Queensland’s teacher award winners revealed
Queensland’s most outstanding teachers have been recognised at this year’s TEACHX awards. SEE THE WINNERS
Education
Don't miss out on the headlines from Education. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Queensland’s most outstanding teachers have been celebrated for their inspirational work in the face of a global pandemic, as the winners of this year’s TEACHX Awards are revealed.
On the eve of World Teachers’ Day on Friday six educators from across the state have been chosen from 29 finalists, and hundreds of nominations.
Among the winners is Mabel Park State High School principal Michael ‘Mick’ Hornby, who took home the Excellence Leadership in Teaching and Learning Award.
Veteran educator Zara Hebbel from Goomeri State School was recognised for her decades of work on student inclusion with the Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award.
Popular drama and art teacher, St Laurence’s College’s Elyse Johnston, was awarded the gong for most Outstanding Contribution to School Community.
St James College’s Ariel Hsu-Chia Chen took home the Excellence in Beginning to Teach Award for her work teaching children with disabilities a foreign language.
Wavell State High School geography teacher Brett Dascombe’s incredible work using cutting-edge technology in the classroom saw him receive the Innovation in Teaching Award.
Queensland College of Teachers board chair Wendy Patton congratulated all the winners, and said they were an example of the “strength of the teaching profession” in the state.
Each has made a significant difference to the lives of not only their students, but also their students’ families and carers, their colleagues, their entire school communities, and in some cases, students statewide,” Professor Emeritus Patton said.
“As Queensland celebrates the important work of teachers on World Teachers’ Day, I encourage all Queenslanders to say ‘thank you’ to a teacher who inspires, or has inspired, them.”
The winners were each awarded $5000 for personal development.
MEET THE WINNERS
ARIEL HSU-CHIA CHEN, ST JAMES COLLEGE
- Excellence in Beginning to Teach Award
Teacher Ariel Hsu-Chia Chen has been celebrated for her remarkable success in helping students with learning challenges undertake the remarkable feat of learning another language.
“We don’t often see people with disabilities speak a foreign language, but we make it happen here,” Ms Chen said.
“It doesn’t matter where you are from, what kind of challenge you have – you can succeed in my classroom.
“Education is the one thing that changes your life.”
Ms Chen’s dedication to her students has seen them achieve remarkable results, with 40 per cent of the Year 8 students in her Chinese language class regularly receiving As.
“I help them to lift their expectation of themselves, and that raises their self-esteem with their special challenges, and they realise this is what they can achieve,” she said.
ELIZABETH HITCHMOUGH, EDENS LANDING STATE SCHOOL
- Excellence in Teaching Award
Edens Landing State School Year 5 teacher Elizabeth Hitchmough has spent more than 30 years dedicated to the craft.
As the Covid-19 pandemic created new challenges, Mrs Hitchmough ensured her students were not missing out, sometimes checking in daily with parents to help out.
Celebrated for her incredible commitment and innovative teaching practices, she said while teaching wasn’t always an easy profession, “it could be the most rewarding in the world”.
“When you look at a kid who at the beginning of the year couldn’t sit still, and then you look around and there they are with their head down and their pencil moving, and you read what they have written and it’s amazing, and you can tell that they have listened to what you are saying and they have made such amazing progress – it’s fantastic,” Mrs Hitchmough said.
“I’ve been here a very long time in this school and I’m actually on to my second generation now, so I’ve got kids who say ‘you taught my mum’, that’s one of my favourite things.”
MICHAEL ‘MICK’ HORNBY, MABEL PARK STATE HIGH SCHOOL
- Excellent Leadership in Teaching and Learning Award
Six years after taking up the job at Mabel Park State High School, Michael ‘Mick’ Hornby has been recognised as the state’s top leader.
Under his helm enrolments have grown from about 500 to 1500, with multiple students receiving $30,000 university scholarships and myriad of innovative projects.
Mr Hornby said a turning point was when the school held a multicultural festival, and about 10,000 people showed up.
“It was like the floodgates opened and everyone came,” he said.
“By celebrating our cultural diversity, that’s when we had the influx of students … I really love the cultural diversity here.”
Mabel Park SHS was also the first state school to host a GP on site for students, a program which the state government is now set to rollout to 50 schools across the state.
“You put students at the heart of everything,” Mr Hornby said.
“We can’t educate students in the class if they’ve got health issues.
“It is just another layer or another safety net for kids.”
BRETT DASCOMBE, WAVELL STATE HIGH SCHOOL
- Innovation in Teaching Award
Bringing cutting-edge technology into the classroom, Wavell State High School geography teacher Brett Dascombe’s incredible work is attracting international attention.
His use of technology including geospatial mapping and drones has allowed his students to complete university-level assignments that take a deep look into multiple environmental issues.
“My year 7 students have created swipe maps of the Great Barrier Reef – of healthy corals and not-so-healthy corals,” he said.
“They get excited by looking at the technology they are using, but they are also learning at the same time – it’s wonderfully engaging.”
Mr Dascombe’s students are also kicking incredible goals too, under his leadership.
“One of my students has just been selected into the Queensland Planning Excellence Award as a finalist for her project on using that technology,” he said.
“Over the last two years we have had year 12 students as finalists in the Queensland Planning Excellence Awards for secondary school students.
“Last year one of my students got a highly commended and in 2020 we took out first and second prizes in the Australian Spatial Science competition.”
ELYSE JOHNSTON, ST LAURENCE’S COLLEGE
- Outstanding Contribution to School Community Award
Inspiring visual art and drama teacher Elyse Johnston has been celebrated for her remarkable work teaching her students about the importance of social justice.
Through a variety of extra-curricular activities, Ms Johnston’s students have served both local, state and international communities.
Among her ideas was for students to paint for charity, which raised both money and food.
The concept went beyond the classroom, with other arts areas including film, TV and music joining in.
“We would get someone from the community to come in and talk to the students about what their organisation does and why they do it,” she said.
“Then, the students would choose an organisation they aligned with and create an artwork for it.”
Ms Johnstone was also co-facilitating an Edmund Rice Beyond Borders project, connecting students with peers in India.
“We’ve heard what life is like for these young people in India – they have been in lockdown since last year … and they have to pay for vaccinations, it’s insane,” she said.
“We’re in the phase now where we are developing a project in which we are going to advocate.”
ZARA HEBBEL, GOOMERI STATE SCHOOL
- Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award
Remarkable educator Zara Hebbel has been recognised with the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award for years of dedicated service.
Originally from Sweden, she says she was supported by a Queensland teacher when she arrived at just 10-years-old, speaking very little English.
That experience was life changing, and she would go on to become a passionate advocate for student inclusion, teaching children from play group to Year 12.
“Every child has the same needs, whether here in Barambah, in Brisbane or at the exclusive international school: to feel safe, to feel valued,” she said.
“With reasonable adjustments and scaffolded learning, they can experience success.
“Every child can learn.”
Ms Hebbel is also a passion advocate for early intervention, and ensuring young children are given individualised support.
“After all these years, my passions are still early childhood education, literacy – a love of books and reading, valuing diversity – special needs, and multicultural and Indigenous education, and ensuring every child has access and achieves success in learning,” she said.
Female student’s intense fight to wear pants over skirts
A Qld high school student has made a discrimination complaint after being forced to wear skirts instead of pants to formal events despite male students being allowed to. VOTE IN OUR POLL
Principal slams online inaction on trolls in wake of teen tragedy
The principal of a school attended by a 14-year-old who took her own life has unleashed at social media giants after revelations her former classmates had accounts to rate and slur their peers.