G^3 Nano - GO-GIRLs Go Nano

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

We here at GO-GIRL are excited to have just held a really cool event under our latest initiative, Operation Keeping in Touch (KiT). The purpose of this new addition to the GO-GIRL program was to provide more opportunities for GO-GIRLs and their parents to investigate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) topics and careers.

This event was hosted by the Wayne State University Chemistry department. During this all day workshop, GO-GIRLs explored how very, very, small devices can be used to solve BIG medical, computational, and energy problems. Girls made their own nanomaterials and discovered ways these materials can be used to help make the world a better place. The day included a pizza & salad lunch, a chance to reconnect with friends, and opportunities to work (almost entirely 1-on-1) with current WSU students and faculty in their chemistry laboratories. The day rounded up with a final game of Nano BINGO, testing the girls' knowledge gained throughout the course of the day, complete with prizes!

In the morning, parents joined us for some community learning as well. In the WSU Undergraduate Library (UGL) some of our wonderful library science folks showed us the ins and outs of MEL.org and how to navigate this wonderful online resource. This is a great tool for parents and students alike! Then, our fabulous representative from the WSU Office of Admissions, Sylvia, held a Parent Café revolved around our GO-GIRLs of all ages and their pursuit for college. Some key themes were scholarships, social networking as a way of sharing information about the college application process, and timelines for applying to college.

Overall, our GO-GIRL staff and volunteers were so pleased with the turn out and the enthusiasm and engagement of our GO-GIRLs and their parents. We hope y'all feel the same!

GO-GIRL 2011 Day 5

Saturday, March 5th

Another Saturday of plugging away at our research projects! We accomplished so much today in our teams as we formulated questions to ask in our surveys which will be ready next week!

Meanwhile, our parents attended a Parent Café where they discussed other opportunities for us. They discussed other extracurricular academic programs as well as what college admissions offices are looking for. They always have our best interests in mind!

The parents also made a chain of strengths similar to the one we made. Their strong characteristics and qualities they listed included, but are not limited to: caring & compassionate, passionate about kids success, supportive, involved, leadership, focused, determined, super mom, computer skills, hard-working, driven, encouraging, problem-solving, willing to learn, flexible, structured, patient, make time, understanding, loving, easy to talk to, trustworthy, creative & crafty, motivational/motivated, fair, advocator, wanting to help, excited, resourceful, helpful, and so much more!

We're so thankful for all of the amazing and inspirational GO-GIRLs and their families this semester! :)

Reminder: GO-GIRL resumes tomorrow!

Friday, March 4th, 2011

This is just a reminder that we WILL be resuming as normal tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th. We're looking forward to seeing you back this week!

In addition, we will be holding another Parent Café from 9:30-11:00 am in the College of Education, Room #253. The topic of this Parent Café is "Programs and Resources." We will discuss how you and your daughter can more efficiently use library resources at home and online. We will be joined by a librarian from the WSU Undergraduate Library who will help us navigate through a wonderful online library resource available to all residents in Michigan. We will also talk about some summer programs and other opportunities for your daughter. We do hope you'll all be able to join us!

See you tomorrow!

Parent Cafes-Starting next Saturday!

Three Parent Cafés will be offered during the Winter 2011 session. Parent Cafés will provide opportunities for parents to network, share information and resources, and ask questions about how they can support their daughters. GO-GIRL staff members, university experts, and community resource persons will join the informal discussions during the Cafés.

Parent Cafés are scheduled from 9:30-11:00 in the College of Education

February 12
The GO-GIRL Experience
This meeting will provide a hands-on GO-GIRL experience for parents so they will have a better understanding of the program goals and activities.

February 12
Friends of GO-GIRL Planning meeting
Our first friends of GO-GIRL Meeting will follow the Parent Café beginning at 12:00. We hope you will join us for a light lunch and conversation about how we can keep GO-GIRL Going and Growing.

March 5
Programs and Resources
How can your daughter (and you) more effectively use library resources at home or online? Looking for summer programs or other opportunities for your daughter? Don’t miss this café.

April 16
Supporting Your Daughter Now and in the Future
Don’t wait. What can you do to start preparing your daughter for college NOW? A college admissions counselor will join us and share important information and practical suggestions.

Reunion 2010

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

Today we had the 2nd of our GO-GIRL reunions from 1-3pm. The event was open to all former G0-GIRLs and we had GGs all the way back from 2004! Mentors from 2003 and 2010 showed up as well! GG parents and GGs visited the WSU Info fair and enjoyed an ice cream buffett and social. It was a fun and successful afternoon of information, prizes, and reconnecting with one another! We're looking forward to next year's reunion! :)

Saturday, April 10th Parent Cafe

Saturday's Parent Cafe covered some information regarding future career paths for girls and breaking down the gender barriers for science and math fields. As a group there was discussion about experiences and recommendations in motivating girls to stay on track for successful science and math studies/careers down the line.

There was also talk of the GGs futures beyond high school. Staying on track with science and math is important but some other things that colleges look for in an applicant were covered.

In addition, librarians came to show parents the online resource of www.mel.org. This resource is very helpful in so many ways. We encourage you to check it out and show your daughter. There are great links for age appropriate research from legitimate sources. The site also has great tools for parents that include but are not limited to health and other educational resources, etc.

We're looking forward to seeing our GG parents again at our third and final Parent Cafe, it falls the same day as the GGs graduation on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 from 9:30-11am in the College of Education, Room 10.

GG Day 6: Pharmacy Field Trip

Saturday, March 27th

A major day for GO-GIRL!

Our 2010 semester GGs took a field trip to the WSU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Each group of GGs had a pharmacy student lead them around the building. Each 5 sessions that the GGs attended exposed the girls to different fields in the health sciences.

In the Occupational Therapy (OT) session the girls made a bracelet or key-chain and tested how strong their fingers and hands are by squeezing a mechanism as hard as they could. Then they learned the average strength of girls their age. They learned why OT is important and why people do it.

In the Physical Therapy (PT) session, they learned about different exercises that they could do to work different parts of the body to improve their strength. They also watched a video about the different places that they could practice PT such as at schools with veterans.

In the Pharmacy the GGs learned what pharmacists do and they toured the CVS laboratory. They saw how drugs are prescribed and approximately how many different types of drugs there are currently on the market.

In the Analyzing session they practiced testing urine (actually Mountain Dew in this case), and they learned how to use test strips that test for diabetes. Here they got a chance to wear lab coats and lab goggles and learn about lab safety procedures.

Lastly, in the Physician Assistant (PA) session, the GGs learned what PAs do and they practiced their knowledge on a sample case about a man who didn't know what was causing him to have certain symptoms. After learning the symptoms of a stroke, the GGs were able to diagnose this man. They also heard a real heartbeat in order to monitor heart rate and use a stethoscope.

In each workshop there was a real doctor and WSU students studying those respected professions to assist the GGs in their learning.

Just a reminder: GO-GIRL will be meeting at its usual time on Saturday, April 10th: 9:30am-3:00pm in the College of Education.

At this time (Saturday, April 10th), we will also be holding a Parent Cafe to which all parents of GO-GIRLs are invited. The theme of the Parent Cafe will be Programs and Resources. Librarians will show you how you and your daughter can more effectively use library resources at home or online. In addition, we will discuss careers for your daughters that break gender molds. It should be an excellent chance to network and meet one another as well as have a rich conversation. The Parent Cafe will be held from 9:30-11:00am in the College of Education, Room #10.

Please note that the street/metered parking on WSU's campus is free on the weekends.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone again this weekend after a nice holiday break, hope everyone had a great vacation! :)

GG Day 2

Saturday, February 13, 2010

What a fun-filled day at GO-GIRL! Today the girls and their teams discussed surveys and the who, what, why, where and how of them. Each team brainstormed a topic of interest for them. Although each team's survey and topic is in different stages of development, what they have come up with this week will get them thinking and going on further creating a topic for their eventual survey.

Because of all of the teamwork and brainstorming, today the girls seemed to come together and they got to know one another a little better. Each team began to create a team poster highlighting themselves with their team name, the team members, and adjectives to describe themselves. Wait until you see how creative they are! The sense of community is strong and always growing!

With this weekend off due to the school breaks, we hope everyone is resting well and preparing for a BUSY week next week. We're going to the Undergraduate Library (UGL) on Wayne State's campus and it is going to be so exciting to learn more about research from our favorite librarians! Hopefully everyone remembers to wear their GO-GIRL t-shirt so we can stick together and show our pride!

And, parents, don't forget about the GG Parent Cafe being held for you from 9:30-11:00am in Room 10 of the College of Education building. Our staff, university experts, and community resources persons will join us to provide opportunities for networking, share information and resources, and help you help your daughters.

We'll look forward to seeing everyone next Saturday, February 27th!