Categories

Individuals or teams have the opportunity to be nominated in two distinct categories.

Spirit of Catholic Education Award

Awarded to an individual or team from each of the five dioceses and one Religious Institute/MPJP school. The Sprit of Catholic Education Award recognises a staff member, parent/carer or volunteer who is making an outstanding contribution to the life of the community in at least one of the following areas:

• Showing outstanding integrity in leading a school community or program
• Implementing change that improves teaching and learning and supports greater equity in education
• Building Catholic education identity and ethos to support flourishing communities
• Demonstrating outstanding service to others in the school education community and beyond
• Demonstrating excellence as a team that supports and builds school communities (applies to teams of two or more people.

Nominations should address one or more of the above areas and recognise that the people being nominated go above and beyond their usual area of work.

Each individual recipient or team receives a memento and a grant of $1,000 to support and further the work in their community for which they have been recognised. (One sum per team).

Aunty Joan Hendriks Reconciliation Award

This prestigious award recognises one individual and one team recipient for creating positive change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff and/or developing improved understanding of Indigenous cultural heritage in Catholic school communities.

Each recipient receives a memento and a grant of $1,000 to support and further the work in their community for which they have been recognised. (One sum per team).

This award is named in honour of Aunty Joan Hendriks, a Ngugi elder of one of the three groups of Quandamooka people in Moreton Island. A former Lourdes Hill College student and elder in residence, Aunty Joan brought indigenous issues to the international stage, speaking at the United Nations and International Interfaith Forums. She was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the Australian Catholic University, where she was a sessional lecturer in both the Diploma in Indigenous Education and the Bachelor of Primary Education (Indigenous Studies). She spent many years presenting workshops at primary schools, secondary schools, churches, local community organisations, and universities on the borderlands between Christianity and Aboriginal spirituality.