“One of my proudest moments this year was seeing our Year 3 students dive into their very first camp experience with so much enthusiasm and bravery. They tried new things, faced their fears, and supported each other every step of the way.”

– Emily Leggett

“Some of my favourite moments this year haven’t come from formal lessons, but from the in-between times — walking to specialist classes, packing up at the end of the day, or chatting during morning routine. It’s in those moments that students’ personalities really shine through, reminding me how much joy there is in simply getting to know them as people, not just learners.” 
– Clay Cornish

“Watching children’s development and growth and being in the forefront of the next generation (creating awesome humans!)." 
– Natalia Takavada

“I love to see the joy on the learners faces when they finally grasp a concept.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“Seeing students from hard backgrounds grow, persevere and have a different future ahead of them because of the education you provided.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“I had a group of students who were really anxious about dressing up for Book Week. I managed to track down some plain white t-shirts and red duct tape and we spent an afternoon in class creating Where's Wally costumes that we could all wear together as a group. Lots of relieved and smiling faces on the dress up day! Super rewarding!” 

– Bonnie Rahilly

“Celebrating the small wins in each day (which are actually huge), such as watching a child use a strategy to regulate their own body when they have learnt to identify their need in a moment- when a child who actually gets very dysregulated stops and takes 3 deep breaths.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“I appreciate the opportunity to see the progression and growth of my students as they transition from children into young adults.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“As a teacher, I am privileged to bring children into positive connection with their sense of identity, agency and confidence and creativity. I love shaping life-long learners.” 
– Kim Edwards

“Teaching as an early childhood teacher is to touch the lives of young children forever - smile, each step of growth and development is a celebration of joy.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“When my students use my teachings to teach their families at home. Makes me feel like I’m making a difference." 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“I ran into a former student while I was out surfing — she’s now 20 years old. It was lovely to reconnect and hear what she’s been up to. It’s always such a nice reminder of the impact we have as teachers when former students still stop to chat and share their journeys years later.” 

– Dave Semianiw

“Teaching is one of the few things I can do which will actually change the world. (Also keeps you young)."
– Catie Morrison

“I love shaping young minds in being caring humans for a peaceful world.” 
– Alev Deran

“The best, roughest, most heart-wrenching, most joyous and most important profession in the world. Not for the faint hearted, for the big hearted.” 
– Anthony Read

“The best thing about this career is our ability to positively influence our young people.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“Teaching all the myriad of students helps me be a better human. It takes understanding without judgement which the world needs more of. They help me, I help them. Teaching and learning partnerships are the core of education.” 
– Effective Mentoring Program Participant

“One of my favourite moments this year was watching my Year 2 students use rich scientific vocabulary like metamorphosis, larva, and pupa with confidence during our Core Knowledge unit on insects. Seeing them excitedly discuss and write about life cycles showed just how deeply they had understood — and reminded me why explicitly building vocabulary matters so much.”  

– Iain Wallace