Award Winners
MRA and RCGW Awards Night - May 19, 2022
The Manitoba Reading Association, in partnership with the Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg, held their Awards Night on May 19, 2022 at Niakwa Country Club in Winnipeg, MB. Pictured above are the winners of all the awards that were presented that evening.
Joel Simkin - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Advocacy, 2022
Joel is the Literacy Coordinator for the John Howard Society’s Literacy Program. This initiative provides free tutoring services to men who seek to improve their education while incarcerated. Joel’s passion for this worthwhile cause results in the coordination of volunteer tutors so that inmates may gain their mature high school diploma, the publication of an inmate-composed newsletter featuring poetry, prose and art, and the production of CDs which feature an inmate reading a picture book, which is then gifted to a child in the inmate’s life.
Joel is flexible and determined; when COVID19 restrictions impeded his work in correctional institutions, Joel adapted the literacy program’s direction by bringing the tutoring program to Manitoba’s halfway houses, which serve a population who are rehabilitating their lives after incarceration.
Supported by research, Joel maintains a belief that literacy is integral to the future success of inmates, and drastically reduces the possibility of recidivism for those released from incarceration. Joel not only serves the incarcerated, he also serves their families and communities as a whole. Joel demonstrates the values of the MRA and literacy education, and wholeheartedly deserves the honour that we accord him.
Joel is the Literacy Coordinator for the John Howard Society’s Literacy Program. This initiative provides free tutoring services to men who seek to improve their education while incarcerated. Joel’s passion for this worthwhile cause results in the coordination of volunteer tutors so that inmates may gain their mature high school diploma, the publication of an inmate-composed newsletter featuring poetry, prose and art, and the production of CDs which feature an inmate reading a picture book, which is then gifted to a child in the inmate’s life.
Joel is flexible and determined; when COVID19 restrictions impeded his work in correctional institutions, Joel adapted the literacy program’s direction by bringing the tutoring program to Manitoba’s halfway houses, which serve a population who are rehabilitating their lives after incarceration.
Supported by research, Joel maintains a belief that literacy is integral to the future success of inmates, and drastically reduces the possibility of recidivism for those released from incarceration. Joel not only serves the incarcerated, he also serves their families and communities as a whole. Joel demonstrates the values of the MRA and literacy education, and wholeheartedly deserves the honour that we accord him.
Fatima Ramjiawan - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Advocacy, 2022
Fatima is an Area Service Director and School Psychology Lead for the Winnipeg School Division. She has held this post for 18 years and has worked for Winnipeg School Division for 32 years. Working alongside some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable populations, Fatima has a deep understanding of the needs of this community and the barriers they face. She has always believed that education, specifically literacy, has the power and agency to become a social equalizer for marginalized populations.
Fatima created two initiatives that have had a profound impact on many inner-city schools; they are “Talk to Me” and “Read to Me.” “Talk to Me” is an intervention program for students in Nursery to Grade 1 that addresses students’ oral language skills. Fatima advocated with data and research for a program that would support the development of essential oral language skills. “Talk to Me” currently serves 20 schools in the division, serving more than 600 students yearly. “Read to Me” is a framework consisting of a co-teaching model that drastically improves reading outcomes, from 12% of students reading at grade level to 75%. These programs were created to mitigate barriers and provide equity for inner-city students. Fatima believes, and advocates for, quality investment in teaching and learning systems change, and we are very pleased to honour her work.
Fatima is an Area Service Director and School Psychology Lead for the Winnipeg School Division. She has held this post for 18 years and has worked for Winnipeg School Division for 32 years. Working alongside some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable populations, Fatima has a deep understanding of the needs of this community and the barriers they face. She has always believed that education, specifically literacy, has the power and agency to become a social equalizer for marginalized populations.
Fatima created two initiatives that have had a profound impact on many inner-city schools; they are “Talk to Me” and “Read to Me.” “Talk to Me” is an intervention program for students in Nursery to Grade 1 that addresses students’ oral language skills. Fatima advocated with data and research for a program that would support the development of essential oral language skills. “Talk to Me” currently serves 20 schools in the division, serving more than 600 students yearly. “Read to Me” is a framework consisting of a co-teaching model that drastically improves reading outcomes, from 12% of students reading at grade level to 75%. These programs were created to mitigate barriers and provide equity for inner-city students. Fatima believes, and advocates for, quality investment in teaching and learning systems change, and we are very pleased to honour her work.
Lucy Schnaider - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrators, 2022
Lucy is an outstanding literacy leader and principal at John M. King School in Winnipeg. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an administrator in the inner-city and was formerly an early years’ educator, resource teacher and inclusion support teacher. Lucy’s gift is one of building a community of dedicated and passionate staff at her school and in her division. Lucy’s unwavering commitment to the reduction of barriers and promotion of literacy education in the inner-city has resulted in leadership roles in two literacy steering committees that promote the strong development of early oral language and literacy skills.
Lucy is sought out in the division to participate on committees and initiatives. “Talk to Me” and “Read to Me” are two of these programs, and are borne out of a recognition of the importance for students to build a strong foundation in early years literacy skills. Lucy understands how these early reading and writing skills impact the rest of a student’s education career.
Lucy values professional learning and allocates resources accordingly, empowering her staff to become leaders in education in their own right. Lucy’s integrity, compassion and commitment to literacy are what has led to her nomination, and we are pleased to present her with this award.
Lucy is an outstanding literacy leader and principal at John M. King School in Winnipeg. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an administrator in the inner-city and was formerly an early years’ educator, resource teacher and inclusion support teacher. Lucy’s gift is one of building a community of dedicated and passionate staff at her school and in her division. Lucy’s unwavering commitment to the reduction of barriers and promotion of literacy education in the inner-city has resulted in leadership roles in two literacy steering committees that promote the strong development of early oral language and literacy skills.
Lucy is sought out in the division to participate on committees and initiatives. “Talk to Me” and “Read to Me” are two of these programs, and are borne out of a recognition of the importance for students to build a strong foundation in early years literacy skills. Lucy understands how these early reading and writing skills impact the rest of a student’s education career.
Lucy values professional learning and allocates resources accordingly, empowering her staff to become leaders in education in their own right. Lucy’s integrity, compassion and commitment to literacy are what has led to her nomination, and we are pleased to present her with this award.
Rex Ferguson-Baird - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrators, 2022
Rex’s career in education has included roles as an Educational Assistant, Classroom Teacher, Vice Principal and, currently, Principal of Brooklands School. Rex’s passion for excellence with his students and staff have resulted in innovative practices that are celebrated and admired. Some of these practices include “We Can Do It!” (a project that celebrates and promotes literacy), the “Listen Project” (an initiative that curated the dreams and aspirations of the students), “Circle of Courage” (a project that used picture books to teach the four quadrants of the circle of courage, an art installation in the community garden), and the Outdoor School program.
Rex was a part of the Brooklands team that previously won two Celebrate Literacy Awards, an award that recognizes institutions and individuals that have made significant literacy contributions to their community. Rex has been instrumental in the Grow Your Library program, which provides every Kindergarten and Grade 1 student with two books each month, and is based on the research of Richard Allington. This program and another which seeks to combat summer slide by gifting ten books for each student, has resulted in placing more than 22 000 books in the hands, hearts and homes of the Brooklands school community.
Rex is a lifelong learner. He is a voracious reader and models what he expects of his school team; indeed, he holds high expectations for teacher practice. Book studies occur annually at his school and the staff team have demonstrated implementation of key concepts which have changed the learning environment because of these studies. Rex leads his students, staff and school community partners to co-create a vision for excellence. We are pleased to honour his work.
Rex’s career in education has included roles as an Educational Assistant, Classroom Teacher, Vice Principal and, currently, Principal of Brooklands School. Rex’s passion for excellence with his students and staff have resulted in innovative practices that are celebrated and admired. Some of these practices include “We Can Do It!” (a project that celebrates and promotes literacy), the “Listen Project” (an initiative that curated the dreams and aspirations of the students), “Circle of Courage” (a project that used picture books to teach the four quadrants of the circle of courage, an art installation in the community garden), and the Outdoor School program.
Rex was a part of the Brooklands team that previously won two Celebrate Literacy Awards, an award that recognizes institutions and individuals that have made significant literacy contributions to their community. Rex has been instrumental in the Grow Your Library program, which provides every Kindergarten and Grade 1 student with two books each month, and is based on the research of Richard Allington. This program and another which seeks to combat summer slide by gifting ten books for each student, has resulted in placing more than 22 000 books in the hands, hearts and homes of the Brooklands school community.
Rex is a lifelong learner. He is a voracious reader and models what he expects of his school team; indeed, he holds high expectations for teacher practice. Book studies occur annually at his school and the staff team have demonstrated implementation of key concepts which have changed the learning environment because of these studies. Rex leads his students, staff and school community partners to co-create a vision for excellence. We are pleased to honour his work.
Rosa Messina - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award, 2022
Rosa is an extraordinary educational assistant who has made significant contributions while working with a special population of students at Ecole Victoria-Albert School over the past 23 years. Her passion for education and literacy, and her skill supporting literacy development with newcomer students, has made a difference in the lives of many young people.
What makes Rosa stand out from her peers is her ability to connect and engage with EAL students, making them feel valued and equal to their classmates. Rosa takes time to engage these students with visuals and oral conversation to help them connect to subjects being learned and texts being read. Students are captivated by her warm demeanour, her approachable way of teaching basic literacy skills and the value she places in each of them as learners.
Rosa has worked collaboratively to run a Stage 1 EAL learner group. She made learning to read, write and speak in English accessible to the students by presenting them with a variety of hands-on tasks, special guests, and field trips to make real world connections. All her work was focused on helping students acquire the necessary literacy and social skills to be successful in the regular classroom.
Rosa is well-versed in a variety of teaching methods and best practices, closely monitoring student needs and adapting materials as needed to individualize instruction. Many times, Rosa approached the resource teacher with her own ideas or visions, which were then implemented. She took on many extra responsibilities during the pandemic and even created and ran her own Google Classroom.
Rosa volunteers her time in many ways, going far beyond the expectations of her role. She is a champion of EAL learners and invaluable to her school and community. As she retires, her exemplary accomplishments deserve to be celebrated with this prestigious award.
Rosa is an extraordinary educational assistant who has made significant contributions while working with a special population of students at Ecole Victoria-Albert School over the past 23 years. Her passion for education and literacy, and her skill supporting literacy development with newcomer students, has made a difference in the lives of many young people.
What makes Rosa stand out from her peers is her ability to connect and engage with EAL students, making them feel valued and equal to their classmates. Rosa takes time to engage these students with visuals and oral conversation to help them connect to subjects being learned and texts being read. Students are captivated by her warm demeanour, her approachable way of teaching basic literacy skills and the value she places in each of them as learners.
Rosa has worked collaboratively to run a Stage 1 EAL learner group. She made learning to read, write and speak in English accessible to the students by presenting them with a variety of hands-on tasks, special guests, and field trips to make real world connections. All her work was focused on helping students acquire the necessary literacy and social skills to be successful in the regular classroom.
Rosa is well-versed in a variety of teaching methods and best practices, closely monitoring student needs and adapting materials as needed to individualize instruction. Many times, Rosa approached the resource teacher with her own ideas or visions, which were then implemented. She took on many extra responsibilities during the pandemic and even created and ran her own Google Classroom.
Rosa volunteers her time in many ways, going far beyond the expectations of her role. She is a champion of EAL learners and invaluable to her school and community. As she retires, her exemplary accomplishments deserve to be celebrated with this prestigious award.
Previous Years
2019
Barbara Lepp - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Advocacy
Shauna Archer - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Margaret Fair - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Nicole Koroluk - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Leanne Rolfe - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Sally Bender - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Sandra Shaw-Lyons - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Brooklands School Literacy Team - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Barb Galessiere, Brenda Grieve, Susan Hayward, Carol Hryniuk-Adamov, Arlene Kinden, Linda McPherson - Recognition of Service to the Adolescent Literacy Summit
2018
Kathie MacIsaac - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy Advocacy
Tanis Theissen - MRA Crocus Literacy Award to an Administrator
David A. Robertson - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
2017
Joyce Sawatzky – MRA Crocus Award for Literacy Advocacy
Dawn Kidder – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Susan Mooney – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Monica Wiebe – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Barbara Lepp - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Advocacy
Shauna Archer - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Margaret Fair - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Nicole Koroluk - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Leanne Rolfe - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy: Administrator
Sally Bender - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Sandra Shaw-Lyons - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Brooklands School Literacy Team - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Barb Galessiere, Brenda Grieve, Susan Hayward, Carol Hryniuk-Adamov, Arlene Kinden, Linda McPherson - Recognition of Service to the Adolescent Literacy Summit
2018
Kathie MacIsaac - MRA Crocus Award for Literacy Advocacy
Tanis Theissen - MRA Crocus Literacy Award to an Administrator
David A. Robertson - ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
2017
Joyce Sawatzky – MRA Crocus Award for Literacy Advocacy
Dawn Kidder – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Susan Mooney – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award
Monica Wiebe – ILA Celebrate Literacy Award