June 1, 2007

Evergreen Senior Girl Scouts earn Gold Awards

Google of Mountain View was the venue for Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County 2007 Gold Award Ceremony this year.

The events theme was “Solid Gold” and it honored the achievement of 50 High School Seniors. Included in this group were Evergreen residents Courtney Chin and Brianna Trinh.

Courtney Chin (right) speaks to students at Horace Mann Elementary School as part of her service project in the community. Chin’s project earned her a 2007 Gold Award at the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County 2007 Gold Award Ceremonies.

The Gold Award is the highest recognition a high school girl can earn in Girl Scouting. Gold Awardees have three years to complete a series of leadership challenges and an extensive service project in her community in order to obtain this prestigious award. Nationally, about 3, 500 girls earn the award each year.

Trinh, a senior at Evergreen Valley High School, is an 11-year member of Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County and Troop 1115. Trinh’s Gold Award project, called “Music Mania,” consisted of three parts.

The first part of the project involved coordinating a Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner at the Boys & Girls Club - Smythe House for the children and parents. The second part of the project involved renovating the music room at the Boys & Girls Club. This consisted of tearing down old and damaged soundproof foam and replacing it. Trinh and her volunteers put two coats of primer and bright lime green paint on the walls. Trinh then donated new equipment for the room, such as a keyboard stand, piano bench, microphones and cables.

The third part of Trinh’s project was gathering enough volunteers to assist at Friday after school music related activities. For more than a month, Trinh and her friends introduced different music related activities to the group. Activities included making a Glove-A-Phone, which is made out of a cardboard tube, rubber glove and a straw. Once assembled, it sounds like a saxophone. “I wanted to be able to show the kids that music is much more than singing, playing an instrument or listening. I wanted the children to see that you can make music from everyday ordinary objects without spending a fortune on instruments,” said Trinh, whose closing activity was making Chinese Spirit Drums out of Popsicle sticks, floppy disks, beads and string, which the children used at a surprise event. Since this Gold Award Project was close to the Lunar New Year, Trinh surprised the children by arranging a Chinese Lion Dance Troup to perform.

A Day at the Nutcracker
Chin is a junior at Evergreen Valley High School and is a 12-year member of Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County & Girl Scout Troop 759. Chin is a former ballet student of Dance Theatre International and cast member of San Jose Dance Theatre, the second oldest continuous Nutcracker Ballet Company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Just prior to 2003, Chin injured her ankle and decided to volunteer as a backstage tour guide for the production.

Out of this experience came Chin’s Gold Award Project, “A Day at the Nutcracker.” Chin created an outreach program for 100 elementary school students at Cedar Grove Elementary School and Horace Mann Elementary School, in which she introduced the students to ballet through a series of workshops. Chin created an educational pamphlet, demonstrated ballet technique, and introduced a faux stained glass ornament project to the children.

Her workshop also introduced the children to the history of the Nutcracker Statue. As a special gift, Chin arranged for a photographer to take each students picture next to a five-foot Wooden Nutcracker. The students were also invited to attend San Jose Dance Theatre’s student show of The Nutcracker at the Center for the Performing Arts.

The second part of Chin’s Gold Award Project was designing a workshop for over 600 Girl Scouts, family and friends. This workshop was a pre-performance workshop held prior to San Jose Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker performances. The workshop included a backstage tour to learn about the theatre, stage and props. The workshop guests were then invited into the Ridder Lounge to view theatre costumes up close on mannequins and listen to a former dancer explain and how a ballerina balances on toe shoes.

To honor the dancers in the production, Chin designed a 12x4-foot cast board featuring the production’s Junior Company and another board with “Behind the Scenes & Before the Show” of the cast. These boards remained in the theatre lobby during the entire production for guest to view and admire.

Chin contributed her success to many individuals. “I am more successful because I had the opportunity to participate in numerous leadership workshops and conferences that were available to me because I was a Girl Scout. Having the experience for the past six years hosting Girl Scout Workshops in Evergreen taught me what works and what may not work,” said Chin.

Chin’s 2006 workshops and ticket revenue earned San Jose Dance Theatre $25,815. She plans return in 2007 and give her final workshop before she goes to college.