Bridging Guidelines

For the Coordinator

Bridging ceremonies for Daisy to Brownie and Brownie to Junior are typically planned at each elementary school by the 5th grade troop or troops. Around the April timeframe, the 5th grade troops should notify the web master of readinggirlscouts.org in order to get their bridging dates on the calendar and reserve the bridge.
Reservations for school facilities or Camp Rice Moody for bridging should follow the same procedures as normal.
The organizer of the banquet should fill out a single activity form for the bridging or banquet and submit this activity form online to Waltham. The form will cover the entire event. It is good to purchase additional insurance if there will be people attending that are not registered Girl Scouts.
The coordinator of the event should decide on how each attending troop should help. This can include chipping in money for the site rental and custodial fees, signing up for bringing food, helping to clean up, or helping with a ceremony component. The coordinator for each school should notify all troops of the plans for the event and the expectations no later than April vacation.

Individual troop activity forms are not necessary as the coordinator of the event should handle this. It the event is at a separate time and place from your normal meeting, you should have each girl give you an individual permission slip to attend. This should include an emergency contact for that day.
The troops that are being bridged to the next level should follow the instruction in their Girl Scout handbooks for earning the bridging patch. This usually entails working with an older troop. We try to have the school coordinators or the banquet coordinator make sure that each bridging troop has an older troop to work with. Each Daisy should receive the Brownie Fly-up wings even if they do not complete the bridging requirements. In order to receive the bridging patch for each level, the girls should fulfill all the requirements in the handbook.
It is a special day for the girls being bridged. Troop leaders might consider purchasing the vest or sash for the next level as well as any badges the girls have earned that year. These can be presented to them at the ceremony. In addition, many leaders buy a single flower or a small bouquet for the bridging girls. This is totally up to the leaders and parents of the bridging troop.
Older girls bridging from Junior to Cadette or Cadette to Senior might consider a different type of bridging experience. We have had girls do their bridging at Jordan's Furniture (over the jellybean bridge) or go to the Old North Bridge in Concord by canoe.

The day of the event should be focused on the girls. This seems to be a good chance to catch up with people and do troop business. This is fine if it does not interfere with the ceremony.
In the event that someone is acting in a way that is inappropriate, the leaders should first try to handle the behavior themselves. If the person is non-responsive, the leaders should seek help from the school administration or the school custodians. Adults who are acting inappropriately (cursing, coming to the event intoxicated, etc.) should be removed. This is best done with help from the school officials or in extreme cases from the local authorities. Be sure to immediately document any incidents of this and forward them to the Reading Girl Scout Coordinator as well as the council office in Waltham.
All normal Safety Wise guidelines apply to this event, including ratio of adults to girls. In addition, do not plan for raffles or games of chance at your event. This is against the Safety Wise guidelines.