Troop 626 at St. James has now been named the “Singing Elves” by the teachers. Before leaving for Christmas vacation, the sixth grade girls of Girl Scout troop 625 at St. James journeyed from classroom to classroom singing Christmas songs and collecting new and gently used books for the school library. Troop 626 started working on its Silver Award this year, which represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements help build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement.

The girls are working on several projects for their Silver Award that deal with books and reading and wanted to share with their fellow students at St. James. The school’s library recently reopened after being closed for several years and the girls decided to collect and donate books to help stock the shelves.

First, the girls spent an afternoon making Christmas-themed bookmarks to hand out while they collected books. Additionally, they distributed flyers at school about their event, “Caroling for Books” and even addressed the students via the school intercom, reminding them to bring in books on collection day, Dec. 11.

Outfitted in elf hats, the girls sang “Jingle Bells” for the younger grades as the students brought their books up and dropped them in the collection bin. In the end they collected enough books to fill their bin and presented them to the school librarian who was impressed  with the generosity of the St. James student body.

Contributed by Tricia Flynn