Four southwestern Ontario students have been recognized with achievement awards from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO).
President Karen Littlewood said the student achievement awards receive a wide range of inspirational and creative submissions from all over the province every year.
"It was clear from this year’s submissions that the 2022 theme, Our Moment in Time, captured the students’ imaginations and inspired some truly amazing work," Littlewood said.
Petrolia student Billy Brooks won the Prose and Poetry, Non-Credit Award for his entry titled The Social Distancing Poem. The poem focuses on positives, but speaks to the initial uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic and when people were told to stay home.
Sarnia student Amelie Nguyen claimed the Visual Art, Intermediate 9-10 Award for her piece called Remotely. Her painting depicted remote learning as a dull and grueling period.
Calvin Cao of London was recognized as a winner in the Digital Arts, 9-12 category, and James Gardner of Pelee Island won the Prose and Poetry, Intermediate Applied 9-10 award.
Littlewood said the awards are prestigious and have become an important tradition.
"OSSTF/FEESO members teach, encourage, and guide students in the exploration and expression of their creativity. All the submissions clearly demonstrate the importance of the arts in developing a student’s identity and helping them better understand their world," she said.
A virtual ceremony was held September 24.
Congrats to Amelie from Sarnia! She won the #OSSTF Student Achievement Award 4 Visual Art, Intermediate 9-10????
Amelie’s moving piece visually represents how difficult remote learning was during the pandemic, depicting how dull & grueling it was for students. #OntEd #ProPublicEd pic.twitter.com/nFF61MOvxI— OSSTF Communications (@osstf) September 27, 2022