was the runner-up in The Showcase Award for Excellence in Industry Partnerships for its Reach for the stars — Online College of Advanced STEM program.”

The awards were presented at a gala dinner in Brisbane before more than 700 guests on the day Queensland celebrates World Teachers’ Day. Showcase Awards recipients share in more than $540,000 in development grants.

“These grants support schools to deliver current education programs, as well as encourage the development of new programs and initiatives to support further opportunities for students,” Ms Grace said.

“The awards program reiterates the high quality of education available to students in Queensland’s state education system and demonstrates that our state school students are part of a world class education system.”

The Showcase Awards organisers received more than 120 submissions reaching more than 80,000 students across Queensland.

Ms Grace acknowledged the ongoing support of the Showcase Awards sponsors.

“We are grateful for the wonderful partnerships we have with our sponsors,” she said.

The event’s sponsors included Education Queensland International, Griffith University, Network Ten, RemServ, QSuper, QUT, Queensland Teachers’ Union, Teachers Health, Teachers Mutual Bank, and the University of Southern Queensland.

The full list of state award winners and finalists is available at www.showcase.education.qld.gov.au.

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Media contact: Scott Chandler – 0439 587 472

Far North QLD Finalists & Winners