Brian Bahnisch Award 2008

This prestigious award was presented to Stanthorpe State High School on September 22, 2008 at the SLAQ Conference dinner held in Brisbane.

The judging panel supplied the following comments:

The project nominated for the award, The Bookfair Primary School Outreach Program, focuses on literacy and reading across the curriculum while acclimatising primary students to the often daunting secondary school environment. We would like to commend  the work of the teacher-librarian Rob Moore and his colleagues for their initiative, enthusiasm and community spirit. 

The nomination outlines a highly successful collaborative project that is obviously enjoyed by all participants.

We congratulate Stanthorpe State High School as the winner of the Brian Bahnisch Award for 2008.

The award was presented by Chris Kahl, President of the School Library Association of Queensland and was accepted by the Stanthorpe State High School teacher-librarian, Rob Moore. In his acceptance speech, Rob paid tribute to the school team of teachers and administrators, and also the teachers in the small primary schools in the Granite Belt area who regularly take part in the program.

The judging panel awarded a Certificate of Commendation to the submission from Concordia Lutheran College, Toowoomba.This was accepted by the teacher-librarian, Patricia Carmichael.

The panel noted that the project nominated by Concordia Lutheran College clearly demonstrated commitment to improving learning outcomes for students.  It exhibited significant leadership by the teacher-librarian, Patricia Carmichael, in working collaboratively with teachers and others in the school community.  The project would appear to have a positive long-term impact on student learning and the team is to be congratulated on their collaborative approach to learning across all areas of the curriculum.

Congratulations to Concordia Lutheran  College for its significant contribution to learning and teaching.

In the absence of Brian Bahnisch this year, the award was to be presented by Raylee Elliott Burns from QUT. Unfortunately, due to illness, Raylee was unable to attend and her words were read by Sally Fraser, Executive Office, SLAQ. The transcript follows:

Brian Bahnisch Award 2008

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in presenting the School Library Association of Queensland’s premier award - The Brian Bahnisch Award. As you are aware this award recognises the exemplary commitment made to student learning by teacher-librarians in partnership with educator colleagues, students and community members in Queensland school settings.

This year in Brian’s absence I am delighted to accept the opportunity to draw attention to Brian’s contribution to the field of teacher-librarianship and to the place of school libraries in the learning lives of Queensland schools.

Somewhat ironically Brian is overseas attending a family reunion – he is spending time in the places of his origins with the people whose lineage he shares. In his family quest, Brian is no doubt discovering dimensions of himself which are part of his formation and familial heritage - eventhough distances of time and geography may previously have put these discoveries beyond his experiences and beyond his memory.

In a similar way, for most of us who are currently working as teacher-librarians, the knowledge of Brian’s influences on our profession heritage may be beyond our experiences and beyond our memories. It is worth calling to mind that we are part of profession which may not exist or operate in the same ways without Brian’s leadership and that of his professional colleagues. The development of the foundation philosophy, relationships and practices of teacher-librarianship in Queensland and the formation of this professional association rests with Brian and his team of advocates at the time – many of whom continue to maintain close contact with the profession.

The criteria for the award we make this evening captures key characteristics of the beliefs, relationships and practices of teacher-librarianship that are a reflection of the ways in which Brian worked – with a focus on learners, on a rich base of resources for learning and on collaborative partnerships to achieve planned positive outcomes in school settings.  We have Brian to thank for this spirit as it was established in a number of forums and entities. His influence shaped the designing of the teacher-librarianship qualification courses established at QUT and its antecedent tertiary institutions. Brian’s ethos of practice shaped the partnership formation and support that was offered to schools and teacher-librarians through the library and resource services of Education Queensland - and through his generosity, also influenced the services provided by the independent school sectors.  Brian’s investment is evident in the spirit of service and support which continues through the School Library Association of Queensland.

The Brian Bahnisch Award foregrounds foundation philosophies, ethos and practices of teacher-librarianship and exemplifies and celebrates these attributes in current practice.  The presentation of the award is an opportunity to revisit who we are, how we came to be and to honour a key motivator of the exemplary commitment to student learning which is made anew and daily by so many teacher-librarians in partnership with educator colleagues, students and community members.

So before the awards are presented would you please join me in toasting Brian Bahnisch – to whom we owe so much more than we can say.           To Brian.

Raylee Elliott Burns

Last updated 9 October 2008