1Fall 2010

Teen SceneA publication by girls and for girls age 11 and olderFALL 2010

Geeking out’s never been so cool!

2 Teen Scene

Reach for the Peak camping competition Sept. 10-12Join troops and groups of girls from across the state at Sky High Ranch for a weekend of fun and competition during the annual Reach for the Peak. Show off your campsite, cooking, first aid, knot-tying and lashing skills and more. Troops are awarded the Marmot, Big Horn Sheep, Eagle or Peak Award for their efforts. Juliettes are welcome to form teams or join others for the event. Adults are needed as judges. The $12 fee includes a patch and awards.

Learn more at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org > Major Events > Reach for the Peak.

Online membership registration coming soon!Girl Scouts of Colorado is launching online membership registration this fall. Be sure to check our website at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org > Join Us > Become a Member to learn how to renew your national membership online.

Be a media star and share your stories! We know older Girl Scouts have great stories to share and we want you to be a media star in your community. Share the experiences you’re gaining through Girl Scouts with your community. Learn more at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org > News > Share your Girl Scout stories > Be a Girl Scout Newsmaker.

Check out our new look, then send us your sketchesFlipping through this edition of Teen Scene, you’ll notice a fresh look as the result of a nationwide rebranding of Girl Scouts. To enhance this updated design, we’d like to include your sketches and drawings in upcoming publications and other printed materials. You don’t have to be an artist. Even your doodles might make great graphics. We’re looking for black ink or pencil on paper; no colored drawings please. Send your sketches to Wendy Kent, art director, Girl Scouts of Colorado, 400 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80209. If you have questions, email Wendy at wendy.kent@gscolorado.org.

Girl Scout Gab

CONTENTS3 Connecting in cyberspace

4 Cookie sellers celebrate

6 Camp = summer of fun

8 Girls think geek

10 Discovering Hamp Hut

12 Girls going places

14 Hunger for travel

Get published!If you are a Girl Scout age 11 or older, Teen Scene is the place to share your stories. This magazine is written by girls, for girls, so get in on the action now! Teen Scene is published twice yearly and mailed to all registered Girl Scouts ages 11 and older

in Colorado.

Girl voices must be heard! Write about your experiences on a destination or at camp. Why did you join Girl Scouts and why do you stick with it? Tell us about a community service project you worked on or an award or badge

you earned.

Send submissions to Kristin Hamm at kristin.hamm@gscolorado.org. We want to grow the girl presence on our website, so don’t wait for the next Teen Scene, submit your story today and be featured at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org!

TeenScene

FALL 2010

3

My name is Cecily Begano, and I am an 8th grade student in Southern Colorado. I have a busy lifestyle because I am a cheerleader, I am in student council and now I also belong to the first Virtual Troop in Girl Scouts of Colorado!

Our troop began in January 2010. Our troop leader is great because she has really good ideas for fun activities to help us earn badges online and always sends us surveys and polls to make sure that we have a lot of input on what our troop does.

I love being a part of the Virtual Troop because I can connect safely with Girl Scouts in Colorado who live in different places. I have also made good friendships with girls I would have never met without this opportunity. In the Virtual Troop, we can chat with each other, learn about each other’s hobbies, favorite music, books and everything you would learn about if you were actually there in person.

I am excited to get the chance to meet my new friends in my troop for the first time in person at a campout! How thrilling it will be to actually meet my friends, who I have gotten to know, in person after these past few months! I am sure we will be up all night talking and having girl time.

I also had the opportunity to attend the Geek Squad Summer Academy recently, and was that FUN! The Geek Squad Summer Academy taught me how to be safe on the Internet, how to build a computer, how to create music and how to shoot movies. All of this new information will help me to communicate in a more efficient and cool way when connecting with my new friends through the Virtual Troop!

I can’t wait to experience future opportunities through Girl Scouts of Colorado and this new Virtual Troop!

Cecily is 13 years old and attends Trinidad Middle School in Trinidad as an 8th grader. She has been a Girl Scout for nine

years. She earned her Girl Scout Bronze Award with a project focusing on bullying prevention and earned her Silver Award with a project focused on animal welfare. She also enjoys making videos, singing, choreographing dance routines, traveling, talking on the phone and spending time with her family, friends and her dog.

Girl Scout connections in cyberspaceForay into virtual pathway proves successful

4 Teen Scene

Something to CELEBRATESelling more than 750 packages of cookies is no easy task and the Girl Scouts who reached this milestone had the chance to celebrate their success at top-seller events around the state in June.

In all, 376 girls passed the 750-plus package mark and many of them sold many more packages of cookies.

On June 5, about 40 top sellers in the Pikes Peak region enjoyed an event at the Flying W Ranch. Also on June 5, in Durango, 10 top sellers enjoyed dinner and a show at Bar-D. Another Top Seller Event took place at the Candlelight Dinner Theater at Johnson’s Corner on June 6. The popular cookie dinner returned to the Denver area on June 12 and welcomed a crowd of 125 girls and their guests to the Marriott Denver Tech Center. Girl Scouts on the Western Slope held a camping weekend for top sellers at the Colorado National Monument June 11-12. On June 29, four top sellers joined 11 others from the Sterling area and participated in a Ropes Course event at Northeastern Junior College.

5Fall 2010

Top-sellers share the secrets of their cookie success

What is your name? Falynne Weinke

Where are you from? Grand Junction

How many packages of cookies did you sell? 2,758

What do you like about selling cookies? Earning money for my troop so that we can go on trips.

If you were a Girl Scout Cookie, what would you be and why? A Tagalog. The Tagalog is a classic, layers contributing to and compressed to an interesting whole.

What is the funniest or coolest thing that’s happened to you while selling cookies? The funniest thing was the man that picked up a box of Thin Mints and said “I’m glad to see they still come in a single serve package.” I don’t understand how someone could eat a whole box in one sitting but based on customer comments it must happen a lot. Dressing up in cookie cases at one of our booth sales was also very fun (and sold quite a few cookies).

How were you able to sell a lot of cookies? My mom and I walked door to door from early in the morning until evening during presales (we rang thousands of door bells) and then I spent over 100 hours at booth sales. Lots of hard work!

Did you have any unique selling techniques? Yes. Each year I develop what my mom calls an “elevator talk” to catch the attention of a prospective customer and try and interest them in the new cookie of the year. This year’s was “Our new cookie this year is the Thank You Berry Munch. It has dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. It is a GREAT coffee and tea cookie!”

What have you been able to do through Girl Scouts with your proceeds from cookies? Individually I’ve gone to several camps this summer (and more to come) and my troop will be leaving on trips soon to Glenwood Springs and Great Sand Dunes and Arches National Parks.

Anything else you’d like to share about your 2010 cookie sale? I earned $335 in Cookie Credits and I am very proud of being able to send myself to camp.

What is your name? Kaete Erickson

Where are you from? Fruita

How many packages cookies did you sell? 3,546

What do you like about selling cookies? Seeing the people. Getting excited about selling cookies. Eating cookies!

If you were a Girl Scout Cookie, what would you be and why? I would be the Trefoil because I don’t care for trefoils so much and I wouldn’t like to be eaten.

What is the funniest or coolest thing that’s happened to you while selling cookies? The coolest thing is when a customer buys a box of cookies and gives the cookies to me.

How were you able to sell a lot of cookies? I’ve been selling cookies for 7 years and I have a route and several people I sell to every year. They know who I am and I love to talk to each customer and get to know them. I also attended a whole lot of booth sales.

What have you been able to do through Girl Scouts with your proceeds from cookies? My troop does a lot of things throughout the year like camping and sleepovers and stargazing. I use the Cookie Credits that I earn to go to Colorado Springs Wild Nights trip, quilting, Twilight and several more programs that the council puts on.

Anything else you’d like to share about your 2010 cookie sale? I would like for every girl to have a chance to sell Girl Scout Cookies and be in Girl Scouts because it’s fun!

6 Teen Scene

Dear Mom and Dad,

Of all the word

s I could use

to describe c

amp, “EPIC” is probably the

best one. We’ve do

ne so many am

azing things I

can’t even de

scribe them all,

but here are a

few.

Ever been cano

eing? Well it’s

incredibly fun

, especially pl

aying tag in t

he

water. However

without a dou

bt the best pa

rt is swamping. N

ormally one

wouldn’t expe

ct tipping ove

r in a canoe to

be fun, or ev

en desirable,

but it

really is. Espe

cially when the

tipping happen

s way before it

’s supposed t

o,

or when the ca

noe starts sin

king as you’re

being pulled

back in and yo

u can

stand up all

the way and st

ill be under th

e water. Of cours

e, pulling the

canoes back i

n can be hard,

but it’s tota

lly worth it.

So, me-time is essential

ly imaginary, but o

n Wednesday we a

ctually had

some! It didn’t g

o at all as pl

anned. We were

supposed to b

e leaving afte

r

about an hou

r but our coun

selors didn’t c

ome out. We were

all tired, and

we knew our co

unselors were

tired so we le

t them sleep. After

about three

hours our coun

selors still ha

dn’t come out a

nd we were thin

king we really

should leave.

We knocked on t

he counselors’

door but no o

ne answered.

Looking throug

h the window w

e saw empty bed

s and a ransom

note. The not

e

said that our

counselors ha

d been kidnapp

ed and we had

to bring all o

ur

overnight supp

lies and go re

scue them at Inn

isfree. We had t

o pack our

overnight stuf

f, and get the

food and tent

s. Little did w

e know the coo

ks,

in protest of

our taking so

long to come and g

et the food, h

ad put bricks

in the bottom of the

containers th

at we had to

carry. Needless

to say it

was horrible t

o carry all th

e way up to In

nisfree. When we

got there our

counselors we

re bungee-cor

ded to a golf

cart and cou

ldn’t help us,

so

we had to lig

ht the fire, co

ok the food, p

itch the tents

and make a

shelter entirel

y by ourselves

. The campout w

as loads of f

un; although

not

everything wen

t exactly the w

ay we wanted i

t to. For one

thing only one

of

7Fall 2010

the tents had stakes so we spent some time chasing the tents that were blowing away in the wind, before we put our packs and sleeping bags into them. We also forgot to get toilet paper and twine so two of us had to go back and get them. The only places that were flat enough to pitch tents had lots of tree roots in them, so we had lots of roots sticking into our backs at night. There were a few minor catastrophes like someone’s dessert being dropped in the fire, and someone’s bandana catching on fire. But, in the end, we had a great time.

We spend most of our time out and about doing fun and crazy things; we do have CIT and WIT training also. It’s really interesting and we get to learn about how to be the best counselor possible. We had one activity where we had to order 15 items in a list from greatest to least importance. This would be fairly easy except there was a twist; each of us had a label on our forehead. All the different labels said either “laugh at me,” “agree with me,” “obey me,” “pity me,” “ignore me” or “smile on me.” We were all supposed to treat each other according to what was on our forehead. It was really interesting to see what it did to our group’s dynamics.

This is easily the MOST fun I have ever had at camp. I have to go now!Love,Your daughter

The group of Counselors-in-Training and Wranglers-in-Training attending a session at Sky High Ranch in late June penned this letter together. They have been Girl Scouts all their lives and they call Sky High Ranch their home. They all aspire to be camp counselors some day to share the positive experiences they’ve enjoyed!

8 Teen Scene

Girls think GEEKSummer Academy gives Girl Scouts new passion for technology

Eighty eager girls, ages 11 to 14, filled several rooms at The University of Denver for a week at the end of June. The girls — all Girl Scouts — took high-tech summer camp to a whole new level.

They built computers, shot and edited videos, created original tunes and blew off steam with high-tech recreational pursuits such as digital scavenger hunts, Wii games, Dance Off and Band Hero competitions. The energy was palpable as they shouted out answers and challenged their instructors.

The first-ever Geek Squad Summer Academy in Denver gave Girl Scouts a chance to raise their technology IQ, spark their creative passions and do something big with their summer vacation.

I enjoyed doing videos. We are shooting small videos and will make it into something big at the end. Now I know how to make a movie.

Cecily Begano, 13, of Trinidad

9Fall 2010

I thought this would be difficult as I had never done it before. But it’s easy.

Jamie Suto, 13, of Fort Collins

I liked doing the hands-on things like seeing the parts inside a computer, making my own music, videos and photos. I can now help my dad. He is big into computers. I will now understand what he is doing and maybe help him build a computer.

Naomi Morgan, 12, of Aurora

My creation is a mix of pop and country. Maybe I can write songs for TV or something like that one day?

Liz Schmidt, 12, of Parker

10 Teen Scene

Hamp Huta Colorado gemGarden of the Gods provides backdrop for spectacular fun

Cadette Troop 1001 had a blast spending the weekend at Hamp Hut in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on Feb. 5-7. The 11 sixth-graders from Wheat Ridge did lots of hiking through the beautiful Garden of the Gods and took a special tour of the Cave of the Winds. The girls planned and prepared all their meals and kept the adult leaders very entertained. They recommend a stay at Hamp Hut for other Colorado troops...it was really cool!

“I had a great time staying at Hamp Hut. We all had a GREAT time there.

We danced all night and hung out. Thanks for letting us stay!” -Kaitlyn Rice

11Fall 2010

“I really enjoyed spending the weekend at Hamp Hut! Playing outside was

extremely fun. I would recommend to anyone that they visit there. It was

cool because we learned responsibility and teamwork. I would love to go

and visit there again. Thank you.” -Leah Donnelly

“I think that Hamp Hut in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado, was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had as a Girl Scout. All the trips I’ve ever been on could never compare to my trip to Hamp Hut. The Garden of the Gods had beautiful scenery. Cooking our own food and looking at amazing rock formations was awesome.” -Ashley Willmeng

“Our trip to the Garden of the Gods was a magical trip with wonderful

scenery all around. It was very inspiring a

nd fun to learn about the

rocks. It was a lot of fun and I would love to go bac

k!” -Sarah Lowe

“Hamp Hut was so great! The backyard was so beautiful. We went to Cave of the Winds and took a tour. That was my favorite part of my visit to Garden of the Gods. Thank you for letting us stay at Hamp Hut.” -Simone LeBaron

“I had a lot of fun! I loved the ‘backyard’ with the beautiful surroundings of rock formations. It was a great experience…a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I will always remember our trip to Hamp Hut.” -Lindsey Thorsheim

The girls of Troop 1001 were 6th graders at Prospect Valley Elementary School in Wheat Ridge at the time of this trip. They’re now in middle school at Everitt and Manning middle schools.

12 Teen Scene

Girl Scout alumna trains for Foreign Service In the last year or so since I graduated college, I’ve traveled a lot, including spending a month in Spain learning to teach English. In February, I started a job at J.D. Power and Associates, using my degree for a computational linguistics job. It was really interesting to work in a field full of engineers, but my team was actually four females and only one male! The lifelong Girl Scout in me got a kick out of that, since I’m sure, in this field especially, that hasn’t always been the case!

As much as I’ve enjoyed the last few months, I just heard back from the State Department about a job I applied for last year. I have been accepted as a Foreign Service Office Management Specialist, and my training begins in late June (yes, this year!). I can’t believe everything is happening so fast! I won’t find out where I will be assigned until three weeks into training, but I will most likely be overseas, anywhere we have an embassy or consulate, so that’s a lot of possibilities!

I just want to thank everyone who was a role model to me in Girl Scouts throughout the years. I really think the leadership I learned through my years of Girl Scouting has made me the strong, courageous and ambitious woman I am today. Wherever I am posted, I hope to track down a Girl Scout/ Girl Guide troop somewhere in the area to keep volunteering, because I think it’s important. Also, I will be happy to be a pen pal to older girls, or any troops who might be learning about the area I will be in. I have a travel blog that I have started, with some of my latest adventures already documented, and I will be updating it with my experiences overseas. Feel free to pass on the link to whoever would be interested (I promise to keep it family/girl friendly).

www.jessietravels.blogspot.com

Jessie Mosnik was a Girl Scout in Northern Colorado for 15 years, and in that time attended a destination at Penn State and planned many

events for fellow Girl Scouts. She became a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA, and has volunteered as a delegate to the 2005 National Council Session in Atlanta and a volunteer trainer. Her Foreign Service training was in progress at the time this publication went to press. Watch for updates on the website and in future editions of Teen Scene.

13Fall 2010

High expectations nurtured in Girl Scouting leads to computing awardI have always held high expectations for myself, whether it is in sports or academics, and because of this, I have been successful at most of the things I attempt. Having high expectations for yourself isn’t something that can be achieved overnight; it is something that is taught and shown through the examples of others around you. I have had the privilege to be around people who have made a habit of holding high expectations, not only for themselves, but for me as well. I have met these people in my home, my schools and my extracurricular activities. One of the main activities that has given me a chance to learn about holding high expectations is Girl Scouts.

I have been a member of the Girl Scouts since I was in kindergarten as a Daisy. The experiences and opportunities that this program has given me have helped me to grow as a girl and also as a leader. Every day we would say the Girl Scout Promise, promising to live by the Girl Scout Law and as a young girl I would often pride myself in my ability to keep my promises, so I learned the Girl Scout Law. The contents of the Girl Scout Law set a lot of expectations for a kindergartner, but as a Daisy I strived to live by it. Ever since then, committing to the Law has almost become second nature and, believe it or not, doing so has helped me succeed in many ways.

Recently, I was given the honor of being an award recipient for the National Center of Women and Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing in Colorado. The award required submitting an online application which showed your experience in computing as well as your leadership skills. Being in Girl Scouts not only gave me a big leg up when it came to talking about how I am a leader in the community, but it also helped to prepare me for the application without me realizing it. As I had continued to hold myself to the high expectations of the Girl Scout Law, one of the things I did best was to use my resources wisely. As a result of using my resources wisely, I took advantage of a lot of computing and technological programs offered by my school and school district, which gave me the experience in computing that the awards committee was looking for.

As I continue on through my high school career, actively seeking new things to try and succeed in, it will be important to continue holding high expectations for myself. I have many people to thank for helping me to learn about holding high expectations, like my parents and my teachers, and a lot of these people are people whose true names I never learned—they were the counselors at the Girl Scout camps that worked hard to make Girl Scouts an enjoyable learning experience. They helped to shape me into the type of person I am today, and for that I am grateful.

Kirsten Lang, a member of Troop 876 and a sophomore at Overland High School in Aurora, was selected in June to receive a National Center

for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing. Kirsten is interested in robotics, computer software engineering and video game programming. She served as the Freshman Representative in Student Council and is working with her Girl Scout troop to earn the Silver Award by volunteering to organize the annual unit camping trip.

14 Teen Scene

Mexico trip leaves troop hungry for more TRAVEL

15Fall 2010

In 2006, our troop decided we would take a trip to the Girl Scout World Center, Our Cabaña, in Mexico in the summer of 2009. To afford the Mexico trip we spent months making jewelry every Sunday. We sold our jewelry whenever we had a chance. During cookie season we spent every weekend at booth sales and sold as many cookies as we possibly could. We also did gift wrapping multiple times and many other money-earning projects. All of our hard work paid off in the end when we finally attained our goal of earning enough money to go to Mexico.

As a troop we decided we would like to spend some time in Mexico City in addition to our stay in Cuernavaca (the city where Our Cabaña is located), and when we finally got off the plane in Mexico City, we knew what we had worked for. The Ticalli house (the youth hostel recommended through WAGGGS) was phenomenal! It was our first destination and we slept in bunks, making friends with the manager and workers. We also met our first new friends there; another troop from New Mexico and our tour guides José Luis and Pablo.

Our adventure began with visits to count-less historical sites, many churches built back in the 1800s made from cement, wood, clay and boasting beautiful stained glass. The love from the Mexico City inhabitants was actually tangible; we felt it emotionally. During the rest of our stay

we went to the pyramids in Teotihuacan, which made me wonder about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. We went on a river ride, and found out the many uses for cactus, and went to the Hard Rock Café, and many more places, meeting tons of new friends along the way.

After our three-day stay in Mexico City we took the journey to the World Center, better known to us as Our Cabaña. As we arrived at its big blue doors, volunteers greeted us from England, Vail, Kentucky, El Salvador, Canada and Scotland. The first day was mainly getting to know everyone and adjusting to the humidity. The Cabaña workers took us to more pyramids and to small towns full of silver shops. Street vendors selling trinkets to the tourists inundated us. By the end of our stay we had met three troops from the United States, “wrestled” with some large bugs, saw a scorpion and made some great friends for life.

After our trip to Mexico we were hungry for more excitement, so we decided that in the spring of 2010, we would take yet another trip—this time to New York City! Once again we pushed our cookie and magazine sales and sold lots of jewelry. After about a year of hard work we had enough money for the Big Apple! We stayed in an apartment in Manhattan and took the subway everywhere. We went from our small apartment on 25th Street

all the way down to the Bronx, learning the ways of daily life in New York. It’s easy to realize that unless you do this daily grind regularly, it can be challenging and confusing!

We went to the Guggenheim Art Museum, won free passes to see “How to Train Your Dragon in 3D,” saw a Broadway play called “Chicago,” went to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, went to the top of both the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Building and much more. The whole trip was a blast! We were not at all ready when the time came to leave our newfound love.

Our troop learned about new cultures, and we saw there was more to life than just in our hometown. We experienced what most people don’t get to, including the intricacies of how the New York subways work and the idiosyncrasies of the people in New York. We grew to appreciate the easy-going manner of Mexico’s people and their hard work ethic.

Our next trip will be to the World Center in India in the summer of 2012. Who knew through Girl Scouts this would all one day be possible to do?

Alex Massey is a member of Girl Scout Senior Troop 1447 in Parker. She has been a Girl Scout for nine years. In addition to traveling the world with her troop, she enjoys cars, working out and hanging out with family and friends.

Mexico trip leaves troop hungry for more TRAVEL

Fund-raising efforts serve up Big Apple for second course — India is next on menuBy Alex Massey

Girl Scouts across the state are making a mark on Colorado’s environment through the Girl Scouts Forever Green pilot project. The capstone event “Girl Scouts Go Dark” in April invited girls to educate their school communities about energy consumption during Lights Out lunches and other events.

The girls took charge and, through these events and other Forever Green projects, nearly 7,000 people pledged to reduce their energy consumption and another 10,000 were educated about the environment.

During Earth Week in April, troops set up informational booths, prepared skits and dances, organized classroom contests to reduce energy use, hung posters to encourage recycling, held an off-the-grid sleepover to stop global warming and more to drive home the point that this is our planet and we must care for it. One troop worked with their school for an entire Lights Out week!

Not all final reports are in yet, but so far you can see Girl Scouts made a huge impact: Lights were off for 912.5 hours, energy use decreased by 79,307 kWh, 6,591 people pledged to reduce their resource consumption, 10,080 people were educated about the environment, 486 new outdoor plants were planted and 1,322 square feet of new or improved outdoor green space was created.

Read more about Forever Green and get involved at www.gsforevergreen.org

Girl Scouts make their mark with Forever GreenNon-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAIDDenver, CO

Permit No. 271Girl Scouts of ColoradoP.O. Box 9407Denver, CO 80209-0407

Address Service Requested

Colorado Springs3535 Parkmoor Village DriveColorado Springs, CO 80917T 719.597.8603 or 1.800.748.3343F 719.597.5986

Denver400 S. BroadwayDenver, CO 80209-0407T 303.778.8774 or 1.866.827.7033F 303.733.6345

Durango701 Camino del Rio, Suite 315Durango, CO 81301T 970.375.7913F970.375.7916

Fort Collins1600 Specht Point Road, Unit 105Fort Collins, CO 80525T 970.493.1844 or 1.888.801.1269F 970.493.6838

Grand Junction580 24 ½ RoadGrand Junction, CO 81505T 970.242.4461 or 1.800.288.0463F 970.243.9066

Pueblo21 Montebello RoadPueblo, CO 81001T 719.543.4690 or 1.800.287.9252F 719.543.4693

Girl Scouts of Colorado Service Centers

This publication is brought to you in part by contributions to the Family Campaign and your participation in product sales.PrINTeD ONreCyCLeD STOCK

www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org

Girls from Troop 2510 of Wheat Ridge perform during “Lights Out Lunch” at Prospect Valley Elementary School.