August 2nd - Badge of the Week

Computer Fun
Complete any six of the following requirements to earn this badge:

Get Set Up
If you have a computer at home, this is a must! Read about how to "stay tuned up" in the "explore and Discover" chapter of your Junior Girl Scout Handbook. Evaluate your computer ergonomics. Create a healthier work environment for yourself and for others who use the computer. Read the Online Safety Pledge in the "How to Stay Safe" chapter of the handbook and make sure you and your family sign it.

Just the Basics
Learn how to do basic computer operations. Demonstrate your ability to do the following; create a document using a word-processing programs, save a document, add numbers or bullets to a list, use the spell-check function, print out stored information.

Computer Artist
You can be an artist using the computer. Use graphics or photo software to do one of the following:
- Create an illustration or design that can be saved and inserted in to a document or used as a screensaver.
- Lear to rotate, crop, size, sharpen, and brighten a photo from a scanned or digital file.
After you have your picture, you could use it as a screensaver, illustrate something you have written, or use it in a larger product, such as a quilt or memory book.

Desktop Publishing
Create a newsletter on your computer. Include a theme, a banner headline, columns, text wrapping, clip art or picture, boxed text, and page numbers. Save it and print it for others to read.

Fun and Games
Help put on a demonstration of computer games and software for your troop or a group of younger girls. Select the games or software for content, the age of the participants, educational value, and enjoyment.

Review the Products
Be a computer software reviewer. Pick out at last tow software programs to review that were written for kids. Compare your evaluation with that of the experts in a software review magazine. How are the reviews the same as or different from yours? Would you use reviews to help choose software? Why or why not?

Get Practical
Use a software program to do something that will save you time, teach you something, or get organized. Checkout additional ideas for this activity in the section about getting connected in the "Explore and Discover" chapter of your Junior Girl Scout Handbook.

What's Available?
Visit a computer store. Compare different kinds of personal computing systems. Ask someone to help you determine the basic options for a family computer, including printers and other hardware. Don't forget to compare the costs. Decide which system would be the best for you.
OR
Read at least 3 computer magazines. Decide what information would be helpful to your family if you were going to purchase, upgrade, or expand the usefulness of a computer.

On The Job
Interview 4 different people and find out how they use computers in their jobs.

Comparison Shopping
Find out about the different products that people use to conduct business, stay connected, or hook up to the Internet when they are away from their offices.

August 2nd - Saint of the Week

Footsteps of American Saints - Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini


About this activity

The goal of this activity is to share the lives of several saints so that the youth might relate to what these people have done and maybe look to these individuals as role models.

For more information about this Saint, check out the websites below.

www.Catholic.org
www.AmericanCatholic.org
www.newadvent.org
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly

How to start

Read about this saint. You can find the answers to these questions on www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints. Feel free to use other resources.
1st - 5th Grades - Complete 4 requirements and 2 of the activities.
6th - 12th Grades - Complete 5 requirements and 3 of the activities.
Requirements

Where and when was she born?
When is the feast day for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini?
What distinguishing fact distinguishes her sainthood in American history?
Why was she refused admission into the Daughters of the Sacred Heart and the Canossian order?
She was one of the seven founding members of which order?
Where is the first orphanage she founded in the U.S. located? What is its name?

Activities

Discuss with your family or counselor, some of the values that you admire most about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. What is she known for? How can you be more like her?
Draw a picture showing some of her accomplishments. Share this picture with your family.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's story is an epic of hope; she was an encouraging saint in a time when people need encouragement. Contact a local orphanage or children hospital and perform a good deed.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini started several missions during her life. Contact your diocese (or eparchy) and find a mission program that you can help out (e.g. Loaves and Fishes).