Waltham Girl Scouts: Latest News

Girl Scout Sunday: March 11, 2012
We've finalized our plans for this year's very special 100th anniversary celebration of Girl Scout Sunday. The event will be held at Our Lady's Auditorium, 920 Trapelo Road, from 1 to 3 pm, and is open to all registered Waltham Girl Scouts. The cost is $5 per Girl Scout. Each girl will earn the 100th Anniversary Forever Green patch and each girl will also receive a fun patch. Activities include learning about the first Brownie Promise and GS Laws, making SWAPS, celebrating Juliette Low's birthday, creating/solving crossword puzzles, learning about important Girl Scouts from Massachusetts, seeing what badges were like in the 1950s, going on a scavenger hunt, and more! Click on the Handout below for the flyer and permission slip. Leaders: Please RSVP with a final headcount from your troop by March 2 (email mersmith62@gmail.com). Please remind your girls that they MUST bring a signed permission slip in order to attend this event. (The permission slip is included in the file below.)
Handout: Girl Scout Sunday 2012: Flyer and Permission Slip

Winter Encampment: March 9-10, 2012
We are very busy making plans for this year's Winter Encampment, which is open to all Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors and which will be held on March 9 and 10 at the Cedar Hill campgrounds. Troops will check in on Friday, March 9 at 6 pm at Beehive Cabin. Then everyone will participate in activities Friday night, sleep in heated cabins overnight, and rotate through various workshops on Saturday. Saturday night will end with a community dinner and more programming in Great Hall. Parents can pick up their girls from Great Hall at 9 pm on Saturday night. The cost is $20 per girl. A flyer and permission slip will be available soon!

If you are a leader of a troop that is planning on attending this year's Encampment, please email Mary Ellen (mersmith62@gmail.com) with a headcount from your troop by Feb. 22 (include the level of girl in your troop as well; e.g., "Troop 71834, 3 Cadettes, 9 Seniors"). We need to know the number of girls at each level so that we can plan the badge workshops accordingly. Also, please let me know which certifications you and other adults in your group have (Troop Camper, First Aider, etc.). All adults who attend Encampment MUST be registered adult Girl Scouts and must have a current CORI form on file.

Once we have a final headcount we will notify each leader their cabin assignment. Once you know your cabin assignment, you can email the other leaders in your cabin to figure out who's bringing what supplies and what meals your troop will each be responsible for (Saturday breakfast and lunch).



ABC News: 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts

Katie Couric examines what's in store for the future of Girl Scouts in a recent Good Morning America report:

GMA: The Year of the Girl

Cookie Crunch 2012: Thank You!
Thanks to everyone for making our third annual "Cookie Crunch" rally a big success on January 8. We had 61 Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors rotating through five stations learning all about Girl Scout cookies, and 22 Juniors and Cadettes hosting the stations. At one of the stations, the girls made Thank You tags to use when they deliver cookies to their customers. Click the handout below to download a sheet of 6 Thank You tags.
Handout: Cookie Thank You Tags

Leaders Mtg Notes
Notes from our last two Leaders Meetings (Nov. 16 and Dec. 1, 2011) are available by clicking the Handout below. Also, this year's Troop Directory is available on the Handouts page (scroll to the bottom of that page; you need a username and password to access it) or you can email Mary Ellen Smith (mersmith62@gmail.com) to request a copy of the directory.
Handout: Leaders Mtg Notes

New Online Troop Management System from the Council
The GSEM Council has launched their new online Troop Management system ("e-Biz") for the 2011-2012 GS year.  In order to register your troop or yourself for Council programs or adult training, you must first create a username and password to manage your troop. The system is a little confusing at first, but the Council's help desk (cessupport@girlscoutseasternmass.org) can walk you through the process. Please see our GSEM Links page for a link to take you directly to the Troop Management login page.

Owl Pins, Leader Pins, Training Leaves, and Other Leader Recognitions
Leader Pins
Here's the scoop on all these pins and recognitions, which we give out either at a Rededication Ceremony early in the year or at our year-end Leaders Dinner in May. On a green tab that is pinned to the left side of your vest or blouse:
WAGGS Pin -- All leaders should receive a World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts pin, which symbolizes that we are part of this worldwide organization.
Yellow Leader Bar -- All trained leaders should receive a yellow leader bar.
Red Service Team Bar -- All leaders who are part of the Service Team (GSC, Secretary, Cookie Chair, Registrar, etc.) should receive a red Service Team bar.
Girl Scout pin -- All leaders should receive the Girl Scout pin (new design or traditional trefoil design).
Owl Pin -- All leaders who have completed Orientation, Leadership Essentials, and Level Training (Daisy, Brownie, etc.), should receive an Owl Pin.
Training Leaves -- For every 10 hours of training you attend, you receive a green leaf that is attached to the bottom of the Owl pin. (Start counting hours after you've completed Orientation, Leadership Essentials, and level training.) For every 50 hours of training, you receive a silver leaf. Attending monthly Leaders Meetings counts as 2 hours of training for each meeting.
Year Pin -- Count up all the years you've been in Girl Scouts (as a girl and as a registered adult) and for every 5 years, you receive a year pin (5-year, 10-year, 15 year, etc.).
`
At our year end leaders dinner, we also recognize leaders with the following awards (leaders must nominate other leaders for these awards):
Outstanding Leader Award -- This is awarded to a leader who has demonstrated outstanding leadership at the troop level.
Outstanding Volunteer Award -- This is awarded to a volunteer that helps the entire Service Unit.
Green and Growing Award -- This is awarded to a troop volunteer or leader who has volunteered for less than two years. 
See the Handouts below for more information.

Handout: Service Unit Volunteer Awards and Training Logs

Year Plan for 2011-2012
Here's an outline of what we have planned for the 2011-2012 Girl Scout year (if you have any questions, email Mary Ellen Smith at mersmith62@gmail.com or Holly Williams at hwilliams56@gmail.com):

Sept. 13 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall at Cedar Hill (We call it the Leaders Meeting, but any and adult volunteers are welcome to come and ask questions, learn more about what we have planned for the year, etc.).

Sept. 15 -- Townwide Registration: 5 pm to 7 pm in Our Lady's Auditorium on Trapelo Road. Open to all Waltham girls in kindergarten through high school. 

Sept. 17 -- Townwide Registration at Waltham Day: 10 am to 3 pm on the Waltham Common at the annual Waltham Day Festival. We need several leaders to staff the table.

Oct. 3 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall at Cedar Hill. We'll finalize our plans for the Daisy-Brownie Encampment, welcome new leaders and volunteers, begin planning rest of year's events.

Oct. 15-16 -- Daisy-Brownie Encampment:  This is second annual townwide overnight for Daisies, Brownies, and their mothers. We've reserved several cabins at Cedar Hill in Waltham from Saturday afternoon till Sunday. Planning for this will begin at our first SU meeting in September.

Nov. 16 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall at Cedar Hil.

Nov. 21 -- Townwide Troop Meeting (at Our Lady's Academy) at 7 pm for registered Girl Scouts who haven't beeen placed in a troop yet. Older GS to run an activity while leaders meet with the parents to talk about a townwide troop.

Dec. 1 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in BEEHIVE CABIN (note location)

Dec. 1-- Cookie Training at 7 pm in BEEHIVE CABIN (mandatory meeting for all Troop Cookie managers).

Dec. 5 -- Townwide Troop Meeting (at Our Lady's Academy) at 7 pm. Second meeting for registered Girl Scouts who haven't beeen placed in a troop yet. Older GS to run an activity while leaders meet with the parents to talk about a townwide troop.  

Dec. ? -- Possible Service TEAM meeting (members of the Service Team: GSC, Cookie Chairwoman, Treasurer, Secretary, etc. Others are welcome to join us) Meeting in Great Hall re: Cookie Crunch (Jan 8) and Winter Encampment (Feb 3&4 or 10&11). Older Girl Scouts needed to help plan and run these events and are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Dec. 15 -- Distribute flyers for Cookie Crunch (to be held Jan. 8).

Jan. 5 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall to finalize plans for Cookie Crunch, continue planning Winter Encampment.

Jan. 8 -- Cookie Crunch 2012: Townwide event to be held in Great Hall from 1 to 3:30 pm. Daisies, Brownies, Juniors will rotate through various stations, learning all there is to know about Girl Scout cookies. Older Girl Scouts will run the various stations.

Jan. 21 -- Annual Square Dance at Our Lady's, 7-9 pm: This annual father-daughter dance is always a lot of fun. Girls can bring their fathers or any significant adult. Everyone needs a partner!

Jan. 23 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting"): Meeting in Great Hall to finalize Winter Encampment and continue plans for Girl Scout Sunday. All leaders who have troops coming to Winter Encampment need to attend this meeting. Preliminary Attendance form and full payment for Encampment is due at this meeting.

Feb. 3&4 OR Feb. 10-11 March 9-10 (Winter Encampment): Two-day encampment held in cabins at Cedar Hill for all Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors.

Feb. 28 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall to discuss Girl Scout Sunday, spring registration, townwide bridging in May

March 11 -- Girl Scout Sunday 100th anniversary-themed event to be run by an older troop. Event to be held in Our Lady's Auditorium from 1-4 pm.

March 29 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall

April 10 -- Service Unit Meeting  at 7 pm in Great Hall.

April 25 -- Spring Registration event  (to be held at Our Lady's; open to all Waltham girls who are interested in joining Girl Scouts for the FIRST TIME for the coming year 2012-2013).

May 4 -- Service Unit Meeting (aka "Leaders Meeting") at 7 pm in Great Hall.

May 21 -- Townwide Bridging and Awards Ceremony to be held in Great Hall

May 23 -- Waltham Leaders Dinner (details to be determined)

June 1-3 -- 100th Anniversary Camporee held at Barnstable County Fairgrounds

June 3 --  100th Anniversary Forever Green Festival held at Barnstable County Fairgrounds

June 13 -- Service TEAM  meeting to work on 2012-2013 Year Plan.

 



Leaders Meeting Notes: 3-24-11
Please click on the handout below for the meeting notes from our Leaders Meeting held on March 24, 2011. We discussed many upcoming events and issues: Spring Registration (Early Bird and new registrations), SHARE fundraising efforts (Unos and Friendly's), SHARE deadline of April 30, Townwide Bridging ceremony in May, Year-End Leaders Dinner in May, Leaders pins and awards, Council Annual Mtg at Great Hall, Japan Girl Scouts and relief efforts, paper cranes, Camporee in 2012.
Handout: 3-24-11 Leaders Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes: April 13, 2011
Please click on the Handout below to download the meeting notes from our Service Team meeting on April 13. We discussed lots of upcoming events: Registration night (April 28), Leaders Mtg (May 4), Bridging and Awards Ceremony (May 23), Leaders Dinner at Marcellino's (May 25).
Handout: 4-13-11 Meeting Notes

Leaders Mtg Notes 5-4-11
Click on the Handout below for a complete set of notes from our May 4, 2011, Leaders Mtg.
Handout: 5-4-11 Leaders Mtg Notes

Early Bird Registration for Current Troops Opens April 19

NEW THIS SPRING....each troop leader will re-register their girls and adults online. Holly (hwilliams56@gmail.com) has registration packets for each troop to pickup which include instructions on how to set up and register your troop. You can pickup the registration materials at anytime.... Either...

  1. Pickup at her house 24/7 (270 Lincoln St, in the bin on porch)
  2. Pickup at Our Lady's Academy, Trapelo Rd, at the registration night on Apr 28, 5-7pm
  3. Pickup at the next leaders meeting on May 4th

NOTE: When registering online, you will be asked for credit card info to pay registrations at "checkout." If your troop collects registration fees each year, you may want to collect and deposit into your troop account before doing the online registration. Or, if you use troop funds to pay for registrations, you may want to register all in one visit and charge to your troop bank card.

DEADLINE for EARLY BIRD PATCH....registration must be in June 17th.

You will only be able to register returning girls/adults online.

Once you have completed online registration, there is no need to do bank run, troop summaries, or drop anything off with Holly. But, Holly asks that you shoot her an email confirming that you have done registration and how many girls/adults. If you are not continuing as a troop next year, please let Holly know (hwilliams56@gmail.com).

NEW REGISTRATIONS: If you have new girls/adults who want to join your troop, you will need to fill out the registration from and drop off at Holly's house the old way, with troop summary and bank deposit slip. If you know of any other new girls wanting to join, you can direct them to the Spring Registration night at Our Lady's on Apr 28th, 5-7pm.



Essential Resources for Leaders
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Council has recently added a ton of information and resources for leaders and other volunteers to their website. I've added links to all of this on our own "GSEM Links" page (see the menu at left). There you will find the new 79-page "Leadership Essentials" guide for 2010-2011, a link to new Safety-Wise information for troop activities, updated Council forms, etc. Please check out our GSEM Links page!

SHARE fundraising deadline: April 30, 2011

We are making a big effort this year to raise funds for our Council and Service Unit through the SHARE/Family Partnership program. Kathy Hoben has graciously volunteered to be our SHARE coordinator this year and she has been sending out emails and materials to help leaders get the word out to their troops. Our goal is to raise $1000 from family and friends of Girl Scouts in the Waltham Service Unit. The deadline is April 30. Here are some ideas:

  • Download the letter below and edit it to fit your troop. Encourage girls in your troop to ask grandparents and other relatives for donations (so that we're not just asking the parents of the girls, who already contribute a lot of time and money to Girl Scouts). 
  • Participate in the restaurant fundraisers that will be happening in April (Unos and Friendly's; more info to come; flyers for these events will be posted here soon).
  • Donate online at GSEM's website. Be sure to have people indicate that the donation is "In Honor of Waltham Service Unit, Troop XXXXX" (otherwise there is no way to track online donations back to our Service Unit and we won't get credit).

Troop leaders need to collect money from family and friends of the girls in their troop and then turn that money in to Kathy Hoben before April 30, 2011. You can drop your donations off at our Spring Registration event at Our Lady's on April 28.

Contact Kathy Hoben for more information: k_nika@yahoo.com.


Handout: SHARE letter for family and friends

Saturday, September 10
Let's Get Ready for the 2011-2012 Girl Scout Year

Welcome back! We have an exciting year ahead of us as we begin the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts. We're ready to hit the ground running as we kick off the new year. We have several events this week and we need everyone's help and support to make them successful:

  • Leaders Meeting -- Tuesday, Sept. 13, 7 pm, Great Hall at Cedar Hill
  • Registration Night -- Thursday, Sept. 15, 5-7 pm, Our Lady's Academy
  • Mayor's Picnic -- Saturday, Sept. 17, Waltham Common

Because this is the beginning of the 100th year of Girl Scouting, GSUSA and Girl Scouts of Eastern Mass. have planned many exciting events, activities, and the 100th Anniversary patch program. Come and learn about them as we kick off a new year! We also have our own events to plan: Daisy/Brownie Encampment (Oct. 15&16), “Cookie Crunch” in January, Winter Encampment for older Girl Scouts in February, and Girl Scout Sunday in March to name a few. We hope to see as many leaders as possible at Tuesday's kick off meeting! Click on the Handout below for a letter from Peg Juppe, our Waltham Service Unit Coordinator.


Handout: Letters to Leaders 2011-2012