Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEM) announced today that Pamela
Salkovitz has been named interim Chief Executive Officer of the council. In this
role, Pam will lead current operations while preparing for the future.
Pam received GSEM's "Leading Women" Award in 2007, joined GSEM's Board of
Directors in 2013, and has served on the council's Development Committee since
2010. She will serve in an ex-officio (non-voting) capacity on the Board until
the transition to a permanent council CEO is completed. GSEM has
formed a CEO Search Committee, led by Board Member Roc O'Connell, which will
engage an executive search firm and manage a national CEO search. The search
process is expected to take six months. Check out the GSEM website for
more information about Pamela.
Upcoming Events
UPCOMING EVENTS
Next Leader Meeting in Feb - TBDWednesday, January 8, 2014
GSEM - New Interim CEO named
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all level,
all levels,
Leaders,
Volunteers
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Volunteer Awards and Recognitions from GSEM
Nominate or Endorse a
Volunteer Today! Each year, GSEM volunteers are eligible for GSUSA and GSEM recognitions. Take this opportunity to show your thanks for
someone in your troop, town or service unit and celebrate their successes!
Volunteers selected to receive a council level recognition will receive their
awards as guests at the Volunteer Recognition Dinner on April 10th, 2014 at the Chelmsford
Radisson. The deadline for all nominations and endorsements is Friday,
February 3rd! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to show your THANKS.
Join us for January’s
Wednesday Webinar, Creating a Culture of Appreciation, Volunteer Recognitions, on 1/15/14! Explore
fun and creative ways to express appreciation as well as how to nominate
outstanding volunteers for formal Girl Scout recognitions. Last day to register
is 1/8/14.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
Leaders,
Volunteers
Leader Meeting Minutes 12/11/13
Present: Ruth Kennedy, Kristin Puliafico, Debbie
Nearing, Barbara Gravel, Kelly Desousa, Stephanie Geiser (council), Kerstin
March, Melissa Audier,
Event Planning for upcoming school year:
- Ice skating/bowling in January
- Bingo for GS/Adult or maybe "Bring a Friend" in February
- Storytelling at Camp Rice Moody in March
- Food Pantry Month is March
- Girl Scout Sunday is in March 9. Girl Scout Shabbat is March 8.
- Gymnastics Event in April during vacation week for younger Girl Scouts
- Chopped cooking competition for older girls in April, location to be determined.
- Memorial Day Parade in May
- All Town Encampment June 13-15 at Camp Runnells, Pelham, NH (mark your calendars for a FUN WEEKEND!)
For leaders needing Girl Scout Camping certification, please
check GSEM's website for upcoming sessions. Those with younger troops who
are only staying for the daytime activities, you do not need camping
certification, but you should have a "first aid certified" person
with your troop at all times. A parent who is a RN or other medical
person, would qualify. More information on this in the coming months.
Please ask a service team member if you have any questions.
Here is a fun quiz to take to see if your girls are ready
for encampment:
COOKIE UPDATE:
Sales being Friday, Dec. 13. All orders must be
in by January 13. Cupboards close March 5 (all booth sales complete by
this point).
Booth sales are still booking. Lots of openings at
both Stop and Shop and Walmart. Check Monday Email for the latest
schedule. Contact Kerstin March with questions: march.family@verizon.net
Gluten free cookies are a PRE-ORDER (buyers must purchase up
front). Orders must be sent to Council by Dec. 31. Gluten free
cookies will be delivered to Council (must be picked up there- they are not
part of town wide delivery) on January 23. These are $5 per bag, but the
troop makes $1.50 profit per bag. This is the first year GSEM is trying
this, so please be patient and ask questions if you have them. Thank you.
For those planning to hold a Cookie Booth, check the GS
Store in N. Andover for the optional "Cookie Booth Bag" of
items to help with your sale. $25 per bag.
Don't forget "Cookies for a Cause" sales!
Square Dance Update:
Square Dance in November 23: two sessions with 59
girls total. Positive feedback from those who attended. The event
broke even financially.
2nd grade Batch troop (disbanded troop of Daisies) - there
are a few 2nd graders who do not have a troop. Ruth Kennedy/Sue Kirby's
troop of 8th graders held a meeting for the 6 Brownies at the Library (with
Barbara Gravel's help. All the girls had a nice time. If other
troops want to help out holding a meeting for these 6 girls, please contact
Barbara Gravel.
Guidelines for Financial Assistance
The North Reading Service Unit has guidelines in place to
help families who may not be able to afford the GS registration fee, uniform
expenses, and expenses related to NRGS town activities and events.
Leaders should contact a member of the service team with their questions
or concerns on this new policy.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
minutes
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Cookie Booth Sales Are Almost Here!!
If you would like to sign your troop up for a Cookie Booth Sale please see the schedule here.
There are openings at Walmart, Stop & Shop, Ryer's and the Post Office.
Its a great opportunity for the girls to learn about salesmanship as they earn money for their troop.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
Leaders
Friday, November 22, 2013
Leader Meeting Minutes 11-20-13
Town
Hall Room 14
Attendance:
Kristin Puliafico, SUC and 85118; Debbie Nearing, Corresponding
Secretary & 73891; Anne Valade, Treasurer; Barbara Gravel, Registrar;
Janice Sarno, Service Team Member; Kerstin March, Cookie & Fall Product
Manager; Lindsay Felix, 76211; Sarah Stetson, 76213; Jodi Sponzo, 73897; Kelly
Desousa, 66232; Melissa Lally, 85118; Sandy Griffin, 71900; Lynne Alley, 85336;
Kristin Lamont, 85193 & 71880; Kate Mahoney, 71868; Stephanie Musgrave,
71868; Mary Lasdin, 71871 & 71893; Patti Harrington, 71876 & 85122;
Kristen Russell, 76211.
Meeting called to order: 7:35 pm
Pledge of Allegiance
Girl Scout Promise
Investiture Ceremony and Presentation of Pins to New Leaders and
co-leaders: Lindsay Felix, Sarah
Stetson, Kelly DeSousa, and Kristen Russell present at this meeting. For those not present: Shannon Sullivan,
Bridget Easler, Maria Driscoll, Marcy Nelson, and Elene McLoughlin, pins will
be given to them by associated leaders.
Barbara: Father-Daughter Square Dance 11-23-13. Since forms are being handed in at this
meeting, is it not known yet how many are attending. Discussion about possibility of holding only
one session and if so, then will hold the 3-4:30 time slot. Outcome of number of sessions held will be
known by Thursday, November 21st, and communicated to parents.
UPDATE TO MINUTES: EVENT IS RUNNING AS SCHEDULED AND
WE WILL TAKE MORE PARTICIPANTS AND AT THE DOOR AS WELL!
Barbara: Registration Event (second reg event) scheduled for
12-3-13. This is to try to recruit new
leaders, hoping to start a new second grade Brownie troop. There are three second grade girls waiting to
be placed in a troop.
Some parents did not know about the first registration event
held in September. The school will not
place paper flyers in backpacks like we’ve requested, so other methods of
public awareness were discussed.
Suggestions for elementary school principals to send emails to parents,
and to place a notice in the North Reading Patch online newspaper were
made. Contact person is Danielle
Masterson at the Patch.
Debbie: Encampment
tentatively scheduled June 13-15, at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham, awaiting
approval from GSEM. One conflict is the
eighth grade class DC trip returns from their trip the night of June 13th. Girls going on the DC trip can still attend
encampment Saturday and leave Sunday morning if they wish. We are considering a separate 8th
grade campout since they will miss this event.
Debbie: Mitten Tags for
CCS. We are participating in providing
toiletries for families in need for the holiday season. Each tag is assigned to a family, lists the
number and ages of members. On the back
of the tag are the dates and place for dropping off. A list of suggestions of items to donate to
the family was also available. Leaders
picked out tags for their troop to adopt that family and a recyclable
collection bag was handed out to those who took a tag. This will help to ensure
families get about the same amount of items. Tips and ideas shared among
leaders about how to gather items, including each girl member donating supplies
or going shopping with the girls, which involves getting parents to chaperone,
and involving girls in the process.
Girls learn about how to work with a budgeted amount of money when they
are involved in the process. Suggestion
of applying this experience to badge work was made.
Kristin: Ultimate Girl
Scout Quiz, winner was Kerstin March with 33 points and winner of decorative
bowl filled with candy. Mary Lasdin came
in second with 30 points. Points scored
by past and present experiences in Girl Scouting.
Kerstin: Fall Sale: More
troops participated this year in the fall product sale. Product was delivered this week and pick-ups
available at Ruth Kennedy’s house. We reached
our goal for cans of honey roasted peanuts obtained for the NR food pantry
Thanksgiving Day baskets! Thanks to all
who participated. Profit to our SU town
account was some $200 plus.
Kerstin: Cookie Sale: The sale is from December 13th
to January 13th. The delivery
of cookies will be January 27th; this year pick-up of initial orders
will be at Burbank Ice Arena parking lot, in conjunction with the Reading
SU. Booth sale requests were due
today. Booth sales will be Walmart, Stop
and Shop, Post Office, and Ryer’s. You
can also hold a sale at another local business if you get permission from the
business owner and you must let GSEM and Kerstin March know about all booth
sales for approval. There is a separate
sale of the new gluten free cookie; these must be ordered by December 31st
but there is limited supply so
order early. The order form is in your
cookie product book handed to your cookie advisor at training! The gluten free
cookies are very tasty, are a shortbread-like cookie with chocolate chips and
they are $5.00 a bag. They will not be
available until the end of January from the time you order.
Events: Lynne Alley would
like to hold an anti-bullying event, might be in January near the week of
January 20th, which is no name calling week. Patti Harrington stated
her troop has looked at having Ed Biggs give a presentation about
cyber-bullying. There was a suggestion
that Thea Peach may be interested in providing something on this topic also, as
she is a former GS leader and is experienced in internet safety. May be able to contact Marci Bailey about
someone who can help with resources for bullying.
Discussion about future events, and what the leaders would like
to see return. Those suggested were:
scavenger hunt, father-daughter sporting event, ice skating, bingo, karaoke
night, mother daughter game night, caroling at the Common, all troops, movie
event, bracelet making party, night of beauty.
Of course, we need Leaders to step up and help run these events if we
run them!
At this meeting leaders brought used donated troop supplies to
share. We still have a lot of items left
and will continue to collect at each meeting.
The Daisy Raffle basket filled with lots of new fun activities
was donated by Kristin Puliafico and won by Lindsay Felix!
The next leaders meeting will be a morning meeting, Wednesday,
December 11th, 2013, at 9:30 am the Library Activity Room with
coffee and muffins!
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
minutes
The Albany Berkshire Ballet's The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker will be performed by the Albany Berkshire Ballet and local dancers on December 18 & 19 at the Lawrence High School auditorium. See flyer for details on how to save on ticket prices through a Girl Scout discount.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
field trip,
Volunteers
Monday, November 18, 2013
Registration Event!
Become a Girl Scout Or Leader!
Tuesday December 3rd 7pm-8pm
Town Hall room 14
7:00 - Discover what Girl Scouting has to offer.
Connect with North Reading Girl Scout adult members to get an overview of how Girl Scouting can work for you and your daughter.
7:30 - Discussion and registration for Girls and Adults.
Contact Barbara Gravel for details: Barbgravel@msn.com
See flyer here.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
Brownie,
Daisy,
Registration,
Volunteers
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Cookie Sale Update
If your troop doesn't have a Cookie Advisor yet, please assign someone asap so they can be trained. Please contact Kerstin March with any questions. email address
Sign up for Cookie Booth Sale slots at the November Leader Meeting on November 20th.
You can find sign up forms here.
The sale this year is shorter, starting on December 13th and going until early March.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
Volunteers
Friday, November 8, 2013
Girl Scout Store Sale of Thanksgiving
November 15-26, 2013 use the coupon below to take 15% off everything at the Girl Scout Stores in Middleboro, North Andover and Waltham.
They also have a frequent shopper card now. Get 10 punches and receive 15% off a purchase.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all level,
Volunteers
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Looking for Help with New Troops
Help with New Troop
NRGS is trying to start a new second grade troop to help in placing 3, grade 2 Brownies. These consist of one girl who has been in scouting, and two who are new to Girl Scouts. We are in the process of sending out a recruitment letter to all grade 2 girls in hopes of finding more girls for this troop and with any luck, a leader! In the meantime, these three girls are patiently waiting to be placed! Are there any troops who would be willing to host a meeting or two so these girls can have the Girl Scout experience? Our intention is that this will be a short term commitment. Not only does this help in starting up a new troop, but it will also empower your girls in a leadership role. If interested in, please contact me at BarbGravel@msn.com and I can tell you more.
Looking for Helper (Cadette or older) for new Daisy troop
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all level,
Cadette,
Older girls,
Volunteers
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Old Sturbridge Village
Scout
Day at Old Sturbridge Village is November 16th!
Here's the link to the website for more information and to sign up.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all level,
field trip,
Volunteers
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Service Project Idea!
Meals-On-Wheels
The girls in your troop can have fun creating decorations, especially a seasonal decoration, for the trays that the meals are on. If this sounds interesting, you can contact Mary Prenney, the head of Elder Services. Her email address is mprenney@northreadingma.gov.
If your troop is looking for other service project ideas, take a look at the "Service Project Ideas" page on the right column of the blog. And if you have ideas you'd like to share, send an email to audier@verizon.net and it will be added to the list.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
Crafts,
Service
North Reading Veteran's Day Ceremony
There will be a ceremony on the Common on November 11 at 11am. Please encourage your girls to attend. They should wear their vest/sashes and stand together in a group.
Veteran Services of NR has
requested that about 6 girls volunteer help in the Building on
the Common to help serve refreshments. If a troop
of Juniors and older would like to fulfill this request, please
contact Barbara Gravel at barbgravel@msn.com. This would
make a great community service project!
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
all levels,
Volunteers
Thursday, October 17, 2013
New Leader Orientation Training
Anne Valade will conduct a new leader Orientation Training on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:30
24 Abbott Rd.
Basics
on organizing a troop meeting, field trip protocols, setting up a troop bank
account, over view of Girl Scouting program.
Things needed to get started
with your troop.
Other training beyond Orientation is available through
council.
Labels: Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette
Leaders
Leader Meeting Minutes 10/16/13
Attendance:
Stephanie Geiser,
Membership Specialist from GSEM;
ST Members and/or
troop Leaders:
Kristin Puliafico,
SU Coordinator and 85118; Debbie Nearing, Corresponding Secretary & 73891;
Ruth Kennedy, Recording Secretary & 73899; Anne Valade, Treasurer; Barbara
Gravel, Registrar; Kerstin March, Cookie & Fall Product Manager; Lindsay
Felix, 76211; Sarah Stetson, 76213; Amy Kelly, 71901 & 73897; Jodi Sponzo,
73897; Kelly Desousa, 66232; Melissa Lally, 85118; Sandy Griffin, 71900; Lynne
Alley, 85336; Kristin Lamont, 85193 & 71880; Michelle Rosenthal, 71902
& 78181; and Jennifer Dee, 78188 & 85122.
Meeting called to order 7:35
Introductions of service unit and Stephanie from GSEM N.
Andover office.
Anne V: New leader Orientation training on Wednesday, Oct.
23 at 7:30pm. 24 Abbott Road. Basics on organizing a troop meeting,
field trip protocols, setting up a troop bank account, over view of Girl
Scouting program. Things needed to get started with your troop.
Other training beyond Orientation is available through council.
Barbara: Father/Daughter Square Dance Saturday, Nov.
23. Open to any important male adult (grandfather, older brother, uncle,
etc). Times will be announced. If there is a lot of interest, there
may be two sessions, but that will be determined by number of girls attending.
Open to Daisy, Brownie and Junior levels. Cost is $8/couple,
additional girls $4. Each girl will receive a fun patch. Flyers
will be emailed. Please distribute to girls in your troop. Girls
should turn in forms to leaders by Nov. 15. Troop leaders should return
forms/payment at the Nov. 20 Leaders' Meeting.
Barbara: Registration - all seems to be working
smoothly. Most girls are placed. 3 new kindergarten troops, 1 new
first grade troop. 50 new girls registered this year. On line
re-registration was cumbersome. There is a delay in notification of about
a week from the time a new girl registers on line to when Barbara receives the
information.
Ruth: Daffodil planting party Saturday, Oct. 26 9-11am
at North Parish Park. Bring a shovel and work gloves and dress
appropriately. Rain on Shine. All girls in attendance will receive
a community service patch. Please email: ruthekennedy@gmail.com with a number
of girls to ensure we have enough patches.
Debbie: Corn maze at Marini Farm, Ipswich wrap up:
Older girl corn maze had 15 girls attend. Beautiful weather made
for a nice night.
Troop Directory: please check your troop information
for accuracy.
Encampment: Town Wide at Camp Cedar Hill, Waltham.
Date in May or June. Friday/Saturday. Check out Sunday.
Looking at either weekend of May 16/17 or June 13/14. June 15 is
Father's Day, but the girls would be home early Sunday morning. June
13/14 is the preferred weekend. If you know of an important conflict on
either of those weekends, please let the Service Unit know as soon as possible.
The window for making a spring reservation opens in November, so a
decision on the weekend date will need to be made soon.
New leaders will need to be either "camping
certified" or "lodge camping certified". Debbie will look
into organizing a local camping training through GSEM.
"Mitten" Project: Christmas project through
Christian Community Services. The "mitten" lists the number and
ages of children from a local family. Girl Scouts provides toiletry and
household products for these families. Troops are asked to
"adopt" a family and provide necessary items as a service project.
A list of suggested items is provided at the time the mittens are
available. More information on this subject will be at the November
Leaders' Meeting.
Fall Product Sale: ongoing. Open until Oct. 27.
A more detailed email on Fall Sale will be sent in a few days to those
troops participating.
Cookie Update: Early cookie training is Nov. 9 at
9:30am and Nov. 13 at 9:30am and 6:30pm in North Andover. Cookie Rally
Dec. 7 in Waltham.
Juliette Lowe's Birthday is Oct. 31. Wishing the
Founder of Girl Scouts a Very Happy Birthday!
Trivia with Kristin: Kristin led us in a round of Girl
Scout Trivia. We all learned something new about Girl Scouting.
Thank you, Krisitin!
Meeting adjourned: 8:25
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Father-Daughter Square Dance Nov. 23
Back by popular demand!
This is a Daisy, Brownie & Junior event.
Deadline for money and forms is the Nov. 20th leader meeting. Please see flyer here.
Math Moves U!
A GSEM Junior & Cadette Activity
November 17 from 9:30 - 4:00 at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, $20/person
Come have fun with activities to introduce you to the Science and Engineering fields .
Whether attending this event again or for the first time, you will experience all new activities. Join us for a day filled with hands-on learning that introduces you to engineering and science fields. Real professionals, including women engineers from Raytheon and college professors from Middlesex Community College, will unlock the mysteries of numbers and show you how engineering can find solutions to everyday problems. Cadettes will have a separate track focused on robotic technology. A special patch and lunch are included. Space and transportation are limited so register today!
The link below takes you to the Cadette registration form:
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Daffodil Planting Party!
Attention all North Reading Girl Scouts. Your green thumbs are
needed on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 9-11am at North Parish Park on Rt.
62/Park Street. This small park is between Chestnut and Central Streets
on Rt. 62. Bring a pair of work gloves and a shovel and we will plant
yellow daffodil bulbs to beautify the park for spring!
This SERVICE PROJECT is open to all Girl Scouts.
Daisy, Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts need to bring a responsible adult
(due to the close proximity of the parking lot and street). And per GS
Safety-Wise guidelines, Cadettes and up need to have two unrelated
adults for every 25 girls.
All girls in attendance will receive a Community Service Patch, which they can proudly display on the back of their uniforms.
This event is Rain or Shine! Dress accordingly. And please RSVP to: ruthekennedy@gmail.com so the proper number of patches can be purchased. See you then!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Local Letterboxing Activity! Fun for All Ages!
Recently Carly Sponza, a local North Reading Girl Scout, finished her Silver Award and would like to share it with the Girl Scout community. Click here for a letter from Carly explaining her letterboxing Silver Award project.
The Trick and Treat Parade at Wingate Nursing Home
Everyone is invited to attend the 12th annual "The Trick and Treat Parade"! It is held at Wingate Nursing Home
(Next to Home Goods) in Reading. Children of all ages are welcome and it
is a great event for Brownie and Daisy!
Place: Wingate Nursing Home
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2013
Time: 4PM- 5PM (approximately)
We meet in the front entrance/lobby of Wingate. The children come dressed
in their Halloween costumes. I ask that each child brings a home-made card or colored picture with them. They can sign their
first name only, if they'd like, but don't have to. The cards and
pictures are distributed to the residents. They hang them and put them
on tables in the dining commons, too. We
walk through the halls and the residents, that are able, sit at their doors
and hand out candy to the trick-n-treaters. It takes approximately
45 min. to 1 hour. It really is a great time and the residents love
seeing the children!
I ask that you please pass on this info to family, friends or troops that may
be interested. I ask to get a count of the # of children that are coming
so we have enough treats for everyone! Please let me know via e-mail lferrazzani@verizon.net or
feel free to call me at (978) 276-1369 with any questions!
Thank you,
Lynn Ferrazzani
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