Rochedale State High School’s Ms Cassie Day, one of six STEM teachers recognised in the 2025 Peter Doherty Awards, is transforming classrooms with collaboration, innovation and inclusive learning.
When Rochedale State High School’s Head of Mathematics Ms Cassie Day received the news that she had been named an Outstanding Teacher of STEM in the 2025 Peter Doherty Awards, her first thought was not about herself.
“It’s more than just recognition for me,” she says. “I see it as recognition of the amazing work that happens in our classrooms every day. It reflects the dedication of my colleagues and the curiosity and resilience of our students.”
That perspective – collaborative, humble, and deeply student-centred – has shaped Ms Day’s career across more than 15 years of teaching and leadership in Queensland schools.
From Warwick to Rochedale
Ms Day began her teaching journey at Warwick State High School, before relocating to North Queensland. She spent seven years at William Ross State High School in Townsville, then moved to Wellington Point State High School in Brisbane.
Four years ago, she took on the Head of Mathematics role at Rochedale State High School, a large co-educational secondary school on Brisbane’s southside with more than 1,600 students across Years 7 to 12.
The scale of her department is significant. “There’s 25 teachers that teach maths in some capacity,” she explains. “I oversee the curriculum, help shape the culture of the maths department, drive the agenda, and make sure that students are in classrooms learning.”
The role demands more than administration. Ms Day has become a leader in pedagogy, student engagement, and cross-school collaboration – qualities that placed her in contention for the state’s most prestigious STEM teaching award.
A collaborative STEM vision
Ms Day’s Peter Doherty Award recognition grew out of her involvement in the Department of Education’s M in STEM program, which connects clusters of schools to collaborate on inquiry-based improvement projects in mathematics.
“I signed up our school and six other schools to work collaboratively on a project,” she recalls. “Through that, a colleague suggested that I nominate for the award. It wasn’t something that I had really thought about before.”
The project focused on applying practices from Building Thinking Classrooms, a framework for mathematics learning developed by Canadian researcher Peter Liljedahl. At its heart, it asks students to work in small groups on vertical non-permanent surfaces – typically whiteboards around the room – where they solve problems collaboratively.
“They’re developing their critical thinking, communication, and problem solving skills while collaborating with one another which will benefit them in the workplace and further studies,” Ms Day explains.
Rolling the approach out across seven schools required careful planning, shared professional learning, and collective commitment. But the outcomes quickly became evident.
“We’ve had an increase in students’ level of achievement,” she notes. “We’ve also seen a decrease in the number of students being referred on for behaviour issues and there’s been an increase in effort and behaviour, as seen in the student report cards.”
For Ms Day, these improvements highlight how powerful STEM pedagogies can be. “It’s been fun to pursue,” she says, with understated pride in the progress made.
Recognition and what comes next
Recognition in the Peter Doherty STEM Awards, presented at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), confirmed the value of this work. Ms Day had been notified of her success by email, but the ceremony provided a chance to celebrate alongside fellow teachers and students.
She insists the honour reflects a community-wide effort. “I’m really proud to be a part of this community,” she says. “It reflects the dedication of my colleagues and the curiosity and resilience of our students.”
Her students have shared in the excitement. “They have been congratulating me in class,” she says. “We hosted a maths competition last week where we had parents in attendance, and they congratulated me as well. It’s been quite lovely.”
Ms Day also sees the award as a platform for promoting STEM more broadly. “It’s really important that we build inclusive environments that empower people to go into STEM pathways, particularly girls and those in rural and remote areas.”
At Rochedale, the STEM program is well established and high performing. “It was important to value-add by offering a different pedagogical approach. Building Thinking Classrooms did that,” she explains.
The award may have recognised her past achievements, but Ms Day is firmly focused on the future. Rochedale State High School is currently investigating implementing a whole-school engagement strategy designed to motivate learners and encourage innovative teaching approaches
“We will continue to expand our work in Building Thinking Classrooms while incorporating other whole-school approaches to pedagogy,” she explains. “We want to continue to build on the growth we’ve made these last few years.”
For her personally, the motivation remains the same as when she first entered the classroom. “I just love that I can help students become more than what they thought possible,” she reflects.
Her work at Rochedale demonstrates how innovative strategies like Building Thinking Classrooms can transform both learning and behaviour. Her recognition in the Peter Doherty Awards affirms the impact of a teacher who consistently places students and colleagues at the centre of her success.
As she sums it up: “It’s been an incredible honour to receive the award. But really, it’s recognition of the amazing work that happens in our classrooms every day.”
The Peter Doherty Awards are named after a Brisbane-born, Nobel Prize-winning scientist who was educated at Indooroopilly State High School and The University of Queensland.
Each award carries a prize of $5,000, with a total prize pool of $140,000, to be used in pursuit of further STEM education or professional development.
Outstanding Teacher of STEM Awards
- Cassie Day, Rochedale State High School
- Elizabeth Stewart, Beenleigh State High School
- Judith Stutchbury, Kalkie State School
- Megan Scougall, Boonah State High School
- Samantha Ephraims, Kalkie State School
- Wendy Agnew, Indooroopilly State High School
Outstanding Rural and Remote Teacher of STEM Awards
- Timothy Bateup, Roma State College
Outstanding STEM Support Officer Awards
- Hilary Maloney, Proserpine State High School
STEM Education Partnership Awards
- Boyne Island Environmental Education Centre
- The University of Queensland
The full list of Peter Doherty Award winners for 2025 can be found at https://education.qld.gov.au/about-us/events-awards/awards-competitions/peterdoherty-awards-for-excellence-in-STEM.
Nominations for 2026 will open in Term 1, 2026.
