GIRL SCOUT Troop 921 was host of the annual Triadelphia Ridge/Clarksville Cluster's Bridging ceremony, held May 30 at Clarksville Elementary School. Seventy-seven girls in the cluster moved up to the next level of Girl Scouting.
Led by Faith Dillman of Highland and Kathy Deibler of Clarksville, the sixth-grade girls bridged from Juniors to Cadettes. Some of the girls, who attend different middle schools, have been in Scouting together since they were in kindergarten.
The ceremony opened with the traditional flag ceremony, followed by entertainment. Each troop performed a song or skit.
Daisy Troop 10 sang "Make New Friends," and Daisy troops 2258 and 2275 sang the "Brownie Smile Song." Brownie Troop 646's skit, "J.C. Penney," brought chuckles from the audience, and Brownie Troop 2011 expressed how they felt about Brownies during a skit with signs. A humorous skit by the host troop followed, with the girls recalling some of their adventures.
In "Survivor," the bridging Juniors recalled their years together as Girl Scouts. Catie Fisher, Alison Frantz, Kelsey Tyson and Emma Viglotti reminisced around a mock campfire. Katie Carpenter, Courtney Dillman, Rachel Deibler, Meaghan Ervin, Kaitlin Skelly and Jennifer Taylor performed skits recalling field trips they had taken as Daisies, Brownies and Juniors, while Lauren Talbot worked the curtains.
Dillman says it took a while to work the skits out, but it was worth it. "The girls all wanted to do a Survivor theme," she said, "but it's been a conflict because some of the girls leave early" Thursday nights to see the television program.
The audience of parents and siblings laughed as the girls remembered selling cookies in the rain, sleeping in a treehouse and going on a 6-mile hike. "It was very rough," Courtney recalled. Her favorite trip throughout the years did not involve hiking; she enjoyed sleeping overnight at the Maryland Science Center.
Jennifer Taylor enjoyed meetings and camping trips. "The camping is a lot of fun because you get to meet new friends," she said. For a camping trip last year, the Scouts traveled to St. Michaels to sleep in a lighthouse. "I've never actually slept in a lighthouse before," Jennifer said.
After the entertainment, each girl walked over a wooden bridge to symbolize the move up to the next level of Scouting. At the end of the bridge, girls received a flower and other small items.
Dillman recognized Triadelphia Ridge/Clarksville Cluster Troop coordinator Monica Suchoski of Dayton for assisting them in their year of Scouting.
Next year, members of Troop 921 will begin three years as Cadettes, followed by three years as Seniors.
Lauren Talbot and Kelsey Tyson both aspire to complete their Gold Award as Senior Girl Scouts. Lauren, whose three older brothers are Boy Scouts, plans to earn her Gold so one day she can tell her daughter of her accomplishment.
Kelsey also plans to finish the remaining years. "Girl Scouts is a lot of fun and I really enjoy it," she said.
Larger pizza
When Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School's Gifted and Talented Program resource teacher Kelly Krownapple took home some leftover pizza, she wondered if the slogan on the box was accurate.
So she presented the question to her fifth-graders in math class.
The slogan says, "This LEDO Pizza is 20% larger than a standard `medium' pizza. Based on a 12-inch medium pizza."
The class computed the area of the Ledo medium pizza, compared it with the area of a 12-inch round medium pizza and discovered it was almost 24 percent larger. The children wrote letters, informing Ledo's marketing department of the findings.
Although Ledo said it was too expensive to change the slogan on the box, the company said it would create stickers for the medium-sized pizza boxes. Krownapple says the stickers will say "Almost 24% larger" or "More than 20% larger."
The schoolchildren exhibited their finding at the school's Enrichment Fair on May 15. Ledo plans to put the school's name on the stickers.
50 years of service
Join the Clarksville Elementary School community in celebrating almost 50 years of service by Patricia Anthony and Frances Williams. Anthony has worked at the school for 30 years as a teacher's assistant and principal's secretary, and Williams has served 20 years as custodian and building supervisor.
An adults-only retirement party will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Ellicott City. Reservations are required. The cost is $25 for food, beer or wine, and a gift donation.
Information: Kate Lynes, 410-740-4408.
