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WA’s finest schools and staff recognised in education awards

  • ​WA’s most outstanding schools and staff recognised at 11th WA Education Awards
  • Carine Senior High School tops the winners list with two awards
  • Students, staff and parents from Carine Senior High School are celebrating this morning after two staff members were announced as winners in this year’s WA Education Awards.

    Carine Senior High School principal Damian Shuttleworth and science teacher Daniel Hugo were named WA Secondary Principal of the Year and WA Premier’s Secondary Teacher of the Year respectively.

    Mr Shuttleworth has been principal since 2014 – just the fourth in the school’s 44-year history – and under his leadership, the high school was last year awarded WA Secondary School of the Year.

    Mr Hugo has more than 30 years of experience as a science teacher and has run a successful Marine and Maritime Technology ATAR course for many years – with the program’s success leading the School Curriculum and Standards Authority to engage Mr Hugo to assist with developing course content.

    Anthony Horn, from West Beechboro Primary School, and Rebecca Bope, from Kalgoorlie Primary School, picked up the WA Premier’s Primary Teacher of the Year and Primary Principal of the Year awards respectively.

    Barbara Dalgety from Bluff Point Primary School in Geraldton was named WA Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer of the Year, while Warwick Senior High School’s Benjamin Garnaut picked up the WA Beginning Teacher of the Year.

    The WA Education Assistant of the Year was Aspiri Primary School’s Tamie Douglas, and the WA School Services Staff Member of the Year was Sally Bradley from Swan View Senior High School.

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    As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:

    “A great teacher can have a powerful and enduring influence on their students. It is vital we recognise our standout educators for the role they play in shaping Western Australia’s next great minds.

    “Innovative and engaging learning methods are so important to prepare students for the jobs of the future, and I’m so pleased at the high quality of all the staff who picked up awards.

    “Principals, teachers and school staff play an integral role in developing our young people in a positive way and I applaud them for their efforts.”

    As stated by Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:

    “It is a real honour to present these awards to the State’s top public schools, teachers, principals and support staff to recognise the inspirational and life changing impact they have on our students.

    “Staff like Damian and Daniel provide a high-quality education to so many students, helping them to achieve and setting them up for future success.

    “Teaching is an admirable profession in any event, but so many of our best educators go above and beyond to provide our young people with a positive start in life, and we are truly lucky to have professionals of their calibre.”

    2018 WA Education Awards winners:

    WA Premier’s Primary Teacher of the Year, sponsored by BHP

    Anthony Horn, West Beechboro Primary School

    Inspired by a teacher in his own youth, Anthony has himself become inspirational, highly respected and admired by students, parents and colleagues alike. Focusing on the social, as well as the academic skills of students – his professional mantra is ‘my kids are much more than marks on a page’ – Anthony supports them well beyond the classroom, motivating each to reach their potential.

    WA Premier’s Secondary Teacher of the Year, sponsored by BHP

    Daniel Hugo, Carine Senior High School

    Daniel is always at the forefront of developing programs and strategies to make teachers more effective and improve learning outcomes for students. He credits his own teachers for inspiring him to pursue a career in education. After running a successful senior science Marine and Maritime Technology ATAR course for many years, he was approached by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority to produce assessment guidelines, assessment tasks and course outlines for other schools around the State to use. With a degree in Zoology, Daniel has 30 years of experience as a science teacher and uses his unique skillset and passion for learning to bring about many positive changes at Carine Senior High School for both students and staff. He has also sailed part-way around the world and is currently building his own boat.

    WA Premier’s Excellence in Aboriginal Education Award, sponsored by BHP

    Wiluna Remote Community School

    A small school with just under 80 students, Wiluna is located in Martu country, 966 kilometres north-east of Perth, on the edge of the desert between the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers at the tightknit school are called ‘local teachers’ and they – together with the Elders, local rangers and community members – are invited to teach new staff about Aboriginal knowledge and practices. The school has recently taken over a disused training facility to offer vocational education and training courses to students, which has developed employment opportunities for students.

    WA Primary Principal of the Year, sponsored by Fotoworks

    Rebecca Bope, Kalgoorlie Primary School

    A natural leader, Rebecca mentors principals in the Goldfields and embraces change for the benefit of students. She ensures programs at her school are consistent and promote effective teaching practices, and believes every student is capable of successful learning. At the helm of Kalgoorlie Primary School for the past five years, Rebecca had a life-changing experience when she was teaching English in Japan. Being a minority there, influenced how she interacts with students who speak English as a second language and continues to influence her approach to students.

    WA Secondary Principal of the Year, sponsored by Teachers Mutual Bank

    Damian Shuttleworth, Carine Senior High School

    Damian spent six years in leadership roles in retail before deciding to embark on a career change, and applied for university as a mature-aged student. With a belief that education changes lives, Damian has led Carine to many successes including last year’s WA Education Awards where the school was named WA Secondary School of the Year. Described by his peers as a courageous and empowering leader, he supports his staff to offer the most effective and exciting programs to students. A school survey this year found more than 95 per cent of parents, students and staff felt Damian made clear his standards of high expectations for students while more than 90 per cent agreed there had been significant school improvement in the past two years.  

    WA Beginning Teacher of the Year, sponsored by Edith Cowan University

    Benjamin Garnaut, Warwick Senior High School

    A scar on the side of his head, as a result of a golf accident in his youth, is a permanent reminder to Warwick Senior High School teacher Ben Garnaut of just how fortunate he is to live a healthy life each day. A strong believer that every lesson is a journey of discovery, Ben learnt a lot during his previous career as a geologist at an oil and gas mine, specifically that he wanted a job with meaning. Joining Warwick Senior High School as a graduate teacher in 2015 after studying at Edith Cowan University, Ben has played a major role in curriculum development and continues to challenge himself and his colleagues. He has introduced an electronics option course to increase student interest in science, which is now one of the school’s more popular option courses.

    WA Education Assistant of the Year, sponsored by Perth Energy

    Tamie Douglas, Aspiri Primary School

    Tamie enjoys seeing children become confident and independent in the safe and supportive environment she provides, where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities. She dedicates her time to finding new ways to excel at her job and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with colleagues. With more than a decade of experience in supporting students with a range of needs, Tamie has left a mark at every school she has been part of and has emphasised the importance of play-based learning throughout her career.

    WA Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer of the Year, sponsored by Kinetic IT

    Barbara Dalgety, Bluff Point Primary School

    An inspiring leader in the school community, Barbara motivates Aboriginal students with her view that they thrive on high expectations. She has worked as an Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer at the school for almost three decades, and recent NAPLAN results are a testament to her efforts. When the school introduced Synthetic Phonics, Barbara developed a learning program and resources for small groups, which she continues to teach today. With her dedicated support, spelling results in Years 3 to 5 have improved dramatically in the last five years.

    WA School Services Staff Member of the Year, sponsored by Modis

    Sally Bradley, Swan View Senior High School

    Stepping out of her comfort zone after moving from the UK to Perth in 1996, Sally started working as the library officer at Swan View Senior High School where she realised her passion for working with children. She then stepped into the role of the school’s public relations and school promotions officer where she has worked tirelessly for the past five years on creating opportunities for students. Her work with various agencies encourages the more reluctant students to get out of their own comfort zones and get involved with innovative programs. Described by the principal as ‘the heart and soul of our school’, Sally has left many lasting impressions on students.

    WA Primary School of the Year, sponsored by Teachers Health

    Brookman Primary School

    In an area where students were once not interested in coming to school, Brookman Primary School has become a place where students are excited about coming every day, thriving on challenging and innovative learning experiences. Located in Langford in Perth’s south, one-third of the school’s 320 students speak English as a second language with more than 40 languages spoken by families. Leaders in science, technology, engineering and maths, in addition to languages, school staff are helping students develop a longing for and interest in learning.

    WA Secondary School of the Year, sponsored by Community News

    Lynwood Senior High School

    With a focus on care for every student, the school’s Student Wellbeing Committee monitors how all students are faring – organising specific case management, targeted programs and individual academic mentoring for students who need it. Another key element of Lynwood Senior High School is its comprehensive approach to sustainability. The school runs the Environment and Life Sciences Approved Specialist Program for selected students in Years 7 to 10, and the Lynwood Environmental Academic Flexible Learning Program in Years 11 and 12 in which students gain a Certificate II in Horticulture. Each student’s pathway is equally valued and the focus on wellbeing and pastoral care ensures that a student’s postcode does not determine their destiny.

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