York Region District School Board and the Markham Museum have received a Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming, as well as other national and provincial awards for a joint exhibition highlighting the history of Chinese immigration to York Region, Chinese culture and the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Standing in the Doorway was developed in collaboration with community members, the Markham Museum and YRDSB’s Museum & Archives. The exhibition features artifacts, photographs and stories from York Region community members, and contributors from York Region District School Board students and educators. This exhibition tells the story of resistance, resilience and the many accomplishments of York Region’s residents of Chinese descent. The three-part virtual and touring exhibition program, includes a website, travelling community exhibition and an interschool pop-up exhibit.

The award reflects the dedication and collaborative spirit of the community and project partners behind 'Standing in the Doorway.' The invaluable contributions of the many advisors, participants, educators, students and families were crucial to the success of this project. To learn more about the exhibition, and the significance of the Chinese Exclusion Act, listen to the Tune In YRDSB podcast episode featuring Nancy Siew, community volunteer, Janet Reid, Curator at Markham Museum; Rebekah Mitchell, Curator at York Region District School Board Museum & Archives, Stuart Siu, music teacher at Markham District H.S., Vice-Principal Jadas Lau and students from Nokiidaa P.S.; and students from the University of Toronto’s Museum Studies program. 

In addition to the Governor General’s History Award, the school board and museum has also received:

• The Ontario Museums Association Award of Excellence in Programs
• Outstanding Achievement in Audience Outreach Award from the Canadian Museums Association 
• Archives Association of Ontario, Institutional Award

Karen Choo, a teacher at Milliken Mills High School, is the recipient of a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Recipients are recognized for their leadership and exemplary teaching practices as well as for their commitment to help students gain the knowledge and skills they need for future success in a world inspired by ideas and driven by innovation.

Ms. Choo has been recognized for her work to bridge STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) courses with cultural experiences to empower students from all backgrounds to engage in STEAM fields. She prioritizes learning opportunities that ensure students see their identities and interests reflected in the classroom.  Choo consistently seeks opportunities for her students to connect with the subject matter through art, language, music and culture. Whether her class is titrating teas from students' different cultures, printing photographs with cyanotype or learning Indigenous ways of knowing, she ensures that each student in her classroom can see themselves, their interests and their cultures reflected in what they're learning.

Ms. Choo was also recognized for her combination of humility, enthusiasm, positivity and optimism, qualities that are valued by her colleagues and students. Through collaborative efforts with her colleagues, she has integrated STEAM principles, along with student voice and choice, into her teaching practices. From organizing the Grade 9 science exhibition to coding lunar rovers, Ms. Choo demonstrates the achievements that are possible when challenges are embraced, learning is allowed to happen naturally and a sense of community is fostered.

Noah Bryan, currently a Grade 12 student from Bayview Secondary School, recently presented a water testing proposal that could significantly reduce the risks of water-borne diseases. His project, which has won several awards, including the Sanofi Biogenious Canada Award at the Canada-Wide Science Fair last spring, aims to identify pathogens in water within eight-and-a-half hours, meeting the requirements of a challenge posed by UNICEF’s Innovation Project.

With UNICEF reporting that a million people die annually from water-borne diseases, Noah believes his test could result in quicker assessments of water safety across various regions, particularly in Africa.

During his initial testing at Lake Wilcox in Richmond Hill, Noah detected dangerous pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis, Vibrio cholerae, various strains of E. coli, and Salmonella. Highlighting the lack of awareness among swimmers about water safety, Noah’s proposal underscores the need for rapid testing methods.

Noah would like the World Bank to fund a cross-continental testing program that would enable individuals with basic technical training to assess water quality within weeks. His work and awards qualified him for the Stockholm Junior International Water Prize competition, where he can took his work to a world stage.

In addition to his water testing project, Noah is the founder of The Make A Move Foundation, which aims to combat hypertension in Black communities. He aspires to become a medical doctor, using his initiatives to enact positive change.

Vasillios Millionis, Paul Briskin, Mani Asadi and Rudrashish Jassa from Thornhill Secondary School participated in the inaugural Skills Ontario: Provincial Entrepreneurship Showcase on May 7, 2024, at the Toronto Congress Centre, Cohen Ballroom. Their journey began when their sales pitch was selected at the York Region Entrepreneurship Showcase at Seneca Helix on May 2, 2024.

The Provincial Entrepreneurship Showcase, held as part of the Skills Ontario Competition, provided a platform for student entrepreneurs to present their ideas, business plans, and deliver short elevator pitches to a live audience. The event also featured a keynote address by Mandy Rennehan, the Blue-Collar CEO™ & Founder of Freshco.ca and host of HGTV’s Trading Up with Mandy Rennehan. Her insights and experiences resonated with the students, offering them valuable perspectives on entrepreneurship.

Vasillios, Paul, Mani, and Rudrashish worked diligently to develop and refine their business idea. Their hard work was recognized at the regional level, earning them a spot at the Provincial Showcase, where they effectively communicated their vision through a concise and impactful pitch. The experience not only highlighted their talents but also provided them with valuable insights into the entrepreneurial world through their interaction with an industry leader like Mandy Rennehan.

The Sutton District High School (SDHS) cafeteria program, led by hospitality teacher George Christoforou, has evolved significantly over the past 26 years. Originally serving 1,800 SDHS students with a small team of helpers, the program has adapted to changing needs and resources and the day to day operations are now primarily run by students. Mr. Christoforou emphasizes the importance of teaching students both culinary skills and life skills, ensuring they are prepared to cook for themselves and develop confidence in their own abilities. This hands-on experience fosters teamwork and responsibility among the approximately 20 students in the program as they engage in various tasks from cooking to maintaining cleanliness in the kitchen. 

Mr. Christoforou and the students who run the lunch and breakfast program have worked to integrate innovative menu items and community initiatives despite the challenges posed by rising food prices. Students are actively encouraged to contribute ideas for new dishes, which creates a sense of ownership and connection to the cafeteria. The establishment of a food pantry to serve Sutton DHS students as well as students from the surrounding neighbourhoods demonstrates the program's commitment to addressing food security within the broader community as well. With a focus on collaboration and skill development, the program not only provides nutritious meals but also prepares students for future culinary careers, as demonstrated by several school alumni who have returned to continue contributing to the program.

The Keswick High School lunch program has developed into an important community initiative that provides nutritious meals while also providing students with valuable work experience and life skills. Originally established to keep students engaged and busy, the program has grown significantly through a collaboration with the York Region Food Bank. This partnership has expanded work experience opportunities for students, allowing them to engage in activities such as organizing food deliveries and preparing meals for their peers. 

The food bank and snack and breakfast programs are based on a commitment to equipping students with transferable skills necessary for future employment. Students learn to work as a team, communicate effectively and manage their time—all essential skills for success after graduation. The hands-on nature of the program fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment among students, as they are directly involved in meal preparation and food distribution. This experiential learning environment enhances their culinary skills and promotes a sense of community as they see the positive effects of their work on families in need.

The program emphasizes social responsibility and collaboration. The success of the program is heavily dependent on the involvement of Keswick High School staff and teachers who ensure that each day is filled with new and enriching learning opportunities. Recognizing that the need for food does not end with summer break, Keswick HS hospitality teachers and administrators continue to work with the food bank over the summer to keep the program and partnership running.

 A team from Markville Secondary School finished on top at the provincial Envirothon competition hosted by Forests Ontario. The team, comprised of Emily Lim, Kevin Lin, Jason Deng, Diya Rangrej and Ella Wen, defeated 19 teams in the provincial competition and more than 50 regional competitors from all around Ontario. 

After their provincial success, the Markville SS team went on to represent Ontario at an international competition taking on 52 other teams from the United States and China at the NCF-Envirothon competition in New Brunswick. Their hard work and countless hours and effort brought them home a third place internationally.

NCF-Envirothon is North America’s largest high school environmental education competition held annually in different cities.

 Huron Heights Secondary School’s junior and senior football teams are celebrating the end of a record setting football season. For only the second time in Ontario high school history, both the senior and junior programs have won provincial titles in the same year.

The senior high school football came away once again with the provincial title after a 37-2 win against the Corpus Christi Longhorns in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl on November 28. The junior team continued the school’s record winning streak days later when it defeated the Peterborough Holy Cross Hurricanes in Toronto on November 30.

The teams are now celebrating their titles and earning wide-spread recognition. Members of the provincial government recognized the championship football program when the teams visited Queen's Park on December 6. Members of the provincial parliament cheered them on in the legislature as they were read in as visitors, followed by a tour and meeting with the Premier of Ontario. The Premier proudly showed the teams the Huron Heights football helmet that is on display in his office.

The teams were recognized in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa by the Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora and by the Town of Newmarket at a rally at the Riverwalk Commons on December 9.

Three YRDSB students have recently written and published a children’s book, Scoring Goals with Ollie. The book is aimed at children in Grades JK-3 and uses over 90 different sight words, some multiple times, for a total of 188 sight words.

The book is the story of six year old Ollie, on his first day of school after summer break, which also happens to be his team's first hockey game of the season. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned at his hockey game later that night, as his team loses. At the end, the team coaches tell them how proud they were of the way they played regardless of the outcome and Ollie reinforces that message to the readers by emphasizing that it's not always about winning but rather, having fun with your friends.

Ollie is a great role model to the readers. Ollie is well mannered, listens to his parents and teachers and is a great friend to his classmates and teammates.

The book was written by Anastasia Daskalopoulos and Christina Daskalopoulos from Bill Crothers Secondary School and Isabella Daskalopoulos from Glad Park Public School.

Grade 9 students from Markham District High School are one of four winning classes from across Canada who have won the third season of the Lunar Rover Research Challenge, a national space competition offered by Let’s Talk Science, Canadensys Aerospace Corporation and Avalon Space, with support from the Canadian Space Agency. Over 16,000 youth across Canada participated in the national competition overall.

Winners of the competition have the opportunity to remotely control a Canadensys lunar rover in a Moon-like environment, allowing them to interact with technology that will be part of the upcoming Artemis space missions. The classes will complete a mission simulation by working as a team to drive the rover and seek out ice deposits in a mock lunar landscape.

Canadensys designed the rovers controlled by the winning teams. They received a contract in November 2022 from the Canadian Space Agency to build Canada’s first lunar rover to be sent to the Moon no earlier than 2026.

The Lunar Rover Research Challenge allowed students to collaborate and develop a mission for lunar exploration. A panel of expert judges evaluated the submissions and determined the winners.

Following this competition, educators can access materials for free (including lessons and worksheets) from the Lunar Rover Research Challenge. These lessons are geared toward youth aged 11-14 (Grades 6-9). They explore Canada’s role in the upcoming moon mission and potential space careers for students while fitting within each of the provincial curriculum standards. Interested parties are encouraged to subscribe to the insider mailing list.

This project was made possible through funding provided by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Leone Andrea Izzo, a teacher at Oscar Peterson Public School, is the recipient of a Governor General’s History Award for Teaching Excellence. This award is administered to educators who demonstrate excellence in teaching Canadian history by Canada’s National History Society. It is the country’s most prestigious history honour.

Leone is being recognized for his work leading students through the No. 2 Construction Battalion Project. Through this project students explored the untold stories of Canada’s first segregated unit and created a digital exhibition. On Remembrance Day, students turned their classroom into a virtual museum that the school community could visit. His work has helped to broaden students’ understanding of the determination of the soldiers of this battalion, and the anti-Black racism they experienced.

The classroom museum that his class created, in collaboration with the YRDSB Museum and Archives, helped raise awareness and understanding among students throughout Oscar Peterson PS. The project relied upon classroom resources created in collaboration with York Region District School Board Museum and Archives and the support of educators Rebekah Mitchell and Christina Blake. 

Samantha Ngan, an Adult Day School Guidance Counsellor, is a recipient of the 2024 Ontario Colleges Award for Excellence in Guidance that recognizes her for her ongoing support and dedication to students. This provincial award is presented to four guidance counsellors across Ontario. Each Ontario college nominates one Guidance Counsellor, then all of the colleges vote on the nominees to determine the recipient for their region.

Samantha name was put forward by recruitment staff from Seneca Polytechnics. Samantha has been a guidance counselor with Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre for Learning since 2019. As the sole guidance counsellor at the Adult Day School, she is extremely busy serving over 600 students each quadmester.  Samantha makes sure her students have access to as many resources about post secondary opportunities as possible. College panels, fairs and individual visits are booked every quarter by Samantha to ensure that all of her students have access to, and connect with, college representatives. Responding to the unique needs of her students, Samantha books these visits well in advance, so that her students have sufficient time to adjust their work schedules so they can take part in the visits.

College representatives and staff have noticed that Samantha takes time to sit with her students when needed. She does not hesitate to contact colleges directly when students are in her office, in order to ensure that the students’ questions are answered and more importantly that they understand the answers received. This additional support is important as all of Samantha’s students are mature students, and many come from countries where English is not always their first language.

Glen Shields PS Has Success at York Region Skills Challenge 

The York Region Skills Challenge (YRSC) events bring together students from across York Region elementary and secondary schools to compete against fellow students in skills-based challenges. Students showcase their skills and talents in individual or team competitions while building confidence and experience in areas that interest them. 

There are several different skills challenge events open to elementary and/or secondary students. Two teams from Glen Shields Public School experienced success at YRSC. The Intermediates finished in third and the Junior team came in first with the highest score. 

The Intermediate and Junior students will move on to represent Glen Shields PS at the Skills Ontario Competition in May.
 

Romeo Dallaire Public School student Lincoln Haggart-Ives, will head to New York City in June to play at Carnegie Hall.

Lincoln is a finalist in the American Protégé Music Competition, a competition for young musicians, actors and singers that gives them an opportunity to showcase their unique talents. When Lincoln plays his violin in the winners’ circle at Carnegie Hall, he will perform a rhapsodic piece by Csárdás, written in 1904 for violin, mandolin or piano.

Lincoln earned a place in the winner’s circle after his mother submitted an audition tape on his behalf. He was up against the largest number of competitive applicants on record, with entries from various parts of the United States and 58 other countries.

 The University of Waterloo offers high school students the opportunity to develop confidence and competence in making financial decisions by testing and challenge their knowledge of personal finance and wealth management through the Financial Literacy Competition (FLC).

Approximately 850 students representing 39 different schools across Canada participated in the December 2019 competition. The FLC is offered to Grade 9, 10 and 11students enrolled in high schools across Canada (excluding Quebec).

The results of the December 2019 Competition are in and Middlefield Collegiate Institute (MCI) has earned the #1 ranking and is the recipient of the Top Performing School prize. In recognition of this achievement, the school will receive a cheque for $500 to be used for classroom enhancements related to financial literacy and/or celebration activities for the contest participants.

In addition, two students in the Middlefield CI Introduction to Business class, Shreyas Nyapathi and Harrish Uthayakumar, achieved top 10 results in the provincial contest. Both Shreyas and Harrish will receive $75 cash prizes as well as University of Waterloo Financial Literacy Competition certificates.

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 In honour of Black History Month, York Region District School Board is highlighting and celebrating stories of Black Excellence throughout the month of February. Celebrating Black excellence is a way for our Board, to recognize the many contributions of our Black students and staff.

Matthew Eastman is a Grade 12 student and a leader at Thornhill’s Stephen Lewis Secondary School (SLSS). In the fall, he started the Black Student Union at SLSS. The club is focused on raising student voice of the school’s Black students and ensuring that all students at SLSS have a voice.

With the help of his teacher sponsor, Matthew is working with Vaughan African Canadian Association. Matthew took the lead to find the teacher sponsor, rally students and work with administration to make the club a reality.

 An emotional community vigil, attended by approximately 3,000 people, was held at Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre for Learning to honour the victims and show support for all those affected by the January 8 plane crash in Iran, a tragic event that has deeply affected the York Region community.

The caretaking team at Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre for Learning went well above and beyond normal job duties to ensure that the Board was prepared to welcome so many people to the vigil. Under the guidance of Drew Kerr, Supervisor of Facilities, the team helped staff by providing flashlights and safety vests and mapped out the outdoor field into designated zones. They also helped escort young families through the school to escape the January weather.

The caretaking team includes Drew Kerr, John Bisogno, Angelo Tucci, Kristina Anderson, Randy Clark and Thomas Cooper. Their professionalism and level of care was deeply appreciated by YRDSB colleagues and community members who attended the vigil.

Claudette contributes greatly to the Middlefield Collegiate Institute community as exemplified in the holistic support and thoughtful mentorship she provides as staff advisor to the African Caribbean Club (ACC). Through ACC, she offers students access to unique cultural enrichment year-round and helps students develop school-wide Black History Month programming. Claudette Rutherford is a compassionate and action-oriented inclusive leader and role model for all of her students. However, because of Claudette's identity as a person of African Caribbean heritage, she is committed to transformative education, and she has had an incredibly positive impact on Black students and families.

Claudette is also a leader and mentor for staff in the York Region District School Board. Over the past two years, Claudette has partnered with Inclusive School and Community Services (ISCS) staff to deliver workshops and programming, including anti-Black racism workshops at the Board’s Equity Symposium during the 2017-18 and 2018-2019 school years. She is part of ESSAC’s Data Diversity sub-committee and has worked on a program designed to create awareness about different cultural identities in two schools with differing demographics. Claudette along with three other teachers from Middlefield and Sutton District High School led equity learning for the students.

Claudette has roles beyond her professional career as a teacher that serve YRDSB students well. She is the Youth Director for the Markham African Caribbean Canadian Association. As Director, she operates subsidized summer robotics and literacy camp for elementary school students. In February 2019, Claudette started a mentorship program called Kinnect Youth for Black youth in foster care after seeking out and securing Ministry funding.

In 2017-2018, Claudette designed and organized the MACCA Youth Empowerment Conference and she worked in partnership with York Region District School Board ISCS staff to select teachers and students to present at the Conference. In April 2019, YRDSB students from multiple high schools had the pleasure of attending the Black Male Youth Legacy: Design Your Future Conference at York University that was co-planned and co-led by Claudette and Christoff Kyere. Besides YRDSB students, the 150 participants also came from high schools in Toronto and the Greater Toronto area. Conference participants were inspired that they were capable of achieving greatness and they were given the opportunity to design their future with culturally responsive and relevant support.

Claudette has worked to support parents/guardians of Black students in the York Region District School Board and beyond. Claudette organized and chaired the inaugural meeting that was held at the Aaniin Community Centre in April 2019. Her contributions have resulted in the positive promotion of the Board and the development of community partnerships.​