4 Friday, June 8, 2018 brooklintowncrier.com Community Calendar Sat., June 9: 9 am - 12 noon: Walk for Mental Health Awareness Presented by Community Care Durham Port Perry Fairgrounds - Walk 1, 2, or 5 km - BBQ lunch included Loads of prizes - Raise $20 and get a tee-shirt To pre-register or sponsor: 905-430- 8014 or 905-985-7784, or visit communitycaredurham.on.ca/events/ walk-for-mental-health Wed., June 13: 7:30 pm - Brooklin Hor- ticultural Society At Brooklin United Church Features guest speaker Yvonne Tremblay: "Cooking with Lavender," One of the latest cooking trends. Used in desserts, salads and other dishes. Learn what ingredients and dishes go well with lavender. Hear about the Lavender Trail where you can visit lavender farms in the summer. Sat., June 16: 10 am - 2 pm : Nova's Ark 8th Annual Friendship Walk From Grass Park, a 3 km walk led by Bing the Camel Afterwards, music by Workin' Dawgs and BBQ by Starr Burger Also, face painting and interaction with therapy animals To register, visit novasark.ca or email: friendshipwalk.novasark@bell.net Tues., June 19: RCMP Musical Ride at Windreach Farm Shows at 12:30 pm and 5:15 pm $25 for adults/$15 for children 312 Townline Road, Ashburn For tickets and info.: windreachfarm.org Parking included. Refreshments available to buy Fri., June 22: 4:00 - 5:00 pm (4th Friday of each month) Teen Leadership Council at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Leadership Council members to share ideas & assist with special events and programs. Grade 9-12 students earn community service hours. Snacks provided. No registration required. For information, email teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca. Tues., June 26: 7 pm - Brooklin Heritage Society A general membership meeting at the Brooklin Legion upstairs. Wed., June 27: 7:30 pm - Brooklin Horticultural Society Guest speaker Bill Peel: "Catch the Photo, Capture the Memory." He will share stories that have coloured his life and different mediums to share memories. French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. Is it just me, or do kids seem to have growth spurts over the summer vacation? Every September, I pull out the long pants from storage and discover that somehow my daughter has acquired a wardrobe full of capris. It seems I'm not alone. Just looking at her friends tells me they, too, are due for a shopping spree. Are temperature increases causing not only flowers and plants start to grow but also an increase in your child's height? As it turns out, studies indicate that the summer growth spurt is, in fact, real. Children grow and put on more weight during the summer holidays than in the school term, according to Professor Timothy Olds from the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia. Summer growth "Although we don't have a good explanation for it, children seem to grow fastest in the summer and slowest in the fall," says Joseph Gigante, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville. Furthermore, kids grow a bit faster in the spring than during the summer. Once that growth kicks in, usually around June, it tends to continue throughout the summer months, slowing in September. This is due, in part, to changes in diet, more exercise, more vitamin D from the sun and less stress. That vitamin D is a key factor as it's important for maintaining healthy bones and is thought to protect against cancer, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The theory is that during the spring and summer, pregnant mothers absorb more health-boosting Vitamin D from sunshine in the second and third trimesters, giving their offspring a head-start in size. So if it works for building babies in the womb, you can only imagine the benefits it has for growing healthy kids. Sleeping in helps That summer growth can be sizable. Kids can grow as much as 10 to 16 centimetres in a year. In fact, according Professor Olds, "They can actually grow half a centimetre in a single night. Human growth hormone comes out in pulses, and those pulses come out when you're sleeping. So when kids are allowed to sleep in and rest more during the summer months, more growth can occur." Overall, it's good to try to keep some of that great summer growth stuff going over the colder months. Children produce more growth hormone during the first hours of sleep than during the day. Therefore, regular sleep is important. So if you want to encourage that growth all year round, a regular bedtime is a good start. And, of course, more exercise and less screen time is something all kids can benefit from. In the meantime, why not try an experiment? Measure your kids on the last day of school. Then measure them again on the first day of school in September. Prepare to be surprised. Our Brooklin Kids By Leanne Brown It's Growing Season Now through June 11, Whitby residents can go on social media to share their favourite things to do in our community and have a chance to win a prize pack filled with $290 worth of gift certificates and swag donated by local businesses. Included in the prize pack are two flights at the new iFly, gift cards to Whitby restaurants, jump time at Sky Zone and more! Residents can enter by following the Town on Twitter at @townofwhitby, "tweet" a picture of their favourite attraction or location in Whitby, and include mention of the Town's handle (@townofwhitby) and hashtag #ExploreWhitby. The entry deadline is Monday, June 11 at 4:30 p.m. For contest details, residents can visit whitby.ca/explore. Prize Basket Prize basket includes a sampling from businesses, restaurants and attractions highlighted in the Explore + Experience Whitby Magazine. $25.00 Gift Certificate from A Tavola Bistro $25.00 Gift Certificate from Cupcake Junkie Free Coffee from Cupcake Junkie with purchase of a Cupcake $40.00 Gift Certificate for High Tea M & R Cakes and Café T-shirt and Bottle Opener from Town Brewery Two Free Flight Samplers from Brock Street Brewing Company Two Free Samples from 5 Paddles Brewery Moleskin Notebook First Time Flyer Package (2 flights) from iFLY Toronto - Whitby Two 60-minute Jump Time and Swag from Sky Zone Trampoline Park $20.00 Gift Card from The Village Bakery Win Prizes For Favourite Whitby Things