I want to send my continued thanks to everyone who has completed First Aid, Safe Space training and DBS renewals over these last few weeks. Thanks also to all those who have delivered training sessions and supported the completion of the many DBS renewals. We are now reaching the compliance deadline for DBS renewals for those who have been on hold. Please make sure these are completed and alert your local commissioner if you are having any difficulties.

There has been lots of activity as we prepare for the new term to commence. I also have seen lots of social media posts about the activities which have taken place with units over this summer, always great to see the smiley faces of our girls having fun.

You will see in this newsletter we have just launched our Amazzzing Anglia Birthday Party event pack, which you can use to celebrate with your unit, as a district or division or even as a group of leaders. Whatever you decide I hope that you will have fun and celebrate together.

As part of this event, we have set up a region wide birthday card swap for all units to take part in, if you would like to find out more and get your unit involved in this event, you can find the full details here on our website. I am really hoping that we receive cards from all units so that we can swap cards from across the region and maybe beyond!

We are still adding a whole variety of new activities to the Buzz about Anglia challenge, as well as the penultimate theme, Bee a Leading Light, which is also launching today! Buzz about Anglia has been designed so that you can pick this up and use the resources your units whenever you wish, there’s so much for our members to do with lots of suggested activities, some of the activities even link with UMAs and other aspects of the programme. I would love for you all to take part, create a buzz and of course as always have some fun.

If you have always liked the look of our ROVE virtual events, but not had a whole day to commit to it, Rove: Spotlight Sessions could be the training for you! This will be virtual training sessions offered monthly with the dates release quarterly, of course these do not take away from the value of face-to-face raining, but we recognise how important the virtual offer has become. If you are interested in this event, you can find more information in the newsletter or go directly to the bookings page here.

One final thought from me, is that I have really missed meeting you all from across the region over the last 18 months or so and I hope that I can get to see some of you very soon. Andrea and I always do our best to come too events and activities we are invited to, and we both look forward to a time when we can see you all again soon.

Take care and keep Smiling,

Tracy

Did you take part in Fiesta Fun? What a great weekend of videos and activities with a resource pack which included lots of ideas, which we can continue to use over the coming months. Thank you to all members of the task and finish group for putting this event together. Fiesta Fun continues the celebrations of our 50^th Year.

I took part with my own unit and we joined together with our local Brownies, we certainly did have fun! We made masks, learnt a fiesta dance, had a piñata, and made Fiesta Fred, Fran and a Freda. There is still time to send us your photos and of course don’t forget to get in those badge orders.

This month we have more ideas for the “Buzz about Anglia” challenge and in our next newsletter the spotlight will be, “Bee a leading light”. So please do keep an eye out for this. I have noticed that many counties have active challenges you can take part in, which really complement our region challenge and create an even bigger Buzz! August also sees our Trefoil Guild members from across the region joining in our 50^th Birthday celebrations, by having a “Garden Party” together. This sounds a great way to celebrate and I’m so pleased that our Trefoil members are joining in the celebrations. Thank you to Jean, our Region Trefoil Guild Chair, for supporting our Trefoil members with this initiative. You can find out more here, Trefoil Guild 50th Birthday Challenge it includes lots of idea quizzes and games. What about this one?,

“Name 5” Game – Do individually or in small groups.

Name 5 foods that come in a can.
Name 5 fairy tales.
Name 5 game shows.
Name 5 things that happened in the 1970s!
Name 5 Counties in the Anglia Region.
Name 5 garden flowers.
Name 5 different types of cake!

I hope that’s got you thinking?

As always, thank you to all of you

take care and keep Smiling,

Tracy

County Spotlight – Essex West

Essex West comprises of ten Guiding Divisions and stretches from the Thames in the south to the Cambridge border in the north. It is home to about 3.5 thousand members aged 5+ to the Trefoil Guild.

This has been an unprecedented year not just for Girlguiding but for the whole world. We have all had to find new ways of doing things to enable life to go on. Leaders in Essex West have certainly risen to the challenge being very creative in their ways of keeping girls connected to Girlguiding. When permitted there have been face to face meetings indoors and out. When not permitted many have made activity packs and newsletters. We have all learnt how to Zoom with many complete technophobes becoming very adept at this new skill. Leaders have encouraged members of all sections to take part in activities set up through County and Anglia such as festivals and sleepovers and Girlguiding UK’s many Activities from home.

Many planned events have of course sadly had to be cancelled such as Essex Jamboree and a County sleepover at Warwick Castle.

Our County Commissioner for the past five and a half years Chris Skinner has stepped down following the end of her extended term of office. During that time she did a tremendous job of leading the County. Now as we emerge from lock-down we have a new County Team with Rosemary, Jenny and Susan to take us forward.

Units are beginning to reopen and rediscover the joys of Guiding. We also have a much heralded shiny new website to advertise ourselves.

Our hard-working training team are endeavouring to ensure that all Leaders are compliant with Safe Space and First Response requirements as well as other trainings.

The recent closure of LaSER’s Chigwell Row campsite will be keenly felt in Essex West. It is a much loved place for activities, camps and holidays as well as evening Unit meetings which we would love to see remain available and will endeavour to support it staying open if we possibly can.

Highlights of lock-down

Some Leaders proved themselves well able to adapt to the times by taking part in the Loo Roll Challenge.

We encouraged girls to take part in the weekly Clap for Carers and display rainbows for the NHS in windows. Also, to show a Guiding light to keep the spirit of Guiding alive.

By the time Christmas came around we were all ready for some fun. A virtual pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk” was made available to members of all sections – oh yes it was!

It had been planned to run a cross section event for Thinking Day which with the ingenuity of our Programme and Adventure team was reimagined as a hugely successful virtual weekend event. It was run across the County website, Facebook and Zoom. Members were all encouraged to take part in as many activities as possible. Some set up sleeping dens for the virtual sleepover. There were scavenger hunts and escape rooms, craft and cooking activities, farm visit and a Thriftwood campfire to sing along with. A great way to learn about and celebrate World Thinking Day.

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Essex South East is a small county with about 3000 members which covers the south east corner of Essex stretching from Billericay to Southend and from South Woodham Ferrers to Canvey Island with Basildon and Rayleigh in the middle. Within our county we have Southend Pier, claimed to be the longest pier in the world and Hadleigh Farm which hosted the men’s and women’s mountain biking events in the 2012 Olympics.

We are also lucky to have three beautiful Guiding buildings within the county that are used for meetings and for camps and holidays; Guideacres in Thundersley, Guidewoods in Hockley and Creekview in South Woodham Ferrers.

Over the last 15 months, like many the other counties, Girlguiding in Essex South East has been taking place online. Many of our dedicated leaders have run virtual meetings while others have been emailing activities or sending out packs of activities for the girls to complete. One leader in Basildon worked out her daily exercise route to cover delivering packs to all the girls in her unit each week. With the relaxing of restrictions in May, over half our units are now back to meeting face to face either indoors or outdoors.

What else have we been doing over the last 12 months?

Several young members worked on programme activities and badges that would help their community.

Megan, a Brownie from Laindon worked on her Charities badge by fundraising for Societi, the UK Foundation for Kawasaki Disease. She made and sold bags of chocolate over Easter and raised a fantastic £95.

Rosa, a Rainbow, worked on her Helper Interest Badge. She designed a poster asking her neighbours to donate food for the local food bank and displayed it in her front garden along with an empty box. She collected donations over several days and took it to the foodbank with the help of her mum.

Other young members and adults enjoyed trying some of the challenges posted on our county Facebook page each week. These included creating a trefoil from objects found around the house, an edible campfire and making and flying paper aeroplanes. Naomi, a Guide in Westcliff, made her trefoil from t-shirts that came from events she had attended while Rainbow Thea made an edible campfire.

Two Brownies from 6th Castle Mount (Salvation Army) Brownies enjoyed writing poems.

When face to face meetings were first allowed last autumn, leaders looked for interesting ways to keep girls engaged while meeting outside in the dark. One Brownie unit in Leigh used glow sticks to play hopscotch and noughts and crosses in their Church grounds.

We held our first County virtual sleepover, ‘Outside In’ during November last year. The outdoor team put together a list of 26 alphabet challenges for girls to complete over the weekend. The challenges included making a mug cake, going for a coastal walk, making ice cream and learning to juggle. There were also opportunities to take part in dance activities and to learn Makaton and of course there was a badge. Our county YouTube channel was launched so that all the activities could be shared while other activities were shared on our County Facebook page. All those who took part were challenged to find somewhere different to sleep. There were some interesting places – one leader even slept in the bath!

In the lead-up to Christmas, we posted a Guiding advent quiz on social media encouraging readers to respond with their answers.

In February we held a virtual Thinking Day celebration with a ‘How Guiding Began’ participation story, a WAGGGS World Centres quiz, peace challenges, campfire singing and an opportunity for everyone to renew their promise led by our young members.

We held two virtual Awards Evenings in March, where the hard work of many of our dedicated leaders was recognised. It was also an opportunity to acknowledge the service given by our volunteers with the presentation of long service awards including three 60-year awards and three 50-year awards.

We are now getting ready to take part in the Hares About Town project over the summer of 2021. This should have taken place in 2021 but like many other things was delayed. Our leveret. Livvy, has now been painted by one of our talented leaders and is ready to be party of the trail. We are hoping many of our members will enjoy looking for Livvy and the other leverets and hares around Southend over this summer and again, of course, there will be a badge available for those who take part.

Although many units are now back to meeting face to face, we are continuing to provide virtual activities as a county and we will be holding our second County virtual sleepover at the start of July with a theme of Aim High which will include many sporting related activities and a What3words challenge.

Twitter: @GirlguidingESE

Facebook. @Girlguidingese

Instagram: girlguidingese

YouTube: Girlguiding Essex South East