Cadette Troop 2029 and Senior Troop 475
Welcome to Cadette Troop 2029 and Senior Troop 475!!
Come, get acquainted, make friends, camp, learn new skills, go places, help others, and have fun. Helping our daughters grow into confident, independent young women is our goal. Parents (moms AND dads) are encouraged to register with the troop, and are always welcome to attend meetings and activities. We need your help. Parent meetings are held each month. For your daughter's sake you should be there. For her sake you should be as involved in her activities as possible.
Troop History and Structure
Our troop currently has about 35 active girls ranging from sixth through twelfth grade, and drawing from at least 15 different schools. We meet together and have many activities together, but do certain age-specific activities separately. The troop formed as a Daisy troop of ten girls from two schools in 1989. We have been a mixed-age group since 1990 when our Daisies birdged to Brownies, and we inherited both the existing Brownie troop whose leader had quit, and the Juniors from that Brownie troop who had bridged but couldn't find a troop. As our girls have gotten older, we have lost some who moved or decided that Girl Scouting wasn't for them, but gained others who wanted to be Girl Scouts even though their troops were not continuing, or who wanted the kind of program our troop offers.
We think we are stronger by having the multiple ages and girls from different schools working together. The girls get a different experience than they do in school, where they are segregated by age and have that one perspective only. They tend to be less cliqueish and more open to opportunities and new friends. Groupings are mobile and a girl can usually find a place where she "fits" at any given moment. Younger girls see where they can go and what they can achieve by following the footsteps of the older girls. They learn from the older girls. The older girls, in turn, learn patience and leadership skills in dealing with the younger ones. Our older girls, who have a lot of other outside acitvities, also have a consistent troop to come to even when they can't attend on a regular basis.
Troop government is by patrols, groups of 5-10 girls who elect a patrol leader to represent them at the Court of Honor. The Court of Honor is the governing body made up of the troop leader and patrol leaders, with the troop secretary and troop treasurer.
As of this year all of our girls will have bridged to Cadettes or Seniors. We will continue as a Cadette/Senior troop as long as we have girls who wish to be in Girl Scouts. The Cadette troop will retain the "2029" number, but the Senior troop will become "475". This will require a minor change to uniforms, but we won't have to change the troop flag.
Our Program
The Girl Scout mission is to inspire girls with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism, and service that they may become happy and resourceful citizens. Building self-esteem and a spirit of "can-do" is a vital part of Girl Scouting. Our troop program emphasizes Girl Scout values, including the out-of-doors, fun, service to others, and the specialness of growing up female. Many of our activities are designed to foster independence and leadership in our girls, and some of those activites are just for them and the participating adults (yes, you can be one of those adults, but we may separate you and your daughter so she can function more independenty): some of our other activities ar geared to include families, and we want all of you to fully participate so we can encourage family strengths.
Our girls decide what they want to do and then carry out the planning, program, and fundraising. In general, we pursue badge requirements, conduct business acitivities, or other activities of the girls' choice during meetings. About once a month we will have a special activity, often in the form of camping or other otudoor activity. We encourage our girls to attend council-sponsored residential camp or day camp in the summer.
Last year's troop highlights included a combined camping trip with Boy Scout Troop 667 to climb Mount Elbert [14,433 ft]; a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and YMCA of the Rockies at Estes Park to hear the elk bugling; making snowshoes and snowshoeing into the Honer's cabin during winter break; winter backpacking to White Ranch; auto maintenance; backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon along with a tour of nothrern Arizona and southeastern Utah; the Front Range Unit Campout at Magic Sky Ranch planned and carried out by our girls for 90 younger girls and adults from other troops; and hikes, swimming, water safety, and canoe training. Several of our members attended resident camp at Flying G or Tomahawk Ranches, or were program aides at day camps and council events. Two of our members went to England for an international encampment. Three of our Cadettes completed their Silver Awards.
Activities planned to start this year include a camping trip to climb Mount Bierstadt of Grays & Torreys Peaks, and a planning retreat at Twisted Pine for our girls and patrol ldeaders to decide what to do this year. We are working on plans for a trip to Our Chalet in Switzerland.
A Caution to Parents
Our girls do most of the program planning, and much of the implementation. Often this is frustrating for our involved adults, because we already know how to do that planning and implementation much more quickly and efficiently than the girls do, and it is easier for us to just do it. That is the role that Daisy/Brownie leaders/parents play. As Cadette/Senior leaders/parents we give our girls more freedom to do for themselves. It is similar to when our children were learning to walk. It was easier and faster to pick them up and carry them--but we knew we had to let them take those first halting steps, and watch them fall, and wait for them as they followed us. It took longer, but we knew they had to learn. Our role now needs to change as our girls develop their life skills. This is especially hard if it is your daughter who is supposed to be doing the work--you are used to doing for her or at least reminding her to get her work done. Please be patient with them, and watch the results as these young women amaze you. Your daughter and our girls are capable of so much more than we as parents generally are willing to allow them. Their methods may differ from ours but they get the job done. Now they are learning about life. Stand back and watch them grow!
Links:
Come Meet Our Members
Mile-Hi Council
Our Sister Troop
Girl Scouts and Girl Guides Around the World
Thank you for visiting our Page.
Please come back and visit again!
