GUIDES                14            Guide Guider:-                        Cheryl Anthony

                                           Young Leader:-                       Kirsty Anthony 

 BROWNIES          14             Brown Owl:-                           Shari Parkhill

                                                Tawny Owl:-                           Muriel Williams

                                              Snowy Owl:-                           Hope Palmer

RAINBOWS           5             Rainbow Guider:-                    Betty Joshua

The Brownie and Rainbow Units have been supported by Young Leaders Dayna Benjamin, Vetannie Morton, Kirsty Anthony and Stacey Phillips as part of their Community Service Module within the Look Wider Program.  These young people have helped at meetings on a regular basis up until Mock Exams and GCSE studies took priority over their time. Thank you girls.    We said goodbye and thanks to Amanda (Bessie) Peters who returned to St Helena with her family in February of this year, after many years of living and working on Ascension.  Amanda was a reliable and willing assistant within the Guide Unit and is very much missed.  Currently we are seeking a new Assistant, but to date we have not been successful in finding a full-time one, However, Wendy Benjamin has agreed to assist Cheryl with activities from time to time. We were  looking, also, to recruit a Brown Owl as Tania Maggott, who had been running the Pack for a number of years, felt she needed a break from the main responsibility but was willing to be on hand in other ways. We say thanks to Tania for her service and it’s nice to know that she’s still lurking in the wings (or more appropriately, in the Woods!!) to be called upon from time to time.  We were delighted to get the one and only  offer from the public in response to our plea for Brownie leadership, and that came from Shari Parkhill.  Shari has Guiding experience, and along with Muriel Williams and Hope Palmer,  she’s getting to know the Pack and embarking upon an interesting program that will run for the next few weeks.  As is the case everywhere, Guiders are busy (and voluntary) people who hold down full-time responsible and demanding jobs, so obviously we are grateful to Shari (who also is a busy medic!) for coming forward and offering her services. The current feeling is that we would like to hear from some ‘not-so-busy’ members of the community who feel they could offer some of their time and help out, so it’s not too late to hear from any of you who may be  interested in becoming  a ‘Friend of Guiding’. 

So, in spite of the ‘busyness’ of the Units and within our personal and professional lives, our Member numbers are still good and the interest and enthusiasm in guiding continues. Regular weekly meetings continue to be held, and venues for these are Girl Guide HQ (portakabins) for Girl Guides, Two Boats School Hall for Brownies and Rainbows, the Junior Church.  We pay a small annual rent to St. Mary's for the use of the Junior Church building.  Guiders continue to plan their programs according to the School half-terms and copies of these are sent out to the Girls so that their families are aware of what is coming up over the weeks ahead and the forecast allows the Girls to prepare for activities. We continue to run the Youth mini-bus as necessary for meetings, outings and monthly Church Parade Services and units contribute towards the cleaning,  up-keep and maintenance of it.  Plans are in hand to hold an annual event to help replenish funds for the upkeep of the Bus.   

Guiders try to keep abreast of new innovations and renewals in the Guiding World, the latest being those for Brownies.  Current renewals are being done for Rainbows and we look forward to receiving those in the near future.  The emphasis today seems to be on ensuring that  we try and link our meeting plans as closely as possible to the National Curriculum.  Areas that lend themselves to this are environmental and community issues, for instance, and with the prospect of helping our girls to take up new challenges, opportunities are there for this on the Island.

When the RMS St. Helena arrives from St. Helena on or about 5 June, Phyllis Thompson, a Branch Association Trainer will spend a few days here with all of our Units en route to Brize Norton on Thursday, 10 June.  Aspects of Phyllis’s program with us will include general updates on new innovations/renewals, answer any queries Guiders may have and to begin the Adult Leadership Scheme with our unwarranted Guiders.  Our Guides, Brownies and Rainbows should initially meet Phyllis at the monthly Family and Church Parade Service on Sunday 6 June (calm seas and RMS permitting). 

Betty Joshua - for Ascension Girl guiding