May is one of the busiest months in the PEF calendar and this year has been no exception.  Our Celebration of Public Education took place on 18 May and turned out to be our biggest and best event yet. It is always a joy to meet our scholars at this annual event and to see them proudly take the big stage at Sydney Town Hall to receive the recognition they deserve.  It was particulalry heart-warming to see a new cohort of primary school students receive recognition and support that will carry them through their critical primary school years. 

We continue to promote our current opportunities including the Minister's and Secretary's Awards for Excellence along with our inaugural Essay Competition on Why A Good Public Education System Matters in Modern Australia. 

We have also recently farewelled Nathan Rees from the Foundation and will shortly be announcing our new executive leadership team. 

Whether you are reading this email as a student, educator, donor or an individual with an interest in supporting and promoting public education, thank you for all that you do to help ensure that students in public education have access to life-changing scholarships.  If you would like to support our work delivering scholarships please consider making a donation to the Public Education Foundation.  

Michelle Stanhope, General Manager

Now is the time to start thinking about a special teacher, school, year 12 student or parent who has made an extraordinary contribution to your local NSW public school.  Applications are now open in the following categories:

• Minister's Award for Excellent in Student Achievement (for students completing year 12 in 2016)
• Minister's Award for Excellence in Teaching (for teachers demonstrating their capacity to work beyond the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers)
• Secretary's Award for Excellent Service (honouring individuals who have provided outstanding service to their professional community)
• Secretary's School Achievement Award (recognising schools who have successfully implemented whole-of-school programs  and significantly improved learning outcomes)
• Public School Parent of the Year (acknowledging the signifciant contributions of parents and caregivers to their local NSW public school community)

We are also delighted to announce a new award:

Secretary's Award for an Outstanding School Initiative

This award honours schools who have demonstrated via a discreet program, event or initiative their commitment to teaching and learning outcomes. 

Applications will close on Monday 4 July 2016.  

Recently The Hon Adrian Piccoli MP, Minister for Education, launched the inaugural Public Education Foundation Essay Competition. 

If you are in Year 11 and attend a NSW Public School, we want to hear from you!  Students need to write a 400 word essay on Why a Good Public Education System Matters in Modern Australia.  

The winning entry will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Foundation to support their educational expenses. 

Applications must close on Monday 4 July - for further information click here. 

One of the most rewarding elements of working at the Public Education Foundation is listening to the stories of the scholarship recipients who have received our support.  The common thread binding the experiences of all our scholars is that, by being granted a scholarship, students are given the confidence and support they need to persist and excel at their studies and to pursue their goals of post-school education. 

In this video Ginan Issa, recipient of the Susan & Isaac Wakil Foundation Scholarship, describes her experience.

The Public Education Foundation relies on support from individuals and organisations to deliver its life-changing scholarships.  All donations of $2 and above are tax-decuctible.  Please support us today.  You can donate online easily and securely by clicking here.

On Wednesday 18 May the Public Education Foundation hosted its annual awards ceremony at the Sydney Town Hall. The event was a tremendous success showcasing creative talent by public school students, as well as inspiring speeches by well-known industry, media and academic personalities including our Master of Ceremonies Wendy Harmer and keynore speaker Professor Brian Schmidt AC. We were incredibly proud to award life changing scholarships to a dynamic group of future leaders and to acknowledge the wide-spread excellence that can be found within our public education system. For more images, click here.