On Thursday, August 26th, Mr. Allan Hux, Madam Justice Fran Kiteley, the Board of Directors and staff of OJEN will join friends and colleagues of Kim Wilson to recognize her outstanding contributions to justice education in Ontario.
Ms Wilson recently retired from Abbey Park High School in Oakville after a 30 year teaching career.
Kim is described by her nominators as passionate about teaching law. This passion extended beyond the walls of her classroom. Not only did she recruit local lawyers to judge in-class mock trials, she was instrumental in establishing a high school mock trial program in the Halton region, encouraging teachers in both the Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board to participate. She actively supported annual mock trial tournaments from 2008 until her retirement last year.
She devoted many hours to the Legal Eagles Law Club at Abbey Park High School, which she established in 2013. Students who were interested in learning more about the law and the legal system met weekly. Kim always provided interesting topics related to current legal issues to discuss. Her students comment on the fact that she created an environment where they could freely share and debate diverse opinions no matter their background or ideology.
Kim was a strong advocate for political awareness among youth. During the Federal election campaign of 2019, she supported the Legal Eagle Club students organize the school’s first All Candidates debate and worked with the Civics department to hold a mock election.
Perhaps she is best known for the Youth in Law and Justice Evening. Each year starting in 2013, Kim organized a banquet for students, law teachers and parents in the Halton region. She invited a keynote speaker, as well as lawyers and other members of the justice community to attend the dinner. Every table included a lawyer and another justice professional so students could network and ask questions of professionals from various areas of law.
A valued member of the Halton OJEN Committee since it was formed in 2013, Kim worked with the justice sector members and other educators to promote justice education in Ontario and has had a significant impact on the lives of many students throughout the Halton region.
Kim Wilson is the 11th recipient of the Hux-Kiteley Exemplary Justice Educator Award.
Congratulations to Kim Wilson for this well deserved honour!