Grand Opening Mann Orchard RIverside Farm

Mann Orchard recently bought a new farm in Methuen called Mann Orchard Riverside Farm. They are going to have a corn maze, hayrides, a petting zoo and a midway.  Their grand opening is September 9th from 10-6. You can find their website here.

New Service Unit 2017-2018

The Service Unit is always listed on the side page of the blog but since we have some openings we wanted to advertise for anyone who has an interest in helping out.  Below is the list of Service Unit members. If you are interested in a position, please contact Debbie Nearing.  The OPEN positions can be shared by more than one volunteer.  The Service Team meets once a month and we try to attend the monthly Leader meetings.  All Volunteers must be registered and complete a CORI/SORI.

S.U. COORDINATOR:  Debbie Nearing   bcednearing@comcast.net

                                                                                     

S.U. TREASURER:   Amy Kelly   kellys@majekelly.com

S.U. MEMBERSHIP PROMOTOR:  OPEN

S.U. SECRETARIES:         

            CORRESPONDING:   Debbie Nearing   bcednearing@comcast.net

            RECORDING:   OPEN – alternating volunteers can take monthly minutes at meetings

SCHOOL COORDINATORS:                                           

            Batch Elementary School   OPEN – volunteer to be contact person for the Batch School

            Hood Elementary School    Joanne Gibson   joanneg@gmail.com

            Little Elementary School    OPEN

NRGS BLOG MANAGER:  Melissa Audier   audier@verizon.net

S.U. COOKIE MANAGER:  Joanne Gibson   joanneg@gmail.com

S.U. FALL PRODUCT PROGRAM MENTOR: Anne Valade avalade@baystatedisposal.com

S.U. TROOP PATHWAY ORIENTATION PROVIDER:  OPEN - training new volunteers

S.U. EVENT COORDINATOR:   OPEN

S.U. ADULT RECOGNITIONS ORGANIZER:  Debbie Nearing   bcednearing@comcast.net

S.U. ENCAMPMENT DIRECTORS:  Debbie Nearing, Kerstin March, Anne Valade  

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR:  OPEN – volunteer to send articles to the Transcript, etc.

FOUNDER AWARD COMMITTEE:  Debbie Nearing, Sue Kirby, Kim Lambert-Serna,

       Helen Munroe, Alycia McGoldrick

S.U. CORI COORDINATORS:  Debbie Nearing, Joanne Gibson

Encampment Updates

Letter from Debbie Nearing, encampment director:

As an overnight camper, you should have received the following forms in your troop packet for Encampment:

Medical/permission form for NRGS on yellow paper  here – one for each girl in your troop

Standard camping equipment list on blue paper here

Individual packing list for overnight campers on pink paper here

Need to Know form on lilac paper here  – this form has been revised since the packet was released

Encampment attendance sheet on ivory paper here

Camp Runels map on white paper here

Please email the attached Individual Packing List, Need to Know form, and Camp Runels map to each of your parents who have a girl attending Encampment ASAP so they can start putting together camp items for their daughter.  If you have other adults attending as first aiders or who will be staying overnight as adults in charge, please send them this email.

You will need to give each girl/parent the yellow medical/permission form to complete (you should have one for each girl signed up to attend). The parent or you should make a copy and keep the copy and the yellow form will need to be passed in at check-in the day of the Encampment.  You may need to have a meeting before Encampment to hand these out.

You will also need to complete the ivory form as the troop Leader. 

Give the ivory attendance form to one of the parents if you are not attending as it must be turned in at check-in so please do not complete it until the day before.  The attendance (ivory form) sheet should list EVERYONE who will be attending for any length of time.  If you find that a girl is coming late or leaving early, I still need them on the form and also let me know that with a notation next to to their name.  All parents and Leaders should also be on the attendance sheet if they are attending and/or staying for more than drop off.  This is so in case of an emergency, we know who is at camp at all times.  I will also need to make sure if a parent is attending that they are Coried and Cori’s now take at least 3 weeks to get authorized by GSEM.  Keep this in mind.

The blue standard troop camping sheet is the packing list basically for your troop.  This is just an idea of what to bring.  You may bring more or less.  It is acceptable to forego the “Girl Scout Way” and use paper but you must carry it out of your site and dispose of it properly.

You should also have a first aid kit with your troop gear.  Please make sure that the first aid kit has some of the items like tylenol, tums, benadryl which are included on the yellow medical/permission form.  We may have a Camp Nurse this year on site but for the day on Saturday only, so you need to rely on your First Aider if staying overnight.  We will have plenty of First Aiders on hand should you need help with any emergency at camp. 

I’m attaching a blank CORI request form here.  If you have any parents coming for the day or overnight or they are staying for more than drop off, I need them to complete a CORI and come to me in person with a copy of their driver’s license to get it authorized so I can send it off to GSEM before Encampment.  They can also bring it to the GSEM office on 143 Abbott Street in Andover for faster processing.  The process takes a few weeks so please let me know ASAP.  Also, if you are expiring before the end of the year, please complete a new CORI/SORI.

Remember that as a troop you will need to help the girls make at least 10 swaps for the GS swapping event if they want to participate in the in the SWAPs exchange.  It’s a lot of fun.  You can get ideas from Pinterest, www.makingfriends.com or www.swaps4less.com.  You should try to get together with the girls over the summer or you can make them Friday night if you are staying over at camp. 

Girls will also need some sort of bandana or hat.  They don’t have to match in color but should be similar in design or some way to show that they are together as a troop so you can identify them easier in a crowd of girls.

If you have any questions about any of these forms, please email me.  If you are available and want to attend our Encampment Committee meeting, our first meeting will be Tuesday, July 11th at 7:30 p.m.  The location is to be announced as we are still waiting to hear from the Library.  If you are interested, please email me back at bcednearing@comcast.net.

Thank you so much.

Debbie Nearing, Encampment Director

North Reading Girl Scout Service Unit

Congratulations to our Older Girl Troops

• Congratulations to our older girl troops who bridged and flew up to a new level of Girl Scouts last Wednesday evening and congratulations again to our 11 graduating senior Ambassador Girl Scouts who flew up to adults. 
• Congratulations to Amy Kelly and Jodi Sponzo who received the “Soaring through the Ranks” award which is for leading a troop from Daisy to Ambassadors.  This is the first time we have presented this award since it’s inception in 2010. 
• Also, congratulations to Claire Bailey, Jessica Kelly and Ashley DeSousa for completing their take action projects and being presented with their Gold Award pin and certificates by a Council Representative from GSEM
• Congratulations to Jessica Kelly for receiving the 2017 NRGS Founder Award Scholarship. 
• Finally, congratulations to three volunteers who were awarded the Volunteer of Excellence pin for going above and beyond their troop service: Amber O’Driscoll, Jennifer Vant, and Amy Kelly and to Melissa Audier who received the Council Appreciation Pin recently at the annual GSEM awards luncheon.
  
  
•  Found after Fly Up: a bridging patch, a pair of purple sunglasses and a Sports Fun day patch.  You can claim them Wednesday night at our Leader/Encampment meeting

  If you Fly Up to a new level this year, you will need to take the next level Essentials .  Trainings are online all summer into September. You can also find Girl Scout Reference Books including Journeys for each level in the children’s room in the Flint Memorial Library.  These are for reference only and are to be kept in the Library.
  

  
  

Little Free Library

The little free library is a community book exchange project where people are encouraged to "take a book, leave a book".  Brownie Troop 69175 and Daisy Troop 62548 created a Little Free Library right here in North Reading.  Landrey Fagan (one of the Daisy parents) donated the book box and both troops painted tiles with an outdoor theme at Look What I Made. These tiles were used to decorate the sides of the library. The library can be found on the porch of Ryer's General Store. Info on little free libraries can be found at littlefreelibrary.org.

Go check out the library and bring a book along to donate, it can be for children or adults.

 

 

Congratulations Graduating Seniors!!

Congratulations to our graduating Senior Ambassador Girl Scouts:

Ariana Romeo, Ashley DeSousa, Brooke Sponzo, Carly Sponzo, Claire Bailey, Emily Humphreys, Jessica Kelly, Joanna Keaton, Julia Kushakji, Kimberly Bockley, and Nicole Shedd. 

 

Also congratulations to our first grade Daisy troops who flew up last week and became Brownies and to the following Volunteer Troop Leaders of less than 2 years who received the GSEM Green and Growing Award Pin at the Daisy Fly Up Ceremony for going above and beyond service at their troop level by helping to coordinate and participate in one of our NRGS Service Unit events: the International World Thinking Day Event, The Caroling Event and the Father Daughter Fun Sports Day Event--

Jessica Blanchette, Kerri Antonuccio, Karianne Bekier, Michelle Gerokoulis, and Denise Kung who also took minutes at the Leader meetings on occasion.