From the State Commissioner

From the State Commissioner

Hello Sister’s in Guiding,

We are down to single digits until Bush 2 Beach Jamboree! I know the team is working day and night and are doing a fantastic job planning a great event for our Youth Members. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone, all 1,250 Guiding Sisters. As adults, we are there to support and facilitate the programme. It is such an honour to be a part of events such as this, and I look forward to seeing the Guide Spirit in action as we pull together in Patrols to make this a oncein-a-lifetime event for so many of our 10-17-year-old Members.

Alice Springs had a great extended Great Guide Sleepover, enjoying the overnight activities at Alice Springs Desert Park. In Dubbo, it was a chilly night with a good layer of frost over everyone sleeping at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, and in Sydney, what looked like a very wet weekend turned out to be a lovely sunny weekend. Thank you to the teams that help bring all this together, the Leaders in Charge, their offsiders, Leaders, and staff. It is always great to see people together coming by train, car, ferry, and bus. Thank you for bringing the girls to these events and giving up your time. I’d like to acknowledge the staff at Taronga Zoo Sydney, who went out of their way to find an alternative solution to sleeping on the Concert Lawn, which was absolutely saturated from the drenching we had the previous couple of weeks. The silent disco was a real hit.

Girl Guides Australia is introducing a new jumper for the girls. It will be a navy hoodie and will be available soon. They will also be a soft-shell jacket for Leaders. As we get more information, we will pass this on.

Something that I have been looking at this last week is how do you turn an ant into a pet, and I’m not talking about the little critters on the ground. How do you take a negative thought (ANT) and turn it into a positive thought (PET)? This can be challenging for some people, and sometimes when we are being challenged about different situations or circumstances, we have to dig deep to find a positive. There’s always a silver lining in a rainbow; how do you do it? We all have different ways. Is it talking to someone, taking some time out, doing something you enjoy? Everybody has different strategies, and today, as I think about RU OK Day and turning my negative thoughts into positive thoughts, I hope that you all are looking at your strategies on what you do for your own personal well-being. It’s important that we look after ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Yours in Guiding,

Jo Tonon (she/her)State Commissionersc@girlguides-nswactnt.org.au