Deninu School student wins 2016 NWT Ministerial Literacy Award

FORT RESOLUTION, NT – Grade 12 student Laney Beaulieu of Deninu School has quite the list of impressive accomplishments already, and with the Ministerial Literacy Award for Youth Learners that she was just awarded in Yellowknife during Literacy Week, her resume will only get stronger.

Beaulieu is described by many as an ambitious and motivated student who always gives 100%. Whether she is paving the way in taking distance learning courses through online instruction or is learning Chıpewyan with her peers, she demonstrates independence, integrity and kindness while consistently being at the top of her class.

She has studied Chıpewyan throughout her school career, and often reads the school’s announcements in the Aboriginal language, as well as advocating for language promotion throughout her school and her community. This past summer, she was accepted into the prestigious SHAD program, and took examples of the Chıpewyan language and culture with her to share with her peers at the University of Calgary.

Principal Kate Powell said, “Laney is an excellent role model for studying hard to achieve her goals,” and noted that Beaulieu will ever call her classmates in the morning to wake them up and make sure they attend class.

Beaulieu also shares another NWT Ministerial Literacy Award with her fellow peers. In 2014, Deninu School students were awarded the Ministerial Literacy Award for Youth Learners for their exceptional commitment to language revitalization. The students were enthusiastic in bringing the language out of their school and back into their homes and community.

This keen learner also placed first in the inaugural South Slave Regional Science Fair with her research project on the factors contributing to alcoholism in Fort Resolution, and went on to win a bronze medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Montreal along with a $1000 scholarship this past May.