URGENT – GM Guider needed!!!

DSA Guiders, due to illness one of our patrol Guiders will not be able to attend and must step back from her duties organizing as well.  Therefore, please seriously consider whether you are able to step in ensuring that these girls get to experience such a wonderful event.

A couple of things to keep in mind as your consider this great opportunity:

– Funds raised and support that she would have received (i.e. some of the patrol fundraising, National/Area support etc.) will be transferred to the new Guider so she will not be responsible for any more funds that she would have otherwise.

– The new leader will need to be willing to be actively involved in the planning and organization of the patrol.

– It would also be preferred that the new Guider be willing to assume the patrol treasurer role as well, however, that is not an absolute necessity.  Area will supply assistance with those duties if required.

If are willing to take this on, please contact Lisa at nsgm2016@girlguides.ns.ca as well as myself.

Thank you for considering this great opportunity!

Andréa Griffin
Dartmouth Shore Area Commissioner

First Aid Course

Hello,

We have had cancellations for the First Aid course on January 30 & 31st. There are 4 spaces left if any Guiders in the Area are interested. Please have anyone interested e-mail me at jmwilliams@ns.sympatico.ca with their name, IMIS number and birthdate as soon as possible.

 

In the good news department, we already have 5 Guiders registered for the Safe Guide session on Saturday, February 6th.  I am happy but there is definitely room for more. Thank you for your support.

 

Janice Williams

DSA Training Advisor

Food Handlers Course

Hello,

I have just received the following information on 2 Food Handlers courses to be held in Bedford. Please pass it on to your Guiders as we had inquiries from Guiders even after we held one in November.

Please remind Guiders that they can attend any training that any other Area holds. Occasionally there may be a small fee for out of Area Guiders but not always.

Janice Williams

DSA Training Advisor

16th annual Guide Lock In

Once again the Special Events Team are in planning mode and we are happy to invite you to the 16^th annual Guide Lock In! Check your email for the invitation, a Unit registration form that must be returned by Nov 1^st (sorry NO exceptions) and the Lock In theme song ( tune-John Brown’s Body). This year we are emphasizing the theme of SAFETY and like every year we will be safely “ locked in”  Cole Harbour Place so we can enjoy an evening of fun and crafts and songs. We hope you will join with fellow Guides and Guides from all over Dartmouth Shore Area in this annual event!

Nationally-Sponsored Trip travel applications for summer 2016 are now open!

*** New this year: all applications for girls and Guiders will be completed and submitted online. ***

Here is the link to the webpage where you can find the fact sheets for each of the two trips and the link to the online application:

https://girlguides.ca/WEB/GGC/Programs/International_Guiding/Travel_Opportunities/GGC/Programs/Opportunities/International_Guiding/Travel.aspx?hkey=c8163d22-5d8c-4138-99e5-00180577ef10

Chantel Gushue, Dartmouth Shore Area International Adviser, will be hosting an info session on both trips at the Woodlawn Public Library, 31 Eisener Blvd on Wednesday, September 30 @ 7pm. Guiders and girls interested in applying for either of the trips are encouraged to attend! Please RSVP to chantel@ishy.ca to let her know if you are interested in attending.

UPCOMING TRAININGS FOR DARTMOUTH SHORE AREA

UPCOMING TRAININGS FOR DARTMOUTH SHORE AREA

SEPTEMBER 2015 – JUNE 2016

SAFE GUIDE SESSIONS

October 17, 2015 (Saturday) – 9 AM to 12 noon – St Andrew’s Anglican Church at 8 Locks Road, Dartmouth. Register by October 9, 2015

January 11, 2016 (Monday) – 6:30 – 9:30 PM – St. David’s Church, Lake Echo. Please register by January 4, 2016

February 6, 2016 (Saturday) – 9 AM to 12 noon – St Luke’s Church on Veteran’s Avenue, Dartmouth. Please register by January 29, 2016

OTHER SESSIONS

Sparks & Brownies Can Camp – and so Can You! – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 from 7 – 9:15 pm at St Luke’s Church on Veteran’s Avenue, Dartmouth. This session does not replace OAL(Outdoor Activity Leader) training. It is an information session for anyone who has Sparks or Brownies and has never tried residential camping. We will be talking about themes, program ideas, menus, Safe Guide paperwork, pre-camp parent letters/meetings, the camp lottery (for Guide residential properties), involving Rangers and bedrolls and sit-upons.

Please register by October 9, 2015

Standard First Aid Course – January 30 – 31, 2016 (Saturday & Sunday) from 9am – 5pm both days at Guide House, 3581 Dutch Village Road, Halifax. We need a minimum of 8 Guiders/Transitioning members/Rangers to run the course. Please register by January 22, 2016.

For any of the above sessions please register with Janice Williams, Dartmouth Shore Area Training Advisor by e-mailing jmwilliams@ns.sympatico.ca

An explosion of Pink

Fireworks. Blasts. Eruptions. Yes, we had another explosion in Dartmouth Shore Area. An explosion of the PINK kind!

On Saturday, 130 Sparks with their leaders, from Downtown Dartmouth all the way to Musquodoboit Harbour, came together for a morning of songs, crafts, snacks and most of all fun with Guiding friends new and old!

This years theme was a popular one in Guiding: Camp!

GAMES!

SONGS! With Lynne and Watermelon

PHOTOSTOP!

CAMPFIRE CAMP HAT CRAFTS!

GIRL GUIDE CAMP HAT CRAFT!

EDIBLE CAMPFIRE SNACK

Once again, thank you to all our volunteers, leaders and of course our Sparks! A special thanks to the Special Events team who made sure that our crafts and edible campfire were organized for each Spark before the event. Us, Guides, always prepared!

Guides Night Out

What do you do when you have an area with over 200 Guides? Well in Dartmouth, we hold a special night just for them!

Guides Night Out took place on Friday night, with 208 of our area girls in attendance! The format? There isn’t one! From the time they walk in to the time they leave, there is very little structure. After opening announcements the Guides are free to go to whichever activity running that interests them.

This year the activities were:

Hand knitting

“We’re making this craft to hang in our room!
Selena and Julia from the 2nd Woodlawn Guides, like many Guides, could be found carrying their craft all night, to stop and work on it every now and again.

Picture frame crafting

“I like it here because I get to play with my friends!”– Imogen, 1st Lawrencetown Guides

T-Shirt type dyeing with sharpies

Twister

Games!

Making our National Service Project Pledge (over 200 pledges were made this night!)

“My pledge is I will try to reuse as much as possible, pick up garbage and throw it away. If I see someone littering I will tell them not to. I will protect nature from being trashed and I will teach others not to as well.– Tiffany, 1st Lawrencetown Guides

Photobooth

Guides wrote messages on the boards about why they are a Girl Guide or why Girls should be in the lead.

After all the activities were done and a snack was eater, girls had the whole pool to themselves! After they undid their bedrolls and watched a movie. A fewhours later, they woke up with a dance party, breakfast and then headed home.

Thanks to all the Guides, leaders and the Dartmouth Shore Special Events team for a great Guides Night Out!

9,997… 9,998… 9,999… 10,000 STEPS… whew!

(This guest post has been submitted by Guider Cindy)

The 2nd Eastern Passage Girl Guides are stepping up to their newest challenge with the help of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Every day for a week, the girls are strapping on their pedometers and walking, running, playing until they each collect 10,000 steps!

Nathan Goudreau from the Heart and Stroke Foundation recently stopped by to show the girls how quickly you can reach 10,000 steps. He played a few games with the girls, and before they knew it, they were up over 1,000 steps in just a few minutes.
The girls were super excited that they were the first Girl Guide group to take on this new challenge. Nathan gave each girl a pedometer, and left them excited, eager and ready to take this on!

Aside from the rewards of being physically active, the girls will also earn the One Step Challenge crest for their campfire blankets.
So, if you see a pack of eager girls running, skipping, or walking around the Community, it’s just us, “One Stepping” our way to 10,000 steps!

Rangers take to the trees

(Thank you DSA Special Events team member and Edgemore Pathfinder leader Jenn for this blog post!

We’re so adventurous, we should be on a cookie box!

Whenever I find myself doing something outside of the usual meeting with our Rangers – like horseback riding, high ropes courses, or a trip to the art gallery – I can’t help but think that we’d make a great picture for a cookie box or the cover of Coastlines!

On Saturday, September 14th, a crew of girls and Guiders from DSA were certainly worthy of a cookie box picture. They took on the challenge of On Tree, near Martock, Windsor, Nova Scotia. This amazing facility has a variety of courses complete with high ropes, ziplines, and balance challenges. You can check out some pics and get more info here. Though it would be doable for any age, many of the courses are limited to those 13 years of age and up. Children 12 and under must be accompanied at all times by one on one adult supervision, but older ones can go free range!

Though there were jelly legs, a few bruises, and the occasional shriek, everyone who participated came away with a sense of achievement. Some of these courses are no small feat, especially the spider web and the high wire bicycle! The owners of On Tree plan to add more courses for next season, including another easy course with the longest zipline to date! We can hardly wait!
Those who participated at On Tree will receive the new, yet to be finalized, DSA Adventure Seeker crest. Sorry to have missed out and want a crest? We’re heading back to On Tree again next fall! Crests will also be on offer to participants at our annual ski day at Ski Martock in early February, once the weather turns wintery, stay tuned for details.