Troop Spotlight: June 2023
Troop Spotlight: June 2023
June 30, 2023
Girl Scouts around our council are always active – camping, traveling, doing service projects, and making the world a better place. Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains invites all Girl Scouts in our council to share photos of their adventures, achievements, projects, and more. Send your photos to us at customercare@girlscoutsgwm.org. Be sure to include a description of the event, your troop number and levels involved, when it took place, and any other relevant information.
Pet food donation draws newspaper attention
Mason, NH, Troop 59253 made a special donation of pet food to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Greenville, and that brought attention from the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript newspaper. The girls had been working hard on many projects, including flower arrangements for shut-ins during the pandemic, blankets for Project Linus, and helping with a local Easter egg hunt. You can view the news story HERE
Merrimack troop leaders awarded
Girl Scouts in Merrimack, NH, have benefitted from the outstanding contributions of their leaders and other volunteers. These selfless mentors were recognized at a special dinner on June 5 at The Common Man restaurant. The following Merrimack volunteers received recognition:
- Stacey Farrar – Volunteer of Excellence Award
- Tracy Ruyffelaert – 30-year pin
- Stacey Farrar – 20-year pin
- Doreen Rolls – 20-year pin
- Stacie Labore – 10-year pin
- Noelle Marie LeMasurier – 10-year pin
- Nancy Johnson – 5-year pin
Meredith Simon Campbell was thanked for her hard work leading her community. Pat Rhoades Murphy was thanked for leading camporee, training, and for other guidance.
Enchanted Forest Overnight
Girl Scouts enjoyed a magical overnight camping experience at Camp Kettleford on June 3.
Spring camping and skills training
Many Girl Scouts and adult volunteers took advantage of the skills training and camping opportunity at Camp Farnsworth recently at Ready Set Go Camping and BOLS the weekend of May 19-21.
Bugs!
Girl Scouts took part in the Brownie Bugs program at Camp Twin Hills on May 24 with Master Naturalist Pam “Flask” Gude.
Brownie adventures
Girl Scout Brownies got a taste of camp life at Camp Twin Hills at the Brownie Outdoor Adventurer program on May 24.
STEM van is on the go
Girl Scouts in Peterborough, NH, top, and in Williston, VT, bottom, made the most of a visit by the council’s STEM-on-the-go van. Participants were given engineering challenges to complete with LEGOs, such as “build a boat that floats with 30 pennies” or “build a car that rolls 5 feet past the incline.”
Mermaid mix
Girl Scouts at Camp Farnsworth had a great time learning how to catch a mermaid.
Play ball!
Troop 30228 of Waterbury, VT, enjoyed a Lake Monster baseball game on June 3.
On May 28, the troop volunteered to hand out water and Gatorade to runners at the Vermont City Marathon. The troop visited the Waterbury Water Treatment Facility on June 4.
Baseball fans
Girl Scouts from New Hampshire and Massachusetts came out for Girl Scout Night at the Silver Knights game in Nashua.
Pemibaker and Winnibelle Camporee
On the first weekend of June, 70 girls, accompanied by their leaders and parents, attended the first Girl Scout Camporee in four years. Members from the Plymouth area, Tilton/Belmont, and Littleton area Service Units participated in a two-night overnight event held at the Circle Program Camp on Spectacle Pond in Groton, NH. Girls attending were from all levels of Girl Scouting, from kindergarten through high school. For many of the girls, this was the first overnight experience away from home.
Tide pooling
Multilevel Troop 10427 of Raymond, NH, did some tide pooling and trash pickup on June 10.
Bridging in Plymouth
Plymouth, NH, Troop 20183 bridged to Cadette last fall.
Bridging at the beach
Lunenberg, VT, Troop 30356 traveled to Ogunquit, Maine, to have their bridging ceremony at the foot bridge there. Katelynn bridged to adult and recently became a lifetime member. Hailey who bridged from Senior to Ambassador, and Alia bridged from Cadette to Senior. Also with them is 10th-grade Senior Isabella.
Amherst takes action
A time honored tradition, Amherst, NH, Girl Scouts once again helped with the annual plant sale. Pictured here is troop 58250, one of two that helped load, unload and set up plants.
A total of five Girl Scout troops helped with the annual Amherst town-wide cleanup. This is Troop 60262 with trash collected at Buck Meadow.
Cadette troops 22707 and 60262 participated in an overnight rock climbing event and had a blast! Learned some new skills and gained a lot of confidence.
Building bears
Hooksett, NH, Troop 51670 had a Build-A-Bear party at the Bedford workshop on June 10.
Custom bridge in Newport
Troop 58700 of Newport, NH, held their bridging ceremony with their custom bridge. Troop Leader Sarah Mills said, “We've been using the same bridge since 2020, and it continues to grow and change with our girls. Each girl has her own bridge plank that they combine to make a bridge that represents our troop as a whole. Every year the leadership team signs the back. They'll be a very special Girl Scout memory when they graduate out of Scouting.”
Six Girl Scouts received their Bronze Award this fall and all were pinned by their mothers, all troop leaders and volunteers.
“They're a very special group of girls!” Mills said.
Girl Scouts become Junior Rangers
Troop 30456 of St. Albans, VT, went to Clark's Bears on June 17. They earned a Junior Ranger patch and certificate! The visit included bear facts and safety, leave no trace, hiking safety, tree identification and importance.
The troop also shared photos from their rainy day bridging ceremony.
Cookies result in help for UVM Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House
Brownie Troop 61625 in Colchester, VT, completed a community service project where the 11 Girl Scouts used 25% of their earned cookie proceeds to provide donations of activity kits they made and assembled to UVM Children's Hospital and purchased new items from the wish list for the local Ronald McDonald House. They dropped everything off June 19 at the two organizations. The troop voted during cookie season on their community service spend, which was to donate toys and books to the local children's hospital and toys and baked goods to the Ronald McDonald House and set their target troop cookie goal for sales to be able to do this, and of course earn some money to have some fun, too. Open gymnastics gym time and movie night won that vote.
Flag Day respect
Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of Raymond, NH, came together to honor our nation's flag in a flag retirement ceremony. This is where the old, worn, and tattered flags are destroyed. Selena spoke to a bagpiper. Hailey presented a piece of a flag to officials.
Bear builders
Troop 58109 of Dover NH enjoyed a Build-a-Bear party on June 17.
Coping kits result in Bronze Award
Junior Girl Scouts in Raymond, NH, Troop 10427 made Coping Kits for girls in the fourth and fifth grades. The girls recognized that those in their age group go through a lot of changes and have a lot of big emotions at times. They each did their own research on various ways to cope with life's challenges and tested these ways out when they were experiencing a bad day or a stressful moment. They talked together about the various methods they used and what they found the most helpful. They compiled a list of the 15 skills/tools they found the most helpful with improving a tough time. They then used proceeds from cookie sales to purchase items to assemble into kits. Kits included essential oils, sensory strips, lotion, a sour candy, mini journal and pen, bubbles, and squishy toys. They made over 200 kits and brought their kits to their individual schools. They each made presentations to their guidance departments regarding what the kits were and what was in them, and printed a list of the contents so the counselor could use it as a guide to replicate kits or to know in general tools and skills fourth- and fifth-grade girls might find helpful. They left the kits with their individual guidance departments to be distributed to girls who come to guidance and might be experiencing a tough time.
Busy Concord troop
Troop 61345 of Concord, NH, did their Pottery badge at Studio 550 in Manchester in May. One May meeting included the Healthy Kids Run in Concord. They visited the Vegetable Ranch organic farm in Warner and held their bridging ceremony there. Girls got to start some seedlings as well as visit all of the animals on the farm. They found it particularly interesting to compare the birds the farm raises for eggs and for meat.
Magical baker
Marion is a Girl Scout in Hinesburg, VT, who participated in the council’s online class on Magical Baking to create two dessert pizzas! One is a dog and the other a cat.
Leaders gather together
Manchester, NH, Troop 10720 enjoyed the outdoors at Camp Kettleford for a bridging ceremony. Sandie Roy said they invited troops from the First Congregational Church to join Brookside Church leaders as the majority of the FCC leaders are stepping down and Brookside will take in some of their Girl Scouts. The council thanks all the volunteers who have given so generously of their time and talent!
Upper Valley parade
Troops 59225 and 63367 marched and had float in the Hartford High School Alumni Parade in Hartford, VT. While it rained a bit, the troops stayed strong and smiled. Linda Kahl and one girl carried the Hartford alum banner and our banner and float. VSC Sue Henderson said, “I got lots of positive comments from folks watching the parade and from alumni.”
Nashua troop visits the Build-A-Bear WorkshopCamping and touring the nation’s capital
Cady and Baeleigh Benedict of Troops 10291 and 60244 in Rochester, NH, kicked off their summer with a camping trip to Greenbelt, MD. They took advantage of the "Discover the Nation's Capital" patch offered by Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital council. To earn the patch, girls visit several sites around Washington, D.C., answer questions about the places they visit and complete a project to share their experience with others.
They rode the Metro to the zoo; visited the Washington Monument; explored the Botanical Gardens, Holocaust Museum, African Art Museum, and Air and Space Museum; and learned about the Daughters of the American Revolution. Their next trip will expand their patches in the program, in addition to beginning other patch programs in the Nation's Capital.
Baeleigh also earned her first Junior Ranger patch by working with the park ranger.
New adult Girl Scout
Abby Peliel, a Girl Scout Ambassador with Troop 30187 in Winooski, VT, just bridged to adult status. She is now a lifetime member!
About Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains: Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is recognized throughout New Hampshire and Vermont as a leading expert on girls. Our Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls, with proven results. It is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that helps girls take the lead—in their own lives and in the world. Through our exciting and challenging programs, Girl Scouts not only participate but also take the lead in a range of activities—from kayaking, archery, and camping, to coding, robotics, financial literacy training, and beyond! Serving more than 10,000 girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org.
