4 minute read
International Women’s Day
by Sopha Liu, 804
March 8th marks International Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate and recognize all of the phenomenal accomplishments and achievements made by women throughout history. IWD (International Women’s Day) also focuses on raising awareness about women’s equality and fundraising for female-focused charities.
The Middle School recognized IWD by giving us the option to wear purple accessories and clothing. Purple, green and white are the colours that symbolize IWD. Purple signifies justice and dignity while green symbolizes hope.
The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911. The celebration was first made known in Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Germany on March 19th. Over one million men and women attended IWD rallies to demand rights for women, including the right to vote and work. Just before WWI, Russian women celebrated their first IWD on February 23rd, 1913. After some discussions, it was agreed that IWD would take place annually on March 8th. In 1975, IWD was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations. By the start of the 21st century, there was still very little acknowledgement of this day. In 2001, internationalwomensday.com was launched to make IWD as recognized and celebrated as possible. Each year they create a theme to help with the movement of gender equality. The website also focuses on a global campaign as a call to action for gender equality; the organizers also donate a significant amount of money to female-focused charities.
International Women’s Day 2022’s theme is to “#BreakTheBias”. There is a lot of bias in the world whether we admit it or not. Even though a lot of the time it is subtle, bias makes it more difficult for a woman to advance in the world. The bias in workplaces is especially awful. There are eighty-six women promoted for everyone hundred men. Discrimination against women in a workplace can be so significant that there is a social term about it called the “glass ceiling”. The glass ceiling is a metaphor for how a woman can work as hard as or harder than anyone, but as she climbs the ladder to success, she is only able to see the promotion; she is not actually able to get it.
Just imagine a world where all genders are equal; there are no biases within your workplace or school. That is aspiration for the future. If you want to help break the bias, cross your arms and strike the “#BreakTheBias” pose. Gender equality is a global issue. Although this will not be solved purely on the acts of International Women’s Day, it is certainly a step in the right direction for a gender equal world.
Mr. McGall strikes the #BreakTheBias pose
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Important Dates in March and April
March 8: International Women’s Day
March 14: Commonwealth Day
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
March 21: International Racial Discrimination Awareness Day
March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility
April 9: Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge April 14: International Day of Pink— Diversity and Inclusion of LGBTQ2S+
April 15-18: Easter Long Weekend
April 19-22: Earth Week @HSC
“Going Back to Normal” continued from p. 1
so there was less chatter. Being in the dining hall isn’t just the threat of being surrounded by people eating with their masks off, but also being forced into a noisy and crowded space. Because there will be hundreds of people in the room at the same time, everyone has to compete to have their voices heard which brings up the volume even more. I might’ve been used to it at one point, but honestly, the thought of it now is quite overwhelming.
Some people my age are ready to be done with all the COVID restrictions, but there are also a lot of us who would prefer a more gradual transition, slowly removing one policy at a time. Would it not make sense to first remove masks, then re-engage in grouped seating, and then and only then, go back to eating in the dining hall? In fact, lifting a lot of these things could wait until September because there are only a few months left in the school year, and a lot of us would feel more comfortable and safe. Adults, are you listening? I hope so.
Related reading:
“Anxious about returning to ‘normal’ postCovid? You’re not alone” - Advisory.com
“Do schools favor extroverts?” - PLDlamplighter.org
“How different personality types might adapt to life after COVID-19” - verywellmind.com
“Meet the Introverts who are dreading going back to normal” - Washington Post
Scratch Game to try: Just Shapes and Beats reference
by Tri Huynh, 603
Do you like Just Shapes and Beats? JSAB inspired my idea for this hard version of the game on Scratch.
Click on the image below to play. Use W A S D for movement and space to dash. I had to get rid of a shield because it was malfunctioning for some reason.
The game is really randomized so if you can get to 100 seconds while surviving with 10 damage, you are a true legend!
St. Patrick’s Day comic by Queena Qian, 803
