• November 2017 Senior Branch Magazine The Welly! Irish Girl Guides Girl Irish THE CRAIC FROM CAMP Will you Is it organise the next your turn to Chief’s? celebrate at STEM AT IGGNITE the SB 18th Birthday? Gaisce Lego Who’s Robotics new on Ventact the SB Tales Committee? from the Tall Ships Welcome to Senior Branch weekend!!! f you are with us here in Ennis, you are in the Guides in singing songs inside and outside the Iprivileged position to be the first Senior Branch Gaiety Theatre. Past weekends have included a (SB) members this year to get their copy of The Disney Princess Ball, when we launched the new Welly! Journey Programme, and, one year, we even had the challenge to escape from Cork Gaol! ational Senior Branch weekend is an annual Nevent that traditionally takes place on the o, what are the plans for Senior Branch last weekend in November. This year, after all the Sweekend next year, I hear you ask? hard work of the Sparks at Camp IGGNITE, we knew you would all enjoy a reunion with your e’ve decided to up the anti and go new found friends from around the country, so, Winternational!!! Next year we are going it was important to find a venue big enough to Girlguiding Ulster’s Lorne Estate, just to fit you all in! The SB team has been busy outside Belfast, which is technically classed organising a fun weekend of activities for you, as international, haha! Places will be limited which we’re sure you’ll enjoy. We can’t wait to so make sure you book your place as soon as see your fancy dress outfits the bookings go live. If you would like to get involved in organising next year’s National enior Branch weekend is looked forward Senior Branch weekend - it’s a great experience Sto as a time to get together and stay and you will have lots of support along the way - indoors, for a change! Last year we had just let us know drama workshops, a visit from blogger James Kavanagh, and we joined in with the IGG Pantomime, ‘oh yes we did’. We had a great HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! time leading all the Ladybirds, Brownies and 2018 CALENDAR FEBRUARY: APRIL: SEPTEMBER: • Branch Weekend • Regional Bronze Star hikes • Ventact • 18th Birthday JULY: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER: • World Thinking Day • Roverway 2018 • Regional Conferences AUGUST: NOVEMBER: • Chief Commissioner’s Award • Senior Branch Weekend 2 The Welly! | 2017 Hi everyone, Another year has flown by and, again, it’s been a great one for Senior Branch Contents IGGNITE 2017 was a real highlight this Senior Branch weekend and 2018 Calendar.. 2 summer and, to those of you who were there as staff, WELL Note from SB Chair and Contents..................... 3 DONE and THANK YOU!! No task was too big or too small. SB Committee Updates........................................... 4 I am sure that the future of Guiding is in great hands with all of you as Leaders. I hope you all Important information for SB members......... enjoyed it and have great memories to add to 5 your Guiding collection. Pre-Camp Challenge................................................. 6-7 Next year will see a Senior Branch 18th Birthday, a Chief Commissioner’s Award, Ventact and a Senior Branch Weekend, all once Gaisce: ‘How to Register’ and Q&A................... 8-9 again on offer for our members, as well as Regional hikes and indoor weekends. There’s lots to choose from! Be sure to get involved Ventact 2017................................................................. 10 in the activities that are available for your age group and, also, to write about your experience and submit it to us for next year’s Welly!. More Lego Robotics and SB 18th Birthday................ 11 details on some of these events can be found in this edition. Staff Experience at IGGNITE................................ 12 I spoke at the recent National Guide Awards in Croke Park to tell our new Senior Branchers all about what Senior Branch has to offer. I Chief Commissioner’s Award Organiser and enjoyed hearing about all the great work they Crumlin Guide Unit.................................................... 13 had done as part of their Guide Awards. It’s clear that they are a fabulous group of young women and I’m looking forward to seeing them Tall Ships......................................................................... take on the adventures and opportunities that 14-15 Senior Branch has to offer. I hope you enjoy reading this edition of The Welly! A big thanks to all those who Want to contact Senior Branch? contributed to it. There’s lots of interesting It couldn’t be easier! reading between these pages, including information on Gaisce, reports from those who have been to various events in Ireland We love to hear from our members and and abroad during the past year, as well as their Leaders so get in touch if you have a upcoming Senior Branch events. Hopefully next year…. it will be YOU that we are reading about, question or have been up to anything you so start making your plans now! would like us to know about! As always, the Senior Branch committee and Facebook: www.facebook.com/senior.branch I are here to answer any questions you might Email: [email protected] (general) have about Senior Branch, no matter how big [email protected] (national SB events) or how small. Feel free to get in touch about anything and we will do our best to help you with it. Ways to get in touch: Yours in Guiding, Clare Facebook: Instagram: Snapchat: Twitter: Senior Branch seniorbranch sbweekend @senior_branch The Welly! | 2017 31 Senior Branch Committee Last year we introduced you to the full Senior Branch Committee so, this year, we thought we would remind you of who’s who and give you a quick update on some members who have changed their position, or joined us since then, and introduce them to you. Feel free to get in touch with any member of the committee with questions or with your Regional rep. about what’s happening for Senior Branch in your Region. Chair: Clare Sheridan Assistant Chair: Anne Hyland Secretary (new role) and International rep.: Aisling Claffey Treasurer: Katherine Ryan Gaisce Coordinator (new role): Deirdre Henley Eastern Regional rep.: Ann Doyle South East Regional reps.: Emily Yule and Róisín Lowe (new) South West Regional rep.: Emma Lovell (new) North West Regional rep.: Gemma McLoughlin North East Regional reps.: Annamarie Lawlor and Mary O’Connell (new) Mid West Regional reps.: Katríona Kiely and Naomi Keays (new) West and Central Midlands Regional rep.: Katie Coyne COMMITTEE UPDATES Emma Lovell • New South West Regional rep. in Germany, a visit to Our Chalet in Switzerland, and IGGNITE. Now, as a secondary school teacher, Guiding Hi, I’m Emma Lovell and I’m from Bandon in West Cork. has given me the most amazing life skills and experiences I joined Guiding as a Ladybird back in 1999 and I have that have made me the teacher I am today! never left. I am a Brownie Leader with Allin and Siamsa Brownies in Bandon, and I’m with Bandon Senior Branch. I am the South West Senior Branch rep. and I look Naomi Keays • New Mid West Regional rep. forward to organising and helping out with some great Hi there! My name is Naomi Keays, I’m from Limerick and Senior Branch events in the near future. I’ve done many I’m one of the Mid West reps. for Senior Branch. I joined things in Guiding so far that I would never have done if IGG when I was five and I haven’t left since! I am a second I wasn’t part of the organisation. To name a few: trips to year student in the University of Limerick studying Our Chalet, international camps in Ireland such as Camp Industrial Biochemistry. In my spare time I love to hang Le Chéile (my first international camp), out with my friends, go to new places IGGNITE 2017, of course, and I was part and occasionally binge watch the odd of the small Irish group that attended TV show on Netflix. Girlguiding UK’s international centenary camp. My favourite part of Guiding is camping and I look forward to going to Regional Other than my Guiding life, I am a Camp every year! My first international pre-school teacher. I play rugby with Guiding experience was at Roverway Bandon, have done so for six years, and I in France in 2016. I attended Camp 101 was on the Munster A squad in 2015. All as a Guide too and didn’t stop talking of this doesn’t leave me with much time about it for months after I got home! I for anything else but I love being kept absolutely loved IGGNITE this August busy and I wouldn’t have it any other and I’m already looking forward to the way. I look forward to meeting you all at next international camp. I’m particularly upcoming events and don’t hesitate to looking forward to the Senior Branch contact me if you need anything. weekend this November; hope to see you there! Mary O’Connell • North East Regional rep. Róisín Lowe • South East Hi, my name is Mary O’Connell and I am from Regional rep. Dunshaughlin in Co. Meath. I am your new Senior Róisín Lowe is from Carlow and is one of our South Branch rep. for the North East Region. I am delighted East Regional reps., alongside Emily. She loves all things to be joining the team and working with my fellow rep. Guiding. Anyone who knows her will know that she is Annamarie from the North East.