Girl Scout Troops 10451 and 10398 Bronze Award December 16, 2009

During the spring and summer of 2009, Girl Scout Troops 10451 and 10398 earned badges, completed the “Sign of the Star,” and participated in the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Scoping Program to earn the highest honor for Junior Girl Scouts: the Bronze Award. The girls earned badges in wildlife and the environment to support their knowledge and skills required to participate in field work and data entry of the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas. Through the assistance of the staff from the Minneapolis Recreation and Park Board, the girls learned how to use binoculars and birding field guides, how to identify birds, enter data on the breeding bird atlas website, and raise awareness for bird species and their critical habitats. The girls of Troop 10451 provided 25 hours of  community service and identified more than 40 species of birds to the project.

Operation Christmas Child December 10, 2009

Wow what an awesome night! We had a great meeting this past Monday night. Our 10 Girl Scout Daisies in Troop 13601 put together 17 boxes of gifts for Operation Christmas Child. We are so proud to see them give to a child they most likely will never even see. What a gift to learn to give. We are very fortunate to have received a large donation of small items to fill the boxes from Scholastic Book Fairs and to have the pleasure of working with Grace Fellowship Church. Tracy and I are so proud of our girls!

Shari Grundy & Tracy Weber
Girl Scout Daisy Troop 13601

Girl Scout vegetable garden October 19, 2009

Mound Girl Scout Troop 12415 planted a vegetable garden in May and donated produce throughout the summer to the Westonka Food Shelf. The final harvest of the season was Friday, October 9. In total, the girls donated more than 100 pounds of food over the course of the growing season using seeds, a few donated plants, and girl power!

Jack Wiest coordinated the produce deliveries to the Westonka food shelf, and free use of the garden plot was provided by Our Lady of the Lake Church.

See more photos on River Valleys’ Facebook page.

Jordan Girl Scout Bronze Award Project October 9, 2009

Jordan Girl Scout Junior Troop 21220 spent time planting flowers around Lagoon park in Jordan. This community service opportunity was just one of many planned activities to help the troop earn their Girl Scout Bronze Award. The girls have chosen the theme “Beautifying Our Community” and will also be organizing the Adopt-a-Highway fall clean-up and a holiday decorating project for local community businesses. They are also spending time within their own homes with recycling and yard projects.

The troop leaders and girls met this summer and we asked the girls what they wanted their troop year and Bronze Award project to be. They really enjoy non-traditional troop meetings that allow them to explore new ideas and concepts. The girls are also really busy with other extracurricular activities, so we also wanted this year to be more flexible to meet the demands of their schedules without overwhelming them. The conversation about this type of meeting generated a lot of ideas for a project and as we put them on paper, they all fell around the general theme of “beautifying our community.” We discussed what the word “community” meant. They said things like: buildings, schools, people, your city, or even a family. Those conversations evolved into a plan for this year.



We took their ideas and did some research: Linda Steinhoff, troop leader, contacted the City of Jordan and asked if there were any projects with which our troop could help; that turned into our Lagoon Park planting project. I contacted the manager at the Schule Haus and asked what we could do; that will be our valentines card making project to be delievered to the residents. The girls really wanted to do something else that could be seen around town; that will become our handmade holiday decorations that will be distributed around to community businesses.



Some of the  girls have also worked on building Teraya’s Garden, a community garden at Jordan Elementary School dedicated to the memory of a student who was killed in a car accident last year. The troop is sponsoring this year’s Jordan Service Unit Adopt-a-Highway Fall Clean-up, as well as recycling and helping with home projects and planting trees this Spring. The girls are looking forward to finding other ways to contribute to their community.

-Carrie Speikers, troop leader

Girl Scout Troop 13433 at Feed My Starving Children September 23, 2009

Our first service projects of the year was a great success! Seven girls, as well as their families and leaders, joined other volunteers at Feed My Starving Children to pack nutritious meals for children around the world. The result was 7,992 meals (enough to feed 22 children for a year) packed in two hours. Afterward we were allowed to help say a prayer over the meals before they left. We also got to see how many Girl Scout Brownies could fit in a sack which holds a ton of rice. If you’ve been there, you will certainly remember, “chicken, veggies, soy, rice!” We would encourage every troop to try out this great service project. Our girls are already planning their next trip back!

Girls who attended: Ana, Analise, Anna, Ellie, Emma, Leah, and Paula.

- Troop 13433

Girl Scout Garden Tour September 22, 2009

On Sunday, August 30, Girl Scouts, along with Operation Christmas Child, hosted a garden tour with master gardener Jane Horn. Jane’s garden is in Prior Lake. It was absolutely beautiful. Jane gave her talk so that it included all the information for Girl Scout Brownies and Juniors to earn a badge and for Cadette and above to be well on their way to an interest patch. Admission to the event was a donation of school supplies to be used at the Girl Scouts box packing party in October or early November.

Kristine DCamp, leader of Troop 21594 had 4 girls from her troop.  Luanne Anderson leader of Troops 10519 – 2 girls; 10651 – 3 girls; and 11202 – 2 girls.

Laura, Wednesday, Maggie, Miranda, Michele, Krista, Grace, Kyla, Jane Horn, Heidi, and Hannah. Not pictured: Simone.

Jane, the master gardener, was a girl scout herself.  She wore her Girl Scout pins from when she was a girl. The girls that attended thought it was really great that she still had her pins and so proudly wore them.

Master gardener Jane Horn's Girl Scout pins

My Girl Scout Gold Award Story June 26, 2009

My senior year of high shool, I finished my Girl Scout Gold Award by redesigning the French language curriculum in District 112 to include aspects of francophone culture into a mostly euro-centric language program. Main goals of this curriculum include increased understanding of francophone culture, introduction to non-traditional vocabulary, mock experience solving world issues involving francophone countries, and monthly classroom immersion into the culture of one francophone culture through field trips or in-class activities.

Since the project’s completion, it has been slowly implemented in the Pre-French I- French II classes. At the end of 2012, this program will be fully active in Chanhassen High School as part of the main French curriculum.

Below is an article from the local newspaper covering Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center’s French II class’ experience with the new program.

French Classes Take Aim at Africa’s Problems (February 12, 2009)

AIDS, drug trafficking and global-warming may be daunting problems facing countries in Africa, but a group of students at the Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center are determined to help where they can.

“We’ve seen how every vote matters in the local Senate election,” said Ivan Contreras. “The same applies to the the problems over there. Everyone can make a difference.”

Contreras was one of several French students who put their language skills to the test, researching problems in Africa and eventually developing a project to to help deal with AIDS in Rwanda.

Students in Michelle Maria’s French II classes produced their own movies describing a serious problem they encountered in research of French-speaking African countries.

“They then had to offer a way to be able to change it and make a difference,” said Maria.

Once finished with their productions, the class had a celebration to watch all the movies and pick one to take on as a service learning project for the remainder of the year. During the celebration, they enjoyed an African meal, sitting on cushions on the floor in a typical Moroccan setting, while feasting on couscous, dates, apricots, and mint tea. While they voted to address AIDS in Rwanda as their class project, other movie topics included lack of education for children in Madagascar, drug-trafficking in Maroc, and child trafficking in Togo.

“We are really motivated to make an impact,” said Ashley Kemp. “Helping just one person would be a positive impact.”

The students didn’t seem fazed by the extent of some of the problems they chose to research.

“We may not be able to stop big problems completely like the impact global warming has on ocean reefs in the Seychelles,” said Micha Mills. “But we can make a small difference.”

Spencer Banister said the standard of living in some of these countries is so low that anyone from the United States can make a difference.

“These people live off of 10 cents a day,” he said. “Donating just $10 can go a long, long way over there.”

Potential

During the time Jeffry Lyman was researching childhood nutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a cease fire in the civil wars there occurred.

“These countries have so much potential for fixing their own problems,” he said. “They just need to be pointed in the right direction.”

Dan Schanus was also working on the Congo project and agreed with the potential the country has.

“Children are starving all across the country, yet it has huge ore deposits that could make it one of the richest countries in Africa and solve those hunger problems,” he said.

The projects were part of the students’ French class, so they were expected to use and develop their French speaking abilities.

“While I was developing my presentation, I was surprised at how I could say pretty much whatever I need to in French after only two years of studying it,” said Ali Souza.

The students had to pick problems they felt they could actually do something about, said Maria.

“We’re asking these students to become global citizens, so what better way than to ask them to pick the project to work on for the rest of the year,” she said.

-Chuck Friedbauer
Hawk Talons

When I started my Girl Scout Gold Award, I had no idea it would have this much of an impact on my school district. French teachers now have the option to share the francophone world with students who may not otherwise be introduced to alternative French cultures. While it is still a work in progress, I am optimistic this is a step in the right direction for increasing cultural awareness in students and modernizing curriculum development to include opinions of students.

Thanks to the guidance of my mentors Katherine Martens and Kris Rydland, I am now in college studying education policy and have since learned just how lucky I have been to be supported by such amazing teachers. It is fantastic to know a single student can have such a large impact on a community.

Lauren

Girl Scouts help at Operation GreenTouch June 23, 2009

Last month Round Lake Girl Scout Cadettes, with the help of Girl Scout Juniors (not pictured), went to Kilen Woods in Lakefield, Minn., to help clean up the park as part of Operation GreenTouch in partnership with Federated Rural Electric. The girls cleaned the shelter house and painted picnic tables.

Nicollet Girl Scouts Bronze Award project June 4, 2009

As part of their Bronze Award project, Nicollet Girl Scouts “adopted” a dilapidated garden area that was adjacent to the Nicollet Public School playground. It had become both an eyesore and a hazard – as teachers had to stand guard and keep students out of the area during recess. Some of the issues included rotten timbers, exposed pieces of rebar, torn landscape fabric, dead trees, and excessively overgrown bushes.
The girls had a representative come in from a local garden center and talk to them about what was in the garden and what could be done to save some of the existing bushes. The girls learned about the different types of bushes and when/how they should be trimmed. They looked at magazines and drew up plans for what they wanted the garden to look like. They took measurements and determined what supplies were needed.

Last fall, the girls began the cleanup process. They raked out leaves and garbage, pulled weeds, and parents helped cut down the dead tree.  The girls helped to prune out the bushes that needed to go. In the winter, the Junior Girl Scouts went back and did a substantial amount of trimming. The troop also made stepping stones for the garden.  The girls wrote up a letter to request supplies from local businesses and put together a display board and scrapbook to document their project. Early this spring, the troop did a final cleanup/ground prep session.

In May the troop members and parents gathered to complete the project after the troop received the following donations: two truckloads of mulch/bark, 400 square feet of landscape fabric, four replacement landscape timbers, new rebar to secure the timbers, and $25 worth of bedding plants. Over three hours on a Saturday morning, the garden was transformed! The girls helped replace the timbers, lay the landscape fabric, haul and spread the bark, lay their stepping stones and plant flowers. The result was spectacular!

Check out more amazing photos on River Valleys Facebook fan page.

Adopting a Soldier May 21, 2009

by Audrea Horejsi
Ellendale/Geneva Girl Scout troop leader

In July 2008, while looking for projects for our Girl Scout troop to work on for the coming school year, I read an article about another troop that had “adopted a soldier” and thought it sounded like a wonderful idea and a great experience for the girls.  I contacted www.mysoldier.com, and they sent me the contact information for a soldier currently serving in Iraq.  They also sent me some red bracelets for each of the Girl Scouts to wear, symbolizing their part of adopting a soldier. Each girl in the troop has been given one to wear if and when they wish.

Our soldier’s name is Charles (Charlie) Enebrad. He grew up on the coast in South Carolina and worked on shrimp boats before joining the military.  The movie “Forest Gump” was filmed in his hometown. He joined the military at age 17 and has been an active member for nine years now.  He is stationed out of Fort Lewis, Washington and is an army fire fighter currently working with a construction unit in Nasariyah, Iraq. He has been married for six years and has a four-year-old son and twin two-year-old daughters, whom he says he wants to join the Girl Scouts as soon as they are able to; he feels it is a wonderful organization to be a part of. He currently has 122 soldiers in his company.

Of the 18 girls that currently attend Girl Scouts in Ellendale/Geneva, 16 wrote letters to Charlie in November 2008, and he, along with a fellow soldier named Logan Hastings from St. Paul, Minn., wrote an individual letter back to each and every girl. They thought that was pretty cool and they each have taken their letters home to keep. Along with the letters, we made and sent some Christmas decorations, hand-crafted with construction paper, glue, glitter, puff balls, markers, and crayons. The girls were very creative, and the decorations looked awesome. When Charlie received the decorations, he hung them up for everyone in his company to see and enjoy throughout the holiday season and wrote to tell us it added a “touch of home” for the soldiers.

In February, we hand-crafted Valentine decorations for Charlie and his company, and he also hung those up for everyone to see and enjoy.

The month of February was a sad one for Charlie as one of his friends was killed in a road side bomb in Iraq and left behind a wife and four children.  I’m sure Charlie probably sees, hears about, and deals with this type of thing on a daily basis, but it is even harder when it is one of his own and a personal friend.

Charlie sent us some photos in February showing the large trucks he drives over in Iraq and the girls were in awe when they saw the size of them.

Most recently, the girls each bought and donated Girl Scout cookies for Charlie and the other soldiers, and we sent them right to his attention in Iraq.

He sent back pictures showing many of the soldiers sorting through and eating the cookies as they unpacked them. He said we have no idea how much they all appreciate and LOVE Girl Scout cookies – another little touch of home to them.

The girls and I have totally enjoyed our activities and communications revolving around Charlie, and we are looking forward to more. We plan to stay in communication with Charlie for the duration of his stay in Iraq. We feel like we know Charlie, even though we have never personally met him and probably never will. We talk about him as we would someone we see and talk to every day. Our communication with him has meant a lot to us and it probably always will. I think the girls in the troop, who range from ages 5-10, will all remember Charlie when they look back and think about the days they were a Girl Scout.

Update

The girls were touched and honored to receive the following letter from Charlie:

Hello,

I have a “special gift” for your troop. I have an American Flag that was flown out here in Iraq that I plan on sending to you once I get home. A certificate will accompany it stating such. I hope it is something that can express the gratitude my guys and I have for your troop. I cannot thank you for the overwhelming support you have provided during my time here. I still have a month or so to go, and I am busy as ever, but I just wanted to let you know I will be sending this so you will have something to look forward to … Thanks again and God bless.

Charlie