GOLDEN Grove Primary School in South Australia was today announced as the National Winner of the 2020 Anzac Day Schools' Awards, with 11 other schools across the country taking out state and territory top honours and specialist categories.
Minister for Veterans' Affairs Darren Chester said Golden Grove presented a broad range of student-led learning activities as they interviewed veterans, researched the Second World War and importantly, reflected on what they had learned.
"The Anzac Day Schools' Awards is a national competition that recognises the creative and engaging work of primary and secondary students, teachers and schools when learning about our military history, with this year's theme being the Second World War," Mr Chester said.
"We also saw the resilience and commitment of our schools, teachers and students as they found ways to overcome the challenges presented by the coronavirus restrictions, to interview and engage with veterans via Skype and video conferencing.
"This year we commemorated 75 years since the end of the Second World War and saw a diverse and wide-ranging approach to learning about the war with some schools extending their learning beyond the classroom."
The Department of Veterans' Affairs leads the awards to encourage schools to connect with veterans as well as current Australian Defence Force members, to provide students with a personal and more meaningful understanding of Australia's wartime history.
"Along with the National Winner, state and territory level winners were also selected for their commendable projects and activities," Mr Chester said.
"Schools were also acknowledged in special categories which included the Award for Veteran Involvement, Award for Innovative Commemoration, Award for Creative use of Technology, and Specialist Educational Settings Award.
"Congratulations to the schools that entered this year, and to the winning schools. Thank you for your work in educating the next generation about our military history."
