Welcome, families and guests. We are pleased to have you join us for our year-end Court of Awards Ceremony for western Whiteside County.
Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development organization for girls, which helps them develop a strong sense of self, positive values, challenge seeking, healthy relationships, and community problem solving. Research shows that girls who are Girl Scouts display more positive life outcomes with regard to education, careers, health, and leadership, than girls without experience as a Girl Scout. Girl Scouts makes an immediate and lasting positive impact on girls, while they learn and grow in a supportive all-girl environment.
Tonight, we will proudly recognize our adult volunteers and Girl Scouts for their accomplishments this year. We are honored to have several guests here tonight:
• Kay Flavin – Chief Operating Officer
• Robin Henning – Director of Recruitment and Member Support
• Angie Schmidt – GSNI Board Member
• Kathleen Baylis – Girl Experience Specialist
• Michelle Wiederholtz – Membership Support Specialist.
ADULT AWARDS “Tonight is all about the girls and their Girl Scout experience, but we have to recognize that Girl Scouts would not be successful without adults volunteering their time.” The leadership team includes Lara Adolph, Vicki Hanson, Kelsie Lowery, Andrea Ramirez, and Chelsea Stuart. Awards were presented by Michelle Wiederholtz, Membership Support Specialist for Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois: Lowery and Ramirez received the Certified Leader certificate and pin. Blevins received the Volunteer of Excellance pin.
GIRL AWARDS – TROOP BADGES & COOKIE REWARDS
A Court of Awards ceremony is an opportunity to recognize girls for their hard work, accomplishments, and personal growth as Girl Scouts. Our Girl Scouts have been very active this year.
The girls developed:
• STEM skills by learning about water and energy conservation, flowers, bugs, and animals.
• Outdoor skills through a day trip to Camp Far Horizons and an overnight trip to Camp Liberty. Girls who attended both events completed the beginning-level requirements for an Outdoor Skills patch.
• Financial skills such as money management and customer service through the Girl Scout Cookie program, with troop sales exceeding 3700 boxes of cookies.
• Life skills and civic engagement by learning basic first aid, participating in local parades, learning about Girl Scouts in other countries, and completing service projects to help residents of local nursing homes, mothers and babies in developing countries, Girl Scouts attending Camp Liberty, and women business leaders of Morrison.
Through this wide range of accomplishments, girls have completed several badges – traditional symbols of new knowledge or skills gained – as well as the distinction of becoming an Honor Troop for 2018. This is the fourth consecutive year that local Girl Scouts have earned this council-level award.
• PASS OUT TROOP BADGES & COOKIE REWARDS – GIRLS FROM TROOP 1504
GIRL AWARDS – ADDITIONAL TROOP AWARDS
In addition to the badges earned through troop activities, several girls earned additional awards this year.
• PASS OUT ADDITIONAL TROOP AWARDS
o My Promise My Faith, earned by exploring how a line from the Girl Scout Law is expressed through her personal faith (previously awarded) – Emmeline, Riley, Sarah, Taylor, Zayley, Annabelle, Peyton, Yvette
o 5 Year Numeral Guard, earned for 5 years of Girl Scout membership – Annabelle, Peyton, Rebekka, Yvette
o Junior Aide, earned by Girl Scout Juniors assisting and mentoring younger Girl Scouts during several troop meetings – Angel, Annabelle, Bayleigh, Leslie, Maya, Peyton, Yvette
o Cadette Leader in Action, earned by Girl Scout Cadettes assisting and mentoring Girl Scout Brownies as they complete a Leadership Journey – Grace (WOW [previously awarded] & Outdoor Skills)
o Cadette Silver Leadership Torch, earned by completing a Leadership Journey and completing a leadership role in her school, troop, or community – Grace
o Cadette Community Service pin, earned by completing 20 hours of community service – Grace
Girls, remember that with each new badge or award, a Girl Scout takes on a new responsibility to help others. A little more is expected at home, at troop meetings, and in your community. Always be worthy of the symbols you wear. Congratulations!
CEREMONY – BRIDGING – “OVER THE RAINBOW”
Will all Girl Scouts in grades 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 or 12 please join me up front?
When a girl completes one level of Girl Scouting, her journey doesn’t end. She is ready to “bridge” or move to the next level. A rainbow is often a symbol of bridging, as each color symbolizes a different aspect of Girl Scouting:
• Red stands for developing a strong sense of self, and understanding one’s values, needs, emotions, and strengths.
• Orange represents positive values, and acting ethically, honestly, and responsibly, while showing concern for others.
• Yellow is for building healthy relationships with others, making and keeping friends by communicating feelings directly and resolving conflicts constructively.
• Green reminds us to live by the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
• Blue stands for seeking challenges, learning to take appropriate risks, trying things even when we may fail, and learning from our mistakes.
• Purple represents community problem solving—the desire to contribute to the world in a purposeful and meaningful way, by identifying problems in the community and taking action to solve them.
• White clouds remind us of the ideals of courage, confidence, and character that each Girl Scout develops.
Girl Scout Daisies, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Girl Scout Brownies.
• PASS OUT BRIDE TO BROWNIES AWARDS – Brooke, Brookelyn, Emmeline, Lily, Lux, Riley, Vanessa
Girl Scout Brownies, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Girl Scout Juniors.
• PASS OUT BRIDGE TO JUNIORS AWARDS – Allison, Claire, Lilah, Sarah, Zayley
Girl Scout Juniors, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Girl Scout Cadettes.
• PASS OUT BRIDGE TO CADETTES AWARDS – Maya, Rebekka
Girl Scout Cadettes, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Girl Scout Seniors.
• PASS OUT BRIDGE TO SENIORS AWARDS – Cheryl’s girl(s)
Girl Scout Seniors, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Girl Scout Ambassadors.
• PASS OUT BRIDGE TO AMBASSADORS AWARDS –
Girl Scout Ambassadors, we invite you to cross over the rainbow. Welcome to Adult Girl Scouts.
• PASS OUT BRIDGE TO ADULTS AWARDS – Carolyn
Congratulations, girls, on continuing your Girl Scout experience!
CEREMONY – SUMMIT AWARD
Now we will recognize the girls in our community that have earned very special Girl Scout awards.
When a Girl Scout completes a Leadership Journey, she earns a set of progressive badges and carries out a related Take Action service project within her community. If a Girl Scout completes three or more Leadership Journeys for her level, she earns the Summit Award, which is a top tier award available for Girl Scouts in Kindergarten—Grade 3 and a second tier award for Girl Scouts in Grades 4-12. The Summit Award is a great honor within Girl Scouting, and it is one of the few pins that “bridges” with the girl, to be worn on all future Girl Scout uniforms. Congratulations, girls, on your achievement!
• PASS OUT SUMMIT AWARDS-DAISY – Brooke, Lily, Lux, Riley
• PASS OUT SUMMIT AWARDS-JUNIOR – Annabelle, Bayleigh, Maya, Peyton, Yvette
CEREMONY – HIGH AWARDS
Finally, we will honor local Girl Scouts that have earned one of the highest awards in Girl Scouting: the Bronze Award for Girl Scout Juniors, the Silver Award for Girl Scout Cadettes, and the Gold Award for Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors. Like the Summit Award, once earned, these awards are worn on all future Girl Scout uniforms.
Bronze Award: This year, we have five Girl Scout Juniors who have earned the highest award for Girl Scouts in grades 4-5, the Girl Scout Bronze Award. <annabelle, bayleigh,=”” maya,=”” peyton,=”” yvette=””> To earn the Bronze Award, girls first complete a Leadership Journey to improve their teamwork skills. Then, they work as a group to develop a Take Action project that benefits others in a way that is sustainable beyond their direct involvement. Girls may work on their project as a team, but each girl must complete at least 20 hours of service.
These girls chose to assist families caring for premature babies in the Genesis Health System NICU in Davenport, Iowa. The girls researched and selected easy, healthy recipes to make a cookbook. They learned sewing skills to make colorful straps to hold a pack of diapers and wipes. Families of preemies will be able to keep these items and use them during and after their child’s hospital stay.
The girls also sewed “developmental hearts,” which parents wear close to their skin for a time, before leaving it with their baby in the NICU. The lingering smell of the parent calms the infant and stimulates growth. A collection of children’s books was also donated, as reading aloud to babies has been shown to increase the child-parent bond, reduce parent anxiety, and reduce language delays in premature babies. The NICU will reuse the developmental hearts and books, benefiting future tiny patients and their families.
The girls’ efforts earned them the honor of being called Bronze Award Girl Scouts. They also will be receiving the Presidential Volunteer Service Award at the youth bronze level for completing more than 25 hours of community service during this troop year. Congratulations, Bronze Award Girl Scouts!
• PASS OUT BRONZE AWARDS & BRONZE PVS AWARDS – Annabelle, Bayleigh, Maya, Peyton, Yvette
GOLD AWARDS “This year, two Fulton, IL, Girl Scout Ambassadors completed the highest award for Girl Scouts, the Girl Scout Gold Award. They are Carolyn Graham, left, and Samantha Carpenter (unable to attend.) To earn the Gold Award, girls complete two Leadership Journeys–or one Leadership Journey if they have earned the Silver Award–before beginning a sustainable Take Action project that benefits their community. Each girl works on individual projects and must complete at least 80 hours of service. Gold Award Girl Scouts are eligible for college scholarships and enter the military at an elevated pay grade. Ninety-eight percent of Gold Award Girl Scouts report feeling ‘successful in their life’ as adults, compared to 82% of women who were not Girl Scouts.”
Graham shared the nature of her pollinator (bee and butterfly) project at Andresen Nature Center and how her efforts made a positive change.
Blevins said, “This concludes our Court of Awards. Thank you for coming and for supporting your Girl Scout this school year. We look forward to more adventures and accomplishments together.”