Monthly Archives: November 2015

Brownies Build Birdhouses

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This week the girls from the 54th Brownies went to Home Depot to try out some new skills with tools and construction!

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Each girl got to make her very own birdhouse. Leaders were impressed with how quickly some of the girls picked up on the skills, figuring out how to assemble their pieces and how to screw and nail them together almost before they even told how! It is great to see them all so proudly showing off their creations.

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The leaders were very impressed with the program offered to them by the staff at Home Depot. One leader said “Mark, Gary, and Penny at Home Depot on Henning Drive were fantastic! They were so helpful, went out of their way to accommodate us (Especially Gary who precut all the pieces at home on his day off!)” Wow! A huge thank you to Home Depot and its staff for supporting Girl Greatness in our community!

Sparks Winter Themed Sleepover

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The girls and leaders from the 1st and 2nd Sparks joined forces last weekend for a Winter Wonderland themed sleepover at a local community hall.

For many of the Sparks this was their very first sleepover ever. The leaders were impressed with how well everybody did. The Sparks really took to the spirit of sharing and being a friend, and there were no major problems at all. Even girls who were a little nervous about missing their families and being away from home were so busy having fun and being with their friends that there wasn’t a single melt down, even at bedtime.

snowman

The winter-themed activities included making their own “toss the snowball through the snowman” games to take home, making snowflake headbands, and watching everyone’s favourite movie (Frozen, of course) on a big screen almost like being at the movie theatre. It was quite spectacular to see 22 Sparks singing along to Let it Go with perfect diction and clarity!

dancing

Girls also got to eat yummy pizza, sing their favourite campfire songs, and spend time dancing with a disco light.

They even went to bed at a reasonable hour, without very much fuss at all.

buddies

It was a wonderful night of fun and friendship.

This was a very successful first sleepover for these units this year. Both groups look forward to taking their Sparks on more exciting outings, sleepovers, and camps throughout the year.

Introducing the new DC team

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Burnaby Mountain District is pleased to be welcoming a new District Commissioner team.

For the last four years, Burnaby Mountain has had a wonderful Commissioner, Gerry. During her term, Burnaby Mountain’s membership numbers have increased substantially, and new units have opened allowing us to serve more girls in our community. Gerry also was at the helm of a variety of district events, with highlights such as Science Day at SFU in the 2013/2014 Guiding year and the super successful Space Centre Sleepover in 2014/2015. These kinds of all-ages, large scale events with clear educational benefits are typical of Gerry’s conviction for having “fun with a purpose” in Guiding. These are traditions that the district will hopefully continue.

Gerry, out-going DC

Gerry, out-going DC, happily barbecuing for her district’s Guiders

Starting today, Gerry’s term has concluded and taking over for her as District Commissioner is Bethany. In addition, the district now also has the benefit of a Deputy District Commissioner who will help support Bethany with the DC duties. Bethany is thrilled to have Saffina taking on the Deputy DC role.

The new DC team! Deputy District Commissioner Saffina (right) and District Commissioner Bethany (left)

The new DC team! Deputy District Commissioner Saffina (left) and District Commissioner Bethany (right)

Bethany and Saffina both have several years of Guiding experience. They have been active guiders in the district for a long time and both have experience with international Guiding.

Sometimes, parents and girls don’t have a very clear idea of what the District Commissioner does. The DC leads the district council. This includes a variety of important duties including (but not limited to):

  • Communicating information from the Area, Provincial, and National levels of Girl Guides of Canada to our unit’s Guiders
  • Ensuring that safety, legal, financial, and administrative procedures are being followed in all units
  • Interviewing and orienting new leaders
  • Facilitating communication throughout the district including team building, workload sharing, and if necessary, conflict management
  • Coordinating the district’s biannual Girl Guide Cookie campaigns
  • Planning, or overseeing the planning, of large-scale district events

It is a big job, and Bethany and Saffina anticipate that Gerry will continue to mentor them for the next few months as they get accustomed to their roles.

Thank you, Gerry, and welcome to Bethany and Saffina!

Iron Chef: Best Appetizer, 12th Rangers!

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Burnaby Mountain District is very proud of our 12th Rangers for being awarded Best Appetizer at the 2015 West Coast Area Iron Chef competition.

Rangers Iron chef

Every year, Pathfinders and Rangers from Burnaby, New Westminster, Vancouver, Richmond, and Ladner gather for an intense competition of outdoor cooking skills. Using the kinds of cooking equipment they would have access to at camp, girls prepared a full meal Iron Chef style at Deas Island regional park in Delta. The annual competition has a Halloween-theme as it always takes place at the end of October.

egg salad skeleton wrap

Their winning dish in the appetizer category, an Egg Salad Skeleton Wrap (pictured above), was judged based on taste, presentation, creativity, and nutrition.

It’s good to know that the 12th Rangers will be well fed when they go to camp this year. Clearly, these girls have great skills. Way to go!