Noreen Wilcox Awards and Pam Gray Oration

Event Detail

The Australian College of Educators Far North Queensland Regional Branch invites you to the awards for “Excellence in Education”. Started in 1993, the award has been modelled on the career of Noreen Wilcox, an exemplary model of a “Teacher”. The award recognises the excellence of teachers in both the classroom and non-classroom based settings and at various career phases.  

The evening will include the Pam Gray Oration established in honour of former ACE member Pam Gray in recognition of her passion for Education, life and teachers.  Pam was a leader and advocate working to ensure all students are able to be literate participants in their world and educators are able to take their students on the literacy journey.  

Our orators for the evening will present a thoughtful and inspired oration titled:  ‘Education in a Covid climate: Opportunities and Challenges. The oration will deliver two different views on these ‘unprecedented’ educational times and the way each of these incredible Principals addressed critical issues such as staff resilience, developing exceptional skills, pedagogical opportunities, enhancing the learning of students and inclusivity and equity for all students to access the curriculum externally including those in isolation.

Speaker – Kathryn Todd

Principal, Woree State High School

Kathryn Todd commenced as the Principal of Woree State High School at the beginning of 2020 with over 26 years experience in teaching and over 14 years in school leadership. She had spent her pervious 3 years as the Principal of Djarragun College, P-12 Independent Day and Boarding School focused on the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander young people from the local communities, the Cape and Torres Strait as well as interstate boarders from NT and SA. 

Kathryn is an advocate of the benefits of vocational education having been involved in the creation of SchoolTech, a partnership between Woree SHS and Tafe QLD in 2007. During her time at Djarragun, Kathryn significantly expanded the College’s vocational program to ensure every Senior Secondary student completed at least one certificate II qualification which resulted in the College achieving the second highest VET completion rate in Queensland in 2019. Prior to Djarragun, Kathryn spent 7 years at Bentley Park College.  This experience really ignited in her a passion for working with students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Having learnt the best aspects of managing and leading across each school system, Kathryn holds a fundamental belief that receiving a high quality of education can be the key to overcoming adversity and it can be the pathway to future success for a student and for their children in generations to come. 

Speaker – Matthew Brennan

Principal, St Augustine’s College Cairns

Joining St Augustine’s College Cairns in 2019, Matthew Brennan became the first lay principal in 88 years. Matthew is deeply imbued with the Marist spirit and has taught in Marist boys schools for over 25 years, including three boarding schools in the ACT and NSW. He is highly regarded for his leadership of quality, contemporary learning and teaching in boys education, and is deeply committed to the wellbeing of staff and students and actively supportive of empowering each one to reach their full potential. Matthew believes that all students can achieve and be happy and has a strong track record of success with students academically, athletically, socially and spiritually in the colleges that he has worked in. He has a people-focused approach, while acknowledging the importance of sound processes.

Being relatively new to Cairns, Matthew and his family enjoy immersing themselves in the community and getting out to see the natural wonders of the Tropical North.