Exceeding expectations: Siblings Tayden McNally, 10, and Attalyia Woods, 8, were both awarded Phillips Brothers’ Foundation Scholarships for their hard work and dedication to school, despite difficult circumstances.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
Wunghnu Primary School siblings Tayden McNally, 10, and Attalyia Woods, 8, have each been awarded a prestigious primary school scholarship — out of only 11 offered across the state.
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“They’re just all-round really good kids,” Wunghnu Primary School principal Nathan Neff said, who applied for the scholarships on the students’ behalf.
“It’s great to have them recognised considering the adversity they’ve overcome.”
The students were each granted the Phillips Brothers Foundation Victorian Primary Scholarship, valued at $2000 a student.
They have overcome many adversities to become the model students they are today.
“From a very young age, he (Tayden) was very delayed ... and they suspected autism,” Tayden’s mother Rachel Lea said.
“All professionals said he was never going to talk, never going to go to a normal school, he’d never do any of that.
“And then in Prep, he won a Student of the Year award because he was six reading levels above what he was supposed to be reading at that age.”
As for Tayden’ younger sister Attalyia, Ms Lea said she was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, leaving her in a neonatal intensive care unit for two weeks.
Two years ago she was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“Within six months, she’d caught up on all her learning to where she was supposed to be,” Ms Lea said.
A dancer and a reader: These siblings have excelled after a tough start.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
Attalyia also excels at dancing, and has been invited to take part in the Ballet Extension program at You Can Dance studio.
“Even the hospital can’t believe where she was to where she is now — from four pounds 10 ounces born to smashing goals and winning scholarships,” Ms Lea said.
“Same with (Tayden), he was never supposed to achieve half of it.”
Mr Neff said when he first applied for the scholarships, he was only hoping for some recognition that the siblings were exceeding expectations.
“When you apply for these things, you don’t really expect to win,” he said.
“You would just like them to email back and say, ‘wow, that kid’s doing a really good job’.”
The scholarship provides students $1000 a year for two years to spend on their education and extra-curricular endeavours.
The first thing ticked off the list is new school laptops for homework, while Tayden has his eye on a library.
“I like to read a lot of series like Harry Potter and the Tree House series,” he said.
And Attalyia wants to save her money for ballet supplies.
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