What 10 year old hasn’t felt that mix of dread and excitement that accompanies the jump to middle school? After five or six years in the safety of elementary school, it’s time to move on. But who is ready? Where can a fifth grader turn for advice?

The Girl Scout Cadettes of Troop 41386 at Scarlett Middle School on Ann Arbor’s south side remembered the trials and challenges of their own transition and decided to build their Take Action (Girl Scout Silver Award) Project around their efforts to help other kids ease the transition.

“Middle School is AMAZING! “ is the PowerPoint presentation and brochure that the 12 Cadettes in Troop 41386 have created and are now distributing to fifth graders locally and regionally. Their message: Middle school “is like painting a picture; it turns out whatever way you want it to.”

They sent email surveys to sixth and seventh grade students in eleven states, asking them what advice they would offer to prepare others for the transition. They researched advice from educational experts and created an impressive bibliography. They compiled a guide to the adventure of middle school that will ease going-into-sixth grade fears. After presenting their final product to fifth graders at the elementary school they had attended, the girls are ready to share their efforts with fifth graders everywhere. With donations from Kolossos Printing in Ann Arbor, Troop 41386 has produced a brochure, a PowerPoint presentation on CD and a user’s guide for school counselors to use when presenting the program.

The “Middle School is Amazing!” CD and brochure cover all of the key topics: teachers and academics, technology and school rules, friends and relationships, organizational skills and extra-curricular activities. Their advice is offered in an encouraging, yet realistic, tone:

“Middle school kicks the workload up a notch, that’s okay. More classes and teachers mean more variety and less boredom.”

“You may not have your friends in class with you, but take advantage of that. Meet new friends; maybe even introduce them to your other friends. Join a club and meet people who have the same interest as you (do).”

“Girl Scouting has a long history of community service,” said Erin Mattimoe, program specialist for Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, the 34-county Girl Scout council to which Troop 41386 belongs. “These Girl Scout Cadettes are serving right in their own school community and in schools across the country. They have identified a need and taken concrete action to solve it, producing a guide that will help students succeed for years to come. “

Cadette Troop 41386 will receive the Girl Scout Silver Award when they are recognized for their accomplishment at the GSHOM’s Girl Scout Gold and Silver Award Ceremony, “Celebrating Leadership: Honoring Girl Scouting's Highest Achievements,” to be held on Sunday, May 16 at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center. On hand to watch the girls shine will be their leaders, Lisa Briegel, Cindy Adams and Deb Keedy.

 

Char Luttrell is a Communications Specialist for Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, www.gshom.org. You can reach her at cluttrell@gshom.org.