Highest Awards

All About: Highest Awards Experience Boxes

The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto is very proud to announce that its new Highest Awards Experience Boxes are here! Some of you may have already received your package in the mail and are perhaps wondering what it is for. Others may be hearing about it from fellow troop leaders or online and are looking for more information. The great news is you have come to the right place. Learn all about GSSJC's Highest Awards Experience Boxes below! Please read the information on this page thoroughly to have all the information you need.

Notice: Please wait 2 weeks before reaching out to Council with questions regarding the arrival of your Highest Awards Experience Box. We want to give time for them to arrive. Please also keep in mind that there may be additional mailing delays with the impending winter storm. Thank you for your patience.

a Highest Awards Experience Box is:

A "plug-and-play" resource helping you take your girls step by step through the process of earning the Bronze or Silver Award ~ no prior knowledge required!

An interactive game-like experience that engages girls through activities, videos, and more! It's a treasure hunt ~ encourage them to collect all the treasure!

A girl-facing resource ~ give your girls this resource and let them lead!

**What will be included in my Highest Awards Experience Box?**
The Highest Awards Experience Box will come with:
a Welcome sheet,
an Adult Guide,
a gameboard poster,
a folder with printed activities, and
a bag of supplies, including: 1 fine-tip permanent marker, 1 gold crayon, 1 spinner (2 pieces), 1 cardboard circle, 1 20-sided die, 1 sheet of stickers, 1 stack of mini sticky notes, 1 rubber band, and 1 magnet.
Please note, the Highest Awards Experience Box will arrive as a poly mailer package rather than a box.

How do I get a Highest Awards Experience Box for my troop?

You do not need to do anything to request this free resource! It is already being mailed to one (random) troop leader per troop that has Juniors and/or Cadettes on the roster, including Junior troops, Cadette troops, and multi-level troops. Be sure to check with all troop leaders in your troop to find out who receives it.

This resource has been mailed out to all eligible troops as of January 15 and should be arriving soon.

Please note, the Highest Awards Experience Box will arrive as a poly mailer package rather than a box.

Highest Awards Experience Box FAQs

What should I do if I haven't received my troop's package?

First, confirm that your troop is eligible to receive one. Next, over the next two weeks, check with all troop leaders and parents in your troop to make sure none of them received it. Finally, if two weeks have gone by, please reach out to either bronzeaward@sjgs.org or silveraward@sjgs.org for more information.

I have received a Highest Awards Experience Box. What do I do now?

First of all, please immediately notify all troop leaders and parents in your troop that you have received this resource. Work with all appropriate adults to determine the best use of this resource for your troop. We recommend NOT OPENING the package until you are able to get together with your fellow troop leaders to review it. And then, we recommend closing up the resource and putting it in a safe place until you are ready to start working on it with your girls. GSSJC is not able to provide replacements for any lost packages or lost supplies.

Does my troop have to use the Highest Awards Experience Box to earn their Bronze or Silver Award?

Using this resource is completely optional. While we do believe that this resource will be very useful to you and your girls, you can choose to use all of it, parts of it, or not at all. Let your girls decide!

What should I do if my package is missing a printed activity?

We apologize for the inconvenience. The great news is these Highest Awards Experience Boxes were created with replacement ease and economy in mind. Please visit the Documents section of the Highest Awards Online Community to find all activities ready for download and printing. Almost all of the activities are in black and white (or can be printed in black and white with no loss of content) on standard 8.5x11 paper. If you don't have a printer at home or are missing an activity intended for 11x17 paper (the Gallery Walk and Clean Out the Attic activities), we recommend printing a copy at your local office supply store.

What should I do if my package is missing a supply item?

We apologize for the inconvenience. The great news is these Highest Awards Experience Boxes were created with replacement ease and economy in mind. Most of the supplies can be easily sourced from your troop, friends, or family or purchased cheaply. The items that may be more challenging to find or replace (e.g. the 20-sided die or spinner or gold crayon) are not essential to complete the experience. Unfortunately, GSSJC is not able to provide replacements for supplies.

What if I have multiple groups/Project Teams earning their Highest Award at the same time?

We're thrilled you have so many girls earning their Highest Award! The gameboard is intended to serve one group of girls as they track their project progress in an interactive way. Troops with multiple groups/Project Teams earning their Highest Award at the same time this year will need additional gameboards for all girls to receive the full experience. To request an additional gameboard, go to the Adult Guide page 2 for the QR code that will take you to the form to fill out.

Please note, GSSJC is unable to provide extra consumable supplies for multiple groups in a troop. However, the items in your package may serve multiple groups, are easy to source, and/or are not essential to complete the experience.

Can individual Juniors and Cadettes use this resource?

Yes! We are very excited to say that the materials from this resource can be very helpful to individual girls seeking to do their Bronze or Silver Award! This resource is especially valuable to Individually Registered Members (girls and adults) who do not have a troop leader to work with. Find all printable materials available in the Documents section of the Highest Awards Online Community.

Please note that the physical Highest Awards Experience Boxes are only being mailed out to troops.

Can Seniors and Ambassadors use this resource for the Gold Award?

Yes! While the Highest Awards Experience Boxes were designed to help Juniors and Cadettes earn the Bronze or Silver Award (thereby increasing the level of support provided at these levels), these resources can be valuable to Gold Award candidates as well, especially the Take Action Project development activities. Find all printable materials available in the Documents section of the Highest Awards Online Community.

Please note, GSSJC is very proud to provide Gold Award candidates with one-on-one support through a Gold Award Mentor. It is very important that Seniors and Ambassadors work alongside their Gold Award Mentor as they develop their Gold Award project idea.

My troop is not planning to use the Highest Awards Experience Box. What can we do with the package?

Some troops may have already earned their Bronze or Silver Award, be almost done with earning their award, or may not be interested in earning their award (although we hope that reviewing the Highest Awards Experience Box may inspire you and your girls to want to earn the award!). In these cases, your troop may not need a Highest Awards Experience Box. If you are not planning to use your Highest Awards Experience Box and would like to help us use our resources wisely, please reach out to bronzeaward@sjgs.org or silveraward@sjgs.org for more information. Thank you in advance!

Questions?

We are thrilled that so many of our members are excited to get started using their Highest Awards Experience Box!

If you have not yet received your Highest Awards Experience Box, please wait 2 weeks before contacting Council for more information. It may still be in the mail. If your package does not arrive in two weeks, please reach out to bronzeaward@sjgs.org or silveraward@sjgs.org for more information. We appreciate your patience.

If you have questions about how to use the Highest Awards Experience Box, please be sure to review all information included in the package, especially the Adult Guide, as well as all of the information about the Bronze and Silver Award and Take Action already provided on the Highest Awards Online Community. There is a wealth of resources available to support you, including documents, trainings, and more!

If you would like to speak to an expert about your Highest Awards Experience Box or Highest Awards in general, please join us for our monthly Highest Awards: Ask Me Anything on the third Thursday at 7pm on Zoom (except for May and December). No registration required. Click here to join a session.