Meredith Watkins’ extraordinary dedication to her students and community is an inspiration to her colleagues, students and their parents. The Riverside Adventist Christian School Prep to Year 2 teacher is often found in her classroom on Sundays and late on school afternoons coming up with strategies to engage her students. Riverside Adventist Christian School principal Lynne Zappala says Meredith creates, builds and crafts activities for her lessons, which include “lots of practical, hands on activities”.
“Meredith loves outdoor play and often takes the class outside teaching using the natural, environmental resources around her,” Lynne says. “Her classroom has a wonderful market garden where they grow herbs, lemons, vegetables and so much more. This makes learning fun and there is an integration of health and our environment embedded.” Meredith’s commitment to her own professional development (PD) to ensure she is providing the best education possible is impressive. She is currently undertaking research into technology in the classroom, is participating in a coaching course through Independent Schools Queensland, she took part in PD on the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data earlier this year, and recently she has enrolled in further study in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) subject areas. Lynne says Meredith is very engaged in not only the school community, but also in the Townsville School Sports community, the Church community, as well as being a member of the Northern Australian School Board of Directors. “In addition, Meredith is also very active and is always out doing some kind of sporting activities with students,” Lynne says. “She is a pleasure to work with and is always keen to strive for the very best for our school,” she says. Congratulations Meredith on your nomination.