Education Minister Grace Grace has today congratulated Marian State School for being named a Queensland 2022 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools winner, taking out the top prize in Central Queensland for the Inclusive Education category.
Now in its 23rd year, Minister Grace said the Showcase Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious educational awards in Queensland, showcasing excellence in education, innovation, and leadership.
"One of the privileges of my job as Education Minister is to meet the outstanding teachers and educators delivering innovative and world class opportunities for our young Queenslanders," Ms Grace said.
"The Showcase Awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the great work that our schools are doing day-to-day to ensure that Queensland continues to innovate and develop new education practices.
"The quality of submissions for this year's awards was once again exceptional and extremely competitive, making the task of selecting award winners all the more difficult for the regional judging teams.
"To be named as one of the 27 regional winners, or as one of the 24 to receive a commendation, is a significant accolade for these schools. It's an important recognition of their contribution to the state's education system.
"I congratulate each and every one of them, and wish them all the best in the next rounds which will determine our state finalists, and ultimately our state winners."
Marian State School has been named the CQ winner of the TUH Health Fund Showcase Award for Excellence in Inclusive Education for their 'Whole Child: Effective Transition' approach.
Principal of Marian State School Craig Homer said he is proud of the outstanding leadership of the team, particularly the Head of Special Education Mr Jordan Moore.
"The culture at Marian State School is that inclusive education is everyone's business, and we hold the belief that high expectation is built on high levels of support," Mr Homer said.
"We have a great team where everyone can personally connect, participate and learn, with shared responsibility of all elements of curriculum and wellbeing.
"The investment we make each day as individuals and as a school community, has a significant impact in a young person's life - from the critical relationships with parents, community and allied health professionals - to the support for our highly skilled staff who work closely with our teachers."
This year there were 86 submissions for the Showcase Awards state-wide, representing 120 schools. Regional award winners and commendation recipients will share in $66,000 worth of development grants to further support their initiatives.
The 27 regional award winners will be whittled down to a smaller number of state finalists next month, before the overall winners across the 10 categories are announced at a conference in Brisbane in October 2022. Winners will receive up to $10,000.
