Cadettes!

May 13, 2008 /

Maya has been a girl scout for several years now. She was first a Brownie, for one year I think, and then ‘bridged’ into a Jr. Girl Scout a few years ago. Never having been a girl scout myself, I was indifferent to her participation at first. Especially at the Brownie level, it seemed like a lot of crafts and kind of make-worky, and while I didn’t dislike it, I didn’t really see the benefit.

Jr. Girl Scouts has been a whole ‘nother ball of wax, as they say. To watch these girls take charge of their meetings, their projects, and their awards, has been wonderful. They have worked really hard, and completed a lot of community service, in addition to camping, learning, and having a lot of fun. Last year, several of the girls worked on the Bronze Award, which is the highest award available at the Jr. Scout level. I was very proud when Maya received her Bronze Award, to show for all of her hard work.

All but one of the girls in this troop went to the same elementary school, which was the charter Montessori that Maya attended from 1 – 5 grade. Because it was a charter school, and not your typical neighborhood school, none of the girls in the troop attend the same middle school. So this troop is a way for the girls to get together every couple of weeks, compare notes about schools, classes, boys (probably), and new friendships. I think there’s a safety involved in coming together, away from the pressures and stresses of middle school, and that in and of itself is very valuable. I’m so glad that Maya decided to join girl scouts, and that she has stuck with it for all of these years.

On Saturday, Maya and her troop participated in a very cool ‘bridging ceremony‘ along with about 7,500 other girl scouts and families. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with scouting, or at least with girl scouting, when a girl goes from one level/age group up to the next level, it is called ‘bridging’. And what better place for 7,500 12 year olds to bridge from ‘jr. girl scouts’ into ‘Cadette girl scouts’ than that most famous, beautiful, and windy bridge, the Golden Gate? Here are a few photos of our day.
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Just held up the camera and took a pic, to show how crowded the bridge was. Notice the bald guy in the foreground. Can you say, “fish out of water”?
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Maya and her BFF, Jackie, on the approach to the bridge.
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Maya and me, somewhere around 1/2 way across.
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The whole troop, wind blown and happy. Once they crossed, they were no longer “Jr.s”, and had now attained the status of “Cadettes!”

Congratulations, troop!

14 Comments

  • Autumn's Mom

    May 13, 2008 at 8:26 am

    How fun!!! Congrats to Maya. I never did girl scouts (although I think I tried out Brownies for a few weeks). I’m glad she’s been enjoying it and has stuck with it.

  • Starshine

    May 13, 2008 at 11:11 am

    What a cool way to commemorate their “bridging” to cadettes!

    I remember walking over a bridge to become a jr. girl scout. Is it ever called a “flying up” ceremony? I don’t know why that is in my head.

  • Linda Atkins

    May 13, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    Looks like it was a wonderful day, and congratulations to Maya! That really sounds like a great thing, that group of girls sticking together over the years.

  • Amy

    May 13, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    Good for her! I was a Brownie and I remember the bridge ceremony when I became a Girl Scout (it was on a tiny bridge over a creek in someone’s backyard–hardly the Golden Gate!) but I didn’t last more than a year in Girl Scouts. I’m glad Maya is doing so well.

  • Jenny's BFF

    May 13, 2008 at 7:37 pm

    I miss San Francisco! Just looking at the Golden Gate Bridge makes me heartsick!
    Maya is just beautiful. Beauty and brains … no wonder why you are so proud. 🙂

  • Chrissy

    May 14, 2008 at 9:16 am

    Congrats to Maya! 🙂 It looks like she really enjoys what she’s doing! What a great way to learn and be able to socialize with her peers. Maya is so beautiful, J! She’s got such a great smile! She certainly takes after her Ma and Pa, doesn’t she!? 🙂