Top award for teacher

FPalladino (Demo)

St Patrick’s Technical College teacher, Mr Frank Palladino, has been awarded an Award for Excellence from the Design & Technology Teachers Association of South Australia (DATTA-SA).

Mr Palladino has been recognised for his commitment to Design Technology and Vocational Education & Training at St Patrick’s for the past six years, and for his lead involvement with the College’s Habitat for Humanity program.

The Habitat for Humanity program is the core element of the College’s Building & Construction course, training campus-based students on live build sites. Students are involved in a number of construction tasks on the live sites, attaining competencies for their Certificate II in Construction Pathways and Certificate III in Carpentry qualifications. But the program has a much wider impact with the completed houses being sold to low income and disadvantaged families through the excellent work of Habitat for Humanity SA.

Mr Palladino is no stranger to awards such as these. In 2012, he was the recipient of the Archbishop’s Award for Excellence for Services to the Young People of South Australia. The Habitat for Humanity program with which he is so closely associated, is also an award winner receiving the $50,000 NAB Schools First Local Impact Award in 2011. It was also a finalist in the SA Training Awards in 2010 and the Playford Alive Local Hero Awards in 2012.

Frank’s latest award will be officially presented at the DATTA-SA Annual General Meeting on Friday 28 February at the new Tonsley TAFE SA Campus.