Our Mission

Like Girl Scouts all over the US, we hold the Girl Scout Promise and Law very near and dear. It is the mission of our troop to live by both the Promise and Law, to build a sense of teamwork and friendship in our troop meetings and to build a sense of patriotism and community through participation in service projects.

The Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try
to serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law

The Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful
considerate and caring
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

As scouts progress through the different levels of scouting, they are expected to take more of a leadership role in their troop - from planning meetings and activities to working out the details related to fundraising projects and accounting.  All of this is part of the four Program Goals of Girl Scouting:

• Develop to their full potential.

• Relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect.

• Develop a meaningful set of values to guide their actions and to provide for sound decision-making.

• Contribute to the improvement of society.

In keeping with these goals, we use the patrol form of troop government.  Currently, our troop consists of three patrols which are composed of Juniors and Cadettes. 

Last year, with primarily Juniors and just a few Brownies, Brownies were at times a patrol to themselves, other times they worked with the mentor patrol they were assigned to.  This year, we have a fairly even mix within each patrol of Juniors and Cadettes (and a Senior here and there).  While there will be times that each large patrol (7-8 girls) will work together on an activity, there will also be times when we essentially have 6 patrols!

Our patrols often work independently of each other, but occasionally we operate as a massive group.  Admittedly, we as leaders, were VERY skeptical as to how successful this process would be with nine, ten and eleven year olds, but we've been surprised at how well it has worked.  We now have three strong teams of girls - who have gone from needing to be carried along, to needing their hands held, to just needing to be picked up after they stumble (very infrequently) -- all in one short year.  I am writing this in hopes that if there is someone else who is going into Juniors with grave doubts, you will feel some hope.  They WILL surprise you!  We also attribute this success from the fact that patrols lend themselves easily to rotations, both of responsibilities in meetings and on outings but also during meetings from one activity to the next.  After just one short year, we have seen great things from our girls.  They have truly begun to learn to stretch themselves, to challenge themselves to reach their potential - and THEY are noticing that as they set loftier goals for themselves - and reach them, they achieve bigger and better things each time.  - August 2006

Long story short, if you're a little mystified as to what a patrol is and how it works - email one of our leaders.  We're always eager to share.