Babysitter Course and/or CPR Training

Six girls completed the Red Cross Babysitter Course, and seven girls completed the Red Cross CPR Course in April 2012. Many girls participated in both courses, and a few girls just came to one of them.

The sessions were offered over two Saturday afternoons and evenings. For these young women the babysitter course taught them how to manage their business and become pros. They learned important child care skills as well as games and ideas for having fun, how to cope with common problems like crying and tantrums, what to do if they ever feel uncomfortable, how to make a childs environment safe, and what to do when an emergency happens. The CPR course gave these girls extra skills for helping a baby or child, but also gave them the tools to help adults who may be having a heart attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest. Often the people a first aider helps is in their own family. They all showed excellent maturity in learning the content in a "grown up" course. A special thanks to Kayla K, who helped supervise and provide ratio for the element! Submitted by Carla Punshon

Dog Sledding!

Thirteen girls, two leaders and three parent helpers from the 1^st Martensville Guides unit went on a weekend adventure on February 3-5, 2012 – we went dog sledding and snowshoeing.  We headed out Friday evening and travelled as far as Christopher Lake, where we stayed overnight both Friday and Saturday.  Saturday morning we were up bright and early so that we had breakfast, packed lunch fixings, dressed in warm winter clothing and headed to Anglin Lake to the home of Sundogs Sled Excursions.  This is where we spent the day learning about the sled dogs, their medical needs, food nutrition, had Guide sled races and best of all a dog sled ride.  We lucked out having amazing weather (hovered around zero) with bright blue skies.  We also brought snowshoes with us and did a trail through the Boreal Forest – awesome!!  Everyone returned back to Christopher Lake that evening a little tired from all of the fresh air with pink cheeks from the warm weather.  A weekend to remember!! Submitted by Wendy H

First Aid Element

There are twelve more Guiders and senior youth members armed with the skills and knowledge to save a life. A Standard First Aid and CPR course was held in January 2012. Over two days they learned such things as how to help a Spark with a fever, a Brownie with a tick, and a Guide with a sprained ankle. Not only did they learn how to care for these little things but these women know what to do for a person who is not breathing , how to give an epipen for a severe allergy, and what to do for a heart attack, a stroke, seizures, and even emergency childbirth! More importantly, time was spent talking about prevention strategies to keep everyone safe so that these first aid skills are never put to use. Congratulations to everyone who took the time to "be prepared".

submitted by Carla P

 

 

 

Learn to Scuba Element!

Eight girls took part in this learn to scuba element in Novemeber and December 2011. It was awesome to have a girl from outside of Saskatoon join us! Session one included some get to know you activities, a video about the importance of preserving underwater environments, learning scuba hand signals (you can't talk underwater), and looking at all the gear one wears just to be able to breathe. Session two was at Harry Bailey where we learned how to snorkel. We practiced clearing water out of our mask and our snorkles. There was a bit of spitting and sputtering as we increased our comfort level in the water. We played a few treasure hunt type of games and  enjoyed a few minutes of free time to jump off diving boards and warm up in the hot tub. Session three was the real scuba thing. After a lesson and breifing at The Diving Center scuba shop, we were back in the pool. We were all thankful we had learned a few skills already as we were a little more familiar with things when we finally sat on the bottom and took those first few breaths! "I don't know why I was so nervous... that was awesome!" Once relaxed and able to equalize our ears we hung out at the bottom, 5 meters deep. We played with a torpeo, did underwater flips, had a race, laid on our backs, played with each other bubbles, slid down the drop off like a slide, and so much more. All too soon our time was up even though we still had so much air in our tanks to breathe.

submitted by Carla P

 

Trip to Banff!

1^st Saskatoon Trex Unit: On July 5-13, 2011 my Trex group went on a trip in Banff, Alberta. The first day was a long drive from Saskatoon to Banff but awesome as I saw mountains for the first time! The next day we packed up and headed to Johnston Canyon to begin 5 days of backpacking. We hiked up and up for two days. Past waterfalls, ink pots, and lakes of deep green, through rivers deep over our knees, and on trails in the open meadows and deep in the forest thick. On the third day we rested, recharged, and let our blisters heal. We wished for a swim, but sat by a fire as it snowed instead. Days four and five, saw us hiking back the way we came. With packs lighter and our muscles stronger we hiked with a bounce in our step. We finished with big grins on our face, as it was a challenge, a backpack trail that tested our limits, but we did it!  We spent a few more days in Banff to see a few sights. We enjoyed the hot springs, a gondola ride up Sulpher Mountain, shopping, showers, and meals we didn’t have to rehydrate. We took a trip to Lake Louise and threw snowballs and drank glacier water on the Columbia Icefield. We even went whitewater rafting and cliff jumping! We all agreed that we had a fantastic time. I cannot wait to see what I will do in Trex this year!

 Justine, Aleina, Courtney, Merike, Brooklyn, Joelle, and Carla 

 

 

 

 

Learn to Canoe Element

 Six girls took part in this beginner canoe element in September and October 2011. They were from around the Saskatoon and a good mix of Pathfinders, Ranger, and Trex girls. Session one was all about getting to know each other and learning canoe theory such as where a thwart is and how to tie on a painter. Session two was at the pool, swamping the canoes learning how to get back in, and rescuing others. This day was certainly a highlight of the element. Session three was learning how to perform all the right strokes in order to get the canoe to move where you wanted it to go. It was a challenge in the wind that day! And the final session, session four was out at Pike Lake for a day trip. The girls commented that this day was “hard core” as they loaded their canoes full of food, stoves, and extra clothing. Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment as they all earned Paddle Canada certification in canoeing!

Here are some quotes from the girls: “The most important thing I learned was how to steer and rescue people”; “I’m going to go home now and get my family into canoeing because it was so much fun!”; and “I used to be scared to go in a canoe, and now I’ve conquered that feeling! I can do it!”

submitted by Carla P

 

Learn to Run Element- Spring 2011

 

Close to 20 girl and adult members in greater Saskatoon took part in the 2nd Learn to Run Element this spring. Thankyou to Brainsport and our coach Irene for an awesome clinic! Also, thanks to Megan L for organizing this Element, once again! Our 8 weeks of training culminated in a great showing at the Bridge City Boogie in June

 

 

Thinking Day Baby Gift Basket

The 3rd Saskatoon Rangers have once again put together a fantastic gift basket that will be presented to the first girl born at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon on February 22, 2011.  Gift Basket items include a handmade quilt by Jess Baxter-Jones of the 3^rd Ranger Unit, a gift certificate from Bridging Rivers Area Council for a 1 year Spark membership in the 2016-2017 Guiding Season as well as items for baby purchased with money donated by the 60^th Guide Unit & the 3^rd Rangers. This is the 2^nd year that the Rangers have spearheaded a Thinking Day Baby Basket.

posted Feb 21, 2011