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October 2012

Inside:Fall Product Program..........................2It’s Your Business - Run It! .................2GS Making the World Better ............ 3Silver Award Recipients .................... 4Gold Award Recipients ..................... 5Girls Speak Out ................................... 6

connectt o y o u r w o r l d

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Program and Activity Book

Where do you see yourself during our next 100 years?

What activities and events are you are involved in right now that are helping you move toward the future you want

to have?

What adventure is waiting for you?

Open this book and find out!

A second book of activities will be published in January 2013.

Consider the following programs, activities, and trips! Read all about them in our Program and Activities Book. View it online at girlscoutsiowa.org or request a copy of the book by emailing us at info@gsiowa.org. Then register!

All CouncilGrades 4-12, Girl Scout Day at the Capitol, March 20, 2013Grades 9-12, Capitol Girls, March 20, 2013

Council Bluffs Area:Unsolved Mystery, 10/20, VilliscaGlass Fusion Jewelry, 1/12 in Council Bluffs, 1/26 in Missouri Valley

Des Moines Area:Disney on Ice Overnight, 11/23-11/24, Des MoinesMom & Me Pin It, 11/10 at Camp Sac, 12/8 in Indianola

Fort Dodge Area:Women of Water, 1/19, Milford

Mason City Area:Program Aide Training, 11/17 in Belmond, 1/19 at Camp Tanglefoot

Sioux City Area: Ghostly Encounter, 10/26 in Sioux CityStorm the Castle, 1/5 in Sioux CityGirl Scout Night at the Musketeers, 3/2 in Sioux City

Camp Sacajawea:Teen Retreat, 12/7 - 12/8, Camp Sacajawea

Camp Tanglefoot:Thanksgiving Hide & Seek, 11/3, Camp TanglefootWinter Break, 12/27, Camp TanglefootMt. Kato Ski Trip, 1/11 - 1/13, Camp Tanglefoot

Travel Opportunities:Start discussing, planning, and saving for your next trip today!

Blastin Black Hills Adventure, 6/17 - 6/21/13Denver Weekend, 6/21 - 6/24/13Old as Dirt, or Rocks, June 2013Music City - Here We Come - June 2013Pickin’ Down the Mississippi - July 2013Old Chicago - August 2013Savannah Bound - Summer 2014Yellowstone National Park Adventure - July 2015

girlscoutsiowa.org

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C O N N E C T

It’s Your Business - Run It! Are you interested in running your own business someday? Product Sales are a great way to kick start your confidence. You can learn what it takes in “the real world” every time you set a goal, make a decision, add up an order and make change, and every time you give an appreciative comment to an customer. Take the challenge and see where it can take you. Many girls your age have created successful businesses from an idea and a little confidence. Girl Scouts of the USA created a new video series, It’s Your Business—Run It! The women in these videos tell you about what inspired them to start their business and what keeps them going. They’ll also share some of the skills they picked up along the way—whether that’s how to write a business plan, ask investors to invest in your idea, or how you can use Twitter and Facebook to reach new customers.

Here’s an example of someone who was inspired. At age 10, Juliette Brindak began doodling a series of pictures, which she called “cool girls.” The drawings were based on real-life girls, including her younger sister Olivia, the main cool girl, also known as “Miss O.”

While in middle school, Juliette decided to use her cool girl doodles to launch a website for girls, ages 8–14. With the help of her graphic designer mom and businessman dad, Juliette turned her hobby into a girl-led business. “We [wanted to] provide a safe place where girls can be online, express themselves, have fun, and safely talk to other girls.” So Miss O & Friends [missoandfriends.com] was born, featuring games, quizzes, polls, contests, and a Girl2Girl wall, where girls write about their lives and concerns and offer one another advice.

Juliette, now 23 and a college graduate, says that being a Girl Scout and starting young in business helped her become a better entrepreneur. “Learning how to goal set at a really young age is really important,” she says. “I

think being a Girl Scout really helped me do that, and it translates every day into running my own business.” Today, Miss O & Friends is ranked the third-largest girls-only website by Alexa, an Internet data service.

Learn more about It’s Your Business - Run It!

Goal Setting | Decision Making | Money Management | People Skills | Business Ethics

A full list of recognitions, products, and dates are listed on our website. girlscoutsiowa.org Questions? Contact us at cookies@gsiowa.org

www.missoandfriends.com

Juliette Brindak

http://forgirls.girlscouts.org/its-your-business-run-it/

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Girl Scouts: Making the World a Better Place

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June 5, 2012

Story City’s theme for their town celebration this year was “Our

Heritage”. Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary was natural theme for their

Girl Scout Float. Girls and leaders had fun preparing for the parade,

I helped gather things for them. There was much excitement at the

final pre-parade prep and at the parade itself. Girls had a lot of fun

wearing the “heritage’ uniforms.

Elaine Kuchkowski joined more than 600 other Girl Scouts from all over the USA and Girl Guides from all over the world (with their chaperones) for the Girls’ World Forum, which took place in Chicago, Illinois. Elaine has been a Girl Scout for 9 years. She is an Ambassador and is now a junior at Ames High School. Her Girl Scout experience includes leading service unit events, being a CIT at Camp Tanglefoot, and representing the council as a delegate to the Girl Scout Leadership Institute, a part of the National Convention held in Houston last November - read on!

Girls’ World Forum, Chicago Illinois600 Girl Scouts and Girl Guides gathered in Chicago, Illinois, in July with a few goals in mind. I speak collectively when I say we knew we were there to discuss the Millennium Development Goals, meet people from other places around the world, and represent our councils and

countries. But the thing that we didn’t know coming in was how much we could change and grow in six short days.

At the Forum, I learned what it is to be part of the global Girl Guide and Girl Scout community. The Australian Girl Guide that I sat next to at dinner the first night has become an incredible friend of mine. The people in my patrol promised to stay connected, even though we live all around the world, and support each other with our Take Action projects. The week I spent at the Girls’ World Forum was one of sharing experiences, listening to others, learning about different cultures, and growing in ways I never expected. With Girl Scouts, everything is possible.

I was thankful for the opportunity to represent Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa at such an amazing convention. Girl Scouting is not just about Girl Scout Brownies selling cookies, it is girls and women of all ages, working hard to create sustainable change. Encourage younger girls in your community to stay involved with Girl Scouts because there are so many opportunities for them to be leaders, both close to home and far away. Teach them that they are part of an international community of 10 MILLION girls, and that what they have to say matters.

Finally, in regards to the fantastic young women I met at Girls’ World Forum, here are few words from a camp

song, “I’ll not say goodbye with tears in my eyes, but I’ll say hello to the friends that I’ll know.”

For more information of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2000, go to http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ .

- Elaine Kushkowski

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C O N N E C T

SILVER AWARD RECIPIENTSThe Girl Scout Silver Award is a leadership adventure and the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette (grades 6-8) can achieve. Award recipients are being acknowledged upon their own submission of information.

Brianna Goebel, Troop #10072, Coon Rapids, IABrianna received the silver award for her assistance in establishing Boy Scouts in our town. The town had not had active Cub Scouts in at least 10 years. There were many boys in the community who asked to join Girl Scouts because they had saw all the projects there female

classmates had participated in over the years. We had sign up night. Some of the activities she helped plan included collecting candy for U.S. soldiers, food pantry drive, pinewood derby, helped build a trailer to haul camping equipment, and helped coordinate a campout.

Troop #10067, Fort Dodge, IALeader: Connie GruverGirl Scout Cadettes: Emma, Margaret, Ann, Teresa, and Taytum

Their project purpose was to help preserve the history of Webster County. By redesigning the Webster County Museum brochure, they hope to have helped bring an awareness to the local community about the heritage we all share. To complete this project, the girls worked with museum staff to write information and put photographs together for the brochure. They designed it on the computer, presented it to the museum board for approval, and then wrote and received a grant for professional printing.

Troop #1348, Grimes, IALeader: Janet StevensGirl Scouts: Amanda, Peyton, Lenna, Kristin, Avery, Lexy, Katie, Julia, Delaney, Emily

These girls earned their Silver Award working with the Des Moines Joppa Outreach Program and Habitat for Humanity. We provided water, clothes, books, personal care items and more to the homeless of Des Moines through Joppa Outreach. With Habitat for Humanity, we attended all the home dedications over the past two years taking pictures/videos, greeting guests, and providing the welcome baskets for the new homeowners. We continue to work with both organizations. The journey we took for our Silver Award was called aMaze and it was very interesting for all. I highly recommend it.

Troop #10015, Fort Dodge, IALeaders: Janelle Cravens, Danelle WoodGirls: Natalie, EmaLee, Quinea, Emma, Andrea, Lindsey, Cassandra, Stephanie

After completing the Cadette Journey, MeDia, the girls decided that they would like to begin a project focused on Anti-Bullying. The girls began the process by looking at what was needed

locally and determined that they wanted to provide the school district with an informational brochure. To do this, the girls needed to survey all the students in the Fort Dodge School District. They formed two age-appropriate surveys for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade and distributed them after getting approval from each school principal and the superintendent. Over 2,700 surveys were filled out and the girls began the process of collecting data from these surveys in order to provide the correct information for their brochure. After the information was compiled, the girls worked together to write the information for the brochure based off the data they collected. The brochure was completed in July and copies were distributed to each school prior to school beginning. The information in the brochure is geared towards helping students and families in the school district define bullying, identify a bullying situation and what to do if they are being bullied or know someone who is being bullied.

2011-2012 AWARD

RECIPIENTS

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa

acknowledges all those that earned either their Silver or

Gold Award this past

membership year. Award

recipients are being

acknowledged upon their own submission of

information.

The contributions

they have made in their communities

have truly made the world a

better place!

For more information on our Girl Scout

Awards, see page 52 of our Events

and Activities book, go online

at girlscoutsiowa.org, email us at

program@gsiowa.org, or call your

local Leadership Center.

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GOLD AWARD RECIPIENTSThe Girl Scout Gold Award is a leadership adventure and the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador (grades 9-12) can achieve. Congratulations in earning the highest award in Girl Scouting!

Catherine Beall, Logan, IAW.A.L.K. “Women’s Awareness to Learn Tae Kwon Do” Catherine coordinated self defense classes at Greg James’ dojo and Mark Fountain’s dojo in Omaha, Nebraska at a nominal cost to participants, then two additional free women’s self defense classes in Missouri Valley, Iowa where she was the primary instructor. As a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Catherine has

been active in mixed martial arts under the direction of her advisors Scott Thompson and Greg James. She has a passion to share a knowledge of situational awareness and simple tips to avoid or survive an attack.

Elizabeth Beall, Logan, IA"Big Springs School History" Elizabeth

compiled information and records from one small country school in Big Springs, South Dakota – the teachers, students, school boards, the schoolhouse, and the community -- from 1874 until the school’s closure in 1967. Lack of preservation of history of a small country school, representative of the many

schools of its type in early America. People will have a better idea and appreciation on how education began in the Dakota Territories of America, and the people of Big Springs will have a historical record to share with their children and grandchildren.

Ronette Bruner, Council Bluffs, IAFor my Gold Award,I offered a reading program to a primary school. I started this project because I like to read and want younger children to want to read. If I could get even one child to read, it would make the world a better place.

Molly Emerson, Rockford, IALeader’s Name-Lisa Kapler

"Patient Room Redo" I put up borders and artwork in the patients room at the doctor's office in Rockford. I also painted a tree, in which all the children of the staff members who worked there painted their hands on. I am proud because I am now the first girl in

Rockford history to get the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.

Katie Jacobson, St. Charles, IALeader's Name: Lisa Brown"Bat House Project" I built bat houses and, with the help of The Warren County Conservation Board, I was able to put them up in the different parks of Warren County. It was a great project, because most bat habitats have a lot of human made houses and buildings in them, which are places bats love to get

in when it's cold our. With the new bat houses put up they'll have somewhere else they can go that should be warm, since each house can hold roughly 500 bats.

Bonnie Keller, Sioux City, IALeader's Name: Sue Keller

Bonnie's Gold Award project started several years ago with the plan to get her classmates trained in the life saving procedure CPR and the use of an AED. To complete this process, Bonnie became a certified CPR/AED instructor last summer and got an AED purchased for the school. She also got CPR mannequins that will be used by the school

for training for years to come. Trying to get 129 students trained was a difficult process, especially when she could only do this during school time - but she managed this great accomplishment.

Christine Morrow, Ankeny, IAChristine's Gold Award Project was growing

produce in a local community garden and organizing and leading a canned food drive - then donating the produce and goods to a local food kitchen.

Additional 2011-2012 Gold Award Recipients:Jenna Dengler, Ankeny, IALindsey Duckett, Grimes, IAAndrea Emery, Sioux City, IASamantha Fistler, Eldora, IAAnna Knapp, Sioux City, IAAmelia Leuschen, Holstein, IAAlana Mairs, Eldora, IAAmanda Montz, Ankeny, IAEmily Priske, Eldora, IACaitlin Retz, Sheffield, IAKatie Strickland, Ames, IA

Photo: Katie with Mark Wilson from the Warren County Conservation Board with one of the bat houses.

2011-2012

10715 Hickman Rd.Des Moines, IA 50322

Leadership Center Locations: Council Bluffs, IA Des Moines, IA Fort Dodge, IA Mason City, IA Sioux City, IA

www.girlscoutsiowa.org

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.Girl Scouts advance diversity and pluralism in our Movement and in the communities in which we live.

Connect is a publication for Girl Scouts in grades 6-12. It is published four times annually as a service to the girls of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa.

Chair: Martha KroneCEO: Jamie Boersma

www.girlscoutsiowa.org

1860 Madison Ave, Ste 3Council Bluffs, IA 51503

712-328-2338800-422-2093

10715 Hickman RoadDes Moines, IA 50322

515-278-2881800-342-8389

112 S 3rd StreetFort Dodge, IA 50501

515-573-814180-798-8141

601 S Illinois Ave.Mason City, IA 50401

641-423-3044800-657-5853

1515 Zenith DriveSioux City, IA 51103

712-255-0187800-746-8947

Girl Scout Mission: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

girlscoutsiowa.org

It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This...

Cliques. Gossip. Whispering in the hallway. Rumors that spread through text messages. Rumors that spread on the Internet.

These are just some of the ways that bullying causes girls to feel afraid and alone. And when it comes to bullying, the facts can be scary:

• Every day, 160,000 students stay home from school because they fear being bullied.

• More than half of teens say they witness bullying at least once a day at school.

• When a girl is bullied, 85% of the time nobody steps in to help her.

You have the power to change it.• More than half the time,

when peers speak up

bullying stops

within 10 seconds.

Make a PSA that tells people what the world would look like if all girls treated each other with kindness and respect and no one was bullied – at school, online, and out in the world. What would it look like? What can you do to help us get there?Learn more at: http://speakout.girlscouts.org/

Girl Scouts Speak Out! will accept entries from October 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013, Eastern Standard Time; voting will close February 16, 2013 at midnight Eastern Standard Time

10 seconds

Make sure to let us know about your PSA - email us at marketing@gsiowa.org

Interested in a local workshop? Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is hosting Power Up events throughout the council. Contact your local Leadership Center to find out more. Rumors? Exclusion at a lunch table or game? Cruel behavior? Cyberbullying? Every girl has experienced bullying either as the bully, the target, or the bystander. This workshop teaches you, as a bystander who sees bullying, to stand up and defend the target and make their world a better place! Girls will be prepared to positively intervene when confronted with bullying

activities. They’ll be able to identify bullying behaviors, role play how to stand up to bullying, and explore ways to prevent bullying in their communities. Email us to learn more at program@gsiowa.org.