Law Awareness & Bicycle Safety

This week's meeting was all about staying safe in our community, and we were visited by Constable Rod LeClair of the OPP who helped us earn our Law Awareness Badge and work towards our Cycling Badge.

We got started right away once the girls had filled out their dues books, beginning with our horseshoe and the promise. 

The first part of the meeting was spent covering the Law Awareness Badge. We learned all about the training needed to apply to become a police officer, and also the OPP-specific training. One of the questions the girls asked was about the different ranks, and we found out that in the OPP, officers can progress from Recruit to Constable (5th through 1st Class), then Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Inspector, Superintendent and finally, Commissioner. Constable LeClair then went through all of the equipment a police officer carries, showing the girls how the different items work (where appropriate) and explaining what they are used for.The girls asked lots of questions about what pepper spray did and how it felt, and thought it was cool to see how a tazer (electrodes removed) works. How to contact the police in an emergency (call 911) was covered, as well as what constitutes an emergency, and when the regular police department phone number should be used. We reviewed local laws in our community and how to respond to different situations, including someone coming to the door when you're home alone, a stranger offering you a ride, witnessing an accident, and finding the aftermath of a crime. Some time was spent covering internet safety and the importance of keeping your personal information private and keeping your parents informed about what you are doing online. The final piece for this section was how things you do when you are young can have an impact later in life - specifically, how having a criminal record can impact where you can go to school, the jobs you can get, and even where you can live. The girls were surprised that as Girl Guide leaders we have to have a police records check every three years!

We took a break for an active game (Everybody's It Tag) as everyone was getting a bit restless before moving on to the second part of our meeting.  

During the second part of our meeting we learned about bicycle safety in preparation for warmer weather.  We found out about the importance of wearing a helmet (other than the fact that it's the law!) and what a properly equipped bicycle should have - reflectors, bell or horn, reflective tape. As a group we practice the different hand signals that cyclists use to let drivers know the direction they are intending to go and if they are planning to stop, and reviewed the different traffic signals in our community. The girls were surprised that they are supposed to obey traffic signs, such as stop signs, in the same way cars do. The final piece was learning about cycling etiquette and how to stay safe in different places, situations and weather conditions. To complete this badge, Guides will need to go for a bicycle ride and practice safe riding, signalling and cycling etiquette. 

We ended with an active game and final questions before thanking Constable LeClair for coming. The evening closed with reminders for next week, handing out booklets and newsletters, and Taps.

Links and Downloads:

• Ontario Provincial Police (external link)
• Quick Facts for Parents - Learning About Online Safety (external PDF)
  
• Young Cyclist's Guide (MTO) (external PDF) 

First Aid

Tonight we worked on the Guide First Aid Badge and Learn About Safety section of the program, and finished off the Pathfinder Safe at Home or Out and About Module.

The evening started out with 30 minutes of  Patrol Time, and each patrol worked on a different activity:

• Trillium Patrol - " " - brought the supplies to cook an egg in ashes, but hadn't considered that we have no where to light a fire at our meeting place, so they learned how to cook scrambled eggs and clean-up afterwards
• Rose Patrol - "How Fit Are You?" - took a fitness quiz and played active games
• Pansy Patrol - "Bear Necessities" - attempted to build a structure from bamboo poles, string, newspaper, tape and straws that would hold food up off the ground
• Daffodil Patrol - "Date To Dream" - talked about their hopes and dreams for the future, and worked on an article about self-esteem

After tidying up, we had our usual opening followed by a lively game of Everybody's It Tag.

Our first program activity was a discussion about first aid. A number of the girls had learned a bit about first aid either in Brownies or through a course, such as babysitting or staying home alone.

We then played a relay game to test their knowledge of what to do in different situations. Each patrol had a question sheet and had to run up and get the colour-coded answer cards from the opposite end of the room. One person would run up and get a card, then the patrol had to decide which question it answered before going up to get another card. The game was won by the Trillium Patrol, followed by the Rose and Pansy Patrols, who also had all the correct answers.

The next activity was to make personal first aid kits and talk about what each item would be used for. We used pharmacy pill bottles that were washed and had the labels removed - they were even blue! In each kit we put: 2 Q-Tips, 1 sterile gauze pad, 12 inches of paper tape (wrapped around a straw), 1 alcohol wipe, 3 safety pins and 4 bandaids. 

Our final activity was to act our different scenarios. Our Pathfinder and Ranger came up with a set of scenarios and the Guides were divided into pairs and showed the rest of the Unit what to do in different situations.

We closed with Taps, and handed out newsletters and Easter treats as everyone went home.

Downloads

• First Aid Discussion Information
• First Aid Relay Game
• Scenario Sheet 

Streetwise & Girls for Safer Communities

The last week of November was devoted to learning about safety as we worked on the Streetwise Badge and Girls for Safer Communities Challenge.

As the girls arrived, each Patrol was challenged to come up with a list of ways they could stay safe in the community. After our opening and an active game (Everybody's It Tag), we discussed the lists and came up with a 'top 10' list of safety tips. In sharing the lists, everyone learned new ways to increase their personal safety.

We then looked at the Safety Audit forms we completed on our Safety Hike in September. We discussed what we had observed, and then each group made posters and skits related to the issues and promoting safety.

 

Next we split up into patrols and each was given a street map of the town. We took turns finding different locations on the map and giving directions to each other. The discussion included finding the safest routes to different places, areas where there are hazards, and places the girls could get help.

Our final activity, after exploring the maps of the community, was to create personal maps. Each girl or pair created a map showing local places of importance to them (i.e. home, school, church).

First Aid Night

Our Safety badge this year was First Aid. This badge is very theory/discussion based and it can be a challenge to get the girls involved.

The First Aid Badge requirements are:

1. Explain why it is important to check the accident area for your own safety before offering help.
2. Explain how to get help, what to do until help arrives and what to do after it arrives.
3. Describe the limitations of a first aider.
4. Describe what to look for when finding an accident victim.
5. Explain the danger of moving a person who has been injured.
6. Demonstrate how to keep a patient comfortable.
7. Tell about the danger of infection.
8. Put together a simple first aid kit and tell why each item was chosen.
9. Demonstrate rescue breathing and how to help someone who is choking.
10. Explain how to treat a nosebleed.

When we talked about what to do if someone is choking we let the Guides practice on a large stuffed animal. We also had the girls form pairs and act out what they would do in different situations (i.e. finding someone who has been injured, keeping someone comfortable, putting someone into the recovery position, helping someone with a nosebleed). We also had each patrol make up a skits showing how to treat a simple injury, based on the list in the Learn About Safety section of the program.

For our first aid kits, we used film cannisters, plastic lacing and beads to make first aid kit lanyards. First, we poked a hole in the lid of the cannister then threaded the ends of the plastic lacing through the hole, then through a pony bead, tying a knot in the ends. Before doing this, if the girls wanted to thread some beads onto the lacing that would show they were able to do that. In the cannisters we put:

• 1 gauze square
• 1 alcohol swab
• 1 large bandaid
• 1 small bandaid
• 6" paper tape
• 1" tube of polysporin
• 1" tube of baking soda