By Max Davies
A Mernda swim teacher has become the proud recipient of an annual Victorian AUSTSWIM Award of Excellence for her efforts in the pool.
Emily Barton, a 19-year-old teacher at Jump Swim School in Mernda West, won Best New Swim Teacher last month after starting the job in November 2021.
The AUSTSWIM awards are an opportunity for community members to nominate an outstanding teacher, swim school, presenter, program or organisation to promote aquatic education and water safety across Australia.
Ms Barton said she was honoured to have won the award and hoped it would boost the Mernda school.
“It’s a really big honour and I’m stoked to have won it. It’s a massive achievement and it reflects greatly on how good our swim school is as well,” she said.
“We’re a small team of girls and we’ve just got some new teachers. It’s a really friendly environment and the job itself is really rewarding, it has heaps of opportunities and I really enjoy what I do.”
Jump Swim School in Mernda West opened in November 2021 and is home to one above ground pool, operated by a small team of female teachers catering towards a family-oriented environment teaching young children to swim as well as learn water safety skills.
Ms Barton said she became involved with the school through her mother, who was also a teacher at the facility.
“[My mum] is a swim teacher and I was looking for a new job at the time, so I thought I would give it a crack,” she said.
“The environment is really good, all the staff are friendly and really accommodating to everybody.”
Ms Barton’s nomination was judged on her video statement explaining what she did in her classes and why she loved her job. A panel of judges then selected her as the category winner following a detailed review.
She was presented with the award on July 28 by AUSTSWIM’s Angus Miller, with the award marking the first time a new teacher had been recognised within their first 18 months of teaching.
“I’ll just keep going about teaching the same. We have the trophy in the centre and kids and parents love to see it. It’s a great achievement for the school,” Ms Barton said.
