CHIEF COMMISSIONER AWARDS Page 6
SANGAM REPORTS Pages 28 & 42
2015 Vol. 4
Guider’s Link
www.girlguidesireland.ie 1
CONTENTS Chief Commissioner's Message 3 Noticeboard 4 Chief Commissioner Award 6 Cygnet Section 10 BrigĂn Section 12 Guide Section 16 Ranger Section 18 Training 20 Outdoors 22 International 26 Free Being Me 32 Diversity 34 Around Ireland 36 Contacts 47
Don't forget to send your photos and articles for the Guiders Link to: guiderslink@girlguidesireland.ie. Closing date for the next issue is Saturday 2nd January, 2016 2 Guiders Link Vol. 4
CHIEF COMMISSIONER'S MESSAGE Hi everyone, In this the final issue of Guider's Link and also the Christmas issue for 2015, it’s great to look back and see all the work that has gone on around the country throughout the year. So much has been done at local level for development within the Regions. Regional Days, training, camps, meetings etc., taking place every week for the thousands of girls have been entrusted to our care. Nationally, we have had the Guide Camp, Camp Funtastic, Ranger Day and new Units starting up to name just a few. Many of our Members have travelled to various conferences and made visits to World Centres. Numerous training programmes were also successfully completed. This year 37 girls received their CCA and this was a great
achievement for them. We were delighted that Corinna Hauri, Chair of Europe Region WAGGGS came to Ireland to present the awards. Also, when talking to the Guides doing the CCA we realised how important the FBM programme was to them and how it had impacted on each of them. The Free Being Me (FBM) program continues to run into 2016. If you have signed up but not yet completed the badge or have yet to sign up, don't miss out on this fantastic program to have a lasting impact on the self-esteem and body confidence of our young members. See Page 32 for further details. Also, keep an eye on the CGI and FBM Facebook pages and the CGI website for more information.
A new year is on the way and the possibilities are endless
Notes (1) You have all received an additional OGM pull out document with this Guider's Link which shows lots of handy tips on how to use the system. I hope all Units have had a chance to log in and use this fantastic tool and if not, now is the time to familiarise yourself with it.
You have all received an additional OGM pull out document with this Guider's Link which shows lots of handy tips on how to use the system. I hope all Units had a chance to log in and use this fantastic tool and if not, now is the time to familiarise yourself with it. I am delighted as Chief Commissioner, and on behalf of the National Executive Board, to extend the warmest of Christmas greetings to every member of the Catholic Guides of Ireland and their families at this special time. It is also a time to remember our friends and all our fellow Guides and Scouts at home and away at this time of year. A very Big Thank You to each and every one of you for all the time and commitment youhave given to CGI throughout the past year. A Happy and Peaceful Christmas to you all. Cecilia Browne Chief Commissioner
(2) The Free Being Me (FBM) program continues to run in to 2016. If you have signed up but not yet completed the badge or have yet to sign up, don't miss out on this fantastic program to have a lasting impact on the self esteem and body confidence of our young members. See Page 32 for further details. Also, keep an eye on the CGI and FBM Facebook pages and the CGI website for more information. www.girlguidesireland.ie 3
NOTICEBOARD UPCOMING NATIONAL EVENTS Ranger Weekend
13th-15th November 2015
Cygnet & BrigĂn Day
5th December
Unit Leader Training
11-13th March
Guider Training Step I
11-13th March
Guider Conference
15-17th April
National Council
17th April
Zoo Day (all Sections)
7th May
Ranger Skills Day
18th June
REGIONAL TRAININGS First Aid (South-Western Region)
Saturday 21st November
Guider Training Step 1 (South-Western Region)
15th/16th January
Child Protection (South-Western Region)
TBC
RESOURCE DATES International Day of Democracy
15th September
International Day of Peace
21st September
International Day of Older Persons
1st October
International Day of the Girl Child
11th October
United Nations Day
24th October
International Women's Day
8th March (2016)
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NEWS FROM THE NEB •
Michelle Coffey, Eastern Region was co-opted as National Commissioner for Communications.
•
Siobhan Mullins, South West Region was co-opted as an Ordinary Member.
•
The Guider Conference will be held in conjunction with National Council 16th / 17th April 2016 at the Carlton Hotel, Dublin Airport.
•
CIGA put forward a nomination for Yvonne Browne to be elected to the WAGGGS Europe Committee.
•
A full review of all CGI policies is taking place.
•
The Scout Shop prices have been amended, some increases / decreases full list available from the National Office.
•
Garda Vetting/ Access NI: Rangers aged 17.5 should be vetted and a reminder that no adult can take part in overnight activities until they are Garda Vetted/ Access NI approved.
NEW MEMBER OF STAFF Last October, we said farewell to Yvonne Nulty as our National Office administrator. We wish her all the best in her new adventure. We would also like to welcome Emma Lyons, our new administrator, who, no doubt, you will get to know all of you in time to come!
UNIFORM REVIEW UPDATE During the 2014 National Council, a resolution was passed to review our current uniform. A committee has been established with representatives from each Region. Since ourselves as Leaders and the Cygnets right up to Rangers wear uniforms we encourage you to get involved with the review, a facilitator pack to help you get the girl's opinions as well as your own are available online and will be shortly emailed to each Unit Leader, an online survey will also be available. Now is the chance to have your say! So please get involved. Uniform Review Committee
Don't forget: Order your Free Being Me badges! Have you completed the programme, or maybe you’re in the final stages?
evaluation form and order your badges from the National Office or the Northern Region Office. Evaluation Forms are available on the CGI website.
Don’t forget to submit your
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CHIEF COMMISSIONER AWARD 2015 Croke Park, Dublin 26th September
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CYGNETS Hi Everyone,
Christmas crafts
Christmas is in the air and winter is here. Here are some Christmas themed crafts and games that Cygnets will love. This year there is also a Cygnet Christmas competition, details below. I would love to see as many colourful entries as possible, so please send your entries into the office. Lastly, I would like to wish all the Cygnets, their Leaders and their families a very Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Year for 2016. Yours in Guiding, Erica Tyndall National Commissioner for Cygnets PS: Don’t forget to send in your Christmas meeting and craft photos to the Guiders Link – so we can see what you all got up to!
Santa Hat Christmas Ornament What you need: • • • • •
Wooden ice-cream sticks PVA glue or a hot glue gun (optional) Red paint & paintbrush or markers Cotton wool balls or white pom poms String or ribbon for hanging
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Christmas Cookie Decorating What you need: • • • •
•
Plain biscuits or homemade biscuits Various colours of icing (icing sugar & food dye) Writing icing pens Sprinkles, hundreds and thousands, nuts and other decorations Wooden ice cream sticks
Instructions:
Instructions: 1. To start the Cygnets need to glue three wooden ice cream sticks together to form a triangle. 2. Next paint the wooden ice cream sticks or decorate with markers. 3. Glue cotton balls along the bottom of the hat, and glue one right on top as a bauble. 4. Lastly, tie or glue on a piece of string or ribbon to hang the Cygnets ornaments.
What's that song? This is a great game to play with the Cygnets. To play, get a Christmas CD and play some well-known Christmas songs for a few seconds. The aim is to see who can recognize the name of the song the quickest? To make some songs a bit harder, try starting the song in the middle or near the very end.
Place the icing in individual bowls so the Cygnets can easily reach them. You can make a large batch of plain white icing and dye the smaller bowls with coloured food dyes. 1. Lay out the biscuits on a sheet of baking paper or plastic tablecloth to minimise the mess. 2. Let the Cygnets choose the colours and patterns they want make as they spread the icing using wooden ice cream sticks or plastic spoons. 3. Cygnets can use the icing pens, sprinkles and sweets to decorate on top of the icing. 4. Once finished, plate up their creations for all to admire and eat.
Christmas Tree Craft What you need: • • •
Christmas themed / coloured cupcake cases Star stickers Glue
Instructions:
Getting Out & About this Winter Try collecting some pine cones to make into decorations. Depending on the time and day of your Cygnet meeting - it may be too dark at this time of year to do this. However Cygnets can even do this themselves and bring the pine cones down to their meetings. After collecting the pine cones they can be left for a while to dry out and then spray painted (outside) for Christmas. Cygnets can even make them into Christmas tree ornaments or just spray painted for decoration.
1. Fold a cupcake case in quarters to make a triangle shape. 2. Do this with at least 3 or 4 cases and then layer them, with the points all pointing up to the top. This will create the shape of a tree. 3. Glue each one down and Cygnets can decorate with a gold star on the top. Note: Different colours cupcake cases will create a lot of different styles and designs for this really simple craft. This idea can easily be adapted, try this craft on the front of a plain folded A4 card and you have created Christmas cards.
Cotton Ball Snowman What You Need: • • • • • •
White, black, and blue card or heavy paper Scissors & glue Cotton wool or cotton balls Orange and brown pipe cleaners Assorted small buttons or sequins Google eyes
Instructions
on a piece of the card, you will need one sheet per Cygnet and you can photocopy your template if you like. Alternatively you can log in to the members section on the CGI website and download a PDF version of a template under the Cygnet section. 2. Have the Cygnets glue cotton balls all over their snowmen. 3. Attach google eyes or tiny circles for the eyes. 4. Some older Cygnets may be able to draw a cut a hat on black card or alternately they can draw one directly onto the card and decorate with colours. 5. The Cygnets then have to fold a small piece of orange pipe cleaner in half and glue it onto the snowman’s head for a carrot nose and glue three small buttons or sequins in a row on the snowman’s tummy. 6. The last part is to create two stick arms from the brown pipe cleaners and glue them onto the snowman’s body; trick would be to stick the conning part under the cotton wool so it is not easily seen from the front.
1. Create a snowman template
Cygnet Christmas competition To enter Cygnets have to decorate their own Christmas tree ornament. They can be decorated in any way they like using this template (right). You can download the full-size template on the CGI website.
Please send all entries to: National Commissioner for Cygnets C/O National Office 12 Clanwilliam Tce, Grand Canal Quay, D02 DE76
Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries. Closing date for entries is Friday 18th December 2015 Cygnet Christmas Competition 2015
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BRIGÍNÍ Hi all, It's hard to believe that Christmas is just round the corner. I look forward to seeing many of you at The Brigín Christmas Day on 5th December. If you have any craft or games that your Unit enjoy - why not send them into me and I can share on the page here.
Christmas crafts Rudolph Puzzle Piece Pin You will need: •
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas & New Year Yours in Guiding, Suzanne Stuart. National Commissioner for Brigíni
• • • • • •
3 old puzzle pieces. (2 small & 1 medium size - you can get these from the same puzzle, just pick through to find smaller and bigger pieces or you can get the medium sized one from a child's puzzle and the 2 small from an adult's puzzle). 1 bottle of brown paint 2 small wiggly eyes. 1 piece of red & green felt. craft pin. 1 glue gun. 1 small bell (optional).
Instructions: •
First paint the puzzle pieces brown and let dry.
•
Once dry, take the small puzzle pieces and glue them to the larger one in the corners only.
•
Attach the wiggly eyes.
•
Cut out a small red circle for the nose and glue. (or use a small red pom pom instead).
•
•
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In the corner of one of Rudolph's antlers make a small holly leaf from red and green felt. On the reverse of the medium size puzzle piece, attach the craft pin.
Chocolate Mint Spoons You will need: • • • •
1 red plastic spoon 2 plain chocolate bars (no nuts) crushed peppermint gold ribbon
Instructions: 1. Melt 2 Chocolate bars 2. Dip spoons in melted chocolate. 3. Immediately dip choc. covered spoon in crushed peppermint 4. Tie a thin gold ribbon on spoon handle. 5. Attach this poem through ribbon: Try Chocolate-Mint coffee, Mum It's tasty as can be And while you drink it, Mum You can think of me. XOXOXO
Christmas Games for Brigins Orange Head Game Aim The objective of the Orange Head Christmas game is to keep an orange aloft between the fore heads of two people until they reach the finish line. Instructions for movement are given by a Leader.
by the Leader are as follows: 1. Two steps forward 2. Three steps to the left 3. Two steps forward 4. Three steps to the right 5. Jump! 6. Kneel 7. Crawl forward two paces 8. Stand 9. Cross the line!
Aim
Items required The items required to play this Christmas game are as follows:
Reindeer Race Game
• •
Aim
Oranges String or ribbon (to tie the hands)
Number of Players needed •
Unlimited
This Christmas game is suitable for kids or adults.
The objective of the Reindeer Race Game is to create a 'Reindeer' with three people and race to the winning line. A large space is required for this game to be played! How to Play
How to Play
The instructions on how to play Reindeer Race Game are as follows:
The instructions on how to play Orange Head Game are as follows:
•
1. Players should be divided into pairs 2. Only one pair plays at a time 3. An orange is placed between the heads of the players Their hands are tied behind their backs! 4. The players have to cross the finish line. One player starts with their back to the finish line. The Leader shouts out instructions to the players which they have to follow! 5. The pair makes the next round when they pass the finish line. The winners are the last pair 'standing'
Frosty the Snowman Game
The 'Reindeer' is formed by two people making the front and the body of the Reindeer. One player stands upright (the front). The body is made by the second player, behind the first player, bending over and holding the first player's waist. The third player is 'Santa' who rides on the back of the second player. The teams have a race to the finish line!
Number of Players needed •
This is the season to wrap Christmas gifts and presents, but not usually people! This team game puts fast wrapping skills to the test! The objective of the Frosty the Snowman Christmas game is to cover 'Frosty the Snowman' from head to foot with toilet paper except for the eyes! The first team to wrap the snowman wins the Christmas game. Items required •
Rolls of Toilet Paper
Number of players •
Two - but more people can be added to make a team bigger game.
Who can play This Christmas game is suitable for kids or adults! How to Play •
Split into teams of two people
•
Team to select their 'Frosty'
•
The 'Wrapper' must wrap the toilet roll around until only the eyes show
•
First team to finish wins!
A minimum of two teams consisting of 3 people.
Instructions •
The Instructions to be shouted www.girlguidesireland.ie 13
N A T I O N A L
Cygnet
Brigín
C H R I S T M A S
Where?
How much?
Harrington Street, Dublin
€10.00 per Cygnet & Brigín Transport if required: €12.00 per person incl. adults
When? Saturday 5th December 2015 11:00am to 4:00pm
Closing date 6th November 2015
Activities on the day will include a trip to the Chocolate Factory along with fun and games!
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T.O.E. CAMP 2016
WHAT IS T.O.E.?
WHO CAN ATTEND T.O.E.?
An activity weekend camp that is run jointly by the Scout Association and the Catholic Guides of Ireland
The camp is open to any Guide/Ranger Company or Scout Troop. A total of 600 places are available.
WHEN AND WHERE
HOW CAN I BOOK PLACES?
Friday 24 to Sunday 26th June 2016 in Crawfordsburn Scout Centre, Crawfordsburn, Co. Down
All bookings must be made online via this link: https://toecamp.membersportal.co, we will be accepting online payments this year. Bookings will open in November and will close on 29th February or whenever all the places have been allocated. (Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis)
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? £50.00 Guides/Scouts and £25.00 for Leader/ Staff. (All Leaders are expected to help out on the weekend as staff). This includes all meals and a chance to take part in a wide variety of activities on Saturday including water based activities such as canoeing, scuba diving, swimming as well as archery, climbing, assault courses and much more. On Saturday evening we have the famous TOE disco, the fun continues on Sunday at the Village Fete with all money raised going to a local children's charity.
Please note that bookings are not confirmed until we have received payment of a £10 deposit per person. • •
• •
All payments should be made in sterling Bookings Close: 29th February 2016 (Or whenever all the places have been allocated) Final Payments: 30th April 2016 Return of Health forms: 15th May 2016
GUIDES 'Tis the season of charity
Hi Everyone, Hope you are all settled in to the Guiding year 20152016. The Guide Section has started off with a bang as the Chief Commissioner Awards ceremony with 37 girls receiving their awards, congratulations to all. It was fantastic so see to many of you at “I'm a Guide get my out of here” and hope you had a great weekend and have recovered. Wishing you a happy, peaceful Christmas and a happy new year to all our Guiding family and friends. Hoping 2016 will bring fun, friendships and adventure. Yours in Guiding, Geraldine Conway National Commissioner for Guides
Continuing on from the generous charitable work that was carried out during the Chief Commissioner Awards how about creating a Christmas goodies box for a local charity in your area for children that are less fortunate for example your local women’s refuge centre.
Penny the Penguin Ingredients • • • • •
• •
3 jumbo chocolate buttons 150g icing made from royal icing sugar 3 walnut whips 100g chocolate flavour ready-toroll fondant icing 3 red fruit pastilles (we used Tesco as they look like wooly hats) 1 orange fruit pastille black writing icing
Method Step one – Half the buttons and place together and pair with round sides touching to create feet. Remove walnut from the walnut whip and discard/eat. Place a small amount of icing onto the feet and place walnut on top. Step two - Divide the fondant into three equal parts. Roll the first piece into a sausage shape that is wide in the middle and thin at the ends. Flatten the ends to make Penny’s flippers. Place the sausage on top of the walnut whip and shape the fat
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middle section into a head. Leave the flippers to hang free at the sides. Step three - To decorate, put the remaining royal icing into a piping or plastic bag and snip a tiny bit off the end. Pipe a circle on the front of each penguin. Pipe two dots for eyes. Pipe a circle on top of each head and stick on a fruit pastille. Pipe a blob on top for a bobble. Step four – Cut three triangle shapes from the orange fruit pastille and stick to the face to create a beak. Using the black writing icing, pipe black dots in the centre of each eye. Leave to set.
Guide Christmas Mayhem Why not have a fun filled Christmas themed party night with games such as: Fill the Christmas stocking - Play this game in patrols and have the girls race to fill a hanging stocking with a spoonful of wrapped sweets e.g. Roses. Build an ice sculpture - Freeze coloured water ahead of time in ice-cube trays, jelly molds and yogurt containers. Place all materials on outdoor tables and have participants build sculptures or totem poles or whatever else the girl imagine.
Badge Badgechallenge challenge Take a walk on your creative side
Christmas dice gift exchange - Have everyone sit in a circle and start with a gift. Play a Christmas carol while two dice are being passed around (space them out). Each person rolls and passes the dice. If they roll a six, they can trade packages with whomever they want. At the end of the song, everyone keeps the package in front of her. Great alternative to secret Santa.
Why not start your 2016 off with a creative mind set as January is the month of national hobbies, design a new badge for a hobby you love. If you’re feeling extra creative, why not submit your new badge to guides@ girlguidesireland.ie your never know your design may make it into our guide programme.
Campfire Christmas tune Songs Why not give this song a go at your next campfire the tune is very catching and fits in nicely with this time of year. "The 12 days of Guide camp On the first day of Guide camp My leader gave to me ... "A scrub brush for the portaloo"
3rd ... three logs to chop 4th ... four cans of beans 5th ... five leaky buckets 6th ... six stinky socks 7th ... seven slimy sneakers 8th ... eight rusty saws 9th ... nine muddy boots 10th ... ten burned fingers 11th ... 11 wet sleeping bags 12th ... 12 homesick guides
2nd ... two burned saucepans
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RANGERS Hi Everyone, Hope that you all have a great Christmas and I am looking forward to the start of an exciting 2016 for Rangers. Yours in Guiding, Trish Derwin. National Commissioner for Rangers
Christmas crafts Snowy Jar A simple and easy to make jar craft that’s perfect for the holiday season. Items needed : • • • • • •
Decoupage (Glue-Sealer-Finish) Spray sealer Epsom salt Glass jars Brush Optional: twine, Christmas picks
Instructions : 1. Begin by covering the jar with decoupage glue
of the jar and hot glue mixed berries and picks.
2. Cover the entire jar with epsom 4. NB: If you are worried about the salts falling off, apply another salt. This will make the jar appear coat of decoupage on top of like it’s covered in snow. It also the salt after it has dried to the looks beautiful when a candle is jar or you can purchase a spray lit. sealer as well. 3. Tie twine around the mouth
Get in touch! Rangers, if you have a particular item that you would like to appear in the Guider’s Link please forward it to me. Please let me have your ideas for camps/weekends/activities that you would like included in your Ranger programme.
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Snowman Materials required: • • • • • •
A pair of old white socks that are ribbed at the ankles Buttons Needle and Thread Some oddments of material (for scarf ) Elastic band Rice
How to make 1. First, cut off the top of the sock from the foot. 2. Turn the sock inside out and attach a rubber band tightly to the top of the sock. Then turn the sock right-side out again. 3. Fill the sock with rice. Make sure to pack it down as you go so the sock gets a nice round base. 4. Rubber band the top of the sock closed and put another rubber band 3/4 of the way to the top for the head of your snowman.
Christmas crossword Across 1, What some Scottish people like to eat for Christmas Dinner. (6) 2, Who King Herod killed. (6) 4, Sound a cracker makes. (4) 7, The first Carol 'Angels _____'. (4) 9, Hark the _____ Angel Sings. (6) 10, What candles first represented on Christmas Trees. (5) 11, _____ Peter who sometimes travels with St Nicholas. (5) 12, What Epiphany is known as in Spain, '_____ de los tres Reyes Mages'. (6) 14, Another name for things like a Nativity crib scene. (4) 15, A decoration found in a lot of homes. (4) 16, The instrument that Silent Night had to be learnt to! (6) 17, Two of the legendary Wisemen had these. (6)
Down 1, Where a yule log is put to burn. (6) 3, People who started Wassailing, the Anglo ____. (6) 5, The place where the thickest ice was found. The _____. (9) 6, One of the gifts from the Magi. (4) 8, A plant you can kiss under! (9) 11, The 26th of December is also known as '_____ Day'. (6) 12, Some people do this during advent to help them prepare for Christmas. (4) 13, Who told the Shepherds about Jesus? (6)
5. Now, decorate! 6. Tie a scarf around your snowman's neck and add eyes, nose, and buttons. 7. Use the toe of your cut socks to fashion a stocking cap. 8. You can either sew or glue on your buttons, and add embellishments - twine, bows, ribbons, etc. - as needed.
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TRAINING Hi Everyone, I hope you’re all getting familiar with Online Guide Manager, it’s a great tool that will help us organise our unit administration and will help us keep track of our personal Guider training records. Don’t forget, any questions contact the OGM team on ogm@ girlguidesireland.ie Mandy Bradley National Commissioner for Training
IT Tips Did you know you can make an app from any web page?
For Android users
For Apple/IOS users
Open the website you want on Open the website you want on Safari, the internet, select menu tab on the bottom left on your handset tap on the square with the arrow (opposite the back button), click coming out of it on the bottom middle of the screen, select 'Option', 'Add shortcut', it will appear on one of your home screens after a few add to home screen, rename if you minutes. need to (i.e. short form of name), click add, it will appear on one of Why not try it now with the CGI your home screens. website and OGM!
National Unit Leader Course This is an opportunity for you to meet other Unit leaders from around the country to look at issues/concerns for unit leaders. Book your place now for the National Unit Leader Course – it’ll be held 11-13 March 2016 (venue to be confirmed). Also open to section leaders. Cost: €50 per guider. Closing date: 19th February 2016
National Guider Training Step 1 This course is for all Trainee Guiders. Start your Guider Training with other guiders from around the country. 20 Guiders Link Vol. 4
When? 11-13 March 2016 Where? TBC (will be same venue as Unit Leader Course)
How much? €50 per person Closing date 9th February 2016
It's back!
All Sections Zoo Day When? 7th May 2016
Where? Dublin Zoo!
How much? €10 per girl Transport if required: €12 per person incl. adults
OUTDOORS Hi All
CHOICES Pre enrolment
Welcome to the winter edition of Guider's Link, I hesitate to use the Christmas word but by the time you are reading this it will be all around us. Winter is a hard time for us to keep the out and about in Guiding but it’s also a great time for hikes, shorter ones albeit due to the short days but what’s better than being out in the air on a crisp fresh frosty day. So get out there and enjoy the fresh air and the colours of autumn and winter. It has been great to see so many of our groups on summer camp this year, as you all know I am a big advocate of summer camp and great to see Companies heading to so many different venues. Make sure and read all of there reports in the Around Ireland section. I had the pleasure of attending Ventact this year in Kilcully and what a fabulous camp for Rangers, I hope to see lots more of you there next year. Well done to Maria and her team for pulling together a fabulous camp. I am going to focus a bit in this edition on outdoor badges; I will look at the Guide badges in this edition and focus on the Brigin badges in the next Link. Emily McCann, National Commissioner for Outdoors
Are you heading out on your hike for your pre-enrolment challenge? You have the option to complete 2 of the following: •
Take part in a tracking activity
•
Use two of the knots listed in a practical everyday manner
•
Go on a hike
•
Learn and practise the country code
•
Draw a poster to remind people of the country code
I would encourage you to do the hike, take your recruits and your PL’s, it definitely gives you all a chance to get to know one another. There is great information in your CHOICES book about preparing for your hike, refer to it and make the girls aware of it. Then you can build one of the other options into your hike and you have completed your outdoor pre enrolment challenge. Leading on from this why you don’t look at the hiker badge, After all you have the first hike completed. Or build your hike around the local nature reserve and that will bring you onto your Nature lover badge. Or do you have a local meteorological centre, why not hike to there and you have completed the first part of your weather girl badge.
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Outdoor badge ideas Hiker Badge Do Take part in three different hikes of at least 2 miles in length each. Choose 2 of the following •
keep a record book detailing all the hikes you have done
•
Know what clothes to wear while hiking
•
Know the rules to use while hiking in the country – road and country side
•
Give examples of at least 6 different hikes
•
Have a small first aid kit for use on hikes
Indoor Camping Badge Did you attend the "I’m a Guide" in Mellary? Then use it as part of your Indoor camping badge. “Get on the Trail “ Make sure to build all of your badges into your CHOICES programme – a lot of the badge requirements will fit into the “Get on the Trail" section of your CHOICES programme. E.g. plan and go on a hike with your patrol . Remember the suggestions in CHOICES are just that – suggestions! So use your imagination and fit your imagination to the programme.
Sleepover with a difference
Everest
In the past week I did a sleepover with a difference with our Guides and Rangers, we did a sleepover in the Irish National Heritage park, our Rangers bivvyed out in the look out tower of the fort while our Guides slept in the Viking hut within the fort, the Guiders, well we “slept” around the fire, true Viking-style. So we weren’t ravaged by wolves or bears, much to the disappointment of some of our Guides, Vikings didn’t come up the river in the long boat but we did cook our supper over an open fire and had the most marvellous experience, the big question now is where will our next fabulous sleepover be ... Maybe the heritage park again and this time we will sleep in the long boat in preparation for those Vikings.
I hope many of you have had the opportunity to go see the film Everest, I got to see it last night and it is a great insight into what you can achieve if you have determination, so whereas our mountain top event may not be achieving Everest it could be climbing your local mountain, completing a challenge that we would have thought was beyond us.
Have you had a sleepover anywhere different? Let us know so we can share with all of the other Companies. So this will be a challenge completed for us for the outdoor event with our Company, one ticked off and ready to go. Cygnets If you’re out and about remember your nature walk is one of the requirements of your Environment Challenge badge or take a visit to your local farm and fulfil another requirement Rangers Remember if you take part in a camping weekend it forms part of the requirements for your Oisin Challenge or maybe your special skills challenge could be kayaking or another outdoor pursuit
A good programme idea that I have to accredit to Beverley Goggins of Wexford Town Unit is to take your Rangers to see Everest, then the following week work on your map and compass and hiking skills. Further to this you might like to research Yasuko Namba who up to 1996 was the oldest woman to summit Everest at 47, you can also find out about the other 6 summits she achieved in her lifetime. Everest opens up so many stories, books, and films and can provide many programme ideas. Did you know that there are two base camps on Everest, on in Nepal on the south side and one in Tibet on the north side. Why not organise your own Everest night and set up your base camp, get your Guides to write down there Everest aim, plan your next hike, plan all your hikes in order to achieve your hiker badge , look at Nepal as a country, explore what calls mountain climbers to climb Everest. I hope I have given you some ideas to keep the outdoors in your programme for the winter season. Hope to see many of you at the next national events and may I take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy and safe Christmas.
Badge Competition We're asking Guides and Rangers to propose a centenary badge for all Sections to commemorate the 1916 Rising, which will have happened 100 years ago next year. This once-in-a-lifetime competition is open to Guides and Rangers only. Send your entries into National Office before the closing date, 7th December, 2015.
Entries are free of charge
Guiders' Guiders'Conference Conference2016 2016 Open Call for members to become part of the Planning Team for CGI Conference 2016 We would love to get representation from each Region of CGI involved with the planning team for Conference 2016. What is the Conference about? The Conference will take place in April and although at the planning stages you can be assured we know that it will involve opportunities to meet up with old friends make some new friends , share ideas, learn some new skills have some fun and most importantly celebrate being part of the Guiding Family in the year of 2016.
You may ask what are the requirements for this role? We want passionate, organised Guiders of the association to come together to plan and prepare an event which will be open to all Guiders to attend.
The Big Question how often am I going to have to attend a meeting? We hope to save precious time by having minimal face to face meetings and utilising communication tools like skype, email and the traditional telephone to organise the event.
"I’m only starting out as a leader what if I don’t feel I have the skills to get involved?" Or how about you have been a Leader for a number of years and feel you have “been there done that”. This is open to all Guiders from 18yrs up, we would love to have a mix of ages on the committee so we can ensure the conference has something for everyone. If you have attended conferences in the past you can help us to make this a great conference by sharing your experience. All we are asking is that when becoming part of the committee is that you have the motivation and commitment to follow tasks through and are willing to work with a great team of women for what will be a great event. If interested in getting involved please get in touch and tell us in a few words why you would like be part of this committee.
Please contact admin@girlguidesireland.ie to register your interest by 13th November 2015.
INTERNATIONAL Hello Everyone! It's not too late to start planning and attend a Summer camp in 2016. There's lots on in the World Centres and various camps across Europe. Check out the new and improved WAGGGS website www.wagggs. org and www.europak-online.net for what's happening in Europe for Guides and Scouts. Europak is sharing all the great work that guides and scouts are doing across Europe to help people caught in the Refugee crisis. A number of opportunities for Leaders have not been taken up and this is a real pity. Please keep an eye on the Guiders Link, CGI and CGI International Facebook pages and even sign yourself up for the WAGGGS mailings to know what's going on in the international world of Guiding and apply when opportunities arrive. Don't think, they're not for me or I don't have the skills, if something interests you, get in touch! Also, don't forget, you can always go visit the world centres on your own, while on your own travels, with family or with Guides, you don't have to be with a CGI group or an organised event to visit the world centres so stop by and check them out. We're nearing the end of 2015. The Millennium Development Goals have reached their end and it's time for a new set of global goals as there is still work to be done. And so, the Sustainable Development Goals have been brought together and agreed upon. Read on the following pages about their inception, what they are exactly and what the aims for the new SDGs will be. CGI took on the MDGs, in various badge and challenge forms, and will be looking at the SDGs to make sure they are included going forward. Wishing great guiding experiences to all. Yours in Guiding, Louise Browne. International Commissioner
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Get ready for the UN's new Global Goals As the largest organisation for girls and young women in the world, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) movement, including CGI, have supported girls for over 100 years to contribute to solutions to poverty and inequality in their communities by being agents of change. In 2008, WAGGGS launched the Global Action Theme, centred on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which called on members of all ages to make an individual commitment to change the world around them. The MDGs programme indirectly reached more than 3.8 million girls and young women in over 100 countries. Their achievements illustrate that when given the opportunity to lead, girls can be powerful agents of change. These MDGs expired this year and, although significant progress has been made, there is still a need to continue to invest in the potential of girls and cultivate leadership at all levels to ensure that they are supported to continue to change the world around them.
The new ‘Global Goals for Sustainable Development Goals’ Last September, all the nations of the World committed to 17 new 'Global Goals for Sustainable Development' to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years: End extreme poverty, fight inequality & injustice and fix climate change. Unlike the previous MDGs, these Goals are for everyone living in rich and poor countries. In a globalised world, we influence other people’s lives like never before. Simple acts like buying a new pair of shoes puts us in connection with the people who made them in factories
in Asia or Africa. Towards these new Goals, WAGGGS wants to mobilise Girl Guides and Girl Scouts across the world because it is only when girls are fully empowered and meaningfully engaged in the process of change at all levels, will they be the part of the solution that they are capable of being. That means CGI has an important role to play in making the world fairer and more sustainable for everyone at home and abroad! Stay tuned for news of WAGGGS' new Global Action Theme related to these goals.
Why not start by telling everyone? Why not start by having your Unit spread the word about the new Goals online? The UN needs your help to share the Goals. In conversation, on e-mail, in debate, on products, at home, at work, at school – whatever
it takes to Tell Everyone. The more people who know about the Global Goals for sustainable development, the more successful they’ll be. If we all fight for them, our leaders will make them happen. So they need to be famous.
To learn more, log onto http://www.globalgoals.org/tell-everyone/
What to do •
Download the app and tell everyone
•
Take your Global Goals Selfie and tell everyone
•
Do your dizzy goal and tell everyone
•
Record and star in a global video - We The People and tell everyone
•
Choose a social share from below and tell everyone
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CIGA Service Project Sangam, India 23rd June - 10th July 2015
D
espite the amount of preparation and background work we did, reading and hearing about it is nothing like experiencing it for yourself. Sangam is a life changing experience. It is hard to put into words what we experienced - from the squat toilets to being looked at like monkeys in a zoo, from the bus rides to the overnight train, and from the immense feeling of welcomness from the Indian people to our time in Sangam, it is like no other experience. Our stay at Sangam is one we will always cherish. We learned so much about WAGGGS and the staff there became friends of ours very
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quickly. They made our stay very memorable by organising events such as our welcoming ceremony, tours around the local area of Mumbai, our costume night, Bollywood dancing and, of course, our Indian culture day, where we got to wear our Saris and say our farewells.
Sangam is a life-changing experience. Our main reason for the trip was for our project with the Door Step Schools. These are schools that provide education and support for children in the marginalised sections of the Indian society who live on
construction sites. Our project was to teach them English, hygiene and health. It was very tough to see how little these children have and yet amazing to see how happy they were and how eager they were to learn from us. It was great to watch how much they grew and learnt within a week. They were a joy to spend time with every day. Their teachers were incredible people, whom we admire so much. They wanted to learn from us as well and they made us feel at home from the minute we were introduced. We faced many challenges throughout our stay; eating food using just our hands, the heat and humidity, and trying to cross the roads were three main ones. The
roads were chaotic, cars, bikes, motorbikes, rickshaws and even cows coming from every direction! It was hard to say our goodbyes to our friends at Sangam. They were supportive throughout our stay and we can’t thank them enough for everything they did for us. As our project finished, we set off on our tour of Agra, Jaipur and Delhi, all of which were uniquely wonderful. Every day was a new memory, the laughs and tears were all worth it. We are both so thankful to everyone who helped make it possible for us to go. We can’t thank you enough for your support and help with our fundraising. We are so grateful for
Every day was a new memory, the laughs and tears were all worth it. getting this opportunity and it will be one we will never forget. We learned so much from the trip that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Being the only two CGI girls going, we were warmly welcomed by our fellow IGG team mates. We couldn’t
have gotten any more support from CGI with our fundraising and all those in CGI that helped and supported us. The whole experience went beyond our expectations. We went as two CGI girls not knowing any of our fellow IGG team mates but we came back with a family of CIGA women. We would strongly urge every girl guide to go and experience it for yourself, its one trip you won’t regret! Big thank you to CGI for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime. Kate Fitzpatrick and Olivia O’Callaghan
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World Centre Events Check out the great travel opportunities this year!
SANGAM, PUNE, INDIA Love, Dance & Yoga Join us this Indian winter for a 3-day Spirit Festival that celebrates the body, mind & soul. The event schedule includes: Bollywood, Free-form & Modern Dance Classes, Meditation Sessions and Mini Sessions with Reiki, Reflexology, Tarot, Face Reading & More
4 - 6 December 2015
15 - 21 December 2015 Essence of India III This is a great introduction to the diversity of this ancient, yet ever changing (3 similar events held each year) country. Immerse yourself in Indian culture through dance, fashion and food. For All ages Discover the colourful city of Pune, through visits to its diverse sites. Learn about Community Leadership, Advocacy and projects in WAGGGS and witness first-hand the work of Sangam’s Community Partners.Type: Sangam Cultural event
OUR CABAÑA, MEXICO 29 – January 6 2016 (8 nights – over New Year Event 13) Welcome the New Year while you meet and work with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from other countries. Take part in a Service Project, learn about Mexico and its culture and travel to fantastic places. Thinking Day and Monarch Butterfly Event During this event, we will celebrate Thinking Day with Mexican Guides and we will travel to Valle de Bravo to visit the Sanctuary of the Monarch Butterfly.
18 - 26 February 2016 (8 nights)
Summer Friendship Sessions Meet and work with Girl Guides and Girl Scout from other countries. Take part in a Service Project, learn about Mexico and its culture and travel to fantastic places.
During various dates in June, July and August 2016 (8 nights duration – over 13)
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OUR CHALET, SWITZERLAND Christmas in the Alps 2015 Come to Our Chalet and enjoy a fully catered week with exciting activities and a special Christmas Celebration
20 December 2015- 26 December 2015
Rover Week 2016 Rover Week 2014 is an international Winter Event for Rangers, Rovers and Adult Leaders: female & male members of WAGGGS or WOSM aged 18 years and over
3 January 2016- 8 January 2016
Mini Breaks (low season) 2016 These Mini Breaks are perfect short getaways for Guide and Scout groups and their families who enjoy Spring and Autumn activities in nature while visiting aWorld Centre.
October 2015 - April 2016 (3 night duration)
Winter Adventure Packages 2016 Fully catered events created for groups and families who enjoy winter activities. During the winter months, visit Our Chalet for any 3, 5 or 7 consecutive days of winter activities! Winter Adventure Packages are fully catered events created for groups and families who enjoy winter activities.
11 January 2016 - 28 February 2016 (4,6 or 8 nights duration)
Summer events 2016 - Mini Swiss Challenge These are shorter versions of our most popular events, offering opportunities to find challenge, adventure and peace for your soul. A lifetime experience full of adventure, challenge, nature, friends and fun!
7 June 2016 - 28 August 2016 (4 nights, either Age 16-25 or Age 12-18)
PAX LODGE - LONDON, UK New Years in London Looking for a new exciting way to celebrate the New Year? With this programme you can pick and choose what sessions you want to come to – or you can spend the whole five days with us – either way you will have the chance to experience the excitement of the season in the capital with fireworks and new friends!
December 28- January 2, 2016
World Thinking Day Weekend and Open Days
20 and 21 February
Journey Through London is a week long summer event for girls to discover London with other members of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, participate in a community service project, and celebrate the international spirit of the movement in the city where it all began.
During June, July and August
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Free Being Me News
Women in the World Summit As part of WAGGGS and the Dove self-esteem project, I was selected to go and attend the Women in the World summit with ‘Generation Girl’ which took place in London from the 6th9th October 2015.
The programme was based on feminism and women’s rights and gave us some great opportunities working on self-confidence, leadership skills and how to make a change in the world.
Tuesday We went out for dinner to a ping pong club called Bounce where we met and got to know all the other WAGGGS representatives from around the world. I met girls who came over from places such as Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, America, etc.
Wednesday This was the first day of our
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meeting, which took place in Edelman on Victoria Street. Our first meeting was with Tina Brown who is the founder of “Women in the World”, which was then followed by a talk from Anita Tiessen, the CEO of WAGGGS. We also had a master class with David Wilding from Twitter telling us about the different ways people use it. Our next speaker was Farrah Starr, who is the editor of Cosmopolitan. She told us about her journey and the power of stories. Then we were given a brief on the Women in the World event by Toby from Hey Human. Later that night, we went on a historic walk of London which was very interesting hearing about the women’s rights act and about being a feminist.
Thursday We started the day with Sarah, who was an Edelman employee, talking us through her journey in politics and importance of legislation and public policy change. Later, we had took a master class with Imogen from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) who gave us advice on being confident and getting over nerves. It involved some exercises such as speech improvisation, tone and breathing. That afternoon, we were visited by a very special guest singer/songwriter, Nina Nesbitt, who spoke to us about music, pressure as a young girl, following your dreams and handling criticism, That night, we all got dressed up and made our way to Camden Hall where we got the chance to walk the red carpet, then brought to our seats to hear some inspirational people talk such as Meryl Streep, the Queen of Jordan, Germany’s first federal minister of defence and more.
Friday Started off pretty early in the Dove
lounge for group photographs and meeting Tina Brown. Then continued with more amazing talks from people such as Nicole Kidman, Malala Yousafzai’s parents, and Theresa May. This lead into a mentor lunch at the restaurant Botanist. My mentors were Tanya Barron chief of Plan UK and Leena Nair who works on human resources. Later that evening, we were quietly taken out of the theatre and brought back down to the Dove lounge, all of us unaware of what was going on, to soon find out that we were about to meet the famous model/actress/singer Cara Delevingne. She asked me questions about Guides and we all had a photo taken with her. In the same room, we had got the chance to also meet
Kendall Jenner. Later Cara came on stage to give such an amazing talk about her career, family and how she battled with depression growing up. I had a fantastic few days in London, it was full of laughter and memories, being inspired and amazing to know you make a difference in the world. I have made new friends who are from all around the world and we have been inspired to be the next change makers in the world. Shannen Doran Eastern Region
Get involved in Free Being Me! Free Being Me unmasks society’s beauty myths - exposing airbrushing and challenging unhealthy body talk. Through a series of fun, interactive and thought-provoking activities, girls are challenged to stand up and take action to stop unhealthy body ideals affecting the next generation of girls. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and the Dove Self-Esteem Project set up the programme with the vision of creating a world free from appearance-related anxiety by boosting the confidence of a whole generation.
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DIVERSITY ACTIVITY
Potato Game Goal
people.”
To help youth eliminate stereotyping and recognise the uniqueness of each individual.
Pass around the bag of potatoes and ask each girl to take one potato. Tell each girl to “examine your potatoes, get to know its bumps, scars, and defects and make friends with it for about one minute or so in silence. Get to know your potato well enough to be able to introduce your ‘friend’ to the group.”
Time 20–30 minutes
Materials A brown paper bag, one potato for each girl in the group, and one potato for the teacher
Procedure Select one potato for your demonstration and have a story in mind to describe your potato to the group. Hold up your potato in front of the group and say, “I have here a potato. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought that much about potatoes. I’ve always taken them for granted. To me, potatoes are all pretty much alike. Sometimes I wonder if potatoes aren’t a lot like
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After a few minutes, tell girls that you’d like to start by introducing your “friend” to them. (Share a story about your potato and how it got its bumps.) Then tell girls that the group would like to meet their friends. Ask who will introduce their friend first. (Ask for several, if not all, to tell the group about their potatoes.)
are the same’? Why or why not?” Ask them to try to pick out their “friend.” Mix up the potatoes and roll them out onto a table. Ask everyone to come up and pick out their potatoes. After everyone has their potatoes and you have your “friend” back, say, “Well, perhaps potatoes are a little like people. Sometimes, we lump people of a group all together. When we think, ‘They’re all alike,’ we are really saying that we haven’t taken the time or thought it important enough to get to know the person. When we do, we find out everyone is different and special in some way, just like our potato friends.”
When enough girls have introduced their “friends” to the group, take the bag around to each person. Ask them to please put their “friends” back into the bag.
Discussion
Ask the group, “Would you agree with the statement ‘all potatoes
Ask girls to think about groups at
school or in the community that we tend to lump together. If they have trouble thinking of groups, you may want to prompt them with some of the following groups: •
kids in band
•
kids of a certain religion
•
kids in special education groupes
•
kids from a certain racial or ethnic group
•
kids who live in rural settings
•
kids who live in the city
•
all of the girls
•
all of the boys
Use groups that are relevant and meaningful for the group you are addressing. Discuss answers to the following questions: 1. When we lump everyone from the same group together and assume they all have the same characteristics, what are we doing? What is this called? 2. Do you know a lot of people from the groups we tend to lump together? Do they all fit the stereotype? 3. Why are stereotypes dangerous?
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COMMUNICATIONS I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself; my name is Michelle and I'm the new Commissioner for Communications. I have already contacted all the Unit Leaders and extended an invitation - which I now extend to you all - to please get in touch and let me know what you have to say about CGI. We are, first and foremost, about our members, the volunteers and the girls. So we want, and need, to hear your views on your organisation. The theme for World Thinking Day 2016 is "Connect" and so I'm asking you all to 'connect' with CGI by letting us know what it is you are doing at Unit and Region level. You can get in touch with me at pr@girlguidesireland.ie Yours in Guiding, Michelle Finnerty National Commissioner for Communications
AROUND IRELAND SOUTH-WESTERN REGION
Ventact 2015, Kilcully From the 4th to the 6th of September almost 600 Rangers and Venturers from all over Ireland gathered in Kilcully Scout Centre, Cork for the annual Ventact camp. Ventact is considered one of the best camps of the year and after our experience there we would highly recommend this camp. Every year there is a theme for the camp. This year was no exception with the theme being Harry Potter. We arrived at Kilcully at 6pm on the Friday to check in. We were assigned to the Gryffindor campsite. Other
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campsites included the other three houses from Harry Potter and the staff campsite known as the “Prison as Azkaban”. When we had settled in we got to take part in some introduction games which allowed us to meet other Rangers and Venturers. After that we went to the campfire. Thanks to this we now know lots of new campfire songs which we can pass on at other campfires. Then there was the leaders meeting where they were given our activity passes. The activity pass decided
where we got to go the next day. While we were waiting for our passes we watched a fire show. At midnight, when everyone was given their activity passes we were given the opportunity to swap them. We got great joy when we got the ones we wanted. We then went to bed assured that we would have an enjoyable next day. We woke to the sound of our wakeup call “Good Morning Vietnam”. After breakfast we took part in the flag ceremony. At half eight we set off on a fleet of buses
to our activity for the day. The activities were varied and all over Cork County which catered for everyone. Some of the activities were: Zip-it, Ballyhass Lakes Adventure Centre, Bootcamp at Spike Island, West Cork Adventure Centre, Glen Resource Centre, Monopoly Run in Cork City, waterskiing, and rafting and eco water fun. Our activity card allowed us to go to Zip-it in Farran Woods and rafting. It was something we had never experienced before, but it was great fun! We arrived back to camp at around half five and were happy to be visited by National Outdoor Commissioner Emily McCann and National Guide Commissioner Geraldine Conway who had come to experience Ventact for themselves.
We relaxed before getting ready for the disco which was of course Harry Potter themed. Everyone attended the Guides and Scouts Own Ceremony which was held outside as it was a lovely evening. During the ceremony, which was also attended by leaders of the Region, we reflected on the day and placed candles spelling out the word “Hope”. There was also a birds of prey show. For the disco, we all dressed up as characters from Harry Potter. If you didn’t want to go to the disco you could also have gone to a screening of a Harry Potter movie. It was an enjoyable night. Sunday we were again woken up to familiar sound of our morning call. More activities were planned,
including a bouncy castle and a water slide on that morning before we had to pack up and go home. We were sad the camp was over but we are looking forward to next year’s camp. Overall we would highly recommend this camp. You don’t need to worry about cooking as there was an outside catering van open for the majority of the camp. The activities were fantastic and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful. We hope to see more Rangers participate in 2016, as this year there weren’t many Rangers from CGI. and we feel you are missing out. Hope to see you all next year! Mary and Kate, St. Stephen’s Unit, South-Western Region
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Our Lady of Lourdes Link Up Ceremony 2015 On the 23rd of September 2015, members from both Our Lady of Lourdes, Ballinlough Cygnet, Brigin and Guide companies, were in attendance at the annual Link Up ceremony, held in the community hall in Ballinlough, which saw Cygnets move up to Brigini and Brigini to Guides. In total there was 15 moving up through the ranks within Our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady of Lourdes Brigin Company welcomed nine new Cygnets into their company. Our Lady of Lourdes Guide company welcomed six new Brigíni into their company. The new Cygnets who had moved up to the Brigíni company were welcomed to the company by leader Marian Hughes. The new brigini who had moved up to the Guide company were welcomed to the company by leader Catherine Fitzpatrick. We would like to wish all the girls the best of luck as they continue their guiding journey for years to come. Aoife O Donovan, Brigin Leader
St. Bridget’s Unit, Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry Our Brigín Year It has been a very interesting and fun year for our Brigin company in Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry. We commenced the year with 8 members. Our indoor programme included some very interesting badge work and creative arts and crafts. In the spring and summer, we were able to enjoy the outdoor activities. Our chosen activity badge for the first term was the’ collector’ badge and involved the girls either writing about and displaying a collection of things they already had, or forming a new collection. We had our Hallowe’en fancy-dress party in October and this was followed in November by an Indian 38 Guiders Link Vol. 4
themed night; in preparation for this, the girls made little Indian flags to decorate the hall and on the night itself came dressed in Indian style costumes-we had dinner consisting of several different curries, with naan bread and poppadum’s-very tasty and enjoyable! Next event was our annual Christmas cake sale. We drew posters for the cake sale and pictures to decorate the hall for the event. Our cake sale was, as always, well attended and we had a very generous contribution of baking from all the relatives and friends of Brigíns. We had been rather anxious that we would have less to sell than in previous years, owing to our current small numbers, but everyone really supported us so well in this,
and we are very grateful to the people who attended, bought cakes and raffle tickets, and who donated baking and prizes. Our spring term badge was ‘animal lover’ and the girls spent several meetings writing stories and pasting pictures of their pets into their scrapbooks. Some of them also found useful information on the internet on general pet-care and common animal illnesses etc. In March, we were visited by a member of the Sneem cat rescue centre, who came to check the girls’ scrapbook work and to present them with badges. She gave us a really interesting talk on her work with cats and stories of some of her favourites over the years.
During February, we talked about our patron Saint, Bridget and we celebrated Thinking Day with readings and prayers by candle and torch light. During March, we prepared for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Sneem - we won 3rd prize in the Walking Float category along with the Scouts. This was followed a few weeks later by an Easter egg hunt and once we had counted and divided (and eaten, in some cases!) our finds, we returned to the hall to make Easter cards. Our next badge was ‘Local Brigín Guide’ which focuses on the history and places of interest and importance in our local area. During April, when weather permitted and it did quite often, we went on walks to Caherdaniel and Staigue forts.
We had our Summer trip in June. . We went to Killarney High Ropes in the morning, stayed there for lunch and then to the cinema to see Cinderella in the afternoon. As was the case last year, we were blessed with warm and sunny weather for the whole day, and the girls enjoyed the Killarney Ropes, both high and low, while the adults looked on from the safety of solid ground, and from behind coffee cups! We finished our meetings for this year, with a party and prizegiving. Mary O’Connor joined us to present the following prizes: •
•
•
Best Patrol
This summer term, we bid farewell to two of our members, wishing them the very best in their move to secondary school. As I write, after our first autumn meeting, we have just welcomed a great number of new Brigíns, with the possibility of even more - our membership seems set to be around 15 for the year ahead. We are happy to see such a large number joining us and we look forward to another interesting and fun year. Teresa McCarthy and Cara Turner
The Marguerite O’Connor Award for Brigín of the Year Award Best Attendance www.girlguidesireland.ie 39
NORTHERN REGION Northern Region welcomes new Units Northern Region would like to welcome its newest Units to the Region. Well done to the volunteer guiders on their dedication and hard work in opening these Units.
Brigins, Guides and Rangers. Three Patrons, Galliagh in Derry opened in April 2015 with Brigins and St. Oliver Plunkett’s Belfast also opened in April 2015 with Brigins and Guides.
Parish of Antrim opened in October 2014 with Cygnets,
Yvonne Murphy
Drumaness London Trip On Saturday 15 August Drumaness Girl Guides headed to London for a four day trip. Below is the girls account of events London was lots of fun, we saw lots of monuments and we learnt lots about London‘s history and culture. We all enjoyed sitting on the Trafalgar Square lions and seeing the London Bridge. We also were so lucky to get to a west end show – The Lion King -i t was brilliant and the songs were wonderful We found the tube trains fascinating we tried to take photos of every tube station that we stopped at. Our favourite station was Paddington but mainly because of the gift shop. There was lots of fun in the airport too,
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especially the independence without our parents. The house we stayed in was really cool and modern, it had three floors. We took over the top floor master bedroom with an ensuite. The leaders were very helpful, they helped us get properly organised and we managed to get to activities on time. Christina was like a big sister to us on the trip she helped us get ready and styled our hair. We collected lots of badges and items for our camp blankets to remind us of our trip. In conclusion the trip was so much fun and we hope to go abroad next time. We would like to say thank you to our parents and our leaders
Drumaness camping trip
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award Four girls from Cathedral area in the Northern Region have completed their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award! The Award was pretty demanding but the girls were determined and worked really hard at all of their challenges – outdoor-based, community-based and personal skills.
On Friday 18 September we packed our camping gear and headed to Tollymore Forest park for our Unit camp weekend. After wrestling with our tents we finally got them up and unpacked our stuff. The fun then started with a campfire, eating s’mores , singing songs and playing games. After a night’s sleep (the leaders would say something different), we prepared our breakfast and then got ready for the day ahead. The morning activity involved building tables and kitchen gadgets. This was great fun as we learnt about various knots and lashings.
The photo shows Emma Noble (St. Patrick’s, Ballynahinch), Shannen Rooney (Our Lady of the Angels, Kilkeel), Lucy O’ Connor (Christ the King, Drumaness) and Emma Braniff (St. Macartan’s, Loughinisland) smiling with relief and delight – exhausted but happy! - upon completing their final expedition for their Silver Award. Congratulations to the girls and thanks to Petcha for co-ordinating their outdoor expeditions and liaising with Duke of Edinburgh personnel!
Once this activity was completed we headed to the forest to make a secret hideout. This lead to us using our imaginations and creating a “Nature Hotel”, making mud pies, creating imaginary hotel rooms and hosting pop groups. After our lunch we headed to the Mourne Archery Centre to do some archery. Using our bow and arrow we shot target boards and busted balloons: this was awesome fun. Saturday night was early to bed as we were so tired from the day’s activities. On Sunday morning we went to mass. After mass we packed up our tents and got ready to go home for a nice bubble bath. Overall, we had a great camp and can’t wait for our next camping trip! Drumaness Guides
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SOUTH-EASTERN REGION
Ranger Trip to Sangam
O
n the 8th of July Rangers and Leaders from the South East Region started out on their journey to take part in the Develop Your Potential event at the WAGGGS World Centre, at Sangam in India. Our journey took us from Dublin to Mumbai, via Dubai where we had a couple of hours for some retail therapy. Arriving in Mumbai in the heat and the mayhem of the traffic was an experience itself and we finally reached the calmness of Sangam, very tired but looking forward to our event. The purpose of the Develop
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Your Potential event was for the participants to learn about themselves and to discover the change they want to be in the world. During our event we took part in Community Action Projects with Sangam’s Community Partner Organisations. Deep Griha Society Deep Griha, means “Lighthouse”, and addresses the health and welfare needs of the poor and neglected inhabitants of the urban slums. The Society serves slums around Pune with projects such as a medical clinic, nutrition education, rural development, vocational training, day care, and early childhood education.
Door Step School Door Step School is an NGO which was started with the aim of addressing literacy amongst the marginalised sections of society. Door Step School targets children between 3 and 18 years of age, offering support systems such as study classes, literacy classes, community and reference libraries, mobile literacy classes for children living on the streets and on construction sites and non-formal fun activities Green Tara Foundation Green Tara Foundation focuses on the overall development of adolescent girls. As future mothers,
start we rose to the challenge – quite literally!
they are valued as an important part of society. To help adolescent girls stand independently, the project offers trainings about life skills, self awareness, legal awareness, selfdefense in situations of general attack, arts and crafts, and gender awareness.
The India night was a great experience where we all got to dress up in our Sari’s, eat a Maharastran dinner and take part in Indian dancing.
Patashibai School Patashibai School for boys who are visually impaired. Many of the teachers in the school are also visually impaired. There are over 100 children at the school, many of whom board. They teach the boys life skills as well as traditional school subjects. Maher Maher provides a home and community for women and children in distress. Maher’s projects include the sheltering and rehabilitation of distressed women and children, organising self-help groups, alcohol rehabilitation, family counselling, legal assistance, preschools and kindergartens, youth groups, and non-formal education programs in villages including literacy, rights, vocational training, hobbies, handicrafts, the eradication of superstition and increasing sanitation. At Maher, they firmly believe there’s always room for one more. Tara Mobile Creche Tare Mobile Crèche works with the children of Construction workers to provide a safe environment on
the hazardous construction sites, for children between the ages of 0 to 15, to provide preventive and curative health care and nutrition. The work carried out by members of CGI during the event ranged from painting walls, playing games with the children, visiting the local community in the slums, educating teenage girls and young women and lots, lots more. It was a difficult time for us when we had to leave our projects as we believed we made a difference in the short time we were there and felt that we made a contribution to Sangam’s ongoing work within the local community.
On our last day in India we went to the Aga Khan Palace where Ghandi had been imprisoned. During our visit Kiera Doyle from Wexford Town Unit was presented with her Oisin Challenge Award. We met some amazing people during our adventure both in Sangam, the local community and at our projects and of course we wanted to bring all the beautiful children home with us! Then came the time to say our goodbyes and start the long journey home. I would recommend that if ever you get the chance to visit a World Centre, go for it as it is an experience that will last a lifetime. Nicola Toughey South East Region Commissioner
There was plenty of fun to be had during our stay at Sangam including rickshaw races, shopping in the local markers and shops, sari shopping, laughter yoga, international night and making lots of new friends from the many countries that were our family during our stay in Sangam. We also had the opportunity to climb the water tower in Sangam and even though it was an early
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CPA Training 14 guiders from south East region took part in there CPA training on the 5th September in St. Michael’s hall. We had a good blend of guiders, some new to CGI and some who were repeating there training. It was a great day and good to have input from such a variety of guiders.
Summer camp 2015-Clonard Guides and Rangers For there summer camp this year Clonard Guides headed to Kibblestone Guide and scout centre near Stoke on Trent. Kibblestone is set in beautiful woodlands and is a campsite we would definitely recommend, great staff and activities. So in July 25 Rangers, Guides and guiders headed off on camp taking up our now familiar route of ferry and coach. We had a great week and as part of our off site activities we visited Alton Towers and had a visit to a fabulous water centre which had something for every one. On site activities included High all aboard, climbing walls, archery, raft building which was great fun‌. Muddy but good fun. On the Friday we had a backwoods evening
and cooked our dinner of Pizza and garlic bread in a bin oven, yes an oven made from a metal pin, hard to control he temperature but produced fabulous pizzas, we used the Latvian logs and made drop scones and also used our oven for scones for dessert. The girls were delighted to use skills they had learnt at Camp Funtastic and to pass them onto the rest of the guides. All in all a great week was had by both rangers, guides and guiders and we are already looking forward to and planning next years camp. Emily McCann
Clonard Guides prize-giving night Clonard unit had a prize giving night on the 30th June. It was great to have parents in attendance and along with other badges and prizes, Bronze, silver and gold CHOICES awards were presented. Well done to all the girls.
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Out and About - Buion Muire Lourdes, Wicklow Town The Cygnets, Brigini and Guides of Buion Muire Lourdes in Wicklow Town are very lucky to live in the "Garden of Ireland" and so what better thing to do on a warm, spring evening, than go on a nice, scenic walk! On a bright Tuesday evening in May, 47 of our Cygnets, Brigini and Guides, along with our Guiders and some of the girls' families, gathered just outside the town to take a walk to the old Wicklow Lighthouse. The girls each donned their hi-viz jackets kindly supplied by the Road Safety Authority, and off we went, with the Cygnets leading the way and the Guides bringing up the rear. It was quite a long walk, especially for some of our younger members, but they all really enjoyed it, particularly when they stopped to have a look at some of the wildlife - a favourite game that night was counting
the number of rabbits in the field. One of the Cygnets even claimed to have seen Bugs Bunny, but we think she may have been mistaken! The girls sang songs, chatted and played guessing games as they made their way along the 5km walk, the parents mostly just chatted though! When we finally reached our destination we stopped for a rest and a snack and some girls even did a spot of bird watching. We sang some guiding songs for the assembled families, and then as the light began to fade we headed back for home. It was a lovely evening enjoyed by all, and a special thanks to our Guiders for arranging such an enjoyable evening, and to all the parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters who came along with us.
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DID YOU KNOW? — VOLUNTEERS MUST BE GARDA VETTED BEFORE THEY CAN WORK WITH YOUTH MEMBERS
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CONTACTS NEB Chief Commissioner Asst. Chief Commissioner National Secretary Cygnets Brigíní Guides Rangers International Communications Development Training Outdoor South-Western Region Eastern Region South-Eastern Region Northern Region North-Eastern Region
chiefcommissioner@girlguidesireland.ie assistantchiefcommissioner@girlguidesireland.ie secretary@girlguidesireland.ie cygnets@girlguidesireland.ie brigíní@girlguidesireland.ie guides@girlguidesireland.ie rangers@girlguidesireland.ie international@girlguidesireland.ie pr@girlguidesireland.ie development@girlguidesireland.ie training@girlguidesireland.ie outdoor@girlguidesireland.ie s.west@girlguidesireland.ie eastern@girlguidesireland.ie s.east@girlguidesireland.ie admin.nr@catholicguides.org.uk n.east@girlguidesireland.ie
Child Protection Eastern Region Catherine Monaghan Anne Murphy Clare O’Brien South-Western Region Marion Gleeson Maria Dowling South-Eastern Region Barbara Ryan Aideen Moran Northern Region Josephine Higgins Martha Mc Grath Sarah Mc Manus Carol Ewings Maire Mc Grath
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Staff Laura Saunders National Office Coordinator Antoinette Hosback Finance Officer Emma Lyons Administrator Thomas Geoghegan Communications Administrator
laura@girlguidesireland.ie finance@girlguidesireland.ie admin@girlguidesireland.ie communications@girlguidesireland.ie
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CGI National Office 12 Clanwilliam Terrace, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 661 9566 • Fax: (01) 676 5691 Email: admin@girlguidesireland.ie CGI Northern Region Office St. Francis De Sale, Beechmount Drive, Belfast BT12 7LU Tel: 048 9031 3639 • Fax: 048 9031 3639 Email: admin.nr@catholicguides.org.uk www.girlguidesireland.ie Charity Number: CHY 7958 Reg. Charity Number: 20018689
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