A “Silver” Lining for Tampa Day School

Well over a year ago, four Cadettes in Girl Scout Troop 1006 Osceola Service Unit, Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, approached Tampa Day School (TDS) to offer their time, energy, and talent as they began their efforts to obtain the much esteemed Silver Award. This award represents accomplishments in Girl Scouting and provides young women the opportunity to reach out into the community to make a difference in the lives of others. What these girls chose to do was create a series of audio books that would be housed in the TDS library. As evidenced by the large binder of recorded books and numerous packets of typed flash cards, these young women have not fallen short of the mark and will clearly make a difference in the lives of many TDS students for years to come.

Download the official press release here.

Given that Tampa Day School has provided weekly meeting space for the group for many years, the girls readily made themselves at home as they sacrificed evenings and weekends to complete various phases of the project. Although all of the girls are middle school-aged, they selected and pre-read a variety of books from the TDS library, recorded the stories using laptops and recording software, copied the final products to CD’s, and created labels for each of the stories with amazing enthusiasm and professionalism. There were no complaints from this group as Mrs. Anne Marie Hicks and parents of the other girls systematically guided them through the steps of the project. The girls selected this project with the intention that students at Tampa Day School would be able to enjoy books that might otherwise be too challenging to read independently. When one of the girls developed a terrible cold and was unable to record, the Cadettes agreed to add a second component to the project involving the creation of flash cards. They transformed lists of targeted words into flashcards as they typed, cut, and pasted the words onto index cards. These cards were then donated for use in both the TDS early literacy program and the intensive reading remediation program.

For at least two of these young women - Pamela Hicks, a TDS graduating eighth grader, and the sibling of a former student, the project is close to the heart. As a student with a history of early reading difficulties, Pamela realizes that this project has the incredible potential to benefit students with reading challenges. She understands what it means to be frustrated with reading and knows how difficult it can be to find high interest, developmentally appropriate reading materials that can be read with ease. In her case, she also has personal knowledge of the hard work it takes to overcome a reading disability. In addition to her regularly scheduled courses, Pamela has participated in the intensive reading program to develop her reading skills. As consistent with the Tampa Day School mission of honoring student strengths, her leadership skills, desire to help, and affinity for math have been fostered in the school setting. Not only has she been busy with the Girl Scouts, but she has also volunteered hundreds of hours in various positions with the TDS musical theater program, served as a recess coach and monitor, participated in safety patrol, and assisted teachers with younger students during the school year and in the summer program. As she graduates from TDS, she takes with her not only her improved reading ability, but also a resiliency that has been developed by her experience of success and the sense of accomplishment she has gleaned from her volunteer and leadership opportunities at school and through her participation in Girl Scouts.

Tampa Day School is grateful to Pamela and the young women of Troop 1006 for selecting a project that will have such an incredible impact on young lives and commend the Cadettes for their dedication to expand reading options for students not yet ready to read the texts independently. Although it is clear that this project, as consistent with the mission of the Girl Scouts, is designed to develop character and leadership, there is no question that this remarkable group of young ladies selected this particular project because they truly cared about helping other students. They can rest assured that the materials will be put to good use and that their efforts individually and collectively have had an impact on lives in their community.