Hobsons Bay’s brightest teaching stars have been recognised for their dedication in the face of the many challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rotary Club of Altona City has announced the winners of the Hobsons Bay Rotary Teacher Awards program, honouring those who have gone above and beyond in providing outstanding performance in local schools.
Award founder Julie Mason, assistant principal at Baden Powell College and a Rotarian, said that it’s never been more important to support and honour teachers.
“The requirements we’ve put on teachers in the COVID environment have been extraordinary, so it’s particularly relevant to acknowledge their work,” she said.
Ms Mason said there’s a great synergy between the education sector and Rotary, with both institutions involved in developing student agency and leadership.
“We all want students to thrive with integrity,” she said.
“Our self-sacrificing teachers went beyond expectations to achieve this.”
In just their second year of teaching, Olivia Hall and Sarah Hamilton from Bayside P-12 College received encouragement awards.
“The fact that most of their career has been spent in remote learning didn’t dampen their enthusiasm and they innovated creative ways to engage students online,” according to their nomination.
Altona College nominated early career stage teachers Megan Clerkin, Blair Clearihan-Jervies and Zoe Harrison for encouragement awards.
Their nominations highlighted exceptional starts to their teaching careers, working proactively with students and parents to cement strong home/school partnerships for remote learning.
Encouragement awards also went to Amy Wilson-Matesvac and Keenan Gatens from Emmanuel College and Rachel Cullen and Benjamin Landolina at Wembley Primary School.
Benjamin Millar
