Little Minds Grow Strong in Girl Scouts
by Mari Sugiyama, program coordinator, Girl Scouting in the School Day
The Girl Scouting in the School Day (GSSD) program began in 2004 at Thurgood Marshall Elementary school and now works with girls at Emerson Elementary School and Aki Kurose Middle School. Over the course of the years, the GSSD program has been incorporated at African American Academy, Meany Middle School and Hilltop Elementary School, in the Highline School District.
GSSD brings Girl Scout programming to girls by going directly into the schools, thereby overcoming barriers, such as transportation or scheduling, that may make it difficult for girls to participate in the traditional neighborhood delivery model. This staff-led program selects curriculum after consultation between school teachers and administrators and GSSD staff. Curriculum covers a broad range of topics such as math, inquiry-based science, service learning, art, global awareness and financial literacy.
Recent Programming
GSSD is excited to be working with the girl students at Emerson Elementary School in kindergarten, first grade and second grade. We held our first troop meetings in November and with the start of the new year, we will begin working with the fourth and fifth grade special education classes. In the short time I have worked with the girls, we have already accomplished a lot of goals and I am excited to see what the remainder of the year will bring.
Troop 8510 is made up of kindergarten girls who are Daisy Girl Scouts. They have just completed work on their first Daisy petal, which taught them about honesty and fairness. This was a four-week unit which included a storytelling lesson, dividing up snacks evenly in a group, playing a bingo game fairly, and a worksheet where they could record their own feelings and ideas about sharing. After a total of six weeks together, they were rewarded with a craft day where they made snowman figures.
Troop 8511 is made up of the first grade girls who are Daisy Girl Scouts. They have just completed work on their first Daisy petal on honesty and fairness. They, too, have been busy learning about the values of Girl Scouts, but recently worked with visitors from the Girl Scouting in the School Day class at Aki Kurose Middle School, who came to lead a troop meeting on honesty and fairness. On December 7, the sixth grade Girl Scouts came prepared and ready to teach the values of honesty and fairness using techniques such as games, songs and stories. It was a huge success, and it was great to see both the first and sixth grade girls learning and enjoying the day in their own way.
Troop 8512 is made up of second grade girls who are Brownie Girl Scouts. The Brownies have been quite busy in our short time together and have already earned two Try-Its for their Girl Scout sash: Girl Scout Ways and Senses. Our first three weeks focused on Girl Scout basics such as recitation and understanding of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. We also created a “circle contract” as a troop, where the girls came up with and voted on the rules and reminders they felt were important to adhere to when attending troop meetings. Two of the contract points I was especially pleased with were: be safe and make the school a better place.
Our last two weeks before the winter break were focused on the five senses. We started with the sense of hearing and listened to different samples of music/sounds. The girls reflected and shared what each sample made them feel and envision. Just as with the first grade troop, we were able to have Aki Kurose 7th graders visit to teach the girls about the other four senses. Four different stations were set up to cover taste, smell, touch and sight. Just as we saw with the first grade troop, the partnering of the second grade and seventh grade girls proved to be a success and both groups seemed equally impressed with each other.
If you would like more information on the Girl Scouting in the School Day program, please contact Melissa Gaffney, program manager, at (206) 267-1845.