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Toronto Catholic District School Board

Celebrating Women in History​

On Thursday. March 21, 2019, the Toronto Catholic District School Board is celebrating International Women’s Day at the Catholic Education Centre – 80 Sheppard Avenue East - 2nd Floor. We will hear empowering stories from Women of Distinction, pray as a community and watch incredible student performances that address the theme of empowerment. The day will also showcase art pieces from our students that reflect the spirit of the day. We invite you to attend this extraordinary event.
We invite you to attend the event at any time between 9:30 am and 6:00 pm.  Parents are welcome to visit the exhibit in the Atrium with their children.​

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Virginia Woolf

Victoria G., Grade 11, St. Joseph’s College School

Virginia Woolf was a famous writer and is considered one of the most innovate writers of the 20th century. Her work mainly focused on the changing of gender roles which made her an important feminist in her time. I believe her success in a male dominated field at the time is a true example of women overcoming certain odds in the name of equality. I believe Virginia is a representation of strong females everywhere and the work she’s done deserves more recognition. The painting has many elements that could mean many things; Virginia Woolf is the main figure in the piece which makes her stand out, the flowers around her are meant to represent femininity, and the vibrant background and colours stand out on their own while still helping to compliment the main areas. Over top of Virginia is her quote, “A feminist is any woman who tells the truth about her life” which emphasizes the feminist ideas that she vocalized. Overall, I want my work to say that being a woman goes hand in hand with feminism and that art in any form could be a way of self expression for all women out there.


Mother Teresa

Vicky H., Grade 11, St. Joseph College School

I chose to paint Mother Teresa because she is a humanitarian and is greatly known for her charitable acts towards the people in Calcutta. She is an inspirational woman to everyone including myself as she devoted her life trying to save people from poverty. She helped the poor tremendously by providing them basic necessities such as food and medicine. Mother Teresa also created an organization called “The Missionaries of Charity” that is dedicated to aid the less fortunate. The message of my painting is to demonstrate how Mother Teresa’s actions had influenced others around the world. Mother Teresa left a huge impact to the whole world for her selfless acts. Even after she died, the Missionaries of Charity grew and branched out internationally and they all did the same work as Mother Teresa, helping the poor. Her actions influenced everyone to take initiative and care for the people living in poverty.


Frida Kahlo

Brianna B., Grade 12, St. Joseph’s College School

This piece focuses on the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.  To me, her numerous self-portraits reflect her sense of self-love, which I found to be empowering.  The purpose of the positive words wrapped around her as scarves is to empower women in the same way Frida Kahlo inspired me.  By having her wear these features for everyone to see, I hope women are inspired to do so as well. The contrast of the colours symbolizes the difference between women.  No two people are the same but it is our differences are what make us unique. Showing your strengths and being bold is not something to be ashamed of. Instead, we should encourage women to embrace the parts of themselves that they are proud of and work together to support one another.  This painting represents why women should be proud to be women.


Historical Figure: Alice Coachman

Lisa Ha. Grade 11. St. Joseph’s College School

International Women’s Day is about individuality, women empowerment and breaking female stereotypes. The person who inspired my painting is Alice Coachman. Alice Coachman was known as the first coloured woman to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948. In the past, people with an African background had been discriminated and mistreated. Also, women were known to take the role of a housewife and nurse their children while their husband earned money to support the family. So being a woman of colour had given Alice difficulties in becoming a professional athlete. However, when she won first place for high jump, it made a huge impact towards our society as the perspective of women of colour have changed. Her victory had broken female stereotypes and proved that they are capable of achieving the same goals as men. The message that I want my painting to convey is that women shouldn’t be limited to the stereotypes that society had created but instead pursue their beliefs of what women should be.


Malala Yousafzai

Tiffanie C. Grade 12 St. Joseph College School

I chose Malala Yousafzai because she did a historic change that makes everyone have the ability to study especially the girls, as she said on one of her speech “If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?” This only shows that she wants women to have the knowledge to rule the world. This means a lot to me because I am part of a girls school community and because of her I’m inspired t o know that at an early age she stood up for many girls and remained strong even if she experienced tragic moments in her life. This will remain a legacy that we can look back on In my painting I want my audience to see how I draw School on Malala’s Background to show them that she fought for girlsto be able to learn and to be part of our world’s community.