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ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
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The Alberta Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children would like to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of children and youth with exceptionalities in our province with the YES I CAN! Awards program.
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with exceptional needs and talents. CEC provides professional development, advocates for individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
We are looking for students who have demonstrated significant personal accomplishments in the areas of academics, arts, athletics (including motor skills), school and community activities, technology, self-advocacy, and transition (work, vocational training or independent living). Full details on each category are included on the next page. We need your help to find and acknowledge these students in your community. Nominations may be made by teachers, principals, related service providers, friends and family. Each student nominated will receive a Certificate of Achievement. Students may only be nominated in one category but you may nominate as many deserving students as you like. There is no cost to nominate a student.
Please complete the attached nomination form and YES I CAN! Student Award Information Sheet including a one-paragraph summary outlining the reasons why the individual was nominated.
Please Note: All nominations must be received no later than May 30th, 2022 in order to be recognized at the Virtual Awards Ceremony to be held before the end of this school year; nominations received after July 1 will be referred to the following year's conference.
Please forward completed form(s) to:
Awards Chair
Alberta Council for Exceptional Children
albertacec21@gmail.com
Alberta CEC is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us. The information collected in this nomination form is managed in accordance with Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act and other applicable laws.
Recipients of the 2021 ACEC YES I CAN! Awards!
School and Community Activities
Connor Reynolds
Elves Special Needs Society
Spruce Grove, Alberta
Connor is a Grade 12 student who attends a school program through the Elves Special Needs Society in Spruce Grove. Connor has shown tremendous social and emotional growth as he transitions to adulthood. He is a leader in his school age program. Connor has worked very hard over the past several years to promote an inclusive environment and acceptance of people with special needs. Connor helps with fundraising events by helping sell and collect money for various prize draws. Connor helped to design a T-shirt for pink shirt day to promote acceptance of all students in his school. As Connor has moved towards his adult transition year, his self-confidence and self-awareness has increased. He is proud to talk about his accomplishments and is able to help other students who need support with social and emotional learning. Connor’s leadership and willingness to help others makes him a well-deserving recipient of a Yes I Can Award in the area of School and Community Activities.
Technology
Ervin Vidallon
St. Alphonsus Elementary School
Ervin is a Grade ? student at St. Alphonsus Elementary School. He has excelled in a very short time increasing his ability to use the Touchchat for communication. This achievement has allowed Ervin to communicate his needs, wants and opinions, and be an active participant in social and learning environents. His confidence has increased along with his desire to help his classmates. Ervin’s growth in independence, communication and participation make him an excellent candidate for a Yes I Can Award in Technology.
Justice Walsh
Parkland School
Justice is a Grade 12 student who attends Parkland School. This year he became very interested in learning about technology and began making his own graduation video. Justice uses a cell phone to take pictures and then uses these pictures to aid with his communication. This project has boosted his confidence and feelings of importance. Justice feels very proud of the videos that he has created and empowered by having control of the making of his grad video. Justice’s motivation to learn new skills fueled by his love of technology makes him a an excellent recipient of a Yes I Can Award for Technology.
Lynn Goto
Banff Community High School
Lynn has demonstrated perseverance and skill with her technical learning abilities on her IPad Touchchat app. Lynn is very social and has increased her ability to communicate with others using her Touchchat communication device. Lynn continues to learn without frustration and execute competency as demonstrated through her fast and efficient technical skills on her Touchchat program. She is writing simple sentences, finding pronouns, nouns and action words with little assistance. This has helped her immensely with her writing assignments. When she is learning something new, she finds the words on her iPad and then independently researches the topic on her computer. When Lynn cannot find the word she adds it to the program with an image and the correct spelling. Lynn also spends time putting sentences together with little assistance to get her message across to teachers and friends at school. She really enjoys writing out questions to take home to her family and describing her day at school and returns excited to share message with her teachers. Lynn has used her Touchchat to make and present presentations for her class. This has brought feelings of pride, connection, confidence and success for Lynn. Lynn’s courage in communicating, proficiency with technology and resulting sense of accomplishment exemplifies the spirit of the Yes I Can Award for Technology.
Self-Advocacy
Eric Thorhauer
Hunting Hills High School
Eric is a Grade 12 student attending Hunting Hills High School. Eric has advocated for himself and increased in self-efficacy throughout his time in high school. He works with each of his teachers to make a plan for success and has been able to obtain a high academic standing. Eric also use his self-advocacy skills to obtain a job at Geek Squad and is able to problem solve using his computer knowledge. Eric’s demonstrated ability to advocate for himself within his school and community makes him a deserving candidate for a Yes I Can Award for Self-Advocacy.
Academics
Dyllyn Duckett
St. John Paul II Collegiate
Dyllyn is a Grade 8 student at St. John Paul II Collegiate. She has proven to be an exceptional math student. Dyllyn is hard working, focused, determined and incredibly thorough in her studies of mathematics. She seeks understanding beyond curriculum expectations and is meticulous in her approach to all of her work. During a year of many challenges, Dyllyn has proven resilient through her adaptability to the various forms of teaching and learning that have been presented. Dyllyn is also very modest and humble regarding her achievements, exemplifying the spirit of the Yes I Can Awards for Academics.
Hendrix Little Mustache-Provost (Iitspaapakaanaam)
St. Paul School
Holy Spirit School Division
Hendrix is a Grade 5 student attending Napi’s Playground Elementary School. Hendrix is always reading, asking questions and researching. He loves to learn and actively participates in class. Hendrix is a leader, able to teach others and help them understand by breaking down the steps and giving day to day examples. Hendrix is always engaged and encourages his peers to do the same. Hendrix has won both attendance and Christian Values awards in his school. Hendrix’s pride in his achievements motivates him to excel further. This pride and demonstrated ability makes Hendrix a deserving recipient of a Yes I Can Award in the area of Academics.
Connor Reynolds
Elves Special Needs Society
Spruce Grove, Alberta
Connor is a Grade 12 student who attends a school program through the Elves Special Needs Society in Spruce Grove. Connor has shown tremendous social and emotional growth as he transitions to adulthood. He is a leader in his school age program. Connor has worked very hard over the past several years to promote an inclusive environment and acceptance of people with special needs. Connor helps with fundraising events by helping sell and collect money for various prize draws. Connor helped to design a T-shirt for pink shirt day to promote acceptance of all students in his school. As Connor has moved towards his adult transition year, his self-confidence and self-awareness has increased. He is proud to talk about his accomplishments and is able to help other students who need support with social and emotional learning. Connor’s leadership and willingness to help others makes him a well-deserving recipient of a Yes I Can Award in the area of School and Community Activities.
Technology
Ervin Vidallon
St. Alphonsus Elementary School
Ervin is a Grade ? student at St. Alphonsus Elementary School. He has excelled in a very short time increasing his ability to use the Touchchat for communication. This achievement has allowed Ervin to communicate his needs, wants and opinions, and be an active participant in social and learning environents. His confidence has increased along with his desire to help his classmates. Ervin’s growth in independence, communication and participation make him an excellent candidate for a Yes I Can Award in Technology.
Justice Walsh
Parkland School
Justice is a Grade 12 student who attends Parkland School. This year he became very interested in learning about technology and began making his own graduation video. Justice uses a cell phone to take pictures and then uses these pictures to aid with his communication. This project has boosted his confidence and feelings of importance. Justice feels very proud of the videos that he has created and empowered by having control of the making of his grad video. Justice’s motivation to learn new skills fueled by his love of technology makes him a an excellent recipient of a Yes I Can Award for Technology.
Lynn Goto
Banff Community High School
Lynn has demonstrated perseverance and skill with her technical learning abilities on her IPad Touchchat app. Lynn is very social and has increased her ability to communicate with others using her Touchchat communication device. Lynn continues to learn without frustration and execute competency as demonstrated through her fast and efficient technical skills on her Touchchat program. She is writing simple sentences, finding pronouns, nouns and action words with little assistance. This has helped her immensely with her writing assignments. When she is learning something new, she finds the words on her iPad and then independently researches the topic on her computer. When Lynn cannot find the word she adds it to the program with an image and the correct spelling. Lynn also spends time putting sentences together with little assistance to get her message across to teachers and friends at school. She really enjoys writing out questions to take home to her family and describing her day at school and returns excited to share message with her teachers. Lynn has used her Touchchat to make and present presentations for her class. This has brought feelings of pride, connection, confidence and success for Lynn. Lynn’s courage in communicating, proficiency with technology and resulting sense of accomplishment exemplifies the spirit of the Yes I Can Award for Technology.
Self-Advocacy
Eric Thorhauer
Hunting Hills High School
Eric is a Grade 12 student attending Hunting Hills High School. Eric has advocated for himself and increased in self-efficacy throughout his time in high school. He works with each of his teachers to make a plan for success and has been able to obtain a high academic standing. Eric also use his self-advocacy skills to obtain a job at Geek Squad and is able to problem solve using his computer knowledge. Eric’s demonstrated ability to advocate for himself within his school and community makes him a deserving candidate for a Yes I Can Award for Self-Advocacy.
Academics
Dyllyn Duckett
St. John Paul II Collegiate
Dyllyn is a Grade 8 student at St. John Paul II Collegiate. She has proven to be an exceptional math student. Dyllyn is hard working, focused, determined and incredibly thorough in her studies of mathematics. She seeks understanding beyond curriculum expectations and is meticulous in her approach to all of her work. During a year of many challenges, Dyllyn has proven resilient through her adaptability to the various forms of teaching and learning that have been presented. Dyllyn is also very modest and humble regarding her achievements, exemplifying the spirit of the Yes I Can Awards for Academics.
Hendrix Little Mustache-Provost (Iitspaapakaanaam)
St. Paul School
Holy Spirit School Division
Hendrix is a Grade 5 student attending Napi’s Playground Elementary School. Hendrix is always reading, asking questions and researching. He loves to learn and actively participates in class. Hendrix is a leader, able to teach others and help them understand by breaking down the steps and giving day to day examples. Hendrix is always engaged and encourages his peers to do the same. Hendrix has won both attendance and Christian Values awards in his school. Hendrix’s pride in his achievements motivates him to excel further. This pride and demonstrated ability makes Hendrix a deserving recipient of a Yes I Can Award in the area of Academics.
For nearly 40 years, the International Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) has recognized children and youth with exceptionalities who have demonstrated their determination and achievements in multiple ways. Presented each year at the International CEC Convention & Expo, the Yes I Can Awards recognize 12 outstanding students with exceptionalities in six categories: Academics, Arts, School & Community Activities, Self-Advocacy, Technology, and Transition. The Yes I Can Program has continued to grow and change since its inception in 1982, with more than 40,000 children and young adults recognized in the U.S. and Canada.
Following this tradition, the Alberta Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (www.albertacec.ca) would like to partner with educators in our province to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of children and youth with exceptionalities.
We are looking for you to identify deserving students who have demonstrated significant personal accomplishments in the areas of academics, arts, athletics (including motor skills), school and community activities, technology, self-advocacy, and transition (work, vocational training or independent living). Full details on each category are included in the nomination form. Students may only be nominated in one category.
We need your help to find and acknowledge these students in your community, especially during this challenging year. Nominations may be made by teachers, principals, related service providers, friends and family. Each student nominated will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Please fill out and return the fillable Nomination Form (link on this page) by email to albertacec21@gmail.com prior to the nomination deadline of May 30, 2021.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our Alberta CEC Executive Members below by filling out the form on the CONTACT page –
President: Shawn Crawford Secretary: Jan Palmer
Following this tradition, the Alberta Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (www.albertacec.ca) would like to partner with educators in our province to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of children and youth with exceptionalities.
We are looking for you to identify deserving students who have demonstrated significant personal accomplishments in the areas of academics, arts, athletics (including motor skills), school and community activities, technology, self-advocacy, and transition (work, vocational training or independent living). Full details on each category are included in the nomination form. Students may only be nominated in one category.
We need your help to find and acknowledge these students in your community, especially during this challenging year. Nominations may be made by teachers, principals, related service providers, friends and family. Each student nominated will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Please fill out and return the fillable Nomination Form (link on this page) by email to albertacec21@gmail.com prior to the nomination deadline of May 30, 2021.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our Alberta CEC Executive Members below by filling out the form on the CONTACT page –
President: Shawn Crawford Secretary: Jan Palmer