The UCDSB Creativity & Innovation Awards shine a light on individuals who show ingenuity in their classrooms and workspaces, sparking positive and lasting change in their students and colleagues.
2024-2025 Creativity & Innovation Award Recipients
Individuals
Tim East, Teacher, South Grenville District High School
Tim's Grade 9 Communications Technology class launched a newsletter for the Township of Edwardsburg/Cardinal. This initiative has resulted in a student-led publication that covers local events, recreation news, and township stories that has had a measurable impact on residents by helping them to stay informed about community happenings. A key element of this project's success is the partnership Tim has cultivated with the township of Edwardsburg/Cardinal, which has resulted in other community-based projects with students as well.
Kathleen McDougald, Teacher, Eamer's Corners Public School
Kathleen is an inspiring educator whose passion for environmentalism sparked a transformative learning journey for her Grade 4 students. Through her leadership, students created a school-wide composting system and built a medicine wheel garden, blending curriculum with Indigenous knowledge and real-world action. Many of Kathleen's students face academic or personal challenges, but in her classroom, they found purpose and pride. She empowers every learner through authentic, hands-on experiences that build confidence and community.
Turner Onion, Teacher, Carleton Place High School
Turner worked with his senior Recreational Leadership students on a project to enhance accessibility in physical education in the UCDSB. After learning that visually impaired students often miss out on the joy of physical education with their peers, the class designed and piloted adapted games to create activities that would be fun and inclusive. With Turner's guidance, the students wrote lesson plans and assembled 22 full physical education kits with modified equipment that included multiple games and activities. These kits, tailored for Kindergarten to Grade 6 students, are now shared across the district. This project not only helped our blind and low-vision students, but it also educated sighted students about inclusion and empathy.
Kathleen Rios, Teacher, Russell High School
Kathleen is a creative and community-driven educator whose leadership has empowered her Grade 7/8 students to launch Thrifty T's - a student-run upcycling initiative that transforms discarded materials into clothing, quilts and high-end paper. Through this project, students develop financial literacy and social responsibility while running sub-businesses under the Thrifty T's umbrella. Profits are reinvested or donated to local shelters, and free clothing is made available to students in need. Kathleen's guidance has allowed this project to flourish, giving students the confidence to lead, create, and take initiative.
Megan Connolly, Teacher, Perth & District Collegiate Institute
Megan undertook a transformative Black Canadian History project with her Grade 7 Immersion class that turned into a public, interactive experience. Students created life-sized cutouts of Black Canadian trailblazers, paired with student-produced podcasts accessible via QR codes. These displays are now featured at the Perth Museum and OPP East Region Headquarters.
Groups
Stacy Schwendemann and Kim Noble, Teachers, Pleasant Corners Public School
This bilingual teaching team guided their Grade 1 students through the creation of two published books - one about their autumn experiences, and another focused on social-emotional learning. The second book includes QR codes linking to videos of students demonstrating calming strategies, making it an interactive tool for readers at home and in schools. Students learned the publishing process and also developed their writing skills while honing their own self-regulation strategies, promoting both reading and well-being. The books extend beyond the school and have been shared with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ronald McDonald House.
Have questions?
Contact Lisa Workman at [email protected].