Yellow is the new Raspberry!
Girlguiding Sussex East have just finished their second Big Brownie Birthday Stay Event at PGL Windmill Hill, and it was excellent. The first weekend they were joined by 180 Brownies from across the county with their Leaders, and the second weekend they had 215 more girls come and join the fun and excitement, with the majority of girls at both weekends wanting to stay longer. Friday night saw the girls arrive after school and head to a disco, and Let it Go was very popular the first weekend. Saturday saw the girls doing four activities across the site, while ending the day with a campfire, birthday cake and singing happy birthday to themselves. Sunday saw four more activities happen, and then dinner before girls set off looking very tired. They were both great weekends, and Amelia, aged 8 from 5th Bexhill Brownies, said her favourite thing was climbing, because it was fun. She also said that she enjoyed BMXing, even though she fell off, but that was because she was going fast.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following on the completion of their Queen’s Guide Award:
Sarah Jane Coulbert, 1st Bromley Common Guides, Greater London Kent County
Lorna Speed, 1st St James Brownies, London South East County
Gwenllian Tapp, 1st Chiddingly Brownies, Sussex East County
Cation Crawford, 2nd Highams Park Rainbows, London over the Border County
Cotswold Outdoor
With it being the Big Brownie Birthday and Cotswold Outdoor celebrating 40 years we thought it would be perfect timing to remind you of the great discount this partnership offers both participants and Leaders and how they can support your County. Young members get 15 per cent off and adult members get 20 per cent off!
Parliament Week
November 14 – 20 2014
Parliament Week is a UK-wide programme of events and activities to encourage political engagement. Girlguiding LaSER has recently become an official ‘Parliament Week partner’ and is looking for a team of people to help organise events to encourage our members to get involved with politics and campaigning. The idea is to have a variety of events across the Region, throughout the week. Events could be large or small e.g. a Question Time for Senior Section with local politicians; a mock election in your Guide unit; a dance evening to fundraise for a local cause. They could be geared to a particular group, or open to everyone.
Guide Leaders are encouraged to promote Go For It! Be The Change in their units as this resource offers some great activities on the subject.
If you are interested in democracy, keen to enable your girls to make their voices heard and have ideas as to how to do this, please apply to be on the organising team. Meetings will be virtual. Please e-mail a 200-word description of the event you would organise, who it would be for and why it is important, to cleod@girlguidinglaser.org.uk by June 13th 2014.
Helen Beecher Bryant
Lead Volunteer, Advocacy
#BringBackOurGirls - Lead Volunteer for Advocacy, Helen Beecher Bryant, writes…
On April 15th 2014, more than two-hundred schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in Northern Nigeria by Boko Haram- extremist Islamic militants whose name means ‘Western education is forbidden’.
Boko Haram have indicated that some of the girls may be trafficked into neighbouring countries and sold as slaves.
Girlguiding LaSER wrote to the Foreign Secretary last week, urging him to do everything in his power to secure the release of the girls. Here is an extract:
‘There has been a despicable attack on human liberties in north-east Nigeria. We stand in solidarity with the young women who have been taken.
As UN Women stated:
'Attacks against the liberty of children and the targeting of schools are prohibited under international law and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
Schools are and must remain places of safety and security. Girls and young women must be allowed to go to school without fear of violence and unjust treatment so that they can play their rightful role as equal citizens of the world.'’
What can we do? Support the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, write to your MP. Keep up with developments on BBC Africa.
Read the full blog post here.
Brownies Splashabout
When? Sunday, 22 June, 2014. 10.00am – 4.00pm Registration from 9.30am
Who for? Brownies
Where? Paxmead Riverside Base, Dockett Eddy Lane, Shepperton TW17 9NT.
How much? £12.50 plus pocket money for souvenir shop and snacks
What’s happening? Fun activities with lots of party fun and a boat ride on the River Thames.
Interested? Here’s what you do… Email – Paxmead@hotmail.co.uk or tel: 01932 561 435 for an application form and/or more information.
Closing date – 1 June.
Apply now – last few places remaining!
Unit places are NOT limited this year, but still need a minimum of two Leaders.
Girlguiding LaSER Walks MILES
We have started our journey.
So far Girlguiding LaSER has walked 136 miles.
We have travelled from Region Office to Hautbois – an activity centre owned by Girlguiding Anglia. We can have some fun there. Where will we walk to next?
Thank-you to those who have started to log some miles.
Please do continue to, or start to log how far you or your unit have walked. It’s certainly not too late to start this challenge. See below.
How far can Girlguiding LaSER walk in the Summer Term 2014?
The aim of the challenge is to encourage all Girlguiding LaSER members to get out and walk – whether to school, work or for ‘a walk’.
As a leader all that is required for you is to
• ask your girls to record the miles they walk
• award certificates after particular distances have been achieved (these are cumulative distances a bit like the Nights Away badge)
• log the certificates awarded
You can include walks from the first day after Easter: Tuesday 22nd April.
Open to all sections including Leaders and Trefoil.
You could consider doing this with the Girlguiding LaSER Walking Challenge.
Biology Week 2014
As part of Biology Week 2014, the Society of Biology has launched their first-ever bioartattack competition, inviting schools and youth groups to make biology-themed art collages, models or sculptures and submit their project to the competition by taking time-lapsed videos, or a series of photographs to illustrate the process of the artwork being created.
This is a chance to get young people thinking about the biology that is in the world all around them, as well as exploring the possibility of communicating a scientific message through an artistic output. Further information on how to enter is available on their website: bioartattack.
There are two categories for entry:
· Under 11 years old
· 11 – 18 years old
There will also be a 'People's choice award' voted for by the public. The winning group from each category will receive a stop motion animation kit from hueanimation along with a year's free bionet for eligible individuals.
Girlguiding LaSER Vacancy – Cudham Shaws Campsite
0 hour contract, £7.14 / hour, weekend work, 7hrs /day, minimum of two weekends per month.
Immediate start
Cudham Shaws Campsite is looking for someone to assist with general campsite duties, including erecting and dismantling marquees at weekends.
A DBS check will need to be completed.
Should you wish to apply please contact info@girlguidinglaser.org.uk.
Vacancy - Administrative Assistant
Foxlease
Lyndhurst, Hampshire
£13,751.00 per annum
Girlguiding is currently recruiting an Administrative Assistant to be based at Foxlease, reporting to the Events Coordinator.
Should you wish to apply, please complete an application form and return to Human Resources at hrvacancies@girlguiding.org.uk
Closing date: 22 May 2014
Pitch on the Pitch - Yellow is the New Raspberry
Brownies from West Ham Division enjoyed their Big Brownie Birthday Stay Away with a sleepover, camping on the pitch at West Ham United Football Ground.
Thirty-three tents were pitched, and the Brownies managed about that many minutes sleep! There were plenty of activities for the Brownies to do, including making bubble wands, fingerprint badges, international wide game and an impromptu penalty shootout at 7am. The campfire took an international theme, with songs from around the world.
One Brownie said ‘I watched West Ham play on Saturday with my Dad, and then I got to go back to walk and camp on the pitch - I was so excited it was impossible to sleep. It was amazing’
This event was one of those rare events, where the leaders were as excited as the Brownies, and we think that the event was reminiscent of Crystal Palace 104 years ago! Football is still male-dominated, but Brownies were the first ever to camp on West Ham United’s pitch. West Ham Brownies made history, and will be able to tell stories to their grandchildren about their special sleepover.
A Cup of Tea in a different place
During West Ham Division’s Pitch on the Pitch, Brownies from 7th Plaistow took the opportunity to enjoy not one, but two cups of tea.