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What Would You Ask the Presidential Candidates?

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

Calling all girls 11-15: Nickelodeon needs YOUR help!

Every election year, Nick News travels the country asking kids what they would ask the presidential candidates if they had the chance. Nick News airs this in its Kids Pick the President special in the fall.

Are you involved in your student government? Are you looking to learn more about voting and the political process?  Or would you simply like to find out what type of Girl Scout cookie a candidate likes best or what they do to act “green”? Now’s your chance!

Fill out the survey for your chance to be in the documentary and have your questions asked by the candidates themselves! Help show that kids have a voice and are looking to use it!

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NickNewsKPPQuestions

For more information visit Kids Pick the President

Posted in Advocacy, Announcements, Blog Squad | No Comments »

Book Review: Prom and Prejudice

Sunday, June 17th, 2012

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

A preview of the story: If you like Jane Austin’s classic tale, Pride and Prejudice, or even if you just like a fun love story, you will love Prom and Prejudice. The story is centered on Lizzie Bennet, who lives in a world of designer clothes and turned up noses. She attends Longbourn Academy on a scholarship, making her incredibly unpopular. Her only friends are her kind roommate Jane and another scholarship student, Charlotte. As prom season rolls around, Jane becomes wrapped up in courting Charles Bingley, hoping he will take her to prom. Lizzie is happy for Jane but unhappy to find herself stuck in the company of Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who she finds snobby and pompous. Yet for some reason, Lizzie finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

What I liked about the book: I love that this novel was able to take a classic story and give it a modern twist without ruining the characters or the plot. It was fun to see how the author, Elizabeth Eulberg, incorporated the original characters in new ways. Yes, the book was predictable, especially if you know the story, but I still found it interesting and even relatable. Lizzie is a pianist, and as a classical musician, I enjoyed reading about her experience. Since I was a member of the prom committee in high school, I can also relate to the Longbourn girls thinking of prom as THE event of the year. I found myself reading the book as if I was Lizzie, and finished it in a sitting.

My one, small critique: Eulberg sometimes couldn’t decide if the book should be modern or not. The dialogue didn’t always fit the time period or the age of the characters, it was a little outdated. However, since the characters were supposed to be high-society prep school students, it was almost believable. Despite this critique, I still found the book enjoyable.

If you like Prom and Prejudice, I recommend reading Avalon High, by Meg Cabot. Here is a link to its summary: http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/avalon-high. Enjoy!

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Camp Fury is on Fire!

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Welcome to Camp Fury!

It’s day two at Camp Fury and these girl scouts are already on fire! Trained by Tucson’s elite women firefighters from Northwest Fire District and Tucson Fire Department, each girl gets the chance to repel down a building, climb up a 150-foot ladder, rescue a dummy from a maze in full firefighting gear, and more. Today I took a trip out to the camp sight to get a look at the girls in action. When I got there, I was impressed. Being deathly afraid of heights, I couldn’t imagine having to walk backwards off of a building and then belay myself down the side of it.

    

Going over the edge was the scariest part!

Another girl scout walking down the building!

Getting ready for belaying!

 

When I walked around to the other side of the training building, there was a parked fire truck with a narrow ladder extending hundreds of feet into the air. This looked even more terrifying to me, but girl after girl made the climb. Everyone cheered as each girl reached the top and posed for a picture.

Climbing into the sky!

 

As I sat and watched the climbing, a group of girls emerged from the training building wearing full firefighting gear in 100-degree weather. They had just finished a maze in which they had to follow a hose through a building in order to rescue a dummy. It sounds easy, right? Except these girls couldn’t see.

Taking off the gear.

The final group of girls was inside learning about what it takes to become a firefighter. We all watched a video detailing the CPAT test, or the Candidate Physical Ability Test. There are 8 parts to this grueling test, and all must be completed in ten minutes and twenty seconds while wearing a fifty-pound vest.

A firefighter has to be able to handle the weight of her suit.

 

It was cool to see so many girls exploring a predominantly male career. Whether Camp Fury interested girls in pursuing firefighting or not, it looked like great fun. All of the firefighters were kind, encouraging, and helpful; a great set of role models. Camp Fury is certainly blazing a trail for girls to learn about and consider unconventional careers.

These are some big shoes to fill!

 

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Girls Get Ready to Put out the Flames at the 3rd Annual Camp Fury

Monday, June 4th, 2012

On June 6th local girls will begin a four day, three night fire fighting adventure as part of the 3rd annual Camp Fury facilitated by the Tucson and Northwest Fire Departments along with the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona. Camp Fury gives high school aged girls the chance to explore the field, experience firefighting and emergency operations techniques, and connect with women currently in the profession.

Now in its third year, the camp offerings continue to grow with girls benefitting from increased hands-on activities, demonstrations, and drills. In addition to exercising and training with fire and emergency services professionals, girls don full fire fighting gear and jump right in the action themselves. Over the course of the four days girls will undergo physical fitness training and the Candidate Physical Abilities Test (CPAT) in addition to activities including an aerial climb, rope rappel, mud bog, bucket brigade, search drill and water safety.

The goal of the program is to provide an introduction to firefighting careers and to promote a positive leadership experience.  “The partnership between the Girl Scouts and the fire service agencies is a natural fit” notes Girl Scouts’ CEO Debbie Rich. “At Girl Scouts we work on a broad scale to connect girls to those in the community who can help her build the confidence and skills she needs to become a leader and share her gifts with the world. We thank Chief Cheryl Horvath for leading the charge and for providing girls with more ways to learn, lead, and “try on” different roles.”

While some girls already have a firefighting career in mind, many attend to try something new.  In the process they discover more about themselves and gain the confidence  needed to try other pursuits. Notes Megan S., a 2011 Camp Fury participant, “Whenever you push yourself hard to do something out of your comfort zone you achieve a level of accomplishment that gives you a boost of self-confidence and it makes you feel wonderful. You overcome a challenge and you just don’t want to stop there.”

The enthusiastic response to Camp Fury in Tucson led to the creation of Camp Fury in Yuma with over a dozen girls in attendance. In addition to meeting with fire personnel, the girls were surprised by House Representative and Girl Scout Honorary Troop 1920 Member Lynn Pancrazi who stopped by to cheer on the girls and speak to the importance of emergency services.

 A graduation ceremony for Camp Fury participants will be held at the Tucson Public Safety Academy on Saturday June 9 at 1pm. For a Camp Fury agenda or for more information contact Ellen Pott at Girl Scouts, epott@girlscoutssoaz.org, 520.205.1507.

 

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Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona’s Family Astronomy Night Brings the Cosmos Down to Earth

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

Imagine Astronomy Family Night

May 30, 2012
6pm-9pm
Double R Arena
320 Stable Lane
Rio Rico, AZ 85648
$5.00 per girl, female family members FREE

 Get ready for a starry night! The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona are unleashing the wonders of the universe at the 1st annual Imagine Astronomy Family Night on May 30th from 6 to 9 pm at Double R Arena. Imagine Astronomy Night will feature telescopic viewing, hands-on activities, and will celebrate the female pioneers in Astronomy. The event is $5.00 per girl and female family members are free so girls bring your mom, aunts, and grandmas too!

Imagine Astronomy Family Night seeks to expand girls’ universe in a whole new way.  Led by Girl Scout STEM Director, Michelle Higgins, and Planetary Science Institute’s Senior Education Specialist Larry Lebofsky, the program will present experiments and demonstrations to supplement formal science curriculum and provide activities that can be easily repeated at home.  Higgins can’t wait to kick off the event.  “Astronomy Night really allows girls and families to see that everyone can be a scientist and that science is truly all around us! Another unique aspect of our program is its emphasis on family centered learning. We encourage the whole family to take part and create their own science experience, integrating both personal and cultural notions to help make science more relevant to their everyday life.”

Girl Scouts has a long history of engaging girls in STEM activities and encouraging girls to pursue STEM interests both in and outside of the classroom.  Despite recent gains gender barriers persist. According to Girl Scout Research Institute’s Generation STEM Report about half of all girls feel that STEM isn’t a typical career path for girls. Moreover, 57% of girls say that if they went into a STEM career, they’d have to work harder than a man just to be taken seriously. Imagine Astronomy is one of many Girl Scout offerings that look to debunk this myth by introducing girls those working in the field and showing that science is truly for girls just as much as boys.

Parents, other family members, teachers, mentors, and advocates for girls can help with STEM education and exposure, as well as encouragement, so that girls develop the assets they need to take on and excel in these world-changing careers now and in the future. If you have an explorer, budding scientist in your family or are simply looking to try new things, come to Imagine Astronomy Family Night and see for yourself how much fun astronomy can be!

For more information on Imagine Astronomy contact Michelle Higgins, STEM Director at mhiggins@girlscoutssoaz.org.

 About Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts is the world’s preeminent leadership development organization dedicated to helping build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. GSSoAz serves over 14,000 girls in Southern Arizona and includes over 3,000 adult volunteers. Our goals are to provide a wide range of contemporary programs that reflect the unique needs and interests of all girls living in Southern Arizona, to empower girls to reach their full potential, and to give girls a voice in their community and in their own lives. For more information on Girl Scouting in Southern Arizona, please contact Maria DeCabooter at (520) 319-3175.

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Posted in Announcements, Blog Squad, Event Pathway, STEM | No Comments »

Happy National Bike Month! 5 Way to Celebrate :)

Saturday, May 12th, 2012

 

Happy National Bike Month! For the remaining days of May, consider using your bike more often. Riding your bike is a great way to exercise, have fun, and help the environment. Here are five ways to celebrate:

1. Brush up on some fun facts!

  • Did you know that the longest tandem bike ever built was almost 67 feet long and could seat 35 people?
  • The fastest speed ever recorded on a bicycle was 152.2 miles per hour, achieved by American Olympic Cyclist John Howard in 1985. That’s three times as fast as a speeding car!
  • The slow cycling record was set by Japan’s Tsugunobu Mitsuishi  in 1965 when he stayed stationary for 5 hours and 25 minutes. That’s quite the balancing act!
  • By replacing car trips with bicycle trips, about 238 million gallons of gasoline are saved per year.
  • Before bikes looked like they do today, “high-wheel” bikes were popular. Imagine riding this to school:

2. Decorate your helmet!

One of the most important things to remember when you ride your bike is to wear your helmet. Using some items from around the house, you can give your helmet a brand new look.

Draw it: With a few different colored markers, you can draw any designs or pictures onto your helmet. Make sure to use oil-based markers so that your art wont come off. The Sharpie brand carries oil-based paint markers.

Stick it: Cover your helmet with your favorite stickers! Your can add a couple of simple stickers in a polka-dot design, or make a collage with any stickers you may have around the house.

Glue it: Start with different colors of craft foam and some hot glue. Cut out bunny ears, cat ears, a shark fin, or a crown to hot glue onto your helmet. You can also glue gemstones, plastic flowers, and more onto your helmet!

3. Personalize your bike!

You will need a plastic plate, a hole puncher, two zip ties, craft foam, and hot glue. Start by cutting off the rim of the plate. Next, punch a pair of holes on each side of the plate. Cut your name out of the foam and hot glue it on. You can add ribbon or colored tape to make stripes, or any other decorations you can think of. Finally, fasten the zip ties through the holes and around the handle bars.

4. Make streamers for your handle bars!

All you need is ribbon, beads, and jingle bells. Cut the ribbon into foot long strips. String on the beads and tie the jingle bells to the ends. Tie your bundle of ribbon onto each handle bar, and you’re done!

5. Go for a bike ride!

After you’ve decorated your bike, go on a bike ride with your family. Remember to wear your helmet and share the fun facts you’ve learned about bikes.

Happy National Bike Month!

 

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Troop 1551’s Wonders of Water Journey

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Troop 1551’s Wonders of Water Journey:

Discovering, Connecting with others, and Taking Action to Make the World a Better Place.

Brownie Troop 1551 brought the Wonders of Water Journey to life through their Take Action project the Well Water Dreamers 5k Run/Walk. The troop during their WOW Journey learned all about water- why we need water, what it‘s like to live in places where water is scarce, and the importance of clean water. One statistic stood out to the girls- nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean water. This is especially true in Africa where people have to walk an average of three miles a day just to get clean water. After learning this fact the girls decided this was a Take Action project that needed to happen. As a result, the water advocates made it their mission to raise $5,000 to help build a well in Africa through The Water Project. The girls decided on a 5k run as their fundraiser since 3.1 miles is the average distance a person in Africa walks to get to a well. After months of planning, sharing tips on how to save water, and t-shirt designing, the Brownies Well Water Dreamers race day finally arrived.

On Saturday April 28th 70 people gathered at Brandi Fenton Park to help support the troop’s goal to build a well in Africa. The run was a hit and the Brownies were hard at work the entire time- participating in the 5k, handing out ribbons to the finishers, helping pass out awards, and serving Girl Scout cookies for a delicious post-run treat! The race also fell on the same day as Troop Leader and New Found Gem Volunteer, Crystal’s Smith birthday! Congratulations to these amazing Brownies for their inspirational journey to help provide water to those who need it most. If you missed it, don’t worry. The Well Water Dreamers Race will take place again next year!

To check out Troop 1551′s progress and help the girls meet their goal click here.

For pictures of the event check out our Facebook album

 

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Hunger Hits Home for Girls

Friday, April 20th, 2012

By Grace T., 8 years old

It made me feel sad because kids like me had no food. There were three families that had barely any food. One of them went to a place that gave you any thing for free. Then a family went somewhere called CSA and got vegetables for a lower price. And the other one got free lunch in the summer for their kids.

I think I could help by donating food or money I think that would be helpful.

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By Sammy T., 10 years old

After watching Hunger Hits Home I felt like I wanted to do something to help. I was very surprised when I saw how many kids went hungry before they started giving them free breakfast at school. It never occurred to me that so many kids go hungry in the U.S.A. I was also surprised that the ten year old boy cooked for his dad. I could never imagine having to cook for my dad. It is truly amazing that these kids are able to survive. I am very glad that they are raising awareness about child hunger

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By Katy T., 12 years old

When I watched the Hunger Hits Home program on Food Network, I was moved.

It is strange to think that we, theUS, can send money and all that stuff to different places around the world, but still can have child hunger in our own backyard.

You never really know who is suffering from food insecurity. It could be your neighbors, for all you know. But they could be embarrassed to share their problem, I know I would be.

And that family in Virginia, their dad is as old as my dad (38). Their parents and my parents have been married for the same amount of time (16 years). And both their family and mine have the same amount of kids (4). I put myself in their shoes and realized how lucky I am to have a steady supply of food.

Hunger Hits Home inspired me, because now I know what I’m doing for my Silver Award Project. I’m going to help end child hunger in the US.

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Send in your thoughts about the film and tell us what you can do to end childhood hunger! Send your work to Kristi at kpallack@girlscoutssoaz.org. You can watch the full film (only 48 min) online for free here.

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On April 22nd Thank Your Leader!

Friday, April 20th, 2012

Girl Scout Volunteer Recognition Week is April 18-23 and we would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of GSSoAZ volunteers.

No matter how you’re involved- on an ongoing basis as a troop leader, taking girls on a weekend travel trip, sharing your skills- Girl Scout volunteers are part of a family of more than 1 million Girl Scout volunteers who make a positive and lasting impact on the lives of young girls.

Leader’s Day on April 22nd is a special day that honors all the volunteers who work as leaders and mentors in partnership with girls. Girls, their families, and communities should find a special way to thank their adult Girl Scout volunteers and  let them know they are appreciated. The gesture doesn’t have to be big- it can be as simple as a letter signed by you! Remember, it’s the thought that counts!

Ways to Say Thank you

  • Simply smile and say thanks!
  • Make a home-made thank you card
  • Be green and send a thank you e-card
  • Give a bouquet of daisies
  • Send balloons
  • Do a random act of kindness for your leader
  • Sit in a circle and have each member share “I’m happy you’re my Leader because…”
  • Call a radio station and have a song dedicated to your Leader
  • Write a letter to your Leader describing your favorite Girl Scout memory
  • Make your own coupon book
  • In appreciate for the time given,  give the gift of thyme- give dried thyme, thyme in olive oil or bread flavored with thyme!
  • Take a troop picture and present it to your leader
  • Bake a cake
  • Display a thank you poster on their mailbox
  • Check out Leader Appreciation items at the Council shop
  • Give a mug of chocolate hugs and kisses
  • Dedicate a service project to your leader
  • Make a troop cheer
  • Create a special certificate
  • Hold an appreciation dinner

 

 

 

 

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Hunger Hits Home: an 11 year old perspective

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

written by Lucy S., age 11

Hunger is a bigger problem than I thought. I thought only people who were poor or didn’t have homes where hungry. I was wrong. Many other people are suffering hunger. A lot of kids who are hungry aren’t getting enough healthy food. That is a problem. If the smaller/younger kids aren’t getting the nutrition they need, they could develop heart problems, diabetes, and even high blood pressure.

These kids need food, their parents too. People all over the world, over 11 million kids aren’t getting breakfast everyday. 1 out of every 5 kids don’t get breakfast every day. Many of their parents don’t have enough food, or just can’t afford it. They either receive food stamps or go to local food banks.  Schools are starting to give away free breakfasts to kids in need. This changes their whole day. Breakfast keeps you concentrated.

My friend told me today that she didn’t eat because she “didn’t want to”. I think that she missing out by not eating. When you don’t eat breakfast, you wont be able to stay focused or alert during school. If you aren’t focused or alert, you wont be able to do your school work. That can effect your grade.

We must stop this. By 2015, the President of the United States of America wants hunger to end. The smallest donation to a food bank could change a 5-year-old girl’s life. We need you to help.  Take the pledge today at http://nokidhungry.org/learn-about-campaign

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Send in your thoughts about the film and tell us what you can do to end childhood hunger! Send your work to Kristi at kpallack@girlscoutssoaz.org. You can watch the full film (only 48 min) online for free here.

 

Posted in Advocacy, Announcements, Blog Squad, Community, Virtual Pathway | 1 Comment »

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