Winnipeg School Division, Manitoba
Winnipeg School Division, Manitoba – Wingspan Senior Leadership
Julie Smerchanski
(Assistant Superintendent, Innovation, Engagement and STEAM)
Julie joined the Winnipeg School Division in September 1992 as an educator. She has over 33 years of experience working in education in Canada & Europe. Julie was a Principal within the Winnipeg School Division before taking on a role in Senior Administration.
Julie has an unwavering passion for the arts and advocates for the inclusion of arts programming as a way of doing, being, and creating.
Lorelei Bunkowsky
(Assistant Superintendent, Inclusive Student Services)
Lorelei joined Winnipeg School Division in October 2023 as Assistant Superintendent, Inclusive Student Services. She has a wealth of experience as an educator with 33 years of teaching experience. Lorelei was a Principal for 18 years with Seven Oaks School Division prior to joining Winnipeg School Division.
Lorelei has a tremendous compassion for students and advocates for equity and inclusion for all children in Winnipeg School Division.
Lorelei is an avid supporter of the arts and sings and plays in a family band.
Churchill High School – Wingspan Teachers
Chris Rempel
(Teacher)
Chris Rempel is a seasoned educator with over 20 years devoted to nurturing musical talents in Grade 7-12 students within the Winnipeg School Division. Armed with a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education, Chris runs the Choral and Contemporary Music programs.
Through the Contemporary Music program, students delve into musicality through popular instruments like guitar, bass, piano, and drums. By embracing repetitive chord progressions and accessible music, the program caters to various skill and interest levels simultaneously. The goal is to create a harmonious space where the joy of making music takes precedence over traditional technical skills.
As an advocate for inclusivity and musical diversity, Chris is always looking for ways to meet the needs of the ever-changing demographic of students.
Kylie Hoydale
(Teacher)
Kylie Hoydalo is a Métis artist and art educator living on Treaty 1 Territory. Her work explores ceramic processes and how clay nurtures the relationship between communities and their connection to the land. Kylie seeks to challenge the traditional shapes and functions of ceramics through rethinking wheel throwing, hand building and sculptural techniques.
As an educator, her practice is deeply connected to working with the community and facilitating accessible art workshops for children and adults. Kylie believes that utilizing art with the community is a practice that allows for social justice, fostering deeper connections and permits artists of differing backgrounds and capacities to reach their true potential.
Churchill High School – Wingspan Artists
Connor Derraugh
(Artist-In-Residence)
Music has always been front row center in my life. In 2010, at 15 years old, I suffered a traumatic brain hemorrhage during routine surgery that initially paralyzed the right side of my body. Despite this setback, I remained determined. I’m a graduate of the University of Manitoba Jazz Studies program with a double major in sax and piano.
I’ve performed at various events including the Winnipeg Jazz Festivals, the Asper Jazz Series, and the 2018 and 2019 Downtown Concert Series. As well, I’m a regular performer with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. I am an EA at a local high school with their band.
Greenway Elementary School – Wingspan Teachers
Becky Brown
(Teacher)
Hello! My name is Becky Brown and I have been teaching for 17 years. My teaching philosophy revolves around creating a supportive and engaging atmosphere where every student can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. I believe in recognizing and celebrating the unique strengths and abilities of each student, fostering a sense of belonging within the classroom community.
Outside of school, I love spending time with my family at the lake, swimming and having bonfires. I also really love reading…on the beach of course!
Robyn Johnson
(Teacher)
Hello! My name is Robyn Johnson. Throughout 18 years of teaching experience at Greenway School, I have been provided the opportunity to work with a beautifully diverse group of students with all abilities. Inclusion of all students is a fundamental part of Greenway School’s philosophy and practice. Over many years, Administrators, Specialists, Resource Teachers, Classroom Teachers and EA’s at Greenway School have worked to develop programs and differentiated lessons suited for students with Autism and or Adapted Skills that individualize their needs for success at school and within the classroom. As a Grade 5 and 6 Teacher, my classes have been blessed with opportunities to appreciate the importance of accessibility, sign language, braille, the use of language supports, ever evolving technological supports, and incredibly diverse thinking of each and everyone. It has been a privilege to learn from and about all of my students’ unique abilities.
Creative pursuits have played an integral role in my life from silk screen printing to martial arts. Helping students develop their appreciation for the arts is one of the many reasons why I love the art of teaching.
Greenway Elementary School – Wingspan Artists
Candace Lipischak
(Artist-In-Residence)
Candace Lipischak is a multidisciplinary artist and Métis workshop facilitator. Born and raised on Treaty 1 territory, they are inspired by nature and their French Red River Métis-Polish background.
Self-taught, their visual art work may be connected to outsider art often illustrating unconventional ideas and materials.
Candace is fluent in both French and English
https://www.candacelipischak.com
Photo credit: Thomas Buchan
Touring Artists
Natalie Sluis
(Touring Artist)
Natalie Sluis is a hard of hearing performing artist based in Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 Land. She is a graduate of the Professional Program of the School of Contemporary Dancers. Natalie’s artistic practice includes dance, choreography, singing, and acting. She started her performance career in theatre, film, and artistic gymnastics at a young age where she
Natalie is now fully engaged in the artistic beauty of contemporary dance, and it has become her life’s passion. She has completed multiple professional projects in both choreography and dance.
Christine Stewart
(Touring Artist)
Christine Stewart, who writes as Christine Stewart-Nuñez, is the author of seven books of poetry and a book of essays. Christine’s primary relationship to disability is as the parent of a child with disability, particularly of the intellectual/neurological variety. In her creative work, she explores themes of motherhood in relationship to disability, especially in Bluewords Greening (Terrapin Books 2016)—winner of the 2018 Whirling Prize (literature of disability theme). Christine, who served as South Dakota’s poet laureate from 2019-2021, is currently finishing up a memoir and collaborating with visual artists in the U.S. and U.K. on ekphrastic projects and exhibits. She is a professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies program at the University of Manitoba, where she teaches Feminisms and Disability in Contemporary Literature, and next year she will be splitting her professorship between WGS and Disability Studies.
https://www.christinestewartnunez.com
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Pauline Aitken
(Touring Artist)
Pauline produces mainly two-dimensional work, including painting, mixed media, print and light-box images. Digital montages, up to large-format in scale, are created by combining drawing and print, photographs and micrographs. The work reflects upon the inter-dependence and inter-relationship of life forms on our planet and our place within this.
She studied painting and printmaking at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, including postgraduate studies in printmaking. She followed with part-time teaching posts and a lectureship in BA Design, Anglia Polytechnic University. She lives and works in Suffolk, England.
Since 2017, Pauline’s latest work has been a collaboration with the American poet Christine Stewart Nuñez.
https://www.brightcolors.com/product-category/pauline-aitken/
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Jenel Shaw
(Touring Artist, Staff)
Jenel Shaw is a self-taught visual artist. Her artistic focus is learning new ways to craft and explore artistic expression. Jenel graduated with her masters in Disability Studies from the University of Manitoba. Her dissertation, An Autoethnological Study of Art as a Tool of Empowerment, examined her own experiences with mental illness and disability art. Jenel is executive director of Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba and the sensory and content reviewer for Prairie Theatre Exchange . Jenel serves on many arts boards including being the Co-Chair of the Manitoba Artist-Run Centre Coalition and the Liaison Director for the Manitoba Cultural Society of the Deaf. Jenel is a strong advocate for the d/Deaf and disabilty arts community and provides anti-ablesit training for the arts
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