Teachers of HPE: you are awesome, and we want to celebrate you!

Why are teachers important? It may seem like a simple question, but it’s one with many answers. As teachers contribute to every aspect of society, their influence reaches all our lives.

Teachers matter in so many different ways. They invest a lot of physical and emotional energy, put in the hard yards, often working weekends, and generally going above and beyond to create safe, fun and engaging spaces for children to learn. What a great responsibility and honour it is to teach and guide future generations, helping shape the way children and young people see and be in the world.

Some of the most famous celebrities point to a special teacher as the inspiration behind their success. For Oprah it was her grade four teacher, Mrs Duncan, who she describes as her ‘first liberator’. Helen Mirren dedicated her BAFTA award to her English teacher. Microsoft founder and philanthropist, Bill Gates, remembers his Maths and English teachers with special admiration, saying: ‘there’s no way there’d be a Microsoft without them doing what they did’.

The hard yards teachers put in sometimes goes unnoticed or unthanked. Teaching awards are a fantastic avenue through which to provide validation and recognition of the outstanding work teachers do. It’s been fantastic to see greater recognition of physical education teachers and the work they do to help ensure their students have the skills, confidence and motivation to be active for life. An example of this, is last year’s introduction of a new specialist VEEA Award category, ‘Excellence in Physical Education and Activity” (Primary and Secondary). Congratulations to Ben Clark, Antonio Park Primary School and Mitch Crowley, Hazel Glen College for taking home these VEEA awards earlier this year.

ACHPER Victoria would also like to recognise and celebrate the phenomenal work our Victorian health and physical education (HPE) teachers do. And if ever there’s been a year where you deserve a pat on the back, it's got to be 2020.

The ACHPER Victoria HPE Teacher of the Year and Innovative Program awards recognise teachers who are current ACHPER members undertaking excellent practice in HPE. With the awards now in their third year, we are very proud to continue celebrating the exceptional work undertaken in Victorian schools and bring it to the attention of the broader education, health and physical activity sectors.

Please nominate yourself or a colleague for an ACHPER Victoria HPE Teacher of the Year or Innovative Program award. In doing so, you will help shine a light more brightly on the important learning area of HPE. As well as endless praise and accolades, recipients will also receive professional learning and support packages valued at over $1000.

Click here to learn more and submit your nomination (close 31 JAN 2021). For further information, please get in touch.