Lilyanna McKay, a Student from Lakehead Alternative School, Wins Provincial Education Award

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 11, 2012) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Lilyanna McKay, a student at Lakehead Alternative School, is the recipient of the highest honour that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) can bestow upon a student-the Student Achievement Award (in honour of Marion Drysdale).

McKay won the intermediate grades 9-10 applied/essential category in the prose or poetry division of this prestigious award for her entry entitled, "3rd World Canada: Voices of First Nations Need to be Heard." She was sponsored by her teacher Rose Marie Cross.

"Lilyanna's personal essay is a well-crafted plea for First Nations children. Its topic is timely and its message appeals to both the hearts and the minds of its readers," said OSSTF/FEESO President Ken Coran.

This is the 27th consecutive year in which the Federation has presented the Student Achievement Awards (formerly known as the Marion Drysdale Awards). This year each winning student was awarded with a cash prize of $1,000 and a framed certificate.

The awards were presented for poem or essay submissions in five prose/poetry categories:

• intermediate grades 9-10 academic;
• intermediate grades 9-10 applied/essential;
• senior grades 11-12 university;
• senior, grades 11-12 college/workplace;
• French.

And for creative entries there are three categories:

• intermediate visual art;
• senior visual art; and
• French or English video/audio/animation.

Entries are judged at four successive levels: school, district, regional and provincial. The competition is open to all Ontario public high school students. This year's theme was "The Right to Speak. The Responsibility to Listen."

The contest is named after Marion Drysdale who died of cancer in 1983 just after retiring from the position of secretary to the general secretary of OSSTF/FEESO. Drysdale was noted for her keen interest in reading and history.

A booklet containing all the winning student submissions can be obtained on request from the OSSTF/FEESO provincial office. A professionally produced DVD about the students and their work is also available.

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.

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