Gotta Love Those BROWNIES

Whether you love the chocolate delicious treat or the cute little Girl Scouts, Brownies are hard to resist.
Celebrate National Brownie day by making a batch of warm gooey brownies, or celebrating your favorite Girl Scout.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Which means the Holidays are here and so is gift shopping!
Not sure what to get your favorite Girl Scout or Leader?
The Girl Scout Shop has a gift for everyone!

SPLURGE on this 100th Anniversary ornament

or SAVE on this Collectable Caramel Delights tin!

Come check out the Shop soon before all the good gifts are gone!

Dear Readers,

When was the last time you WROTE a letter. Not typed, not emailed, not texted, but wrote a letter? Since December is National Writing a Friend Month, try and keep a correspondence with a friend by letter for the entire month! Let me know how it goes!

Hear & Now

Did you all get your copies of the latest issue of Hear & Now?

What did you think? Isn't Katherine pretty cool? Leave a comment with your opinions of the first issue!
Can't wait to hear from you!!

FUN FACT: Juliette Gordon Low turns 150 years old on October 31st

Juliette Gordon Low was, and still is, an extremely important part of Girl Scouts. Without her, where would Girl Scouts be today? Her vision led to unlimited opportunities for girls nationwide, and we should acknowledge all of the wonderful things she did for us.

Did you know that Juliette Gordon Low came up with the idea of Girl Scouts after meeting the founder of Boy Scouts, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, in England in 1912? Girls were demanding a similar organization for themselves, so immediately after Juliette returned to the United States, she created Girl Scouts with the vision of helping girls become productive and responsible women. Girl Scouts began with just a small gathering of 18 girls and is now an international movement with over 3.7 million girl and adult members. Isn't that incredible!?

Due to her national recognition and success with Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1979. In 1983, President Ronald Regan signed a bill naming a new federal building in Savannah in honor of Juliette Gordon Low. it was the second federal building in US history to be named after a woman.

Girl Scouts throughout the country plan to recognize her birthday with parties, service projects, and events. Is your troop doing anything to acknowledge this special event? please let us know by posting a comment or sending us an e-mail at marcomm@girlscoutshcc.org.

Also, be sure to visit the GSHCC's new Program Center, featuring a historical museum packed with vintage uniforms and artifacts from Girl Scout past. Register online to visit the museum, where you can learn more about Juliette Gordon Low and the history of Girl Scouts.

Do you know a lot about Juliette Gordon Low? Click here to take a quiz and find out.

Want to be a Program Aide?

Have you ever wanted to be a Program Aide?

Have you already taken PA training?

Don’t know where to start?

Look no further, I have the perfect page for you to check out.

This website has everything you would ever need to know about being or a PA in GSHCC. Need to take the training? Here is your go-to site.

If you have any questions, send them to program@girlscoutshcc.org

Courtesy Month

It’s National Courtesy Month, so try to go out of you way to be nice to everyone, and see how it changes the way you feel, not to mention how others will treat you. :)

Hold open a door for a stranger, let someone go ahead of you in line at the grocery store, simply say thank you after someone does something for you. The possibilities are endless!

Let me know how it goes! Leave a comment with a story of how being courteous of someone helped you out.

The case has been cracked by GSHCC's reporters.

GS Mystery Case #1912 was opened about a month ago and has finally been solved by three of our brightest reporters. The mystery of the random Girl Scout logo that was found on a brick wall located on 16th street near highway 50 now has a story.

Esme, a former Girl Scout, said that wall was her Girl Scout Gold Award project in November of 1995. She helped a Cadette troop design and plan a mural, and got permission from the mini storage to paint their mural and logo on their brick wall. The one stipulation was that it was only going to be there for one year and then painted over, but the company changed their mind and it has been there almost 15 years!

Have you been wondering about something in your community that is Girl Scout related? Is there a sign, or plague that you must know the story behind? If so, let us know at marcomm@girlscoutshcc.org and we'll crack the case!

Below is a photo of Esme and her two future Girl Scouts:

Get Great Grades This Year

Want to get better grades this year but you are not sure how?
Here are some tips to help make school a little easier, and maybe even (gasp) fun!

Don’t leave your studying for the night before- you won’t remember anything the next day. Not only will you be super tired from saying up all night trying to cram everything in, there’s NO WAY you’ll remember everything.

Make flashcards with vocab, formulas or key ideas you need to know. Quiz yourself if you have a break in class or while you’re waiting for school to start, and it will save you from having to hide a bad test score.

GRAB A FRIEND! This makes studying fun (as long as you don’t wander off your studying too much), and you are able to remember and understand things a lot better when you’re able to discuss it with someone. Or get a whole group together to meet once a week to study and take turns asking each other questions.

Step away from the computer and no one will get hurt. We all know how addicting email, IM, and Facebook can be, but take a break. Don’t try to multitask because we all know how much work actually gets done while you’re chatting with your friends. Get on when you’re taking a break from working, and set a timer for a few minutes so you remember to get back to your homework. When everything is completed, then sign back on.



If you have any other tips that work, leave me a comment! Can’t wait to hear from you!

National Tell a Joke Day

Did you know today is National Tell a Joke Day?

Tell your best joke to your friends and family, and send it to me to! The best joke will be posted on Wednesday and the winner gets a prize.

Here's my favorite joke:
What do you call a three-legged cow? (highlight the line below for the answer)

Tri-tip!

Leave me a comment or email marcomm@girlscoutshcc.org with your best joke!

Water Fun

Bored, but don't know what to do? Try cooling off...

Grab a hose and a sprinkler head, or just jump in the pool and try some of these games with some friends!

Diving contest

Take turns diving to see who can dive the furthest, smoothest, or who has the best diving trick.


Watermelon Rugby

With your parent's permission, grab a watermelon and grease it up with some Vaseline. Form teams and drop the watermelon in the pool, and and whichever team can get the watermelon to the opposing team's side first, wins.


Freeze Tag

Grab a hose and pick one person be "it". If you get splashed by the water, you're frozen until another player tags you.


Jump rope

Take a hose and hold it parallel to the ground, and swing it around like a jump rope. Have your friends try to jump like it were an actual rope, and don't get hit by the water!

Water Slide

If you have a slide in your yard, stick a hose at the top so the water is flowing down the slide, and now you have your very own water slide!


Send me any other ideas you may have- leave a comment or email me at hearandnow@girlscoutshcc.org.

Weave a Shirt

Check out this awesome shirt you can WEAVE!!

Materials:*

Tailor's chalk or something to mark your shirt

scissors

needle and thread or sewing machine

pins

a shirt

*Some of these tools may require adult assistance, so please ask an adult before beginning this project. :)

How to make it:

1. Mark with your chalk about 1 inch all the way around the collar of your shirt, then cut along that line. (you can throw this scrap away or save it for another project)

2. Mark with your chalk about three quarters of an inch from the bottom of your shirt, and continue the line all the way around. Cut it out and SAVE this scrap.

3. Do the same thing again, measuring three quarters of an inch from the bottom of your shirt, and cutting all the way around. SAVE this scrap.

4. Sew the two strips together, either with a sewing machine or with a needle and thread, to make one long strip of fabric.

5. Make marks along one side of your shirt starting at the armpit and moving down, making the lines longer the farther down you go (Make your lines closer together and shorter than mine- thick long lines don't work out too well). Cut along those lines, making sure you cut all the way through both sides of the shirt.

6. Sew one end of the long strip to the inside of the bottom of the shirt to start weaving! Then weave the long strip along the cuts you made, alternating over and under, working your way all the way around the shirt.

7. When you run out of the long strip you're weaving with, sew it to the inside of the shirt, and you're ready to go!!

Make sure you send me your designs at hearandnow@girlscoutshcc.org

Here's a V-neck shirt someone made and sent in... LOVE it!!

Saga Shirt

Hey Girl Scouts, I have a brand new design for you, inspired by 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special.

Materials:

Shirt

Scissors*

Sewing machine and/or and needle and thread*

Pins

*Steps involving these tools may need adult assistance. Please check with your parents to make sure it's OK before starting this project. :)

1. Draw a line using tailor’s chalk, a washable marker or plain chalk from the armpit of your shirt to halfway down the sleeve.

2. Repeat on the other sleeve, and cut along the line on both sides, giving you cropped sleeves and tubes of fabric. SAVE THESE SCRAPS

3. Cut around the neckline of your shirt half an inch to an inch all the way around. SAVE THIS STRIP OF FABRIC

4. At this point you should have two tubes from the sleeves and one long thin piece of fabric that you have cut off of your shirt. These will all be important to make your shirt look fabulous!! :)

5. Cut the strip of fabric in half. Fold each of those in half and sew them near the bottom of your shirt. Sew it on straight or add a little design like I did- make it unique!

You can use a machine or sew by hand. I chose to sew by hand to give it a home made look, but either way works just as well.

6. Take a sleeve tube and even out the top using a ruler to make the edges straight. These pieces will be used to make pockets on the bottom of your shirt, so trim the tube to the size you want your pockets to be. The amount of trimming needed depends on the size of the shirt, and your personal preference.

7. Sew the bottom and any trimmed sides together to make a pocket with the top open.

8. Carefully sew the pocket onto the bottom of your shirt UNDER where the strip of fabric is.

9. Do the same for the other sleeve tube and sew under the other strip of fabric on the bottom of your shirt.

10. Cut a small hole in the front of each pocket to pull the strips of fabric through and tie a bow. But make sure it is not too big so your bow will slip through the hole.

11. Clean up any rough edges and your shirt is ready to go!!!

Happy Sewing!! Send me pictures of your creations at hearandnow@girlscoutshcc.org

Snow in May?

Who knew it could snow in May, let alone at Camp Menzies!?

Check out these pictures of your favorite hangouts at Menzies with SNOW on the ground!

Make Camp Even MORE Fun!!

Who is excited for camp?!?!??

Would you be even more excited if you could bring your best friend to camp? Well, now you can AND earn a patch doing it!!

I know I always had more fun at camp when I went with friends, and now your non-Girl Scout friends can come to camp for only $12 more (which is just the membership cost). Check out here for more info on the patch. ;D

Summer is almost here, so participate in Spring registration now for all the benefits!!!

V Neck T-Shirt

To make this awesome shirt just follow these simple steps!

1. Lie your shirt on a flat surface

2. Decide how far away from the collar you want your new neckline, and mark that distance around the edge using a ruler. Connect your marks to make one solid line.

3. Find the middle of your shirt and make a mark where you want the V-neck to come down. Use tailor's chalk or a washable marker

4. Then using sharp scissors*, cut carefully along the line (* if you aren't allowed to use sharp scissors, ask an adult to help you)

5. Trim any rough edges, and you're ready to go!

Send me pictures of your creations at hearandnow@girlscoutshcc.org!!!!

No Plans for the Summer? Look No Further!!!

Do you love magazines?

Do you want to be on TV?

Are you looking for something fun and different to do this summer?

Do you want to have an impact on Girl Scouts in your council?

If you are entering 10th grade or up, then I have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Marketing and Communications (MarComm) department of GSHCC is now hiring interns for the summer!

As an intern, you would produce our council's fabulous magazine, Hear & Now, which is designed by girls just like you, for girls just like you!

You can work in photography, writing, design, fashion, editing, or interviewing, working with other girls to make Hear & Now just the way you want it.

You can also be on TV!! As an intern you will be trained to be a representative for the council on TV during cookie sales (did you see me on Sacramento & Co.??)

Not only is it a lot of fun, but you get to learn a lot and meet some really great girls from around the council too!

There are 3 sessions, and you can do one, two or all of them:

Session 1: June 14 - July 9, 2010

Session 2: July 12 - August 6, 2010

Session 3: July 26 - August 20, 2010

Applications are due May 17th, click here for more details, and check out pictures from this year's internship.

Good luck, girls!! :D