The Great Pumpkin Cheesecake Experiment

We made hair ties with ribbons and elastics, and so we all looked very professional when we cooked! We made pumpkin cheesecake filling using pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cream cheese and cream. We mixed it up with mixers and then spread it between two pizzelle cookies. Every group decided their own balance of sweet and spicy, and most girls seemed to think it was pretty delicious!

We also practised some of the songs for the campfire.

Upcoming events:

Sleepover on Friday night! If you haven't had a chance to get your forms back, PLEASE either call Captain or bring them on Tuesday night to the Brownie meeting at Arbor Glen. We need to know before Friday!

Sleepover will start at 7 pm. We will not serve dinner, so make sure you eat before you come, but we will be providing a snack. Pickup is 8:45 am. The forms are posted so click on them on the left side menu if you need to see them again.

Next meeting will be on Monday, October 19.

Giant Campfire will be on Wednesday, October 21, at Sunnybrook Park, Leslie and Eglinton. You don't need forms for this because you need to have a parent or other adult with you. Wear your uniform shirt and tie over your jacket or sweater!

Cookie Sale at the Don Mills Subway will be on Thursday, October 22, 4-6 PM at the subway station. Forms for this will be given out on the 19th.

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to another Guiding year! This year, we have a very big unit, so we are excited to say that we've gotten into our Patrols right away so that we can break into smaller groups to enjoy our activities.

Our new Patrols are:
PATROL 1:
Patrol leader: Rada
Patrol second: Michelle
Patrol members: Lily, Morvarid, Jacqueline, Angela

PATROL 2:
Patrol leader: Maddy
Patrol second: Carmen
Patrol members: Nikki, Siham, Ebe, Carol

PATROL 3:
Patrol leader: Thalia
Patrol second: Chloe
Patrol members: Heidi, Celine, Lois, Mackenzie

PATROL 4:
Patrol leader: Cindy
Patrol second: Ruby
Patrol members: Sandhiya, Andrea, Boyun, Rasa

PATROL 5:
Patrol leader: Sonica
Patrol second: Caitlin
Patrol members: Ivy, Cynthia, Sophie, Leah

PATROL 6:
Patrol leader: Christina
Patrol second: Jasmine
Patrol members: Kitty, Grace, Tiffany, Rishnika

Patrol leaders will be responsible for calling the members of their patrol if there is something that people need to be reminded about before the next meeting.

The last few meetings!

Sorry I've fallen behind with this blog! I'll try to catch up in the next little while.

April 13 -
April 20 -
April 27 - Such a beautiful evening, we went outside and played on the climber. Then we came in and had some indoor games and program work.
May 4 - Another beautiful evening! We did our mothers' day craft outside - we watered our peat pellets, waited for them to grow, and planted flower seeds. Then we put the greenhouse tops on and decorated them with ribbons and bows. We hope the moms like them!

Next meeting: May 11. We're hoping for a visit from some of the Pathfinders. We're also going to be having our last badge testing of the year.

No meeting May 18 (long weekend).

May 25 - Guide Appreciation Night. Final badges and party.
May 26 - Advancement. If you are a 3rd year Guide, you'll be going over the bridge to Pathfinders. If you are a first or second year Guide, you'll be helping to welcome the new Guides coming up from Brownies!

Arab Region crest - April 6

Maps, flags, and music, oh my! We did the Arab Region crest tonight. We did several puzzles, including a world map, found all the Arab Region countries and their flags, made a hat craft from fun foam of one of the region flags, and did some skits about things in the Arab region. We also played a relay game and sang some songs. Well done, girls!

Don't forget there is no meeting next week for Easter Monday.

Needlework Badge March 30

We worked on the needlework badge and most girls finished their bags. Also, we have a couple of boxes of cookies available if anybody would like more - I have some of the chocolate mint and one of the regular vanilla and chocolate (and can get more).

Next week: Arab Region

Cookies are here!

We did some cookie selling! Six girls went door-to-door and sold a case and a half - well done! Everybody else took home at least one case (if you didn't, because for some reason you left early or you weren't here, please see Captain or Firefly or Poppy to make sure you get your case).

We also had a chance to do some outdoor activity - good for the bones and for keeping fit and healthy as Spring rolls around.

Next week we'll be finishing our sewing projects. Remember to work on any badges you might be missing in order to get your squares!

Don't forget to bring back your camp forms! They must be in with the money by next week to guarantee your spot.

Working on our Needlework Badge

We had badge testing (congratulations to all the girls who earned badges) and we worked on sewing a bag for crests and traders. Each girl had a choice of pink, purple, or blue fabric, with matching thread. Once the girl had the pattern, she sewed her seams and turned the bag inside out. Then she ran a cord through the top for a drawstring and sewed a button on the outside (to prove that she knows how to sew on a button.)

Nobody is quite finished her bag, so we will be finishing this badge next meeting. Remember that next week is March Break, so we will meet again Monday March 23rd.

Program, program.....

Working on the You and Others section today....we did some Communication exercises, some work on Being Prepared for various possible problems, and played some active games.

Next week we are having badge testing. This would be a great opportunity to get some of those badges we can't really do as a group - like skiing/snowboarding! (I know, we COULD, but the paperwork would be a bit crazymaking. Better for you to do it with your family if you can.) We'll also be doing some sewing.

Thinking Day Trip to Casa Loma

Trip to Casa Loma to celebrate Thinking Day!

Lady Mary Pellatt was the first Chief Commissioner of Guiding, and she served for many years. We saw the main floor rooms (the great hall, the library, the piano room) and the beautiful suites, as well as the towers, the tunnels, the gardening room and the stables. Did you know that Casa Loma had 98 rooms? 46 bathrooms? 56 phones? It was the first private home to have an elevator and a built-in vacuum system. It had electric lights when most people were using candles or gas, and amazing wrap-around showers. We got a wonderful tour from Poppy and got Casa Loma Guiding Crests too!

Don't forget, tomorrow's meeting is at Cresthaven. See you there!

A Visit from the Toronto Police!

We were delighted to have with us two officers from the Toronto Police 33rd Division tonight. We learned all about how to become a police officer, what to do in emergency situations, and a lot about what a police officer's life is like on the job!


After our visit, we even got crests and pins. Awesome! I know one police station that is getting some "thanks cookies" when they come in!

No meeting next Monday. Come Tuesday for a bridging meeting with the Brownies if you can. If you can't come on Tuesday, see you on Sunday 22nd for the Casa Loma Trip!

Groundhog Day!

In honour of the groundhogs, who saw their shadows today (which means six more weeks of hard winter), we made edible groundhogs. That meant cupcakes, chocolate sprinkles, icing, chocolate bars or cookies, and lots and lots of imagination!

Four of our girls also earned their Campfire Leader badge.

Important Dates:

Thursday, Feb 5, evening - please bring anything for our Flea Market to the church (Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2737 Bayview Ave just south of the 401)
Friday, Feb 6, all day - please bring anything for our Flea Market to the church
Saturday, Feb 7 9-12 am - please come to the Flea Market! Proceeds to help with our Division Camp at the end of May
Monday, Feb 9 - Police Officer coming to our meeting to talk about the Law Awareness badge
Monday, Feb 16 - NO MEETING. Schools are closed for Family Day.
Tuesday, Feb 17 - Bridging meeting with the Brownies, 6:45-8:15, Arbor Glen
Sunday, Feb 22 - Trip to Casa Loma. BUS LEAVES AT 12:45 from Arbor Glen. If you aren't there, the bus will leave without you! Please be there! Bus returns at 4 pm.
Monday, Feb 23 - District Thinking Day Meeting AT CRESTHAVEN. Do NOT go to Arbor Glen. Cresthaven is at 46 Cresthaven Drive.
Monday, Mar 2 - regular meeting

Gung Hei Fat Choy! - Xin Nian Kuai Le! - Happy New Year!

Today we had our Chinese New Year Party. We had some decorations - lanterns and origami swans and fish and other images. The gym looked great!

Many girls wore beautiful party clothes, too. Lots of people brought yummy food - candy, dumplings, something sticky and sweet and good, pop, cake..... and we played Dragon Tag and made some crafts with shiny red and gold paper.

Happy New Year and I hope you all have a good Year of the Ox.

For Next Week:

Feb 2: We will be continuing on with program work for You and Others.

Feb 7: Remember the Flea Market! Please remember to set aside anything that you are willing to donate, and we can always use help getting it all set up.

Feb 9: our meeting for the Law Awareness badge.

Badge Testing and Various Games

We had badge testing this week. Some of the badges earned were Postal and Skiing and Snowboarding. Other people chose to work on electrical circuits, play chess or use the hieroglyphic stamps.

We also continued work on our program area, You and Others.

Next week is our Chinese New Year's Party. Please remember to bring food, decorations, or games if you volunteered to do so!

More Engineering

We finished the Engineering badge, with some work on making plans to scale. For those who weren't there last week and still need to do the car walkaround, we'll do that next week so you can complete your badge.

Some girls wish to earn their Event Planning badge, and they are the people planning the party for January 26. If you would like to contribute something or help with the party, please join this group!

Next week is badge testing. Please bring whatever you need. Plan to do a maximum of two badges - if you have more prepared, you can bring the material, but there may not be time for testing.

Upcoming events (also downloadable in the sidebar) -
January 26, Chinese New Year's Party.
February 2, visit by Toronto Police Officer and the Law Awareness badge.
February 7, Flea market
February 22, trip to Casa Loma (please bring back forms and money)
February 23, Thinking Day meeting at Cresthaven

We have ordered 40 cases of cookies. That's 1 per girl unless you asked for more, plus a few extra for leaders or people who find they need another one. They will be delivered in March.

Engineering!

This week we did some of the Engineering badge. We built some structures, checked out the dashboard of the car (no, you can NOT drive my car around the parking lot! I can tell that there will be some very excited people when you girls turn 16, though....), built some electrical circuits and learned about simple machines. We also learned about the different types of engineers and played Jeopardy!

Next week we are going to be planning our Chinese New Year meeting. It's all up to you, Guides - you decide what food you would like, what games you would like to play, which crafts you are interested in making. Then we'll figure out how to get the materials you need.

Remember to bring your cookie order forms back. If you don't want to take pre-orders, that's ok - you can just let us know how many cases you'd like. Let's decide if you'd like to do a blitz.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all Guides, Guiders, Parents and Guardians!

Some dates to keep in mind for 2009:

February 7 - Girl Guide Flea Market (flyer to follow)
February 22 - Thinking Day trip to Casa Loma
February 23 - Thinking Day All-Branch meeting at Cresthaven PS
March 17 - March Break, no meeting
May 26 - All-Branch Advancement, Final Meeting
May 29-31 - Group Camp at Ma-Kee-Wa

Looking forward to seeing you all again soon. Don't forget to sew on all your new badges and remember your indoor shoes!