Girlguiding LaSER
Aqua News - Printer Friendly Version
08 June 2017
Welcome to the Summer addition of Aqua News!
Welcome back to Aqua News, the newsletter for The Senior Section, by The Senior Section, we hope you'll enjoy the Summer edition.
The Aqua News team has compiled a newsletter to help you make the most of summer in guiding, with lots of tips and tricks to help you complete yourQueen's Guide Awardand celebrate the great outdoors.
To get in contact with the Aqua News team you can email them
Returning to Rangers
Just before Christmas in 2016 I ended up having to unexpectedly take a break from my Senior Section unit. After four months I was scared to go back, worried as I couldn’t explain at the time why I’d had to leave. Quite by surprise in early May this year I bumped into one of my friends from my Senior Section unit on my way home from college. After talking to her she gave me the encouragement I needed to write to my Leader and ask if I could go back. Just a day later my Leader replied with a big ‘YES!’ and that very week I returned to my old Senior Section unit.
It felt great to be welcomed with open arms and be back with all my friends again. I felt like I’d never been away and I’m so happy to be back with my guiding family.
Lonie Milne
Member of The Senior Section
If you’re worried about returning to your unit after some time off, either due to personal circumstances, exams or work then we encourage you to get in touch and discuss with your Leader.
Queen’s Guide Award - your guide to outdoor elements!
The Senior Section permit or the Going Away With Scheme
The outdoor element of the Queen’s Guide Award might seem scary at first, but we promise you can do it! The first part involves The Senior Section permit or the Going Away With Scheme. So here’s some friendly advice from our experience of undertaking the event:
Do:
• Find a great mentor to help you plan
• Have a person within 30 mins as a home contact
• Pack for ALL weathers and have different activities ready
• Ensure everyone (girls, parents and mentors) remain well informed on your progress
• Remember to bring pans!
Don’t:
• Forget important paperwork, such as the L1-3 forms
• Overlook that each girl has a role to play and they must adhere to them
• Forget you are in charge and the responsible Leader
• Leave litter lying around your campsite- you don’t want pesky animal visitors!
• Forget to have fun!
Expedition or Exploration
The second part for the module is the expedition or exploration.
This involves a challenging four-day excursion with a group of 4-8 people (however they don’t have to be a part of Girlguiding).
Tilly chose the expedition which she did in conjunction with her Gold Duke of Edinburgh and did a hike through the Brecon Beacons. This involved mapping a route, organising campsites and keeping up morale!
She could have also completed this section by rowing, riding or even cycling if it involves enough hours of activity. Tilly recommends having a great team to work with and ensuring you have enough pairs of socks!
Mia is planning an exploration, to do this you must have an aim to ‘explore’. Mia chose to go to Italy where she will explore one of their most famous attractions- their food! She will complete an Italian food alphabet by eating things such as G for gelato.
Tilly Bowlt & Mia Lord
Members of The Senior Section
My visit to Pax Lodge
On 1 April I got the opportunity to go on a trip with my Guide unit, 7th Shirley Guides, to visit one of theWorld Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts(WAGGGS) World Centres,Pax Lodge.
I had never been before, we had such wonderful weather and had so much fun completing thePax Lodge challengewhere we gained a special Pax Lodge badge. I can honestly say thetrip was one of the best days out I’ve had this year! I’d definitely recommend visiting Pax Lodge to any member of The Senior Section – why not combine it with a trip to London and complete the newly re-launchedLondon Challenge?
Lonie Milne
Member of The Senior Section
Have you visited any other WAGGGS World Centres such asOur CabanaorOur Chaletand want to share your story with others? If so, we want to hear from you! Emailwith ‘Aqua News article’ in the title.
Agony Aunt- Challenges of the Queen’s Guide Award
• I’m moving to University, can I still do my Queen’s Guide Award in another Region, County or Country?
If you’re already doing the award or want to, make sure you contact your local Queen’s Guide Award Advisor, even if you’re registered as doing it in your home County. They might have opportunities coming up that could really help you.
• I don’t know anyone doing the award, how can I find others?
Join the Facebook pageand other social media groups. Some are only for registered Queen’s Guides candidates. You’ll find plenty of support, advice, and even opportunities.
• I’m worried about the cost of residentials. What can I do?
Many schemes like GOLD are fundraised and you can fundraise for your own residentials and activities if you’re clear what the money is going to, read Tabitha Lambie’s article on fundraising below. There is funding available for some residential events available on a local level, so be sure to ask your District Commissioner what support might be available.
• How can I find a suitable residential?
Finding a residential can be hard. Be sure to sign up to newsletters and social media from Girlguiding LaSER, WAGGGS and any other potential groups for trips and camps. Remember, it doesn’t have to be through Girlguiding - there are plenty of other schemes such as short voluntary projects.
• It’s not going the way I originally planned. Is that okay?
Things don’t always go to plan, and ideas can fall through. It isn’t a problem if your original plan doesn’t work, just make sure you can explain and justify why and how it changed.
• Can I start the award if I don’t know what I would do for all the elements?
At the beginning of the award, you can’t always have a plan ready for every element, that’s okay. Some aspects of the award might work best if you wait for an opportunity to arise, rather than waste time on something which might not be suitable.
For more information and tips on completing your Queen's Guide Award,click here.
Get general election ready!
Polling stations open tomorrow, 8 June from 7am to 10pm, across the country so the public can cast their votes in the general election.
Caitlin McDonaghandBecky Jones, bothGirlguiding LaSER Champions, wrote blogs to share why they think you should be voting tomorrow,read more here.
If you aren't old enough to vote or would like to complete activities around the general election with your unit, then check out therelaunched Mini Use Your Voice 2016.
We relaunched Mini Use Your Voice 2016 to help 'Equip', 'Inspire' and 'Inform', you toget your voice heard with activities, ranging from craftivism to visiting Parliament, from poetry to story-telling.Download it here.
Remember to #Take10
TheGirlguiding LaSER Championshave created a new wellbeing resource to help 14 to 26 year olds through stressful times.
#Take10 encourages members to take short ten minute breaks when there might be the temptation to keep working.
Packed full of activities such as a doodle page, simple exercise ideas, mug cake recipes and many more, get exam ready and download your copy today!
Download from our website hereor order one of the 100 free printedcopies available to The Senior Section here.
Fundraising creatively for international opportunities
As one of the most incredible experiences in guiding, International Opportunities involve a lot of hard (but rewarding) work in the form of fundraising. Everyone always thinks it is impossible to fundraise the cost of the trip in a year but it is not as hard as you might think. Fundraising can be fun with lots of ways to complete the task.
I went to South Korea in 2016 and greatly enjoyed the fundraising as much as the trip itself. While I was fundraising I did a sponsored 10-mile hike, not only was it greatly enjoyable, but I also received a lot of support from people in my local area which was very encouraging. Lots of people sponsored me, including the local Women’s Institute branch. As well as this, I arranged a division campfire, for Brownies and Guides, which raised a large amount of money and also gave Brownies the opportunity to experience traditional guiding at its finest.
Creativity is extremely important in fundraising but you must always consider the running cost. You will need to gain profit from all activities otherwise you will be paying money instead of raising money. But never fear; there are many different ways of fundraising in both a creative and money effective ways, such as the Smarties tube challenge and the £1 challenge. Both these challenges can be done with Brownies and Guides or friends and family and is a very easy way of raising some money.
Always remember fundraising is what you make of it… it can be really fun to plan and organise your own fundraising activities and get lots of people involved in your journey.
Tabitha Lambie
Member of The Senior Section
Smarties Tube Challenge Instructions
1. Get lots of tubes of Smarties and give them to all your friends, family, Brownies/Guides- if you are a guiding helper.
2. Ask all the people you give them to, to fill them full of 20p and once the tube is full to seal the top with cellotape and hand it back.
3. The more tubes you hand out the more money you with raise and Smarties tubes don’t cost that much so there will be lots of profit with minimal reduction.
Girlguiding LaSER
Aqua News - Printer Friendly Version
08 June2017