October 2012

OCTOBER 2012

Can Del DuCaDeliver?Vaughan stays Liberal

with hopes of more provincial help

PlusKids & Education

Special Section Entertainment

GardeningShopping

SportsDiningTravel

VaughanToday.ca

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OCTOBER 2012 VAUGHAN ToDAY �

Lori Abittan Publisher

Joe Mastrogiacomo Vice President of

finance

Doreen Iannuzzi Vice President of

new Media

editorial

Eric McMillan editor-in-chief

Rodger Burnside ManaGinG editor

Shadi Raoufi editorial

art director

Gordon Cameron Karolyn Coorsh

Shawn Star associate editors

Production serVices

Tony Lomuto suPerVisor

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Contents

ON THE COVER: It’s a fist-pumping victory for

Neda Assadpour of Ice Dreams at Best of Vaughan awards

Francis Crescia/Vaughan Today

6A HIT IN HINDI

Multilingual Vaughan singer finding success in India

4DEL LUCA KEEPS US RED

Liberal victory in byelection sends new MPP to Queen’s Park with high expectations

11KIDS AND EDUCATION

A special section on private schools, students, teaching and technology

19BEST OF VAUGHAN

The awards event, the speakers, the winners, the entertainers — the food

42HOOPS DREAMS COME TRUE Celebrating the 10-year success of the

Vaughan Basketball Association

Plus lots more...

The best of a great lot

Eric McMillan, Editor-in-chief

M any publications these days

offer a “best of” list. Some such lists of award winners are selected by the publications’ editors or market-ing departments. Others, like that of Vaughan Today in this issue, are more open to the public, with the winners voted on by readers and consumers.

However, even in this latter cat-egory, the danger always exists of the numbers being tweaked by the pub-lications, or the contest rules being modified over time, so that certain companies close to the publications (yes, I’m talking about advertisers) come out with prizes. Off the top of my head, I could name several papers and magazines in other cities that have gone that route.

I am happy to report in our second year of the Best of Vaughan celebra-tions — which more than doubled in size, number of businesses, and votes over the first year — Vaughan Today has determinedly resisted all such temptations. You — our readers and Vaughan residents — have remained sole judge of which businesses are

truly tops. Sure, we have some advertisers

who were also winners. This is to be expected, since there are so many ter-rific services and products available in Vaughan, which use our pages to tell the public about them.

We’d like to give them all awards. We really would.

But we’ll leave the choice to you. Next year maybe. Watch our pages for the next round of voting.

� VAUGHAN ToDAY OCTOBER 2012

Del Duca’s first day at Queen’s Park

Liberal Steven Del Duca swept to victory in the Sept. 6 byelection, keeping the riding red following the departure of Liberal Greg Sorbara.

Del Duca received 51 percent of the popular vote and was met by a raucous crowd when he arrived with Premier Dalton McGuinty to the Supreme Banquet and Convention Centre in Woodbridge.

Del Duca beat his nearest rival, Progres-sive Conservative candidate Tony Genco, by more than 5,000 votes.

Calling it a surreal moment, with his wife by his side, Del Duca told a poignant story about how he told his wife he wanted to be the MPP for Vaughan during their first lunch date.

“I told her that back in early April 2003 — and you know what? To her credit, she still married me,” he said to chuckles from the crowd.

McGuinty congratulated Del Duca, who served as Sorbara’s executive assistant in 2001, on his hard-fought campaign and thanked Vaughan residents for choosing his Liberal party.

“I’m very, very honoured by the choice made by the people of Vaughan in electing Steven Del Duca,” he said.

The premier said the victory was encour-aging for his party considering the state of the province’s economy.

“Winning a byelection in government is never an easy thing at the best of times,” he said. “And these are not the easiest of times. It’s a more challenging time.”

Del Duca, who was flanked by both McGuinty and Sorbara during his speech, thanked his predecessor, the premier, his campaign team, the people of Vaughan and most importantly, his parents, wife and two children.

“Among other things, the primary reason I threw my hat in the ring in this campaign, was to make sure that this community, Vaughan, stays as wonderful as it is for them, as it was for me,” he said.

As Del Duca and the premier made their way through the crowd, supporters traded light-hearted banter such as “Don’t break your promises!”

“I won’t, I don’t want to get in trouble next time!” Del Duca responded.

By OMAR MOSLEh

True Grit

POWER WALK: Newly elected Vaughan MPP Steven Del Duca, left, walks into his first Liberal caucus meeting at Queen’s Park with Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Vaughan sticks with provincial Liberals


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Del Duca’s first day at Queen’s Park

New MPP takes his seat, aware of Vaughan voters’ expectations of him

When Liberal MPP Steven Del Duca was cam-paigning with Premier Dalton McGuinty over the summer, he came to two major realizations.

The first, he says, is that the premier apparently has no trouble connecting with everyday Ontar-ians.

“I was struck by the sense of understanding in people’s eyes, once they got over the shock that our premier was at their doorstep or grocery store, it was very obvious they were really blown away by

how down to earth he is,” Del Duca said.

His second epiphany was a little more embar-rassing.

“The second thing that struck me was that our premier speaks far better Italian than I do,” he said to peals of laughter from the crowd on election night.

As a new member of the legislature, Del Duca was recently sworn in and received a standing

ovation from all members of the legislature, a rar-ity that only occurs during byelections.

“A lot of MPPs told me ‘Del Duca, enjoy this because this is as good as it gets. You’re never going to get all three parties giving you a standing

ovation.’ ” And while it was his first time sitting in the

legislature, Del Duca is no newcomer to Queen’s Park. He’s been in the gallery and lobby many times before as a staffer.

“But to sit in the chamber among the other 106 MPPs was just a great feeling,” he said.

In his first question period, he asked Minister of Health Deb Matthews a question on the status of the Vaughan hospital.

Thus far, he’s already been to some constitu-ency and caucus meetings, senior’s events and is working on getting his office up and running.

He’s also found himself to be better recognized in Vaughan.

“I think I have the benefit, by virtue of my hairstyle, that I’m a little more recognizable to people,” Del Duca said. “And then there’s a fair number of people, whether I’m at a Tim Hortons or a grocery store, they look over and on some level have some awareness, but they don’t always say something.”

That could change soon, as Del Duca acknowl-edges he made a lot of commitments during his campaign. Chief among them: seeing the hospital through to its construction, decreasing gridlock and sealing the deal on the Highway 427 extension.

But one of Del Duca’s more lighthearted prom-ises may be what most resonates in Vaughanians’ minds.

“When I run for re-election, I promise I’ll say a little bit more in Italian.”

By OMAR MOSLEh

Issues include hospital,

gridlock and highway

extension.


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Photo courtesy harshVardhan rane

THREE YEARS in Mumbai may have affected how she speaks Italian, but singer Natalie Di Luccio aims to continue melding eastern and western music.

Singer Natalie Di Luccio may be the only Italian person in Maple with an Indian accent.

It has nothing to do with where she was born. Rather, the 23-year-old multilingual singer has spent the past three years in Mumbai packing 45,000-seat venues, performing with some of the biggest icons in Indian music.

She’s grown so accustomed to the culture and language, one can detect a slight Hindi inflection in the way she speaks now.

“Honestly, I don’t realize it, but every time I come home everybody teases me about it,” Di Luccio said in a phone interview with Vaughan Today.

“And I’ll say mobile now instead

of cell phone, or SMS instead of text … And people look at me, like, ‘Did you just say that?’ ”

Originally from the Highway 7 and Martingrove Road area of Woodbridge, Di Luccio moved to India in 2009 and now has a huge following. Some of her YouTube videos have more than one million views and her Facebook page sur-passes 60,000 likes.

She recently collaborated and performed with academy-award winning composer A. R. Rahman, best known for his work in Slumdog Millionaire.

She’s come a long way from when she was a classical music student at McGill University. She remembers getting a message on MySpace inviting her to partake in

By OMAR MOSLEh

a hit in HindiMultilingual Vaughan singer finding success

in India and on social media


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an Indian fusion recording, while she was writing an essay at the McGill library.

“I almost didn’t respond to the message, because you never know who it really is online,” she said.

The message ended up being from popular Indian composer Tush-ar Parte.

Months later, she recorded a sam-ple from Toronto, and had a CD arrive at her home unexpectedly.

Things snowballed from there. A Toronto psychic sealed the deal when she told Di Luccio her music career would be really kick off in Asia.

“She hadn’t asked me anything at that point, and said I should be leav-ing school and pursuing my career,” Di Luccio said. “And one month later I was on a plane to India.”

To prepare for her trip, Di Luc-cio watched Slumdog Millionaire a week before her flight. It wasn’t very inviting.

I had already booked the tickets, and I kind of had a heart attack,” she said.

Di Luccio’s fears were not allayed when she arrived at the Mumbai air-port, which is in the slums.

“So when I landed, that was the first thing I saw … it was a huge shock for me,” Di Luccio said.

She soon learned there’re no rules for driving in the streets of Mumbai, and recalls being in awe of the sheer number of people everywhere.

“It’s a completely different world, a different lifestyle,” she said of the city.

Slowly she fell in love with the eclectic culture, and came upon more musical opportunities in Mumbai, such as a collaboration with singer Sonu Nigam, she said. Her music started appearing in Bollywood films and she decided to move there per-manently.

Gradually, she grew accus-tomed to the country, but its resi-dents seemed to have trouble getting accustomed to her.

Di Luccio, who grew up singing in Italian, French, German, Spanish and English at Toronto’s Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts, noticed people looked at her strangely. She still gets the occasional stare.

“When I first started singing in Hindi, I was really surprised by how people reacted, because I was so used to singing in other languages growing up,” she said.

“After I spent a lot of time there, it’s become really easy for me,” she added.

When she returned to Canada to visit her family, who now live in the Dufferin Avenue and Major Mack-enzie Drive area, she found the roles had reversed.

“I had culture shock coming back,” Di Luccio said. “It’s a weird feeling.”

For example, she had almost for-gotten what it’s like to get on a bus and see people from almost every ethnic background.

It’s those kind of experiences that have made her appreciate Canada more. The remnants of the caste sys-tem in India also made her value the respect for equality in western culture.

“In Canada, we’re used to every-one being equal,” she said. “So I realized how lucky we are in some ways.”

She was also humbled by how some Indians abjectly accept their station in life.

“In a way, some of these people are actually happier than we are,” she said. “I’m amazed by it, and it kind of makes me question every-thing that I get upset over.”

Di Luccio was also surprised to learn Canada has a global reputation as a majestic, beautiful country.

“Growing up we’re used to it and don’t realize how much natural beauty there is here,” she said.

But upon returning, she was dis-appointed in how ignorant Canadians were about the east.

“When I came home, people would ask me if I spoke Indian,” she said. “And I would tell them there’s no language called Indian, and actu-ally, English is one of the offi-cial languages in India.”

Now Di Luccio sees herself as a cultural ambassador of sorts, build-ing a bridge between the east and west not only musically, but cultur-ally.

“That’s when I felt I was sort of given this opportunity to teach people through music,” she said.

Di Luccio said she wants to con-tinue melding eastern and western influences into her music, and is cur-rently in talks with a North American producer for a single.

She also wants to raise awareness of western classical music in India.

And while she may be more than 12,000 kilometres from Vaughan by plane, there’re a few things in Mum-bai to remind her of home.

And she’s already succeeded in planting some of her own roots there.

“Believe it or not, one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve been to was in Mumbai,” Di Luccio said. “And funny enough, just a few months ago, I recorded an Italian song for a Bollywood film.”

‘It’s a completely

different world, a different lifestyle.’


Vaughan Today is looking for the city’s best youth.Every year the Ontario Community Newspapers

Association, of which Vaughan Today is a member, searches the province to look for a dozen amazing young people who work to make their communities and the world a better place.

The Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards recognize youth between 6 and 17 years of age, who have had a positive effect on our communities by showing exceptional bravery, overcoming circum-stances to help others or going out of their way to make the world better.

“They’re giving of their time,” OCNA executive

director Anne Lannan says of nominees. “They’re doing it selflessly, so most of the time they don’t even realize they’re making a contribution. They’re just often doing it for themselves, doing it for the groups that they’re involved in. They don’t under-stand the impact that they’re having. This award recognizes their contribution.”

Winners from 2011 raised funds for cancer, gave students a forum to speak out against bullying, and stopped a friend from committing suicide.

Nomination forms, available at ocna.org/junior-citizen, along with supporting nominations and docu-mentation recording the young person’s contribu-tions, must be submitted to the association by Nov. 30. Winners are to be announced in January.

Lannan says young people nominated will be rec-

ognized in their community publications, whether or not they are selected as one of the 12 finalists.

“Community newspapers are seen as leaders in their community,” she says. “They’re cultivating the younger generation, who are our leaders of tomor-row.”

Photo courtesy ocna

DISTINGUISHED DOZEN: Recipients of the 2011 Junior Citizen of the Year Award, posing with Ontario’s Lt.-Gov. David Onley, centre, all did their part to make the world a better place.

Do you know a great local kid?Vaughan Today is looking for the province’s best youth

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Heal

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In today’s society, it’s increasingly desirable to become physically fit and achieve the perfect sexy body.

On the one hand, the portrayal of the idealized body in the media leads many to yearn for the unobtainable. On the other, many are plagued by excess weight due to a variety of fac-tors, including sedentary lifestyles and genetics.

People want to look a certain way, and to do so as fast as possible, but the journey to reach the desired look in a healthy and safe manner is a long one. Many often fall victim to the many schemes that prey on those looking for a quick fix.

Let’s take a look at some of the short-cuts often attempted by those hoping to achieve their goals more quickly.

supplements The supplemental weight loss indus-

try is a multi billion dollar business. The information provided on supplements in their ads can often be incorrect. Most

supplements, including “natural” ones, are associated with adverse side effects. The bottom line is that if there were a magical supplement that worked with-out any problems, everyone would be taking it already.

Fad Diets Many fad diets depend on their abil-

ity to sell the idea of their potential, rath-er than a realistic product. Most make outrageous claims while having credible research to support their claims. Further-more, some of these diets will go as far as ignoring Canada’s dietary recommen-dations. For example, some recommend eliminating all carbohydrates, including fruits and vegetables. Lastly, even when fad diets do produce results, they only work for a short period of time, often until the person discontinues the diet.

surgery Some individuals who have suffered

a lifetime of chronic obesity consider undergoing surgical procedures to aid in their weight loss. The two main types

performed are gastric bypass (where a section of the stomach is cut out to reduce stomach volume) and gas-tric banding (construction of a band to decrease the opening of the stomach, thus allowing less food to enter). Both of these surgeries are accompanied by risks such as increased chance of infection and blood clots.

Drugs There are four main drugs that have

been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration to aid in the treatment of obesity. Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant, Orlistat blocks fat digestion, while Pentamine and Diethyl-propion aim to reduce food intake. Even though these drugs may sound appeal-ing, they all come with side effects such as dry mouth, headache, constipation and decreased absorption of vitamins and essential nutrients.

However, if you’re looking for a healthy alternative to the fads and frauds above, here are a few healthy and sus-

tainable weight-loss strategies:

• Get active: Physical activity is the best approach to weight management as it speeds up the metabolism, helps con-trol appetite and is associated with many positive psychological benefits.

• Eating plans: If you choose to fol-low an eating plan it means you’ll have to incorporate those changes into your lifestyle. Be realistic about something you can commit to, and avoid rapid weight loss. Always eat breakfast, as it has been shown that people who eat breakfast have are at a decrease rate of obesity. Eat small portions frequently

There’s no quick fixShortcuts to fitness fall short of sustainable weight-loss plans

CONTINUED Page 10

iMMa MiriGliani/fiG PhotoGraPhy

Michael Appugliese, Paul’s Boot-camp instructor.

10 VAUGHAN ToDAY OCTOBER 2012

throughout the day. • Be aware of environment influences: Comfortable environments such

as long barbecues, or sitting on the couch will lead to eating larger amounts of food. You’re also likely to eat more if food is easily accessible. Become aware of distractions and hunger cues that initiate the impulse to indulge into your favorite snack.

• Maintain proper attitudes and behaviours: Always stay positive and set goals. Modify your behaviors and actions so that you can expend more calories, by taking the stairs rather than the elevator, and reduce intake of food to a healthy level.

• Be reasonable: Remember, when you set your goals that over a six month period it is only reasonable to expect to lose up to 10 percent of your initial weight.

Ultimately, there is no quick fix to weight loss. Success comes with dedica-tion, commitment, and focus, and there is always a price to pay for every short cut taken.

Often the first thing we do when we decide to become more fit is to set a goal — and frequently that’s a weight-loss objective, like wanting to lose five pounds next month.

But Dr. Shannon Bredin, a behav-iour specialist and assistant professor in the University of British Colum-bia’s School of Kinesiology, says using the scale to measure progress of a fitness regime can be a mistake.

Instead, here are five “SMART” steps to setting yourself up for suc-cess:

Specific: What are you going to do? Why is this important to you? How are you going to do it?

Measurable: Tracking your activity and progress can be key to motivation. But instead of simply stepping on the scale, Bredin advises that you get more accurate informa-tion from your level of physical activity, like the number of steps taken in a day.

There are plenty of products that can help you measure and track your activity. For example, one called Tractivity is an affordable solution that includes a digital sensor that clips to your shoe. It calculates your steps, distance travelled, time active and calories burned. Your progress is illustrated on your personal secure account.

Take a look at www.tractivityon-

line.com to see how it works.

Attainable: “You don’t want your goals to be too easy so that there’s no satisfaction in fulfilling them,” Bredin says. “But you also can’t make them so difficult that they frustrate you. The secret to setting goals is to strike a bal-ance between achievability and creating a real chal-lenge for yourself.”

Realistic: For example, if your goal is 10,000 steps per day, check with your doctor that you’re cur-rently healthy enough to strive for that goal, and identify times in your day that can be dedicated to walk breaks.

Timely: Set a target date to reach your daily goal. If you don’t commit to a timeframe, there’s no urgency and you may be prone to procrasti-nate.

— www.newscanada.com

Smart steps to fitness

Cont. from Page 9

‘You don’t want your

goals to be too easy, so

there’s no satisfaction in fulfilling

them.’

OCTOBER 2012 VAUGHAN ToDAY 11

Teaching the introvertsIn a world that seems to celebrate larger-than-life and outgoing personali-ties, those who are more reserved can sometimes go unnoticed.

It doesn’t mean they have nothing to say or contribute, but that they simply aren’t as comfortable expressing them-selves in front of large groups.

Recently a new book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, has led both educators and society to once again reexamine how they think about introverts and extroverts.

One of Cain’s principal views is the most important institutions in society — schools and workplaces — are more conducive to extroverted personalities.

Regardless of whether a student is an introvert or an extrovert, St. Clem-ent’s School principal Martha Perry believes teachers and educators need to vary their approach in terms of instruc-tion and assessment to ensure they’re reaching every student.

“[The book is] not saying that if you’re an introvert you’re an intro-vert and if you’re an extrovert you’re an extrovert,” Perry says. “What it is saying is that one needs to understand different styles and one needs to facili-

tate opportunities for people to have those moments to be them-selves.”

Although she sees how it can seem like the educational envi-ronment is geared against introverts since students are repeatedly encouraged to join group activi-ties in large, open and stimulating spaces, it’s what’s done with the physical space that’s important, Perry says.

“It’s a matter of how the classroom space is utilized and offering differ-entiated instruction to best meet the needs of individual learning styles and different personality types,” she says. “Yes, there are open spaces but there are ways to use instruction to create quieter times in the classroom or break-out groups.”

Outside of the classroom, schools can also ensure they facilitate the needs of those who need quiet workspaces by providing niches for students to work independently, she says.

TMS School’s head Glenn Zederayko says his school understands the needs of intro-verted students and starting with their tod-dler classes, students have the chance to work one on one with teachers, be indepen-dent and choose what they want to learn and focus on.

“If the kids are excited, if they’re engaged, if they’re doing something they think is relevant, what we want to know is

what are you thinking about? What are you learning? What do you know and there are multiple ways to show that,” he says. “A more extroverted student might want to stand up and do a power point presentation, a more introverted student might want to do a one on one discussion with their teacher, some may want to hand in essays, other might want to have everybody up doing something.”

When it comes to assessment, Zed-erayko says the quality of work the

students do and their thoughts are often what’s key. If the assignment is verbal, teachers focus more on how sound the thinking is, how thorough the research is, how well things are explained and not solely on how loud the student projects their voice.

“We’re very careful to differentiate between self promotion and under-standing and good work regardless of the child’s tendency to be introverted or extroverted,” he says.

However, regardless of personality types and learning preferences, students need to gain social, communicative and written skills so it is still important for students to develop and learn outside of their comfort zone.

Although TMS School is conscious of what the students’ strengths are, Zed-erayko says they also build on creating strategies and opportunities for them to branch out.

“You start where students’ strengths are and you ensure they have success in their strengths and you ensure they have comfort with that but at the same time you give them the psychological safety to go a little bit outside of their comfort zone and give them numerous opportunities and strategies to do that,” he says.

KiDs & eDuCaTiOnKiDs & eDuCaTiOn

By Ann RuppEnSTEIn

Photo courtesy tMs school

XXXXXXXXX: Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Photo courtesy tMs school

STAGE FRIGHT: For some taking the lead in the school play would seem a dream come true, for others it would be a nightmare. But as on the stage where many skills are needed to pull off a successful production, students who are naturally quiet in class are still learning but just prefer to show it in different ways.


OMEOMEBEYONDOND

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Program educates students about the world around them

When freelance journalist Joyce Grant asked her son’s teacher if she could talk to the class about cur-rent events, Hillcrest Community School’s Jonathan Tilly was all for the opportunity.

“At the time there was the BP oil spill and so everything on the news was about the oil spill,” Tilly says. “But the kids, while they understood the basics of what had transpired, they didn’t understand certain details and ramifications of the event. In fact, when they did read or hear something they were scared.”

During the session, in which Grant distilled the oil spill into age-appropriate information, Tilly observed how interested his students were to under-stand and talk about what they’d learned in the news. The lesson proved to be so popular Grant

became a regular fixture in his classroom. “After a session when the kids were just so into

it, I said to Joyce, ‘In a perfect world you wouldn’t need to be here doing this, there would be a website that has age-appropriate articles,’ ” he says. “And Joyce actually called me out on it and she said, ‘Well, why don’t we do it?’ ”

What transpired was the launch of TeachKid-sNews.com, a website featuring kid-friendly articles on current events and breaking news written for students in grades 2–8.

“It came from a discussion of how useful, impor-tant and meaningful it would be for kids to have that tool. There wasn’t anything quite like it,” he says. “Now when there’s a big news story, we see our daily visitor number spikes and that’s really excit-ing for us because it means teachers, parents and

students know if something is going on in the world that they want to be in on, they know where to go.”

In addition to the articles published every school day by Grant, every story on Teaching Kids News also features “curriculum connections” with writing or discussion prompts, reading exercises and gram-mar activities for educators to use in the classroom. Tilly and his wife Kathleen, a teacher at Eglinton Primary School with experience leading education workshops and writing curriculum for the Toronto District School Board, create the activities.

“It’s almost like a springboard for teachers to have lessons with their class and meaningful discus-sions,” he says.

A recent news story for example focused on how Ontario teachers are threatening to withdraw from extracurricular activities because of a newly imposed salary freeze and a strike ban. The accom-panying discussion prompted students to examine possible biases found in the story as a journalist with a child in elementary school and a school board teacher wrote it.

“We’re trying to generate conversation, we’re trying to ask kids to extend on what they’ve read and to problem solve,” he says. “So if there’s a crisis in the world — what would they do to fix it? How would they contribute to the solution?”

While the reading exercises focus on literacy, the grammar activities examine punctuation marks like em-dashes or apostrophes found in an article and explain what they are and why they’re used.

Although the content is currently flagged with tags to indicate the grade levels the articles are appropriate for, Tilly hopes to have more offerings in the future.

“We want very desperately to get to the point where we have articles that are appropriate for dif-ferent reading levels, as well we would absolutely love to have our articles translated into French,” he says.

What he hopes kids take away from the website is the same as a lesson in his classroom, he says.

“It’s the ability to problem solve, to offer solu-tions and to think through things so that our world can be a better place,” he says.

ann ruPPenstein/town crier

DISCUSSION TIME: Two Hillcrest Community School students in Jonathan Tilly’s grade 5 class talk to the class about one of the articles on TeachKidsNews.com.

News flash

By Ann RuppEnSTEIn


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Organizing, brainstorm-ing, multimedia storytelling — there’s an app for all that. Computer technology is just as pervasive in your child’s classroom as it is in their home life and your work life. NFB Pixstop

A homegrown app, the National Film Board web team’s latest allows users to create ani-mated stop-motion digital films on an iPad. Described as hav-ing a “kid-friendly” interface, PixStop can take up to 10,000 images (equal to about 13 min-utes runtime) to create well, just about anything, anywhere — as the NFB notes, the iPad becomes a mobile studio.

Apart from using every day objects in filming, students can create a soundtrack for their piece using their own iTunes account. NFB promo page says it’s ideal for classrooms, in that students can integrate it

in a variety of school subjects including visual arts, math, sci-ence and social studies (one enthusiastic teacher blogged about using PixStop to create a classroom project about Sugar Maples). The app (free in Can-ada) was apparently inspired by the NFB’s onsite workshops offered at Mediatheque in Toronto and CineRobotheque in Montreal. Suggested starting age is 10.

Dropbox Dropbox is the industry

standard for accessing files from a phone, desktop or lap-top. Any file, whether it’s a photo, text document or video, can be saved and edited on an electronic device. When the file is updated, Dropbox syncs it to your other devices, so you need not keep emailing the file to update from different places.

If your child is using a PC at home but works in a Mac environment at school — no

problem, Dropbox is compat-ible with both systems.

Scribble Press: This award-winning pro-

gram is great for your burgeon-ing storyteller. Basically, it gives users the ability to create a book on an iPad — or on the web — using a variety of download-able backgrounds, stickers and graphics tools.

Once complete, the student’s work can be published as a digi-tal book. Though most content is free, users have the option to pay for upgraded content such as story packs and premium drawing tools.

Thematic content such as fairy tales, comic heroes are regularly added to the app and website. Scribble Press comes highly recommended by teach-ers, many of whom use its group account function in the classroom to create a virtual library of books created by their students.

iBrainstormAt some point during

a school year, students must work in groups, and often times a multi-person project begins with a brainstorming session. A “creative collaboration tool”, iBrainstorm is designed to eas-ily facilitate those sessions. Designed for iPads and iPhones (users must have iBrainstorm running on an iPad in the same wireless network in order for others to use the iPhone com-panion app).

The iPad canvas in iBrain-

storm acts as the main note board, where the user can draw, erase and zoom. The iPad user can also add, drag and colour code notes (like virtual Post-Its).

The collaboration aspect comes in with the iPad user, who also has the ability to transfer notes from up to four individual iPhones onto the main note board. Once the ses-sion is over, you can share it by emailing a screengrab of the brainstorming session to the rest of the team.

YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES: Pixstop app lets students create animated stop-motion digital films from their iPads.

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Celebrating 100 years of educating boys

Men of Character from Boys of PromiseOpen House dates for October & November at crescentschool.org/openhouse

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In spring 2012, Marc-André Alexandre decided to take up sprinting. One month later, the Upper Canada College student won four gold medals and

set four records at the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association meet at York University.

By July, the Montreal native was running in the World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

“I wanted to try something I had never tried before and the best option in the spring term for me was track and field,” says Alexandre, who started at the school in the fall of 2011. “It ended up really well for me!”

But with tuition at the school running up to $30,000 for students living off of campus, with boarders paying more than $52,000 a year to attend Alexandre would not have been able to attend Upper Canada College without financial help.

Alexandre’s chance at the school was saved by the Barbara A. Barrow Foun-dation. A subsidiary of the college, it was established in 1994 in the memory of a beloved nurse who worked at the school for over 40 years. The foundation selects two students of any age and funds them throughout their Upper Canada College career. As each recipient leaves the school the scholarship is then awarded to a new student.

Barrow was known for taking an interest in boys with artistic or athletic capabil-ity, going the extra mile to help when they were hurt or in need. The foundation in her name continues to search for students who would have come to her attention while she was with the school.

“[We look at] all aspects of the school, not just academics,” Caylor says. “The classic, well-rounded kid.”

Alexandre’s athletic ability, along with his high marks, secured him a scholar-ship.

“For a boarder, it’s a significant chunk [of costs],” says Lincoln Caylor, the foundation’s chairman. “It enables them to attend the college.”

The fund has impacted the lives of many of its previous beneficiaries. “I can appreciate firsthand the influence it has on the families of the boys,”

former recipient J.P. Mackay says. After he graduated in 2002, Mackay became the first scholarship recipient

to join the foundation’s circle of trustees.“The one unique element of the Barrow Foundation is that it’s not just

a means of financial assistance,” he says. “It keeps [students] connected after they’ve graduated. They develop a relationship with other

old boys involved with the fund.”Those relationships are just as valuable as the scholar-

ship itself, Mackay says, At Upper Canada College, the need for financial assis-

tance has been increasing over recent years. According to communications manager Steve McLean. Almost 11 percent

of its students will receive financial aid from the school.“Our goal is to have 20 percent of our 1,150 students receiv-

ing financial assistance in the next few years,” McLean says. “We’re doing this to ensure Upper Canada College’s accessibility to high-poten-

tial boys from all backgrounds, regardless of their financial means.”Alexandre went beyond the usual scholarship requirement when he made it to

the Barcelona meet, but the Barrow Foundation pitched in the extra money to help him get to Spain.

Although he did not qualify for the finals in his events — the 400 metre sprint and the 4x400 relay — he still cherishes the experience.

“[My] best memories are to walk on the track of the Olympic Stadium and see all these top athletes with their country jackets on,” Alexandre says. “It was beauti-ful to see so many people from different cultures and countries attending one city for the same purpose of pushing themselves.”

Alexandre plans to continue to run at local meets this year, and has been scouted by several post-secondary institutions, including Harvard University.

“Right now, I want to keep running as far as it can lead me,” he says.“If, eventually, I have a chance to run for Canada in some international track

meets, I would be glad to do so, but right now it’s all about passion and fun.”

Cost no barrierMany schools offer financial aid to deserving students

photo courtesy Liam sharp

RUNNING AWAY WITH A GREAT EDUCA-TION: Athlete and student Marc-André Alex-

andre would never have been able to afford to attend Upper Canada College, if it weren’t for the school’s Barbara A. Barrow Founda-

tion that paid for his education for the past two years.

By lori Connor

Many independent schools offer some degree of financial aid to their stu-dents, although the numbers vary between institutions.

Appleby College in Oakville financially assists approximately 10 percent of its students. For the 2012–2013 school year, 79 families will receive aid. Appleby’s needs-based bursaries and loans cover about 55 percent of the cost of tuition.

St. Michael’s College School, a Catholic boys school in Forest Hill, offers a range of scholarships rooted in academic achievement, athletics, and spiritu-ality. Its largest scholarships are worth up to $5,000, or about 30 percent of the cost of tuition. It also provides a bursary program for students in need.

The Mississauga Private School in Etobicoke grants an average of five bursaries a year for its 300 students, worth up to $4,000 each, or about 30 percent of tuition. Although the money is needs-based, recipients must also

meet certain academic requirements. The Country Day School in King City offers a variety of bursaries, scholarships, and endowments. The exact amounts offered to students are determined on a case-by-case basis. This year, the school is expanding its financial

aid program by introducing a new renewable scholar-ship worth $10,000.

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what they need to make their way in the world with success. We offer a superior, balanced education that challenges the student, develops the mind, and strength-ens the character. The campus has outstanding athletic facilities, a modern performing arts centre, and leading-edge technology – all of which enhance our ability to educate in innovative ways.

Our passion is to ensure that every graduate leaves our school well prepared for university, confident, independent, intellectually curious, morally responsi-ble, appreciative of the arts, physically fit and globally aware. Find out more about CDS and our open house schedule at our website www.cds.on.ca or by calling 905.833.1220.

Celebrating 100 years of educating boys

Celebrating 100 years of educating boys, Crescent is committed to devel-oping and implementing the most cur-rent research into how boys learn. Faculty members, rated by parents as Crescent’s greatest strength, consider teaching boys their job, and educating boys their respon-sibility.

They combine a challenging academic

program with a superior array of co-cur-ricular opportunities allowing each boy to find and develop his unique abilities. Students strive for excellence and active-ly seek leadership opportunities in some aspect of school life. Community service and global outreach are integral compo-nents of Crescent’s broad educational program. Our school values — respect,

responsibility, honesty and compassion — guide the actions and decisions of fac-ulty and students alike. We encourage our community to ask of themselves and of others — locally, nationally and interna-tionally — “How can I help?” Looking at oneself through others’ eyes enables a Crescent student to progress from a boy of promise to a man of character.

Crescent School

TMS SchoolA Flagship Montessori Program and a Welcoming IB School

TMS prepares our students to define and achieve success on their terms in a complex, competitive and ever changing world.

They are ready to realize their full potential as happy and fulfilled individuals in university, career and life. Our unique

educational experience integrates challenge and inspiration in all areas: academics, arts, athletics and citizenship. It seamless-ly combines two internationally acclaimed approaches; a flagship Montessori pro-gram (18 months to grade 6) and a welcom-ing International Baccalaureate program

(grade 7 to 12). To learn more visit us at www.tmsschool.ca or call 905.889.6882 Ext. 230 to arrange for a tour. The Bayview Campus and Elgin Mills Campus are locat-ed in Richmond Hill, ON. TMS School is a member of CIS and accredited by IB, CAIS and CCMA.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, Emily Papsin let the biggest

decision of her life ride on the outcome of a hockey game.

“I was choosing between two schools and I picked the school that had done better in their rivalry hockey game that year. And [The Bishop Strachan School] had won, so I decided to go to BSS.” Papsin graduated from BSS back in June, and credits the school for prepar-ing her for university — The University of King’s College to be exact — which she has just started and plans to major in biology and minor in journalism.

“I’m seeing all around me that aca-demically I’ve been given an advantage that I could not have even imagined at the beginning,” she said. “I’m in my classes and I not only understand every-thing, but some of the stuff we’re learn-ing I’ve already learned.”

But the positive influence of her alma mater is not just on education.

Papsin also discovered a flair for

music in her time at BSS, even though she said she always had a passion for it.

On Oct. 7, 2010, she performed for the first time, singing and playing guitar in the school’s chapel.

“That was when I think everything started to change for me,” Papsin said. “It changed my perspective on what I was able to do when I saw how sup-portive and amazing everyone at BSS was about it.”

Within six months, she released her first album. On it, two of her classmates sang with her. Another took the photos and designed the artwork. Yet anoth-er designed her guitar case. And most importantly, the title track, “How’s the View?” is about a classmate who died in summer between grades 9 and 10.

“Whether or not you’re religious, I think it’s a way to say that she’s still looking down at us,” Papsin said, explaining the title. “Regardless of the fact she’s not here, she’s still present. I guess ‘How’s the View?’ can represent how are we looking? How are we doing

so far without you?”The album was listed on iTunes Can-

ada and was #26 at one point in 2011.“It all started at BSS and now it’s a

more global thing,” she said. “I go online and see someone in Great Britain bought a song and it’s like how did you hear about that?”

Though Papsin has moved on from BSS and is adjusting to university life, she said she still plans on keeping up with her music and hopes to make the most of her time in Hailfax.

“Everywhere you look there’s a sign-post saying there’s an open mic or a concert, it’s just a very musically vibrant city,” she said. “I think I want to take advantage of that now.”

But for the alumna, who turned 18 the day she spoke to the Town Crier, the need to balance music with school work is apparent — even on a birthday.

“I’m celebrating by doing an inter-view, reading some psychology and doing calculus,” she said. “So it’s going to be a good one.”

photo courtesy yaeL Jimenez

SING: While Emily Papsin may have chosen her school for hockey, her time there ignited many other interests.

The many passions of Emily Papsin

OCTOBER 2012 VAUGHAN ToDAY 19OCTOBER 2012 VAUGHAN ToDAY 19

PR

OO

F

The second annual Best of Vaughan kicked off on Sept. 20 with dozens of Vaughan entre-preneurs recognized as the best in their city.

Vaughan Today readers selected their favourite businesses from a list of more than 50 nominees, in categories ranging from home and auto, food and drink and shopping.

P & G Travel, Villagio Ristorante and Zafferano sponsored the online reader voter contest, while the Maple Academy of Dance

and De Rose Designs & Floral Boutique spon-sored the event itself.

“This event speaks to the very best of what the business community in the City of Vaughan has to offer,” said Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. “They’re very entrepreneurial and there’s an intergenerational component to what Vaughan Today does for the com-munity.”

He called the event a “bridge to many gen-erations” and a testament to the successes of

both Vaughan businesses and consumers. He said he’s supportive of the Best of

Vaughan awards not only because it recognizes excellence in his city, but also because of its consumer-driven nature.

“What I love about the award is it’s very democratic,” Bevilacqua said. “There are no interest groups here, no committees, the votes are what they are and they’re driven by the con-sumers who use the products and services.

“And it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Francis crescia/VauGhan toDay

SOMETHING TO DANCE ABOUT: Performers from the Maple Academy of Dance kicked off the Best of Vaughan Celebrations with a high-stepping musical number at Le Jardin event centre in Woodbridge on Sept. 20.

The Best of Vaughan‘It doesn’t get any better than that’

By omar mosleh

20 VAUGHAN ToDAY OCTOBER 2012 20 VAUGHAN ToDAY OCTOBER 2012

For Best of Vaughan winner Giovan-na Luciani-Lamb, running a business is about more than providing a service.

“The business isn’t just what you give to the customers, but what you give of yourself to customers,” she said.

Luciani-Lamb, the owner of Bon Bons and Brittle, was recognized with a silver award for all she’s shared with her customers at the second annual Best of Vaughan event, held on Sept. 20.

“For us it’s huge,” Luciani-Lamb said. “We’re a small company, basi-cally family run, and each one of us is a huge cause of the success.”

There were several similar success stories heard throughout the event, with more than 130 awards being handed out.

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua applauded Best of Vaughan as a demo-cratic avenue to simultaneously engage residents and recognize businesses for their hard work.

“The voting process is very interest-ing because it’s very much consumer driven,” he said. “There’s no higher honour to be bestowed upon a business than to be chosen by their customers as the best.”

As sponsor of the awards and owner of Vaughan Today Multimedia Nova’s president and CEO, Lori Abit-tan, congratulated the winners, but also thanked all Vaughan businesses for creating a sense of place, add-ing character to the community and providing a diversity of choice for consumers.

“Good businesses are not defined by how big or small they are, nor by how

many employees they have,” she said. “Good solid businesses are defined by the way their customers see the quality of their products and services.

“This evening, for those of you who have won Best of Vaughan, your cus-tomers spoke to you loud and clear — they told you that you are a business that punches above its weight,” she added. Luciani-Lamb said she’s looking forward to next year’s event because it gives her a chance to connect with her

customers. “I think this is wonderful event not

just because you get to see some of your peers, but also the customers vot-ing for you,” she said.

While the mayor lavished praise upon all the businesses that operate in Vaughan, he predictably wouldn’t pick a favourite.

“They’re all my favourite business-es, because as mayor, I welcome every-one’s effort in building a city.”

It’s all goodfor Bon Bons and other winning

businesses at Best of Vaughan awardsBy omar mosleh


FIT TO WIN: Patrizia Paniccia and Cassie Gourley of Curves show Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua their silver and gold awards in two categories.

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OUR YOUNGEST ENTREPRENEUR? Victoria, 4, of the Country Kitchen Catering, displays her company’s gold award. Other winners are listed below.

CONTINUED Page 22


Than

k you for voting us

Silver: Benjamin MooreGold: Steeles Paint & Decorating Cen-tre

PLUmBEr Gold: Elitrex Plumbing Ltd.

FooD & DrINK

ITALIAN STYLE BAKErYGold: Nino D’aversa Bakery

Silver: Emily’s BakeryBronze: Aida’s Pine Valley BakeryBronze: Maple Bakery

SPECIALTY BAKErY Gold: St. Phillips BakerySilver: Patisserie V. MarieBronze: Lavish Cupcakes

BUTChErGold: Centro Quality Meats

THANKS FOR VOTING US BEST ACADEMIC

ENRICHMENT IN VAUGHAN

• Math, Science, French, Phonics, Sign Language, Arts & Wellness programs

• Sports & Dance Extracurricular ProgramsP

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GOOD BUSINESSES are defined by the way their customers see the quality of their products, Vaughan Today publisher Lori Abittan told the celebration.


Our NEW website is almost as big as our store!

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THANKS FOR VOTING US A 2012 BEST OF VAUGHAN WINNER

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Silver: Totera MeatsBronze: Siderno Quality Meats

BrEAKFAST Gold: Gordo’s DinerSilver: CoraBronze: Symposium Café

ThAIGold: Our ThaiSilver: Spoon & Fork

ChINESEGold: Mandarin BuffettSilver: Choice of The Orient

ITALIAN Gold: Villaggio RistoranteSilver: Romano’s Classic Italian Cui-sineBronze: Marcello’s Pizzeria

GrEEK Gold: Mr. Greek

STEAK Gold: The Keg SteakhouseSilver: Just Steaks & Funnel Cakes

JAPANESE Gold: Kyoto Japanese Cuisine

Bronze: Sushi Song

mIDDLE EASTErN Gold: Me Va Me

FrESh PASTA ShoP Gold: Farina+Silver: Only Pasta Inc.

ChoCoLATE Gold: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Fac-torySilver: BonBons and Brittle

BUrGErSGold: Gordo’s DinerSilver: Five Guys Burgers and FriesBronze: Hero Certified Burgers

ICE CrEAm Gold: Menchie’sSilver: La PalomaBronze: Gelato Gelato Inc.

PIZZAGold: Pizza NovaSilver: Ricci’s PizzeriaBronze: Villaggio Ristorante

‘Your customers spoke to you loud and clear....’

CONTINUED Page 24

Richmond Hill10131 Yonge Street

Richmond Hill, Ontario L4C1T5 905-884-7550

Woodbridge3883 Rutherford Road, Suite B-9

Woodbridge, Ontario L4L9R8 905-856-9200

Newmarket16635 Yonge Street, Suite 24A

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THANK YOU VAUGHAN FOR HELPING US WIN

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Molana Optical would like to thank everyone for voting us as the Best of Vaughan 2nd Annual Award 2012.

To honour loyal customers, we are offering 20% off all designer eyewear and up to 30% off the purchase of prescription glasses.Thank you for allowing Molana Optical to serve you, your friends and families.

Vision care is our priority. Molana Optical has been providing exceptional vision care for more than ten years and is still going strong. Our liecenced opticians are experienced and specialize in prescription glasses for sports goggles, safety glasses as well as contact lens fi ttings.

Our customer care representatives are trained to provide excellent customer service to ensure that each visit is relaxed and enjoyable.

Molana Optical provides rapid service in repairs and the process of making glasses so our patients may be able to obtain their glasses within one hour. We believe that each patient should own the best pair of glasses at the most reasonable price. To cater to individual stylish needs, we carry a vast variety of name brands and designer frames.

We welcome new patients without appointments. Just visit us as 5283 Rutherford Rd., Vaughan, Ontario, L4L 1A7.

The hours of operations are MON, TUES, FRI, SAT 10am-5:30pm and WED, THURS 10am-7:30pm.

For more information, please contact Molana Optical at (905) 264-8835


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ChIroPrACTorGold: Holistic Health ClinicSilver: Dr. Mark Shrott (Yonge-Spruce Chiropractic Clinic)Bronze: Core Health Care

DENTISTGold: Davis OrthodonticsSilver: Snow White SmilesBronze: Marketplace Dentistry

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FAMILY DOCTORGold: Dr. Albert Cannittelli

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Francis crescia/Vaughan Today

TREATS FOR ALL: Gold-winning St. Phillips Bakery offered samples of their delicacies to everyone at the awards gala. From left are St. Philips staff Anessa Barbiere, Ryan Daley and Francesco Barbieri.

CONTINUED Page 26


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CONTINUED Page 30


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Awards night is another working day for Gordo

While most guests were schmoozing at the second annual Best of Vaughan Awards, Gord Purdy was in the kitchen preparing food for people to enjoy.

During the evening the owner and chef of Gordo’s Diner was awarded with two gold awards for the catego-ries of best burger and best breakfast.

“It’s a great honour,” he says. “Peo-ple recognize that we make good food. It’s hard to find people who make homemade food, cooking from scratch and it’s nice to be recognized for serv-ing quality food.”

Formerly known as Wimpy’s Diner, Gordo’s Diner on Edgeley Boulevard near Highway 7 and the 400 is a family restaurant offering a variety of home-made dishes like soups, sandwiches, milkshakes, and of course, burgers and all day breakfast fare.

For Purdy, who used to have a pizza place in Vaughan in the late 1980s, it was fitting to base his business in the area.

“I like being close to home,” he

says. “I live about 10 minutes from the restaurant and we love it in Vaughan and have lived here for 20 odd years.”

Although he credits friendly ser-vice and the quality of food for their success, he hopes customers leave the diner knowing and appreciating the food was homemade.

“We have a lot of hotels in our neighbourhood and the people send their guests from the hotels because they know that we make good home cooking not franchised chain food,” he says.

As for the future, he hopes to con-tinue to grow and would like to expand the diner’s hours of operation to be open at night.

“I think that it’s great what *Vaughan Today is doing for everybody and I appreciate them recognizing us and allowing us to get involved in the vot-ing,” he says.

“My customers are all excited about it. I’ll go back with two plaques this year and then hopefully everyone will be really happy.”

By Ann Ruppenstein

ann ruppensTein/Vaughan Today

TOP KITCHEN HELP: Gord Purdy, chef and owner of Gordo’s Diner, serves up his prize-winning food from the back kitchen at the Best of Vaughan Awards.

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FIERCE COMPETITORS: Sandra Turco and Paul Walker of Paul’s Boot Camp demonstrate their gold-winning fitness.



Amado Salon clinched gold at the Best of Vaughan Awards for the second straight year in the category of hair salon and barbershop.

For Robert Amado, owner and creative director of the Kleinburg-based salon, customer service has always been his top priority.

“First and foremost it is about my clients, about the community. They’re the ones who voted for Amado Salon,” he says after the awards ceremonies. “They’re the ones that make my business thrive, keep me open and allow me to keep on going on an everyday basis.”

Amado, who has 16 years of experience as a hairstylist, including 10 working out of Vaughan, decided to venture out on his own four years ago because he wanted offer the people of Vaughan more in terms of specialty and customer services and to have his own place of business.

Amado Salon, located on Islington Avenue at Stegmans Mill Road, offers a full range of hair services for men and women from highlights to haircuts and

updos and blow-drys for special occasions or day-to-day life.“I hope to continue to be the best in Vaughan on an everyday basis,” he

says. “As long as I’m in Vaughan I will do my best to be able to provide ser-vices for the community.”

Over the years his business has grown from two to five staff members and he hopes to continue growing in the future both on a personal and business level.

“Without my staff, I wouldn’t be any place I am today,” he says.

“Winning gold is all because of them. They helped me to get to where I am today so without them I would be nothing, without my community I would be nothing so I owe everything to everyone that surrounds me on an everyday basis.”

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BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT AGAIN: Opposite, some of the staff of Amado Salon celebrate their second consecutive gold win. From left are Antonella Palmieri, Victoria Cutajav, Robert Amado, and Vanessa Curto.

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In just eight months Kyoto Japanese Cuisine has quickly risen to the top of the food chain in Vaughan.

The sushi bar and restaurant, which opened on Rutherford Road near Weston Road earlier this year, took home the Gold Award in the Japanese restaurant cat-egory at the Best of Vaughan Awards.

Although this is the first Canadian award for owner Jason Shi, his sister restau-rant in Cincinnati, which he started in 2004 with his family, has won several nods stateside including Taste of Blue Ash and Taste of Cincinnati awards.

“This is the first one in Canada so we want to try and build the name so every-body knows Kyoto in the area,” Shi says, adding they offer all you can eat lunch and dinner, a full menu of sushi rolls, salads, fried rice, sushimi combos, bento boxes and more.

Shi, who was on hand at the awards not only to receive his plaque but also to offer samples to guests in attendance, also coordinates catering services complete with a refrigerated display counter and sushi chef who prepares sushi rolls in front of guests.

“Everybody is helping me,” he says. “We have a lot of regular customers and customers are helping us by bringing a lot of friends. I think everybody likes helping each other out.”

A first for CanadaJapanese restaurant follows several wins in U.S. with gold in Vaughan

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‘I think everybody likes helping each other out.’

Since the family restaurant in the States is doing well after eight years in busi-ness, Shi decided to relocate to Vaughan where his parents live to be close to them and provide jobs for his siblings.

“I thought I’d try and open a restaurant here so everybody can have a job and it’s good for my parents so I can take care of them right now,” he says. “We want to make sure the customers are happy.”


ON A ROLL: Jason Shi, owner of Kyoto Japanese Cuisine, is congratulated by the Vaughan mayor for his first Canadian award to add to his American win.

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Save room for unpretentious Thai/Malay cuisine

Thai Room has only just opened. By the time you read this, the bare walls will be painted and, according to our waiter, there will be chic banquettes along one side. It has to be an improve-ment on a decor that nearly had me scurrying for the exit.

I’m glad I stayed. The name implies the cuisine is

Thai but there is also a definite Malay-sian influence. Our waiter, who comes from Saba, is remarkably helpful and friendly, encouraging us to try Malay-sian dishes. We’re happy to comply.

Actually, there aren’t many choices: Malaysian style curry, which comes with almost any protein you might like, even lamb and tofu; a salad which appears to be an Asian version of Cobb; and Malaysian bread. We try two of these but we start with their signature Thai Room appetizer sharing plate ($15.99).

We want the vegetarian plate which includes green mango salad, but we end up with the meat version so our waiter makes up for this by bringing a huge plate of the salad, gratis. The

salad is glorious — crisp, tasty and liberally sprinkled with fresh coriander and cashews. It’s a sharp contrast to the platter of mostly fried food on the appetizer plate.

In fact, this proves disappointing, despite four little bowls of dipping sauc-es. The deep fried tofu wedges, spring rolls and calamari are standard fare and the peanut sauce is runny and boring. Even the satay sticks of three large shrimp are spread with an unremarkable blend of spices. Give this a miss.

Our Malay curry is a whole different matter — an enormous bowl of aro-matic, spicy chicken with large pieces of eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and onions

Liz Campbell

More local news and views at

www.vaughanToday.ca

Liz campbeLL/Vaughan Today

PAD THAI unlike any you’ve had before is a highlight at the new Thai Room.

CONTINUED Page 37


($12.99). The flavour isn’t Thai but it isn’t Indian either — it’s simply gor-geous. My guest describes it as layers of flavour that develop in the palate. And there’s a distinct zap of heat to the taste buds at the end.

But here’s an intriguing contrast. The curry arrives in a large bowl, the accom-panying rice in a covered cup-sized one. I’m not complaining, mind you, just intrigued.

On the waiter’s recommendation, we’ve also ordered Malay roti ($3.99). The flat bread comes with yet another dipping sauce — a sweet peanut version — but it doesn’t need it. The bread is

slightly sweet, crispy on the outside and wonderful. Apparently the layered dough is fried in **ghee** (clarified butter) which explains the rich taste.

The second main course we order, again at our waiter’s urging, is their Thai Room Famous Pad Thai. Fame, it seems comes early in a restaurant’s history. But once more, he’s right on the money.

This Pad Thai is light and savoury. It’s unlike any I’ve had before in its presentation — the peanuts and green onion garnish are set off to one side. But the flavour is delicious and the portion, once more, enormous. Despite stalwart efforts, we can only manage about half of each dish.

Nonetheless, we press on to dessert. Now you may think we rely too heav-ily on our waiter but once more, we bow to his superior knowledge and go with the sticky rice with mango. And once more, I’m happily surprised by the result.

Brown rice has been cooked in coconut milk to a pudding consistency and pieces of fresh mango tossed in. Frankly, it looks gluey and distinctly ungourmet, but it’s delicious — not too sweet and very appealing. And, at the risk of repeating myself, there’s enough to feed many more than we two.

I’ve discovered that this is the second Thai Room; the first is on

The Danforth Avenue in Toronto. It’s unpretentious, offering family dining Thai/Malay style, with generous por-tions and really tasty food. Eschew the appetizers and go for the authentic stuff and you won’t be sorry.

Thai Room, 1200 Hwy. 7. 905-731-7376. www.thairoom.ca.

By Liz CampBeLL

Searching for Captain Snell

The ferry from Black’s Harbour takes 90 minutes to reach Grand Manan, a island off the coast of New Brunswick. And during every one of those 90 min-utes, I can see my travelling compan-ion’s excitement level rising higher.

This visit to the birthplace of his grandfather, Captain Herbert Snell, has been a long time coming.

As we stand on the ferry deck watch-ing the island get nearer, the Swallow-tail Lighthouse, a pretty confection of red and white, comes into view. Opera-tional since 1860, this lighthouse would have flashed its warning to ships when Herbert was a lad in short trousers. And it would have served as a beacon many years later, when the ships he com-manded made their way through these waters.

Grand Manan has many attractions, most especially the spectacular vistas carved out of the Triassic volcanic rock by wind and wave. Indeed, one of the sights we head off to see is the Hole in the Wall.

You wouldn’t have thought a hole worthy of note, but a pleasant hike through woodland beside the water brings us to this magnificent outcrop of rock, forming a windowed arch into the Bay of Fundy.

Another short hike takes us to the Swallowtail Lighthouse. As we cross the bridge to the point, the water in the bay suddenly stirs as a pair of dolphins come leaping playfully along. From the lighthouse point, we look over the water and watch the ferry make its steady way across to the mainland.

Grand Manan has attracted such notables as Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Willa Cather, who spent sum-

mers here from 1922 to 1940, and avian artist, John James Audubon. He came to paint the wonderful collection of birdlife that makes this area home; more than 360 species have been spotted and more than 130 actually breed here.

Indeed, this area is a birder’s para-dise. Nearby Machias Seal Island, the outermost of the Grand Manan group, is the southernmost breeding site of the colourful North Atlantic puffin. Razor-bills as well as Arctic and common terns also breed on this remote rocky island. One can take a boat tour to Machias during the summer months to see these remarkable birds, but booking ahead is essential as spaces are limited.

If you forgot your binoculars, there’s a wonderful exhibit of more than 300 birds in the Grand Manan Museum. The Allan Moses Bird Collection was given to the children of Grand Manan in 1951.

But we have come to this museum to see something more important.

And there it is. Sitting majestically in a glass case is a model of a typical 19th century, three-masted schooner, the Nellie T. Watters, meticulously carved and rigged by the good Captain Snell. No doubt this craft helped to while away many hours spent at sea.

My companion swells with pride at the sight of this ship.

“I remember this ship in my grand-father’s home when I was a boy,” he says. “He made several but this one is really magnificent. Look at the detail.”

It was donated to the museum on the island of his birth by his father and uncle, and my friend is thrilled to see it exhibited here. The captain must have had a good many hours to work on these as my friend proudly displays

another of his schooners in his own home.

In fact, the museum proves to be a fascinating visit. The people of Grand Manan and their history are preserved here. There are even archives of local families and we find ourselves drawn into the life of this small island. In one room, there’s a mini history of lighthouses, their lights, and the ships

they guided. Another celebrates the everyday life of its residents.

Grand Manan is only 34 kilo-metres long but this largest island in the Bay of Fundy, with its many lighthouses, has played an important role in the maritime history of New Brunswick. And it produced a very important sea captain; at least one visitor thinks so.

Trav

el

Liz CampbeLL/Vaughan Today

THE GRAND TOUR: At top, a visitor finds the Hole in the Wall carved from vol-canic rock on Grand Manan, a island off the coast of New Brunswick. Above, in the Grand Manan Museum sits a schooner model carved by Captain Snell.

Cont. from Page 36


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Spring-flowering bulbs are nature’s way of rewarding us for making it through the winter.

Our brains may be crammed with thoughts of Thanksgiving and Hallow-een, but it’s worth taking a few minutes

to think about spring next year. The reward? Your neighbours’ yards

will be dreary and brown next April while yours will be alive with colour.

Garden geeks like me can go on and on about bulbs. So I’m going to limit myself to a quick list of bulb basics:

1. Plant your tulip, daffodil and hya-cinth bulbs pointed end up. Some smaller bulbs, like crocus, are pretty much flat. With those, look for a tiny “belly button” on one flat side and plant that facing down.2. Plant most bulbs in September, Octo-ber and, if it’s not too cold, November. Leave tulips until last — you can plant them as long as you can dig a deep enough hole in the ground.3. If you can, check flowering times and heights of the bulbs you’re buying. Not all bulbs flower at once, so clever people can stretch out their bulb display for ages. Ideally, flower height fits the location. A few tiny bulbs get lost in a big garden. Tall flowers in a windy location can get blown to bits. I know this from experience.4. You don’t have to fertilize bulbs when you plant them. A bulb is a complete, ready-to-go flower package, containing enough food to send up its flower in spring.5. Dig holes as deep as three times the height of the bulb. Exceptions: Plant tulips as far down as you can, to keep them away from marauding squirrels. The furry beasts also love to feast on crocus, so you can plant them as much as 15 cm deep.6. Don’t be afraid to dig a wide hole and plant several bulbs in it. Clusters of flowers look way better than isolated ones or straggly rows.7. Water your bulbs when you plant then, and regularly throughout autumn. However, do not drown them or they’ll rot.8. Do not, under any circumstances, try to plant amaryllis bulbs outdoors. They’re sold at this time of year so

people can grow them in a pot for Christmas. They will not survive out-doors. Period.9. No, you cannot keep spring-flower-ing bulbs through the winter and plant them in the spring. I have tried. They will either shrivel up pathetically or freeze into mush.10. Packaged bulbs from garden cen-tres and other stores are okay. If you want something special, check out a catalogue company like www.garden-import.com or www.veseys.com. Gar-denimport offers exciting new colours and varieties every year, like ‘Grand Perfection,’ a fabulous Rembrandt (meaning striped, or “flamed”) tulip. Veseys Bulbs has a large selection of reasonably priced bulbs and bulb col-lections.

A word about squirrelsThe monsters delight in wrecking

flower bulbs. To discourage them:• Plant bulbs deeply. Squirrels don’t

like to stick their heads down and leave their, er, tails exposed

• Slap a wad of human or dog hair over the bulb before you cover it. And/or put another mass of hair on the ground above your bulbs, anchoring it with a little dirt.

• Clean up all bulb skins from the planting area; scatter leaves and twigs over.

• Plant bulbs squirrels don’t like: daffodils, crown imperials (Fritillaria) and Crocus tomasianus ‘Ruby Giant’ and ‘Barr’s Purple.’ My favourite bulb guru, Dugald Cameron at Gardenim-port, says squirrels also avoid species tulips. These are very early blooming, tend to be short with many blooms per plant and have a charm of their own.

Spring is in gardeners’ minds


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When I was a kid, a grilled cheese sandwich consisted of two slices of white bread with a Kraft cheese slice between, fried in butter on the stove. Basically, neither grilled nor really cheese.

But, like me, the grilled cheese sand-wich has grown up.

Some restaurants are taking this most mundane of sandwiches to the next level. These cheese wizards are combining unusual fillings with beautiful chees-es for unique flavour profiles. And the breads work with the ingredients.

You can find sandwiches like asiago cheese, barbequed pork, slivered green onion and hoisin on green onion potato bread; or double cream brie with cara-melized onions and homemade apricot chutney grilled on walnut raisin bread.

Or grilled cheese sandwiches with Provolone, Mozzarella, marinated steak, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and homemade cheesesteak sauce on red fife sourdough; or Jalapeno Havarti, Feta, red onions and rough mashed avocado

with lime on ancient grain sourdough.Sound yummy? Why not do it at home? Start with

really lovely bread. Look for cheese that brings its own unique flavour to the table, then look for things to complement that flavour. Cheese has calories, but you can use low fat toppings like grainy mus-tard or spicy chutney or even salsa to zip up a sandwich without the fat.

You can even make dessert grilled cheese — think mascarpone or goat cheese and chocolate.

Need a little help? Check out Alison Lewis’ practically titled book, **150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.** It’s hard to believe one could make this many variations on a classic, but she does.

Here are two really good, really easy grilled cheese sandwiches from Lewis’ book. She uses a Panini grill, turned to medium or a skillet. I use my old fash-ioned waffle iron whose sides flip for making grilled cheese. I just share the butter over tops and bottoms.

Move over Egg McMuffin. This is a Lewis family favourite and it’s a great breakfast grilled cheese sandwich.

4 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 tbsp skim milk 1⁄4 tsp salt 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 6 tbsp (90 mL) butter, divided 4 biscuits, sliced 4 slices bacon, cooked and halved1⁄4 cup (60 mL) shredded Cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

In a skillet, melt 1 tbsp (15 mL) of

the butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture and cook, stirring, until scram-bled. Set aside egg mixture and wipe skillet clean.

Spread remaining butter equally over biscuit tops. Place on a work surface, buttered side down. Top 4 halves equally with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese and remaining biscuit half. Place biscuits, buttered side down, on preheated panini grill or in a skillet over medium heat and cook, turning once if using a skillet, for 3–5 minutes per side or until browned and cheese is melted. Serve immedi-ately.

Serves 4

By Liz CampBeLL

The mature grilled cheese sandwich

Lewis says of this recipe: This idea came to me from a New York friend who said she used to eat this often as a cold sandwich. Either way, I love the rus-tic combination of ingredients. You can substitute regular Brie for the cracked pepper one.

Panini grill or large skillet. If using a panini grill, heat to medium.1⁄2 cup (125 mL) stone-ground mustard 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 1 tsp grated lemon zest 8 slices pumpernickel bread (1⁄2-inch/1 cm thick slices)1⁄4 cup (60 mL) olive oil 8 oz (250 gm) Black Forest ham 1 cup lettuce leaves

4 oz (125 g) cracked pepper Brie

In a small bowl, combine mustard, parsley and lemon zest.

Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil. Place on a work surface, oiled side down. Spread bread slices equally with mustard mixture. Top four slices equally with ham, lettuce and Brie. Cover with remaining bread slices, oiled side up, and press together gently.

Place sandwiches on preheated panini grill or in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, turning once if using a skillet, for 3–4 minutes or until gold-en brown and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Grilled Egg, Cheese and Bacon Biscuit

Black Russian


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Chic jewellery: BeadforLife is a nonprofit organization that works

to provide help for women in extreme poverty in Uganda by teaching them to craft beads out of recy-cled paper. The result is beautiful, stylish necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The jewellery is sold online and through BeadParties. The profits return to Uganda and fund health care, housing, and business training initiatives. Prices range from $5 to $30 and each is a unique creation. Visit www.beadforlife.org.

Chic exercise: October is the month when we remember thousands of women who have lost

the fight with breast cancer. A new Pink Ribbon Yoga Mat, specially designed by Yogi Colleen Saidman, returns $1 from each sale to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This lightweight and durable 3-millimeter mat is a chic take-along to yoga class, and has its own Yoga Workout that can be downloaded. It’s $21.98 at www.ShopGaiam.com.

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With nine seconds to go, trailing by a point to a tough Blessed Sacrament team, the Vaughan Pan-thers’ under-15 basketball squad called a timeout.

It was an anxious moment for Curtis Weekes, president of the Vaughan Basketball Association, but the coach drew up a play, and the team made the last basket, winning the game 48–47.

That win clinched the gold medal for Vaughan at the 2012 Ontario Under-15 tournament, the first for Vaughan. It was an achievement that has taken many years to work on.

“They went through ups and downs, they came through it now, and now they’re playing together,” Weekes said. “They started at [10-years-old], not winning that much, to 15 winning a champion-ship. That’s a small portion, but seeing all these kids playing basketball right now is a big accom-plishment.”

Reflecting on a decade of hard work and long hours, Vaughan Basketball’s vice president Lionel Howell is proud he and Weekes were able to give kids the chance to play b-ball north of Steeles, where it had been a mere afterthought in the early 2000s.

“We opened the gym and only 20 kids showed up,” Howell said.

To celebrate the under-15s’ victory and 10 years of memories, Vaughan Basketball held a party at the Vellore Village Community Centre Sept. 8 featuring various basketball clinics and drills, and food and drink for players and parents.

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, along with mem-bers of city council, attended the event, saying a

few words and helping to cut the large anniversary cake.

“I first prefer students in schools, hockey arenas, basketball courts, and soccer fields,” said Bevilacqua, who remarked that those are forums where teamwork is learned. “To the parents, I’m so happy you recognize the importance of bring-ing kids to the basketball court. You recognize the importance of making sure that not only do they get their fitness level and learn incredible skills, but the ability to [participate] in the community.”

In the interest of raising the profile of basketball in Vaughan, Bevilacqua announced a $5,000 donation to the association from the Mayor’s Gala which raised more than $600,000 for charitable causes.

This donation may lead the way to expanding Vaughan Basketball’s reach into local high schools — a key goal of the program over the next few years.

Howell and Curtis are proud of the significant strides the asso-ciation has taken not only toward

establishing itself in the city, but also the positive impact it’s having on the future of basketball in Vaughan.

“The kids that are starting our program, now they’re going to high school,” Weekes said. “When I was younger, I didn’t learn how to play basketball until grade 7 and 8. These kids are start-ing at grade 3. We’re doing something right.”

Hoops dreams come trueProvincial gold highlights how far basketball association has come

By perry King

perry King/Vaughan Today

THE WHOLE GANG: Vaughan Basketball Association celebrates with civic leaders a decade of the organization’s growth and its recent team successes.

CHEERING SECTION: Kids rallied to invite the community to join them at their celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Vaughan Basketball Association. Laura Cameron-CriChLow/Vaughan Today

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October 2012