Items requiring attention are marked in red
ASAP!! Items requiring IMMEDIATE attention are preceded by "ASAP!" and marked in red
Intro/Announcements
Meeting was called to order at 7:45 pm
Council Updates
New and updated program information can be found at http://www.girlscoutseasternmass.org/
including updated information on the 100th Anniversary Camporee.
S.E.T. in the City Event for HS girls (Science, Engineering, and Technology) on 4/28. This event takes place in Boston, includes breakfast, lunch, bus transportation to the different activities...all for just $10. Check the flyer for more info.
All Together Celebration/Workshop on 4/28 from 10-5 at UMASS Boston. Luncheon, Keynote Speaker Mel Robbins, Workshops, Vendors, and a free Duck Tour pass - all for just $55. Check the flyer for more info.
100th Anniversary Camporee, 6/1-3 (for 4th grade and up). Deadline for registration is 4/1. Sign up now with just 1 person to hold the spot and add the rest of your group later.
Sunday from 12-4 is a festival open to families. Cost is $10 is you went to the camporee, $12 if you pre-register, and $15 if you are a walk-in.
If your troop is planning on going to the Camporee (and there appeared to be at least 5 troops going), send Amy Kelly an email - she wants to know.
If you are not certified for encampment, GSEM will pair you with a troop that is. Don't let the lack of time for squeezing in the training keep you from this event!
Check out April vacation camps on www.girlscoutseasternmass.org
More trainings (especially encampment) are being offered. Check www.girlscoutseasternmass.org for up to date offerings.
Note on encampment training: If you are lodge certified and attend an overnight with a troop that is Tent Certified AND YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE CAMPFIRE, you can be grandfathered into Tent Certification!
Town Update
The Promise Circle made the front page of the North Reading Transcript! Over 100 girls and leaders attended this event! A big thank you to the Girl Council for organizing this!
Last meeting we talked about providing a 100th Anniversary patch to every registered Girl Scout. Unfortunately, due to the cost and the low attendance at events, this isn't going to happen.
Elder Services is asking that when we use the room on the 2nd floor of the 3rd Meeting House that we try to keep the noise level down. Apparently, they have had some days when the scampering of little feet overhead has been very distracting.
We are still looking for Outstanding Volunteer/Parent/Leader nominations. Please encourage leaders, co-leaders, parents, etc...to let us know if there are folk that are making a difference and going above and beyond for the girls. We want them to be thanked! These recognitions will be awarded at Fly Up. Send Amy Kelly an email.
S.H.A.R.E. kicks off on 4/1. This year, the Girl Council is planning a Share Her Artistic Renderings Exhibit. Girls will be asked to create "art" - to display at the event. The art can be anything: painting, drawing, sculpture, baking, sewing, jewelry, photography, etc...
The exhibit will be held at the High School with each troop having a space to display their art. There is likely to be a bake sale as well. Girls will be asked to bring items for the bake sale.
Admission to the exhibit will be the S.H.A.R.E. envelope. The event will be in mid to late May and a full flyer will be available at the April Leader's Meeting.
[S.H.A.R.E. is an annual Girl Scout fundraiser to offset the expenses of the various programs that GSEM runs for the girls. Annually, GSEM spends $290/girl to maintain camps, develop and run programs, develop and run trainings, etc... and looks to the families of scouts to help support their efforts. The $12 registration fee goes completely to GSUSA, none of it to GSEM.
Girl Council - is a group of 6th grade and up Scouts who are looking for more involvement. Anne Valade meets with them and they work on putting together events and give ideas to the Service Team. Girl Council is working on the following:
- Art Exhibit for S.H.A.R.E.
- A Fancy Nancy event for Daisies - May or early June, right after school
- Activities for Younger Girl Encampment - they will be attending to help
- Daisy Fly Up - date will be posted as soon as possible
Cookie Info
Cookies are done for the year - but if you need any last minute boxes, Janice Sarno has some left!
Recognitions should arrive in late April.
Town-wide, we sold more boxes than last year (overall GSEM saw an increase in sales).
The top selling girl in North Reading sold 541 boxes!
Past Events
Birthday Party Karaoke event - there were low numbers, but the girls really seemed to have fun.
Mother/Daughter Daisy Tea on Girl Scout Sunday was also nice. The feedback is that the Juliette Low impersonator was a little long-winded for the Daisy age group. FYI - the Juliette Low impersonator was funded by a grant from the Cultural Council. We can use them for next year's World Thinking Day drummers?
Let Julia Slavin know if you need more Girl Scout Sunday patches.
We will continue to collect food donations for the Food Pantry throughout the month of March. You can drop off at the Food Pantry or with Julia Slavin.
Future Events
There is a History of Scouting Exhibit in the Children's Room of the library. Contact the library and try to combine this with a tour of the library for a really fun and informative outing!
Daisy/Brownie Fairy House Event will be on 4/1, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Camp Maude Eaton. Cost will be $5. The flyer has the details.
ASAP! Deadline for registration is 3/23!
LaserQuest Event for 4th grade and up will be on 4/18, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at Laser Quest in Danvers. The cost is $15/girl. Each girl will get to play (2) 20 minute games. There is a limit of 60 girls and it is first come, first served for sign ups.
Note: We are opening this event up to friends and family.
See flyer for more info.
Gymnastics for K-3rd will be on 4/17, 1:30-3:30 p.m. The cost is $7/girl. See flyer for more details and the required release form.
Younger Girl Encampment for K-5th, 4/28-29 at Camp Cedar Hill. Deadline for registration extended to 4.1
The activities will cover the basics of Girl Scout Camping: games, songs, campfires, S.W.A.P.S.
There will be a meeting for the Leaders that will be attending Encampment - look for the email.
If you are not trained and can't get the training in time, we can pair you with a troop that IS trained so that you don't have to miss this!
Memorial Day Parade - ~ 1 mile slow walk along the parade route. Troops generally make and carry a banner that represents the troop for this. The banner gets re-used for Fly-up and can be used for the troop's lifetime.
Registration Update
Our trusty Registrar is stepping down at the end of this year.
Our Little School Coordinator is stepping down at the end of this year.
Anne does plan to hold a Daisy Registration event this spring to help get a head start on the fall and potential leaders!
Looking for volunteers who will step in to these positions. The main focus is placing girls into troops and/or forming new troops each fall. Most of the registration process has gone paperless and doesn't require involvement by the Registrar.
Hot Topic of the Evening: Where are all the girls?
We just aren't getting the numbers this year at the events...why?
We are thinking about blasting flyers to all parents and leaders for which an event would be relevant. Do we have too many emails? Do people read their emails? We will need updated email addresses from leaders for their parents.
Sue from Council said that the research shows that people don't read their emails - but they do read their text messages.
We used to do paper flyers at the Leaders Meetings - but our attendance at the Leaders Meetings is down too!
LEADERS: Event info should be passed on to the girls and the parents even if you can't attend. One of your parents might step up to take the girls. It could be a Mother/Daughter event (like the tea was). The Service Team is getting feedback from parents that they were never told about events! Please pass information along!!
Note: Flyers should state whether the event is a drop-off event or not...
Next Leaders Meeting is 4/11, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Room 10
No comments:
Post a Comment