October 28, 2015

Mrs. Lorraine Savignac, a teacher at Sudbury’s École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur, will be honoured on Friday, October 30, during the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy’s annual meeting in Toronto, where she will be presented with the 2015 Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy Outstanding Teacher Award. The Federation’s award recognizes the contributions of a teacher who provides outstanding educational support and guidance to a student with cerebral palsy.

Tanya Quesnel, who graduated from École secondaire du Sacré-Cœur, nominated Mrs. Savignac for this award in recognition of her support and role as teacher at the school’s resource centre. “My transition to high school was difficult but I quickly saw that Mme Savignac would be one of my biggest advocates. Within the first few months of Grade 9, she made it a point to get to know me and understand both my abilities and my way of learning. Everything changed for me at that point, and I enjoyed the kind of success at school that I never dreamed could have been possible,” explained Tanya.

As resource centre teacher, Mrs. Savignac ensured that Tanya had the adaptations and tools she needed to function in the classroom environment. She also educated and informed Tanya’s teachers of the adaptations that would be required. While ensuring that she had access to learning technology and various software that she needed, the school built strong partnerships with her physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and worked closely with her parents. They also supported her in her extra-curricular activities such as adaptive para-nordic sit skiing and wheelchair racing.

“With the support and encouragement of Mme Savignac, I gradudated high school with an average of over 80% and am now pursuing my studies in Social Work at Laurentian University where I qualified for bursaries. All Sacré-Coeur students receive incredible support from the Resource Centre,” stated Tanya Quesnel. 

“Lorraine Savignac has a well-earned reputation for the quality of the support she provides to our students as a resource centre teacher,” said Mrs. Lyse-Anne Papineau, Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario Director of Education. “We take great pride in knowing that Mrs. Savignac, with the support of school team, was able to see to Tanya’s needs and enable her to reach her potential and achieve such a high level of success.”

The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario offers a French Catholic Educational Program that is widely recognized for its excellence. The CSCNO provides a quality learning environment and academic program that runs from early childhood to adult education, with some 7,000 students in 27 elementary and 10 secondary schools.

Source:

Paul de la Riva
Interim Assistant Director of Communications and Community Development
Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario
(705) 673-5626, ext. 294
(705) 677-8195 – cell phone