Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to talk today about Christine Cawsey, the first female school principal of Rooty Hill High School. She was one of seven principals who received a national award for excellence here at Parliament House. I did not attend because the Minister for Education, Science and Training did not invite me to be there. But on 1 May we had a wonderful celebration at Rooty Hill High School with members of her family present. I want to quote from two students. Renee Asonitis says:

It is the students who matter most to Ms Cawsey. Working with teachers, parents and students, Ms Cawsey worked to build the reputation of the school in the local and wider community. She believes in our school motto, Persist, and in the values of the school. She especially believes we all can do our best even if we are not the best at everything. If we do our best we can succeed.

Ms Cawsey doesn’t try to do everything herself. She tries to find the strengths of each person and makes sure they have the chance to show them. She believes that the school needs every teacher to be a professional leader and she expects every one of us to live the values of our school.

Xandria Cortez writes:

During the 10 years that Ms Cawsey has been principal of the school, staff, parents and students have won many awards. We were well known for Rock Eisteddfod in 1997 but now we are also known for our achievements in competitions, debating, our relationships, our support of students needing extra help, our extension programs and our willingness to do whatever it takes to do better.

She believes that we all can succeed. She is proud to work in our wonderful school and in the western suburbs of Sydney. On behalf of all our students, parents and teachers, we want to congratulate Ms Cawsey on her award.

During her time at the school, Christine has worked to create the kind of school parents want for their kids, that students want for their learning and that teachers see as a great place to teach. She has made a big personal commitment to building teacher expertise in the school and in the teaching profession. Christine is an exceptional principal who has developed a team of teachers committed to getting the best from their students, establishing Rooty Hill High as a high-achieving high school. Over the past 10 years Christine has had a significant impact on staff and students, delivering outstanding results. The award is in recognition of her achievements, including a sustainable plan of growth for the school, focused professional learning initiatives, delivery of personalised learning, a structured lesson design process and a dedicated learning centre. I congratulate Christine on her achievements. (Time expired)