 World Teachers Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the great work that our teachers do each and every day in schools right across Queensland. They are shaping the lives of the future leaders of our great state and young Queenslanders. Today we say thank you to our teachers. Today is World Teachers Day. It's our chance to celebrate teachers right across Australia. Their efforts are important and they are appreciated as we work together to provide the best possible education for all young Queenslanders. Our teachers do a fantastic job and deserve our thanks for their wonderful contributions to helping our students learn and grow. On behalf of Independent Schools Queensland I'd like to acknowledge all teachers for the incredible work that you do every day inspiring and challenging 800,000 school students across the state. On 27th October Queensland will celebrate World Teachers Day to acknowledge your achievements and commitments. I'd like to especially thank all of the teachers in Independent Schools for encouraging and believing in your students. We applaud your passion and commitment. We can all name one and sometimes more than one teacher who really made a difference to our world view and to our knowledge and to our life opportunities. Socrates opined that everybody has an arete or an excellence and it's through this excellence that we can all work to develop ourselves. Teachers' role is to try to encourage the excellence in every one of their pupils. All teachers build society's next influences and leaders. On World Teachers Day, thank you to all teachers. World Teachers Day celebrates the anniversary of the UNESCO and International Labor Organization joint recommendation on the status of teachers back in 1966. That was a major step in recognising teaching as a profession around the world. World Teachers Day is a reminder of the importance of professional autonomy and judgement and of placing trust in the teaching profession. Be proud Queensland teachers, you're doing a great job for Queensland kids. Teaching is fundamentally about making high quality professional judgments in the interests of children and their well-being. On World Teachers Day it's an opportunity to recognise, thank and congratulate teachers for a job well done. Congratulations. World Teachers Day is a special opportunity to thank and congratulate the tens of thousands of teachers working in a variety of settings across Queensland. We know from the research evidence that teachers are one of the most significant factors in improving the educational outcomes of young people and we need to acknowledge, respect and support their expertise, their energy and the gifts that they bring to classrooms each and every day. I've been privileged over the last 40 years to work side by side with teachers in schools and I know at first hand the energy, the expertise, the passion, the compassion and the wonderful way in which they contribute to the educational outcomes of our young people. On World Teachers Day let's acknowledge the terrific work that they do and celebrate them in every special way that we can.