Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Congratulations to Taj Wynne, who is in year 3 at the Queen of Apostles school in Tangney. He is the top performer in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools spelling test throughout Australasia. ICAS spelling is an independent assessment that tests students' skills at spelling words, dictation, proofreading, error correction, and applying rules and conventions. Over one million student entries are accepted from over 6,300 schools in Australia and New Zealand annually. Each year the competition attracts students from over 20 countries, including Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the USA.

Last week I caught up with Taj; his father, Robert; and Deputy Principal Jennifer Anderson at the Queen of Apostles school to celebrate Taj's achievement and to chat about his favourite books, including the popular Percy Jackson book series. Taj is an exceptional speller and loves to research and discover new words and where they originate from, their Greek or Latin roots. Taj loves to find out how a word is put together. The enthusiasm Taj has for learning, particularly spelling, is evident in all that he does at school. He will be officially presented with his ICAS medal at an official ceremony later this year. Congratulations again, Taj, on this very significant and very impressive achievement. You've done your school, your parents and your family very proud.