Awards at Cairns SHS
Our Awards Celebrations are a time to acknowledge the outstanding efforts and achievements of students across various academic, sporting, and cultural pursuits. These celebrations will showcase the talent, dedication, and perseverance within our school community.
Our current celebrations, including links to the award recipents are:
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Special Awards
Students have the opportunity to nominate for the following awards. Nominations are also accepted from peers and teachers.
Awards
| Summary
|
Achievement Award: Honours | Level of Achievement Semester previous GPA 5.0 (excludes COE achievement)
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Achievement Award: Excellence | Level of Achievement Semester previous GPA 4.8 (excludes COE achievement)
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Achievement Award: Merit | Level of Achievement Semester previous GPA 4.5 (excludes COE achievement)
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Achievement Award: Commendation | Level of Achievement Semester previous GPA 4.0 (excludes COE achievement)
|
Diligence Award | Effort and Behaviour Semester previous GPA 4.0 (excludes COE achievement)
|
ADF Long Tan STEM | Student excelling in STEM |
ADL Long Tan Leadership | Year 10 and 12 only exhibiting the characteristics valued by the ADF |
All-rounder | Student engaged and achieving at a high level across a range of pursuits offered by the school |
Bernie MacKenzie Cultural Award | Year 12 Special Award for a student excelling the cultural life of the school |
Bob Manning Centenary Ambassador Award | Year 12 Special Award for a student excelling at community leadership |
Competition Win/High placing | Nominated by Head of Department to recognise achievement at external competition |
Cullen Family Creativity Award | Special Award presented to an individual qho exhibits special talent in creativity in any media (Awarded to the Euroka school magazine team in 2021) |
Daniel Donaghy Memorial Award | Presented to a student with exceptional emerging talent in Basketball |
David Hudon Centenary Ambassador Award | Year 12 Special Award to a student leading initiatives in First Nations culture |
Edna Taylor Centenary Ambassador Award | Year 12 Special Award to a student leading with compassion |
Environmental Award | Year 12 Special Award for a student who works to promote environmental protection/undertake initiatives to preserve the environment. |
Excellent Representation of the School | Nominated by Head of Department to recognise high level representation of the school |
Executive Principal's Award for Excellence | Discretionary award for exceptional contribution to a positive school culture |
Global Citizenship Award | Year 12 Special Award to a student who promotes international understanding, values diversity and promotes cultures |
Sportsperson of the Year | Junior, Intermediate and Senior student nominated by Sport HOD exhibiting singular achievement in the school. |
Leadership in Sport | Student(s) who demonstrated commitment to sport and led others in engaging in sport. |
JCU Rising Star scholarship | Year 12 student wishing to attend JCU having exhibited outstanding achievement and commitment to studies. |
JCU Shield (Yr7-12) | Achievement of meritorious note by a student in a designated year level |
Jim Brooks Human Rights Award | Year 12 Special Award presented to a student who has positively contributed to the recognition of human rights in the school. |
Lyndell Sellars Research Award | Year 12 Special Award presented to a student who has reached highly sophisticated use of research in their study. |
Meredith Louise Ward Memorial Award | Year 12 Special Award presented to a student with disability who has achieved excellent standard. |
Norm Crosswell Award for Leadership | Year 12 Special Award presented to a student who leads the student body |
Olympic Changemaker | Sporting student who exemplifies the ideals of the Olympic movement. |
Percy Walter Moorhouse Centenary Award | Year 12 Special Award presented to a student who lead initiative to address a specific outcome in the school community |
Program of Excellence Awards | Awarded to students in Centres of Excellence for outstanding achievement and commitment |
QATSIF Leadership Award | Year 12 Special Award presented to a First Nations student who has exhibited positive leadership characteristics. |
Robert Favell Award for Music Excellence | Awarded to a student who has excelled in Music |
School Based Trainee of the Year | Awarded to a student who has excellent commitment and development in their traineeship |
School Based Apprentice of the Year | Awarded to a student who has excellent commitment and development in their apprenticeship |
Service Award | Students who deserve special mention for the work they have done to make the school a more positive environment. |
Sporting Half Blue | Regional sports representative |
Sporting Full Blue | State sports representative |
TAFE at School Award | Most committed student engaging in a TAFE at school program |
Trevor Gordon Allrounder | Year 12 Special Award for a student excelling across the range of activities in the school. |
Vincit Awards (Respect, Responsibility, Resilience) | Year level awards to students who exemplify the school's values |
Work Experience Student of the Year | Most outstanding student engagement in Work Experience |
Year 12 Outstanding achievement Subject Award | Top of subject in Year 12 |
Year 10 Dux | Most academically excellent achievement by a Year 10 (Not including COE performance)
|
J.A. Barnes Memorial Prize Year 11 Dux | Most academically excellent achievement by a Year 11 (awarded in the following year, and based on QCAA achievement)
|
Year 12 QCAA Dux Alex Whittick Memorial Prize
| Most academically excellent achievement by a Year 12 QCAA program (awarded in the following year, and based on QCAA achievements)
|
| |
Culture
Bernie MacKenzie Cultural Award
This Award recognises a student who has made significant contributions to the cultural life of the school. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Engaged in the cultural life of the school.
• Demonstrated confidence to embrace new challenges.
• Contributed to the development of these qualities in others.
Cullen Family Award for Creativity
This Award recognises recognises a student or group of students who have produced an original single work or body of work of outstanding creativity, in any subject, genre or form. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Achieved originality and technical skill and passion for excellence.
• Demonstrated use of enquiry, problem solving, perseverance, developed knowledgeable, and used creative thinking.
The award acknowledges the tremendous opportunities and encouragement Cairns State High provides all students through its Excellence and academic programs.
Leadership
Bob Manning Centenary Ambassador Leadership Award
This Award recognises a student who has engaged in strong leadership. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Led initiatives which have impacted on the life of the school positively.
• Engaged in leadership at school and in the community
• Demonstrated how you maintain you own balance and resilience
• Contributed to the development of these qualities in others.
David Hudson Centenary Ambassador Leadership Award
This Award recognises a student who has made demonstrated leadership in the student community. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Engaged in Indigenous cultures at school.
• Demonstrated confidence to embrace new challenges.
• Contributed to the development of these qualities in others.
Edna Taylor Centenary Ambassador Leadership Award
This Award recognises a student who has engaged in leadership of student initiatives that support wellbeing. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Led initiatives which have impacted on the life of the school positively.
• Engaged in leadership at school and in the community
• Demonstrated how you maintain you own resilience
• Contributed to the development of this quality in others.
Norm Crosswell Award
This Award recognises a student who has made demonstrated outstanding leadership in the student community. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Involved a large cohort, mixed cohort or whole school in an activity.
• Demonstrated principled leadership
• Inspired others to lead and/or take on responsibilities
Percy Walter Moorhouse Centenary Award
This Award recognises a student who has made demonstrated outstanding leadership to meet a specific need in the school community. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Reflected on the needs of others in the school.
• Involved a large cohort, mixed cohort or whole school in an activity to address this concern/issue.
• Demonstrated principled leadership
Service
Service Award (Multiple awarded)
This Award recognises a student who has made significant contributions to both the Cairns State High & the Cairns Community. The Award is open to students who:
• Work outside school hours (This should be a significant block of time or over a period of time)
• Consistently help in a variety of activities
• Show independence
• Are well-rounded
• Are interested in the school & wider community
Environmental Award
This Award recognises a student who has made a significant contribution to promoting, encouraging or sustaining environmental practices within the school. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Actively engage in environmental issues
• Participate in a variety of environmental activities – in and outside school
• Show leadership and initiative surrounding environmental policies
• Demonstrate care and cooperation and contribute to the development of these qualities in others.
• Have interest to encourage sustainable and environmental practices at Cairns State High School
Citizenship
Global Citizenship Award
This award will be presented to a student who has made contributions to school and community improvement. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Demonstrated a clear commitment to sustained interaction with students of other nationalities, languages or ethnic backgrounds in a spirit of international understanding and cooperation.
• Demonstrated effective communication.
• Contributed to the development of these qualities in others
• Led projects beyond participation in regular school activities.
The characteristics of projects may include efforts to:
• Creatively solve known or emerging problems
• Acquire and effectively deploy knowledge or resources beyond those immediately available in the school
• Directly involve peoples of other cultures, racial and ethnic background and political/economic systems.
• Make a genuine commitment to initiate, sustain and complete the project or activity
• Demonstrate a commitment to using languages other than their own mother tongue during the completion of the project.
Jim Brooks Human Rights Award
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents the universal recognition that basic rights and fundamental freedoms are inherent to all human beings, inalienable and equally applicable to everyone, and that every one of us is born free and equal in dignity and rights. Whatever our nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status, the international community on December 10 1948 made a commitment to upholding dignity and justice for all of us.
That declaration finds contemporary expression in Australia through a suite of Commonwealth and State laws (such as the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991) which prohibit discrimination in public life and provide remedies for people who have been treated less fairly because of an attribute covered by the Declaration.
This Award will be presented to the student who has made a significant contribution to the recognition of international human rights in the school. Your response should provide information about how you have demonstrated:
• Leadership, Service and Conduct which demonstrates a commitment to the elimination of injustice, including discrimination or prejudice based on race, age, gender, sexuality or disability.
• Leadership or facilitation of a school activity, event or academic writing that creates awareness of these values.
• Active engagement in human rights issues
• Expression of strong principles.
• Contribution to the development of this in others.
Excellence
Lyndell Sellars Research Award
This award recognises a student who has developed and used research skills effectively to achieve the best outcomes possible. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Used the full resources at your disposal to achieve in-depth knowledge and understanding of a research topic
• Demonstrated mastery of the inquiry approach
• Evidence your thinking skills
• Sought innovative solutions to overcome barriers when researching
Ken & Lyn Rudge Awards for Excellence in Sport/Excellence in Music
These awards recognise students who have demonstrated commitment in their Sport/Music, reached high levels of excellence in performance and shown dedication to fostering the development of others. Your response should provide information about how you:
• Train/rehearse and strive for your personal best;
• The levels of excellence you have achieved as your complete your schooling at Cairns State High
• How you have worked to support the development of others, mentoring or training, or coaching.
Trevor Gordon Year 12 All Rounder Award
This Award is presented to the Senior Student who is recognised as an outstanding “all round" student in their final year of school. The award will be open to students who are outstanding in the areas of:
• Academic – achieves scholastically across a range of subjects
• Service – participates in school and community activities
• Sport – represents the school without necessarily being a champion
• Arts – participates enthusiastically in the cultural and artistic life of the school