Sheri's Camp Blanket

Hey girls!

When you go to camp with Sheri next, ask her about her camp blanket!!

This year for Christmas, her mom sewed on 150 crests for her!!

These photos show the blanket before 150 crests were added - and then after the 150 crests were added!!

Click them to see a bigger picture!

How many of you are putting your crests on a blanket?

What other ideas do you have to display your crests?

Owl Magazine and Girl Guides

Owl Magazine has a special discounted subscription rate for GGC members!


Check out the GGC Girls site for the offer.

The Guide Marching Song!

Learn the Guide Marching Song!

This is the song we sing at the beginning of every meeting as we form our horseshoe.

Remember, it's 100 years or more!

Our GeoCoin Started Its Journey!!

The 64th Guides went geocaching!

We placed a geocoin in a cache during our bike hike.


We had Frank talk to us for a bit about geocaching and he helped us to find the cache where we were going to place our geocoin.

Here we are holding the geocoin. The geocoin has been minted by Girl Guides of Canada to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Guides in Canada. Coins were made available to Rangers and Pathfinders and Kabrena, our Junior Leader (Ranger), and Katie, a visiting Pathfinder, helped us to start our geocoin on it's journey.

You can track our geocoin's progress here:
64th Guides, Girl Guides of Canada 100 Years Geocoin


Here we found the cache!

We dropped off our geocoin here at the cache, to start it on it's journey.

Next, Frank retrieved the geocoin from the cache and he is going to place it in another cache for someone else to find. Remember to track its journey here:
64th Guides, Girl Guides of Canada 100 Years Geocoin

Bike Hike - What an Adventure!

Our Bike Hike - What an Adventure!

This bike hike was one of the most adventuresome ever!

First a bike chain came off and we got that fixed.

Then a bike needed air in the tires so we got that done.

We had several girls fall off their bikes at different points in the trip ~ a few small scrapes but mostly no injuries at all thankfully!

We stopped in Gibbons Park to learn a bit about geocaching and to drop off our

100th Anniversary Girl Guide geocoin!!

(More on that in this blog post.)

All in all, we had beautiful weather, great girls and a wonderful ride!

Thanks everyone!

Canadian Girls Say ~ FREE at the AGO

See what girls in Guiding have to say

Visit the Canadian Girls Say... exhibition at

the Art Gallery of Ontario and receive
*free* admission to the AGO on Sept. 18-19

The Canadian Girls Say exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario has been extended until the end of November 2010. If you have not had the chance to check it out, be sure to visit before it closes. This exhibition is located in the AGO's free community gallery and features some 100 photographs as well as accompanying perspectives from the emerging young photographers. We encourage those unable to visit the AGO to view our online gallery of the top 100 images at www.girlguides.ca/cgs_themes.

Free admission during Guide Weekend, Sept. 18-19
The Art Gallery of Ontario is welcoming all GGC Members during their special Guide Weekend on September 18-19. Girls who come to the AGO in uniform will receive free general admission to the gallery. Accompanying friends and family will receive 50 % off the admission price. Please let the girls in your Unit know about this exciting opportunity.

Welcome Back to Guiding!

Our first meeting

Unit name ~ 64th London Guides
Start date/time ~ Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 6:45 p.m.
Meeting Location ~ please check your email or mail for details of our meeting location
Contact Guider & phone number ~ Sheri is your Contact Guider ... her phone number and email have been sent to you in an email or by mail

64th Guides want to say "THANK YOU"

The 64th London Girl Guides want to send a Shout Out to Great-West Life who provided us with a donation under their Volunteer Recognition Grant program.

Thank You!!

With this donation we were able to purchase new tents for the unit for our weekend camping adventures each spring. Thanks to Canadian Tire, too, who provided a discount price to us as members of a charitable organization so that we were able to purchase four tents instead of the two or three we had originally intended! And we bought waterproofing spray and tarps as well!

We were also very excited to take part in several of the 100th Anniversary celebrations ~ Girl Guides in Canada turned 100 in 2010!! Thanks to the Great-West Volunteer Recognition Grant we were able to attend the Kick Off celebration at Casa Loma in January 2010 ~ the grant paid for us to go by bus! Thanks Bobby for organizing the bus!!

And we really wanted to attend the Rally Day celebration at Ontario Place in May so the Great-West Volunteer Recognition Grant paid for our leaders to attend to accompany the girls! And we were able to buy special 100th Anniversary crests for each of the girls and leaders in our Unit as well. Thanks to Lesley S. for having them!

To celebrate our 100th Anniversary, the Ontario Council of Girl Guides of Canada introduced a special Centenary award ~ only 100 members would be chosen for this prestigious award. Two of our leaders received this award! The Great-West Volunteer Recognition Grant was used to pay the cost so all of the Unit leaders could attend the banquet where these awards were presented. At the same banquet, our Junior Leader received an Outstanding Youth Award as well!

As you can see, we fully appreciate the assistance provided by the Volunteer Recognition Grant and we thank Great-West Life for providing this program to their staff who volunteer and meet the criteria for the grant.

Thank you.

Girl Guides talk to the Space Station!

What can be cooler than talking to the Space Station?

Nothing!

Girl Guides of Canada held an international camp in Guelph Ontario with 2,500 campers from July 8-17, 2010.

On Friday July 16th, we contacted the Space Station via ARISS, (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) - the coolest 10 minutes of the entire camp experience!

Girls were pre-selected and once contact was made, the girls asked their questions and had them answered by Commander Doug Wheelock, an American astronaut currently on the Space Station.

Read about this amazing 10 minutes here.

The audio can be downloaded on the ISSfanclub website here although it's not terribly clear.

To see video from GGC, click here.

Girl Guides of Canada has a special connection to space travel. Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, attended guiding programs in her youth and brought Girl Guide cookies into space with her.

Visit the ARISS website to learn how you can arrange to talk to the Space Station with your school!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! ! !

CONGRATULATIONS to Kabrena Riley

on receiving the Girl Guides of Ontario Outstanding Youth Award!

CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda Neil

on receiving the Girl Guides of Ontario 100th Anniversary Centenary Award!

CONGRATULATIONS to Sheri Flood

on receiving the Girl Guides of Ontario 100th Anniversary Centenary Award!

And a huge thanks to all the girls of the 64th Guides who sent in their comments for the nominations for these 3 leaders back in January and February.

And, special thanks to our newest Guider, Lisa Brown, for her help in coordinating the nominations!

(Read below for a description of the awards.)

The Ontario Outstanding Youth Award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of Rangers and Pathfinders who exemplify their dedication to Guiding and their community, and:

- is a registered girl/Youth Member of Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council, at the Ranger or Pathfinder level.

- displays exceptional leadership qualities within Guiding and in her community at large; enthusiastically brings her personal talents and skills to Guiding.

- has demonstrated qualities of dedicated service to Guiding and her community.

- lives by the ideals of the Guiding Promise and Law; is a positive role model within and out of Guiding; actively promotes Guiding and its benefits.

- is well respected by her peers, Guiders and other members of the community.

- has contributed significantly and has had a positive impact to her Unit and community.

The 2010 Centenary Award celebrates the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides. Only 100 Members in Ontario and Nunavut will receive this award which recognizes and celebrates Guiders and Rangers who exemplify the values and priorities we have had as an organization for the last 100 years. The 2010 Centenary Award recipients are Guiders/Rangers who:

- teach and mentor our girl and youth Members the skills required to become a good leader, within Guiding and their community

- enable and give the opportunity to our girl and youth Members to practice their leadership skills; through direct and indirect methods

- allow our girl and Youth Members to learn from their mistakes without judgement, while providing supportive guidance

- see the leadership potential in all of our girl and youth Members

- set an example and demonstrate their positive leadership within Guiding, and shares their skills with other Members

You’re My Hero - Girl Guide book!

You’re My Hero - Girl Guide book!

Over 400 wonderful stories and drawings and some amazing Guiding photographs have been compiled to form a great keepsake for our 100th Anniversary!

Not only that, You’re My Hero Media is donating $0.50 for every pre-ordered book (to June 28th) to create a special Scholarship.

The book costs $21 plus shipping (rates are listed online), with $8.00 going to Girl Guides of Canada.

Shipping charges drop dramatically as the number of books ordered increases, so talk to your friends, family and sisters in Guiding and order your books together - you will love the savings!

All pre-ordered books will be shipped the last week of July.

You can order your copy today at www.ymhggc.com

Bonus! There’s still a chance to have your hero story in the book! Just go to www.ymhggc.com, write your story and print it out. Then you can paste your story on the 'My Personal Hero' chapter in your copy of the book.

Visit the International Girl Guide Camp this summer!

Continue your celebration of 100 years of Girl Guides into the summer!!

Guiding Mosaic 2010 is the international camp being held in Guelph this summer.

And YOU can visit!!

The Visitor Registration page for Guiding Mosaic 2010 is http://guidingmosaic.com/visitor_registration

(Click on the link under the happy face wearing sunglasses to access the information page)

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Open House Day is Sunday, July 11th

No reservations are required and all visitors will be given a 1 hour narrated tour of the camp, highlighting the main points of interest.

Tours are offered begining at 9.30am, 10am, 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm.

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Visitor Tours

GGC Members and members of the public can take a 3-hour narrated walking tour of the camp, visiting all of the points of interest.

There is no cost for tours, but reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

Dates for visitor tours are July 9, July 11, July 12, July 14 and July16

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Other options for visitors are available, as you can see on the website, and they are for Members Only.

Cookie All Stars - Survey

GIRLS: CLICK HERE

PARENTS: CLICK HERE

to take the survey for Girl Guides of Canada about the Cookie All Stars Program.

Rally Day - Videos!!

Remember the videos we watched in the Cinesphere at Rally Day??

They are on YouTube now!



Click Here to Watch them all!!

CTV Toronto: 100 years of Girl Guides

Click this link to see the CTV Toronto report about Rally Day 2010 in Toronto at Ontario Place on Saturday, May 15, 2010.

CTV Toronto: 100 years of Girl Guides

Note - you'll need to watch an ad first.

If, for some reason, one of the clips actually brings up the a news story about something else, scroll down a bit on the website that comes up and you’ll see the Girl Guide links to click on. There is one story from Toronto, one from Edmonton and a third from BC.

AND, at the 36 second mark, you can see Sheri and Amanda!!!

It's those great hats with our BRIGHT pom poms!

You see them right away!

Rally Day 2010 in Toronto

Signal Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador
Stratford, PEI
Sudbury, ON
Moose Jaw, SK
Vancouver, BC
and MANY places in between!!

Girl Guides gathered to celebrate 100 years of Guiding!

Including TORONTO at Ontario Place!!

The 64th London Guides enjoyed National Rally Day 2010 in Toronto!

Lots of activities!

Lots of walking!

Good food and good fun!

Swaps fill our hats...

and swaps fill our lanyards!

Great fun was enjoyed by all!

A day to remember ...
from our *early* morning start ...
to our *late* evening return ...

Happy 100 years Girl Guides!!

Recognize these?

These are the strips everyone was sewing a month or more ago at Guides!!

And then you sewed a button, remember?

Well, to add the key ring, we had to remove the button.

And now we have lanyards to use on outings!

Like Rally Day this Saturday!!

Great work everyone!

They look great!

CN Future Links Girls’ Club for Golf

The CN Future Links Girls’ Club is a developmental golf program which helps girls 7-18 years old develop the skills, attitude and positive image of themselves as athletes through golf. GGC is a proud partner of the CN Future Links Girls’ Club program.

There are several locations in London offering the CN Future Links Girls’ Club - click on the link and choose "For Participants", and then "CN Future Links in my Area" to find local clubs.

Guider of the Month Award

Guider of the Month Award

What's a Guider? That is the term used for a Guide Leader in Girl Guides of Canada. She does not have to be a Leader of just the Guide aged girls, she can be a Sparks Leader, or Brownie Leader, or a Leader at any level, basically any adult Member in Girl Guides of Canada.

The Guider of the Month Award gives girl and Youth Members the opportunity to nominate any adult Member of Guiding who has had a positive impact on their Guiding experience.

To nominate a Guider click here. Parents may help younger girls in filling out the required information.

Click here to read about the February 2010 Guider of the Month, and all of the Honourable Mentions for February!

Clean Up the ravine

Ravine Clean Up Crew!

Sometimes a little smelly!

Sometimes some big things!

Everyone looked great!

and worked hard!

Thanks to London Clean and Green for the gloves, tshirts and large garbage bags!

Job well done to the 64th Guides and 67th Brownies!

Reflective Arm Bands for Cookie Sales - a tutorial

Tonight we sold cookies door to door in the neighbourhood near where we meet.

The streets are crescents and they don't have sidewalks.

Anne, our treasurer, didn't think we were visible enough.

She thought we needed reflective arm bands.

We had a few safety vests donated to us.

But there were not enough for every girl.

So, this is what we did.

First, remove all the black bias tape around the vest - and save it, because we'll need it for the arm bands. That was Friday night.

Remove the cell phone pocket too, because it's in the way. And take off the velcro, too, and save it. That was Saturday morning.

Cut the vests so there is one inch of fabric on each side of the reflective tape.

Now sew the bias tape along the long edges of all those strips.

Next, cut the long strips into 3 smaller pieces. These will be the armbands.

That took the rest of Saturday.

Finally, sew bias tape and velcro to each end of each arm band.

That was Sunday's task.

And here is the result!!!

Safety first!!!

We did learn that we could have used more velcro on one half of each arm band to make them more adjustable down to smaller sizes. A few of the girls found that theirs was too loose. We'll add some more velcro to the arm bands before the fall cookie sales night. But - take note of Patti! We decided to put hers on her leg and it fit much better! :)

Help write the best book ever about Guiding!

Help write the best book ever about Guiding!

Girl Guides of Canada is launching You’re My Hero Girl Guides of Canada, a book by Girl Guides, for Girl Guides.

The book will celebrate all of the heroes that are important to you and is being produced in partnership with You’re My Hero Media.

Submit your hero story, and you could have it published in the book!

Every Girl Guide Member, from Sparks to Trefoil and alumnae, is invited to write and submit her hero story. (Sparks and Brownies can draw their story.)

Your submission can be about someone who has inspired you, challenged you, or who makes you feel like you can do anything – someone who is your personal hero.

It can be a friend, a relative, another Girl Guide Member, or anyone whose actions make a big difference.


Guiders, we need you to encourage girls in every branch to submit their stories/drawings! Click here or go to www.ymhggc.com/ymhgg for more information.

The submission deadline is April 16.

Girl Guides in Haiti

This year at our Thinking Day meeting we learned about Girl Guides in Haiti - the Association Nationale des Guides d'Haïti - how they are similar to our unit, and how they differ.

The Association Nationale des Guides d'Haïti was established in 1942 and they are part of the Western Hemisphere Region. The association is divided in four sections according to age:
Jeanette - ages 7 to 12
Guide - ages 12 to 15
Guide relais - ages 15 to 18
Guide aînée - ages 18 to 25

Would you like to donate to help Girl Guides in Haiti?

Please click the "Donate" button!

This will take you to the donations page for the 64th London Guides where you can make a donation! and learn more about Girl Guides in Haiti.

Click Here for more information about Girl Guides in Haiti. And Click Here to read how Girl Guides worldwide are providing aid to Girl Guides in Haiti.

Please note that our fundraising dollars will go to contribute to this year’s World Thinking Day (WTD) Fund, where WAGGGS is focusing on five specific countries; Haiti, Georgia, Maldives, Sudan and Zimbabwe. The WTD Fund supports the work of WAGGGS globally, it is not exclusively dedicated to Haiti or disaster relief. However, part of the funding raised will go to Haiti in 2010 and specific projects agreed upon by Haiti and WAGGGS.

We feel that this way our fundraising will best support Girl Guides in Haiti.

Happy Thinking Day!

Happy Thinking Day!

Thinking Day Campfire at Westmount Mall

Note: This is NOT a Unit event. If you attend, you must stay with your daughter.

Open Invitation

Campfire Celebration

to honour the
joint birthdays of
Lord and Lady Baden Powell

You are invited
to join in a

Thinking Day Campfire
at
Westmount Mall
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
6:15pm to 7:15 pm

We will gather at the fountain area of the Mall

Please bring your change/donations for the CWFF (Canadian World Friendship Fund) and sit-upon’s or chairs

An RSVP is not necessary, come one, come all

Note: This is NOT a Unit event. If you attend, you must stay with your daughter.

Casa Loma Craft - Chain Knot Tutorial

Everyone received this craft but not everyone had time to put it together.
The original instructions are at the end of this post.
Start by making the loop as shown here.
Now pull it all a little tighter, but still leaving a pretty big loop (1)there on the right.

Take your cord and make another small loop (2) and pull it through the big loop (1)

Now, make another loop (3) and pull it up through (2)

Now take a minute to tighten up all your loops a little bit. If you have enough cord, then make a few more loops, just like you did for (2) and (3), until you only have a little bit of cord left over.

Pull that little bit of cord through the last loop you made.

Voila! you are done!

Here is the original instruction sheet. Maybe the arrows in the pictures can help you some more.

And here is what the craft package looked like.

Thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard at Casa Loma that day!!

And many thanks to all who organized this event.