It’s Volunteer Appreciation Season!

Show appreciation for volunteers you know and love by nominating them for formal recognition! Submit nominations online by February 15. 

 

Volunteer/Troop Leader Education Opportunities

Risk Management and Volunteer Safety Virtual Connections. Looking for additional guidance on how to ensure safe Girl Scouting experiences for your girls? Join us online on January 10 for Risk Management and Volunteer Safety Virtual Connections. You’ll be introduced to Safety Activity Checkpoints, Volunteer Essentials, and council policies and procedures for troop overnights, camping trips, and trips abroad. Register today. 

Wilderness First Aid. Our spring Wilderness First Aid course is now open for registration! Financial aid is available, and Girl Scout Ambassadors may also register to attend as part of earning their First Aid badges. Sign up now—space is limited!

Youth Mental Health First Aid. Offered at a discounted rate for GSEMA volunteers, this training introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health challenges for adolescents, builds understanding of the importance of early intervention, and teaches participants how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge. The course will be offered twice this winter and spring: at Camp Maude Eaton in Andover on February 22, and in Middleboro on April 25. Register.

Program Highlights

Here are some new and interesting program highlights:

Adventures in Storytelling. Girls are invited to meet Kara LaReau, the award-winning author of the Infamous Ratsos series and Rise of ZomBert (coming July 2020), on February 22! The registration fee is $18 per girl, and includes a copy of Infamous Ratsos. Daisies and Brownies can register for the 3 PM–5 PM session, and Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors can register for the 10 AM–2 PM session. Volunteer supervision is required.  

Cybersecurity Badge Day. Brownies and Juniors can earn the Cybersecurity Basics badge on January 19, by taking part in exciting workshops taught by professional women in the cybersecurity industry. Girls will learn about pending cybersecurity legislation, engage in exciting discussions and debates, and explore potential cybersecurity careers. The registration fee is $20 per girl, and includes a badge. Volunteer supervision is required. Register.

Winter Online Journeys. Seniors and Ambassadors can learn exciting new STEM skills through online Journeys in January and February! In the Think Like a Programmer Online Journey, girls will join together to learn coding and computer science skills. Registration is $25 per girl.

Winter Vacation Camp. Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors are invited to spend their winter breaks at Camp Wabasso! At Winter Vacation Camp, campers can enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, tubing, and more from February 17–21. Registration is $425/girl, and includes heated lodging, equipment rentals, lessons, meals, and transportation to/from Waltham, MA. This is a drop-off event.

Winter Vacation Adventures.  Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors can escape the winter blues by joining their Girl Scout peers for winter break at Camp Cedar Hill! At Winter Vacation Adventures, girls will make new friends, go on adventures, and participate in games, crafts, STEM experiments, and more. Groups will spend the majority of their time in indoor heated spaces, with occasional outdoor activities (weather permitting). New for 2020: busing is available and included in the registration fee. Registration is $60/girl, and financial aid is available.

Getting your troop activities in the Transcript

If you'd like to let the North Reading community know about some of the great stuff you do with your troop, consider sending it to the North Reading Transcript. Whenever you do something community related, outdoors, STEM related - anything really, you can send a pic and a blurb. The girls love to see their picture in the paper + it promotes girl scouts in our town.

Here are some tips:

- send a ready to print article of 200 words or less 

- include who, what, when, where and why

- always send hi-res photographs with captions (always make sure you have permission from parent/ guardian to publish)

- add a quote if you can (but not necessary)

- send it to nrtranscript@rcn.com

- please reach out to Jo Gibson (joanneg@gmail.com) if you want help.

Resources - Did you know?

There are several information and event resources for North Reading Girl Scout and their Families such as:

Two Facebook pages: 

1. Parents and Guardians of North Reading Girl Scouts

2. North Reading Girl Scout Leaders

This Blog:

www.northreadinggirlscouts.blogspot.com

Calling for volunteers

We are hoping to run these great events in the new year if we get enough volunteers:

Girl Scout Race Car Challenge

Seeking volunteers to participate on a planning committee for this event likely to be held in the March/April time frame. Plan to meet maybe 3-4 times between Dec-March. Please contact Lisa Ayer at lisa.ayer7@gmail.com

World Thinking Day

If you, or someone you know (such as a troop parent) would like to share their heritage, we would love them to help at our World Thinking Day. They would be asked to share a craft, or game, or food, or music, or a brief presentation. They would probably only need to do a couple of these things and keep the girls occupied for about 15 or 20 minutes. Your troop is also welcome to represent a country as a group. It can just be a country they are interested in - even if they don't have ancestry there. Please reach out to your troop parents. They can email Jo Gibson (joanneg@gmail.com) with any questions.

 

Cookie Update

1. This week kicks off our booth sales! Still plenty of December slots available if you want to get a jump start before the holidays!

2. You can also start placing order for cookies through ABCSmartCookies.com. Make sure your order is in by Sunday 10pm to pick up that week.

3. Don't forget to add your scheduled booth sales into ABCSmartCookie so that you can use the new credit card and booth divider options.

4. January COBS deadline is Dec 12th. Don't miss it!

5. Please note that all cookie cupboards will be closed for the holidays December 22–January 2. Deadlines for planned cookie orders are Sundays at 10 PM throughout cookie season, and the final day for cookie-selling is March 31, 2020.

Caroling Event

Don't forget to get your forms in for caroling! This is a great, free event the girls love where they will make cards for the residents, sing carols, and have cookies and chocolate milk. This year it will be on Thursday December 19, 2019, 4pm- 5pm at Care one in Wilmington (750 Woburn St). Girls can wear their Christmas jammies/holiday attire/ hats etc. Forms can be dropped off to Kristen Pemberton: 9 Bishops Way, by December 10th. Flyer is attached to the Monday email.