Many worked through the school holidays to ensure a seamless transition to online learning, and teachers have since been juggling the demands of teaching children in a traditional classroom while also providing engaging learning opportunities for students at home.  

Our Mercury’s Top Teachers campaign aims to celebrate the hard work of our state’s teachers, inviting students and parents to nominate teachers they consider to be most outstanding.

Here we share the stories of some of the dedicated and inspiring teachers who have been nominated so far.

>> SEE PART TWO HERE

To nominate a Mercury Top Teacher, email their name, school and a brief description of why you think they are one of the state’s best right now to mercury.news@themercury.com.au

Kirsten Bacon and Kate Peacock

School: Elizabeth College

HAVING a single student nominate you for a Top Teacher award is an indication you’re doing a great job.

But when you receive several nominations from students, it’s a sure sign you’re making a positive difference in their lives.

Elizabeth College teacher Kirsten Bacon has been applauded by her Year 11 and 12 students for her “positivity”, her “patience” and the “extra effort” that she puts in, going “above and beyond” to support the learning and wellbeing of students.

The VET hospitality and cookery teacher has been communicating with students online in recent weeks, sending them newsletters and recipes to encourage them to cook at home, and also to practise gratitude.

Ms Bacon said even before COVID-19 she enjoyed getting students to complete gratitude tasks in class, and this had become even more important during a period of isolation.

She has been setting a weekly gratitude activity for students, who have been encouraged to set goals, to stop and appreciate good things that happen in their lives each day, and to personally thank people they feel have helped them or have had a positive impact on their lives. They have been writing in journals, sending letters and texts, and creating gratitude memes, among other exercises.

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The Kingston Beach teacher said it was an anxious and unsettling time for many students, so it was important to focus on mental health and wellbeing as part of online learning.

She said there were some aspects of online learning which had worked really well for the 50-60 students she had been teaching — including a weekly newsletter she had been sending to students — which she hoped to continue when students returned to the classroom.

A teacher for 30 years, she said she still loved her job as much as ever, and particularly loved the supportive environment at Elizabeth College where she had taught for the past four years.

Meanwhile, her colleague Kate Peacock has also been nominated, for being a great teacher who “is always there when we need her, inside and outside the classroom’’.

The business studies and sport and recreation teacher has been a teacher for seven years, working most of that time at Elizabeth College.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re really making a difference,’’ said Ms Peacock, of Geilston Bay.

“It’s easy to get caught up in getting the job done and getting through the year, so it’s nice to take a moment to stop and realise what I’m doing really does make a difference.’’

Emily Vince and Rhonda Walker

Campbell St Primary School

CO-WORKERS Emily Vince and Rhonda Walker teach a Grade 1/2 class at Campbell St Primary School.

They’ve been teaching a small group of students in recent weeks while also communicating with students at home via the Class Dojo app, setting them a range of engaging tasks to complete with the help of their parents, while also using learning apps like Reading Eggs and Mathletics.

Parents and students have praised their efforts, saying both teachers had gone that extra mile to ensure students were well-equipped to learn at home.

“Rhonda Walker and Emily Vince are going above and beyond to ensure their students continue to have a rewarding school experience, even dropping schoolwork off to their students’ houses,’’ mum Kate Gordon said.

“My daughter and I could not be more grateful.”

Miss Vince, from Old Beach, has been teaching for 20 years, while Mrs Walker, from Mt Stuart, has been a teacher for 40 years.

But they said the coronavirus pandemic had posed plenty of new challenges.

“It’s been a game-changer,” Miss Vince said.

Elise Blacher

Tarremah Steiner School

TARREMAH Steiner School teacher Elise Blacher has been sending handwritten notes to her students, recording audio files of stories and putting together packs of books and craft supplies to keep students’ spirits up during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Huntingfield K-10 school is structured so that a teacher stays with the same group of students for six years.

This means teachers form a strong bond with students and their families.

Ms Blacher teaches Class Two — a class of 24 seven and eight-year-olds — and most have been learning from home in recent weeks.

Her class doesn’t use technology for learning, so she has been coming up with creative ways to stay connected with students, like posting handwritten notes and emailing sound files of her reading books that parents can play to children so they can hear her voice every day.

Student Billy Hawkins and his family nominated Ms Blacher, of Coningham, as a Top Teacher, saying: “She is the essence of sunshine and we cannot wait to see her again.

“What a brilliant job all the teachers are doing, but in my mind, there is no one better than Elise Blacher,’’ the family said. “She is just gorgeous.”

“She records stories for the class each night and posts them each personal letters.

“In a grade that doesn’t use technology, Elise has made us all feel incredibly connected with her little handwritten notes to the kids.’’

Ms Blacher said it was wonderful to hear such glowing feedback from families at the school, which had about 250 students.

She has been involved with Tarremah for 18 years — both her children attended the school, and she began teaching there eight years ago.

“It’s a long journey with the same group of children and families,’’ she said.

You become like part of the family I guess. You get to understand each child and their family really, really well.’’

Katie Walker, Adam Forsyth, Melissa Cuthbertson and Courtney Blyth

St Michael’s Collegiate

SISTERS Claudia and Scarlett Johnston have had such a positive schooling experience that they felt compelled to nominate several of their teachers in the Mercury’s Top Teachers campaign.

The St Michael’s Collegiate students said they were lucky to have had some “exceptional” teachers during this unprecedented time, and wanted to nominate them as a way to say thanks.

Claudia, 16, is a Grade 10 student, while Scarlett, 13, is in Grade 8. They are two of many St Michael’s Collegiate students who have nominated teachers.

The sisters nominated Mrs Katie Walker for “making our online classes enjoyable” and “being a really good teacher”; Dr Adam Forsyth for being a great maths and science teacher and “for being the best principal we could ask for … he has been exceptional’’; and Mrs Melissa Cuthbertson and Miss Courtney Blyth for “checking in regularly to make sure we are okay’’.

“Without these teachers and all our amazing other teachers we would have had a really tough time during isolation,’’ the girls said.

Principal Dr Adam Forsyth said teaching was always a busy job, but it had been “exceptionally busy” in recent weeks. He said it was terrific that students had appreciated the extra efforts of teachers, who had worked hard throughout the school holidays to ensure a seamless transition to online learning.

“We’re really chuffed that the students feel that they want to put those teachers’ names forward,’’ he said.

“It’s just wonderful.’’

He said it was great to see hardworking teachers across the state being recognised.

“It’s not just our school. All teachers, everywhere have done an amazing job,’’ Dr Forsyth said.