Meeting Minutes from July Email “Virtual Meeting”

 

This email was sent to all Chester leaders on Thursday, July 6th.  I’ve compiled all the leader replies in BLUE. 

 

Troops represented are 222, 696, 2805, 2450, 2546, 2245, 2597, 2676, 2079 (all troops)


Welcome to our newest Girl Scout Leaders!  Corinna Reishus and Mary Young will be leading troop 2805 with Sandy Thompson.

First Aid for the Girls
Linda Grass had an idea for doing first aid training for our girl scouts:

I was thinking depending on how many girls there were, we could have special Saturday classes with 10- 20 girls. It would be several sessions of 2-4 hours (depending on the age group) which would cover the requirements for CPR and First Aid. If there are more than 10 girls I will need another instructor. Rich Antoine has helped in the past...Hint, Hint.....but I know he is going to be busier now with the new position at CFD. You mentioned there are other nurses/leaders....if they are certified maybe they could help...The age groups need to be broken down for me so I can adapt the lessons for the ages. The older girls (13 and up) can be fully certified. American Heart Association has good programs for all ages. If you could let me know what age groups, I can decide which texts to get and in turn know the costs.... I usually ask for donations to CFD, since they are kind enough to let us use their equipment and facility.....Also If we set a schedule the CFD can plan too.... So age groups first and then knowing which leaders want to participate or which are required.

Linda Grass lgrass@adelphia.net 887-5565  FYI for those who need to know. I am an RN, CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor for American Heart Association and Emergency Care and Safety Institute

 

REPLIES:

Sandy -    I would definitely be interested in attending and helping.

 

Corinna - I think the Brownies would really enjoy this as well.

 

Patricia - I think that first aid for the girls is a great idea.

 

Debbie - I think this is great for cadettes and possibly older juniors.  I think it is a lot to learn in a short time and

                I am not sure the younger girls could absorb it all to actually earn certification.

 

Nancy –   I think it would be great for all ages.  I would like my troops to participate.

 

Tina -       I love the idea!

 

THIS ACTIVITY IS APPROVED. 

 

Town-Wide Service Project
Jane Grimm had an idea for a town-wide service project:

"Clean up Chester day for Chester Senior Citizens"  We could have a sign up at the town fair and have seniors sign up for fall chores that they may need done at their homes. We could pick a Saturday in October and get a lot done. Even if just a few girls from each troop worked, we could get stuff done.  I would have just my troop try this, but I think the bigger Scout presence, the more we can get done. We could also do it on Columbus Day. There is no school that day and there would probably be enough parents that could help.

If you're interested in participating in this, please let us know.  We'd need to do a little planning for this at the August leader meeting.

 

REPLIES:

Jane-        I can go to one of the Senior luncheon and start talking about it. Or sooner, if everyone responding

                to this agrees.  We could have a list of chores that we feel our girls are capable of handling. And I think

                it would be good to have some older girls work with Brownies at a location. 

                Lets brainstorm at the August meeting.

 

Sandy -    As long as we can keep it simple for the Brownies I would love to involve my girls

 

Nancy –   I would like to get my girls involved as well.  Parent feedback always

                suggests we do more service.

 

Corinna - This is a great idea to get the kids involved in our community.  I'm sure there are a lot of projects big and

                small which even the young Brownies could handle.

 

Jodie -     Count our troop in…I love the idea!

 

Patricia - Great idea, although we sometimes go away for Columbus weekend.

 

Debbie - Sounds good.  We are typically busy for Columbus Day, but if we could have an open schedule of things, that would work.

 

Tina -       I love this as well, Andrea Weishaar and I did this with our Juniors a few years back and they had a blast and the

                seniors were extremely grateful!  We also put together gift baskets at Christmas time for the seniors which included

                toiletries and hats and gloves!!!  We got a list from Gladys Nichols.

 

THIS ACTIVITY IS APPROVED.   (2 votes against Columbus Day)

 

Town Bridging Workshop
I'd like to do a town bridging workshop.  It could take place in late March or April to avoid conflicts with the busy end of the year time.  Earning the bridging badge is an important part of moving up to the next level.  I think that girls who participate in bridging may be more likely to continue on to the next level because it removes any fear of the unknown that might be associated with moving to a new level and/or new troop.  It can also help to get them excited to be moving to this new level!  I've been doing bridging activities with my girls for the last 4 years and I've seen how important it is.  It's also helpful to leaders who may be moving up a level, because it gives them some needed info on their new level.

Bridge to Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors all include the following steps:

1. The girls learn about the level their entering including what the uniform looks like, what the badges look like, etc.  They should look through the badge book and handbook for their new level.
2. They need to work with girls from the level they're entering.
3. They need to earn a try-it/badge/interest project, etc. from their new level.
4. They need to prepare for their bridging ceremony.  This can be making decorations, invitations, etc.  

The last 2 steps for Bridge to Juniors are:
5. Sharing what they've learned with the younger Girl Scouts 
6. Participating in a summer activity, trip or going to girl scout summer camp.

The last 2 steps for the Bridge to Cadette badge are: 
5.  Participate in a council-sponsored event where other Cadette girls are also taking part.
6.  Participate in a service project, camping or hiking trip with Cadette girl scouts.

If needed, we could also do the Bridge to Seniors badge too.  The Bridge to Seniors badge has 8 steps.  It includes all 6 steps as the Bridge to Juniors badge, plus finding out about "Wider Ops" and conducting a leadership activity with younger girl scouts.

My idea would be to do an event like the "It's a Girl Thing" but it would be just for the Daisy scouts, 3rd grade Brownies, 6th grade Juniors and 9th grade Cadettes.   We could pick a fun try-it, badge, etc. and keep those as our "bridging badge" so the troops wouldn't earn that one during the year like we do with Camporee.  Because it would be new girls bridging each year, we could do the same badges over and over each year.  It wouldn't even matter if current girls in that level have this badge because it would be new girls earning it.  We would just need to remember not to do it again, eventually everyone would have it (unless they never bridged from the lower level).

We could do fun activities like have a "uniform fashion show" where the girls show off different uniform pieces (maybe even borrow some historic uniforms from council), make decorations that we hang up at our Court of Awards ceremony, etc.   We would probably have to charge a small fee, probably $5 like we did with "It's a Girl Thing" to cover the costs of the supplies and badges.  I'd like to have 2nd grade Brownies help to lead the Daisy scouts, 5th grade Juniors lead the Brownies, etc.  I LOVE to give the girls opportunities to lead.  They always amaze me with their abilities.  Just look at how awesome the girls did leading the "Do-It" at camp and at "It's a Girl Thing" last year!!  Having these girls lead would also help to get them excited to be the ones who are bridging the following year.  This event could help with retention of girls as they get older. 

Bridge to Brownies could be completed in one day, however, some of the steps would need to be completed outside this event for Bridge to Juniors and up.  For example, bridge to Jr. and Sr. require a summer activity which would have to be done outside of this event.  But, another idea I had is to do a "Girl Scout Day" at Wason Pond in the summer of 2007. (See below)  For the Bridge to Cadettes we could sign up for a council "older girl" event as a town so everyone would be able to attend.  There are some interesting older girl activities listed in the Fish Bowl.  It would need to be an "11 and up" event so the 6th graders could attend.  As long as the Junior girls attended Camporee, they'd complete step 6 of Bridge to Cadettes.  Any Cadettes bridging to Senior could help in the planning of this event to cover the step of "conducting a leadership activity with younger girls".  They could leave the bridging event with a piece of paper explaining the remaining steps and how to complete them.  They'd need a leader to sign when they complete a step.  If they turn in the sheet to their leader or me when they're done, they get the badge. 

I'm really excited to do an event like this.  I think it would benefit many girls.  What is your opinion?

 

REPLIES:

Jane -       This sounds good, as well. I feel that a lot of leaders (Me!) aren't sure how

                to approach some of the bigger projects. This seems like it will help guide us.

 

Sandy -    Definitely! Willing to attend and help.

 

Corinna - Sounds like a great idea

 

Jodie -     Sounds like a great idea!

 

Patricia - Great idea.  I don’t know if I have had Kirsten do all she needs to do to bridge.

 

Debbie - I'm not sure if it is so necessary to do on a town wide basis, but who am I?

 

THIS ACTIVITY IS APPROVED. 

 
Summer Fun Event
I'd like to do a summer fun day for girl scouts at Wason Pond in the summer of 07.  It could include some fun games like water balloon toss, potato sack races, frisbee, volley ball, etc.  (Fun Attic has some cool summer games listed http://www.funattic.com/game_list.htm) and even some team building activities like we did at the Browne Center at UNH this past year. (2676 and 2597 went together).  If we did do this event, we could also make it a recruiting event.  The cub scouts just did something like this in May.  Unfortunately, it rained that day so it didn't work out the way they'd planned, but they had planned on having all sorts of fun sports going on and inviting people interested in joining cub scouts to come and see what it was like and participate in the activities.  We could have a sign-up table there and be ready to assign new girls to troops. 

We could also do a little fund-raiser there.  We could set up a lemonade booth like Christine DeCloux used to do at the Chester Fair and sell lemonade rather than charging for the event.   I heard she did quite well making money this way.  I don't think there would be much cost involved in doing this event.  We'd just need to bring the balls, etc. from home.  If we did need to buy some equipment, we could keep it at the scout room for use each year.

I know many troops don't do any summer activities.  This would be a way to keep girls involved in the summer and also cover the "summer activity" step for bridging girls who's badge requires this.

Would we like to have a "summer fun" event in 2007?    If we were really ambitious, we could even try to get it together to do in August of this year.  It wouldn't require nearly as much planning as the "It's A Girl Thing" event because there would be no crafts involved.   What would you like to do?

 

REPLIES:

Jane -       Sounds great! I think that if we try to pull something together this fast for

                06 we may burn out. Let’s put thought into it for next year.

 

Sandy -    I like the idea of meeting over the summer. Could we do this on an evening

                so that even kids with working parents could attend?  Maybe finish up with a campfire or have a “bring your own BBQ.”

 

Corinna - This type of summer event would definite bring interest to the current girls and new girls as well. 

                I agree with Sandy to having something small this year like a potluck BBQ or a campfire.

 

Jodie -     Let’s do next summer

 

Patricia - This would be good if we can pick out a good day when not everyone is on vacation.  I don’t think we could

                get it together for 2006!!  I always love fresh lemonade.   Is there any reason we could not do a lemonade

                booth at the town fair also?  If it covers the summer activity for the bridging that would be great. 

 

Debbie - Sounds fun and not doable this year.

 

Nancy –   I love the idea of doing just a small event this year.  We could start by having a BBQ before dark… maybe troops

                could work on how they’ll handle the BBQ, followed by a campfire with songs like Cindy did last fall.  It was a lot

                of fun!  We could advertise this on the sign at Wason Pond and invite people interested in joining. 

 

THIS ACTIVITY IS APPROVED FOR 2007.  Further discussion is needed for a campfire in 06 

               

Chester Fair
We still need one or two people to be in charge of the Chester Fair.  If we split the coordinator position, someone could be there from 9:30 - 2:00 and someone else for 1:30-6:00.  There will be troops assigned to time slots as follows:
          9:30 - 11:30 Set-up
        11:30 - 12:00 (parade coordinator will remain at the booth, no girls)
        12:00 -   2:00 (Games open at noon)
          2:00 -   4:00
          4:00 -   6:00 (We will close the booth at 5:00 and begin clean-up and packing.)
We need a minimum of 13 or 14 people working at the booth from noon on.  We have 8 to 10 games plus face painting/tattoos and the jail.  We decided at the June leader meeting to have older brownies (girls entering 3rd grade) also help at the booth.  We would like to mix age groups together for each shift.  We should probably have juniors and older doing the set-up.  I have spoken to the Chester Fair Committee and asked to have my Longaberger booth moved closer to the Midway.  They didn't think this would be a problem.  I'll have a registration table at my booth and also sign-ups for the "Make New Friends" event.  (also for the fall clean-up project if we decide to do this)  If a leader isn't available to be at the Chester Fair, please arrange for your troop to attend with other adults.  We will need all older-girl groups to help.

Who is interested in being a coordinator for this event?  What time slot would your troop like to work at? Please have a first and second choice.

 

REPLIES:

Sandy -    I will be away that weekend but will get my girls to help. 

 

Corinna - I will most likely be running a Chester Soccer table so I will not be able to

                help out much at the fair.  Sorry.

 

Jodie –     I can help co-coordinate but I can’t do it alone! 

 

Patricia - I could help coordinate.  My two oldest daughters can help set up but my troop only has two entering

                3rd grade.   I don’t know when or if they go to the Chester fair. 

 

Debbie - Jennah and her Dad share a birthday on this date and we are usually busy with that, but I could help set

                up in the morning--maybe could squeeze some help time early after parade I'll know more when I get around to planning birthday party-sorry)

 

Tina -       If nobody else minds, My girls would love to set up the event.  It is getting harder for me to get girls

                to actually work the midway.  They had more fun doing it when they were Juniors.

 

WE WILL DISCUSS THIS MORE IN AUGUST


"Make New Friends"
Holly will be attending our August leader meeting and bringing some craft ideas.  If you have any ideas you'd like to contribute, please bring them along.  If you have a sample, that would be helpful.  Once we decide on our crafts, we'll need some volunteers to form a committee.  We'll have different committee members be responsible for purchasing a portion of the supplies and getting them ready (cutting, etc.).  This way we will spread the work around.  I'd like to have a meeting with the Juniors and Cadettes who will be leading to teach them the crafts and maybe have them help with the preparations.  I'd like this meeting to take place sometime between the 10th and 22nd of September.  We'd need to have enough supplies so they could make a few examples.  We could see if the Chester Academy Cafe is available so we could have plenty of tables to work on.   The date for the Make New Friends event is Sunday, Sept. 24th at the Multi-Purpose Room.

 

REPLIES:
Sandy -    You can count me in for this one.

 

Corinna - I am more than happy to help out with this event.

 

Jodie -     Keep in mind that there are a few evenings in Sept that are busy so when you schedule the training for the

                girls you might want to stay away from these dates.  9/12 & 9/14 are open house nights at the school

                (grades 1-4 on 9/12 and grades 5-8 on 9/14).  We also have a ½ day on 9/20.  Just an FYI!

 

Patricia - Can the Juniors and Cadettes do the cutting for the crafts?

 

Nancy –   If we can nail down a date for the training and be prepared for them to do this, that would be great. 

                It would require a longer time for the training session if they did the preparations like cutting, etc.

 

Debbie - Good idea; girls had fun last year.


Leader Training
If you are moving up to a new level for 06-07, please be sure to complete your EOL II for that level before you start having meetings.  Also, please consider taking Basic Outdoor Living Skills.  I realize that it takes up a weekend for you, but because Council is starting to check up on training before allowing us to go camping.  We don't want to end up in a situation where we have to say only troops with camping trained leaders can go on the Camporee!   You can't take your troop camping (even in your own backyard), cook outdoors or go hiking unless you've got BOLS.  This is a one-time training, it does not require renewal.  Once you have it, you can take your troop on all sorts of fun outdoor adventures!  PLEASE consider being trained.   Some of the Service Team positions also require a training session.  Registrar, Fall Fund Raiser and Cookie Manager all have an annual training.

REPLIES:

Nancy -   There are 2 BOLS classes being offered right now:

Preplan, Sept 7th, Bedford - Overnight, Sept 23-24, Wilton
Preplan, Sept 14th - Overnight, Sept 22-23, both Portsmouth


Leader Workshops
Council has also offered to do some leader workshops with us if anyone is interested.  Are you looking for new ideas for things to do with your girls?  Council trainers can come out to Chester and do a specific workshop (for example, a scrap booking workshop) for us.  You even get training points for these workshops.  Please let me know if you'd be interested and what types of workshops you'd like to have.

REPLIES:
Sandy -    I think any education we can get from council would be great. I could use info on troop management of

                adolescents.  How to keep their attention and how to hand over the reigns.  I think that they really need to

                learn leadership skills, so I could use some help in that area also keeping girls that age focused is a challenge.

                Crafts would be ok too but I can always find that stuff on the Internet.  I have also found a SWC badge on-line

                called Girl / Adult Decision Making and Planning that would help with the transition of Juniors and older

                Brownies to become involved in the process.  I think this will address some of the issues I mentioned.

 

Nancy –   I’d like us all to learn a little more about what Studio 2B is.  I know it has gotten a bad name, but I’ve read

                a little about it and it sounds like it could have potential if it is integrated into the current Cadette and Senior programs. 

 

Corinna - Any kind of training is beneficial.  I would be interested in attending.

 

Debbie - Really only interested in outdoor living skills.

 

Holly (council) - Is that something you'd like to do at a Leader's meeting in the Fall?  The Girl/ Adult Decision Making and

                Planning Patch Program is a good resource for getting the girls more involved.  I'll find an Older Girl trainer to

                come to your meeting and talk about Studio 2B and the Silver and Gold Awards also.  Let me know which Leaders'

                meeting would work best.  Maybe give me a couple of dates so I can get someone to give you a definite answer.


Home Show
We need to make a decision as to whether we want to continue doing the Home Show.  Paperwork for the Home Builders is due in early September.  We decided that the Chester Fair and Home Show would no longer be just for one age-level.  If possible, I'd like everyone to participate in both events.  If there is a scheduling problem like we had this year with DI, etc. then at least we know we have other troops to take up the slack.  If we can come up with another fund-raiser other than cookie sales that would make at least as much (roughly $450 - $500), then we can do that instead.  This fund-raiser would have to fit in with GSUSA guide-lines.  We can't sell items that would look like an endorsement of a commercial product or business using the GS name, we can't do any home-party sales, (Creative Memories, Longaberger, Pampered Chef), no raffles or any "blank-a-thons" (hike, bike, walk, etc.).  Items should be made by the girls, offer a service from the girls.  Some examples are: yard-sale, bake-sale, car wash, dinner, dance, pet sitting, dog walking, etc.  It may be difficult to make as much doing any other type of sale.  Also, the home show allows the girls to "earn" their way to camp.

Do you want to participate in the Home Show?  If not, what other ideas do you have?

 

REPLIES:
Jane -       YES!!!! All of my girls that have participated have enjoyed it. Please let’s try to keep this going.

 

Sandy -    Definitely we should continue.  As we found out last year we really don't need all that many girls.

                This is an easy painless fundraiser.

 

Corinna - The feedback I have heard is only positive so count me in to continue the home show.

 

Jodie -     Count troop 2450 in….don’t have dates for D.I. yet but once I know, you will know!

 

Patricia - I think we should continue to do the Home Show.   Both the Brownies and the Juniors should participate.

 

Debbie - Juniors like to do this, so count us in.

 

Tina -       They have been awesome to us, however I personally do not care if I never

                have to go there again!

 

    WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE HOME SHOW AGAIN THIS YEAR.


First Aid/CPR
When is your First Aid and CPR expiring?  Do we want to get a class together at the Fire Department for all the leaders to renew together?  We did this a few years ago.  Anyone who took that CPR class will be expiring in September.  Remember, you can't take your troop on any field trips unless someone attending the trip is trained in First Aid and CPR and has current certification.  If we do a "girl scout leader" class together, I can call it an official training session and give you training points for it.

Let me know if you're interested in scheduling a class. I know someone who has an in with our new Fire Chief. ;)

 

REPLIES:

Linda -     IF the schedule works I could help with the CPR/First Aid for the leaders also.....

 

Sandy -    Sounds good, doing it in town makes it easier.

 

Corinna - I think a group session would be good but it has been quite a while since

                my training.  Would a group session be sufficient? 

 

Jodie -     Rich can certainly do any classes that are needed.  I will need my First Aid

                renewed in August.  I can get some dates from Rich if there are others interested.

 

Nancy –   My CPR expires in September.

 

Patricia - Yes I need First Aid. 

 

Debbie - I think I will need CPR in September

 

    I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH INTERESTED PEOPLE TO DO A GROUP TRAINING. 

                From what I can see, we’d have at least 5 people for a CPR class and the

                same for a First Aid class.   We could do 2 separate sessions.

 


Troop Trip Alerts
Please remember that ANY trip that you do outside your normal meeting time and location requires a trip alert.  It doesn't matter if you're taking a trip to the Chester Library, having the girls over your house for a BBQ or going away for the weekend, you still must file this form.  It is a simple form to complete on the http://www.chestergirlscouts.org web site.  Click on the link that says "FORMS" and it is the first form listed at the top of the page.  It is required, one reason being in case something happens to your group (you get lost in the woods, for example), someone knows exactly where you are and when you planned on leaving and returning.  It also covers you as far as insurance goes.  Failure to file this form could jeopardize your Girl Scout insurance coverage (personal liability and accident protection) should an injury occur.  Please be sure to submit a trip alert for EVERY trip you take.  We're all guilty of forgetting to file these forms.. we really need to try and do better.  If you submit your trip alert when you're making your "pink" permission slips, it might help you remember.  THANKS!

Permission Slips
Please be sure to use only the council "pink" permission slips when you take your girls on a trip. (they don't need to be pink)  Do not make your own forms for this purpose.  GS has lawyers who have created all the forms and it is worded exactly as you need it to be.  This is for your own protection... don't put yourself in a liability situation.  The Pink Permission slip is available on the http://www.chestergirlscouts.org web site on the FORMS page.  It is available in both PDF and Word versions.  The PDF would need to be printed out, filled in and photocopied and the Word version can be completed on your computer then you can simply print out as many copies as you'd like.  I've seen leaders using their own permission slips.  Please be sure to use the correct ones to save yourself any problems. 

Recruitment of Older Girls
Why does Girl Scouting become "uncool" at a certain age?  How do we retain and recruit more girls in the 12 to 17 age group?  Does anyone have any ideas.  Sandy's new cadette troop is in need of more members.  They are not "technically" a troop without 5 registered girls.  I've asked Jodie to submit an ad to the "Tri-Town Times".  Any other suggestions?  We could use Tina's awesome Cadettes as an example of what a great time you can have in Girl Scouts.

 

REPLIES:

Tina -       Thank you for the compliment for my girls!! :)  Katie and I also had an idea for this coming year.  If Sandy

                would be interested, we were thinking that she and her 2 girls could join our troop for this year and get to know

                my 2nd year Cadettes.  Then when we move up to Seniors with our freshmen, our other girls will know her and

                she would have a decent sized troop the following year.

 

Nancy –   Merging would have to be Sandy and Emily’s decision.

 

Sandy -    We are really excited about starting a Cadette troop next year.  I will be moving 2 of my juniors up to cadettes and a 3rd 7th grader will be
staying with us from 2597 so it looks like we should have the 5 girls we need to have a troop.

I would be happy to do some things with Tina to get to know her girls.  But, I would think her Cadettes would want to stay with her when the older girls
move to seniors

 

Jodie -     The “ad” looking for new Cadettes was in the July 6th edition of the Tri Town Times.  It ran on page 9 under “Tri-Town Happenings”.


Next Month
For our August meeting, we will need to firm up the Registrar position, Chester Fair Coordinator(s) and Make New Friends committee. (I haven't heard anything from Erin Newnan regarding the Registrar position and I don't want to nag her about it.  Is anyone else interested in the Registrar position should she not be able to do it?)   (Corinna has volunteered to be our Registrar, THANKS!)

 

Please bring any ideas you'd like to share for Make New Friends activities.  You'll be getting your registration packets, signing your leader volunteer appointments and any other volunteer positions you've accepted for the Service Unit at this meeting. 

The Membership Kick-off event is being held at Bow High School on Saturday, August 19th.  Please let me know if you're interested in attending. I plan to go.  They usually have workshops, ideas for meetings, etc.  I went with Cindy a couple of years ago and had a good time.  I believe the Fall Fund Raiser training is also done at this same event.  I'll pass on the info for this as soon as I get it from council.

OUR NEXT MEETING IS AUGUST 17TH AT 7:00 AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER.