College top marks

By Tania Martin
IT’S not just the students at Monbulk College making their mark.
Teacher Birsin Reynolds and former student Jake Ryan where recently recognised for their hard work.
Ms Reynolds was named a finalist in the Lindsay Thompson Fellowship on Friday 15 May.
The fellowship offers the winner a $50,000 overseas study tour.
Education Minister Bronwyn Pike said the awards recognised the commitment and passion of teachers making a lasting difference to young Victorians.
“We gave great teachers in our schools that are helping provide our young people with every opportunity to succeed,” she said.
“Their role is vital in creating and supporting an ever-changing education system where every young Victorian is given the best possible opportunities.”
Ms Reynolds was thrilled and shocked to be named a finalist.
She was recognised for her Two Plus Two Peer Observation project.
The program was aimed at guiding teachers to offer the best possible learning environment for students.
“I go in and sit at the back of the classroom and give the teachers two suggestions for improvement and two compliments,” Ms Reynolds said.
Ms Reynolds said the program had its ups and downs.
“Some teachers think it’s great and others are not so keen,” she said.
Ms Reynolds said the project aimed to get away from the old-fashioned methods of text book teaching.
She said it was now a juggle between the text book and offering interactive activities to keep the students interested.
“We want to reach outside the textbook and extend their (students) mind,” Ms Reynolds said.
Mr Reynolds said the program also was a great tool for giving teachers feedback.
“A lot of us have been teaching in isolation for years. Most the time you think you’re doing a good job but you don’t know,” she said.
Former student Jake Ryan was also honoured for his hard work and commitment to landscape gardening.
He was named the VCAL 2008 Student Achievement Award winner for Senior Work Related Skills.
But this is not the first time Jake has been recognised.
In December last year he was named the Horticulture Trainee of the Year, an award normally only given to second-year apprentices.
The Mail reported in January that Jake’s passion for gardening first grew when he was just 14 and started working at Olinda’s Greenmark Landscapes.
He is now working full-time at Greenmark.
Jake has also completed electrical training and is now responsible for most of the power tools at Greenmark.
He has lead a number of Open Garden Scheme tours of properties and is now helping to train new employees with techniques he has mastered.