ON FRIDAY, September 6, at the Brisbane Convention Centre, Coolum State High School was presented with a Showcase Award by the Minister for Education, Di Farmer, in recognition of our outstanding outcomes in the senior school. The Showcase Awards are the premier awards for state education in Queensland.
The award recognises the hard work of so many people at Coolum State High School, and the support of our community. It demonstrates that, within the wider education system, Coolum High is held in the highest esteem for the outcomes it has achieved for each one of our students.
The award celebrates more than just the high academic achievement for which we have become known. It celebrates every student. It celebrates our students with disabilities and those who nurture and support them. It celebrates our extraordinarily strong vocational education program and the many students who pass through this program. It celebrates the quiet work of organisations like St Vincent de Paul and Lions, who quietly support us in the background. It celebrates the staff members who, without recognition, bring to school each day students who are in vulnerable situations.
At Coolum State High School, we are prepared to do ‘whatever it takes’ to see every student succeed. That’s because we are part of a strong and vibrant state schooling system that doesn’t choose its students but adapts to each one of them and finds a way to see them succeed. The strength of a school isn’t who they are when they come in; it’s their skills and attitudes on their way out.
We are extremely proud of this award because we believe it celebrates everyone in our community who has supported us in any way. The quiet sponsors in our hour of need. The teachers who volunteer their time to tutor students until 4 pm each day. The school staff who go the extra mile to make sure our school is always looking its best. This is an award for our community and its commitment to the success of all our children. I know that together we will continue this work for many years to come!