PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Girl Scout Troop 1137, led by Roxanne Poole and Dina Harding, has evolved in many positive ways and will continue forth in the coming months to maximize on developing its girls individually, collectively as a group and as part of a greater whole via community service projects. 2012 will be full of events and activities, all of which will contribute to building the girls’ courage, character and confidence in all they attempt to do.
In October, the girls learned about various art mediums and styles from local Washburn artist and troop family member, Beth Brown, before enjoying a night of fun painting their own random number-selected pumpkins, which were donated by Mapleton grower and troop family member, John Harding. In earning their Painting Badge, and as an act of community service, the troop later learned about several other painting methods — thereafter each girl created her own personalized watercolor painting, sending love and well wishes for healing to community member and friend of the troop, Wayne Nickerson.
On Veteran’s Day 2011, members of the troop gathered at the Leisure Village Retirement Center and performed an official flag ceremony to honor all veterans. The large, commemorative event, which included several veteran residents of Leisure Village, was coordinated by Leisure Village’s Activities Director Tina Ruest, conducted by Troop Leader Poole and planned by Troop Leader Harding, who also gave a special veterans gratitude speech.
Later in November, the troop held a formal Girl Scout Investiture and Rededication Ceremony, which involved the pinning and welcoming of some girls into their newly-achieved level in Scouting, as well as the distribution of the girls’ recent fund-raising awards and prizes earned, along with a special 100th Anniversary Girl Scout patch.
In December, the girls had a month filled with excitement and fun, including: bowling at the Elks’ Lodge, participating in the annual Holiday Light Parade with several other local Girl Scout troops, playing Bingo with the resident women at Leisure Gardens and going ice skating at the Forum.
In early January, the girls geared up for the year, and also the March 100th Anniversary, by painting a special display poster on what they have enjoyed most in Girl Scouting over the past year, finishing their Painting Badge. The girls made homemade smoothies and snacks of their own, completing the final requirements for their Snacks Badge, before making special swaps-to-trade with sister Girl Scouts for the Girl Scout Cookie Rally on Jan. 7. It was a motivational, fun Girl Scout event held in Easton where the girls moved through a series of stations, with over 100 other area Girls Scouts, learning good cookie-selling practices and skills, prior to receiving their GS Cookie order forms. A big thank you goes out to everyone who helped make the troop’s Girl Scout Cookie campaign a huge success! The troop was able to meet its goals by collectively selling just under 1,300 boxes of cookies, with two girls — Eva Callioras and Courtney Harding — each achieving sales of over 350 boxes, thereby remaining eligible for completing a 10-step challenge to earn a free week at Girl Scout camp at Baxter State Park this summer.
In February, the girls learned the importance of being a good sport and playing fair with others, participating in several physical relay-style activities involving teams, as well as other types of card and board games, allowing them to earn their Fair Play Badge. A week later, the girls enjoyed mental stimulation and physical exercise while doing a classroom study on birds and animals in winter, followed by an outdoor snowshoeing adventure, hiking over a mile of snow-covered trails in the woods at the Malcolm Science Center in Easton, all of which was led by the Science Center’s Director of Education Vaughn Martin.
Later in February, the girls spent time visiting the Micmac Museum located on Northern Avenue in Presque Isle, where they earned the Historically Speaking Native American Patch. Under the direction of Micmac Tribal Chief Rick Getchell, along with the assistance of Micmac Cultural Director John Dennis, the girls learned a great deal about the Micmacs, their culture, history, territory, customs and displayed artifacts. The museum tour was followed by the girls enjoying homemade fry bread and making their own handcrafted dream-catchers, under the guidance of Micmac tribal members Linda McKinney and her daughter, Lexee — both of whom are members of Troop 1137.
February came to a close with the troop celebrating GS World Thinking Day 2012 and GSUSA’s 2012 theme of “We Can Save Our Planet,” by first learning about various ways one can help improve our world, followed by making Thinking Day cards for family and friends out of recycled and reused materials, explaining the importance of recycling and protecting the environment.
The first few days of March were filled with important activities. The first troop meeting of the month included Mr. Kip Crawford, a physician’s assistant from TAMC, who demonstrated essential components of first aid, allowing each participant to earn her Girl Scout First Aid Badge. The next day, troop members and their families were fast at work picking up and beginning the massive task of delivering Girl Scout cookies to their many customers. That same day, some troop members were also able to make their way through the heavy snow to enjoy the Scout Show held at the Aroostook Centre Mall.
On March 10, members and their families enjoyed a sunny day outdoors on a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the woods of Mapleton — hosted by the Putnam Farm — in recognition of Girl Scout Week and in honor of the approaching 100th Anniversary on March 12. The outdoor event included toasting marshmallows over a campfire at a resting point on the trail, followed by hot apple cider, hot chocolate, popcorn and play time on the swings and in the playhouses back at the farm.
The next day, several troop members gathered to honor Girl Scout Sunday and show gratitude to the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church, which provides a comfortable and safe place for the girls to meet.
The remainder of March was devoted to completing the cookie-selling campaign, along with a special night of learning and creating three-dimensional origami art, taught by Vanessa Pearson, coordinator of student activities and leadership development at UMPI, with other UMPI students and Girl Scout family helpers. On the evening of Friday, March 30, the group will enjoy another fun night of bowling together at the Elks’ Lodge.
In April, Troop 1137 will go rollerskating in Caribou with their families at a public skating session. They will complete their final requirement toward earning their Celebrating Community Badge by taking a guided tour of the historic Estey House in Presque Isle, which will be led by Presque Isle Historical Society member Kim Smith. The girls will earn their Girl Scouts of Maine Sign Language Patch by participating in a sign language learning session, taught by Sue Roberts at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. They will conclude their activities for the month by enjoying a special 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts 2012 Celebration Party, which is being planned and hosted by our local Sapphire Girl Scout Neighborhood.
The girls’ plans for May include: continued badge earning, a pizza party, completing a “Give Back” project for the Grant Memorial United Methodist Church in Presque Isle, having an ice cream party, spending some earned cookie money at the mall, hiking on Haystack Mountain in Mapleton and attending a Girl Scout sleepover and food fest sponsored by the Caribou Girl Scout Neighborhood.
The 2012 Scouting year will come to a close with the members of Troop 1137 participating in their year-end Bridging and Awards Ceremony in early June, and then three troop members — Eva Callioras, Courtney Harding and Allison Morton — will spend an adventurous week outdoors with other girls at the Girl Scouts of Maine’s Camp Natarswi in July.
The primary focus of Girl Scouts is to build courage, character and confidence in girls. To join or for more information, call toll-free 888-922-GSME (4763) or visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org.
