Norwood teen wins provincial achievement award
High school student’s friendship with DeafBlind classmate inspired art
A Peterborough-area high school student has picked up one of the top honours from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.
Norwood District High School student Madison Gordon-Czechowski won the Visual Arts, 9 to 12 non-credit award category’s Student Achievement Award presented during this year’s OSSTF/FEESO annual meeting of the provincial assembly.
“The judges and I were absolutely blown away by the creative talents of students in Ontario this year,” stated OSSTF/FEESO president and longtime special education teacher Karen Littlewood in a news release.
“This year’s theme, ‘This Hits Different — The Power of Language’, inspired some truly moving and thought-provoking work by students from across the province. The students were given the space to explore the power of language and how it has helped shape their lives and experiences.”
The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board Grade 12 student’s piece, Communication with DeafBlind People, is an inspirational plasticene depiction of communication between a hearing person and someone who is deafblind.
“It means a lot to me to be honoured, to show off some artwork that really inspired me to enter it into a competition,” stated GordonCzechowski, who looks forward to a career that focuses on helping others and creating a studio space for her work.
“Winning the award helped me be confident in my creativity and that I can be creative in any way I choose.”
Gordon-Czechowski’s piece takes viewers back to a time when one of her classmates, Dylan, who was deafblind, came into her life and
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Winning the award helped me be confident in my creativity and that I can be creative in any way I choose.
MADISON GORDONCZECHOWSKI STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER
she had to learn how to communicate with them.
She became very close to Dylan, and it was through this completely new way for Madison to communicate that she made a good friend.
“The OSSTF/FEESO Student Achievement Awards honour talented students, and they also celebrate the impact that teachers and education workers are having on the lives and of the students they serve. Every single day, OSSTF/FEESO members help foster the creative talents of students and guide them in their exploration and development of their imagination. This year’s submissions cement the importance of the arts in helping students better understand their place and identity within the world,” continued Littlewood.
A video showcasing all of the 2024 OSSTF/FEESO Student Achievement Award winners can be viewed online.