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news: toronto
Premier defends school after gun drawing School officials in southwestern Ontario who called authorities after a four-year-old girl drew a picture of her dad holding a gun shouldn’t be condemned for their actions, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday. The girl’s father, Jessie Sansone, was handcuffed, stripsearched and told he was being charged with illegal possession of a firearm. His pregnant wife — at home with their 15-month-old
Surgical robot used to treat lung cancer For the first time in Canada, surgeons at Toronto General Hospital have used a robotic surgical system to treat early-stage lung cancer by removing the cancer, along with the lobe of the lung, from a 78-year-old man. The surgery was done in October, when about
daughter — had to go to the police station while their other three children were interviewed by Family and Children’s Services. Police searched their Kitchener home, but the closest thing they found to a firearm was a toy gun. No charges were laid. While parents are ultimately responsible for the development of their children, schools and teachers also have an obligation to their students, McGuinty said. “While it may be difficult for this individual — and I can understand that — it’s an opportunity to ... engage ourselves in a very important conversation about where do we draw the line in those kinds of things,” he said. THE CANADIAN PRESS one third of Stanley Skorpid’s upper right lung was removed through a small incision measuring about three centimetres. Skorpid was back at the hospital on Wednesday for a checkup and remains cancer-free, paving the way for future surgeries. “There was nothing to it,” said Skorpid, during his second checkup since the operation. “There was no pain and the incisions are so small.” Skorpid’s family doctor detected the lung cancer in September. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
A source of empowerment LESLIE FERENC/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Sister 2 Sister is a day-long conference drawing 200 Grade 8 girls from Regent Park “I don’t need a prince to rescue me.” Great title for a self-defence workshop for girls learning to step out of their comfort zones, take the reins and change the world. Participant Nashauna Bethel is ready to be a leader. “I think it’s important for me to be here because I know I am somebody,” she said. “I’m learning that I have the power to do anything I want. I have the ability to do what I want.” The Grade 8 student at Queen Alexandra Middle School, who plans to become a doctor, was among 200 girls from five downtown schools attending Sister 2 Sister, a day-long leadership conference for teens living in and around Regent Park. This was more than girl talk. It was a way of helping girls gain insight into their community, connecting them with mentors and reinforcing the idea that there are no limits on their aspirations. Other girls-only workshops looked at challenges teenage girls face and how to deal with the realities of peer pressure,
Gender gap Regent Park. Sister 2 Sister was established in 2009 to fill in gaps in Regent Park, where there were plenty of programs for boys but not girls, said Jodi Burton, a community support worker with the Toronto District School Board program Model Schools for Inner Cities.
bullying and body image. Learning how to get out of a bind and, more important, how not to get into one in the first place peaked Nashauna’s interest in self-defence. “You never know what could happen,” she said, as she headed to the class to practice her moves. Schoolmate Anya Ryan, also 13, nodded in agreement. “I wish I had signed up for this workshop,” she said as she watched the girls who were learning that an elbow can be most useful in a pinch. The girls were taking their lesson seriously. It’s the kind of determination Anya admires in her role models, who include her mom, Sandra Ryan, Mother Teresa and
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Nashauna Bethel, left, and Anya Ryan, both 13 and in Grade 8 at Queen Alexandra Middle School, are among 200 girls who attended Sister 2 Sister.
pop star Selena Gomez. Unlike Hollywood’s bad girls, Gomez “hasn’t messed up,” said Anya,
who added that taking part in the conference was a good experience. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE