TWO Blakeview Primary School teachers have received nominations in this year’s South Australian Public Education Awards.
Reception teacher Sharona Blake and aboriginal community education officer Jayde Milburn have been nominated in the Early Years Teacher of the Year and Aunty Josie Agius Award, respectively.
Ms Blake, who started her career at Woomera Area School, said she has used her experience to create a tight-knit connection with her students and their families.
“When you’re out in the country, you’re part of the community – not just the school,” she said.
“The most important thing is building relationships early on; once you’ve built relationships with students, then they’re more susceptible to learning and taking in ideas.
“When you go into teaching you hope and expect to have a big impact on children.
“You don’t realise what big impact you can have on the family and the whole community.”
Both nominees were unsure of who put them up for the awards, but felt honoured to have so much support from someone within the school community.
The Aunty Josie Agius Award recognises aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who work towards better outcomes for children in schools.
Mrs Milburn, in her three years at the school, has brought in many different programs aimed at building strong connections between young aboriginal people and the community.
One of her most successful projects was starting up an aboriginal culture-focused playgroup with Anglicare, to help nurture aboriginal early learners prior to school.
When she first started the job, she said she had “no idea” of the impact her work could have on aboriginal families.
“Getting families involved in the school is what we really need,” Mrs Milburn said.
“One course we do is a family cooking program, and it’s amazing to see the difference in families when they come along.
“I’m passionate about seeing better outcomes for some of the families, some need quite a bit of support, but if they can turn things around it’s a really positive outcome.
“It’s nice to know staff think I’m worthy of it (the nomination), they thought I’d earned it, which is really nice.”
The winners of the Public Education Awards will be announced in October.