Leader Meeting Minutes for June 1, 2006

 

Troops in attendance, Daisy 2956, Brownie 222, 696, 2450, 2546, 2805, Junior 2245, 2597, 2676


Cindy has officially stepped down as SUM due to personal reasons, Nancy has taken this position effective immediately.

 

Welcome to our 2 newest members!  Mary and Corinna will be joining Sandy with Brownie troop 2805!

 

Memorial Day

We had 13 Girl Scouts that attended the Memorial Day ceremony.  A poem was read by a Brownie from 222 and a Junior from 2676.  Pat Hagan gave a very moving speech on how we’re losing the meaning of Memorial Day.  It has become more about cookouts and camping then about honoring those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country.  We need to encourage our girls to attend these ceremonies in the future.  It took only about 45 minutes.

 

Camporee

Our custom Camporee patches arrived.  They came out great!  Thanks to Sandy for organizing this.

 

We reviewed the activities for camp. 

  • The morning flag ceremony will be led by the Cadettes. 
  • The morning badge activity for the Brownies and Daisies is being led by Juniors from 2245 and 2676.  Debbie has organized the “Smart & Safe” Do-it. 
  • The Cadettes will be leading the 5th & 6th grade Juniors in a Cadette interest project badge called “Outdoor Survival”.  Tina was not present to answer questions on this.  Nancy will follow up with her.
  • Jodie will have a “rainy day” activity ready in case we can’t go swimming. 
  • The evening flag ceremony will be led by Juniors from 2597. (taking down the flag)
  • We decided to work the flag retirement (burning) into the camporee so more girls can be present.  Juniors from 2597 will lead this.  It will take place before we begin the normal campfire activities.
  • Cadettes will lead the group campfire and do campfire ashes ceremony.  Cindy will not be attending camp this year.

 

Financial Assistance

We had our first application for financial assistance to consider.  It is for a family with girls in 2 troops.  Both troop’s amounts were approved and checks were given to the leaders.

 

We discussed guidelines for our financial aid fund.  This fund is to assist Chester girls with group dues and uniforms.  We decided not to include field trips.  If a special circumstance arrives, we will revisit this issue.

 

The form for financial aid is available on this web site under “Girl Scout Forms”.   chesterfinancialaid.doc

 

Court of Awards

The program for the Court of Awards and Bridging Ceremony was discussed.  Nancy requested a change to our regular program.  We will be adding a short poem to be read before the girls cross the bridge.

 

The program for the court of awards is available here      coa2006.doc

 

Because Cindy is not available to be our “Master of Ceremonies” for the evening, Nancy has asked Holly from Girl Scout Council to come and fill this position.  It would be difficult for a leader to do both the girl’s activities and also run the event.

 

Nancy will follow through with Cindy’s idea to have Pat Hagan come and speak at the event.  Pat is a veteran of the conflict in Iraq and also a lifetime GS member.

 

Cindy did not file any paperwork for the Outstanding Leader Award.  If you sent in a recommendation for this award, you will need to resend it to Nancy so this can be completed. 

 

Tina would like photos from all troops for a slide show.  Please email them to her ASAP.

 

Make New Friends

We looked at ideas for a theme for our upcoming Girl’s Event.  We decided on “Make New Friends” and will again offer a themed badge and tote bag.  We decided to customize a badge with the words Chester GS.

 

At our leader meeting in August, we will form a committee and assign different crafts to each leader.  This leader will be responsible for purchasing the supplies needed for that craft.  We would like to have a training session night with the Juniors and Cadettes before the event so they can be familiar with all the activities we have planned.  We would like the older girls to rotate to all stations with the Daisies and Brownies so they won’t be bored with just one activity.

 

If you have a specific idea for a craft or activity, please bring it to our August leader meeting.  Holly from council will also be bringing some ideas for us.

 

Next Year

We briefly discussed plans for next year.  We will have a new Junior troop led by Jane & Amber.  Possibly, there will be a 2nd new Junior troop led by Patricia.  There will also be 1 new Cadette troop led by Sandy. 

 

Troops with openings for next year will be:

 

Brownies:

·         696

·         2805

 

Juniors:

·         2597

·         If a 2nd new Junior troop is formed, it will also have openings. 

 

Cadettes:

·         There will be Cadette openings in our new Cadette troop.

 

All leaders, with the exception of Kathe who is moving, will be returning next year.  THANK YOU!!

 

The cub scouts are tentatively planning a registration night for Friday, September 15th.  We should try to coordinate with them again this year.

 

If you are going to be leading a new level next year, you must take the EOL II for that level before your first meeting.

New leaders will need to take both EOL I and II

 

The training schedule is online at http://www.swgirlscouts.org/adult_education/trainingschedule.htm

 

Year-End Paperwork

All leaders received their year end paperwork.  All is due back to Nancy by June 15th.

The forms handed out are as follows:

  • Troop Status Report
  • Service Project Report Form
  • Group Report
  • Troop Finance Report

Copies of last year’s Troop finance report are available for most troops.  Please use last year’s ending date and balance as this year’s beginning date and balance.  See Nancy with questions.

 

Investiture

Our Investiture date for 2006-2007 has been set for November 9th.  This is a parent/teacher conference night for middle level.  Please be sure Junior and Cadette parents are aware of this date before they schedule their conferences so there is no conflict. 

 

Chester Fair

The Chester Fair is being held on Saturday, September 9th.  All troops are invited to help this year.  It is no longer just for Juniors and Cadettes.  (The same will hold true for the Home Show in March).  The fair starts with a parade at noon.  Set-up can start at 9:00 am. 

 

Shifts will be 2 hours as follows:

             9:30 – 11:30 Set-up

            1130  - 12:00 (parade – someone must remain at the booth)

            12:00 – 2:00

2:00 –  4:00

            4:00 – 6:00 (We will close the booth at 5:00 and begin clean-up and packing.)

 

We will need to have at least one leader in charge of money collection present at the booth at all times.  Each shift needs to have between 12 and 14 people (girls and adults) in addition to the leader collecting money.  We have 8 to 10 game stations plus face painting and tattoos and the jail.

 

Nancy will have a registration table at her business’s booth.  Nancy is going to request to have her booth moved closer to the Midway if possible.

 

We will be advertising our “Make New Friends” event at the Fair and also taking registrations.

 

Service Team Positions

Service team positions were discussed for next year.  We will need to finalize the Chester Fair, Girl’s event and Registrar positions in August. 

  • SUM – Nancy
  • Public Relations Coordinator – Jodie
  • Fall Fund Raiser Manager – Jane
  • Outdoor Program Coordinator/Camporee – Nancy & Sandy (will also help prepare new troops for camping)
  • Cookie Delivery Manager – Jodie
  • Special Event Coordinator/Home Show – Sandy
  • Finance Manager – Nancy
  • Special Event Coordinator/Chester Fair – this will probably be a joint position for 2 people.  We will determine this at the August meeting.
  • Registrar – Tentatively will be Erin N.  A decision must be finalized by August.
  • Special Event Coordinator/”Make New Friends” girl’s event – TBD

 

No leader meeting for July

 

Our next leader meeting will be on Thursday, August 17th at the Community Center at 7:00 pm.  Have a great summer!

 

Tentative agenda for August will be planning the Chester Fair Midway & the “Make New Friends” event (please bring craft ideas), registrations for 06-07 including Registration Night plans and if we have Fall Fund Raiser information, it will be distributed.