2024 Student Achievement Award Winners: This Hits Different – The Power of Language

Hey, “if you know, you know” (IYKYK)

Language is evolving. Reading, writing, and speaking permeate almost every moment in our lives, and the language we use is our key form of expression and communication. The language of youth influences their cultural identities as well as influencing attitudes and behaviour. Language changes with almost every generation and reflects the time. Students focused inward on their strengths and abilities and outward on their cultures and language in the 2024 theme for the Student Achievement Awards: This Hits Different – The Power of Language.

On March 9, 2024, the 2024 OSSTF/FEESO Student Achievement Awards will be presented to the winners at the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly (AMPA). This event will be
live-streamed at 9:30 a.m. Please click HERE to watch live.

In the Prose and Poetry Division, Shivani Saravanan, of Humberside Collegiate Institute in Toronto, was the winner of the Intermediate 9-10 category, with an incredibly well written prose piece entitled The Unchanging Power of Language. This writing piece brings the reader through her journey as a Tamil woman who is learning English, while holding tightly to her Tamil language and heritage. Shivani tells us that words while the English language is her second tongue and frequently used, Tamil is close to her heart and connects her to her pride in her culture.

M. W. McKinnon, of Glendale Secondary School in Hamilton, claimed the Senior 11-12 prize with their interestingly written essay entitled The Power of Language – The Weakness in Words. M.W discusses the difficulties they have expressing themselves and being heard and understood while learning with dyslexia. They talk about how difficult reading and writing have been, but in the end, they triumph and acknowledge that in the art of communication and storytelling there is power and passion as they exclaim “I am a writer!”

Daria Ilas of Humberside Collegiate Institute won the category of French Prose and Poetry 9-12 for her piece piece ‘Les paroles qui me blessent’. Daria’s prose illustrates the power that words have in the human experience. This touching piece expresses the relationship between the intent and the impact that words have in the way we choose to use them. The author uses a plethora of words to describe the profoundness that language has on us, and the need to communicate to express our feelings in good and bad times.

Calle Chisholm was our winner in the category of Prose and Poetry, Non-Credit with her poem, Enough. Calle discusses the impact of words on a little girl’s mind and how those words uttered long ago now are a constant “interior monologue” that her worth is dependent on how she looks. She uses anaphora to emphasize messages to make them memorable and to confront her past critics, at least in her mind. She is strong and finds the courage to use her voice, express herself and hopefully, inspire others who may be inner monologuing the same thoughts to do the same.

Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga is home to Ryan Ren, whose exceptional creative art piece entitled The Crumbling won the Visual Intermediate 9-10 category. Ryan’s piece looks at the misinformation and the impact of it in a unique way. Ryan chose to depict the U.S. Capitol Building under siege by an array of strange creatures climbing the Capitol and vehicles in the air that you usually wouldn’t find there. The infamous Capitol riot of January 6 was caused, in part, because of unbased and objectively false allegations. Everything creatively and expertly drawn symbolizes something that Ryan perceives either as the source, incentive or byproduct of ignorance and misinformation.

Emma Little, from Centennial Secondary School in Belleville, captivated us with her stunning and detailed painting. Their piece, From Letters to Likes was the winner of the Visual Senior 11 -12 category. The painting represents the transition from traditional hand-written letters to the digital age of social media. The setting of this piece is an historic place in South Korea. Emma leads us down a street in Joseon that magically transforms from her use of black and white into stunning and almost unbelievable colour, from letters to digital likes and is a symbolic piece of how technology has transformed the way we connect and express ourselves.

In the Visual Non-Credit category, we have a tie! The first winner is Madison Gordon-Czechowski of Norwood District High School in Norwood, for her inspirational plasticene depiction of communication between a hearing person and someone who is deaf/blind in Communication with Deaf-Blind People. Madison takes us back to a time when one of her classmates, Dylan, who was deaf-blind, came into her life and she had to learn how to communicate with them. Madison became very close to Dylan, and it was through this completely new way, to Madison, to communicate that she made a good friend.

The winner of the Digital Arts 9-12 category was Lina Hout, of Westminster Secondary School for her clever and detailed cartoon-like video entitled Write Your Heart Out. In the video a girl struggles with speaking because of her fear of judgement. After time passes, the girl confides in her English teacher, who suggests to the girl that she write instead of speaking. Through writing, the girl finds her voice and becomes happier – as the video turns from black and white to colour, indicating that even her world has become brighter and more meaningful because of her discovery of writing. She realizes that communication is not just about being verbal but is about expressing yourself in a way that represents you.

This year, the judges had the opportunity to honour a piece of work that did not win a provincial title in one of the categories. This piece would be something that moved the judges and compelled them to give it a special “Judges Choice” award. That piece was Abigail Gunner’s ribbon skirt entitled Breakup. Abigail created this piece to honour her heritage as a Cree woman. Raised on Moose Factory Island, Abigail talks about life there in the spring when the ice breakup happens. She used whales in the fabric design because it reminds her of home and that time of year. Her name is shown in Cree on the skirt, which you pronounce as ‘Ah-pi’. She is learning to speak her language and shows us that while at one time, Indigenous people were discouraged and shamed for speaking their language, many people are now taking back their languages and speaking it, teaching it to their children and celebrating it proudly.

REGIONAL WINNERS
Prose & Poetry Division

Category A-1 – Intermediate, 9-10
Region 1: Hannah Suslyk, Hammarskjold High School, District 6A
Region 2: Camden Slagel, Superior Heights Collegiate and Vocational School, District 2
Region 3: Mars Ali, Grand River Collegiate Institute, District 24
Region 4: Shivani Saravanan, Humberside Collegiate Institute, District 12
Region 5: Kira Contois, Seaway District High School, District 26

Category A-2 – Senior, 11-12
Region 1: Winner McGuire, Hammarskjold High School, District 6A
Region 2: Caroline M Wagner, Almaguin Highlands Secondary School, District 4
Region 3: Aileen Jun, Laurel Heights Secondary School, District 24
Region 4: Myla McKinnon, Glendale Secondary School, District 21
Region 5: Mackenzie Westervelt, Seaway District High School, District 26

Category A-3 – French, 9-12
Region 1: No entries
Region 2: Aspen Law, École Secondaire Cité-Supérieure, District 31 Unit 57
Region 3: Ella Way, Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School, District 24
Region 4: Daria Ilas, Humberside Collegiate Institute, District 12
Region 5: Lillian O’Connor, Seaway District High School, District 26

Category A-4 – Non-Credit, 9-12
Region 1: No entries
Region 2: No entries
Region 3: Calle Chisholm, Centre Wellington District High School, District 18
Region 4: Chrissie Lee, Bill Crothers Secondary School, District 16
Region 5: No entries

Visual and Media Division

Category B-1 – Visual Arts, Intermediate, 9-10
Region 1: Sammy Mitsunaga, Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute, District 6A
Region 2: Jack Chamberland, Lasalle Secondary School, District 3
Region 3: Nico Lunansky, Walkerville Secondary School, District 9
Region 4: Ryan Ren, Cawthra Park Secondary School, District 19
Region 5: Fiona Young, A Y Jackson Secondary School, District 25

Category B-2 – Visual Arts, Senior, 11-12
Region 1: ChengCheng Li, Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute, District 6A
Region 2: Eloise Murdoch, Superior Heights Collegiate and Vocational School, District 2
Region 3: Teaira Lynn, John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, District 18
Region 4: Saiya Aoki-Barnett, Applewood Heights Secondary School, District 19 – Tied
Drew Dang, Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School, District 17 – Tied
Region 5: Emma Little, Centennial Secondary School, District 29

Category B-3 – Visual Arts, Non-Credit
Region 1: No entries
Region 2: No entries
Region 3: No entries
Region 4: Christian Loureiro, Bill Crothers Secondary School, District 16
Region 5: Madison Gordon-Czechowski, Norwood District High School, District 14

Category B-4 – Media, 9-12 French or English
Region 1: No entries
Region 2: No entries
Region 3: Lina Hout, Westminster Secondary School, District 11
Region 4: Julia King, Eden High School, District 22
Region 5: Aya Fares, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute, District 25

Congratulations to the 2024 Student Achievement Awards Regional and Provincial Winners and thank you to the teachers and education worker members that participated in making a difference in the lives of these students.