And the Winner is . .. . .

Junior Badge & Animals!

You voted to earn another Jr Badge. A part of the requirements for the "United we Stand" badge was the flag ceremony. Another was the Pledge of Allegiance and learning a patriotic song. At the flag retiring ceremony we sang God Bless America & TAPS. We will sing them both again at our Bridging Ceremony.

God Bless America

God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home

Complete the requirement below and bring with you next Monday, May 4:

The American flag isn't the only American symbol. Find out about two other American symbols and what they stand for. Share with your troop.

Now to the Animal part - You voted with your pennies for the social or environmental action project that you all researched and the winner was ANIMALS with feeding children a close second then babies and education. We will find a local animal no-kill shelters to help, such as Free to Live. If you have thoughts or suggestions, please post in the comments for all to see.

Retiring Flag Ceremony

Monday, April 13, Troop 840 retired 2 US flags. The Brownies performed a traditional Girl Scout Flag Retiring Ceremony. We learned the significance of the symbolism of our flag as well as the importance of retiring flags with dignity and respect.

We cut each of the stripes to lay them on the fire one by one

“When the flag of our country has become worn or damaged, the proper way to dispose of it is through burning or burial. We are here to pay our last respects to these particular flags with love and reverence.

7 red stripes and 6 white stripes; Each strip stands for one of the 13 colonies that gained us liberty. The red stripes remind us of the lifeblood of the brave men & women who were ready to die for this, their country.

The white stripes remind us of the purity and cleanliness of purpose, thought, word and deed.

Each of the 50 states is represented by a star on a field of blue. The blue is for truth and justice, like the eternal blue of the star filled heavens.

We cut these flags with respect and will place them stripe by stripe on the fire.

The 1^st stripe stands for Delaware, then Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island” (adapted from the GSA handbook)

The field of Blue with white starts, which stands for all states was burned last and laid on the fire with 2 scouts holding the corners.


We ended the ceremony with God Bless America.
All 12 members of Brownie Troop 840 were present for this event. We thank Oak Cliff Fire Department for assisting us in the burn and Meme & Papa Akin (Raven's Grandparents) and Mr & Mrs Harris (Kesha's Parents) for the flags that we retired.

US Flag Patch Choice

Pick the patch! I didn't realize that some of us had earned the "wave the Flag" patch a few years ago in our old troop. We have an opportunity to earn a Junior Patch with one of the requirements being to have a public flag ceremony, which we did yesterday and will present the flags at the bridging ceremony. The 3rd option is to get a "fun" patch that is worn on the back of the vest or sash. It is really nice. The choice is yours. Here are the 3 patches. Vote for the one you would rather earn.
A. Brownie Try-it "wave the flag"
B. Junior Badge "united we stand"
C. Flag Ceremony Patch for Girl Scouts

See the poll to the right and vote. Voting is open for 1 week.

Please print this Flag Print Out to color!