Minister's Commendation Award

Flood-affected secondary schools were recognised at the HSC First in Course Ceremony for their role in community recovery and continuity of learning.

Congratulations to St John’s College, Lismore, and Xavier Catholic College, Ballina, who were recognised last year at the 2022 HSC First in Course Ceremony with the inaugural Commendation for Resilience Awards.

The new award recognised school communities that went to incredible lengths to set up learning spaces and provide the necessary resources to ensure students could continue learning.

‘It is so important that we celebrate students who have achieved outstanding outcomes in the face of adversity, which is why we have introduced a new award to recognise the resilience of schools impacted by flooding across the state,’ said NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell.

This is an outstanding recognition for two schools who worked tirelessly and went above and beyond in a difficult year alongside 14 other schools from flood-affected regions, including Trinity Catholic College, Lismore.

With only 30 minutes notice, students and staff from Xavier Catholic College quickly converted their school into an evacuation centre, providing shelter to those who had lost their homes in the flood. Year 12 students helped move medical equipment and transfer 55 patients from Ballina District Hospital to a makeshift hospital created at the school. 

While the St John’s College community opened their campus to Trinity College senior students providing learning spaces and equipment, the two school communities have worked together to construct state-of-the-art learning spaces, completed just a few months after the flood.

Below is a clip from the award ceremony.