Girl Guides Ontario - Girl Guides Ontario - Enrolment Ceremonies - Guides

Enrolment Ceremonies - Guides

We're All Part of the Puzzle
Write out the Promise, Law and Motto on bright bristol board. Cut the bristol board up in enough jigsaw puzzle pieces for each girl and Guider. Put double-sided tape on the back of every piece. Explain to the guests that we are all part of the WAGGGS puzzle and each piece is important. Guiders tell which piece of the Guiding puzzle they think is the most important - friendship, leadership, morals, etc. - then stick their pieces to the wall or easel. Each girl then takes her turn putting her piece on the wall or easel. The group forms a horseshoe or circle. Once all are in the horseshoe/circle the guests are asked to stand to show support since they are needed to help keep our promises. The girls make their Promise. Older girls escort each new girl to the front to receive her enrolment pin. Pre-made name tags (puzzle pieces painted blue or orange or pink or green with the girl's name written in marker and glued to a fiat-backed pin) are also pinned on the new girls. The escorts attach gold and silver ribbons to remind the new girls of old and new friends: The giant Promise, Law and Motto puzzle can be displayed in the meeting place or in another suitable location.
 

Hands Around the World

Each girl and Guider cuts out the shape of her hand from blue or orange or pink or green Bristol board. Each person puts her name on the back and her wish for the world on the front of the hand. Tape a bamboo skewer to the back of the hand. The pointed end of the skewer should be facing down. Place a world globe on a table and surround it with thick styrofoam covered in an appropriate colour of tissue paper. An M.C. introduces each person as she approaches the table, reads out her wish and sticks her hand in the styrofoam with the wish facing the audience. Everyone says the Promise and enrolment pins are given out. Play the song "We Are the World" and/or sing “It’s a Small World" as the group parades out. 

The Guiding Flame
This enrolment ceremony requires one large candle, one white taper candle with a holder per Guider, one blue (orange, pink, green) candle with a holder per girl not being enrolled, one gold candle with a holder per girl being enrolled. The large candle is set in the middle of a table with lots of room on both sides. The Guiders carry in lit candles and each tells what the greatest gift is that she would like to share in Guiding. Then, all together, they put their candles to the larger one to light it and set their candles to the left of it. Each new girl comes up with one or more older girls as escorts. The escorts offer their 'gifts' to the new girl and then light their candles from the larger one. The new girl lights her candle from the older girls' candles. They set the candles down to the right of the large candle. This is repeated until every new girl is done. Everyone says the Promise and enrolment pins are handed out. A Guider reads the following
poem:

The Guiding Flame
The flame of Guiding bums bright and strong
Faithfully giving a sparkle to our souls.
Bright and plentiful are the colours that dance
A spectrum that echoes our diversity.
Warmth is generated in a unique way
Reminding us that we need never be lonely.
Flickering shadows flash before us
And we see where our promises are kept.
Gleaming, the glow touches each of us
And we look deeper into ourselves.
Together we create a marvelous light
Illuminating our adventurous pathways.