2009 World Teachers' Day Celebration & Awards Dinner - The Hills/Parramatta
Date:
26 October 2009 
Attendees from Holroyd High School
Attendees from The Hills Grammar School
Attendees from The Hills Grammar School
Attendees from The Hills Grammar School
Attendees from Redeemer Baptist
Attendees from Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School
Attendees from Holy Cross Primary School
Ms Dannielle Miller being thanked for her presention
Dr Paul March thanking Dr Timothy Hawkes for his presentation
Over 130 educators from The Hills and Parramatta regions of Sydney attended the 2009 World Teachers' Day Celebration & Awards Dinner. This annual event is sponsored by The Hills/Parramatta Region of the Australian College of Educators and was held at Pennant Hills Golf Club (Beecroft). The theme of the evening was Making Learning Relevant to Generation Z.
(l to r) Prof John Richards (CEO, ACE), Ms Dannielle Miller (CEO, Enlighten Education), Dr Timothy Hawkes (Headmaster, The Kings School) & Dr Philip Brown (President, The Hills/Parramatta Region, ACE)
The theme was introduced by Dr Philip Brown (President, The Hills/Parramatta region of the Australian College of Educators) with a brief profile of Generation Z. Gen Zers are typically the children of Gen Xers and born since 1995. Terminology such as terrorism and climate change has always been a part of their lives. Gen Z is the youngest generation being parented by older parents - having been born in a smaller family where the average age of their mother when they were born was 33. Their lives are shaped by technology and social networks such as mobile phones, computer games, MySpace and Facebook. They have never known life without the Internet. They are being equipped with leadership skills at an earlier age. They are developing social skills at an earlier age. One social researcher describes Gen Z as the up-ageing generation - a generation expected to be more educated, more socially aware, more technology savvy and generally more adult in many ways.
An entertaining presentation then followed from Dr Timothy Hawkes (Headmaster, The Kings School) who provided a 'boy land' perspective to the theme. Tim was then followed by Ms Dannielle Miller (CEO, Enlighten Education) who provided a passionate and informative 'girl land' perspective to the theme.
Eleven educators from The Hills/Parramatta region were also recognised for their contribution to education within their school and more broadly within The Hills/Parramatta region. Each recipient was presented with their certificate of Recognition by Professor John Richards (CEO, The Australian College of Educators. Each recipient's citation was read by Dr John DeCourcy (NSW Branch President, The Australian College of Educators). Those recognised included: Ms Mary Anne Allen, Holy Cross Primary School, Glenwood; Ms Niryupa Badve, Holroyd High School; Ms Kelly Carrick, The Hills Grammar School, Dural; Mr Scott Drennan, St Andrews College, Marayong; Ms Vera Figurka, Holroyd High School; Mr Stuart Garth, Redeemer Baptist School, North Parramatta; Mr Geoff Gates, The Hills Grammar School, Dural; Ms Sharon Jarvis, The Hills Grammar School, Dural; Ms Heather MacMillan, Redeemer Baptist School, North Parramatta; Ms Lindy Nutt, Redeemer Baptist School, North Parramatta; and Ms Toni Tomlin, Rouse Hill Anglican College, Rouse Hill
Click here to download the review on the events with recipients of 2009 World Teachers' Day Certificates of Recognition with Professor John Richards (pages 2 and 3).