South East Queensland has been strongly represented in the Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, with local schools, school clusters or individuals from the region winning in seven categories.
Education Minister Grace Grace congratulated winners at the awards ceremony, hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
"The Showcase Awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the great work our educators are doing every day to ensure that students in Queensland state schools are getting a world-class education," Ms Grace said.
"That there were so many high-quality entries to this year's awards shows the hard work, dedication and expertise of Queensland school staff.
Member for Pine Rivers Nikki Boyd congratulated the Pine Rivers South Primary Cluster – made up of Bray Park, Strathpine, Strathpine West and Lawnton State Schools – for winning the RemServ Showcase Award for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement.
"I'm very proud of the Pine Rivers school communities for being recognised for their outstanding Engagement and attendance matters – the more you go the more you know submission," Ms Boyd said.
"The Pine Rivers South Primary cluster of schools focused on fostering lasting, meaningful partnerships between families, communities, and schools.
"It helped connect families with support agencies to provide home visits, support daily routines and provide mentoring, leading to increased enrolments, better academic outcomes and successful student transition to high school."
In addition to being a part of the winning Pine Rivers South Primary cluster, Lawnton State School's 'We grow leaders' submission saw the school share honours with Western Cape College for the Bevan Brennan 'Every Child Needs a Champion' Award.
Moreton Downs, Burpengary, Caboolture East, Elimbah, Jinibara, Mango Hill and Narangba Valley State Schools combined to form the North Coast cluster and win the Network 10 Showcase Award for Excellence in the Early and Primary Years with their Critical friends network entry.
Two individuals from the South East were recognised for their outstanding work – with Mango Hill State School Principal Tracy Egan winning the Griffith University Jack Pizzey Award for Excellence in School Leadership, and Brett Dascombe from Wavell State High School taking out the QUT Showcase Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Nine South East schools from across Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast teamed up to take out the Education Queensland International Showcase Award for Excellence in Global Engagement.
Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre rounded out the winners from the South East, their Building cultural understanding and capabilities on Quandamooka Country submission winning the QTU Showcase Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education.
There were 86 submissions from right across Queensland for the 2022 awards, representing 220 state schools.
Minister Grace said each of the state award group category winners would receive a $10,000 development grant, with two individuals to each receive a $5,000 development grant.
"Educators have benefitted from a total of $166,000 in grant support from this year's Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, including regional winners who received $1,000 each and regional commendations receiving $500 each," Ms Grace said.
"The Palaszczuk Government is continuing to support school communities with our record $16.5 billion education budget, supporting the good jobs, better services and great lifestyle of education with strong investment."
The 2022 program was sponsored by Education Queensland International, Griffith University, Network 10, RemServ, QSuper, QUT, Queensland Teachers' Union, and TUH Health Fund.
