BY KANAIYA
It was announced
today that our very own teacher, Ms. Zafirakou, has been named the winner of
the Global Teacher Prize 2018. This ceremony gave recognition to our teacher,
who inspires hope, ignites imagination and instils a love of learning within us
as students.
The school
opened its doors, on a Sunday, to staff and students to watch the awards streamed
live. They were over the moon when the name of one their favourite teachers was
announced. Staff were emotional and students were jumping in
excitement to celebrate the teacher who has always brought out the best in both
staff and students alike. This inspiring award has also helped to spread
awareness about why creativity in the curriculum is so important and how it can break
all boundaries and divisions.
Trever Noah,
South African comedian and presenter of the American The Daily Show, hosted the event. To announce this year’s winner, a
special video message was shown as 4,000 young people came together to create a
human hash tag symbol for the announcement, breaking the world record.
The moment that
found Ms. Zafirakou in shock!
Footage from the Varkey Foundation
His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice President and Prime Minister of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai) was
accompanied by Sunny Varkey to present Ms. Zafirakou with the award.
Ms. Zafirakou’s
speech:
Footage from the Varkey Foundation
Ms. Zafirakou,
and all teachers, deserve the red carpet treatment that this star studded spectacular
awards ceremony had. The trophy was hand delivered by Formula 1 driver Lewis
Hamilton who arrived by police convoy, and award winning Jennifer Hudson closed
the show with a musical performance. Before singing a song called Remember the Music she said “no matter
what you do always remember why you do it because we can only be great when
we’re passionate about what we do.” Something all of our teachers can resonate
with and passion is what they clearly have.
Also in
attendance were Olympic winner Sir Mo Farrah, ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, retired footballer Jermaine Jenas, ex Vice-President Al Gore, comedian Rory Bremner and actresses Priyanka Chopra and Charlize Theron. Some of them even managed to have a selfie taken with Ms. Zafirakou!
As
if that was not enough, a
noteworthy video message was broadcast on behalf of UK Prime Minister Theresa
May. She expressed how being “a great teacher requires resilience, ingenuity,
and a generous heart”, and described the award as a “fitting tribute” to all
the work Ms. Zafirakou has done, and will continue doing.
"Congratulations to @AndriaZaf on behalf of the whole country. Winning the Global @TeacherPrize is a wonderful achievement and all pupils and fellow staff at @AlpertonCS must be incredibly proud" - PM pic.twitter.com/UJiiTJu5xK— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) March 18, 2018
All students and
staff are looking forward to Ms. Zafirakou’s return from Dubai so that we can
congratulate her personally for her dedication and hard work, but also to hear
about her amazing experiences so far and the continuous journey that this award
will bring.
We look forward
to seeing the arts and other creative subjects at our school continue to flourish.
“Not all
superheroes have capes.
Some have teaching degrees.”
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