All-girl clubs across the school celebrate National Girl Day on Oct. 11. Debbie Madison, the leader of the school’s Girls Who Code club, is leading in making a video featuring the girls.

“[Girls Who Code] sent us this contest,” Madison said. “If we can get our part recorded and in their big video, then we win a $500 Amazon gift card. Then I want to turn around and buy all the girls who participate in the movie something. Just something fun to unite girls.”

In making the video, Madison had each girl walk toward her camera as part of an online mass march for sisterhood sponsored by the national Girls Who Code group.

“The person who started Girls Who Code is really good about trying to get girls to break out of the stereotype of hiding behind boys,” Madison said. “Everyone’s sending in videos and they’re putting them all together to get as many girls faces, walking and showing their support for other girls.”

Girls Who Code has high hopes to make a profound impact and reach millions of people around the world.

“Led and created by girls themselves, the event invites people across the globe to share videos of themselves marching for causes that matter to them on social media,” according to the Girls Who Code website. “Taken together, Girls Who Code hopes these posts will comprise the largest online march in history.”

Madison also took a recording of a large group of girls together for the National Girl Day video.

“After fourth period we went out to the stadium, we all stood on the football field, and Mrs. Madison was filming us,” Phoebe Martin (12), who participated in the group shot, said. “On the count of three, we all jumped and yelled, ‘Yes girls!’ It was very positive and uplifting.”

In recognition and celebration of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, an agenda for the empowerment of women put in place nearly 25 years ago, this year’s theme for National Girl Day is “Girlforce: Unscripted and unstoppable” according to UNICEF’s website.

Madison thinks that the girls in Oakwood represent this theme well.

“They’re definitely unstoppable,” Madison said. “They set goals and they bypass the goals every week. I see the girls’ confidence grow. I see them emerge from quiet little seventh graders up to outgoing seniors.”

Some National Girl Day participants think that bringing attention to girls in this way is important, and can be influential.

“It’ll create a dialogue, I think, which is the most important thing,” Martin said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to start positive change, but the moment we start talking about it is the moment that we approach positive change.”

There are still concerns about women’s opportunities that Madison and others participating in National Girl Day hope to address through the all-girl programs.

“I love having clubs with boys in them, but the boys tend to be so loud that the girls stay quiet,” Madison said. “In Girls Who Code, Girl Talk, Happy Feet, Femineering, the girls talk. It’s a very supportive group. And it’s a happy group.”

To watch Madison’s video, click here or find it in the Oct. 11 announcements.