Agents of Change

We are getting ready to dig deep into our Leadership Journey - Agent of Change. Completing a Journey is a requirement for the Bronze Award!

I chose this particular Journey because of the content and how amazing it really is. I believe this is my favorite one to date. It is all about POWER! The girls will learn to discover their powerful selves, and if they really engage it will be something you can see. It's about real power - the power of one, the power of team, and the power of community.

Being on a higher level means there is actually more work to do. The work is pretty awesome and gets the girls to look at being a change maker. I got really excited when flipping through the guide and I am looking forward to all the meaningful conversations. Did I say I was excited?!

To go along with what we are doing there is a GREAT opportunity on February 23rd in Greensboro. You may have heard quite a bit of buzz surrounding the movie Girl Rising. It is a film I've been keeping my eye on for a while. The event is $5 for girls and $8 for adults. If you and/or your daughter want to go we need to register by February 7th! Please email me with your interest so I can plan. I've included information about the movie - Please take time to learn more yourself.

 

For more information:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/World-Thinking-Day-2014--Educate-Girls--Change-the-World--.html?soid=1106908381402&aid=zesPjxhwW8Y

Assignments & Upcoming

I gave the girls the first of their at-home assignments during the last meeting. Ask them what it was and remind them about the importance of it - Hint: The Honor Code. I also told them to refresh their memory on the Girl Scout Promise (I noticed several had forgotten it already).

There is not much for them to do at home to prepare for the next meeting, as I am trying to ease them into working on Scouts at home. They are understanding that we will have action items together, and action items on their own.

We began working on the First Aid badge and enjoyed learning the very important first steps of helping someone in need. During our next meeting Karen Kauffman is coming in to chat about basic first aid, and answer our girls questions on simple issues such as bee stings. During that same meeting we will be putting together portable first aid kits for each girl. These are kits the girls can keep in their book bags, or in the glove box of your vehicle.

We will have a BIG treat when the Iredell County Rescue Squad comes in November to show us one of their rigs! Everyone was excited to hear about that special visit and interested in what life-saving items are in a rescue vehicle.

Welcome To Juniors

We have such exciting things in store for this year. I am personally getting inspired as I look through all the plans and work that we will be covering. Please make sure you take the time to look through the Journey and Awards tab (above) to learn more. Also, the calendar is updated with our meeting schedule and snack moms!

I know I have said this until I am blue in the face, but we have a great deal to accomplish this year. I promise it is going to be fun as well as work. The girls will have more work to do independently, and that is not something we are accustomed to in Troop 2348. It is now important for the girls to begin to take action on their own!

I will be sending home various bits of information. I will make sure to have holes punched so the girls can slide all the info into their binders. If you will please go through their Junior books as you would a school binder you will be able to keep up with requirements.

I would also like to welcome Sophie Keefer to our troop! Sophie is in the 4th grade at ARS. Her mom is Kristen Halsted and they are both fantastic new additions to this group.

Lastly, here is a great overview of Juniors! Just click on the link to see a large version of What Juniors Do.


Updated Schedule & Cookie News

I just wanted to give you guys a quick update on a few items:
The schedule for the remainder of the year is up on the calendar page. You will also find the snack mom assignments for each meeting. If you have an issue with bringing the snack please switch with another mother, or let me know well in advance!
Cookies and more cookies! Troop 2348 has done a wonderful job with everything cookie related. Since this is our first attempt at selling I am really happy with the way things turned out in the end. Many of you have expressed interest in continuing the efforts, and by all means GO FOR IT! We will have a surplus of boxes as a result of the way the council forces us to order, and I do not want any girl who wants to continue to sell to feel as if she needs to stop. Once cookie orders come in around Feb.9th you will be hearing from me about pick up times and locations. After we get all of that organized we can do additional cookie order turn-ins based upon surplus and council surplus.
I want cookie sales to be girl driven and do not ever want a girl to feel too much pressure when cookie time rolls around during the scouting year. If a girl prefers to sell to her family only, then it is more than ok! We did have some big sellers who sold 75-155 boxes and we want them to keep going if they would like to sell even more. Congrats to ALL of the girls for taking part in a Girl Scout tradition. In our eyes it is all about participating on any level and learning basic skills.
As part of the cookie badge we had a FANTASTIC time with the financial literacy portion of the badge work. We went to "Brownie Mart" with real life scenarios and learned about spending and just how far a dollar goes these days. We talked about budgeting and saving as well as what it means to consciously spend their parents hard earned money. It was a great activity and each girl participated with the utmost enthusiasm.
We are looking forward to earning more badges and getting more involved in the culture that is Girl Scouting. As we lay the groundwork for what is to come, the girls will soon begin to gain more know-how to work on badges on their own as we bridge to the next level.

The Holiday Season Is HERE!

Greetings and Fa La La La LA!

I have some very important information for the next several weeks pertaining to Girl Scouts, and I wanted to make sure you are all clued in to everything going on with Troop 2348!

The project the girls decided to do this holiday season (as originally described in my last post) is to do a food drive for Iredell Christian Ministries. We discussed some incredible ideas, but at the end of the evening the scouts said the one thing they felt they could not live without is a good meal each day. It really bothered them to think there are children just like them who are hungry in our community. Many of the scouts commented there are students who eat their last meal at school on Friday during lunch, and do not eat again at home over the weekend. This discussion really seemed to hit home.

Our girls should be asking neighbors, grandparents and friends for canned food items on behalf of their Girl Scout troop right now to bring on December 11th. This past week we talked about doing a project like this over time and not the night before, so please help encourage your scout to prepare in advance for this food drive (it will only help prepare her for cookie sales).


We are going to be extremely busy with a flurry of activities during our next meeting on December 11th. Below are some important details. Please make sure your scout is prepared!

• We will NOT be meeting at First Presbyterian Church. Instead we will be meeting at the King's Grant Retirement Community (410 Kings Grant Court, just off Signal Hill Drive). we will be meeting at our regular 5:15 time. Please be prompt as we have a bunch to do with this Christmas meeting!
• We will be spreading some Christmas cheer by singing Christmas Carols to the residents of the Kings Grant Community. I've spoken with the director and they are all very excited! The girls need to wear their vests, but I would suggest layers, gloves and hats as the air is quite cool that time of night. Girls are allowed to wear Santa hats or other festive attire. In doing this outing we are sharing of our time and talents as part of our focus on philanthropy and community. I have spoken with the girls about maintaining respect for themselves and others while we are out in the community. Since this is our first outing as a troop I would appreciate a reminder from parents as well.
• After we are done with spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear, we will gather in the community recreation room for our snack and a "Sneaky Santa"/White Elephant Christmas Gift Exchange. Please send a wrapped gift of no more than $5. This can be a funny, cute or yummy gift. We have chatted about ideas and what "Sneaky Santa" means. They know this is all in good fun and is a great way for the girls to have a little something to enjoy. The gift should be wrapped with no name and typical paper/bag...we do not want the girls to be able to guess who the gift is from just by looking at the gift.
• And don't forget the canned food items for Iredell Christian Ministries!

December 11th will be our last meeting until the New Year. Please pay attention to the calendar as the new snack moms will be added. Also, if you have not added your daughter's new patches please try to do so before the 11th. If you need a guide you can check the vest tab. The illustration shows the EXACT way the Journey badges should go as well as all other badges.

I will be attending a big Girl Scout Cookie meeting the night before we gather. I hope to have packets for the girls, or at least know when we will receive the packets to begin selling cookies. I do know that it is not long now!!!! Oh how I love those Thin Mints!!!!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Philanthropists of Troop 2348

Our year is off to a great start with Girl Scouts! The girls have been engaged and contributing wonderfully. We are very happy to say they earned a badge last meeting - one of the traditional legacy badges - the Philanthropy badge.

We talked about what it means to give to others and how to give. It was interesting to see through their eyes ways they feel giving time, talents and treasures can impact others in great need. Introducing the word "philanthropy" was a challenge in the beginning until we finally started putting it into terms like helping gather coats for people during the cold winter months, or putting money into the offering plate, even something as simple as raking leaves for an elderly person.

Even though we have earned the philanthropy badge this is a concept that we are going to carry throughout our year(s). I've asked the girls to come up with an idea for something to do over the holidays -Something their hearts tell them to do. We want this holiday project to be girl driven from ideas they have thought about perhaps through something they have seen or felt. If you would please discuss this project with your daughter - encourange her and help her to think it through. We talked about some options during our discussion last meeting  - a food drive for Iredell Christian Ministries, a coat drive for Fifth Street Ministries, a toy drive for our friends at Lifespan (after hearing that many do not have a Christmas to speak of). There may be a fantastic idea your Girl Scout has to bring to the table that we haven't even thought about that we may want to consider! During our next meeting we will vote and decide what path to take. Again, the project is something that will be girl driven and will help people in need.

A bit of housekeeping - PLEASE make sure you check the calendar tab! I will call attention one more time to the fact we meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays...not every other week. I have the meeting dates up there with the snack moms through the beginning of January.
On another note - Here is a great photo of the girls finishing up the last bit of their Journey community project - the book drive for Lifespan Circle School.

 

Welcome Back Troop 2348

Hello Girls and Parents -

We are excited to get back into the swing of things with Brownies! Everyone is back in school and getting used to the hustle and bustle that comes with a new school year. Below is important information as we gear up for the 2012-13 Brownie year:

First Meeting. Make sure you add our first meeting to your already busy schedule - Tuesday, September 25th. If you are like me and like to plan ahead, the entire fall schedule can be found here. Snack mom assignments will be added after our first meeting. Please make sure you pay attention to the schedule and note we meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesday - not every other week.
*Moms/Dads - Please make sure you are present for the first meeting to fill out the annual paperwork and to discuss important details about plans for the troop.

Attendance. Much of what we do in our meetings builds on several different levels - for the meeting itself, as well as the badges we are working towards.We will continue to meet at 5:15, and I ask that everyone be prompt. We get right down to business and do not want anyone to miss something valuable that lends to the discussion for that meeting. It is also important to be present so that any valuable building aspect is not missed. However, please do not send your child if they are sick. If your scout has missed school they should also miss scouts. Though attendance becomes more important this year, we can always work together to get important information that helps keep your scout on track if she is ill. Your cooperation with punctuality and attendance is so greatly appreciated. Mrs. Mary and I are pretty laid back, but ask that you help us with these two very important issues.

Program and Focus. Mrs. Mary and I are working on many exciting things for this year in Brownies. We will continue focusing on core issues that are important to our girls such as community, anti-bullying, and working to create that awesome self-esteem that comes along with being a Girl Scout. We have witnessed the positive lessons we started last year come alive in your girls! Troop 2348 will be working toward MANY badges this year - traditional and Journeys. Our Journeys are a big part of learning to be quality and significant contributors to society. Girls begin with small, personal acts and then move out to purposeful teamwork that engages the larger community and influences its members in significant ways. All of this is done with FUN and learning! I can't wait to tackle the next two Journeys in Brownies and to see all the badges added to the vests.

Commitment. As we work on planning for this year, I need for you as parents to follow up with me ASAP regarding your scout. I need to know about your commitment for the year as we have girls who are on a waiting list to join our troop. Please respond back to me with your intentions of staying, or let me know if you have decided to move on to other things. I need to know your decision either way.

I have made a commitment to these wonderful girls to be as strong of a leader as I can possibly be. My promise stands to help them see it through to the Gold as long as they are willing. Your girls are so important to both me and Mrs. Mary. We thank you for sharing your daughters with us and look forward to a fantastic year!