Winter 2016 - Girl Guides of Canada

Tidewater Area
Winter Newsletter
January is so fresh and alive and often brings a sense of new beginnings. A long
standing tradition is to make a New Years resolution. Many choose personal goals that
they can start afresh and help to make themselves a better person. Guiders already try
to make the world a better place through their efforts in volunteering, mentoring,
training, environmental stewardship, and leadership. However, even we can be better,
and the new year may be the perfect time to assess where we would like to improve.
Maybe we take on a new skill that we were previously afraid of, maybe we get out of
that rut, those activities we do every year no matter how old they are, or maybe we experiment with a new leadership style-if you are used to being the grand poo-bah, allow
for an open style, if you lead by committee maybe try striking out with confidence and
taking the lead. Even if you don’t take on trainings or get out enough to experience the
environment, we are all leaders and leaders wield a great amount of power. Leaders
must lead, in action, not just in name. I have a Master’s degree in Leadership and I am
still learning what this means. So much so that I am making it a resolution to look within and assess “What am I doing that is leadership in action?” To paraphrase Brian Tracy’s How the Best Leaders Lead, the responsibilities of leadership is to: set goals (am I
floating or heading somewhere?), innovate (am I stuck in the old or am I willing to challenge the status quo?), solve problems and make decisions (can I find a solution or just
accept it when I hear “no”?), set priorities (what can I get done, who can I help?), be a
role model to others (who is watching me, who am I influencing, am I doing enough to
be the best I can be for others?), persuade, inspire and motivate (am I negative and defeated or am I positive and helpful?), and perform and get results (how have I left the
situation better than when I arrived?). So, that’s my goal. You can share it with me or
tackle your own. Whatever it is, bring it on, New Year. We Guiders are ready for you.
We have skills to acquire and girls to inspire!
Natasha LeBlanc, [email protected]
FIRST AID TRAINING
When: Saturday & Sunday, March 12-13, 2016
(storm date March 19-20)
Where: Kinsmen Small Room at Skate Board Park, 145A
Lakeside Dr.,
Riverview (next to Riverview arena)
Time: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Trainer: Debbie Richard (Guider), St. John Ambulance Instructor
Cost: $45.00 (cheque payable to Girl Guides of Canada)
Drop off or mail your cheque to Joan Donovan,
99 Queen Mary Rd., Moncton, NB E1A 3P4 by March 1, 2016.
Districts will reimburse 50% of this fee for this training.
(Other First Aid courses not put on by Tidewater Training will be reimbursed by only $22.50.)
Wear: Guiding gear
Book: You will receive your First Aid Reference Guide at the training.
Snacks & water will be provided.
Bring your own lunch and a cushion for kneeling on the floor.
Register: Contact Karen Geldart by MARCH 1, 2016 at
[email protected] or 855-6634 with your:
Name: ____________________________________________________
IMIS number: ______________________
Unit: ______________________________________________________
Contact information (phone and email): ___________________________
___________________________________________________________
Any special requirements/considerations: _________________________
___________________________________________________________
Class is limited, so register early!
Training and Events
Schedule
Mar. 19 – Camp Fun for Brownies, Riverview
Apr. 2 – Tidewater Area Training Day, St. John’s UC, 75 Alma St.,
Moncton
Apr. 15-16 – Provincial Annual Meeting, Oromocto
May 7 – Area Thinking Day Event, Centennial Park
May 14 – Tidewater Guide & Pathfinder Fun Day of Training, Camp
Centennial, Moncton
Oct. – Fall Workshop, Miramichi
The 4th Moncton Brownies have been busy, busy, busy. We enrolled 11 new Brownies in
November and have been busy working on our Key to I Can and Key to STEM ever since. We have learned First Aid by
practicing on our favourite stuffie brought from home and by making our own mini first aid kit. We have learned how
to use appliances around the home with a Fall fun night which included ironing leaves, hot gluing pinecone owls and
baking shrink art leaves. We also learned to sew a few stitches when we made sock snowmen. We will be visiting the
CBC station to learn about communication and having a Lego night where we will be building, building, building.
We also managed to take a couple of nice walks, one around Jones Lake in search of signs of Fall and another in our
meeting neighbourhood for a Christmas decorations scavenger hunt.
This year we are also visiting the Moncton City Hospital Geriatric unit on a regular basis. We dressed up in our Halloween costumes for our visit in October, made gingerbread houses together in December and will be having our Valentine Party with the seniors at a meeting in February where we will make stained glass (tissue paper) heart sun catchers
together.
We just finished a fun afternoon of bowling with all the other Brownies and Sparks and we will be spending our Thinking Day meeting night with the Sparks for a birthday themed party.
Finally, We just finished a tour of the CBC station here in Moncton with our Brownies and I am sending some photos of
this very fun evening! Photo 1 is all of us in front of the cameras at the studio, photo 2 is the girls listening to a radio
announcement, photo 3 is some of the girls behind the news desk , photo 4 is a few of the girls in the hair and make up
studio
20th Moncton Brownies
Busy, busy, busy, that is what this winter has been like so far. No storm cancellations so far ( knock wood we
don't have any this year at all ) so it has been full steam ahead.
We participated in our church's annual Fall Fun Fair by preparing our favorite Brownies in a jar, then selling
them at the sale along with Friendship soup made by the 20th Moncton guides. Our "complimentary samples" ( to quote one of my brownies ) my have pushed it over the edge to help us sell all our brownie mixes. Enrolment night came and went along with the completion of our key the STEM. Leaving just enough
time to get in a sleepover for some excited girls. Two weeks before Christmas is a very busy and exciting time
for everyone, but after some games, crafts, and badges, all the girls were tucked in their sleeping bags and
asleep by 11:00.
This month we started working on our Key to Arts. This key combines different forms of artistic expression,
and January 18th we begun working on Share your Talent for Dance. We learned a line dance, some step
dancing, and practiced the Mexican hat dance. The night ended with a conga line. Next month we will be
having a ballet lesson from a ballerina.
Another fun afternoon spent bowling with Sparks and brownies! This yearly event is always a favorite, not
just because of the snack which some would have you believe. Who can pass up the chance to watch 7 and 8
year olds lean to the right trying to encourage their rolling ball to move in that direction, or see the absolute
surprise on a tiny face when all the pins fall down with just one ball. Strike! I sure can't resist.
Tidewater Rangers
We had a busy fall, in November we did an 11km day hike on the
Dobson with the new Tidewater Trex unit which was a great challenge and enjoyed by all. We also had a lady come in from the TD
bank to facilitate the Girls Count program with the Rangers. This is
a great program that teaches the girls about credit/debit/loans, etc
which they will all need shortly when they graduate. November
also saw the girls cooking a meal at the Ronald MacDonald
House. This has become an annual tradition which the girls really
enjoy doing. For our Christmas party, the girls did a cookie ex-
change, enjoyed a
yummy potluck feast
and made real fir
Christmas wreaths.
After our Christmas
break, we were
blessed with some decent snow and the
girls have gone cross
country skiing on the
night trails in Centennial Park twice now and plan to go out as much as we can as long as we
have snow on the ground (one of the great benefits of having our meetings in a ski hut). The
girls will also be doing some snowshoeing on the Dobson Trail and planning a WAGGGs
meeting for a Brownie
unit on Thinking Day. Debbie
Westmorland Trefoil Guild Fall report:
Since our outing in October to the Magnetic Hill winery, Westmorland Trefoil Guild are still busy playing and
having fun.
In November we had our annual Christmas card making session and this year, a pot luck. You know you can
always reach your potential when there is pot luck!
Anne & Nancy each designed 3 cards for the ladies and a few gift tags.
For the first time ever we forgot to get a group photo but we had eight of our nine members attend. The food
was yummy!
Our planned December outing was a trip to Magnetic Hill Zoo to partake of their Wild Lights night. Due to inclement weather our "Fellowship of the Guild" dropped from 8 to 4. Margaret-Ann, Joan, Heather and Anne
braved the elements and it was well worth it.
The weather was quite warm with just a hint of snow mixed with rain. We did not see a lot of the animals but
we did get to see one of the beautiful tigers pacing. Bravo to the staff at Magnetic Hill for doing such a great
job.
WHISONG TREFOIL GUILD
ACTIVITIES – SEPTEMBER 2015 TO JANUARY 2016
August – A day at the beach at one of our members whose owns a cottage at CapBinet. We did crafts, walked the beach and ate lunch and potluck supper.
Craft Fun day at a member's house in Elgin We made crafts to sell at Riverview
District’s Pancake Breakfast in November. A fun day of crafts, good food and lots
of stories and laughter.
Ongoing -Luncheon and Card Afternoon. The usual girls turned up to assist with
the serving and clean up. We are given lunch after the clean-up. This event occurs
once a month or so. We assist in reciprocation to the Lioness Club who make a
yearly donation to our Camp.
November - Riverview District Pancake Breakfast – We assisted by scraping dishes
and clean-up. Also had a craft table and sold the last of our cookies.
December – Christmas Party at the home of one of the members. Potluck and
games. Our charity was to collect breakfast products for the Riverview Boys and
Girls Club who sponsor a breakfast program at two elementary schools in Riverview.
Ongoing weekly community support by volunteering at the Riverview Public Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela Henderson
Sparks Go Country
We are very excited to present Sparks Go Country, this year’s
provincial Sparks camp! We are so excited to be hosting this event at Snider Mountain
Ranch near Sussex June 10-12, 2016. We have planned a lot of fun activities that we
are sure everyone will enjoy.
Join us and meet girls and Guiders from all over New Brunswick and Prince Edward
Island as we camp together, make new friends and learn new things. With our Guiders, you can expect a ‘little bit of country’ as we explore the grounds, the horses, the
petting zoo, and the pond area. There will be a variety of activities that will have you
moving around the site all day long. There will be fun and more fun to be had by all!
Don’t forget your traders! There will be lots of time to make new friends and trade
those special little items that you have brought with you.
The cost is $125.00 for girls and $100.00 for adult members. The completed registration forms and first payment are due to the Provincial office March 30, 2106 with
the final payment due May 30, 2016.
We are very excited for camp and can’t wait to meet everyone there. Grab you cowboy
gear and join the fun! Check out our Facebook page (Sparks Go Country) or contact us
any time at [email protected]
Cheryl and Jane
Sparks Go Country
18th Moncton Sparks

Thanksgiving was celebrated in fine form last October. We played pin the tail on the Turkey, made Turkeys out
of lolly pops, learned the "Chicken" dance and had to draw a pumpkin while blindfolded -- look at those cool
blindfolds. It's amazing what you can find at Frenchy’s!

16 girls from the 18th Moncton Spark unit honoured our veterans on November 11. Tidewater Area had a wonderful show of support this year. Some units from Riverview District joined in as well. It is so important to teach
our girls to respect and honour the men and women who serve and have served our country.

We finished off the year with a sleep-over at our meeting hall. There were 18 girls attend and we had a BLAST!
The theme was "Frozen" and we had a ball thinking of things to do with the theme. We did a neighbourhood
walk, crafts, had a Coronation dinner, theme related games, collected food for the food bank and even accomplished some Program work.

The 18th Moncton Sparks had a wonderful day at the Area bowling event held on Jan. 23. We had 18 of our 23
girls show and what excitement there was. One first time bowler, a 5 year old, was so excited that she can't wait
until "we" do it again. She had a 60 score. Sparkie Nancy feels she should get her to bowl on her Sunday night
adult team. The medals were a big hit. Bling really matters to 5 & 6 year olds. Look at those smiles! Needless to
say, Sparkie Shirley was not the only adult there with our girls; she was the only adult brave enough to get her
picture taken.
18th Moncton Sparks Sock
Hop.
Golden Oldies night for 18th Moncton Sparks.
I love when the girls get into the spirit and dress for the
occasion. 18th Moncton Sparks had a fun night learning to appreciate the "OLD" days. When asked of all
the singers they know who would have been born back
in the 50's; we got: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and a few
more modern singers. Not one of them had heard of
Elvis -- IMAGINE. One sweetie did say she knew who
was born back then -- and she pointer to me. So right! Myself and nearly
every other Guider there. We taught them the hand jive, Heather twisted away
1st Tidewater Trex
The Trex have been dedicated to their mandate of being youth
led and adventure based. We also have
been committed to bridging with as
many units as possible. We’ve been skiing with the Rangers, sledding with a
Cub unit, and are planning more. We
have helped collect food for the Humanity
Project when one of our girls, Madison
Roy, had her birthday party, included the
Trex, and requested only non-perishable
food as gifts. We have baked
cookies for a future visit with a seniors’ home. We’ve
also had a scavenger hunt at Bass Pro Shops that
saw the staff getting
in on the action as
well. With our girls
working on Canada
Cord requirements and planning
our spring, we will also have lots
to report in the next newsletter.
Property Management Committee
Welcome back to another season of winter camping in Tidewater Area.
YES, you got it right; W-I-N-T-E-R camping. Camp Nebooktook is open between February 12 and March 13.
Kudos to those of you who want the girls to have a great winter adventure. Winter camping is a great time to
take the girls snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, building snow sculptures, snow painting and so much more.
Whether you sleep indoors or camp out in tents, you will indeed have a wonderful time.
With our newly formed Property Management committee a few things have changed. ALL camping bookings
are to be made through Joan Donovan (check your telephone list for contact info.). You can still pick up keys
from Pam Henderson and Joan. All fees will go to Joan Donovan.
For now, fees are as follows:
$3.50/person - summer (day camp the same as one night)
$5.00/person - winter camping
$6.00/person - Non-Guiding
Unit Guiders booking the camp need to forward the email they get from the yellow assessor to Joan to
show approval.
If you are new at Winter camping or want to learn more about it, please contact Tracy Leaman, our Area
Camping Adviser (Phone: 372-4629 or e-mail: [email protected] ). She will contact the Training
committee. You will be amazed at how easy it is to do and how warm you will be when you learn to do it
properly!
Tidewater is indeed blessed to have two wonderful campsites and in order to maintain them we need YOUR
help. This is not a plea for money but a plea for your dedication. Instead of going elsewhere to camp, support
our own camps right here in Tidewater.
Also, assistance when it comes to camp clean up day is needed. Come for a few hours or come for the day.
Whisong Clean-up day is the last Saturday in April (April 30, 2016). You get an opportunity to
watch some of the Pollett River Run from the bank ... entertaining to say the least!
Nebooktook clean up, depending on the road condition, will be during the first week of May.
Happy Camping Tidewater. Stay Safe; Have Fun!
A survey for Campsite properties will be coming out soon. Please fill it out and return it so we will have an
idea what you are looking for when it comes to Camping in Tidewater.
TIDEWATER AREA CELEBRATES
WAGGGS
(Formerly called Area Thinking Day event)
Mark your calendars and come celebrate with us.
When: May 7, 2016
Where: Rotary Lodge, Centennial Park, Moncton N.B.
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Who? Everyone - Units/Leaders/Trefoil/Link
Learn about our 5 World centers, participate in games, crafts, and food from different parts of the world. More information will follow closer to the date.
Thank you, Guiders. Send
me all your news and pictures any time; you don’t
have to wait until the next
due date. My inbox is always available.
Natasha LeBlanc
34 West Lane, Moncton,
E1C6T7
[email protected]