Graduation Awards

The grand ceiling of the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne was lit up in Preston High School colours (pictured above) as the school community gathered to farewell Cohort 2024 on Friday, October 18. 

The Hon. Ged Kearney, Federal Member for Cooper, and Mr Nathan Lambert, State Member for Preston were special guests at the Graduation evening. They spoke and presented awards to students alongside members of the Principal Team.

Our Guest Speaker was Chemical Engineer Sonya Rand, who has led a fascinating career and who now specialises in stakeholder engagement, policy development and risk management to drive positive long-term change. Sonya has held advisory roles with the Australian Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, addressing issues of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Supply Chains and the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Keep on reading for a full list of the students who received awards on the night. Congratulations to all our Graduates of Cohort 2024! 

Subject Awards 

The teacher-led subject awards recognise individual students with the strongest Growth Habits in each Year 12 subject area. Congratulations to the following students for showing an exceptional attitude to learning while being collaborative with their peers, resourceful with their study and, most importantly, reflective on their progress and where they need to go next.

Ancient History - Summer Leo

Art - Finn Evans

Biology - Olivia Shell

Business Management - Emilie Koukeris

Chemistry - Jessie Schiavone

Chinese - Emily Findlow

English - Ben Atkins

English Language - Thomas Taylor

English Literature  - Harriet McNicol

French - Greta Carr

General Maths - Maggie Preston

Geography - Lili Tzouroutsis

Global Politics - Emilie Koukeris

Health and Human Development - Jack Wajntaub

History Revolutions - Harriet McNicol

Legal Studies - Lydia Gassin

Literacy - Stella Karantoni

Maths Methods - Joe Cina

Media - Jude Marjanovic

Music - Jack Barcan

Personal Development Skills - Scarlett Fairfax

Physics - Ben Atkins 

Philosophy - Sturt Boltin

Physical Education - Olivia Shell

Psychology - Pearl Stewart Young

Specialist Maths - Ollie Swanson

Visual Communication  and Design - Emily D'Onofrio

Work Related Skills - Blake Roberts

Motto and Value Awards

Students received these awards after nominations from their Cohort 2024 classmates for demonstrating particular values and behaviour during the year.

Lead Award - Jacinta Conceico Calyvopoulos

Awarded to someone who has demonstrated excellent leadership skills for the cohort, in classes, or in a friendship group, including the way in which they advocate for their values, friends, and ideas, or encourage participation and enthusiasm. Jacinta exemplified this through multiple leadership roles and advocacy for her Cohort.

Explore Award - Emily Findlow

Awarded to someone who consistently encourages their peers to seek and experience new opportunities and activities, or ways of approaching tasks and ideas. Emily exemplified this through taking every opportunity for engaging in school events and promoting participation. 

Inspire Award - Beth Butler

Awarded to someone who inspires the people around them to do their best and be their best self as a person and/or a student, or who inspires their peers by being supportive and encouraging, or by excelling in a particular area. Beth exemplified this by being the first person in the VCE Study Centre every morning before 8am and inspiring others through hard work.

Excellence Award - Rosie Bennett

This is awarded to someone who consistently demonstrates a high level of work ethic, participation and enthusiasm, and encourages and supports peers to reach their best potential. Rosie exemplified this through diligence and deep engagement in learning.

Inclusion Award - Henry Hewatt

Awarded to someone who has behaved as a role model to promote inclusivity by encouraging and supporting others to feel comfortable and safe, and by calling out or reporting behaviour that is not inclusive. Henry exemplified this through becoming a leader in his Cohort who focused on the support and inclusion of others. 

Community Award - Thomas Taylor

This is awarded to someone who positively represents the school in the wider community, at extracurricular events, or in student voice-focused forums, and promotes peers to do the same. Thomas exemplified this with his many contributions to leadership in the school and within the City of Darebin.

Kearney Graduate Award 

presented by Ged Kearney, Federal Member for Cooper.

2024 Kearney Graduate Award - Olivia Shell

For their outstanding contribution to setting a high standard in what a student can do when they become involved in the school community, excellence in accessing school resources and inclusion by getting involved in so many different activities and most importantly having fun while doing it. 

Australian Defence Force Awards

presented by Nathan Lambert, State Member for Preston.

2024 ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership & Teamwork Award - Thomas Harris

The ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership and Teamwork Awards began in 2006 to recognise students who demonstrate leadership and teamwork within both the school and the broader local community. It recognises those who display strong values, such as 'doing one’s best', respect for others and 'mateship', characteristics that are integral to Australian society.

The recipient of this award has demonstrated teamwork, community involvement, leadership and problem-solving skills. As a key player in a competitive tennis team, they consistently motivated their teammates with advice, strategies and a positive attitude which contributed to their improved performance. Their advocacy for the renovation of the Reservoir Skate Park, through a council presentation, led to its successful upgrade, benefiting the local community, especially for the local kids and adults who visit the park regularly. This student has also demonstrated leadership by actively encouraging students to participate in the annual School Swimming Carnival, to help create unity and pride among students. 

Additionally, in their VET Automotive class, they displayed their problem-solving abilities by diagnosing and fixing a car engine timing issue and this helped in preparing for a future career as an Aviation Technician with the ADF. These experiences reflect their commitment to excellence and readiness to take on new challenges.

We also congratulate Thomas for his acceptance into the ADF Aviation Operations Gap Year program. He begins his training next year.

2024 ADF Future Innovators Award - Jessica Daniels

The Future Innovators Award recognises the recipient’s Science and Mathematics abilities while highlighting the value of STEM skills and STEM career opportunities. 

The recipient of this award has been passionate about STEM throughout their schooling and has always strived to excel in these subjects. They have completed a total of three Science subjects as well as VCE General Maths and Math Methods.  In Years 10 and 11, they completed Early Start VCE Psychology which fostered a real love of the human brain.

In their embrace of STEM, their part-time tutoring job has enabled them to share their love of Mathematics by tutoring 5-15 years. Such was the impact of their classroom experience at Preston, they plan to complete a Bachelor of Education with a focus on Psychology as their area of expertise. Additionally, they would like to explore and become knowledgeable in Child Development Psychology through further study, complementing their teaching degree.