This was taken in 2006.  It is troop #386 when they received their Gold Award for their remodeling and renovation of the Little White School House.  As you can see, Father Tom attended the awards ceremony.  All of these girls are in their first year of college now, but they still get together everytime they are home!

ST. ANN GIRL SCOUT REPORT 

With over 120 girls in all grade levels, 2007 was a great year for St. Ann Girl Scouts!  We started the year with our annual Thinking Day Celebration with the theme of Chinese New Year and we learned a lot about the culture and customs of China.  We held two Parent/Girl Scout dances, which were a lot of fun!  All of these events were planned and run by the girls themselves.  In March, we sponsored Girl Scout Sunday at St. Ann’s.  In April, we held our bridging event, where many of the troops bridged to the next level in scouting.  We had all eleven of our 12^th grade girls bridge to adult scouting!  They all agreed that putting down the awards they had earned in scouting over the years looked great on their college applications and they were all accepted into the colleges of their choice. 

We also held our annual Helping Hands Holiday Service Project party at St. Ann’s this winter, with over 150 area Girl Scouts attending.  Girls made cards, gift bags and ornaments, filled candy jars, and make candy cane goodie bags for the Ronald McDonald House, Hope Lodge for cancer patients, Children’s Hospital, Little Brothers of the Elderly, and area nursing homes.  They also decorated the trees at the Groesbeck Library, made edible bird food ornaments for the trees at St. Ann’s and collected canned goods for food pantries.

For 2008, we celebrated another Thinking Day, this time concentrating on customs, games, songs, crafts and food from countries all over the world.  Our parent/girl dance and our bridging ceremony will be held in April.

On March 9, we sponsored Girl Scout Sunday at St. Ann’s.  Girl Scout families donated baked goods and juice to be served after all the masses on Sunday, and the girls attended the 9:30 mass together. 

Our troops’ ongoing service projects are taking care of the landscaping at the Little White School House, saving pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and saving cancelled stamps for missions in South America.  Our troops also participate in Cookie Share, this year sending over 200 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the Ronald McDonald House, American Marines, soldiers serving in Iraq and to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington D.C. where injured soldiers are recovering.  

Our kindergarten through 3rd grade troops are busy learning about Girl Scouting, doing service projects and going on field trips.  They were all invited to a lock-in at the YMCA to meet new friends and have a lot of fun!

Our 4^th grade troop went on their first camping trip this fall.  They also attended the Girl Scout Cookie Rally. The event took place during a University of Cincinnati women’s basketball game.

Our 5^th and 6^th grade troops earned their Bronze Award in 2007, by baking doggie cookies and sewing catnip bags for the animals at the SPCA.  They had a terrific visit to the SPCA and learned a lot.  They also had an overnight at the Newport Aquarium and are planning an overnight at the Cincinnati Zoo with the 7^th grade troop, where they will be sleeping with the manatees!  The 7^th grade troop also went camping this year, and is working on their Silver Award.

Our 8^th grade troop earned their Silver Award this year by planning and running a campout for all of the St. Ann Junior troops – over 50 people attended!  They also collected books for Children’s Hospital.  They had an overnight at COSI in Columbus and are planning to go cabin camping at Hueston Woods this spring.  They are also planning an archery trip and an ice skating trip.

Our high school troops are busy working on their Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn.  To earn the Gold Award, a girl must work on a project that fulfills a need within her community, creates change, and hopefully, is something that becomes ongoing. The project must be more than a good service project—it must encompass organizational, leadership, and networking skills.  Many of our high school girls are also training to be aides and counselors at camp.

Girl Scouts of the USA is part of a worldwide organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls develop character and skills for success in the real world.  Girls build qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.  St. Ann leaders are dedicated to helping girls develop courage, confidence, and character, and who can help make the world a better place.

ST. ANN GIRL SCOUTS

Troop