The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Scouts celebrate 'Thinking Day'
Girl Scout troops gather to mark international friendship
By Alana West, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: March 8, 2007
Five girls sit in a tight circle as they clap their pair of sticks in collective rhythmic harmony. They clap them together, tap them on the ground and then hand them off to their left, each receiving a new pair from the right.
Advertisement
They are off again, repeating an eternal pattern. Clap, clap. Tap, tap. Rotate.
This new game called Tita Toria, an Indian child's stick game, takes concentration, said troop leader Dee Dee Sahakian. But they are learning it.
The five girls are members of Girl Scout Troop 1545 and were among the 11 Girl Scout troops who met at Klager Elementary School Feb. 24 for Thinking Day, a celebration of the anniversary of the date Lord Robert and Lady Olave Baden-Powell founded Boy Scouts in England in 1909, inspiring an American woman, Juliette Low, to begin the Girl Scouts in the United States in 1912.
Girl Scouts around the world take the opportunity to think about their world, and their own link to the members of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts in other countries.
At the event, each local troop presented its own topic. Some researched Ecuador and French Girl Guides. Others traded information about the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts Pin Ceremonies, Girl Scout Cookies, friendships, "try-its" and the council store.
Each group brought a snack to share with the other troops. Some presentations were in the form of skits, others in dialogue. Some sang songs, others put on costumes.
But they all shared the common goal of each girl getting the chance to inform a larger group.
Nora Baskins, co-leader of Troop 286 with Theresa Herron, organized and hosted the event with Shawn Edwards and Jamie Kendall, leaders of Troop 393.
"We used to do it as a booth, but decided to do it as a program this year," Baskins said. "We wanted them to have a different experience –– to present their topic in front of people."
The ceremony began and ended with a Color Guard Flag ceremony, in which girls, whose mothers were troop leaders, brought the flags into the gym, and then took them out again.
Each troop also brought "swaps," usually pins or patches made by the troop as gifts at get-togethers. They received them in a goody bag at the end of the meet.
"Our troop made the WAGGGS pins into magnets," said Baskins.
Members of Troop 286 also discussed the symbolism of this special pin during the presentation, and other members of the group hung the yellow symbols on the blue background as each symbol was discussed.
According to the troop, the pin shows a blue background representing the sky, with yellow trefoils representing the Girl Scout promise of duty to God and country, to help others, and to live by the Girl Scout and Girl Guide laws.
A compass pointing to the right course of life, and two stars represent the Girl Scout promise and the organization's laws. There is also a flame representing love of all people and international friendship, and a gold circle symbolizing the sun.
The girls of Troop 729 presented their topic of Girl Scout traditions and songs via videotape. They presented the proper way to perform the Girl Scout pledge, and ended by gathering into a circle that represented an unbroken chain of friendships between Girl Guides and Girl Scouts throughout the world.
"They are trying for their Silver level award," Baskins said, denoting one of the highest levels in Scouting.
Members of Troop 739 pretended that several cookies were missing from a giant cookie box in the middle of the floor. Crumbs with clues written on them helped define what cookies were missing. Jessica Walz of Manchester played the detective who searched for the clues.
Members of Troop 92 dressed in princess crowns and discussed the need for Girl Scouts to be healthy and fit, while Troop 706 dressed American Girl dolls in traditional Ecuador Girl Guide outfits to show what they wore.
Members of Troop 772 talked about the clothing worn by Girl Guides in France, and described the activities, including hiking and camping, said Jane Cottrell.
Members of Troop 393 discussed their trip to the council store and all of the Girl Scout items available there for purchase, from tents to stuffed animals and uniforms.
Alia Benedict said she liked coming to the Girl Scout Thinking Day and she liked watching the plays.
"The cookie one was funny," she said.
At the end, Troop 706 returned to the microphone to lead all of the troops in rousing songs.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
