For Special Education teachers Serafina Abbrusseze, Laura Christopoulos and Tony Gaetano, collaboration is key to building community and ensuring that each student truly belongs.
The three - who make up the JASP (Junior Academic Success Program) Team at St. Anthony Daniel Catholic Elementary School - were presented with the President’s Award to an Educational Team in recognition of their dedication to children and youth at the annual “Yes I Can” Awards Dinner hosted by the Council for Exceptional Children – Hamilton-Wentworth Chapter 289 on May 18.
The event, held annually at Michelangelo’s Banquet Centre, celebrates the achievements of students with exceptionalities and the adults who support and advocate for them. Sixty-six students from Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic schools were recognized in the various categories, as well as five outstanding Catholic educators who received President’s Awards.
For Abbrusseze, Christopoulos and Gaetano, “Yes I Can” is a whole school approach to inclusion. They collaborate with teachers and administrators to help anyone in need and, in small and big ways, contribute to the culture of the school.
“Not only do they care for students in their program that come from all over the city, but they have a genuine care for the Special Needs students in the general population,” said CEC President Maria Trotta.
Also recognized for her ‘can do’ attitude was Danusa Gismondi, an Educational Assistant at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School.
“She is a wealth of knowledge and has developed many excellent teaching and behaviour strategies over the years due to her commitment to student success, her flexibility and willingness to try new things,” stated her nominations.
Conscientious and motived, Gismondi will often bring in supplementary resources to help students with exceptionalities with their classroom learning.
“Danusa doesn’t just focus on the students she is assigned to, but all the students in the class. If she sees anyone struggling, she will step in and see how she can assist.”
“She has excellent instincts, is an exceptional multi-tasker and always has the students’ best interests at heart,” added her nominators.
“She is able to manage the workload, all with a big smile on her face.”
This year’s recipient of the President’s Award to an Educational Leader of the Year, Tracey Brown, Principal of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School, has also been adept at managing workload especially during the pandemic when her commitment to 'Each Belongs' was particularly evident. Brown not only ensured that every student, regardless of abilities, had access to programming and supports at home, but worked tirelessly with the board’s central resource staff and the ABA team to find creative ways to support and engage students.
That caring concern also extended to her staff.
“She was kind and understanding of the staff’s challenges during the pandemic and was flexible with how people accessed their work,” they wrote in their nomination letter. “Tracey has been our calm in the storm during these challenging years in education.”
Noting that Brown’s long range goal is to make St. Kateri truly accessible and meet the diverse needs of all our students, they added that each year she made sure to set aside funds for new sensory and learning items for the school.
“Since Tracey has come to St. Kateri, our sensory room has grown in sophistication, a sensory path has been installed in the halls to guide student movement breaks, and she has provided multiple designated alternative work spaces for students.”
Sensitive to the needs of the school’s large multicultural community, she has sought out staff of diverse cultural backgrounds to build capacity “so our student from immigrant families have someone at the school to connect with.”
An outstanding administrator, she exemplifies what it means to be an inclusive school. “Everything Tracey does and every decision she makes is with kindness and love for the students at St. Kateri.”
In addition to the adult awards, students JK to age 21 with special needs were recognized by the local CEC with “Yes I Can” Awards.
Student award recipients from the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, included:
Academic AwardsCristiano Andrade, Holy Name of Jesus CES
Augustus Bogdanic, St. Margaret Mary CES
Landon Christmas, St. Anthony Daniel CES
Aidan D’Angelo, St. Matthew CES
Matukala-Nkosi Great-Rousseau, Annunciation of Our Lord CES
Felix Judd, St. Lawrence CES
Ewan Lundy, Bishop Ryan CSS
Tiku Odijie, Immaculate Conception CES
Reynaldo Partoza, St. Gabriel CES
Hunter Simpson, St. Anthony Daniel CES
Khalid Souleyman, Cathedral HS
Zachary Tung, St. Joachim CES
Arts AwardsNicholas Bogdanic, Bishop Ryan CSS
Thomas Diaz Villagran, St. John Paul II CES
Sania Hossein Beigi, St. Vincent de Paul CES
Piper Ozon, St. Kateri Tekakwitha CES
Carl John Peralta, Cathedral HS
Angelina Rodriguez, St. Michael CES
AthleticsMarco Cuce, Bishop Ryan CSS
Lincoln Gray, Our Lady of Mount Carmel CES
Community ServiceBrooke Fletcher, Bishop Ryan CSS
Landen Reil, St. John the Baptist CES
EmploymentChristhan Agcio, St. Jean de Brébeuf CSS
Lucas Barbieri, St. Thomas More CSS
Treva Bassett, St. Jean de Brébeuf CSS
Lucas Bento, St. Thomas More CSS
Henry Cacnio, St. Jean de Brébeuf CSS
Julia-Ann Clanfield, Bishop Tonnos CSS
Alexandra Colterman, St. Jean de Brébeuf CSS
Zachary D’Angelo, Bishop Ryan CSS
Pavlina Zupkova, St. Jean de Brébeuf CSS
Extracurricular ActivitiesRodney Ebonzo, St. Eugene CES
Vasilije Grahovac, St. John Henry Newman CSS
Pia Lapadula, St. Kateri Tekakwitha CES
Independent Living SkillsAli Alfarhad, Bishop Ryan CSS
Hunter Dunn, Our Lady of Lourdes CES
Brandon Gallant, St. Luke CES
Joseph Georgis, St. Michael CES
Monica Lacombe, St. John Henry Newman CSS
Noah Sarjas, St. James the Apostle CES
Marcus Scime, St. Teresa of Avila CES
Dominic Senique, Bishop Ryan CSS
Nathan Watson, St. Michael CES
Tyler Wick Asto, St. Thomas the Apostle CES
MusicOlivia Furtado, Our Lady of the Assumption CES
Self-AdvocacyEnoch Akhimien, St. Patrick CES
Mia Di Giosaffatte, St. David CES
Megan Huges, St. Anthony Daniel CES
Sarah Jendzio, Bishop Ryan CSS
Robert Mowatt, St. Marguerite d’Youville CES
Miguel Ribeiro, St. Teresa of Calcutta CES
Johnathan Siwik, Our Lady of Peace CES
Claire Tutolo, St. Ann (Hamilton) CES
Nino Versace, Sts. Peter and Paul CES
Emmerson Wallace, St. Augustine CES
TechnologyJulian Alvaro, St. Paul CES
Domenic Andrade, St. Ann (Hamilton) CES
Alexander Engelhardt, St. Michael CES
Everett Fraser, St. Anthony Daniel CES
Alexander Graczyk, Guardian Angels CES
Alondra Konowrocki-Carletti, St. Kateri Tekakwitha CES
John Paul Santroni, Corpus Christi CES
Luca Saban, Our Lady of the Assumption CES