The Plan for 2015-2016

At the end of the 2014-2015 school year, the girls in our troop participated in Early Bird Registration.  I was really excited that all of our girls wanted to return for another year of Girl Scouts--our sixth year together!  We also welcomed two new girls into our blended troop, giving us six Juniors and five Brownies this year. 

As usual, we took a break from troop meetings and activities over the summer.  Three of the girls from our troop attended a Girl Scout Summer Resident Camp together.  Despite some strong storms, it sounds like they had a blast during their week at camp!

As families geared up for the return to school, I touched base with troop members.  I learned a lot had changed for some of our girls between June and August.  One family moved to a nearby town, another girl was losing interest in Girl Scouts, and many of the girls planned to participate in other extracurricular activities which placed a greater demand on their time.  Some changes needed to be made to retain our membership.  Instead of meeting twice a month as we have in the past, we are going to have one activity a month this year.  Most of these activities are going to be outings or events.  After sharing this new plan with the families, they all agreed to continue.  I'm so happy we will not be losing any of our girls this year.  

Here is a snapshot of our calendar:

• Bake Sale at our school's Open House
• S'mores Fest
• Tour at Neusole Glassworks
• Home Scientist and Inventor Badge programs for the Brownies at Drake Planetarium
• Drawing Badge for the Juniors with Young Rembrandts
• Family Story Badge and Art Show
• Service Project:  Make cards and fill mason jars with candy and paper flowers for Veterans and their families at the Fisher House
• Gardener Badge for Juniors at Civic Garden Center
• Geology Program at the Cincinnati Nature Center
• Service Project:  Plant garden at Fisher House
• Bridging Ceremony 

My blog posts will consist of reviews of the programs and events we attend this year.  I think we're going to have a lot of fun!  Hope you check back with us soon.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Recruitment Meeting, registration paperwork, fees, dues, Parent Meeting, meetings...aaahh!  Maybe you volunteered to be a troop leader, or maybe someone strongly persuaded you and you reluctantly accepted the position.   In any case, take a deep breath.  Consider one task at a time as you prepare for your first meeting.  In this post I will share how we successfully conducted troop business.

RECRUITMENT MEETING:  See my previous post.  

REGISTRATION PAPERWORK:  When our girls were in Kindergarten, the parents were asked to complete the required paperwork at the recruitment meeting.  In the spring of their Kindergarten year, the girls re-registered for the upcoming school year.  If 50% of your troop re-registers by June 30th (along with a leader), our Council offers a 15% Off Discount Coupon to use at the Council Shop along with an Early Bird Patch for these individuals.  If your troop takes advantage of these Early Bird Incentives and you participate in the fall product sale, you benefit from increased cookie sale profit.  The funds in our troop bank account were boosted this year because we took advantage of these incentives.  I should also mention that On-Time Registration ends September 1st for those girls interested in re-registering.  Some girls are uncertain about continuing with Girl Scouts.  As leaders (and parents) we should support them and give them time to make a decision on their own.  Last year we had a girl re-register in early November.  No worries.  Really.

FEES:  Registration is $12.  We ask that at least one adult register with each girl.  This person can be a parent or guardian, grandparent, aunt or uncle, or close family friend.  Any person chaperoning a meeting or transporting girls to special activities or events must be a registered Girl Scout.

DUES:  We decided to collect $18 at the beginning of each year.  To be honest, this figure was agreed upon simply because $18 dues + $12 registration equals a nice even $30.  Our first year we informed the families that they would have some out-of-pocket expenses during the year.  Our second year, thanks to cookie sale profit, our troop was completely self-sufficient.  After the initial $30 for registration and troop dues, the families had no additional expenses related to participation in the troop.  The girls and their parents did not have to remember to bring dues to each meeting, and we did not have to worry about collecting any dues after the initial meeting.  

Please note that the budget created for our troop is based on the standard of living in the Midwest.  The cost for a troop to go roller skating in Cincinnati may vary from the cost to do the same activity in other parts of the country.
  
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:  Please see this link for more information.

HEALTH FORMS (or Emergency Medical Forms, as I like to call them):  Do NOT fail to have a completed and signed health form for each girl in your troop.  You may also consider having them for all leaders and adult chaperones too.  You never know when something might happen.  When I was a student athletic trainer, I spent my sophomore year of college traveling with a Division I men's soccer team.  There was ONE athlete on the team who repeatedly failed to turn over his medical form, but he continually promised to have it.  When we were boarding the bus to leave for the first game of the season, he still could not produce the form.  He assured me that his entire family would be in attendance because the game was being played near his hometown.  Wouldn't you know not five minutes after he set foot on that field, he was kicked in the shin.  He fractured his tibia.  I summoned his parents from the stands after the Certified Athletic Trainer for the home team helped me splint the broken leg. (This was my first unsupervised road trip as a student athletic trainer).  His parents accompanied him to the hospital.  He was a sweet guy--as they wheeled him away, he took one look at my frazzled expression  and apologized.  Needless to say, I learned my lesson.  I carry these forms in a binder in my backpack to every Girl Scout function.

PARENT LETTER:  At the recruitment meeting, I distributed a letter to all who registered with our troop.  I used this opportunity to touch base with everyone.  We did not have a separate parent meeting.  I included leader contact information and then typed the following:

“'Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.'  (Girl Scouts Mission Statement).  There are troops for girls of every age.  Daisy Girl Scouts spend time in Kindergarten and first grade learning the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.  Our meetings and outings have been designed to help the girls earn daisy petal patches for her uniform.  The blue center of the daisy set represents the Girl Scout Promise while each petal represents one part of the Girl Scout Law.  The girls will earn the blue center and five of the ten petals this first year.  They will have the opportunity to make decisions for the troop and even sell cookies."

I then provided details about our meeting times and location.  I explained our dues and requested parental involvement for the cookie sale and outside events.  A tentative schedule for the year was also included in this letter.

MEETINGS:  We meet every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (with a few exceptions).  The girls arrive at 4:15pm, and the meeting ends at 5:30pm.  Here is a sample schedule:

4:15pm  Arrive.  Assign kapers and buddies.
4:30pm  Girl Scout Promise, Pledge of Allegiance, Sharing Time (the girls answer a question that has to deal with a previous meeting/outing or something related to the present day's activity).
4:45pm  Song, Game, Craft, Lesson (or any combination of the four)
5:25pm  Closing 

SHUTTERFLY SHARE SITE:  Make your job a little easier by creating a troop website (or recruit a parent to manage the site for you).

"With Shutterfly Share sites, you can create a free photo-sharing website in minutes. Use your Share site to privately (or publicly) share photos with friends and family...or any group. As with any Shutterfly product, you can customize your website with exclusive designs and layouts specific to your tastes. With your new Share site, you are not limited to just sharing photos; share messages and updates, add videos, calendars, polls, team rosters, forums and more."

 I will be leading my younger daughter's Daisy troop in the fall.  The other leader and I decided to structure their troop business similarly.  Don't fix it if it is not broken, right?  Thanks for reading.

Rally the Troop: A Note on Recruitment

Before I rush to outline our petal activities and service projects as I promised in previous posts, I should describe how we went about inviting girls to join the troop.

There is a woman who serves as a troop leader for older girls who attend our elementary school.  She also volunteers as a Recruitment Coordinator for our school.  Her responsibilities include but are not limited to:  marketing Girl Scouts to the female student body, planning and running a recruitment meeting in the fall (and possibly again in the spring), securing leaders for a troop at each grade level, and assisting interested girls in finding a troop to join.  She worked with our Girl Scout Council in the first few weeks of the school year.  A couple of weeks prior to the recruitment meeting date, each female student in the school was given a flyer to take home.  Detailed information about the meeting was printed on the flyers.  Council provided paper bracelets that listed the date and time of our school-wide Recruitment Meeting.  The Recruitment Coordinator's contact information was also included for those individuals unable to attend the meeting and for people interested in addressing questions and concerns prior to the meeting.  She and I met at school during lunch the day of the meeting.  We secured the bracelets on the wrists of girls interested in learning more about Girl Scouts.  The bracelets served as a reminder to families interested in attending the meeting.   

The Girl Scout year begins on October 1st.  The recruitment meeting was scheduled on a weekday evening in late September.  We convened in the elementary school multipurpose room.  While parents met with leaders and filled out registration paperwork, members of the older troops in our school took aside younger prospective Scouts and taught them different Girl Scout songs.  The girls also enjoyed coloring together while discussing what to expect once they join a Girl Scout troop.

In the spring of our first year, we had the opportunity to re-register our troop.  Early Bird registration allows leaders to re-register their current troops for the upcoming Girl Scout year.  We always ask that one adult register with the child.  This person can be a parent or guardian, a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or even a neighbor.  On occasion, this adult may be asked to transport girls or chaperone a special event, and he or she must be a member of Girl Scouts.  As incentive to participate in the Early Bird registration, our Council offers each troop a 15% coupon to use in the Council Shop.  Any girl who re-registered for the 2011-2012 year received a limited edition 100th Anniversary patch from our Council that was only available to those who took advantage of Early Bird registration.   

As the summer progressed, we were fortunate to be contacted by several families expressing interest in joining our troop.  Our Service Unit was invited to a S'mores Fest registration event in late September at a nearby camp.  The event was free.  Participating troops were asked to provide their own dinners and s'mores ingredients.  Upon arrival, leaders were asked to turn in the $12 membership fee with each registration form.  Then we were led on a hike through the camp to see the different lodges and tents we could one day reserve for a camping trip. Members of older troops planned games and built a fire for the younger girls attending the event.  Fun was had by all!

Please feel free to share any of your recruitment meeting and registration event ideas with us.  Thank you for reading!