World Teachers’ Day is a chance to honour and celebrate the incredible people who transform lives for the better through education. Kristi Pritchard-Owens reports.

It takes amazing people to shape young minds, and we are grateful to the more than 97,000 NSW public school teachers for making a difference throughout 2025.

NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar said the impact teachers had on young lives was profound.

“I remember very clearly the teachers who had a huge impact on me - Ms Johanson, Mr Griffiths, Mr Baker, and Mr Sturm – they changed my life, and I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for their influence, the way they taught, engaged a room full of young people or the way they demonstrated their love of learning,” he said.

“Their lessons were a valuable guide when I was teaching and have stayed with me throughout my life.

“Once you’re a teacher, you’re always a teacher. Even if you are no longer in the classroom, you are inspiring, leading and helping other teachers to thrive. A teacher’s impact cannot be measured.”

Mary Anne Hennessy, Boggabilla Central School

Boggabilla Central School, eight kilometres from the Queensland border in Gamilaraay country, has started a tradition of presenting staff members with its own school service medals.

In 2025, the school decided to up its game and introduce life memberships for those who have worked at Boggabilla for 25 years or more, a way of honouring staff members who have remained in the school setting where, being pre-school to Year 12, can impact a whole generation.

For one it was quite a bit more. Technological and Applied Studies (TAS) Hospitality teacher Mary Anne Hennessy, who is approaching 38 years at the school, is the first teaching staff member to receive one.

Executive Principal Jed Peisley said her daughter Tamieka Hennessy was given the honour of presenting the respected and dedicated educator with her life membership pin.

“With education, your family end up living your experiences, your highs and lows as well,” Mr Peisley said.

“Your family are the ones that know all of that, they understand the journey.”

Executive principal Jed Peisley said Mrs Hennessy had a profound and measurable impact on student outcomes and community engagement, but her dedication extended well beyond the classroom.

Every student who celebrates their 18th birthday receives a homemade cake from the TAS Hospitality teacher, a tradition she started many years ago.

She has literally spent decades organising and facilitating students’ work experience, providing real-world experience and valuable job skills to her students.

She will often drive students to work placements at night to ensure they don’t miss out on opportunities

“Her rapport with the Gamilaraay community has been pivotal in building strong community relationships. By integrating cultural perspectives and support, she enhances the educational experience and enriches the school’s learning environment,” Mr Peisley said.

Mrs Hennessy has also been instrumental in expanding students’ subject choices for the HSC and collaborative practices and knowledge sharing among her education colleagues.

Jordan Keith and Nicole Collins, Minerva School

Minerva School in Sydney’s Sutherland only has a few Aboriginal students but in recent years it has embedded First Nations’ knowledge throughout the curriculum and shared it with the local community. 

Assistant principal Jordan Keith and teacher Nicole Collins have led the whole-school initiatives, which includes adopting the ‘8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning’ framework into a special education setting.

This framework has eight interconnected teaching practices: narrative-driven learning, visualised learning processes, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelled/scaffolded genre mastery, and connectedness to community.  

There is a yarning circle in the school’s sensory garden where students can sit and touch aloe vera, taste the bush tucker, and listen to the sound of wind chimes. 

Minerva School educates 47 students from Kindergarten to Year 12 with mild to moderate intellectual disability, autism and associated mental health disturbances. 

While Mr Keith aims to make a difference each day, for him, that special teacher was his Year 11 and 12 music teacher Kerri Lacey at Kirrawee High School.

“Miss Lacey truly pushed me to believe and have faith in myself and my ability,” the assistant principal said.

“That guidance effectively shaped my post school pathway into education and more widely influenced the self-confidence and faith I now carry in myself as a person.

“She showed me that I can do hard things and that we are all more capable than we think we are.”

Jim Rourke, Camden Haven High School

Camden Haven High School teacher Jim Rourke doesn’t only teach three languages, but he also teaches them via two different modes; face-to-face and distance education.

Often considered a challenging way for young people to learn, it’s these very students that Mr Rourke has often helped to succeed at the very highest level since he began teaching German, French and Indonesian at the school 11 years ago.

In 2018, one of his students achieved third in State for French Continuers, while two others came fourth and fifth in State respectively for Indonesian Beginners.

Then in 2022, one of Jim’s students place first in State in Indonesian Beginners with another coming fourth in NSW for German Continuers.

The mid north coast-based teacher has also created the Australia-Indonesia BRIDGE School Partnership, which has enabled the students from both countries to participate in cultural exchanges, while last year he co-ordinated a visit from 13 Indonesian dignitaries, including the Mayor of Singkawang, a coastal city on the island of Borneo.

Mr Rourke credits his Year 5 teacher, Mrs Burt, for his enthusiasm for engaging students with authentic cultural experiences

“She had spent a significant amount of time in Tonga and often hosted Tongan students in her home,” he said.

“I remember doing a class unit on Tonga, which included a memorable excursion to her house where her students had prepared a traditional Tongan feast (or ‘umu’), complete with an underground pit oven, yams, and refreshing watermelon juice.

“That experience sparked my curiosity and opened my eyes to the wider world.”

It is fair to say that those eyes are still wide open, as the schoolyard polyglot can speak some Spanish and is currently learning Lithuanian.