OfficeMax Australia joined students from Windermere Primary School to surprise and thank their grade 1 teacher, Anne Vukic, above, through the OfficeMax A Day Made Better program that recognises the contribution of teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty for their students.
Ms Vukic is one of 10 teachers from across the country selected from more than 11,000 entries.
OfficeMax Australia’s General Manager of GM Schools & Local Area Markets, Rob Moschetti, said the program was adapted from a global A Day Made Better program, which began in the US in 2007.
Since it was introduced in Australia, the standard of nominations has continued to climb, reflecting the exceptional standard of our teachers, Rob said.
“By expanding this year’s program to include nominations from parents, students and the general community, we have really helped make this Australia’s own way of rewarding primary teachers who are known for their passion and enthusiasm and for continually inspiring their students,” Rob said.
“While we are so fortunate to have such high calibre teachers in this country, it made the judging process very difficult. The panel is comprised of a cross section of esteemed practitioners from the teaching industry and we all agreed that Ms Vukic was an outstanding candidate.”
It was noted in her nomination form that Ms Vukic furthers her teaching commitments by getting to know each child personally and teaching with their individual strengths and weaknesses in mind.
With Ms Vukic’s approach to education she has developed a class of exceptional and confident young people who are enjoying school and classroom learning.
While the surprise was considered to be out-of-the-blue, Ms Vukic was pleased to be recognised in this way.
“Suddenly it all made sense with the photographer being in the room and I found it so hard to wipe the smile off my face. As teachers we just do the best that we can every day because we adore our students and are keen to make a difference,” Ms Vukic said.
“The internal recognition teachers receive is really rewarding but external recognition is the icing on the cake,” she said.
Ms Vukic was surprised during class and thanked for her efforts by the OfficeMax A Day Made Better team and awarded an Apple iPad, as well as $2,000 worth of arts and crafts, stationery and office supplies from OfficeMax as well as partners 3M, Brother, Crayola, Fellowes and Micador for her school.
To find out more about OfficeMax Australia and this year’s A Day Made Better surprises or the program visit www.adaymadebetter.com.au
About OfficeMax®
OfficeMax is a global leader in office supplies that has been helping Australian students learn for almost half a century.
With a combination of strong service ethic, education expertise and OfficeMax’s national resources and global buying power, OfficeMax provides an unparalleled education service offer.
OfficeMax contributes to local communities in Australia through its Max e Grants program that assists disadvantaged children with supplies to help with their education, and its A Day Made Better program that recognises teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty in their jobs.
For further information on the company and its social responsibility programs visit www.officemax.com.au
Sarah Baird
