Villawood North Public School picks up $15k for STEAM

Beating 1600 other entrants, Villawood North Public School primary teacher Thuy Nguyen, has been announced as the national winner of the 2019 OfficeMax and Winc Australia STEAM Grants Program.

Villawood North Public School is a public school in Fairfield East providing education for a richly diverse community with 90% of students having a language background other than English.

The annual OfficeMax and Winc Australia Grants Program provides support to schools with resources and funding to integrate STEAM learning. On top of the $5000 grant won as the New South Wales state winner, Thuy was awarded an additional $10,000.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be announced the national winner of the Grants Program. Our students are passionate about learning about science and using technology to help them learn, and the Grant money will allow us to purchase more products to help grow their STEAM learning.

“We have just formed a STEAM committee and we look forward to making decisions on how to make the most of the grant to benefit every student in our school. It will be really exciting to find STEAM projects that are authentic and meaningful to our school community,” says Thuy.

A smart algorithm called Grant Bot helped judge the winners, alongside Swinburne University astrophysicist assoc prof Alan Duffy and marine biologist and whale snot researcher Dr Vanessa Pirotta.

Chief executive officer at Winc Australia Darren Fullerton says the response to the STEAM Grant Bot Program was impressive.

“We were blown away by the response we’ve seen from teachers and schools alike. The level of interest in creating more opportunities to integrate STEAM-based learning to help future generations think critically and flexibly to adapt to our rapidly evolving environment is growing year on year.”

“Thuy displayed a true passion for STEAM and she is set to prepare our next generation with the requirements needed to develop a promising career,” Fullerton adds.

As national winner, Thuy will be awarded a total of $15,000. The other seven state winners will receive $5000 for their school to spend on their choice of STEAM teaching equipment and resources from OfficeMax and Winc.