2011 Stories
These stories appear by month in which they were put onto the website, starting at the most recent month at the top of the page.
October 2011
Planting out at Motuihe
As
part of the recent conservation week, and in line with GirlGuiding NZ
encouragement of community service, the Eastern Bays Guide District
visited Motuihe Island on Sunday 25 September to partake in the Motuihe
Conservation Project by planting out seedlings in the nursery and
planting trees on the island to help in the regeneration of the fauna
and flora and subsequent native bird life. 
We
lost a few participants along the way due to the daylight savings
changeover and bad weather, but those hardy souls who did venture out
were well rewarded with a beautiful setting and the satisfaction of
accomplishing a good days work. There was plenty to do for all age
groups and with our stomachs fuelled with a sausage sizzle and hot
drinks we all got stuck in. Many of us are even talking about visiting
again, and the Guides are enthused by the possibility of an overnight
stay in the volunteers’ cabin with a night walk to watch the kiwi.
Alison Snell, District Coordinator
Eastern Bays District
August 2011
Matariki at St Mary's
Hobson District St Mary’s Pippins participated in the Term 2 Matariki challenge. The girls enjoyed learning stick games, string games and making pois. They also visited the local library and heard a Maori legend. We are also hoping to go up Mt Wellington to fly our kites that we made.
Janet Findlay
Chocolate Cake Turfing
Eagerly
awaiting Jamboree at the beginning of next year and closer still, the
Camper Camp Cook weekend, Kiwitea Guides practiced ‘turfing’ for an
outdoor cookout in a rather unconventional way.
With wet weather keeping them indoors, the girls refreshed their turfing skills by practising on chocolate cake! 
Armed
with three chocolate cakes prepared by Mrs Ovenden and a variety of
confectionery such as pineapple lumps for rocks, chocolate sticks for
kindling, and chocolate wafers as larger logs, the girls used plastic
spades to cut up their chocolate cake and dig up chunks of ‘mud’ in
order to build their fire.
Their woodpiles were very impressive
as well as their ability to replace the ‘earth’ in the proper place. As
well as satisfying many a sweet tooth, I’m sure they will be much more
capable at the cookout at the end of the year.
Kiwitea Guides
June 2011
Cultural Challenge
Ponsonby Brownies participated in the Term 2 Cultural Challenge. Girls tried making pois, did weaving, learnt the stick game, played knuckle bones and groups did performances at the end. Some of the sixer groups also played string games and made more pois.
Cornelia
St Johns First Aid Day
During the April school holidays, a very eager bunch of approximately 80 Brownies and Guides completed the ‘St Johns First Aid for Badges’ course, held in Ellerslie. Brownies and Guides came from around the Upper North Zone including Papakura, Dannemora, Takapuna Devonport, Eastern Bays and Arataki Districts.
The Brownies and Guides were taken through a number of interactive activities including CPR, treatment of hypothermia, heat exhaustion, first aid kits, cramps, winding, stitch, slings, roller bandage, choking, strains and sprains, RICE, asthma, bleeding, burns, stings, nose bleeds, grazes, calling for help, unconsciousness, DRSABC (Danger, Response, Send for Help, Airway, Breathing, Circulation) including their safety, putting a person into the ‘on the side support’ and so much more.
St Johns were impressed with how well the girls worked together, their listening skills, discussions that took place, the overall behavior, and the sound knowledge base all the girls had, a huge reflection on the amazing leaders we have!
Jenny, the St Johns’ Safekids presenter, was impressed that while covering first aid kits the Brownies and Guides knew what should be in one and what shouldn’t including the random items such as the chainsaws. She was even more impressed when told by one of the Brownies that ‘yes Mum would have matches in the first aid kit, because she was a Guide Leader’.
The examples used during the session were fantastic and included memories Jenny had of being a Guide herself including cutting tomatoes ready for pizza, campfire, horseshoe and ‘your tough Guide leader has made you tramp all day in the hot sun’.
The excitement of playing with all the equipment was explosive, with the Brownies and Guides jumping off their seats to get started. They each got to do CPR on the dummies, practice putting slings on each other, dealing with stings, burns and bleeding, dress the dummies for hypothermia and heat exhaustion treatment, put together first aid kits, role play blood noses and practice the position on a partner the new technique on dealing with choking (that only came out the week prior).
So what did the Brownies and Guides achieve?
Brownies completed all of the Band Aids’n’Bee Stings badge
Guides covered the following clauses:
Adventure Outdoors: show and know how to treat hypothermia, burns, shocks and minor injuries, rescue breathing – covered CPR, rescue breathing is no longer taught, recovery position (known now as ‘on the side supported position’)
Auckland Central Gang Show
7 - 17 September 2011
Centennial Theatre, Auckland Boys Grammer, Mt Eden.
This year we are lucky to have 5 Guides and 8 Rangers and 1 Leader as part of the Auckland Central Gang Show from North Shore, Auckland, Manukau and Hauraki Regions. These young ladies will end up giving up 15 Sundays, two weekends at camp rehearsing and then a full weekend at Dress Rehearsal and then they will give 12 Performances.
Not only do we have these young ladies on stage, we also have a lot of Guiding personal who will give there time freely to make the costumes and do make up and when it comes to Performances it is the Guiding personal who will greet you at the door and show you to your seats.
The Auckland Central Gang Show is made up of Scouting and Guiding people who have the talent to put on a show for two weeks. The show includes singing, dancing and sketches and a lot of good laughs. It is great family entertainment.
Look at putting this in your Term 3 plan. We have two shows on Saturdays, so for the units not in Auckland, come down and make a weekend of it.
Claire Robins
Guide Liaison & Assistant Gang Show Scout Leader
