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Visit these pages often for new program offerings and opportunities for girls, troops and their families.
Please note some corrections and additions to the printed version of Connections.
Go Green!
“Discover, Connect, and Take Action” by helping keep the world environmentally healthy. Doing so will help the girls observe and conserve through recycling, wind energy, renewable sun energy, greenhouse gases and much more. This years Fall Product Sale is sure to get the girls’ attention!
Did you know if we recycle every plastic bottle we use, we would keep two billion tons of plastic out of landfills? That equals the weight of about 285,714,285 African elephants! This year’s Be a Reader booklet offers activities to help girls Discover more about keeping their world “green,” or environmentally healthy. The booklet will help them Connect with others in a cooperative learning process and Take Action by carrying out realistic goals for projects that make a difference in their community. These activities are ideal for reinforcing the parts of the Girl Scout Law that encourage us to “use resources wisely,” and “make the world a better place.” Take the opportunity to weave these important principles into your discussions with girls. The aim of all discussion should be to help each girl see herself as a leader, one who can Take Action herself, lead others to Take Action, and who can make a difference in the world.
Who is eligible for a Be a Reader patch?
Any Girl Scout at any Girl Scout level is eligible to receive the Be a Reader patch. Recognitions for participation are available for purchase through any GSHH council shop. Girls receive the large Be a Reader patch the first time they participate. Each smaller embroidered bee represents a girl’s participation in subsequent years.
Like other participation patches, the Be a Reader patch can be worn on the back of uniform parts such as tunics, vests, and sashes, or included in a scrapbook.
How do girls become eligible for a Be a Reader patch?
Although Girl Scout adults may help determine the number of activities required for the group to be eligible for the Be a Reader patch, give all girls an opportunity to choose among different activities.
Timing is up to the group. Many girls work on these projects when they’re taking part in the Be a Reader QSP Family Subscription Activity, while others may decide to do them at another time. The activities listed in the Be a Reader Activity Booklet can easily be completed in conjunction with Girl Scout Daisy learning petals, Brownie Girl Scout try-Its, Junior Girl Scout badges, interest project awards and STUDIO 2B activities for girls in grades 6-12, the Girl Scout Leadership Development Model and, starting in fall 2009, the new Journeys for each grade level. Related awards are listed at the end of each age-level section. Make Earth Day Your Day!!!
Many, many people care deeply about keeping the Earth healthy. You can join them by celebrating Earth Day on April 22. Find it on a calendar and then count backwards one or two months. Circle the date you will start a project that ends on Earth Day. One thing that you can do is take a leadership role in the Earth Day Groceries Project that children around the United States take part in every year. (http://earthdaybags.org/)
• Contact someone from your local grocery store to see if they will participate.
• Get as many large paper bags from them as you think your group can decorate.
• Decorate the bags with environmental awareness messages.
• Return them to the grocery store before April 22 so that the cashiers can put shoppers’ groceries in them on Earth Day.
This is something a lot of other Girl Scout groups may be doing. If you coordinate efforts with them, imagine how many bags you could decorate!
Environmental Awareness
Through Girl Scouting, girls see the Earth as their home. Whether they're learning about endangered wildlife, developing creative recycling projects, or working towards such earned age-level awards as the Environmental Health badge or the Eco-Action interest project award, girls focus on care, conservation, and responsibility and ensure the safety of our planet for future generations.
Take advantage of the many program opportunities available through Girl Scouts of the USA’s official website. http://www.girlscouts.org/. There you will find some of the many ways girls develop a keen environmental awareness along with the 2008 Environmental Events calendar.
Girls Only
Refer to GSUSA website
www.gogirlsonly.org
Girls Go Tech
Refer to GSUSA website
www.girlsgotech.org | 
