Troop 795 at Bowie Bridging Ceremony Exceeds Expectations
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Seventeen third graders from Bowie Elementary in RISD bridged from Brownie to Junior Girl Scout on Wednesday, May 21st. The bridging ceremony is a special event in scouting that symbolizes moving from one Girl Scout age level to the next. The girls must complete a set of activities before bridging to help learn about the next age level they are entering. Troop 795 has been lead by Sara Sharkey since first grade and she wanted to make the bridging ceremony an evening the girls would always remember.
The girls planned the entire ceremony themselves. It was held in the cafeteria at Bowie Elementary. It started with the girl’s first experience at doing a presentation of colors. A sixth grade troop had taught them earlier this year how to correctly carry in the flag and lead a group in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge. The guests were then served dinner, which consisted of a buffet with pork tenderloin, chicken, pastas, potato salad, fruit salad, and vegetables. While eating, the guests were entertained with a slide show of pictures of the troop from first grade through third grade.
The bridging ceremony began with the girls singing three of their favorite silly songs. Then, each girl individually walking across a homemade bridge that has been used by Bowie troops for many years. The girls were presented with their green Girl Scout sashes. In addition to the wings each girl received to symbolize the end of her Brownie years, each girl also earned her rainbow patch. To earn this patch the troop had to pick one activity from each of the following steps to learn about Junior Girl Scouting: (a) find out about Junior Girl Scouting; (b) do a Junior Girl Scout Activity; (c) do something with a Junior Girl Scout troop; (d) share what you learn about Junior Girl Scouting with a Brownie or Daisy Girl Scout; and (e) plan and do a summer Girl Scout activity. The troop had a lot of fun over the past year planning and implementing these activities. The girls had the most fun with the activity of teaching the kindergarten and first grade troops some of their favorite songs and hand motions which accompany the songs.
Each girl was also presented with a fun award which was a candy bar that had something to do with their personality. For example, a Baby Ruth for the sports nut, a Bit of Honey for the sweet one, and an Almond Joy for the girl who is a joy to be around.
The event was especially special for the girls because in addition to their parents, grandparents and siblings, all three of the third grade teachers from Bowie attended. Ms. Farrar-Myers, Bowie’s principal, and Ms. Wratislaw, Bowie’s executive assistant, also attended which added to the excitement of the evening.
