Safety Activity Checkpoints has been updated for 2019. The new version is online and can be found under forms, in VTK, and by searching on www.gssjc.org or by following this link: Safety Activity Checkpoints What's new in this latest update? New additions include: • Specific sections on pocket knives, slingshots, hand and power tools, and log rolling. • Ridesharing is now allowed for transportation by following safety instructions. • Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway are also permitted but, require additional information for approval. • A Proficient Swimmer Test is introduced and can be certified by a lifeguard or swim instructor as equivalent to a Swim Level 3 card combined with the safe boating test. • In the introduction, new sections on First Aid, Transporting Girls, and What to Do if there is an Accident have been summarized from Volunteer Essentials into the Safety Activity Checkpoints. Duck boats, snowmobiling, and electric scooters are not permitted under the new SAC. Revisions or clarifications include: • Updated adult to girl ratios for troop meetings • Advanced first-aider is needed for events greater than 200 people • Accident insurance is applicable to registered members only • Clarification that swim cards and safe boating cards are not needed for canoeing, corcl boats, or kayaking on council lakes. (Safe boating test and swim cards are required for all small craft boating when it is not on council property.) • Parades has been pulled out as a separate section. Previously it was under Miscellaneous. • Clarification on sleeping accommodations for men on overnight trips • Safe boating card is needed for specific types of scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, and waterskiing in addition to the Swim Level certification. Several activities have been updated to require Council approval including recreational tree climbing, zip lining, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing and snowboarding, go-karts, and corcl boats.

Please review the GSSJC expectations when offering a Journey in a Day event. The guidance below comes from Girl Experience. Be aware that Journey in a Day events are not appropriate events if the Take Action Project is part of the event. Keep in mind, if a Take Action project is not completed, the Journey is not complete. The council, Region and other volunteer groups offer many opportunities for girls to complete most or all of the steps of a Journey. However, it is an expectation of GSSJC that no offering should include the completion of a take action project. This is enforced through all Council and Region offerings and should be the case in any Journey event offered by a community or troop for money earning activities. A take action project (TAP) should be initiated by a girl based on an issue she wishes to address. Per GSUSA, girls should be involved in every step of their TAP. This means that the event chair and/or GPB cannot pick a few TAP options ahead of time for other girls to pick from to complete, because the participants are not getting the chance to drive the direction of their Journey’s TAP in a direction of their interests. The complete leadership experience of a TAP involves a girl taking the path of learning about a topic, choosing what root cause she is addressing and where to address it, and then completing the work. When the direction of the TAP is chosen for her and the root cause is predetermined, the girls are being left out of a true TAP process.

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