Two rewarded for culture of excellence

TWO primary schools in the Cranbourne area have been officially recognised for outstanding teaching practices.
Courtenay Gardens Primary in Cranbourne and Kilberry Valley Primary in Hampton Park last week became two of only 19 schools in the state to be accredited with a Department of Education performance and development culture award.
The awards acknowledge excellence in staff performance and training, recognising schools that offer a variety of support and training programs for teachers and boast high levels of student achievement.
Kilberry Valley principal Jan White said the school was extremely proud of its success after undergoing a series of interviews and assessments to reach the final few.
“We are the only two schools in the Cranbourne area to be accredited so we are very proud,” she said.
“This is official recognition that we meet the needs of professionally developing our teachers to improve student learning.
“We are now a reference school, which means we can point others in the right direction if they want to apply.”
Courtenay Gardens acting principal Nicole Bottriell said she was delighted to make it to the final 19, after 60 schools across the state were initially nominated for accreditation.
“This is a really big achievement and we are very proud,” she said.
“It just goes to show that all the hard work of our teachers is paying off.”
Ms Bottriell said the school’s teachers were extremely committed to improving themselves for the benefit of students, with most attending optional weekly professional development training.
“We have a strict inhouse professional development program,” she said.
“We always have a high attendance at our optional weekly training so to get this award is just fantastic.”