TWO Moranbah schools put on award winning shows for the judging panel at the 2019 Wakakirri Story-Dance Challenge.

Moranbah East School and Moranbah State School booth took out top awards at the state level of the competition, winning the Best Science Fiction Story Award and the Best Wildlife Story Award respectively at the Mackay heat.

Moranbah East School teacher Tracey Batchelor said she was extremely proud of the students who performed 'Happiness is...', a story aimed to inspire people to take the time to find what they love and makes them happy.

"It is so exciting to see the culmination of all our hard work and watch their faces light up,” she said.

"Also winning the 'Spirit of Wakakirri' Award is extremely important to myself and my team as they were recognised for their great behaviour, team work on the day and the encouragement they gave to other schools that were performing also.”

Moranbah State School took to the stage with their performance of 'Stand Up!', a story inspiring bravery to be yourself and standing together against bullying.

Both schools were part of more than 280 schools and 20,000 students across the country are performing in Wakakirri this year.

Established in 1992, Wakakirri is Australia's biggest performing arts event for primary and secondary schools and is an opportunity for students to share stories that express their thoughts, ideas and aspirations through the performing arts.