Delphine McLachlan was awarded the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the NSW Public Education Awards. Photo: Tarrawanna Public School.
A Tarrawanna Kindergarten teacher has received state recognition for her dedication to education and supporting young children and their families during the major step to starting big school.
Delphine McLachlan decided to make the switch and become a primary school teacher more than a decade ago after being fascinated by the incredible impact educators had on her own daughter’s growth.
“I was just enthralled with what the Kindergarten teachers were doing with this little one of mine, a child who was so anxious and so shy, and all of a sudden I’ve got this confident little child who is learning all these new skills,” Delphine said.
“I wanted to be part of that team that empowered children to be learners.”
She became passionate about building a sense of community within the school, connecting with families and breaking down barriers to ease the transition between preschool and primary school.
Delphine and her team created a program to build confidence in young children and empower them to take the leap into big school by giving them opportunities to experience the changes first-hand in a staged and comfortable way, starting with visits to more than 25 preschools in the local area.
“We go in and just read them stories, play games, so that the kids get a feel for what an educator in primary school is like and know that they’re not too different from the educators that care for them in the preschool environment,” Delphine said.
Delphine’s passion for education has helped young students thrive. Photo: Tarrawanna Public School.
The preschool students also get to visit the school on taster days and participate in activities.
“It’s to get them to get a feel of this big environment that they’re coming into is not so scary,” Delphine said.
“And it doesn’t matter if they’re coming to our school or not, it gives them an idea, especially the first child, of what school feels like, looks like and sounds like.”
The impact is noticeable when it’s time for students to take the leap, with improved confidence and less disruptions in the classroom.
“It’s incredible when you see them come through those taster days and then they come into the transition program in the school, which [was previously] orientation, how settled they are, less anxiety,” Delphine said.
“They’re excited to come in.”
Delphine has spent most of her professional career teaching Kindergarten and has found a love for those ‘lightbulb moments’ when children believe in themselves.
Illawarra and South Coast teachers and students shine at the Public Education Awards. Photo: DET.
But each year also brings new challenges for the educators, with Delphine committed to supporting other teachers, particularly those early in their career.
“This is a learning journey for them and it’s a learning journey for us as teachers as well because each new cohort of children is different and come in with their own needs and their own experiences,” she said.
Delphine’s hard work and passion for education earned her the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at this year’s Public Education Awards.
She was among five winners from the Illawarra, including Amanda Kowalczyk from Koonawarra Public School who won the Secretary’s Award for Excellent Service, Laila Zakelj from Oak Flats High School who received the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Student Achievement, Peter Steel also from Oak Flats who won the Secretary’s Award for Excellent Service and Warilla High School’s ‘Success Strategy’ which earned the Secretary’s Award for Outstanding School Achievement.
Delphine said the recognition was ‘humbling’ and ‘a little bit surreal’.
“That connection with the parents is really important to me, so having them congratulate me and give me that positive feedback is a proud moment for me because I know the lives I’ve touched at the school have meant something,” she said.
She hopes to pass on the baton of the transition program to promote further professional learning and help the program grow.
“I want to hand that over so some of the younger teachers get those skills,” Delphine said. “They’ll have different ideas and they can continue on with what we started but bring in other things and generate other ideas to involve the community and make the transition program even better.”
