Three secondary school students from the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) are moving up to national competitions after winning gold medals at the Ontario Technological Skills Competition in Waterloo from May 4 to 6.
Team Ontario 2015 will include Laura Bender from Centre Wellington District High School, gold medal winner in the prepared speech category, together with Nik MacMillan and Nadim Merrikh of Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute who took top honours in TV and video production.
Bender’s speech at Waterloo’s RIM Park beat out contenders from 24 other boards. Competitors were required to deliver a five to seven minute speech on the topic “From the classroom to the workplace, essential skills matter.”
Bender was coached by Jenny Ritter, arts head and subject lead for the school’s Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program at CWDHS.
MacMillan and Merrikh’s medal-winning video was judged the best among entries from two-person teams representing 24 boards across the province. Competitors were required to plan, shoot, edit and deliver a video on a topic announced at the beginning of the day. MacMillan and Marrikh were coached by teacher Rodger Stevenson.
The Skills Canada National Competition will take place May 27 to 30 at the Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
More than 500 young people from across Canada will participate in over 40 skilled trade and technology contests.
