2023-24 Award Recipients

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Teresa Weselake, a member of the Renfrew County Teacher Local, with its 2024 Anti-Bias Award. This award recognizes an active ETFO member or group of members who develop and
teach units and/or incorporate practices that work toward the elimination of bias.

Weselake currently teaches Grade 6 in a rural community of the Renfrew County District School Board. With the intention of educating and challenging biases and discrimination, she has taken on several initiatives. Weselake is the lead facilitator for the school’s Genders and Sexualities' Alliance, and has invited the board’s Indigenous Lead and Indigenous community members to visit her class and work with students using Indigenous Ways of Knowing as a guiding approach.

Weselake also coordinated the Indigenous Atlas of Canada Giant Floor Map activity at her school. Teacher colleagues were provided lessons plans that she and the board’s Indigenous lead co-developed to support student learning. These lessons explored Indigenous languages across Canada, the distribution of Residential Schools, and the journey of Chanie Wenjack.

Her class also engaged in learning about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Together, the class read several books about different cultures, authored by culturally authentic voices. This learning has developed a better understanding of other cultures and greater empathy in general. In addition, students are better able to call out discrimination and follow up with explanations of why the behaviours are unkind.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Ailíse Byrne, a member of the Halton Teacher Local, with a 2024 Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award – Women’s Program. This award recognizes an active ETFO woman member or group of women members for their active involvement in antiracist and equity activism in the classroom or community.

Over the past few years, Byrne has immersed herself in the pursuit of equity and inclusion within the education system. Serving as the Equity Lead for her school and participating in the Equity Lead Learner program with the Halton District School Board, she has dedicated herself to action-based involvement in this crucial work. Her academic journey reflects this commitment, as she completed a Master in Professional Education in Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice, and is currently working towards completing a Doctorate of Education, focusing on 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive education in elementary schools.

Byrne actively supported her colleagues in embracing equitable teaching practices. She established an Equity Google Classroom, provided resources and guidance, and fostered confidence among educators to address racism, Islamophobia, Indigenous Knowledge, and 2SLGTBQIA+ affirming education. This initiative equipped staff with readily accessible tools, serving as a platform for dialogue and learning on equity issues.

As both Wellness Lead and Equity Lead at her school, Byrne advocated for inclusion and awareness. Through presentations to Safe Schools and coordination with the Equity Team, she has championed inclusive programming and culturally responsive pedagogy among staff. Additionally, she has played a key role in implementing initiatives like days of significance, prayer spaces for Muslim students, and gender-affirming spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ students, furthering community awareness on equity matters within our school.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Nadia Hohn, a member of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) Local, with a 2024 Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award. This award recognizes an active ETFO member or group of members’ active involvement in anti-racist and equity activism in the classroom or community.

Hohn’s anti-racist and equity activism activities include the writing and editing of a book called The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes), which features stories from 22 award-winning and best-selling Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Colour authors from across North America. She created the book to celebrate diverse kidlit creators and food diversity, but also to develop resources for educators. It offers an entry point to have courageous conversations about antiracism in classrooms and a means for building classroom community.

In addition to creating this book, in June 2020, Hohn organized KidLit4BlackLivesCanada, an online virtual rally for children, young adults, and allies featuring 24 Black Canadian authors and illustrators. It was held in response to the growing racial justice movement and the murder of George Floyd, and provided a call for action.

In 2023, Hohn delivered an ETT virtual author presentation, hosted by Blackhurst Cultural Centre in Toronto, and delivered a presentation, The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Antiracist Books, at ETT Federation Day. Provincially, she delivered a keynote at ETFO’s 2024 …and still we rise conference, and has co-presented a three-day workshop for teachers called Beyond Black History Month: Teaching the African-Canadian Experience throughout the Year as part of the ETFO Summer Academy.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Kara Neufeglise, a member of the Upper Grand Teacher Local, with its 2024 Arts and Culture Award. This award recognizes an active ETFO member or group of members for their involvement in arts and cultural activities for children in either the classroom or the community.
 
Neufeglise initiated an autoethnographic play project with Grade 5 to 8 students at their school, starting with brainstorming sessions in September where students shared personal experiences for inspiration. By October, they collectively decided on a camping theme, weaving together their camping stories to create characters and plotlines for a 40-minute play. Securing community donations and grants, including an experiential teaching grant, enabled them to obtain props and musical instruments for the production. From January to May, intensive rehearsals were conducted, leading up to a community presentation in June.

Utilizing autoethnographic theatre techniques, the project provided a platform for students with mental health concerns to explore and reflect positively on their past experiences. Drawing from ETFO anti-oppressive training Neufeglise attended, the play addressed various forms of oppression including colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism. As a queer and disabled individual leading the project, they created an environment that was conducive to improving student well-being and mental health.
 
Locally, Neufeglise’s work with ETFO includes being a member of the Executive and chair of the New Member Committee. Provincially, they were a presenter at a number of ETFO events, including: …and still we rise, Mobilizing for Social Justice: A is for Activism & The Arts, Presenters on the Road, and 2SLGBTQIA+ Timeline. They have also participated in ETFO’s mentorship program and Visions.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Serena Virk, a member of the Peel Teacher Local, with its 2024 Children’s Literature Award for the book We Remember the Black Battalion.

This award is presented to an active ETFO member, or to an individual or group of individuals who do not hold ETFO membership, for writing a specific piece of published children's literature appropriate for elementary school-age children. This award is intended to recognize quality children’s literature that is in keeping with ETFO’s positions on social justice and equity.

The picture book raises awareness and fosters a more inclusive understanding of Canadian history for young children. It highlights the contributions of Black soldiers in the No. 2 Construction Battalion of the First World War, commonly referred to as the Black Battalion. At the time, Black men wanted to enlist, but many were denied, and so the Black Battalion was created. It was a labour unit that helped cut lumber and mill logs. These men are considered soldiers who served Canada proudly.

This free-verse poem calls on us to remember these Black soldiers’ contributions, along with those of other soldiers, on Remembrance Day and throughout the year. The book introduces topics like racism and discrimination in a format that is suitable for young readers. A glossary and reflection questions section help educators, parents, and caregivers engage with children on a variety of relevant issues.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Jennifer Manners, a member of the Hamilton-Wentworth Designated Early Childhood Educator Local (HWDECE), with its 2024 Health and Safety Activist Award. This award recognizes an active ETFO member for their outstanding commitment and involvement in health and safety activities.

Manners has served as the HWDECE representative on the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Central Joint Health and Safety Committee (CJHSC) since 2011. She consistently stands up for workers' rights and holds the board to account when they are not acting in the best interest of workers' health and safety.

Manners uses local union meetings to educate Hamilton DECEs on important health and safety issues, empowering them to bring knowledge back to their work sites to advocate for their own and their colleagues' health and safety. She currently serves as the co-chair of the CJHSC, a role that has never been held by a non-teacher.

She holds Workplace Safety and Insurance Board certification and has attended Workers Health and Safety Centre training in asbestos, workplace violence and harassment, lockdown crisis response, COVID-19, and noise. Manners has attended ETFO’s annual health and safety conference since 2012, and presently participates in regional training sessions.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented its 2024 International Humanitarian Award for a Non-ETFO member to Vickram Bachan. This award is presented annually to an individual or a group of individuals who do not hold ETFO membership but have given outstanding service to supporting children in the global community.

Bachan, an Educational Assistant with the Toronto District School Board and member of CUPE Local 4400, has enthusiastically implemented several exciting programs to engage and serve students’ needs, as well as the needs of children locally and around the globe. He started the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Fan Club, the Poetry for Hope Writing Club, spearheaded the United for Ukraine Food Drive, ran a poetry book writing project during the pandemic called Planting Seeds of Change, and started the Dobby's Socks and Gloves Drive.

At each of the schools he has worked at, Bachan innovates by setting up one or more programs that particularly benefit the students of that school. The projects either give services and aid, such as clothing and food for Ukrainian refugees and the homeless in Toronto, raise money for organizations like the Lumos Foundation, or spread the values of the Toronto District School Board, including globalism, anti-poverty, anti-racism, peace, education, and sharing with the less fortunate.

Bachan has a passion for literacy, the curriculum, and working in classrooms, and has a way of bringing out the best in his students, helping them find their courage and voices. He is a champion of inclusivity, equity, and supporter of mental health initiatives. His compassion, kindness, and leadership have benefited children locally and worldwide. His ability to inspire a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities is inspirational and admirable.

Sezgin Nalsok, a member of the Halton Teacher Local, has been presented with ETFO’s 2024 International Humanitarian Award for an ETFO member. This award is presented annually to an active ETFO member who has given outstanding service to supporting children in the global community.

Nalsok joined a team of volunteers and traveled abroad on a humanitarian mission to support displaced orphans and refugees driven from their homes by conflict, poverty or climate change. Nalsok was the lead volunteer at one of these camps, implementing play-based activities with a mental health focus and games that were culturally responsive and trauma informed. Nalsok is an advocate for ALL children and their right to education and health care,  since  human rights are universal rights of all human beings, regardless of where they are in our world. 
 
In her community, Nalsok volunteers on numerous committees and community organizations, leading crowdfunding events to bring awareness of the growing number of displaced communities and systems of oppression that exist. 

Nalsok is a learning resource teacher with school programs at the Halton District School Board, leading math and literacy initiatives. She served on the Halton Teacher Local Executive and was a local steward. She is a current and active member on the Local Social Justice Committee and has presented workshops within her board and provincially. Nalsok inspires members across the province to become involved, stay informed, and take action for the rights of children globally.

Jennifer Hanna-Gardiner, a member of the Lakehead Teacher Local, has been presented with ETFO’s 2024 Local Humanitarian Award for an ETFO member. This award is presented annually to an active ETFO member who has given outstanding service to supporting children in the local community.

Hanna-Gardiner is a teacher who shows care and concern for her students while inspiring them to get actively involved to better their community. She has contacted local community organizations and partnered with her class to address local and global issues. She has worked with the Westfort Kiwanis Club on various humanitarian projects, and her class has raised funds for two local pet adoption agencies and made dog toys for them.

Recently, her class made Christmas crafts and performed holiday songs for long-term care home residents. Hanna-Gardiner’s class also made Valentine’s Day gifts that they delivered to seniors. Her class has also been involved in the Community Arts and Heritage Education Project, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s Youth and Mental Health Action Plan, and Eleanor Drury acting workshops.

Hanna-Gardiner inspires a love of learning by providing engaging and real-world issues for her class to address. She encourages her class to be involved in all steps and to take on leadership roles. She ensures their projects have multiple entry points so that all students can contribute and feel valued. Hanna-Gardiner’s students have shown a sense of pride in their accomplishments and have gained more confidence in their abilities. Their humanitarian projects have helped the students realize the positive impact they can make on their local community.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented the Lakehead Teacher Local with its 2024 Member Service and Engagement Award. The award recognizes the excellence of ETFO locals in engaging and involving members, providing outstanding service, and employing innovative strategies to communicate with and involve members in the Federation.

Over the past year, the Lakehead Teacher Local’s Executive prioritized genuine member engagement. This commitment has become the cornerstone of the Executive’s mandate, with each chair diligently working to provide members with diverse and meaningful activities. The aim is to deepen members’ involvement in their local events while educating them on the ways the union can offer support and assistance. The increased attendance at gatherings serves as tangible evidence of their success in engaging members.

The Lakehead Teacher Local provides numerous and varied opportunities for members to be involved, including wellness events. Another example of the Executive's commitment to serving members is their Legacy Funds initiative. Using carefully saved member funds, the Executive developed a plan to offer financial support to members pursuing various endeavours. These funds are available to facilitate the purchase of materials, and to help members with diverse needs such as pension buyback for parental leaves, technology support, and educational bursaries for their children.

Recognizing the significant Indigenous population within their community and schools, the local undertook the task of restructuring leadership roles to accommodate the addition of Indigenous Executive Chair. With this voice at the Executive table, previously marginalized members will be better represented.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Christina Brassett, a member of the Greater Essex County Occasional Teacher Local, with its 2024 New Member Award. This award recognizes a member of ETFO with five years or less membership who has shown a commitment to the Objects of ETFO, and been significantly involved at the local and/or provincial level of the organization.

Brassett was hired by the Greater Essex County District School Board in October 2020. Since then, her passion for teaching, learning, and union involvement have inspired her ETFO local. She has held the position of Member at Large with the local, and participated in numerous conferences focused on collective bargaining, social justice, and occasional teachers, and attended Status of Women Chairperson Training.

In 2021, Brassett assumed the role of the local’s Social Justice Chair, a position she continues to excel in. Her involvement expanded further as she served as a poll clerk at the Annual Meeting. The following year saw Brassett’s continued dedication as she spearheaded a successful book club on Critical Social Justice Theory while taking on the responsibility of Chairperson for the Constitutional Review Committee. Her provincial contributions grew with her appointment as Chairperson of the Anti-Poverty Steering Committee, where she actively advocated for social justice initiatives.

Throughout 2023, Brassett maintained her exemplary involvement in both provincial and local social justice endeavours while contributing significantly to the completion of the local’s updated constitution. Despite her multifaceted roles, including that of a dedicated long-term occasional teacher and new grandmother, Brasset remained an active participant in leadership training and committee activities. Her unwavering commitment, coupled with her humility and passion, continues to inspire those around her.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Bea Yeung, a member of the Upper Grand Teacher Local, with its 2024 Outstanding Role Model for Women Award – Women’s Program. This award recognizes an active ETFO woman member who has been an outstanding role model for women at the local level during the previous school year.

Passion and dedication define Yeung’s contributions, particularly in creating opportunities for marginalized groups. She is an outstanding role model because of her dedication to hard work, inclusion, and ethics.

Co-founding the Nourish to Flourish event, she has orchestrated wellness workshops and gifts for over 150 members annually, emphasizing community building and resilience. Her advocacy extended to addressing systemic issues, such as anti-Asian racism, Indigenous rights, and gender rights. Her commitment to fostering safe and inclusive spaces is exemplified by organizing events like the Retreat for Women and Non-binary Members. She planned meticulously, considered many points of view, and stood firm when advocating for what she believed was right. She supported fellow Executive members on goals that matter to them, from 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion, decolonization, disability justice, and dismantling the patriarchy.

Her provincial ETFO involvement underscores her dedication to broader educational advocacy and collaboration beyond her local community. Through standing committees, workshops, and Annual Meeting participation, she actively engages with counterparts from other locals and ETFO staff. At the local level, Yeung has held various roles, including steward, Executive member, and New Member Committee Chair, contributing significantly to equity and women's status committees. Her international engagement includes collaboration with teachers in Uganda through Project Overseas with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and chairing the International Assistance Standing Committee. She is also a proud graduate of ETFO’s Women in Action I, II and III, and is now a facilitator for the program.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Tammara Smith, a member of the Renfrew County Teacher Local, with its 2024 Professional Learning and Curriculum Development Award for developing the BE EMPOWERED Professional Learning Series on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Mental Health in Education. This award recognizes an active ETFO member or a group of members to recognize a curriculum unit or resource that they have developed.

In 2023, recognizing a pressing need for discussions on equity, diversity, inclusion, and mental health within the teaching community, Smith developed BE EMPOWERED as a platform for educators to engage in expert-led conversations, filling a notable void in professional development opportunities. Each component of the series was crafted to address critical topics such as anti-racism, anti-oppression, anxiety, depression, decolonization, gender identity, and neurodiversity.

Through collaboration with experts from diverse sectors, the series provided a unique space for educators to delve into multifaceted discussions during one-hour sessions. The innovative aspect of this initiative lies in its global reach and real-time participation of educators and experts across borders. By embracing a decolonized approach and fostering global collaboration, the series amplified its reach and impact.

Smith has also contributed actively to various ETFO committees and initiatives. Currently, she serves on the ETFO International Assistance Committee and has served as a school steward. Smith has also participated in numerous ETFO conferences and workshops, including the First Nations Women in Leadership Conference.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Keith Tait, a member of the Niagara Teacher Local, with its 2024 Rainbow Visions Award for his Rainbow Reading Project. The award is presented to members or non-members of ETFO who develop materials and/or incorporate practices that work toward the inclusion of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning realities.

The Rainbow Reading Project was created to offer an anonymous book-lending library, ensuring elementary students (Intermediate and upper-level Junior) have convenient and discreet access to a diverse range of 2SLGBTQ+ literary materials. Students select works from a curated book catalogue and have a choice of how they will receive them.

This project is overseen by an identifying (out) staff member who is the only person privy to individual requests. Visibility of school support is also demonstrated to students by including book reviews in the catalogue by staff members of the school who have read the books. The project has received strong support and Tait’s goal is to expand it to other schools in the future.

Tait created and is the staff leader of Forestview Public School's Gay-Straight Alliance (Falcon Pride). He has presented information and strategies on how to work and support 2SLGBTQ+ students at staff meetings and at the local chapter of PFLAG Niagara. He has also shared about ongoing 2SLGBTQ+ projects with the committee that advises and gives direction to the District School Board of Niagara on equity, inclusion, and anti-racism strategies and directions.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Anu Bahri, a member of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto Local, with the 2024 Women Who Develop Special Projects in Science and Technology Award – Women’s Program. This award recognizes ETFO women members who have produced innovative educational materials for children and/or educators related to science and technology.
 
Bahri developed the Integrated Inquiry Project with two main areas of focus: the development of lesson and unit plans that align with the Ontario curriculum, integrated themes related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the creation of a series of webcasts that guide teachers to incorporate inquiry principles into their science and technology units. The project's objectives included enhancing teaching practices by empowering teachers to confidently implement STEM/STEAM and inquiry methodologies to transform traditional instruction into dynamic, student-centered experiences.
 
The project also aimed to have a broader impact by ensuring the widespread accessibility of resources, contributing to the advancement of STEM/STEAM education, and addressing critical global issues such as climate justice, diversity, and equity. It also promoted meaningful connections to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Over the past six years, Bahri has trained hundreds of Kindergarten to Grade 12 educators and facilitators around the world, impacting thousands of students by empowering them to design human-centred solutions that leverage technology for innovation and social good.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Natasha Nguyen, a member of the Peel Teacher Local, with the 2024 ETFO Writer’s Award – Women’s Program for We Are Travellers/Somos Viajeros. This award recognizes an active ETFO woman member or a group of women members for their published or unpublished works.

We Are Travellers chronicles the narrative of a second-generation Latina Canadian, the daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant who, through family traditions and shared stories, journeys through aspects of her cultural identity. This story unfolds as a celebration of family legacy and traditions, emphasizing the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, particularly from the perspective of the protagonist's wise and loving grandmother. 

The story highlights themes of tradition, family, music, and storytelling, providing an identity-affirming narrative for children experiencing a cultural and linguistic dichotomy between their home and the dominant society. It fosters a sense of pride in the unique knowledge shared by grandparents and underscores the significance of embracing one's heritage. We Are Travellers serves as a testament to the resilience and richness inherent in the experiences of children of immigrant parents, encouraging them to take pride in their roots and celebrate the cultural influences that shape their journey.

As a teacher, Nguyen initiated an Art Expression Club at school, where she fosters a creative community with a particular focus on mental health. This supportive space for students not only engages them in literary and visual expression, but also serves as a platform for creating art that fosters connections with the community, including a local long-term care home. It functions as both a therapeutic outlet for mental well-being and a resource for creative inspiration for school or school board submissions.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has presented Michelle McKay and Klara Redford, members of the Peel Teacher Local, with its 2024 Writer’s Award for their book entitled A Walking Curriculum for the Early Years: Developing a Sense of Place by Sparking Curiosity and Wonder. This award is presented to an active ETFO member or a group of members to recognize published or unpublished works.

This newly released book introduces 33 walking themes accompanied by cognitive tools that inspire emotion and imagination in learning. Tailored specifically for early years educators, this interdisciplinary resource presents an imaginative and ecological approach to extending student learning beyond the classroom.

The book implements A Walking Curriculum (Judson, 2018) for Primary learners. Educators are provided with ways they can develop students’ sense of ecological understanding, through play, wonder, and walking. Each walk outlined in the resource provides guidance on how to introduce, follow up, and engage in play. Designed for versatility, these walks can be adapted to any context to enhance students’ sense of place and deepen their comprehension of curricular subjects.

McKay and Redford are teachers who specialise in early years education. Both are passionate about early learning, equity, and inclusive strategies. With a focus on amplifying student identity and experiences through outdoor learning, their book emphasizes connecting with the land and fostering a deeper sense of place.