Maitland teachers shine at Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle Emmaus Awards

Members of the Catholic Schools of Maitland-Newcastle community gathered at Sacred Heart Cathedral last month for the annual Called to Serve Mass.

Before the mass, the annual Emmaus Awards were presented, which recognise and celebrate the significant contributions of staff in schools across the diocese.

Abby O'Connor, from St Bede's Catholic College, Chisholm, won the award for First Five Years of Teaching.

St Bede's Catholic College, Chisholm, won the Innovation Humanities Team award.

Jody Summerville, from St John the Baptist, Maitland won the Teaching Primary award.

A highlight of the event, St Joseph's College, Lochinvar principal Trish Hales was awarded the Sisters of St Joseph Education Award.

In other news:

Abby has been at St Bede's since 2020, and teaches English and HSIE.

Despite starting teaching during the challenges of remote learning, Abby quickly grew in confidence and capability, and is now a leading teacher in the cross-curricular Humanities course, which combines both English and HSIE.

"I am honoured to receive the Emmaus Award," she said.

"I have always been passionate about my vocation in teaching and am grateful that this has been recognised in receiving such a highly-regarded award."

St Bede's humanities team is leading the way in innovative teaching practices. Its dynamic, collaborative teaching team work tirelessly to reinvent their knowledge for innovative learning spaces, cross-curricular integration and co-teaching.

The teaching team has seen strong growth in students NAPLAN results, improved student engagement in Stage 4, increased teacher efficacy, use of data to inform teaching, and published articles in a professional magazine.

Classroom teacher and learning support teacher at St John the Baptist Primary School Jody Summerville promotes an inclusive atmosphere throughout the school, and puts the students needs at the forefront of all her decisions.

She makes a point of knowing each of her students and what their needs are, and finds out what they are interested in to stimulate their learning.

Jody has taught at St John's for 17 years, and most enjoys developing positive relationships with the students.

"I was so honoured to receive this award and I really would like to acknowledge the staff at St John's who support and guide me as a learning support teacher," she said.

St Joseph's College, Lochinvar principal Trish Hales was recognised for her outstanding leadership.

A former student of the school, Trish is well-regarded for her commitment to upholding the charisms of the Sisters of St Joseph.

"It's always humbling to receive an award as so many people do wonderful things in our schools and I just try to do my job to the best of my ability," she said.

"I have tried to honour the legacy of the sisters and their mission and I guess this was an affirmation from that perspective.

"It was also very special to be presented with the award by Sister Lauretta who I admire so much."