ACT Public Education Awards

Arawang Primary’s Lee Hodges is the 2023 Primary Teacher of the Year.

Lee always places students at the core of her teaching. With a strong focus on the literacy skills of students in her class and to literacy practices at the school, Lee builds student confidence, capability and enthusiasm in their learning. Her passion for literacy, specifically word inquiry, has shown significant improvement in student learning.

Lee works closely and cooperatively with families to build strong supports for students with additional needs ensuring all students have equal opportunities to learning.

Wanniassa School’s Tonia Davidson is the 2023 Primary Teacher of the Year.

Tonia spends time getting to know each of her students and how they learn. She forges trusting, authentic and constructive relationships with each student helping them to get the best out of their learning, build positive relations with peers and build self-esteem.

Her generosity and enthusiasm helps to extend the genuine relationship she has with her students to students across the school, her colleagues, families and the school community.

Tonia is reflective and committed to her growth as an educator, always seeking ways to improve outcomes for her class and students across the school.

O’Connor Cooperative School’s Yasmine O’Brien is the 2023 Early Childhood Teacher of the Year.

Yasmine provides children with a caring learning environment that celebrates curiosity, inquiry, thinking, agency, deep knowledge, and a love of learning. Yasmine ensures every child she teaches succeeds by providing a welcoming learning environment that celebrates care, family, diversity, inclusion, children’s voice, creativity and wonder.

The impact of Yasmine’s actions is outstanding and strengthens the outcomes of her students and the staff members of her school.

Black Mountain School’s Courtney Bedford is the 2023 Secondary and College Teacher of the Year.

Courtney’s commitment to each of her students, her enthusiasm for education and her commitment and capacity to provide every student the support they need to get their best from education is evident in everything she does.

She has dedicated her career to help students with disabilities to have equal opportunities to engage safely in learning. Courtney develops and supports learning initiatives that acknowledge the importance of early intervention and support.

Courtney skilfully differentiates the learning provided to each of her students so that they can successfully engage in learning at the level they need and with the skills that they have.

She is a highly dedicated and reflective professional who always puts her students first.

Principal Jennifer Howard was named the 2023 School Leader of the Year.

Jennifer is the Principal at Caroline Chisholm School.

Jennifer builds a collaborative, cohesive and constructive culture in her teams and across the school with a focus on providing all students with a positive learning environment and equity of opportunity.

Her support for excellence in teaching practice, early intervention and inclusive and supportive culture has achieved profound improvement in key student outcomes.

Amaroo School’s Karen Walsh is the 2023 New Educator of the Year.

Karen’s commitment to continuously improve her knowledge and practice and to provide high-quality learning opportunities has delivered improved learning outcomes and growth in her students.

Her passionate advocacy of cultural integrity has helped embed a strong understanding and interest in First Nations’ knowledge in her classroom and across the school.

Karen’s strong collaborative practices with Allied Health professionals and community groups provides positive and effective support and outcomes to her students.

Joseph Knezevic is the 2023 School Support Person of the Year.

Joseph works as a Technical Officer at @Caroline Chisholm School. He builds strong constructive relationships with his colleagues, students and the broader school community. His strong organisational skills have provided valuable support to the Building Support Officer and the Business Manager.

Joseph provides support to the school’s commitment to safety in the woodwork area and has helped create a more effective and efficient learning environment for students. As a result of Joseph’s help, the school’s woodworking area was recognised as a standout example of high-quality safety practices by the Risk, Security, and Emergency Management team.

Birrigai First Nations Team is the 2023 Excellence in Cultural Integrity award recipient.

The Birrigai First Nations Team comprises Michelle Allen, Luke Hyatt, Joel Bulger, Lisa Ison, Meredith Regan, Grant Lukins, Sarah Robertson, Rob Day, Nicole Thorne and Jess Cooper.

The team developed the First Nations Truth Telling Program through collaborative consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. They engage Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and members of the community to deliver the program to diverse groups of students and teachers from across the ACT.

The team is a model of reconciliation, showcasing how everyone is connected through our common humanity, and has a role to play in reconciliation and caring for Country.

Gold Creek School’s Mita Pota is the 2023 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion award winner.

Mita, who works in the junior school, embraces students’ challenges through kindness, patience and resilience. She has a wonderful ability to instil belief, confidence and belonging in all students and helps make them feel safe at school whilst building their enthusiasm to participate in learning.

She is endlessly proactive in finding solutions and giving options for inclusion and diversity in school activities. Mita promotes student agency in solving issues and empowers students to be responsible members of the school community.

Mount Stromlo High School’s Prudence Sheather is the 2023 Allied Health Professional of the Year.

Prue’s focus on student wellbeing and learning and her collaboration with external support teams, staff, students and families ensures students get the best and most appropriate support possible.

Weetangera Primary School’s Nicole Ratcliffe is the 2023 Learning Support Assistant of the Year.

Nicole is recognised as an integral part of the Weetangera Primary School’s team. Her commitment to consistently provide highly engaged services has improved the outcomes for many students.

Nicole supports a diverse range of students, demonstrating respect, integrity, collaboration, and innovation in all aspects of her work.

Georgia Nott is the 2023 Education Support Office Employee of the Year.

Georgia is a member of the Ministerial and Corporate Reporting team. She is a trusted and reliable team member who is always striving for excellence. Her role is critical to the Directorate, but her work often happens quietly and consistently in the background with little fanfare.

Georgia is committed to always doing the best she can and continually reflects on how to make processes more efficient and eliminate administrative pain points. Part of Georgia’s success is her keen ability to think through the best way to do things. The other part is her ability to build the trust and confidence amongst those who work with her.

Bonython Primary School Teaching and Learning team is the 2023 Excellence in Innovation award recipient.

The demonstrates an outstanding commitment to implementing Inquiry Learning in their school community.

Their commitment to the inclusion of all stakeholders has been built over time to establish multiple innovative projects. With student learning at the forefront of utilising community partnerships, the Teaching and Learning team lead innovative inquiry and pedagogical practices across all aspects of school life.

Red Hill Primary School’s Felicity Roantree is the 2023 Volunteer of the Year.

Felicity has tirelessly worked as a volunteer on two large school projects over the last three years. She has led major transformations of the school’s vegetable garden and bathrooms, putting in hundreds of hours of unpaid and inspirational work.

Felicity has single-handedly led this work, supporting the school's positive education and environmental curriculum initiatives.

The Head Start Pilot Program is the 2023 Outstanding Partnership of the Year recipient.

Head Start is an innovative Australian School-based Apprenticeship (ASbA) initiative for ACT public school students.

The program provides a tailored school-based apprenticeship and traineeship that matches a students’ job interest with a local business in need of skilled workers. Head Start enables students to develop industry skills and increase their future employment prospects, while completing their ACT Senior Secondary Certificate via a personalised learning pathway.

The Director-General’s Award for Excellence is Early Childhood Teacher of the Year, Yasmine O’Brien of O’Connor Cooperative School.