The New York Times - Wrong About Girl Scouts!

Recently the New York Times published an article quoting some ten year-olds criticizing Girl Scouts in no uncertain terms, saying that all GS do is take naps and write letters.  Naps?  I have trouble getting my girls to go to sleep before 3 am!  Those poor girls are being fed a line of hooey by adults with an ax to grind, and the Times isn't doing their due diligence in reporting the facts.  So, here is my 2014 annual report of what my troop did in 2013 - 4, and I'll publish this year's report in my next post.  You can judge from this whether Girl Scouts are able to do "real scouting!"


 

Troop 1775 – 2014 Activities

We started the year, as always, by welcoming new members to the group – any girl in grades 6 – 12 is welcome to join us whether or not she’s been a Girl Scout before.  In October, the girls who had been indoor rock climbing the year before scaled and rappelled 70 feet off the Quincy Quarry cliffs!

We visited the Microsoft store twice, to earn the “Netiquette” and “Digital Moviemaking” badges. In December, we did Archery at Cedar Hill!  We followed up with a  “Catching Fire” patch program presented by Charlotte and Caroline.  Some of us sang Hanukkah and Christmas songs at Brookhaven with other Lexington Girl Scouts.

We earned our First Aid badges; KK and Eileen helped us remember to keep those improvised splints “BUFF!” (Big, Ugly, Fat and Fluffy!) We did CPR on mannequins, wrapped ankles, tied slings, studied hypothermia and dehydration – it all helped us to prepare for our two May camping trips – we hiked the National Seashore, became Junior Park Rangers, built fires and made s’mores, avoided ticks, poison ivy and snakes, saw both invasive and endangered plant species, watched fox cubs cavort at dusk, learned to canoe, and became experts on putting together propane stoves and washing dishes the Girl Scout way. 

We presented two “Promise Petal” programs to a Daisy troop, and made parade decorations. We ate lots of pancakes after the Patriots’ Day parade (and while camping!) We assembled goodie bags and snacks for the service unit Halloween Party.  We worked on the “Mission: Sisterhood” Journey and some of us finished our “Trailblazer” hiking badge!  It’s been a busy year.