Neighbor News
Madison Girl Scout Cadette Troop 656 Leads Fall Encampment
Troop 656 hosted 142 girls ranging from Brownies to Cadettes plus 66 leaders and parents. The theme for the encampment was 70s "groovy."
Over the weekend of October 23-25, 2015, 8th grade Girl Scout Troop 656 led the annual Madison-Harding Service Unit encampment. The troop includes Cadettes: Sydney Albano, Larisa Bohensky, Allegra Colavita, Mia O’Brian, Emma Puglisi, and Alexa Slabaugh.
Together with their troop leaders, Nicole Bearce and Barbara Puglisi, and parent volunteers Andrea Bohensky and Maria Slabaugh, Troop 656 hosted 142 girls ranging from Brownies to Cadettes plus 66 leaders and parents. The theme for the encampment was 70s “groovy.”
As is the tradition, the 8th grade troop plans, prepares and runs the encampment for the younger scouts, starting the process a year in advance. The girls from Troop 656 shared responsibilities for everything from creating signage, buying and packaging favors, managing schedules, and planning weekend-long activities for the various age ranges.
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Troop leader Barbara Puglisi commented that “Planning and organizing an event of this size and over three days is a tremendous responsibility. All the girls worked very hard to make sure that the weekend was engaging and enjoyable for the campers.” Leader Nicole Bearce noted that “Through this experience, they developed confidence and a variety of important life skills to take with them. Most importantly, they had a lot of fun together and with the younger campers. We’re all very proud of them.”
The weekend, with cold but sunny weather, kicked off with an energetic Friday night dance party that included line dances led by Troop 656, a hula hoop contest, and light show.
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The fun continued Saturday with activities including boating, a ropes course, and archery. Troop 656 also organized and led three different craft projects, a hike/scavenger hunt, and field games featuring “capture the flag” and tug-o-war. The evening was capped out by a traditional roaring campfire, s’mores and sing-along. On Sunday morning, the campers shared breakfast and recounted some memorable moments from the weekend.
Troop 656 has been very active in the Madison community for nearly nine years since many of the girls were in kindergarten, organizing book drives, collecting hats and gloves for the homeless, and helping to run the annual Newark Family Resource Network’s book fair and clothing drive.
