Principia Girls Do Girl Scouts Proud
Giving goes on in the Principia community well beyond Prin Giving Day—often as part of School-facilitated programs and occasionally as part of individual efforts. In this regard, two Upper School boarding students stand out for their sustained dedication to community service as part of their involvement in the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Amid the typically packed schedule of her senior year, Hanne Andersen (US’12) somehow found time to earn a Gold Award, the highest honor for a Girl Scout (comparable to the Eagle rank for Boy Scouts.) For her service project, Hanne organized sending books to Jamaica and facilitated a pen-pal program for elementary school students. (Read more about Hanne’s achievements in the upcoming issue of the Purpose.)
Ninth grader Courtlyn Reekstin—who, like Hanne, is from California and started at Principia in the fall of 2011—lost no time in transferring her dedication to community service to the School, and involving her dorm-mates in the process. Courtlyn has been assisting with the reading program in the senior kindergarten class this past year. Each week, she spends a few hours helping strengthen newly acquired reading skills and engaging in other activities with the children.
In addition, Courtlyn organized and ran an extremely successful Literacy Night for the children and their families in late April. She involved other upper schoolers in performing a little play and then reading aloud different bedtime stories to the pyjama-clad children at various stations around the Preschool. Courtlyn’s service project will qualify her to obtain her Gold Award after she completes additional volunteer hours upon her return to the Upper School this fall.
Since the School itself does not host a Girl Scout troop, it is all the more impressive that these two girls have demonstrated such focus and self-discipline while living away from home. Well done!