​A Brisbane Catholic Education student has been awarded First Place in the Lower Primary section of the 2022 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition.

Sarah Savage, a Year 3 student from St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School in Tarragindi, journeyed to a national presentation ceremony in Gunnedah to accept her prize and, alongside winners from other divisions across the country, celebrate their poetic achievements. Sarah's prize for her captivating poem entitled Clash! included her transport to the 2022 National Presentation ceremony, $300, a trophy, a book voucher and national promotion of her poem.

Conquering challenging pieces of music in her role as a talented percussionist in both the Junior and Senior St Elizabeth's School Bands, Sarah's wanted to share her love of percussion with others in a creative way. Co-Judges for the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards commented, 'Sarah's poem was unique, giving voice to the instruments in the percussion with astute observations and excellent use of dialogue, rhymes and onomatopoeia'.

St Elizabeth's Principal Jenna Webb said “the achievement was remarkable and testimony to Sarah's incredible work ethic and mentoring by her class teachers."

“Considering there were thousands of entries in this prestigious competition, Sarah's achievement is very special," she said.

“Sarah worked so diligently on this piece and her award is so well deserved. Everyone in the St Elizabeth's community is very proud of her efforts"

Each year, a number of keen writers at St Elizabeth's enter the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition, the longest running annual poetry competition for school-aged children in Australia.

Principal Webb added ​“to have a student acknowledged in this way is extremely exciting. Her amazing achievement will certainly inspire many other students in our school community to continue writing and to strive for excellence in their creative endeavours.