Teachers’ Blueprints for a Better Future
Sustainability and inclusion issues including food waste, recycling plastic, and transition to primary school for children with disabilities are front of mind for Australian teachers and winners of the 2022 NGS Super Scholarship Awards will be tackling the issues with funding won through the competition.
The awards are designed to help education workers contribute to the sector and foster their professional development, with six $5,000 scholarships awarded across three categories of navigating life, sustainability, or general.
This year’s winners include a diverse range of projects, including preventing food waste by developing composter systems to power school stovetops, integrating sustainability and business skills by teaching students to repurpose high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics into pens for market and sale, better understanding the transition to primary school for children with disabilities, and building a sustainable urban farm from wasteland.
The Judges’ Choice winner, Nicole Trinca, from New South Wales, will use her scholarship to create a framework to ensure children with disabilities start school with equitable and inclusive opportunities.
“My project will examine the transition to primary school for children with disabilities, through investigating the critical interface with parents and teachers, and the associated enablers and barriers. On a larger scale, I hope this project has the potential to systematically influence educational transition programs and policies, supporting children with disabilities to reach their full potential,” Trinca said.
The six winners of NGS Super’s $5,000 scholarships are:
- Nicole Trinca (NSW) – Judges Choice
- Elizabeth Twigden (SA)
- Margaret Kroeger (NSW)
- James Horrocks (NSW)
- Jay Chew (Vic)
- Erin Storry (SA)
NGS Super Acting CEO Natalie Previtera said, “We’re celebrating teachers’ commitment to our future generations. This year’s scholarship winners have presented ideas that have the potential to create blueprints for others to continue to improve,” she said.