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GIRL SCOUTS OF WESTERN OHIO
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TAKE THE LEAD MARCH 2009
Planning & Recognition| Recognizing Leader, Parents & the Community | Giving Thanks to Others | Council-Wide Community Service Project
CLICK HERE FOR .PDF VERSION
Girl Scouts Take a Step Into the Future!
In June of 2008, five Girl Scout troops from Hancock County met to
help each other advance to the next level of Girl Scouts.
Girl Scout Junior troops 20220 and 20219, Girl Scout Brownie
troops 20223 and 20127, and Girl Scout Daisy troop 20623 were
excited to help in the planning and delivery of this special day.
The ceremonies were meaningful because they were “by girls
for girls.”
The girls and leaders started the planning months before the event.
The Girl Scout Brownies are very dramatic and all loved the
theatre. They decided
to perform a skit, “Bake a Batch of Brownies,” and everyone had a
role. The 3rd graders
read the list of ingredients: 2 cups of honesty, 1 cup of
helpfulness, 1 cup of respect for authority and many other parts of
the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
The 2nd graders stirred the batter after each ingredient was
added and then carefully placed the mix into the “oven” which the
girls had previously decorated with the help of Girl Scout dad.
The Girl Scout Daisy troop had been busy learning about insignia
placement on paper Brownie vest and fulfilling their other bridging
requirements. On the
day of the bridging ceremony, each girl in their hand made vest was
brought out of the “oven” and introduced as a new Girl Scout
Brownie.
Cadette troop leader, Nita Conine had chosen the “Silver Key
Ceremony” to do with the girls bridging to Cadettes. Each member was
given a necklace with a silver key on it during the ceremony that
would represent their new sojourn in to the world of Girl Scout
Cadettes. During the
ceremony, each girl was given the assignment to comeback in the fall
with a list of activities, event, and community projects that they
would like to accomplish as Girl Scout Cadettes, as they were
setting their own journey.
The new Girl Scout Juniors were also excited about
beginning their new journey.
These girls also went home with instructions to spend the
summer making a list of 5 badges that they were interested in
earning, community projects of interest and other activities.
Leader, Rikki Youngpeter also led the girls of Girl Scout
Junior Troop 20219, who were not bridging, to participate in the
ceremony. With the help
of their band teacher, they played an arrangement of Make New
Friends for two clarinets and one flute, in honor of their fellow
Girl Scouts on this exciting day of their
Girl Scout journey. Girl
Scouts Recognizing Leaders,
Parents,
and their Community
In order to accomplish the mission and the council goals, it takes
many individuals to make this possible.
Girl Scout Leaders, Parents, and Community organizations are
an intricate part of this accomplishment.
A Girl Scout troop will want to thank individuals who have provided
support and assistance for the troop's growth and activities
throughout the year. Recognition can often result in renewed
motivation, commitment, and retention.
Leaders and Adult Helpers:
* Leaders
Day - Recognize leaders on leaders day, by a special letter,
picture, special dessert meeting.
* Handmade
items - Create an extra project from your meeting personalize it and
give it.
* Annual
Dinner - Nominating individuals to receive awards.
* Certificates
of Appreciation-designed, and signed by all the girls and given
during a meeting.
* Paid
Girl Scout membership.
* Send
an electronic e-card.
* A
simple thank-you call can go a long way.
Parents:
* Take
part in the Awards and bridging ceremony - Present an award or help
with the planning.
* Certificate
of appreciation -designed, and signed by all the girls.
* Handmade
items - Create an extra project at your meeting personalize it and
give it.
* Send
an electronic e-card.
* Take
a picture of the troop with a banner that says thank you and give
each parent a copy.
The Community
* Plaque
- Design a plaque thanking the organization for what they have done,
make a trip to the organization and present it to them.
* Publicity
- newspaper, news-releases, regional publications
* Group
picture with a thank you note, letter or card
* Community
service projects - What can your troop do to help them?
* Offer
flag ceremonies for special meetings, churches, and community
events.
There are many more ways to recognize those individuals who have
been a part of your girls’ Girl Scouts experience.
Ask your girls how they wish to thank them; it will make the
recognition more meaningful.
Girl Planning is one of the most important
processes used to make
Girl Scouting a unique experience for each girl.
This is a great time of year to not only reflect on the
accomplishments of the year but to also use these experiences to
plan for the future.
Girls in every Girl Scout grade level can participate in planning
for next year.
Ask every girl
Create a list of ideas
This one or that one?
Include on your calendar
One, two, three...Details!
Now earn your way! When
planning for next year’s troop events - Leaders ask your girls to:
Daisies
- Brainstorm activities that they would like
to do this year. Leaders ill need to do advanced planning to help
the girls get started.
Brownies
- Suggest Try-its they want to earn,
activities they would like to do, help plan a day trip and help set
goals for product sales.
Juniors- Decide on what badges they would like to
earn, plan a day trip and overnight, plan and set goals for product
sales, help develop a budget for events and assist in planning a
service learning project.
Cadettes, Seniors,
Ambassadors - Choose and plan what Interest Project
patches they would like to earn, develop a budget, choose day and
overnighter trips-plan all the details, product sales locations-goal
setting, develop a service project.
Planning for a summer overnight at camp with your troop:
Daisies -
Choose the site they want to sleep in, ideas
for activities they would like to do.
Brownies - Help plan activities and the menu for
meals.
Juniors - Help plan activities, the menu for meals,
and help develop the budget for event
Cadettes, Seniors,
Ambassadors - Plan the activities, develop the budget,
assist in purchasing items, develop the menu for the meals with
adult support and guidance.
Giving Thanks to Others
It’s the little things that count!
This is true for just about everyone: girls, adults and
community helpers.
Recognizing the Girls
It’s important to recognize girls’ achievements and to let parents know
about their daughter’s successes.
Parents are more likely to value their daughter’s Girl Scout
experience if they hear about her accomplishments.
There are many ways to recognize the girls and their accomplishments.
Troops can:
· Submit and article to the school or local newspaper to let others know about
the girl’s accomplishments.
List the girls by name and be specific about what they did.
· Have a special picnic and invite the girl’s families to help recognized
their achievements. Have
parents and the troop members participate in the event.
Peer praise can be just as important as adult praise.
· Tell the girls how proud you are of their accomplishments.
Be specific and sincere.
Some adults are quick to point out what a child is doing
wrong and we need to take the time to point out what the girls are
doing right!
· Send them a card or postcard.
Who doesn’t like to get mail!
· Let the parents help plan, prepare and decorate for a special dinner for
their daughters.
· Plan a Court of Awards Ceremony to recognize their accomplishments.
· Help plan a service unit recognition event.
These events are a great way for younger girls and older
girls to interact, reflect on how far they have come, and look
forward to their next achievement.
Council Wide Community
Service Learning Projects – Reflecting & Recognizing
Why is reflection and discussion an important part of girls’ learning?
Reflection is a critical part of doing a service learning project and all
“learning by doing” experiences.
When girls take time to discuss and to evaluate their
experiences they:
· Reinforce their own learning from the experience
· Gain increased understanding of how (differently) others see the same
experience
· Learn to apply new knowledge to future experiences.
· Build problem solving skills as they consider how they might do things
differently in the future
· Gain ownership and confidence in their ability to successfully manage
similar activities in the future..
Helping your girls reflect on their project is
easy and most youth welcome an opportunity to voice their
observations and feelings.
How? See the “Project Reflection Questions” below..
Project
Reflection Questions
What? (Help girls think about what
they did, saw and felt.)
· What did you see while working on the project?
· What did you like best about the project?
· What didn’t work very well?
So What? (Help girls understand what
they learned and how it applies to
or affects their lives.)
· Who did we help during this project?
· Why was this project important to you?
· How is this important to the troop?
Now What?
(Help girls apply their learning to future decisions or projects.)
· What have you learned from this project?
· What will you do differently (or the same) in the future?
· What do we do now?
Making Reflection Fun &
Interesting for Your Troop – Try these ideas:
Collage of Words -
Using a large sheet of paper, have girls write down words that described
their experience.
Provide a variety of creative materials and a large sheet of paper
on a smooth surface.
Give girls 20 minutes and then explain their work.
Service Interviews -
Encourage girls to see their projects through the public’s view by
conducting media-style interviews with one another.
Remember to cover all the bases:
who, what, when, where, why and how.
Show and Tell -
Individually or in pairs, have girls describe items they’ve
collected or used throughout the activity, including their reactions
and emotions regarding the item or the activity it was used for.
Compile Questions Left Unanswered -
Ask girls to write down any question they feel is unanswered from the
activity you just completed.
Encourage participants to share their questions with the
large group. Refrain
discussion until all the questions are read, but then allow for an
open exchange between students.
Recognition as part of Reflection – Girl Scouts
of Western Ohio has a patch available for troops participating in
the Council Wide Community Service Project.
Purchase these patches for your girls today and they will
reflect on their service learning project anytime someone points to
their vest and says “What did you do to earn this one?” For more
information on the troop evaluation form and the project patch,
please go to the council website at
www.girlscoutsofwesternohio.org/Program/serviceproject.htm.
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Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Administrative Office 4930 Cornell Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242-1804 T: 513.489.1025 or 800.537.6241 F: 513.489.1417 www.girlscoutsofwesternohio.org
Chair - Nancy Dawes Chief Executive Officer -Barbara J. Bonifas
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