Girls in Motion at Clearpoint

by Helena Tsitouras

photos by Stephen Wilson

Clearpoint Elementary School held their 8th annual Girls in Motion at Clearpoint (GIMAC).

Over 50 girls from grades 4, 5 and 6 took part in the event along with their moms or dads or another significant adult and were joined by staff, keynote speakers, and workshop presenters. GIMAC was started 8 years ago by previous principal Rachel Wilson (the current principal of Beaconsfield High School) as a day for girls to feel special, creative, and empowered.

This year’s theme was Girls and Women in Science, and the motto was “She Believed She Could, So She Did”. The school was filled with positivity as the three inspiring keynote speakers presented. The speakers, Dianea Phillips, Maxana Weiss and Dominique Poulin, all have backgrounds in science and education, and work in male dominated fields. The three speakers were engaging, with great advice to motivate the girls to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals in life.

After the presentations, the girls completed a science experiment on electricity with the help of presenters from “Les Scientifines”, a group dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to girls. There were also workshops on self-defence from Sensei Meghan Greig, who has been part of GIMAC for many years. As well as a workshop on “Bullet–Journaling” with Cycle 1 teacher Alexandra Haverstock who is passionate about mental health and learning techniques to de-stress and stay calm.

After three years, all were excited to be part of GIMAC in-person at Clearpoint Elementary again. The girls enjoyed an educational, inspirational, and empowering day as they were reminded that they are capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to.