“Twinkle, twinkle little star.  How I wonder what you are.”  Those words, so familiar to my ears, bring to mind the wonderment of childhood, the magical time when the early question of “What is that?” slowly matures into the universal question, “Who am I?”  This exploration of one’s self and one’s connection to the world […]

“What gets counted gets done.” That’s the thinking behind this year’s theme for International Day of the Girl Child, recognized on October 11th. The push to increase investment in “collecting and analyzing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data” is seen as essential if the barriers girls face in realizing their potential are to be identified and […]

One day, a girl ran up to three friends and said, “You’ll never guess what I heard about Jane?” One of the friends held up her hand and said: “Wait.  Before you say another word, tell me, is it true?” “Well, I don’t know for certain,” the first girl said. “Is it a kind thing […]

Invictus. Latin for “unconquered.” Its meaning was on full display this weekend in Toronto as the 2017 Invictus were opened by His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales. Amidst the splendor of the ceremony came a procession of heroes –men and women from countries around the world, each having made great sacrifice in the service […]

How one school is using fun competition to close the gender science gap As published in the February 2016 issue of Durham Parent   Despite more than a generation’s work to create a level playing field for the sexes, girls remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science according to Stats Canada. In these […]

How childhood misadventure taught me the gift of receiving As published in the December 2015 issue of Durham Parent Growing up in our house, tradition dictated that my younger sister and I would awaken our parents on Christmas morning and go downstairs together to see the wondrous delights Santa Claus had left under the tree. […]

What was your favourite pastime as a child? As a child, I was a voracious reader. I enjoyed nothing more than curling up with a book for hours at a time. In grade 4, my favorite novel was “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’Engle. It was the first book that made me realize how […]

As published in the October 2015 issue of Durham Parent Every September, families begin the school year with a flourish of excitement and optimism. Perfectly sharpened pencils find their way into tidy cases, binders miraculously fill with pristine sheets of paper, and knapsacks never seem to go astray. But as surely as autumn leaves tumble […]