Solar Eclipse workshop

The CTK Girl Scouts got to learn about the 2017 Solar Eclipse right before it occurred! They learned about sun clocks, magnets and compasses, how important it is to protect ourselves from UV light, and many other experiments.  We ended making a pin hole box with cereal boxes so they could safely view the eclipse.  Now to wait until the next one.

Bronze Award: Buddy Bench

One of the highest awards that a Junior Girl Scout, grade 4th and 5th, can receive is the Bronze Award.  Girls are asked to explore their community to see if they can help improve an issue.   As the girls pursue their project, they put the Girl Scout Promise and Law into action. They also develop an understanding of sustainability and gain an understanding of the wider world by discussing how others may experience the same problem that their project helped resolve.

Our Christ the King 5th grade Junior Girl Scouts saw a need on the Kindergarten playground.  They thought that with so many kids coming from different Pre-schools and areas around town, that many of them might not have any friends when school starts.  They did some research and found that there is what is know as a Buddy Bench.  This bench is made and placed in an area that kids play.  When some one is feeling lonely and doesn't have a friend/classmate to play with, they would go sit on the bench.  Another classmate would see them and go over to invite them to play.  

The Girl Scouts worked on presenting their idea to Principal Reynoso at the end of the school year and got her approval!!  Over the summer the girls went to Menards to learn about what wood would be best to build the bench with and what paints would be best for being outside in the Kansas elements. Once they had plans, they set off on building and painting their Buddy Bench! Building took the girls a couple of days, making sure that every piece of wood was lined up just right. Girls learned that even painting took some time; they thought that because it was hot outside that the paint would dry much faster.  Instead, it took longer due to the humidity in the air!  They experienced the old expression, "watching paint dry"!  

Right before this school year started, the 5th grade Junior Girl Scouts presented their Buddy Bench to Fr. Matthew, Principal Reynoso and Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Kinney.  Fr. Matthew did a blessing on the bench for the girls.  The bench was in the Kindergarten hallway during registration night so new parents and Kindergartners could see it and then it will be moved to their playground!  

The girls leaders, Jennifer Augustine and Linda Wolf are so excited for all the hard work and dedication that their girls showed on their project.  They look forward to seeing more of what their girls do in the future!  Congratulations young ladies!

Cookie Season!

It's COOKIE SEASON!!

Girl Scouts from Christ the King were taking cookie orders starting back on January 1st and out delivering and having cookie booths during February.  

A huge Thank You goes out to President Schambari and Athletic Director, Bobby Taul at Hayden for letting all of the Christ the King Girl Scouts sale cookies at their last two home basketball games! The girls did a great job and all of the basketball spectators had yummy cookies while watching games being played.  

All of the CTK Girl Scouts also sold cookies at Kelly Express on 10th and Wanamaker over the February weekends.  The girls also did their final booth sale after Masses here at church Feb. 25th and 26th.  Thank you to all of the parishioners who bought cookies from our troops!

Cookie season officially ends March 10th, so if you still need cookies we have plenty of Girl Scouts who can help you!   

Mall Scavenger Hunt

This morning the Girl Scout Service Unit of Topeka put on a Scavenger Hunt at the Mall.  All girls earned one of their legacy money badges, which is different for each level, and a Mall Madness Scavenger Hunt fun patch.  There were approximately 135 girls registered, so early morning mall walkers saw a lot of different colored Girl Scout vests throughout.  The girls had to figure out clues to find the store that had their questions that needed to be answered.  The two troops that finished the fastest in time, won 1st and 2nd place.

We, the CTK Girl Scouts, had 2 winning troops!  The 3rd grade Brownies won 1st place and the 6th/7th grade Cadettes won 2nd place in their prospective troop levels.  Congratulations CTK Girl Scouts for you wins!

Cooking at the Library

Today after school the 4th grade Junior Girl Scouts visited the public library for a little cooking fun!  The girls didn't know what they were going to be making, just that what ever it was they had to try it :)
Jen, from the library, started by explaining that what they were going to make is a nutritious snack and that you can make some of it pre-made to make things a little simpler at home.  Today they were going to make bean & cheese tortillas!  Instead of buying already mashed up re-fried beans, the girls were going to making their own so they could see how easy it was and what spices they could add to add more flavor if they wanted.  The girls also had to grate their own cheese too.  They talked about how you can go into the store today and buy cheese that's already grated, but Jen explained to them that often the pre-shredded cheese is more expensive to buy.  Plus it was just as easy for them to use a cheese shredder to work their own block of cheese.  One of the girls in the troop isn't a fan of refried beans, but since she did all of the work herself, she said it wasn't as bad as she had originally thought!

This cooking class is offered by the public library once a month for anyone to come attend.  Please look up the schedule on the library's website.  The troop is excited to see what next months dish is and hopes to see a lot of people attend!

Sk8 Away

SK8 Away

Girls from Troops 7006 and 7077 at Christ the King School spent the day celebrating the end to Christmas break by roller skating.  These girls have worked really hard this year and were rewarded with a skating party.  For some, this was the very first time they had skated and most of them had only skated a handful of times.  All of them did great and it was nice seeing the girls conquer their fear of skating and practicing their new skills. 

Girl Scout Christmas Party

Girl Scouts singing Christmas carols at the Manor

The last day of school before Christmas break is always a fun one for the Girl Scouts at Christ the King school.  The girls have 1/2 day of school and then spend some time with each other having a Christmas party!  This year the Girl Scouts decorated Christmas cards for people at the Topeka VA hospital and then went across the street to sing Christmas carols at the Manor.  The Girl Scouts have a great time singing and sharing joy, they already looking forward to doing it again this year! 

My Promise My Faith

On Saturday, Dec. 3rd, we worked on My Faith, My Promise badge. A sister from Leavenworth talked about the Three C's. They are considerate , caring , and courageous. You can't be one of the three C's without the other.  We made symbols of our faith out of clay . We also decorated lunch bags for Coritas Corner in Topeka. I believe we decorated close to a thousand.

It was a great experience and I enjoyed my day.

--Abby

Sister Vicki, from Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, came to talk to the Girl Scouts of Christ the King.  She focused her talk about one of the lines from the Girl Scout Law, Considerate and Caring.  She explained that each and every girl brings something different to the group.  She used different colors of clay to demonstrate this.  By taking three different colors and folding them over each other, you get a marble effect.  This showed that sometimes when girls work together their different strengths are molded into what they are working on.  Each girl brings something to the project and by working together they can create a beautiful piece of work.  

Another activity that the girls did was decorate brown paper bags that will be used at Coritas Corner.  This is a place that it here in Topeka next to Let's Help and Catholic Charity.  The workers and volunteers put together a sack lunch for others in need.  The girls decorated bags that are used with Christmas praise, happy thoughts, and so many other positive pictures.  As the girls get older, they hope that they can help make sack lunches that will be passed out!  

 Considerate, caring and courageous....just three little words that have a huge impact on what Girl Scouts focus on!

Harvesters

On Oct. 31, 1860 Girl Scout founder, Juliette Gordon was born.  She founded Girl Scouts 1912 here in the US.  One of the beliefs that Juliette instilled on girls from the beginning, is the commitment to help others.  Today, Oct. 29th, Christ the King Girl Scouts and fellow troop 4306, spent some time at Harvesters.  There the younger Girl Scouts colored and decorated bags that will be used at Harvesters when they take meals to people who are in need.  The older Girl Scouts spent a couple of hours sorting out and repackaging 4,141 lbs. bread that is being sent out around the area to help other food panties.   Girl Scouts collected food items to bring to Harvesters, CTK girls brought in 156 lbs and Troop 4306 brought in 213 lbs.

Topeka Zoo

"The Junior Girl Scout went to the Topeka Zoo and did the Twilight tour on Oct. 21st.  It started at the Rain forest.  After looking around, we went to a room at the back of the Rain forest and saw how they prepare food for the animals.  We saw lots of other animals through out the zoo like giraffes, bears, tigers and lions.  The Twilight tour at the zoo was a blast!" - Rosalia, 4th grade Junior

The 4th grade Junior Girl Scouts worked on the Animal Habitat badge.  Some of the steps to earning this badges are; 1. Find out about wild animals, 2. Investigate an animal habitat, 3. Create an animal house, 4. Explore endangered habitats, and 5.  Help protect animal habitats.

When we toured the zoo at night, we saw how many of the animals do different things within their habitats than they do during the day.  The owls were more "talkative" at night and were closer to the fronts of their enclosures.  The bats swooped all over the place, many of us had to dunk otherwise we would have had bats in our hair!  We also didn't realize how much space is behind the scene at the Rain forest.

After visiting the zoo, Emily did a short presentation on Fairy Penguins.  They are one of the smallest penguins and live off the coast of New Zealand.  We found out during the research that many penguins had gotten hurt from oil that has been spilled into the ocean.  To help the penguins recover after being cleaned, they are outfitted in a little knit sweater!  This is to help keep them from picking at their feathers and ingesting the oil.  Who knew that penguins were fashionistas!

After cookie season this winter, we voted on going to a rescue horse ranch south of Topeka.  There they take in horses that are sick or needing new homes.  We hope to raise a lot of donation money so we can give to the horse ranch to help take care of all of the horses.

This badge was a lot of fun for the girls to do.  They all have a special place in their hearts for animals!

New Scout year!

GIRL SCOUTS!!!  We are getting ready to kick off the new Scout year.  Girl Scouts will have an information table set up at Christ the King registration night, August 10th, and also at Scout Night, August 25th. Stop by and see what exciting activities you and your daughter can participate in!  

Are you looking for school volunteer options?!?  As a volunteer with any of our troops, you are able to count the time you spend towards your school volunteer hours.  Have fun with your daughter and her friends while taking care of a school commitment, too.  There's lot of options that you can help with, from being a Troop Leader, to taking care of the paperwork, to being in charge of the calling tree for your troop.  Please let me (Jennifer) or any Troop Leader know and we will help you find the right volunteer position you feel comfortable with!

Pinewood Derby

Pinewood Derby is usually a Cub Scout event, but not for some of our CTK Girl Scouts!  They participated in a Pinewood Derby for Girl Scouts on April 16th and had a blast!

The Girl Scouts had to purchase a blank pinewood derby car and create their own unique car of their own. From design, to cutting, to painting and making sure that it was the legal weight, these girls made each one their own. 

The event was held a Grace Episcopal Cathedral, here in Topeka and had troops from all across town participate. All troops from Daisy up to Ambassador(12tj graders) were invited and about 55 cars turned up!  

Each level Girl Scouts raced among their peers. We had Girl Scouts from Daisy, Brownie, Junior and Cadette registered. This was the first time our girls participated in a Pinewood Derby race. We had some winners and some who learned the valuable lesson of not everyone will win. They all had a great time and are already looking forward to next years Pinewood Derby!  

Brownies Bridging

On Monday, the 5th grade Junior girls helped the 3rd grade Brownies meet their Bridging requirements. The Brownie girls needed to meet with an older Girl Scout troop meeting, preferably a Junior Girl Scout troop, and learn what it's like to be a Junior level Girl Scout. The Juniors talked about the Get Moving journey they  completed. The girls talked about how they get to go camping for a couple days instead of just one overnight. One Junior shared how she was excited to help plan one of the activities. Usually as the Girl Scouts get older they take on more responsibilities and help plan activities for younger troops and when all the troops get together; such as the Bonfire and lock-in.

Another part of the meeting was playing Mystery Path. Girls took turns leading the others through a mystery path. The challenge is that the girl leading is the only one who knows the correct path. The other girls have to guess which direction to go. If they are wrong the leaders rings a bell. Each girl has to get through the path correctly. As one girl makes it through they can help guide the others non-verbally. This teaches the girls team work and leadership. 

The final activity was teaching the younger girls some new songs. They all had fun picking songs that were their favorite and singing as loud as they could!

Thank you to Miss Hatch and her 5th grade Junior Girl Scouts for helping the 3rd grade Brownie girls with their bridging!  They can't wait to cross the bridge next month and their green vests :)

World Thinking Day

On February 20th, many of our CTK Girl Scouts from the Brownies, Junior and Cadette troops attended World Thinking Day at Fairlawn Plaza.  World Thinking Day (WTD) is a day in Girl Scouts where you have the ability to "host" countries from all over the world and teach other Girl Scouts about it.  

This year Junior, Cadette, Senior and Ambassador troops from across the Topeka area were the "hosts".  Each troop picked a different country to research.  They found what foods are popular, the type of clothing worn, and most importantly, what Girl Scouts from different countries do!  The girls put up posters, decorated their tables and handed out SWAPS (Special Which-a-ma-call-its Affectionately Pinned Somewhere) to all the girls who were "traveling" through learning.  

As the younger girls walked around the Plaza learning about all of the different countries, they got their "passports" punched.  At the end of the event all of the girls had a different country in mind for when they are old enough to help host a country at a future World Thinking Day!  Then, to end the day, each girl from the CTK troops received a Henna tattoo to show their sisterhood with each other.
  

Flag workshop

On February 13th, veterans from the American Legion came to talk to all of the Christ the King Girl Scouts about the history and meaning of our American flag.  The event was held at the Christ the King School cafeteria.

For example:  Did you know that Betsy Ross is the one who talked the committee into only having 5-points on the Star?  Do you remember how many stars were on the first American Flag?  13.  Do you remember what they stood for?  One star stood for each of the original states.  It has been told that each State was to also have their own stripe too.  Could you imagine having 50 Stars AND 50 Stripes?!?

The Legionaries walked the girls through the proper way of posting the Colors; meaning how the flags should be placed when next to each other.  They explained that the American flag is always to the right of the speaker.  The presenters explained then demonstrated to the girls how to fold the flag properly.  Each fold represents something different.  A detailed explanation can be found on American Legion page.

All of the Girl Scouts received a piece from a retired flag (a star from the field) from the American Legion veterans.

The CTK Girl Scouts would like to extend a special "Thank You" to our presenters from the Legion - for all the service and dedication you have provided for our country.

Christmas Party

CTK Girl Scout sing Christmas carols to ManorCare residents

On Dec. 18th, our CTK Girl Scouts got together for some Christmas fun.  After school we met together to have lunch, exchange SWAPS, and learn about Christmas traditions in other countries.  We walked across the street to sing Christmas carols to the residents at ManorCare.  The residents were so happy so see such a large group of Girl Scouts and sang along to a lot of the songs.  The girls had such a great time spreading Christmas cheer. 

Ice Skating

Our Christ the King Girl Scouts took in a fun filled afternoon, Jan. 2nd, ice skating at the Expo Center.  They strapped on their skates with other area Girl Scouts.  Some girls stayed afterwards to watch our local Topeka Roadrunners!  The event was put on by our local Girl Scout council.  We had Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes skating around!  

My Promise My Faith

Fr. Mitchel speaking to the Girl Scout

"The Catholic faith is discreetly tied in with the Girl Scout Law and Promise, and at the workshop I attended, we examined our faith and those connections.  Specifically the line "courageous and strong" located in the Girl Scout Law.  We discovered that many of the Saints we look up to are courageous and strong, by not shying away from their faith, even in times of persecution.  As Christians today, we need to follow their example and stand up for our faith even if we are looked down upon by other."
written by: Evelyn (8th grade Cadet)

Father Mitchel talked with the girls about what the world thinks makes people happy versus what God says will make us happy. The world thinks that you need to be pretty, have lots of money, be in control of your life, and be important. God cares more about how beautiful our soul is instead of our physical beauty. God tells us that we will be happy when we give to others in need. Instead of being in control of our lives, God wants us to hand over control to Him. And finally, instead of being important, God tells us that 'the greatest will become the least.' Father Mitchel told us about heroic female saints who found true happiness by doing what God wanted, including Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and St. Therese.

Harvesters

"My troop and other CTK troops went to Harvesters on Halloween.  We went because it was our founder Juliette Low's birthday.  We were providing service to our community in her honor.  We helped sort carrots that will go to needy families in our area.  We finished our day with a fun game of Jeopardy and cupcakes."   written by Rachel (Cadette Troop)

Harvesters is a local food bank that serves 26 area counties here in NE Kansas and NW Missouri.  They provide food and household supplies to over 600 non-profit organizations to help those in need.  Harvesters is always looking for groups to volunteer to help sort and organize goods that are brought in from around the United States and local donations. 

Girl Scout Bonfire!

On Oct. 18th, 2015 the CTK Girl Scout Bonfire was hosted by the 5th grade Junior troop.  It took place at Mother Theresa of Calcutta Church in North Topeka.  We made s'mores, trail mix and masks.  We played pin the "something on the something", tree tag, 3-legged "monster" races and capture the pumpkin.  We had a great time!  Thanks to everyone who helped out.
written by:  Anna (Brownie) & Kat (Junior)

This year, we did the Bonfire on Sunday, October 18, and combined it with Juliette Low's birthday. The girls made s'mores over the campfire. They got to eat the s'mores and drink apple cider. They also learned new songs. Other activities were making a Halloween mask, playing pin the tail on the black cat, a three legged "monster" race, and making a take home treat. At the end, the girls divided into two teams to do a Capture the Pumpkin game.