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Award Ceremonies

Girl Scouts have so many reasons to host an award ceremony. We love to celebrate girls’ achievements, and we’ll plan a party for almost anything, to be honest.

What awards are typically celebrated in a ceremony?

Any award can be celebrated in a ceremony. Some troops host ceremonies to award badges, Journey awards, or other leadership awards. Others reserve ceremonies for specific awards.

The most commonly celebrated awards are:

  • The Summit Award – Available at every level and the highest award a Daisy or Brownie can earn. Awarded to girls who have completed at least 3 Journeys at their level.
  • The Girl Scout Bronze Award – Available only to Juniors and the highest award a Junior can earn. See requirement information.
  • The Girl Scouts Silver Award – Available only to Cadettes and the highest award a Cadette can earn. See requirement information.
  • The Girl Scout Gold Award – Available only to Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors and the highest award in Girl Scouts. See requirement information.

Who is celebrating?

A troop or service unit usually plans the celebration together. Some girls prefer smaller troop and family ceremonies. Others wish to share their celebration with their service unit, which is a wonderful experience for younger girls in attendance to see role models earning amazing awards. Some councils even host council-wide ceremonies for the most prestigious awards. This is commonly done around bridging season in the late spring, but can be done at any time during the year.

Hosting a Ceremony

Most ceremonies have three parts:

An opening, when guests are welcomed and the tone is set. The opening often includes:

  • An opening flag ceremony, usually including the Girl Scout Promise and/or Law
  • A greeting from the person who is hosting the event or making announcements

A meaningful middle, when girls’ achievements are recognized. If your ceremony is celebrating multiple girls, the middle section might be repeated a few times. The middle often includes:

  • Information about the award being earned
  • A time for the girl to speak about what she did to earn the award. Sometimes mentors, troop leaders, or parents join in as well.
  • Presentation of the award. Talk to the girl – she may have someone in mind for who she would like to pin the award on her uniform or present the award to her.
    • Bonus tip: If the award is being pinned to her uniform, be sure everyone involved knows where on the uniform it belongs. You may want to print off a cheatsheet and highlight the exact placement.
  • Presentation of any accompanying recognitions – This could be a certificate or thank you notes from the organization a girl worked with to complete the award. Most Gold Award Girl Scouts can receive congratulatory letters from public officials. If those have arrived, presenting them at this time would be appropriate. Information on how to request the letters.

A closing, where guests are thanked before being sent on their way. The closing often includes:

  • A thank you from the hostess or person making announcements
  • Notification about any post-ceremony refreshments or activities
  • A closing flag ceremony
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Episode 5 – Campfires and Cookouts

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Building fires and cooking over them is one of the most exciting parts of any outing. In this episode, we’ll be covering safety practices for fires, fire building basics, and suggested kaper roles for a cookout.

Remember, your council may require specialized training before taking your girls camping or doing fire building activities. Contact your council or check their Safety Activity Checkpoints to be sure you are following their guidelines.

Safety Practices

As they say, safety first!  It’s important to go over the safety rules for the campfire area prior to building the fire.

  • Have a water bucket.
  • Build the fire in the designated area that has been cleared of debris.
  • Check the weather and local fire danger ratings.
  • Remove loose clothing and tie back long hair.
  • Don’t reach, walk, or jump over the fire.
  • Use potholders when needed.
  • Do not put garbage into the fire.
  • Never leave the fire unattended. – While you might have girls responsible for tending the fire, an adult should always be present.
  • Lightly sprinkle water from your hands until the fire is completely out.

Prepare for Emergencies

  • Review stop, drop and roll.
  • Let girls know, if they get injured, like a burn, to let an adult know right away.

Fire Building Basics

There are many types of fires, but these are the most popular.

  • A frame, the logs of the fire are shaped like an A, used for cooking
  • Log cabin or box fire, where logs are placed in a square, used for cooking
  • Teepee fires, where logs are propped up in tent shape, best for light

Types of Wood

Tinder is tiny. This is the stuff we light. Wood shavings, cat tail fluff, and birch bark make excellent tinder. If you are collecting twigs, they should be about as long as your fingers and narrower than your pinky finger.

Kindling is the middle sized sticks. It is used to feed the fire until the larger logs catch. They shouldn’t be longer than your forearm and the diameter ranges between your fingers and your wrist.

Fuel is your logs, large pieces of wood, as thick as your wrist or larger. This is what keeps your fire going.

When you ask girls to collect these difference supplies, follow this rule, dead, down, and dry. The branch should be dead, not connected to a standing tree or bush, and ideally dry.



Suggested Cookout Kapers

If you have a big troop and a big campout coming up, you might want to consider kapers, or chores, specifically for cookouts. Each meal, you can rotate them.

Firebuilders

  • Clear the fire circle and safety circle.
  • Fill buckets of water.
  • Collect tinder, kindling, and fuel.
  • Build and tend the fire.
  • Put out the fire.

Cooks

  • Prepare the food.
  • Set up assembly line if girls are making their own meal.
  • Set up serving line.
  • Pack up food after the meal.

Hostesses

  • Set up the eating area. They might put out a table cloth or make natural centerpieces.
  • Set up hand-washing station.
  • Select and lead a grace.

Clean up

  • Set up a garbage can.
  • Set up the dish-washing station.
  • Wipe tables.
  • Wash communal dishes. Each girl washes her own plate, but the cleaning crew washes pots, pans, and serving utensils.
  • Take trash to a dumpster or designated area.
Uncategorized

Flag Ceremonies on a Stage

Flag ceremonies are often part of a larger ceremony or event. Some troops host a flag ceremony at every troop meeting. Others troops reserve ceremonies for big days like bridging or end of year celebrations. At camp, a flag ceremony often starts and ends each day. Most of our flag ceremonies aren’t perfect, and that’s ok. Girls are learning and practicing how things are done, which means mistakes will be made. Your goal as a volunteer is to set the tone and provide guidance to complete the ceremony.

Our flag ceremony reminders in this article are for ones taking places on stage or with a stage area at the front of the room where flags on poles are placed in stands up front.

Make a plan

There are a few decisions you will want to make before the ceremony. You’ll want to select which flags you’ll be using and make sure each has a working pole and stand. You also want to decide what you want to include during the ceremony. For instance, determine whether you want to add the Girl Scout Promise or Law after the Pledge of Allegiance, or include a poem or song.

Prepare the Girls

Girls have different roles to fill during the ceremony. Each girl needs to know what she is responsible for doing, and what her cues are. You’ll want to save time to practice ahead of time. Let’s look at the roles.

The color bearer (or flag bearer) is the person who carries the flag. There is one color bearer for each flag used in the ceremony.

The color guard is a team that guards the flags. Any even number of guards may be used, but usually four or six girls are sufficient.

The Girl Scout in charge (or caller) is a designated Girl Scout who announces or calls each part of the ceremony. You’ll find an example of ceremony commands at GSUSA’s website.

Get to Know the United States Flag Code

Display of the American flag is governed by law to ensure that it will be treated with the respect due the flag of a great nation. This is known as the United States Flag Code. Some of the rules most useful for Girl Scouts posting the flags on a stage are:

  • When the flags are posted in stands or raised on a pole, the American flag is always kept higher than other flags.
  • The American flag is placed in its stand after other flags are lowered into their standards.
  • When it’s time to retire the colors, the American flag is taken out of its stand first.
  • The flag, when carried in a procession with other flags, should be either on the marching right or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line.
  • The flag should never be allowed to touch anything beneath it, nor should it ever be carried flat or horizontally—always aloft and free.
  • When displayed on a stage where a speaker will be or action is taking place, the flag is placed on the speaker’s right as they look out to the audience. All other flags can be displayed on the speaker’s left.


Featured

There’s Another Way To Say It

The way we give an instruction, or try to get a girl to do something (or to stop doing something) is important. It sets the stage and tone for the entire interaction. Below are some commonly heard instructions and some alternatives to try.

There is a time and a place.

Sometimes, it’s not that the girl’s behavior is wrong, but now is not the right time, or here is not the right place. Asking her to move to the right area or save the activity for later can be the perfect answer.

Instead of “Cut that out,” try “You can play with the drum downstairs”.

Instead of “Stop that running,” try “Running is for outside, not in here”.

Give girls a chance to show off. Make it a game and show interest when they accomplish a task.

Instead of “everyone, be quiet,” try “I want to hear Mary on the phone, so play more quietly”.

Instead of “put your shoes on now,” try “How fast can you put your shoes on?”.

Instead of “eat your food,” try “How many beans can you eat?”.

Instead of “do your homework,” try “As soon as you finish the first 3, show them to me”.

Be a new role model.

Sometimes girls don’t know how to do things, or they imitate the wrong behavior. Keep in mind that you might need to show them what they should be doing. You can even help them think of new ways to do something together.

Instead of “don’t push the dog,” try “be gentle, pet the dog like this”.

Instead of “don’t do it like that,” try “Let’s see if we can figure out a better way to do that”.

Be clear about “when”.

When giving instructions, you can take time to remind girls that everyone will get a piece or that we will start when you say the magic words, but girls still might be impatient. Here are some tips:

Instead of “not now,” try “I need to finish this, I will be with you as soon as I finish”.

Instead of “stop grabbing,” try “Just a second, you will get one”.

What other ways have you practiced a positive spin to help manage behavior in your troop? Let us know in the comments.

Featured

Welcoming New Girls

Welcoming a new girl to Girl Scouts takes two parts. First is the initial greeting where they are recognized as a new member of the group. The second is building a sense of belonging. You can make sure each girl feels welcomed and part of the group by using this handy-dandy SMILE tool to greet girls the first time and every time.

If it’s your first troop meeting, or your first time greeting a new girl, remember to S.M.I.L.E.

Smile a lot! It sends a message of welcome and friendship.

Make eye contact. It connects you to your girls.

Introduce each girl to all the other girls in your group.

Learn each girl’s name.

Enthusiasm is contagious! Be enthusiastic.

Now that you’ve greeted all the girls, it’s time to build a sense of belonging. You’ll S.M.I.L.E. again, but in a different way:

Smile a lot! Continue the message of friendship.

Move around with the girls. Be willing to go to them and be part of the activity.

Include each girl in activities.

Learn two things about each girl, like their favorite animal, hobby, superhero, or Girl Scout activity.

Encourage each girl to make a new friend.

Troop Tips

Think Outside the Bridge

Bridging is such a unique milestone in a Girl Scout’s life, and every time, we want to make it a memorable experience. Try out these ideas for adding something new and different to your ceremony.

1. Destination Bridging

You don’t need to travel far to add a destination twist to your ceremony. Instead of bridging at your usual meeting place, go to a park with a bridge, or a pedestrian bridge nearby. If you have a spring or summer trip coming up, maybe postpone your bridging ceremony until you can host it somewhere new.

2. Think Big

If you girls have a few ceremonies under their belts, they might like to plan a ceremony for others. If your service unit has an area-wide bridging ceremony, get your girls in on the planning. If not, maybe your girls could get one started. They’ll practice event planning skills and make a memorable night for all!

3. Add A Challenge

We talked to a troop leader who made a very special moment for her Cadettes bridging to Seniors. Using a low balance beam at a local park, and a blindfold, her girls “bridged” with their sisters spotting them to the other side. You know your girls best, so if a challenge like this suits them, give it a try.

4. Plan Ahead…Way Ahead

Ok, ok, you can’t complete this one right away, but you can plan for the future. Challenge girls to write letters to themselves at the beginning of the year about what they think their future will be like. Read the letters at the next bridging ceremony, or hold them a little longer for a memorable moment.

5. Get Campy With It

Warm weather is (mostly) here. Get a campfire going, light some candles, and get the songbooks out to host a magical bridging ceremony.

Badges and Patches

Uniform Basics

Girl Scouts take a lot of pride in our uniforms. Most girls and families are looking to make sure their uniform is in tip-top shape for milestones like bridging or investiture ceremonies, or before public outings like parades or Girl Scout days at ballparks and around the community. Take a look at this helpful info to get ready for a big day.

What is a uniform?

Most girls consider their uniform their tunic, vest or sash. Some events request girls to wear their official uniform, which also includes khaki pants and a white shirt. Girls might also wear a scarf and hat, but these are typically optional. Events that require full uniform are usually flag ceremonies, bridging events, or award ceremonies. Adults commonly wear a Girl Scout shirt or their pins. To be in official uniform, adults wear navy business attire. Along with membership pin(s), women add a Girl Scout scarf and men add a Girl Scout tie.

Does my girl always have to wear my uniform?

Expectations vary from event to event. If you are traveling out to camp or participating in a messy activity, the troop leader might request girls wear a Girl Scout t-shirt instead of their uniform. If you aren’t sure what to wear, ask your troop leader to be clear about the expectations.

Where does everything go on the uniform?

Have you ever heard the description of a mullet haircut that goes “It’s business in the front and party in the back”? That’s also an easy way to remember where different types of insignia go on the Girl Scout uniform. Official awards, like badges and Journey awards go on the front. Fun patches go on the back. GSUSA has diagrams of where all the pieces go on their website.

Vest, tunic, or sash?

It truly comes down to personal preference. If your troop is very active and your girl loves displaying everything she’s accomplished, the space of a vest or tunic might be preferred. Some girls prefer the sash style. Your troop might make a recommendation or want all the girls to match as well.

If girls are bridging to the next level, what insignia should their new uniform have on it?

For the new uniform, girls typically need:

  • American Flag Patch
  • Girl Scout Council Identification Set
  • Troop Numerals
  • Membership Year Pins
  • Insignia Tab
  • Girl Scout Membership Pin
  • World Trefoil Pin

Talk to your troop leaders. Some troops purchase uniforms and/or insignia with troop finances to celebrate girls moving from one level to the next. Other troops require that families purchase the uniform sets, so you’ll want to know what the expectations are. As always, use the official uniform guide to make sure you have the correct items for the current age level.

Cookies

Practicing the 5 Skills After Cookie Season

Cookie season is finished, or nearly finished, for most Girl Scouts about now. But this doesn’t mean that the 5 Skills girls are learning just disappear. Here are some ways to reinforce entrepreneurial and business skills even after the booth sales and deliveries end.

Goal Setting

It’s after cookie season that the benefits of goal setting start to show. Yes, she set a cookie goal. Whether she reached it or not, it was probably connected to earning funds to DO SOMETHING!! Be sure to show her the connection between her new adventure and her hard work in the cookie program. Sometimes it can be months after the cookie program has ended, so she might forget all that time and effort. Show her that goal setting means goal achieving.

Decision Making

When you’re making your plans to do something awesome with the troop’s cookie proceeds, keep girls at the center of decision making. Let them make the spending choices. Do they need to pick between Waterpark A and Waterpark B? Show them the prices and amenities, and then let them discuss value. Do they need to plan a meal for their field trip? Talk about the prices of restaurants compared to a bag lunch. Girls should continue to make decisions about their money all year long.

Money Management

Your troop might have made a budget during the cookie program based on your goals. Now is a good time to update it. Keep girls in-the-know about the status of their finances. It’s important to talk about how much of your budget you’re spending on supplies for take action projects or badge activities.

People Skills

When talking with each other about the troop’s finances and goals, girls will have to listen to other’s opinions and share their own about how to use their funds. They will learn to negotiate and build consensus on what to do by listening to others and speaking up for themselves.

Business Ethics

Girls might not be doing any selling throughout the rest of the year, but they are customers. Flip the script and talk about the ethics of being a customer. How do you talk to or behave with a waiter, ticket takers, or store clerk? Give the girls a chance to reflect on how their behavior affects the businesses and the staff they interact with.

Outdoor

Use Girl-Planning to Create a Menu

Spring and summer are the perfect seasons for field trips, camping trips, and other special events. Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to the logistics of food and guiding girl planning:

Plan for picky eaters.

Every girl is different in her level of comfort in trying new foods. Encourage all girls to at least try each food on the menu. If you are roasting hot dogs for dinner, let each girl roast her own and give it a try. If she doesn’t like it, have some peanut butter and jelly on hand, or something else she might like. She’s more likely to give something new a shot if she knows she won’t go hungry. It alleviates some pressure. Always celebrate when girls try something new, even if they decide they don’t enjoy it.

Plan for dietary restrictions.

You’re probably already aware of dietary restrictions for the girls in your troop, but be sure to check in with any parents attending as well. Make substitutions or avoid that food where you can. Ideally, girls with dietary restrictions can eat the same or equivalent foods to their friends. For example, if you’re serving chicken nuggets, also find chicken nuggets with gluten-free breading for girls who need it. Don’t be afraid to talk to families. They can help you make choices and often will provide or suggest substitutes if they know what you need.

Plan for a balanced meal.

This even helps girls make more choices. Girls can select a main course, a side, fruits and veggies, and a drink. Think about all the pieces of nutrition they’ll need and let them decide. You  can even connect this concept to a food-related badge!

Changing leadership as girls age.

For our younger girls, we recommend the leaders choose a few options and let the girls narrow it down from there. As they age, they can brainstorm their own choices, then decide. If you notice your girls getting stuck, or going back to the same meals every time, find some recipe books and challenge them to something new. Sometimes they need help finding new ideas.

Plan for the girls to be chefs.

Girls love a chance to be hands-on, and that includes preparing their meals. When selecting options for the girls, or after the girls have brainstormed and made decisions, take some time to think about what parts of the meal girls can prepare themselves (with supervision of course). While it might be worthwhile for you to prepare some items before your trip, others can wait until your team of girls can tackle it themselves.

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Episode 4 – Bridging

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Spring is definitely in the air, and that means it’s…bridging season! This year, GSUSA has announced a National Bridging Week, May 4-11. What does that mean for you? Stay tuned to your council. They might have special bridging events that week that your girls can participate in. If that week works well for your troop to host a bridging ceremony, that’s amazing! If not, don’t feel pressured to host one before you’re ready. But you might still benefit from some resources shared with national bridging week in mind.

In this episode, we’re going through a few of the basics of bridging. This is a perfect episode for new leaders or those who have not hosted a Bridging ceremony before.

First, what is bridging?

Bridging is the act of transitioning from one Girl Scout level to another. Girls automatically transition to the next level when they move to a new grade level in school associated with a given Girl Scout level.

Bridging is a milestone of a girl’s life in Girl Scouts.

That’s why you might like to celebrate with a ceremony. A ceremony typically has three parts:

  • An opening, when guests are welcomed and the tone is set.
  • A middle, which is meaningful to the troop. Often girls walk across a real or pretend bridge, receive a new uniform or flowers, or talk about their experiences and their wishes for the future. It’s important to let girls have a say about what you do in the middle to make it meaningful to them.
  • A closing, when you come together before going your own way. A friendship circle or song is a common ending to a bridging ceremony.

What about bridging awards?

There is an award available for each transition level. The award always has 2 steps.

Step 1 – Pass it on

During this step, your girls pass on something they have learned or done as a Girl Scout at their current level to girls at a level younger than them.

Step 2 – Look Ahead

Your girls must find out what the next level of Girl Scouts do. A troop in the level older should show them something they’ve done or learned.

You can find the exact requirements plus some age-appropriate activity suggestions in your Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting Binder and here:

For Daisies: Bridge to Brownie Award

For Brownies: Bridge to Junior Award

For Juniors: Bridge to Cadette Award

For Cadettes: Bridge to Senior Award

For Seniors: Bridge to Ambassador Award

For Ambassadors: Bridge to Adult Award



Related Article: Commonly Asked Questions about Bridging Awards