Education Minister Grace Grace has today congratulated local schools recognised in Queensland's 2022 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, with Woree State High School and Western Cape College named as FNQ regional winners and White Rock State School receiving a commendation.
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."
Woree State High School Principal Kathryn Todd has been named regional winner of the Griffith University Jack Pizzey Award for Excellence in School Leadership.
"It is an absolute honour and so humbling to be recognised amongst my education colleagues," Ms Todd said.
"We have worked hard to develop a cohesive and high-performing leadership team here at Woree SHS, with the aim of keeping our focus on improving student outcomes and wellbeing.
"Building the capacity of our school leaders means we are better able to support our teachers to do their work.
"We include all leaders and aspiring leaders in all our big, strategic decisions. The aspiring leaders particularly bring the teachers' voice to this planning process. This is collaborative co-design – figuring out what works best for our school community together."
Speaker of Queensland Parliament and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said he was proud of Woree State High.
"Educators right here in Cairns and Far North Queensland show incredible passion for innovative teaching and learning practices," Mr Pitt said.
"I am very proud that Principal Todd has been named the FNQ winner in the Griffith University Jack Pizzey Award for Excellence in School Leadership category, and I hope to see her winning streak continue to the state finals!
"Woree State High school consistently feature as finalists in the Showcase Awards for Excellence, and it is a testament to their contribution to education and to their school community."
Western Cape College was named the winner of the Bevan Brennan 'Every Child Needs a Champion' Award category with their 'Wis Wei' the WCC Way project, while White Rock State School was commended in the RemServ Showcase Award for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement category for their ECE to Prep Transitions – Placing students at the centre of our hearts, minds and actions project.
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.
