18 Nov 2020
The 2020 ACT Public Education Awards recognise the exceptional people in our public school communities, who have gone above and beyond the normal expectations for their role to ensure all children receive high quality public education and the very best start in life.
The awards recognise that every person in our school community has a chance to make a difference in a child’s life, whether an educator, volunteer or school leader
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for the incredible work you do.
Volunteer of the Year Award
Kimberly Ingram, Evatt Primary School.
As a parent, Kimberly works closely with many families, supporting them to navigate the NDIS and connect with vital community services. Among her incredible achievements at the school, Kimberly has worked with the school psychologist to develop educators’ knowledge around the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Brain Mapping and how this can be used to gain an understanding of the way trauma impacts a child’s learning.
Outstanding Partnership of the Year Award
Lisa Navarro-Bustos, Northside Community Service.
Lisa’s strength lies in her ability to connect with families and community partners to create magic. Lisa has been integral in developing a strong partnership with Northside Community Service and Margaret Hendry School, who have jointly created a school community hub. The hub includes a bike library, services for women leaving domestic violence, young people and transitions to high school, community development and community sporting connections.
Leader of the Year in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Award
Julie Mayhew, from Turner School.
Julie’s dedication to building cultural understanding through language and song is extraordinary, with her influence extending beyond school and the ACT to across Australia. Her partnerships with communities to assist with restoring, revitalising, and maintaining First Nations Languages and her commitment to building cultural competency within ACT schools has been transformative.
Allied Health Professional of the Year Award
Alice Coen, Macgregor Primary School and Evatt Primary School.
Alice is a leader in her field of school psychology. Since joining the Directorate, one of Alice’s most significant achievements has been to help numerous with various assessments for a myriad of diagnoses. This has been life changing work for these children and their families.
Education Support Office Employee of the Year Award
Jean Walker, Student Engagement.
In a challenging year, Jean has been a calming, supportive voice for many families. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, she went above and beyond in her support for parents and the wider community, assisting families to understand the response to the pandemic and the impact it may have on their child’s health, wellbeing and learning.
Education Support Person of the Year Award
Michael Carnovale, UC Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra.
Michael is an exceptional Building Services Officer, who uses his broad range of technical skills to improve the teaching and learning environments at UC SSC Lake Ginninderra. Michael is involved in everything including the redesign of the school’s waste management system to improve sustainability, the annual Year 12 legacy art project, construction of a garden in the school’s LSU and designing and constructing sets for school productions and musicals.
New Educator of the Year Award
Brianne Carrigy, from Mount Stromlo High School
In facing the challenges of developing effective and engaging learning for students during the COVID-19 remote learning period Brianne led the development of units that innovatively addressed these requirements. Brianne endeavours to make her teaching authentic by engaging with the broader ACT community, for example her students wrote engaging narratives which were enjoyed by local nursing home residents.
Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award
Morgan Holland, Miles Franklin Primary School.
Morgan’s passion for student-led inquiry has seen student engagement and personal achievement at an all-time high. Morgan’s adaptability during COVID-19 restrictions was exceptional and when he made a specific effort to support high needs students to transition back from online learning to ensure their continued connection with peers and learning opportunities.
Primary Teacher of the Year of the Year Award
Peta-Gai Faulkner, Gungahlin Primary Introductory English Centre.
Leading up to online learning, Peta-Gai went to every student’s home to teach the families how to learn in the online space. She not only taught her students but also many of their parents for whom English is their second language. Once the new way of learning was in place, Peta-Gai kept in close contact. Her approach was instrumental in her students thriving in such an unusual environment. Peta-Gai is also a highly prized mentor at the school, assisting other teachers with English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) strategies to support their students.
Secondary Teacher of the Year Award
Dr Roisin Boadle, Namadgi School.
Dr Boadle has made a pivotal contribution to ensuring Maths and Science at Namadgi School are innovative and future focussed. She pioneered STEM electives and actively identified, encouraged and supported girls in particular, to study in this area and in her role as a 9/10 Year Co-ordinator, Dr Boadle has supported many students to improve their wellbeing.
School Leader of the Year Award joint winners
Mandy Kalyvas, Learning and Teaching, Policy and Service Design
Gareth Richards, Namadgi School
Mandy was instrumental in leading the response to support school leaders and teachers to pivot to online teaching during term 1 and 2 of 2020.
Mandy’s student and school-centred leadership approach ensured professional learning sessions met teachers at their point of need and were extremely useful as we transitioned to online learning. She led the development of a Home Learning website and her positive and empowering leadership saw the team develop these resources is a short timeframe to support our school leaders and teachers through 2020.
Gareth is an exceptional school leader who genuinely ensures the experience of the staff, students and families at Namadgi is as positive, supportive and successful as possible.
When the pandemic closed in, Gareth led the teaching team to deliver outstanding remote learning options from the first day. His own “No assembly Friday” videos brought humour, joy and hope in what was a difficult time for many and ensured the school community remained connected.