People are being encouraged to vote for their Teacher of the Year in a national competition in Ireland, with €1250 in Think Waterford First Gift Cards as a possible prize. The teacher with the most votes will be crowned as Teacher of the Year.
A Waterford teacher has been nominated in a national Teacher of the Year competition, led by Miconex and sponsored by group collecting platform GiftRound, with €1250 in Think Waterford First Gift Cards as a possible prize.
The Think Waterford First Gift Card was introduced by Waterford Chamber of Commerce in 2023, with the support of Waterford City & County Council, to drive footfall and spend in the city. Over 130 businesses in Waterford accept the gift card.
Waterford Educate Together National School is a mainstream primary school located in the Gracedieu area on the outskirts of Waterford City with state-of-the-art facilities. It currently has almost 400 pupils from Junior Infants to Sixth along with two autism classes (The Hub). The school has an inclusive ethos and welcomes students from all religious and cultural backgrounds, promoting equality and mutual respect. The school is funded by the Department of Education and teaches the Irish Primary Curriculum.
Rebecca Daly, a teacher in The Hub along with several other staff at Waterford Educate Together National School have been nominated to be Teacher of the Year so far.
Patrick Pender is principal at Waterford Educate Together National School and commented: “We are incredibly proud to hear that Rebecca and many of our teachers have been nominated for the prestigious national Teacher of the Year Award. This recognition reflects all our staff’s exceptional commitment to our pupils and creating a positive learning environment in which they can thrive. We are so fortunate to have such amazing pupils in our schools and each day all the team here in Waterford Educate Together National School work tirelessly to help each child reach their full potential.
“Our whole school community is so proud of Rebecca and all the nominees from our school. These nominations are a testament to their hard work, passion, and the high standards of education we strive to uphold in Waterford Educate Together National School.”
Rebecca Daly from Waterford Educate Together National School was nominated for the accolade by numerous parents at the school, including Laura Fagan, who said: “Rebecca is amazing at what she does. The dedication and passion she has for her role is extraordinary and she has made a huge difference in the lives of children with additional needs and their families.
“My son adores Rebecca and has learnt a huge amount from her. Navigating the world when you have different needs can be challenging, even things like staying in a hotel for the first time. Rebecca has helped my son past so many barriers in his life and given him so much confidence. If he achieves something, Rebecca is the first person he wants to tell. She has given him an amazing start in life and many coping strategies that he can use day to day.
“Waterford Educate Together is such a wonderful school and their inclusive approach to all children is to be admired, helping the children to develop empathy and understanding for others. Their ethos puts the children first in everything, looking after their academic needs but also their emotional needs such as self-esteem and mental health. It’s hard to put it into words just how amazing Rebecca is and how far my son has come with her support. She thoroughly deserves to be Teacher of the Year.”
Parent at Waterford Educate Together National School, Thomas Jacob, also nominated Rebecca and commented: “Rebecca works in The Hub and she really does go above and beyond to help all the kids. Lisa and Marie are also part of The Hub team and the whole team is fantastic. Our son Tommy is non-verbal. When your child is non-verbal, your fears around sending them to school can be even greater because they can’t tell you how they feel. With Rebecca as Tommy’s teacher, we have trust and faith that he is in a good place, that he is safe, comfortable and well looked after by a teacher who has his best interests at heart.
“Rebecca is always on good form and has done great work with Tommy in school. Tommy has a massive smile on his face every day going to school that it’s all down to her untiring hard work and effort. Nothing is too much trouble for Rebecca and over the last 6 years, she has been a true advocate for our family in getting Tommy the services he needs outside of school, even when we felt we had exhausted all avenues. Her communication with us is excellent, signposting support, sharing information that will help us to help Tommy, and enabling us to give Tommy the best care we can.
“Rebecca very much deserves to be Teacher of the Year and the school deserves to be recognised for the work it does to support children with additional needs.”
It is free for people to nominate their Teacher of the Year and all types of teachers are eligible including primary and secondary school teachers, higher education teachers, early years teachers and special educational needs teachers in Ireland. The Teacher of the Year competition runs until the 31st August 2024 and the winning teacher will be announced in September 2024.
The teacher who receives the most votes will be crowned as Teacher of the Year in the national competition. The Teacher of the Year, and their school, will each win a €500 Town & City Gift Card, such as the Think Waterford First Gift Card. One person who nominated the Teacher of the Year will also win a €250 local gift card.
Waterford Chamber CEO, Gerald Hurley, said: “We are proud to see nominations coming in for Waterford teachers in this national Teacher of the Year competition. Schools are at the heart of our community and the immense positive impact they have on children and families is clear to see in this nomination for Rebecca and Waterford Educate Together National School. There’s still time to nominate your Teacher of the Year, and the Think Waterford First Gift Card is a wonderful prize.”
Miconex’s local gift cards can be spent with local businesses, encouraging a ‘shop local’ ethos and locking spend into local economies.
Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said: “Congratulations to Waterford Educate Together National School on the many nominations they have received so far in this competition. As we approach the end of the school year, we start to think about the best way of saying thank you to the teachers who have supported our children all year through, nominating them to be Teacher of the Year is free and takes just 2 minutes.”
The Teacher of the Year competition is sponsored by group collecting platform GiftRound. Founded in 2018, GiftRound gives people an easy way to collect money for various occasions, including end of term gifts. Town & City Gift Cards are available to buy on the GiftRound store.
Craig Forsythe, CEO & founder at GiftRound, said: “We’re delighted to sponsor the Teacher of the Year competition so we can bring recognition to the many hard working teachers across Ireland. Teachers’ gifts are amongst the most popular collections on GiftRound so we know how appreciated teachers are by parents and children. We hope that people take this opportunity to nominate a teacher that has made a positive impact on their child’s education or their school community, and we look forward to celebrating with the winner of the Teacher of the Year in September.”
Nominate a teacher in the Teacher of the Year competition at teacheroftheyear.ie
