The highest honors a Girl Scout can earn in the Girl Scout program. These awards give girls a chance to take action in their community and make a difference.

Only 6% of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award each year though over a million have earned this prestigious award since it’s creation in 1916.

These patches are earned by learning a new skill or idea. They are worn on the right side of the vest and the badges for each level are a different shape. The badges for Brownie level are often called Try-its.

The move from one program age level of Girl Scouting to the next (e.g.. from Girl Scout Junior to Girl Scout Cadette). While all girls “bridge” when moving to a new level, not all earn the “Bridging” patch for that level. The Bridging patches have requirements that must be met before they are awarded.

The BEST event for Brownies and 1st grade Daisies and their dads.  This amazing event happens each spring and is one of the most beloved event for our Girl Scouts.

A personally chosen name used during camp. Examples: Frog, Chipper, or Sunshine.  You can come up with a camp name yourself or it can be given to you by camp mates.

Everyone at a Girl Scout event must wear closed toed shoes. That means shoes that completely enclose the foot, like sneakers.
While ballet flats and sloppy boots meet these requirements, they aren’t good choices. Activities often include running and jumping. Shoes that don’t fit well make this hard to do and can lead to twisted ankles or other injuries.
What about sport sandals or crocs? These do not completely enclose the foot and are not allowed.

GSUSA is broken up into 112 Councils. Each council covers a large region of the country. Our council, Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast, starts at the Los Angeles / Ventura county border and stretches along the coast all the way up to the southern edge of San Francisco.

A fun day time event that lasts several days (but not nights) where girls participate in a variety of activities and Girl Scout traditions.  Simi Valley has a fun Girl Scout day camp as does Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park.  Keep an eye out in the early spring for dates and registration information.

An amazing Girl Scout travel program that lets individual girls travel and have adventures without their troop, helping them build courage, confidence, and character

At drop-off events, the volunteers who have organized the event have made sure there are enough registered adults to meet the Girl Scout Adult-to-Girl Scout ratios. That means troop leaders and parents do not need to stay.

Most events are NOT drop-off events. At these events, registered volunteers from each troop must stay to meet the adult-to-Girl Scout ratio for that troop. If a girl is attending on her own, without a troop, then a parent must stay at the event, too.

The ceremony in which a Brownie Girl Scout “graduates” to Junior Girl Scouts.
This fun tradition is left over from the days when all younger girls were “Brownies” and all older girls were “Girl Scouts”.  It was when a Girl Scout “earned her wings” as she flew up to Girl Scouts. These days, all girls are Girl Scouts, regardless of how old they are.

Juliette Low’s birthday, October 31.

The friendship circle is often formed at the end of meetings or campfires as a sort of closing ceremony. Everyone gathers in a circle where they cross their right arm over their left in front of them and hold hands with the people on either side. Once everyone is silent, the leader starts the friendship squeeze which is passed from hand to hand. Often the girls will make a wish after their hand has been squeezed before they pass the squeeze along. Also, in some larger groups, the girls put their right foot out into the circle when they receive the friendship squeeze, so that everyone can see it travel along the circle.

Often, girls will wear their vest or sash over regular clothes. But sometimes they will need to wear their full uniform.For Juniors and older girls, the full uniform means a white shirt and khaki colored bottoms as well as their vest.For younger girls, it will depend on what the troop voted for.  Some troops will vote to wear the official Daisy or Brownie bottoms instead of khaki bottoms. Brownie troops may also choose to wear the official Brownie blue shirt and tie instead of a white shirt.  Check with your troop leader to see what your daughter needs.

These are not official, earned, Girl Scout patches. They show what events, places, or activities a girl has participated in and are worn on the back of the vest.  Over time, the back of a Girl Scouts vest fills with mementos of all the amazing things she has done as it becomes a scrapbook of her time as a Girl Scout.

The original name for Girl Scouts, still used in many countries.

Girl Scouts incorporates girl leadership into virtually every component of our program. We encourage girls to take ownership of projects, meetings, and planning opportunities from the very first troop meeting. Girls partner with adults to facilitate meetings and other Girl Scout programs.  As girls get older, the level of responsibility and leadership increases.

March 12 is the Girl Scout birthday because it marks the first meeting of Girl Scouts in the U. S. A. in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912.

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.

April 22, a special day to honor Girl Scout leaders.

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Girl Scouts is divided into 6 levels, based on a girl’s grade in school:
Daisy – Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Brownie – 2nd and 3rd Grades
Juniors – 4th and 5th Grades
Cadettes – 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades
Seniors – 9th and 10th Grades
Ambassadors – 11th and 12th Grades

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 official Girl Scout greeting. The right hand is raised shoulder high with the three middle fingers extended and the thumb crossing over the palm to hold down the little finger. These three fingers represent the three parts of the Girl Scout Promise.

An annual celebration during the week of March 12th, the Girl Scouts birthday. Here is a sample of the activities that might occur during  a Girl Scout Week:

Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

A special ceremony in which a new member makes her Girl Scout Promise and receives her membership pin.

These special badges or sets of badges are earned by completing a set of activities as well as a Take Action Project. These are worn on the left side of the vest. Girls must complete at least one journey before starting on a Higher Award. Girls who complete three journeys will earn the Summit Award pin for that level.

Financial Aid is available to girls who are unable to pay for Girl Scout programs due to financial hardship. Girls are allowed to apply for a scholarship once a year if they need financial assistance to cover Membership fees, dues, program events, etc. You can find more information on the Council website:
Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast Financial Aid

Founder of Girl Scouting in the United States, she formed the first troop that met in Savannah, Georgia on March 12, 1912.

These are girls who have chosen to not be in a troop. Perhaps their schedules are too busy, perhaps they only want to do a few Girl Scout things, or perhaps they want to move at their own pace instead of a troop’s pace. No matter the reason, they may attend the events and activities listed on our calendar, earn badges, and even sell cookies.

A chart that shows which girl is responsible for what job at each meeting or during a camp out.   For smaller groups, it might show each girl’s name.  For larger groups, girls might be assigned to a patrol and the chart shows which group is responsible for which tasks.  Charts can be elaborate, which fancy name tags for each girl or as simple as writing names on Popsicle sticks or clothespins.

“Be Prepared”

A widely used form of troop government where the troop divides into small groups.

Cadette, Senior, or Ambassador Girl Scouts who have been trained to assist younger Girl Scout groups with songs games, crafts, ceremonies, or skills.

The Girl Scout signal for silence in a group situation. In order to maintain order at lively Girl Scout functions, the leader raises her right hand for silence. The girls follow in the motion; as their hands go up, the conversation stops, until everyone has their hand up and the room is silent.

A formal ceremony at which a girl or adult, who was previously invested, renews her Girl Scout Promise.

A sustained camping experience where girls participate in a variety of activities and Girl Scout traditions, with overnight sleeping at a council owned, leased, rented or borrowed facility.  Our council offers camps at Camp Arnaz, in Ojai.  Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles offers camps in several locations.  Girl Scouts can attend camp in any council.

An online GSUSA resource for safety program standards and guidelines. This used to be known as “Safety-Wise” and was a physical book published each year.You can find the most recent version on our Council website.

Girl Scout councils can be very large so they are broken into smaller areas, called Service Units, that are run by volunteers. Our SU covers all of Simi Valley.  Our SU number is 654.

A group of adult volunteers responsible for organizing and delivering service to the Girl Scouts in a Service Unit.

“Do a good turn daily.

Traditional Girl Scout snack made around the campfire with graham crackers, chocolate, and toasted marshmallows.Here’s a fun history of this gooey, yummy, messy treat:
National Geographic: The Gooey Story of S’mores

An acronym for “Sharing With Another Person” or “Special Watchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere”. Usually a handmade token or pin given in exchange for a SWAP from another person.  Girls (and adults) usually swap S.W.A.P.S. at large Girl Scout events.

Tag-alongs are children or adults who are not registered Girl Scouts. Most events do not allow tag-a-longs.
Tag-alongs include visiting grandparents, brothers and other siblings who are not Girl Scouts, even babies. The insurance for the event will not cover them.

The international symbol of Girl Scouting. The three leaves of the trefoil represent the three parts of the Girl Scout Promise.

Each troop has its own bank account. Money belongs to the troop as a whole, not to individual girls. Management of the funds must be transparent for the girls, parents, troop volunteers, and for the Council. Troops must file a financial report each year, detailing how their money was spent the previous year.You can find more information on our Finances page.

This handy document is like an encyclopedia for Girl Scout volunteers.  It gets updated regularly so always go to our Council website to find the latest copy.

Most events require participants to register. This allows the volunteers to plan the location and supplies to accommodate everyone who comes. Sometimes an event will allow people to come even if they didn’t register. That is a walk-in event.

Five program activity centers owned by WAGGGS. The centers are located in Mexico, England, India, Africa, and Switzerland.  Click here for more information.

Celebrated by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts throughout the world, February 22 is the birthday of Lord & Lady Baden-Powell. This is the day for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides to think about their sisters around the world, through special projects, international program activities, or pen pal projects.

A pin worn by all Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. Also known as the “WAGGGS” pin.

This is a world wide network of 145+ member organizations, including GSUSA, focused on developing opportunities for girls and young women around the world.