Faculty of Education Teacher Excellence Awards

The Faculty of Education welcomed the Minister for Education, Hon Hekia Parata, to Victoria last week to celebrate the achievements of graduating students at the annual Teacher Education Excellence Awards.

Stefanie Hendra receives her award from the Hon Hekia Parata
Stefanie Hendra with the Hon Hekia Parata

The Faculty of Education welcomed the Minister for Education, Hon Hekia Parata, to Victoria last week to celebrate the achievements of graduating students at the annual Teacher Education Excellence Awards.

Recipients included students completing undergraduate and graduate qualifications in early childhood, primary and secondary teaching. The winners achieved excellent grade point averages in course work and have also been outstanding performers in the classroom or early childhood setting.

Dean of Education, Associate Professor David Crabbe, says that the life experience, professional commitment and understanding of learning of these high-achieving graduates will contribute to future leadership and innovation in education.

The Ilse B Steinberger Prize was also presented to Stefanie Hendra, who graduated with a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary). The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding student of primary teacher education based on academic merit and teaching performance.

Stefanie majored in Japanese and has studied in Japan. She enjoys teaching all subjects but is particularly passionate about ICT and learning languages. She gets pleasure from seeing growth in children across the year and for them to experience success in their learning. She believes the basis for seeing this change in children is to develop a strong relationship with them and their whānau.

Stefanie plans to continue teaching and perhaps move into a leadership role, but still maintain some classroom teaching. She would also like to develop her knowledge further of how to integrate ICT and become more skilled at teaching across all subjects.