Winston Churchill, sausage rolls and the Teletubbies have everything in common. The are all distinctly British, and were part of a rich display created by Daisy Scout Troup 3399 last week. The presentation of "All Things British" was one of several international exhibits at the Stratford Landing Elementary School Girl Scouts Thinking Day Celebration.
The annual event, held in the school's cafeteria and attended by more than 100 Stratford Landing Elementary Girl Scouts, was just one of many festivities held around the world in commemoration of Worldwide Thinking Day.
First created in 1926 and observed on Feb. 22, in honor of the mutual birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement and his wife Olave, who served as world chief guide, Worldwide Thinking Day is a special scouting event. It is on this day that Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their "sister" Girl Scouts.
For the attendees at last week's Stratford Landing Elementary School celebration, the event was an international learning experience. Elaborate displays depicting life in Japan, Brazil, India, The Netherlands, Britain, Ireland and Italy were set up and manned by the scouts and their troop leaders. For an hour and a half the world became a much smaller place, as the scouts wandered from country to country toting homemade passports along with their inquisitive minds. Ruby Szilagi, eleven, "didn't know Brazil's major sport is soccer." While, Jenny Jones found the Italian display an eye-opener. "Italy has a lot of towers," said the 10-year old.
Hungry stomachs accompanied hungry minds and the scouts sampled the various international delicacies. "You get all sorts of food," said nine-year-old Linnea Markson, a four year veteran of Thinking Day. Along with other members of Troop 2255, Markson had constructed an eye-catching display of Japanese culture. This exhibit was a particular favorite with the young Daisy Scouts, who eagerly created paper butterflies, which they proudly clipped to their "passports." Other passport memorabilia included wooden dolls from Ireland, rope bracelets from India and flower stencils from Holland.
As the novice Daisy Scouts will one day learn, Thinking Day isn't just an opportunity to acquire interesting keepsakes. It's much more. "The best part of Thinking Day is the food," said Janet Tela of Troop 2255, then without hesitation added, "and Thinking Day is the best part of Girl Scouts."