TROOP 1378 WELCOME LETTER

 

Welcome back to returning members and their parents. And welcome to our new members! It’s going to be another great year of Girl Scouting!

 

What did we do last year?

Fall Festival, Fall Product Sales, Caroling at Old Schoolhouse park, Cookie overnighter, Cookie Sales, World Friendship Day, Crime Prevention Day, the zoo, Memorial Day parade, badge work, crafts, games, singing....

 

What will we do this year?

There’s always some things that we won’t get to from year to year that I hope we can find a way to fit in. But this is really up to the girls.

 

Each year, the girls get more opportunities to hone their leadership skills and make more of the team/group decisions. I am also going to rely on the older girls to help the new troop members. This is going to be a great opportunity for all of us!

 

So far the girls have discussed using their Product Sales money towards: Cedar Point, Chuck E Cheese, Bowling, Six Flags, Water Park, Cosi, and the Zoo as some big trips. Of course we won’t be able to do them all, but we will work towards at least one special trip this summer.

 

Try-Its badge work that was voted on by the troop:

*   Sports & Games

*   Making Music

*   Art to Wear

*   Movers

*   Friends are Fun

 

The troop has also chosen to work for a patch to celebrate Ohio’s Bi-centennial.

 

Council sponsored events

*   3rd Grade Brownies bridging to Juniors are invited to attend Jumpin’ to Juniors to work towards their Junior Bridging requirements. Activities will include singing, knots, fire building, first aid and safety and much more as they work toward a Junior Badge. Since this is not a complete troop event – we will not use the troop treasury to pay for this event. In addition, this event is not a requirement for the girl’s to bridge to Juniors. Cost will be $10 per girl. Date/Time: Feb 15, 2003, 10am – 4pm.

 

*   Maple Sugar Festival at Camp Libbey in March. Maple trees! Maple syrup! Maple candy! Girls will learn about this yummy stuff, plus take part in games, crafts, and hands-on demonstrations. All this will start off with a delicious brunch that the girls won’t want to miss! Date/Time: March 2, 2003, 11am – 3pm. The cost of this trip will come out of the troop treasury.

 

Service Unit sponsored events:

*   Roller Skating

*   Ice Skating

*   Dad/Daughter Dance

*   Dad/Daughter Fishing Derby

 

Other planned events:

          October – Bridging ceremony, Investiture/Redication, Founders Day Party

December – Christmas Caroling & other troop sponsored Christmas event

January – Cookie overnighter

March – Girl Scout Sunday

May – Memorial Day Parade

 

All of these events are published on our troop website at

http://oocities.com/troop1378westonoh/

 

Meeting Dates / Time/ Location

Our troop meets on the 2nd & 4th Mondays of each month, from 6:00 – 7:45 pm. Meetings are held in the Weston Elementary Art Room. Our meeting schedule is posted on our website:

http://www.localendar.com/public/troop1378. Send an email to us at troop1378westonoh@yahoo.com if you would like to have a meeting reminder emailed to you.

 

Note: Our December meeting will be held the 1st Monday. This is due to the 3rd/4th grade musical being held on December 9th and the rest of the month holidays.

 

Please be prompt in bringing your daughters to the meeting. We will have the girls wait in their seats at the end of the meeting for you to come and get them.

 

Please wear your Brownie pin, sash, and or vest to all meetings and bring a water bottle. A snack will be provided.

 

Communication

Each family has a mail folder, which contains a copy of the meeting plan, as well as other important information. Parents are asked to check their mail before each meeting. The meeting plan has information about our planned activities as well as a parent section with important announcements and the schedule of upcoming dates.

 

We can send meeting reminders to parents via email. If you would like to be included in the distribution list, please give us your email address.

 

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Shannon via email or phone.

 

Our Website

Shannon will try to maintain the website, which is located at http://oocities.com/troop1378westonoh/

This is where the calendar will be and we will try to show everyone what we are working on. At this time we will not put any pictures on our site.  Note – we will never put a name with a face. When we get ready to put pictures up, we will send home a permission form.

 

Registration/Dues

Girl Scout membership is $7.00 per girl/adult. Dues to cover crafts, and badge work are $13. Any new member must pay before October 1st.  Financial Aid is available for anyone unable to pay dues.

 

The girls that began the troop in 2001 decided that any girls that sell Fall Products and Girl Scouts Cookies will not have to pay registration or dues for the following year as long as enough monies are earned to cover the $20.

 

Girl/Adult Medical Form

This form is required by Girl Scouts USA and must be reviewed and initialed each year. We take these on every trip so that we will have all needed medical information at our fingertips in the event of an emergency. Adults and siblings that travel with the troop must also complete this form.

 

Brownie Uniforms

The girls are not required to have a sash or vest. They will be presented with their Brownie Pin on a Felt tab at their Investiture Ceremony and can consider this their uniform if a sash or vest is not purchased.

Girls should wear their uniform to all Brownie meetings and events, and while selling/delivery Girl Scout products. If your daughter would like to get a sash or vest, they can be purchased at the Council Shop on Collingwood Blvd. in Toledo, or online at http://shop.girlscouts.org/. Shannon will make several trips during the year. Make any checks out to GSMVC Troop 1378.

 

Brownie Uniforms

Sash (suggest 59” long) $5.25

Vest (suggest a medium or larger vest) – SML - $14.50, Plus sizes - $15.50

Brownie Council Identification Set $3.25

Brownie Troop Numeral – They need numbers:   1378  Total cost - $3.20

 

They will receive their World Trefoil pin and other badges throughout the year. Of Special note:  Try-It badges go on the front of the sash or vest, whereas all other participation patches go on the back.

 

Permission Forms

We must have a permission form for any girl to attend an event that is away from the meeting place. During all trips, Shannon has her cell phone on : 419-308-2343.

 

Snacks

It will be a great help if each family would take a turn bringing snack to the meetings. We have approximately 16 girls attending.  A sign up sheet will be posted above the parents mail boxes. We need to stay away from items that the girls could choke on such as grapes, or peanuts. Great snacks are: cheese & crackers, pretzels, carrots & dip, etc. Other suggestions will be listed on the website. Girls should bring their own water bottle to the meetings.

 

Rededication and Investiture Ceremony

We have a ceremony at our 3rd meeting to welcome the new and returning girls to Girl Scouts. One part of this ceremony is an “investiture” to welcome the new girls, and the other part is called “rededication” to welcome the returning girls. We invite the parents to come watch.

 

Fund Raisers

We work on two fund raisers a year: Fall Product Sales and Girl Scout Cookies. The girls are not required to sell. If they do not sell, then they must pay for their own membership fee, dues, and trips.

 

Fall Products Sales are held in October.

 

Girl Scout Cookie Sales begin in January.

 

Brownie Handbook and Try-It books

These books are available from the Girl Scout Shop. They are nice to have, but not essential. We currently have one handbook and two try-it books for our troop. We will provide copies of any materials which are needed for our activities.

 

Try-It Patches

The “Try-It” patches are recognitions. The Brownie focus is on trying new activities, not seeing how many patches can be earned.

 

Each Try-It has six related activities to choose from. Brownies must complete four of the activities to earn the Try-It.

 

Most of the Try-It activities will occur at our meetings. If a Brownie is absent, she may be able to complete the Try-It at home, with parent’s assistance.

 

Try-It Patches are awarded at the end of the year.

 

Participation Patches

Occasionally, participation patches are awarded for participation in a specific event. Brownies must be present at the event to receive the patch. These are always placed on the back of the Brownie vest or sash.

 

Girl Scout Organization

 

National: The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) is located in New York, and is administered by a national staff of professional Girl Scouters. Local Girl Scout Councils direct activities in cities and communities.

 

Council: The Gril Scout program for the Maumee valley is administered by the Girl Scouts Maumee Valley Council. The Council is divided into 30 geographic Service Units to provide better support to the large number of Scouts in the area.

 

Service Unit: Our Service Unit is known as Black Swamp and covers the Bowling Green area. Throughout the year, the Service Unit sponsors activities, ranging from Roller Skating, Ice Skating, Father Daughter Dance, Dad & Me Fishing Derby, and more. Service Unit events are an opportunity for the girls in a troop to see and work with girls from other schools or from their own neighborhoods.

 

Troop: The troop is the basic unit for Scouting activities. It is composed of girls who usually, but not always, go to the same school. We are “Troop 1378”. The size of troops and frequency of troop meeting times are dependent upon the Troop Leaders and the involvement of parents.

 

Patrols: We will be introducing patrol groups to our troop this year. This is a form of government used in Junior Girl Scouting. Patrols give girls leadership experience, and provide a convenient way to divide up the scouts into smaller groups.

 

Leaders:       Shannon Blessing      Rhonda Kendall                   Krystal Trumbull

 

Girl Scout Program Goals

The four Program goals are the areas in which we focus our program to give the girls the opportunity to grow as a result of their participation in Girl Scouting.

 

1. Develop to her full potential

2. Relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect

3. Develop values to guide her actions and to provide the foundation for sound decision-making

4. Contribute to the improvement of society through the use of her abilities and leadership skills, working in cooperation with others.

 

Service Unit Supertroop Goals: This is a program designed by our Service Unit to outline and “ideal” troop. Troops that follow this program naturally keep more girls because they are active troops with a well-rounded program. Requirements include ceremonies, outdoor activities, service projects, and level interaction. There are also leadership requirements such as attending monthly Leader meetings, attending training, and participating in a fundraiser.