“THE BRIDGE”

                                THE WALNUT CREEK SERVICE UNIT NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2005

 

 

 

 

From your SUD

As I am writing this, I am contemplating my upcoming booth in 1 hour outside at Wal-Mart in the rain…. Oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles!  Our girls are certainly worth every bit of the effort we put forth for them!  Work together as a team – there’s no reason that a girl should not make her goal is this Service Unit – if the parents in the troop are working together in unity to support the girls’ goals, within their own troop and within the SU, then they will have success.

We should all want for all girls, what we want for our own daughters.  Work together between troops as well.  If you have a girl that needs an adult to help her, post it to me and I will send it out.  There are many volunteer adults who are willing to work with any girl in any troop, to help her achieve her goals.  It’s all about the girls’ goals!

 

Thank you all for being who you are.  You have no idea what a blessing you are to me and to all of our girls!

Pen

 

CALENDAR

February 3 – Service Unit meeting at Grace Church of the Nazarene, 6:15pm If you want cookie buttons, bring $1 for each one.

February 12 – Cadette Troop 16 babysitting at St. Mark, contact Mona at ma6891@hotmail.com

February 14 – Valentine’s Day!

February 25 – Cookie Sale Ends (you may sell until Sunday the 27th if you need to move more cookies)

February 26 – Thinking Day celebrated United Methodist Church, 9am-1:30pm

March 3 – Service Unit meeting at Grace Church of the Nazarene, 6:15pm

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Movie Magic By Mad Science - January 30, 2005, 2PM to 4:30PM at the Paramount Theatre, Austin.

Experience "the science behind the movies" firsthand! Led by Professor Pruvitt and Crash, audience members will be selected to participate in a unique filming of "Legally Blonde," "The Pink Panther," "Rocky" or "Agent Cody Banks"! Outrageous stage antics, movie magic and audience participation combine for an afternoon of fun your family will never forget!

For more information contact 512-692-0529 or visit link below.

http://www.austintheatre.org  

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{ NEW GIRL SCOUT PROGRAM CENTER OPENS JANUARY 31ST! {

At last! The new Girl Scouts- Lone Star Council Program Center will be opening on January 31, 2005. The Lone Star Council has proudly named the Program Center for Jeff and Gail Kodosky, the major contributors donating to the Capital Campaign.

The new Program Center is over 20,000 square feet, allowing the Lone Star Council to serve 7,200 more Girl Scouts. It includes a new Technology Center, a multipurpose area for expanded programs throughout the year, an area for volunteer meetings and trainings, a volunteer resource room, and a bigger, upgraded Girl Scout Shop.

As we prepare to move, please note the following information: The Service Center and Shop on Cameron Road will permanently close on Wednesday, January 26th for the move to the Program Center. Our phone system will temporarily shut down January 26-28th for the move.  The Council  phone number will remain the same.

New Program Center Address:

Girl Scouts-Lone Star Council

12012 Park Thirty-five Circle

Austin, TX 78753

New Program Center Hours M-TH 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM; Friday 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM

New Shop Hours: The Shop re-opens Feb 7th. -- M-W 10AM-6PM; TH 10AM-7PM; Fri 10AM-3PM; Sat 10AM-2PM.

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THINKING DAY

 

I found something pretty cool for Thinking Day if you want to use it!  It's a website where you can hear and copy the words to each countries' National anthem.  I downloaded Italy's just to see if I could do it.  It worked and it was pretty cool to hear it and follow (or try to) along with the words.  Have fun!  Maybe you could record this onto a CD and have it playing at your booth or teach the girls the song and have them sing along with it as a skit!  Pen

www.national-anthems.net  

 

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HS Seniors opportunity

High School Seniors only - Essay Contest - $1500 
Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
Groundwater Essay Contest
2 winners to be chosen - $1500 scholarships for each Open High School Seniors from 7 school districts in the Aquifer Zone - Austin, Eanes, Drippings Springs, Hays Consolidated, Del Valle, Bastrop and Lockhart, or any private school located inside those school districts.
www.bseacd.org/scholarshipprogram.htm 
or call 512-282-8441 for details
Essays and applications must be in the BS/EACD office no later than 5 pm Tuesday 1 Feb 2005.
Summarized from the Dripping Springs News-Dispatch

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Girl Scout Day at Texas State Aquarium - February 12, 2005, 9AM to 5PM, Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi.

Visit the Texas State Aquarium. Your experience begins on the walkways that feature images of whales, rays, dolphins, and sharks. You enter the building by walking under our signature "waterfall" representing a full submersion into the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information contact Brianne Secorsky at 361-881-1307.

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Girl Day  

Saturday, Feb.26, 2005.  Time: 2PM-5PM Celebrate National Engineers Week--attend Girl Day at UT Austin! Get introduced to Engineering through hands-on activities. Chat with the experts at the closing pizza party.  Fee: $3 per girl; FREE for adults.  Patch: Participation Patch
Special Instructions: Wear comfortable shoes and clothes, Girl Scout sash, vest, T-shirt. Go to
http://www.engr.utexas.edu/wep/precollege/programs/girl_day/index.htm for information on this fun event.

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“Explore UT: The Biggest Open House in Texas!”

“Offers more than 300 enrichment activities for explorers of all ages”

When: Saturday, March 5, 2005, from 11am to 5pm

Where: At the University of Texas at Austin

Who: Children ages K-12 and families. 

Cost: free, no registration.  Check out all the activities at this website:

http://www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut

 

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WCSU Spring Campout  

April 22-24, 2005 (Fri-Sun)

At Krause Springs, Spicewood, TX.  Cost: $15.00 per person.  Includes 2 night stay, Saturday’s dinner, and lots of activities.  More information to come.  Theme is “Lets get Physical!”

 

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I am passing on info from Council about maybe having your girls volunteer for the Freescale (formerly Motorola) Marathon.  For those who do the Pervasive, it would be similar to that.

For more info and volunteer opportunities (there are a lot and they are specific!) check this out.

http://www.volunteersolutions.org/austin/volunteer/news/one.tcl?item_id=3482040

 

Volunteer for the 2005 Freescale Marathon!!!

On Sunday, February 13, 2005 the Freescale Marathon (formerly the Motorola Marathon) will need close to 2,000 volunteers. We have needs for finish line crew support, food service support, packet pick-up, course monitors, start line support, relay and half marathon support, and many other jobs. With nearly 10,000 runners, the Freescale Marathon provides a wide-range of runner supports. Volunteers are the engine that power it all.


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News on fund raising efforts for tsunami victims from GSUSA.  Pen

 

Alert from GSUSA

ALERT ON TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS

January 12, 2005

We know Girl Scouts nationwide want to help the victims of the tsunami and many are already participating in activities to do so. It has been heartwarming to hear from so many of our girls about service projects they want to do to provide relief for those affected by this disaster.   We also know that in a catastrophic event such as this, sending funds is the best way to help.

So, in an example of genuine nimbleness in governance, we are delighted to share with you this past weekend's decision taken by the Executive Committee of GSUSA's National Board of Directors.  The Executive Committee determined that, given the unprecedented impact of this disaster, it would recommend that GSUSA temporarily suspend the policy restricting girls' involvement in direct fundraising for outside organizations, as noted in Safety Wise.   

The Executive Committee of the National Board voted that all Girl Scout councils can allow and or encourage girls and their families to engage in activities to include raising monies, for the catastrophic Tsunami disaster, until September 1, 2005, within the following clear guidelines: 

Of course we continue to encourage girls seeking to assist Girl Guiding organizations' disaster-related needs to support the WAGGGS special fund established for this purpose.  Information on that fund is available on the WAGGGS web-site at www.wagggsworld.org.  We would note that the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund cannot accept funds earmarked for emergency relief, and would discourage efforts to collect in-kind donations of goods. (We have also been notified by many national organizations of similar restrictions. Please do check with the organization your girls choose to assist to be sure of specific criteria for aid.) 

With community service at the core of our Movement, and our Law guiding us to make the world a better place and be a sister to every Girl Scout , it is a natural that we show our caring and support to our global society. 

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact your GSUSA Council Services Primary Consultant or International Relations. Thank you.

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Walnut Creek SU Junior Day is March 5th.

There is no longer a sleepover.  That idea was replaced with the "Explore UT" event (see below).
We are inviting all WCSU Juniors & their families to attend this event. It's free, and it sounds like a fun day full of cool activities.  We'd like to meet there, eat lunch together, and then go explore the event.  The event agenda was not to be published until Jan. 1st, so we are still developing a flyer. More info to come...

Thanks,
Carrie Manongdo
Troop 259

Junior Day - "Explore UT: The Biggest Open House in Texas!" "Offers more than 300 enrichment activities for explorers of all ages"

When: Saturday, March 5, 2005, from 11am to 5pm

Where: At the University of Texas at Austin

Who: Children ages K-12 and families.

Cost: free, no registration.

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Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine OPEN HOUSE - April 9, 2005, 9 AM - 4 PM, Texas A&M College of Veterinaryy Medicine, College Station. Junior, Cadettes, and Senior Girl Scouts receive the Veterinary Science badge. One adult must accompany every five girls.

Open House is a chance for the College of Veterinary Medicine to reach out to the community to promote and stimulate education about the many aspects of veterinary medicine, public health, and the roles of animals and veterinarians in our society.

To register, please visit link below

http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/openhouse/girlscouts.asp.

Cadettes and Seniors Backpacking IPP – DATE CHANGE

 

This is a SCAN notice to announce a date change on the HAT Backpacking IPP which erroneously was scheduled for March 25th weekend, Easter weekend.   I now have the Council's approval to move this event to a new date, which is the following weekend. The event will be held April 1st through the 3rd.  The start and stop times remain the same as does the location - Camp Texlake.  The planning meeting will remain on Monday, Feb. 21st, at St. John's Presbyterian Church.  If you have further questions about this event, please contact me directly.

 

Peace be with you,
Beth Eden Abel, Clinical Social Worker & Trainer
Life Maps(sm)
Charting Your Way to Personal Success
www.bethedenabel.com
512.327.6677