9th Vancouver Pathfinders

We’ve got our 4th and final 3rd-year-led meeting tonight! We’ll be learning about Canada in fun, interactive ways, and enjoying some time together as we work on our Canada Cord requirements.

If you have any camping gear left from Snow Camp, please bring it back tonight!

Also, reminder that next Wednesday we are heading to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank for our annual volunteer food sorting evening! Note the early start time of 5:45 pm. Reminder that you also need to bring the Volunteering Consent Form with you tonight, or next week when we meet at GVFB. Please also bring one or more food items to donate, if you can!

Hoping everyone had a nice snow day yesterday!

We have a girl-led arts workshop tonight, which will be a lot of fun.

Please also remember to bring back any camping gear you still have out from Snow Camp.

Lastly, dates for spring/summer camp are now on the website – please “save the date” for May 31 – June 2! More info to come!

What a weekend at Snow Camp! We hope everyone is rested up after a very fun and chilly time in the snow. We’ve got a fun girl-led program meeting happening tomorrow and will be enjoying fun time with friends, plus some tasty treats.

Please remember to bring any borrowed gear – washed, dried, and repacked – to tomorrow’s meeting.

Also, reminder that forms and information about LifeSaver First Aid, which we’re doing as a group on April 10, are available on the website now.

Lastly, one of our Pathfinders has been selected to participate in a national-level trip to Newfoundland and Labrador in the summer, and is hosting a bottle drive on the weekend to raise funds for the trip! If you have any refundable beverage containers, please bring them along for her tomorrow night.

We’re looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! We’re working on a film module (with popcorn!). The work counts towards your Canada Cord.

We’ll also be finalizing tents, and sending home group gear for this weekend’s snow camp.

Don’t forget, forms and $5 for the Girls Can Do It! event in March are due tomorrow.

We had a great time tonight experimenting with cupcake recipes and doing some fabulous decorating. If you want to learn more about why our cupcakes turned out the way they did, check out these sites.

The Science of Baking: A Complete Cake Guide

Chemist Solutions: The Science of Baking on Chemistry Cachet

On January 23, we’re decorating cupcakes with the fabulous Sarah, and learning about the science of baking! It will be a very fun evening. Check out Sarah’s Instagram for a sneak peek at some of her fun and beautiful creations.

Reminder to bring 6 plain cupcakes to decorate (no nuts please!), $4 for your decorating tip, or decorating tips from home if you’d like to use something you’ve already got!

We also have two events coming up:

1. Girl’s Can Do It: International Women’s Day event on Saturday March 9
2. St John’s Ambulance “LifeSaver” First Aid Course on Saturday April 13

Check out the links above for more info. Forms for International Women’s Day are due next Wednesday January 30. Forms for First Aid are not due until springtime, but sign up sooner than later as we may need to add a second session if more than 18 Pathfinders want to take the course!

At tonight’s snow camp prep meeting we spoke a lot about what to bring and how to pack it. Bring layers, waterproof materials and extra toques and gloves. We will be outside in the snow, which will get things wet. Come prepared.

We also discussed things we do not want to see at Snow Camp. Things like:

• Ankles

• Running shoes

• Undone boots

• Cotton

• Rolling suitcases

• Snacks with nuts (some of our friends are allergic)

• Sleeping bags that are not waterproofed

If you need to borrow gear, let Karla know and we will see what we can do. And if you could use a few more appropriate layers, I have found some great gear at second hand stores like Value Village.

If you do need to strap your sleeping pad or sleeping bag to the outside of your pack, here is a video of the classic Girl Guide trick of waterproofing your sleeping bag with a tarp and rope.

And some tips on how to make a sit upon (which can be as easy as putting some newsprint in a plastic bag).

Lastly, here’s a video of Christa’s favourite thing about snow camp (okay, mine too). Looking forward to it!

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This meeting is mandatory for all Pathfinders attending snow camp. Tonight is the FINAL DEADLINE for snow camp forms and payment.

We’ve got an interactive evening of snow camp training and planning lined up! We’ll be breaking into our camp patrols to plan menus; review gear and practice packing our bags; and practice setting up the tents.

For those that aren’t attending snow camp, we’ll have a few fun activities to choose from, including continuing the Canada Cord work we started last week!

Also, reminder that we’re heading to the West Coast Area Girls Can Do It! International Women’s Day event on Saturday March 9!

Want to attend? Bring your SG2 form and $5 back no later than Wednesday January 30. Speak with a leader if you’d like to use your cookie cash towards this fun and interactive event!

We hope everyone had a fun and festive holiday season and is ready for Pathfinders.  The leaders are all excited, we’ve got some really fun events lined up over the next few months.

We will be doing lots of planning at our meeting on Wednesday, January 9.  Third years will be planning several meetings to complete important work towards the Canada Cord, so bring your old program books, and let a leader know if you cannot attend the meeting on Wednesday.

Also, we’re heading to the West Coast Area Girls Can Do It! International Women’s Day event on Saturday March 9!

The WCA will be hosting a fun fair of cool things to explore, from basic displays to elaborate interactive demos. Beyond brochures and trifold boards, girls will try new skills in hands-on ways. With hundreds of Girl Guide friends, come explore booths from local businesses, professionals, and organizations, who are contributing their time and enthusiasm. Girls will explore the tables/displays at their leisure throughout the afternoon. There will be a variety of activities set up, with interesting people to talk to, demos to try, swag to take home, and more.

Want to attend? Bring your SG2 form and $5 back no later than Wednesday January 30. Speak with a leader if you’d like to use your cookie cash towards this fun and interactive event!

It’s our last meeting of the year!

We’ll be making holiday cards for seniors, and some to take home! We’ll also have some delicious snacks, gourmet hot chocolates, and time to chill.

Please bring your Snow Camp forms and payment, and any outstanding cookie money. Please also bring back forms and payment for Holiday Camp with the 58th Pathfinders and Orion Rangers, if you would like to attend that camp next weekend.

Lastly, the pack towel supplier that has the awesome towels we looked at last week will be coming to the end our our meeting to sell towels directly. Large/bath towels are $5 each. Small hand towels are $2 each. This is an amazing deal as the large towels are typically $40 and smaller ones are $12-$15 at MEC. Great for holiday gifting, and for putting in your backpacking gear stash!

Note that towel sales are cash only, so bring cash (exact change preferred) for towels.