Shantelle Janek has already made a big impact at Somerville House after just three years of teaching.

The daughter of a primary school teacher, Ms Janek was drawn to the profession when she became a parent herself.

“I realised how rewarding it was to ignite curiosity and share knowledge with others,” she said.

Making the most of the school’s online wellbeing check-in tool and other data sources, Ms Janek works hard to analyse and learn as much she can about the diverse strengths and needs of her students.

In her classroom, wellbeing levels are consistently high, with a weekly wellbeing lesson helping students to build resilience, confidence and social skills. This year, students have already sent 611 notes of gratitude – 108 to teachers and 513 to other students.

“I provide daily reminders to strive for growth over perfection,” Ms Janek said.

“It encourages them to reflect on their achievements and take risks in their learning.”

Ms Janek’s teaching is all about supporting her students to maximise their potential through innovative lessons that recognise their diverse academic, linguistic, cultural and social needs.

Her students explore mathematical concepts through diverse creative projects and consolidate their knowledge using boardgames that students create.

In a recent cross-curricular Science project, they researched bees and plants as part of a rejuvenation of the school garden, with a goal to provide a hive for native stingless bees.

A letter writing activity to Junior School students was a chance to flex their persuasive skills, make 258 improvements to their writing and encourage others to look after the school environment.

Outside the classroom, Ms Janek is involved in robotics sessions, coding workshops and an interschool RoboCup competition, which has led to more girls choosing these subjects as co-curricular activities.

It's initiatives like these that resonate with students and put a spring in Ms Janek’s step.

“Witnessing mindset changes, building resilience and watching as my students reach their goals is what motivates me,” she said.

At the same time, she works closely with families to ensure they are actively engaged in their child’s learning journey by offering additional parent teacher interviews and before-school tutoring as needed.

Over the last three years, she has worked enthusiastically with other teachers in the Robinson Centre - the school’s space for year 5 and 6 students – to keep improving her understanding of how girls learn best.

To help minimise disruption and boost morale during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Janek provided extra group and 1:1 support to her students. Her insights on the benefits of remote learning have been published in an international journal.

In her final year of study, she earned an invitation to QUT’s Dean Scholar Club and was awarded the Born to Fly Scholarship.

There's been no looking back since.

“I’ve found a lifelong career that I love and feel incredibly lucky to have discovered a purposeful profession.”

Ms Janek is a finalist at the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Awards, in the Excellence in Beginning to Teach category.

Winners will be announced October 27th, on the eve of World Teachers' Day in Queensland.