Helping babies in the NICU!

The blanket makers with their cozy blankets!

We had another AWESOME meeting on November 20, and helped make knotted fleece baby blankets for 12 babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital in Gary. NICU nurse Terri Hendrickson was our speaker and said the blankets would be very much appreciated by the families receiving them. Some families coming to Gary Methodist don't even have a going-home baby outfit for their newborn, and very few have blankets and just go home with the typical thin hospital blanket. So she said, especially with the cold weather upon us, the families would treasure the blankets the girls made.

We used troop funds to purchase the fleece at Jo-Ann Fabrics (thanks to those of you who contributed coupons! :-) and had the blankets pre-cut so the girls just had to tie knots. They were great at this and had the blankets ready in no time. We might make more in the future for animals as part of their bronze project. 

Nurse Terri explained what her job as a NICU nurse is like, including what led her to become a nurse. The girls learned about saving a premature baby's life and how Terri has helped transport sick and premature infants.

They learned there are stereotypes nurses face, too, and how to overcome them. The girls got to see Terri intubate a baby doll and how equipment helps babies stay warm and breathe. They saw photos and x-rays from Terri's work. They all learned how to diaper and swaddle a baby using their baby dolls and hospital diapers and blankets. Everyone really enjoyed it!

At the end of our meeting, the girls showed off their cartoon superhero drawings. We had superheroes helping the homeless, others helping stray dogs and others that were experts on friendship. It was fun to see how each girl came up with her own superhero!

Diane gave all the girls their cookie forms so they can begin selling cookies to family over the holidays. They can start selling to the public January 1, but to relatives beginning now. We will hopefully have another booth sale this  year.

Nurse Terri Hendrickson explains how she and other NICU nurses care for premature babies

Jilli and her intubated baby doll

Ava with her diapered baby ;-)

Naomi with her swaddled baby doll

Julianna with her swaddled baby doll

These blankets turned out beautifully!

Painting! October 16 meeting

A few of our amazing artists! (lots more photos at the bottom of this post...keep reading!)

On Friday, October 16, we had a GREAT meeting featuring Dawn Diamontopoulos, a local artist. She was wonderful with the girls, teaching them to paint a modern "Mondrian" style painting, complete with measuring first, primary colors and canvases.

As the girls asked her questions, we learned that -- even in the art world -- stereotypes exist that male painters are somehow more talented -- or sell their work for more money -- than female artists. The girls were interested to learn that Dawn had to overcome stereotypes to make a name for herself as a female artist, and how she followed her dream to become a painter. 

We talked about gender-based stereotypes the girls might have to break through -- or already have -- in their lives. 

Several brought up the idea that boys are considered "better" at sports or math, and how they have combatted that already by practicing sports or math and proving to others that they are just as good as boys, if not better. 

They are confident girls and we want to keep that going for them, as middle school tends to bring on a loss in self-esteem for so many young girls. The more we can give them skills to break through stereotypes, and be confident in their talents, the better off they will be as they head off to middle school and the teen years.

Example of one of the girl's awesome journal entries where they had to find quotes about success and failure

Suzanne and I have been very happy to see how engaged the girls have been in our discussions. They can't wait to share thoughts from their journal, or just be a part of the discussion on all of the topics that we've covered.

A reminder that Girl Scouts may seem different to you this year because the girls are required to complete a journey (the purpose of the journals and speakers this year) in order to earn the Bronze Award for their Bronze Project, the third highest award in Girl Scouts. We've been surprised how enthusiastic they've been with the curriculum we've come up with. Girl Scouts publishes books with journeys and we have picked and chosen things we think were most relevant or interesting for the girls to do for their journey. Basically we created our own curriculum in the journals. It's meant to get them to think about themselves a bit. 

The journal activities should only take a few minutes of time and they should be doing it between meetings, not in the meeting. We are rewarding them with treats for bringing it (one piece of candy) and for filling out the sections we've asked them to fill out ahead of the meeting (second piece of candy). They really want the candy, as you can imagine!

Dawn talking to the girls

More photos from our cool painting meeting!

We're In The Army Now!

Military Police Officer Brooke Ellis shares one of her M.R.E.s (meals ready to eat) with the girls

Wow! What a visit we had when Brooke Ellis came to town!

Brooke is not only the daughter of Frank Hammond Principal Nancy Ellis, but she's an inspiring hero in her own right! Brooke is a trained military police officer and soon-to-become second lieutenant in the U.S. Army!

She is a senior at Purdue University, a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and a member of the National Guard!

She has won honors for her accomplishments in physical contests against her fellow students, often beating her male fellow soldiers at number of push-ups, a "hang" test, etc.!

The girls loved her visit so much they were literally begging her for more! More meals-ready-to-eat (M.R.E.s); more military-style drills (in the FHH library!), and more show-and-tell with her cool military sleeping bag system, ammo pouch, load-bearing vest and other gear!

The girls again asked some great questions as they explored the roles for women in the military.

Brooke explained that the best way to battle stereotypes that women aren't as strong as men is simply to "overcome them."

"Show guys women are just as good if not better than guys at many things," she said.

Brooke said she was inspired to go into the military by playing with GI Joe dolls growing up and the fact that her grandparents and father were in the Army. She said she has three older brothers, none of whom went into the military. Her family was supportive of her desire to be an officer, but wanted her to make sure she got an education first.

Brooke taught the girls some basic training and how to salute!

Lindsey Army crawls through as the girls "Igloo Up!"

Tori Army crawls through the troop igloo.

Brooke leads the girls through a drill called "Front! Back! Go!"

Brooke explains some of her boot-camp drills!

Who knew M.R.E.s could be so popular?! ;-)

So grateful we've had such great speakers so far!

The girls, meanwhile, are doing an awesome job filling out their journals and bringing their great ideas for a Bronze (community service) project to our meetings! Keep up the GREAT work, girls!

We got to Camp Tecumseh next weekend and then have a pause before our next meeting on Friday, October 16. The girls should be filling out their journals through "Section Three" and keep writing down any project ideas for improving our community in the Bronze (tabbed) section of the journal. If we add in any extra activities or meetings we'll keep you posted!

Moviemaker inspiration!

Kendall Goldberg, FHH graduate and 20-year-old Hollywood moviemaker!

                                     

A movie maker.

A military police officer.

A professional artist and painter.

A neonatal nurse.

What do these women have in common?

They are all busy inspiring Troop 10265 this year!

Our girls are hearing from many incredible young women as they learn about different roles for women, part of a Girl Scout journey they are taking. This leadership journey is designed to help them learn who they are now and who they may want to become in the future. 

Our first guest was the awesome Kendall Goldberg, a former Frank Hammond student and MHS 2013 graduate who is a real Hollywood moviemaker!

An award-winning director at the ripe old age of 20, Kendall has already made several short films that have been shown at film festivals. Some of her films can be seen on her website www.kendallgoldbergfilms.com. They include Washing Away, which she made while at junior at Munster High School, Water, and Bark Mitzvah. She just filmed her very first feature-length film over the summer in Michigan called Lake Effect. 

Kendall is in her junior year of film school at Chapman University in California. She spoke to the girls via FaceTime, and they were able to interview her and see her on the white board in Room 7 during our meeting. One of her filmmaking friends, Trevor, also stopped by to talk about how Kendall's work ethic and persistence inspired him to never give up on his filmmaking dreams.

Kendall on the set of her feature film, The Lake Effect

                   

                               

The girls asked Kendall all about her life as a movie maker and if she faced stereotypes and how she overcame them. Kendall said she faced stereotypes "every day" as one of a small number of female film students at her university. But she said they don't stand in her way as a filmmaker. "If anyone ever tells me I can't do something, it just motivated me and I think, 'Someday, you'll be watching my movies,' " she said.

"I'm a filmmaker who happens to be a girl," she said.

Kendall shooting her movie Water

                                  

                                              

While growing up she said her mom and grandmother inspired her to follow her dreams and work hard. "You can do anything if you put your mind to it!" they told her.

She started making movies when she was just five years old! She went on to act in plays at Wilbur Wright Middle School and Munster High School and to be a part of the high school speech and debate team. She said both helped her to be more confident when talking to people in Holkywood as a filmmaker.

After our girls talked about their favorite characters from movies or books and other entries from their journals, Kendall shared her favorites, including Katniss from the Hunger Games, Merida from Brave, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Anna Kendrick from Pitch Perfect and Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean.

As the girls mentioned their favorites and we compared them later with Kendall's answers, we noticed a common theme: They were all brave, confident young women. Just like the girls of Troop 10265!

The girls made collages representing themselves

         

Kendall's great advice!

       

                              

Kendall directing a movie

                       

                                             

Girl Scouts 2015-2016

Welcome Back!

Hello All and welcome back to another year of Girl Scouts! We met once over the summer to go fishing at Oak Ridge Prairie, which was a lot of fun for all! Jilli's Dad, Gerry, was an awesome fishing teacher and most of the girls caught a fish and all learned to cast. Everyone wants to go back another time and Gerry says he's up for going again, too! Don't miss it if we try this again! The girls also learned the basics of building a campfire and we roasted hot dogs and s'mores.

Julianna with a blue gill

Jilli and Gerry with a catfish!

We're looking forward to another fun year of Girl Scouts! This year the girls can earn the third-highest award in Girl Scouts: The Bronze Award. This one is based around a community service project. We've asked them to look for ideas of things that can be improved upon in the community when they're out and about and record their ideas in the journals we gave them at our first meeting, August 21. Please encourage them to bring any bronze ideas they have to our meetings and jot down ideas in their journals. These could be things like beautifying a neighborhood park, helping sick kids in the hospital, cheering up a senior citizen home, helping create something useful at a school, etc.

For the beginning of the school year, we'll be focusing on helping the girls complete a "Girl Scout journey" designed to help them explore different women's roles. This journey is required before we can earn a bronze award. Some of the journey will explore stereotypes about women and how to break those stereotypes and build self esteem and confidence. This is especially good timing since they'll be transitioning to middle school next year. The stronger and more self-confident they are now, the easier the transition will be to middle school.

The girls are to complete the first three sections in their journals by our next meeting, September 4. These sections include: Who are you right now? (a few short sentences describing themselves: "I am a sister. I am good at climbing and love to ride my scooter. I am a dancer.") The second section includes naming their favorite five characters in books or movies (this can also include TV shows). The third section involves them writing all the women they meet in their daily lives and what qualities they have -- so, for example, they might name their teacher and what they like about her; or their pediatrician and whatever her qualities are).

We'll be talking about what they've written in their journals in upcoming meetings so, the more the girls bring their ideas, the better our discussions will be. 

The girls made yarn dolls out of pipe cleaners and yarn at our first meeting to represent someone they admire. Some made dolls of famous gymnasts; others made teachers or parents. It was great to see their creativity! They seemed to love the craft so we'll do more like these!

We are looking forward to our annual trip to Camp Tecumseh with the other FHH Girl Scout troops September 19 & 20. Checks made out to Troop 10265 will be due at our next meeting Sept. 4, along with permission slips. If you didn't already contribute $10 per girl toward snack this year, please get that to us before the next meeting. We also need EVERYONE to read and initial/sign their health histories for themselves and their daughters. Most of you did this at our first meeting, but if you haven't yet, please plan on doing so September 4. And register yourself and your daughter for Girl Scouts if you haven't already done so. Thanks! 

UPCOMING CALENDAR 2015-2016
September 4

September 19-20 -- Camp Tecumseh

October 16

October 23

November 6

November 20

December 4

January 15

January 29

February 12

March 11

April 8

April 22

May 6

May 20