Gemma Hore was the recipient of the inaugural teachers’ scholarship set up this year.
Principal Melissa Bell said the board of trustees was committed to attracting and retaining the best teachers possible and the $6000 scholarship was part of that plan.
While having great classrooms and lots of resources was wonderful, it was the teachers who had the biggest impact on children’s learning.
The school had adopted a "dream big" philosophy for the children and that extended to staff.
The board of trustees had made the scholarship a budget line item, with policy and criteria surrounding it, to ensure it remained available, she said.
Staff could apply each year.
It was intended to be for a "one-hit deal" rather than lots of small things.
"I want Gemma to look back in 20 years and think ‘that really changed things for me, to be career changing’."
Offering staff the opportunity to find and apply for funding for courses meant they would follow their own interests.
"What are the burning ambitions for our staff?"
Mrs Hore selected an international teaching summit in Las Vegas.
Some of the workshops she was focused on were motivating and engaging learners and how to foster resilience in students.
"We are finding a lot of students these days are lacking ... resilience, whether it’s learning resilience or just generally in life — those skills to pick yourself up and carry on."
On her return she would share what she learnt with other staff and make a presentation to the board of trustees, Mrs Hore said.
One of her motivations for applying for the scholarship was she had been teaching for a few years, had had three children and felt she needed a professional refresh and new ideas.
"I think this will definitely do that for me."
Meeting people from other places would be a valuable part of the experience.
"It doesn’t matter that the course is in America and there’s people from all over the world because we all face the same or very similar issues with teenagers and students.
"Curriculum doesn’t matter as much."
