(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) There’s a tiger on the prowl at Terraset Elementary School, thanks to the hard work of the seven-member Junior Girl Scout Troop 1632.
A new 94-foot-long mural of the body and tail of Terry the Tiger — Terraset’s mascot — now adorns the sidewalk leading to the school. At the end of Terry’s tail is the school slogan, and nearby, colorful flowers have sprouted on one of the school’s formerly-bare garden sheds.
This is due to the talent and effort of the Reston-based Junior Girl Scout troop, who completed it to meet a scout requirement and to add a little joy for Terraset’s staff and students.
“I want them to think that we really put a lot of effort into it and that it makes them maybe happy,” says 10-year-old Avery McCusker, who will start fifth grade at Terraset this fall.
Terraset Principal Lindsay Trout agrees that, after such a difficult year, Terry’s already bringing smiles to faces.
“The tiger and motto are making a difference to those who have seen them,” Trout said in a press release. “They beautify the school, boost school spirit…and are fun. I’ve already seen both kids and adults walk the winding tail of Terry the Tiger into the school.”
Junior Girl Scout Troop 1632 formed six years ago with many of its seven members having known each other since they were in preschool, so more than half of their lives.
The mural took hours of preparation, mostly done virtually.
As Avery points out, kids her age can’t be vaccinated yet, so they had to continue to stay safe and apart. So, when the girls gathered outside on a hot Saturday in mid-June to paint, it was a joyous occasion.
“It was like the first time we were seeing each other in person in over a year basically,” says McCusker. “It was really nice, because we all got to have fun together and stuff.”
Even with a little help from adults, including South Lakes High School art teacher Matthew Ravenstahl, who helped design the mural so that it could fit the walkway, painting the tiger and flowers took all day.
The entire project cost about $1,000, mostly for supplies and stencils, but the troop raised all the money themselves by selling cookies, magazines, and other products.
For their efforts, the seven members of the troop earned a Bronze Award.
“A Bronze Award is the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn unless she saves a life,” Troop 1632 co-leader Angie Tombul said. “As Girl Scouts work hard to raise money and earn awards and badges, they are simultaneously learning the importance of giving back to the community in positive ways.”
Terry the Tiger is now ready and waiting to greet students when they return this fall back to Terraset Elementary, which opened in 1977.
It will be McCusker’s first time going to school in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. She’s looking forward to it — with some reservations.
“I am kind of [excited], but I’m also kind of not because I don’t like masks,” says McCusker, referring to the expectation that unvaccinated students will still be required to wear face masks. “But overall, I am.”
Angela Woolsey contributed to this report.
On Friday, Girl Scouts troops will start selling cookies in-person at least eight locations between Herndon and Reston.
For those looking to stay home, Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital is also offering online cookie sales, which will be delivered through the Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital chapter. Online sales began on Monday.
Here are the locations for Reston and Herndon, according to the Girl Scouts’ cookie finder:
Reston
- Ledo Pizza (2254 Hunter’s Woods Plaza)
- Starbucks (11170 South Lakes Drive)
- Dunkin’ Donuts (2280 Hunter’s Woods Plaza)
- Flippin’ Pizza (11130 South Lakes Drive)
- CVS (11680 Plaza America Drive)
- Starbucks (1857 Fountain Drive)
HerndonÂ
- Food Lion (3059 Centreville Road)
- Lucia’s Italian Ristorante (2531 John Milton Drive)
Most of the booths will be out on weekends, with some also selling cookies on Fridays. The cookie finder lists dates next to all locations.
All cookie sales end March 14.
“This year we had a decrease [in in-person booths], but of course, Girl Scouts have found a way,” said Tygerian Burke, the marketing and communications manager for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.
Buying cookies online works like this:
- Customers can type their zip code into the cookie finder and find local troops selling cookies virtually. Each time the page loads, it will feature a different virtual booth.
- When customers click the link corresponding to the troop of their choice, the link will take them to a page with a description of what the sales will go toward and directions for buying the cookies.
- The cookies can be shipped to the customer’s house or to someone else as a donation.
The Girl Scouts are also having cookies delivered via GrubHub, a promotion that started in the D.C. area on Thursday, Burke said. Drivers can deliver cookies to homes within a 25-minute radius of where a scout or troop is located, which in D.C. traffic, will mean varying distances, she added.
She advised checking social media for Facebook Live promotions of GrubHub deliveries throughout the month-and-a-half of sales.
Burke said some troops within the council are setting up drive-through locations as well as signs with QR codes linking to their personalized virtual booth pages.
Girl Scouts are selling Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs — as well as a new cookie called Lemon-Ups — for $5 a box. Two specialty cookies, S’mores and Toffee-tastics, go for $6 a box.
Image via Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
As the winter starts to thaw, stands hawking Girl Scout cookies are starting to crop up nationwide. But rather than randomly stumbling on them, a new app can help Restonians with a sweet tooth track their dealers.
Your best bet for cookies today (Monday) will be Troop 524 setting up outside the Giant at 2425 Centreville Road in Herndon from 4-6 p.m.
More options throughout the area start showing up later in the week. On Wednesday and Thursday, Girl Scouts will be selling cookies at:
- Wiehle-Reston East (1862 Wiehle Ave) from 4-6 p.m.
- Lucia’s Italian Ristorante (2531 John Milton Drive) from 4-6 p.m.
- Safeway (11120 South Lakes Drive) from 5-6:30 p.m.
On Friday, there are more than 20 locations within a five-mile radius of the Reston Town Center scheduled to be vending Girl Scout cookies. Keep an eye on the app or the online tracker to find one near you.
Photo via Facebook
Girl Scout cookies are finding good homes thanks to a Reston girl with a charitable heart.
Julia Cartwright, a member of Girl Scout Troop 753, has donated several cases of cookies each to the Reston District Station of the Fairfax County Police Department, the North Point station of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, and the Embry Rucker Community Shelter.
Her father, Alan, said Julia is one of the top Girl Scout cookie sellers in the organization’s Nation’s Capital chapter. The 13-year-old has sold 1,113 boxes this year — all through her own work, her dad emphasized. And when people said they didn’t want any, she offered another option.
“She would ask if they’d like to make a donation to a charitable cause,” Alan said. “With those donations, she turns that into cookies and she gets to make the choice of where they go.”
The Herndon Middle School seventh-grader has done this for the past few years, her dad said. In previous years, she has donated cookies to the U.S. military. This year, she chose to help community organizations in the Reston area.
Alan said the recipients of Julia’s cookie donations this year were all very appreciative of the gesture. He said the firemen insisted on taking a picture with Julia, and the police station has forwarded her information on to the Fairfax County police chief so he can extend his gratitude.
Through her family’s church, Fairfax Church of Christ, Julia has also provided charitable donations to the Washington, D.C., homeless cause. In addition, she volunteers time removing invasive plant species at Walker Nature Center, and she and her parents are all planning to volunteer with the Embry Rucker Shelter in future as well.
“She has a heart of gold,” her father said. “She’s always trying to help others.”
Pictures courtesy Alan Cartwright
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season! Can’t get enough Trefoils and Thin Mints? Scouts from area Girl Scout troops will be selling cookies at these Reston locations Friday evening and most of the day Saturday and Sunday through the end of the month. Need to find more cookie booths? Download the Girl Scouts’ mobile cookie finder and input your Zip code.
- Potbelly, 12150 Sunset Hills Road
- Reston Town Center, various spots
- Flippin’ Pizza, South Lakes Village Center
- Safeway, South Lakes Village Center
- Safeway, Hunters Woods Village Center
- Giant, North Point
- YMCA Reston
