The sixth annual Hobsons Bay Rotary Teacher Awards held in early October, saw seven of the region’s best teachers recognised for their work furthering education. The Awards comprised three Encouragement Awards (for early career stage teachers), an Achievement Award for a more experienced teacher and a Team Award where a team had collaborated effectively to address an important new development for a school.Rotary District Governor Ron Payne, himself an Educator whose career spanned 47 years, was delighted to present the Rotary Vocational Service Awards to teachers nominated by their Schools.
Bayside College nominated senior leading teachers Analia Diego (Student Wellbeing), Belinda Chandler (Disability Inclusion), and Judy Douglas (Student Learning) for their work to introduce a Disability Inclusion program into the school. The model the team is developing is a positive approach to support students with disabilities to learn alongside their peers in a supportive classroom environment.
Heather Barlow (Emmanuel College St Paul’s Campus) and Maily Pham from the Notre Dame campus were nominated for each making exceptional starts to their teaching careers.
Williamstown High School nominated second-year teacher Tim Lilley for an encouragement award for reinventing the debating program at its senior campus where the teams excelled in a highly competitive environment. Dean Commons, an experienced drama teacher, was nominated for an Achievement Award for his role in coordinating the musical production Fame. This popular musical ran for six shows with the 350-seat theatre at almost full capacity.
As part of the evening, Keynote speaker, Maria Hicks OAM, reviewed Rotary educational support projects in Cambodia and Timor Leste, where students and teachers often need to study at night using portable Solar Buddy Lights because their homes do not have electricity.
