Tag Archives: Sparks

Bridging Activities!

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Recently, Burnaby Mountain’s 1st Sparks Unit connected with our 14th Pathfinders to do a fun Unit building activity together, and to earn their “How To” badges! The Sparks each received their own building kits and made their own penguin goalie game, where you flick a ball and a little Foosball style penguin tries to kick it.

The Pathfinders were a huge help with the big project! They helped the Sparks put together their games, and the Sparks were so proud of the finished projects. The Sparks couldn’t have done it without the help from the Pathfinders, so the Sparks and Spark leaders were very grateful that they came!

Bridging is a fun opportunity for Girl Guides of different age groups to come together and work on fun activities. It allows our older members to take on a leadership role, and the younger members to see what Girl Guides is like when they get older!

Everyone was so excited about the finished project!!

Frozen at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra!

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On Sunday January 22, the 1st Sparks and 47th Guiding (Sparks and Embers) went on a very exciting outing to see Frozen with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra!

First we rode the skytrain all the way downtown and made our way to the Orpheum theatre. There, we found our chunk of 44 seats and watched the musicians warm up. The movie Frozen played while the VSO played the music. It was really interesting having the music play an even larger role than normal. In some parts it got very loud!

It was a pretty exciting outing for the Sparks and Embers! Thank you to the VSO and to the Guiders for making this wonderful afternoon possible!

Tea-rrific Tea Party

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One of the most exciting things about this Guiding year is that we’re allowed to have sleepovers again! Sparks and Brownies in Burnaby Mountain District recently held a Tea-rrific Tea Party sleepover at Richmond Guide House. For all of the girls, it was their first-ever Girl Guide sleepover, and it was a huge success!

It was a full-house, with Sparks and Brownies from the 1st Sparks, 27th Guiding, and 47th Guiding Units coming together for the tea party. The group cooked strawberry jam on a camp stove, made fascinators (headbands) to wear to the tea party, and made tea sandwiches. Of course, dinner was a high-tea with the sandwiches and other treats!

The group also played a rousing game of pass the parcel and ended the evening with a movie night, watching Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.

Thank you to all of the Guiders who worked hard to make this sleepover happen, and to all of the Sparks and Brownies for attending. It was such a fun evening!

Camp SPARKLE

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This fall, Guiding in Burnaby Mountain has been in full swing, with Units and members across the District participating in fun adventures and new activities.

Our members are very excited about the fact that we can go camping again! Recently, Spark members in the District had the opportunity to get ready to go camping and practice their camping skills at a District-wide SPARKLE event, held at Robert Burnaby Park this October.

SPARKLE was a Province-wide event held for our BC Sparks! Organized by the BC Camping Committee, members from across the Province had the chance to sign up for a SPARKLE camp kit. Our older youth members, Rangers, developed their leadership skills by helping to plan the activities and run stations. The kits were full of fun activities for Spark members to learn all about camping. Spark members across the Province participated in the same activities throughout the weekend – how cool is that?

At SPARKLE, our Burnaby Mountain Sparks had the chance to learn how to put up a tent (shaped like a unicorn, of course!), practice their First Aid skills, and discuss the hiking essentials that they should bring outdoors. They also learned about Hug a Tree, and what they should do if they are lost in the woods.

All of our Units are planning exciting activities throughout the year. Some of our Units still have spaces for members to join! If you would like to join our adventures, find us on the Girl Guide Unit finder at https://register.girlguides.ca/web/en/unit-search and register now!

Gingerbread Houses

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At their last meeting, the 2nd Sparks and 47th Brownies had a blast decorating gingerbread houses. It was a great way to get the holiday season kickstarted with some Guiding friends.

The large cookie pieces were tricky to maneuver, so the delicious treats actually needed a surprising amount of engineering skill! Frosting is a sticky glue, to be sure, and while the girls did make a pretty spectacular mess, they all ended up pretty proud of their creations.

Stay tuned this month as we’re likely to see updates from other units getting up to some holiday fun with awesome outings and special meetings.

Sparks and Brownies and Fish (oh my)

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The 54th Brownies and 27th Guiding (Sparks & Brownies) units recently had a fun-filled, fish-filled sleepover in the local Steveston and Richmond communities. The visited the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, ate fish and chips at a local restaurant, and then returned to Richmond Guide House for a fun sleepover with fish-themed crafts and activities.

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Did you know the Gulf of Georgia Cannery offers tours specifically catered to Girl Guide programming? The excellent staff at the cannery have developed a program for girls to explore their local cultural and natural heritage through stories, activities, and a guided tour. The cannery was built in 1894 and it is fascinating to learn about the history of the fishing industry, the people who worked there, and the ways that this effected the local communities.

The group then took a lovely stroll through historic Steveston, ending up at the Sockeye City Grill for a delicious meal of fish and chips. The staff was impressed by how well mannered this large group of Sparks and Brownies was, and the girls and leaders all thoroughly enjoyed their meals.

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After supper the group enjoyed a ride on local public transit, riding the bus to Richmond Guide House, one of our favourite local spots for Guiding sleepovers. There the group did a variety of fun activities including a bright colourful fish-themed craft before finally getting some sleep.

It was a fish-tastic time. And a great oppor-tuna-ty to learn all about fish and the local community.

 

Physics & Astronomy Sleepover

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The 2nd Sparks and 47th Brownies recently had an awesome science-themed sleepover with activities facilitated by volunteers from the UBC Department of Physics and Astronomy.

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They learned about light and electricity and fulfilled a part of the Experiment and Create program area!

One highlight was the experiment using special spectrum glasses. The foil in the spectrum glasses breaks the light into its different visible electromagnetic waves creating a continuous rainbow of colours when they look at their flashlight or any light source around them.

The girls got to talk about what electricity is and then each Spark and Brownie built a flash light using a breadboard, a switch, an LED light, wires, and a battery. Each girl got to take home their LED flashlight at spectrum glasses.

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The girls really enjoyed the activity and had a great time with the UBC volunteers. After the volunteers left, girls watched a movies and got some sleep. It was a great night!

 

Sparks & Brownies 4Cats Unicorn Outing

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Earlier this year the 2nd Sparks and 47th Brownies (our two Saturday units!) teamed up for a fun day of art at the local 4Cats Studio. Appealing to their joy in all things magical, the girls got the chance to design and create their very own unicorn mug!

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The 4Cats staff was fantastic at helping the girls through the process. This involved drawing their own unicorns, working with clay, and painting their creations.

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Step-by-step instructions helped the group figure out what to do. Though these girls are young, they are great listeners. They worked hard on their mugs.

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Finally, after creating the mug and painting it with the special glaze paint for clay, the mugs got left behind at the studio for them to be baked and glazed. A couple of weeks later, girls got their finished products. They were pretty proud of what they created.

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4Cats is fun for girls of all ages. A few weeks ago we posted about the 10th Pathfinders visiting a 4Cats studio. Since then, we received this great photo of their final product — how adorable are these?!?

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Whether it’s a unicorn mug or a panda planter, 4Cats is always a good time.

Sparks Fairy Camp

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Last month the 1st and 2nd Sparks in Burnaby Mountain District went to camp together at beautiful Camp Olave on the sunshine coast. Their two-night camp used the theme “Fairies and Friends” and the girls had a magical, friendly time!

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Some of the best parts of camp were taking advantage of the wonderful camp facilities at Olave. The girls loved the teamwork exercises at the low ropes course. They challenged themselves to swing, balance, and more with the support of their friends. There was much laughter and fun.

The blind trail is also a favourite for the Sparks. They take turns guiding a partner through the tail. The partner can choose to close their eyes or find another creative way to become blind — some girls even put on their jackets backwards and hid their faces behind their hoods!

Fairy activities included some awesome crafts. These girls love to make things! The Sparks made little fairy houses to put into the enchanted forest. They also made fairy lamps. They all looked great.

They really lucked out with decent weather on a weekend that was not forecast in their favour. Even though it was too early in the season to swim in the ocean, it was still great to take a walk on the beach. It was a very fun weekend.

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The girls are really excited to come back to camp next year.

Spark-Pathfinder Buddy Sleepover

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Burnaby Mountain District’s two smallest units, the 2nd Sparks and 10th Pathfinders, recently teamed up for a fun Guiding sleepover at Richmond Guide House. The Pathfinders got to work on their event planning and leadership skills by doing all the preparations and leading the event for the younger girls.

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The Pathfinders decided on an “Under the Sea” theme which involved eating seashell pasta with blue Hawaiian punch for supper, making a cool underwater craft, and watching a Little Mermaid movie together.

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The Sparks loved having the older girls around and doing activities with them. The craft was a really big hit — an under the sea tambourine that looks like a ship’s porthole!

All the Guiders were impressed by the Pathfinder’s dedication and helpfulness. When the leaders tried to jump in and help, the Pathfinders assured them that they were happy to take care of it. It left the Guiders lots of time to relax, hang out with the girls, and take advantage of the cozy comforts of the Richmond Guide House property. Guiders spent some downtime doing this cool retro GGC puzzle that they found on one of the shelves — it had all its pieces!

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The buddy sleepover worked really well. It was a great way for Pathfinders to take the lead and a wonderful way for Sparks to be with some dedicated role models. It was a great sleepover — THANK YOU, PATHFINDERS!