Yidarra Catholic Primary School early childhood teacher Tracey Marsden recently oversaw the successful merger of the school’s two kindergarten classes.
Children now have access to a larger environment and work with six qualified members of staff, instead of three educators in each class.
Ms Marsden has been instrumental in developing the school’s kindergarten philosophy of “learning how to learn” through cultivating the personal, social, emotional, physical and spiritual dimensions of very young children through a holistic model of education.
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One example is open morning tea time, where every student chooses when they would like to visit the ‘kindy cafe’, which is staffed by a teacher who engages with the kids to help develop their language skills in a social and safe environment.
Melville Senior High School’s Guy Stapleton first made headlines after being named WA secondary school teacher of the year in 2015.
The innovative science teacher is known for extending his curriculum beyond the course requirements and going over and above to make the material relatable for his students.
He boasts an extensive repertoire of science-based rap songs and is a big advocate of Connect, an online community learning hub for government schools in WA, which allows him to incorporate digital media, including podcasts, into the classroom.
Ms Marsden and Mr Stapleton were both presented with national awards for leadership and development, selected among just 13 winners from more than 1350 nominations.
ASG chief executive John Velegrinis said the award recipients had been nominated by their local communities for making a genuine difference to education.