POPULAR Fish Creek Primary School teacher Kerri Smith has been shortlisted for the Victorian public school “teacher of the year” award.
The Outstanding Primary Teacher honour is among the most coveted in the 2018 Victorian Education Excellence Awards, with Kerri one of the final three nominees. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on Friday, October 26 at the Plaza Ballroom in Melbourne.
For Fish Creek Primary School principal Dale Banks, Kerri is “the perfect choice for the nomination for teacher of the year, as she always goes above and beyond what is expected of her in order to get the best educational outcomes for her students”.
“Although Kerri, and she would hate me for saying this has been teaching for over 35 years she is very progressive in her teaching style and is always trying to learn and improve,” Dale said.
“She is extremely well respected by all members of staff, but also in the South Gippsland teaching community. An example of how well she is regarded at the school came when I recently provided a day for our teachers to go into other grades in the school to observe their practice.
“Every teacher in the school wanted to observe Kerri’s teaching as they wanted to see her brilliant teaching first hand. Kerri’s main strength however is how much she cares about the students and it’s not just the students in her grade, Kerri would be able to tell you something about every student in the school.”
Dale said it was Kerri’s caring nature that was the thing that impressed people most.
“She cares for every student and she wants them all to achieve their best, whatever that may be. As an educational leader Kerri has been instrumental in setting up our kinder transitional program,” he said.
“As our school’s first teaching and learning specialist she runs our Professional Learning Team meetings every Tuesday and has assisted in the preparation for the school moving over to the Victorian Curriculum.
“She was influential in our implementation of our teaching and learning model in the classroom.
“I know from speaking to Kerri about the nomination that Kerri would also add that there are thousands of great teachers doing wonderful things each and every day in their classroom and that she loves every part of her job.”
The Victorian Education Excellence Awards are designed to highlight exemplary government school education and innovation in Victoria, Minister for Education James Merlino said.
“From the early years and through secondary school, educational professionals in our government schools help young Victorians reach their full potential with an education focused on excellence and equity, and clear pathways to the future,” he said.
“I congratulate all finalists for the Victorian Education Excellence Awards as they, and all Victorian government school staff inspire their students and help them achieve their best.”
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