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Region trip to Japan
apan was fantastic! The trip was really well organised and
the Japanese
Scout Leaders kept
us really busy. Everyone
we met was very welcoming and friendly.
To start with we
attended Viva 90! which
was a three day event
for the girl scouts of
Japan to celebrate their
90th Birthday. Hundreds
of Girl Scouts from all
over Japan came. Each
prefecture (which is
equivalent to our county/
region) had a booth about their area. We (17 leaders from the
UK) also had a booth about Girlguiding UK.
They were all so pleased that we had come to join their celebration, and enjoyed learning what we had got up to, for our
Centenary celebrations. This is where we learnt that Girl Scout
are MAD about
stamps. Every booth
(including us) had
stamps for the girls to
collect on their way
round. To finish the
event, there was a
closing ceremony,
which we were invited
to take part in.
We joined with
some other Girl Scouts on stage to perform a song and dance
(which we had learnt before going to Japan.) Just to add a little
pressure, we were told, (about half hour before the ceremony
began), that it was being shown live on Japanese TV!!!
After the closing ceremony we moved to our next location
where we held an event called UK Day. We met with Girl Scouts
from the Saitama prefecture. We did a presentation about life in
the UK and Guiding in the UK.
We then Split the group into two. One group taught some
songs. We had been told the the Girl Scout already knew
Edelweiss in English, but they
really enjoyed learning the
actions! The second group made
Union Flag cards, and then the
groups swapped round.
Over the next couple of days
we learnt traditional Japanese
crafts. We tried calligraphy,
flower arranging, paper making,
and even got to take part in a
traditional tea ceremony.
We were lucky enough to visit
a local primary school where we
had an assembly with the children where we sang a couple of
songs. We met the principle,
(who loves The Beatles,) and we
were free to wander round the
school, popping into class rooms
to meet the children.
We also visited the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) where we saw satellite images (before and after) of the
J
GGEW NEWS
WINTER 2010
various natural disasters (for example volcanic eruptions and
mud slides.) This was to tie into our theme of 'together we can
change our world' and 'sustainable development.' These images
are useful in the event of a natural disaster, for finding the areas
that need the most help, for finding the
safe areas for people to go to, and to track
any potential dangers.
After this, we were split up for our home
stays. We all stayed with different families
from the Saitama prefecture.
This was a really lovely part of the trip,
because you really got to see what it was
like to live in Japan; what the families got
up to on a day to day basis, what they ate,
how they slept (on the floor!) what the kids
did for fun. The kids were desperate to try
their English on us and really liked playing
Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Most of us got to try on Kimonos during
our home stays and we all got to visit a troop meeting. This was
great fun. We exchanged games and songs and it was really
interesting to see the similarities and differences to our meeting.
Girl Scouts tend to meet at weekends rather than during the
week, because school is so important in Japan most children do
extra classes after school. Also, all the different sections meet in
the same room at the same time. (Tenderfoots are like our
Rainbows,
Brownies are
Brownies, Juniors
and Seniors are
like our Guides,
Rangers are like
our Senior section /
Rangers.)
Their badges
are very similar to
ours and the kids
enjoy the same activities as in the UK.
To finish our trip we all met up again, to visited Kyoto, by bullet train which was an added bonus.
In Kyoto we visited some historical buildings and temples,
including The Golden Temple. We saw a show displaying traditional Japanese activities such as dancing and a puppet show.
The night before flying home we did a presentation, for the
Girl Scout leaders who had organised the trip, about what we
had learnt and enjoyed.
We also had a Q&A session.
I think we all agreed,
we loved our time in
Japan, we were very well
looked after and we all
hope to stay in touch with
our hosts.
After a tearful goodbye
at the airport we boarded
our plane for the flight home.
We flew back on 20th October 2010. So to really finish off our
trip, for those who wouldn't make in back in time for their 20:10,
20-10, 2010 celebrations, we all stood in the aisle of the plane
and renewed our promise at 20:10 Japanese time.
Toni Daly a leader with the 7th (St. Edmund's) Guide
Unit. (Loughton South District)
GGEW NEWS WINTER 2010
n Saturday 5 September Kingsmoor District (Harlow
West Essex Division) Brownies and Rainbows celebrated 100 years of girl guiding at the Risdens Park.
The weather was lovely and during the afternoon the
Rainbows and Brownies held a teddy bea rs picnic, played
outdoor games and went on a Paddington Bear trail.
The hall was decorated with special bunting and balloons
for the occasion. there was a display of guiding through the
years from 1909 until present. our mascot Crystal (the centenary bear) also attended.
Party food consisted of hot dogs, sandwiches which the
rainbows and brownies made themselves and fresh fruit.
To finish off our party we held a camp fire with traditional
camp fire songs followed by toasted marshmallows.
The girls all enjoyed themselves and went home having
learnt a little more about the Girlguiding movement.
Angela Dear Brownie Guider
2nd Great Parndon Brownies (S.A.)
O
Guides receive their Baden
Powell Award in Girlguiding
Centenary Year.
At the end of last term 7 Girls
from 5th & 6th Hornchurch
Guides received the Baden
Powell Award.
This is the highest award a girl
can gain as a Guide and
involves a lot of commitment
and hard work.
All girls completed a number of
clauses including - learning
about the history of Guiding,
developing a hobby or interest,
first aid, finding out about
International Guiding and gaining other interest badges as
well as doing their school work.
Girls were: (5th Guides) Shannen Blackman, Tara
Murray and Paige Shankshaft.
(6th Guides) – Jade Polley,
Mae Bradshaw, Eleanor
Maguire, Emma-Jane
Hampsheir-Gill.
Both Units were pleased to welcome Linda Taylor County
Commissioner for Girlguiding
Essex West as well as:
5th Guides – Mayor of
Havering-Councillor Pam Light,
and the Consort-Mr Terry Light.
6th Guides – Deputy MayorCouncillor Melvin Wallace, the
Deputy Mayoress-Mrs Joan
Wallace, M.P. for Hornchurch
and Upminster-Mrs Angela
Watkinson and the President of
Girlguiding Essex West-Mrs
Avril Brampton.
We are delighted that most of
the girls have decided to
become Young Leaders in our
District. They will be an asset
to our units and all should be
very proud of themselves.
Best wishes Sandra Cox &
Helen Norford
n 17th July 2010,
11th Romford
Brownies & Guides
joined together with 1st
Gidea Park Brownies, 2nd
Gidea Park Rainbows, 7th
Romford Brownies & 3rd
Romford Rainbows to take
part in the Dagenham
Town Show as part of our
centenery celebrations.
We all worked hard for
weeks making paper flowers to decorate the float
and were very proud of the
result.
We borrowed unifroms
through the ages from
Barbara Jordan which the
girls enjoyed getting
dressed up in and marched
through Dagenham, ending
in Central Park Dagenham, the sun shone
for us and although it was
a long walk for their little
legs, everybody seemed to
enjoy the day.
PAGE 7
he :Pines campsite was the venue for the first
International Day organised by our new international
advisors Nicola Hopper and Claire Stephenson. The
girls cooked their own lunch, with an international flavour,
and Sarah Low was there to tell the girls all about her recent
trip to Japan
T
O
She gets
around!
The Centenary may be over but Crystal is still on her
travels. Keep the pictures coming!!!!
GIRLGUIDING IN EPPING CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF GUIDING
s the centenary year draws to a close, Girl Guiding in Epping came together for an
amazing experience. Around 100 Brownies and Guides together with their leaders
spent the weekend at Gilwell Park in Chingford. They were joined by the youngest
members, the Rainbows for the day on Saturday.
No time to stop
All the girls enjoyed a fun packed and busy weekend which included activities such as
kayaking, grass sledging and the scary 3G swing. On Saturday afternoon, the girls turned
on their creative side and could choose from a variety of crafts including mosaics, quilling,
beading and most popular of all, the decorating of two huge special cakes, which were then
eaten for tea on the field. The day ended with a huge campfire and rousing songs – some
which have been loved and sung by generations over the years, but with some new ones
too.
All good things come to an end
Sunday saw more fun and games followed by an orienteering trail. Then as the rain finally fell, the closing ceremony saw the enrolment of six new Brownies and four new Guiders,
demonstrating how Guiding in Epping is going from strength to strength and preparing for
the next 100 years
A