Meeting notes 11/8/11

We had thirteen girls tonight, which was actually more than I expected, considering there were several conflicting events tonight. We talked about being a sister to other Girl Scouts, and really focused on explaining to the girls that all Girl Scouts follow the laws of the Girl Scout Promise, which makes them all sisters in scouting. We made holiday ornaments & even made some extra to send to a sister troop in California. They are supposed to be sending us a package soon too, which the girls will love! We had a fun game that involved lots of running (everyone should sleep well tonight...). We finished with our Daisy song and practiced our new "Make New Friends" song. Please tell the girls to keep practicing!

I covered several housekeeping items tonight with the parents. Please note the following items:

1. Our next meeting is December 13, from 6-7 in the Truman Primary cafeteria. This will be our holiday party and Investiture. Our returning girls will all receive their 1-year pin & disc and our new girls will receive their blue vest & pins/patches. Everyone will also receive petal patches we have earned this fall. We will probably also do a small craft - just regular Daisy uniforms are fine...not holiday dress-up required! Stacy Bell & Emily Leidner have agreed to coordinate the party side of the meeting - she will be contacting everyone at some point to organize the festivities. THANK YOU STACY & EMILY!!
2. The 12/13 meeting will also conclude the meeting until after the holiday break as well. We will resume regular meetings the second week of January at the usual time/place.
3. I still need to get registration/supplies fees from a couple of people. I will be emailing reminders individually to those on my list. Cash or check is fine - checks can be made out to Troop 3412 if payment is for supplies, and to Girl Scouts of Western OK if for registration.
4. I need to know by the end of the weekend if you are missing any patches. All the girls should have all their petals except light pink, rose, purple and red - these some people have and some don't. If your Daisy is missing another color petal, or if you are missing the rectangular Journey patch with the blue bucket (see the blog for a picture), I need to know so that I can order you another.

I also have a couple of extra books, if anyone has misplaced theirs.

I hope everyone has a safe & happy Thanksgiving holiday & we will look forward to seeing everyone in December!

Misty

Meeting notes - 10/25/11

This meeting focused on backyard ecosystems & engangered species. We talked a lot about what an ecosystem was and how each part of the ecosystem was important. We also discussed how when an ecosystem isn't working correctly how it can cause a species of plant, animal or insect to become endangered or even extinct. The girls did really well understanding these complicated concepts and participating in the discussions! We also made bird feeders to hang in our yards to help our own backyard ecosystems.

If anyone still needs a t-shirt or book, please let me know. I have one Daisy shirt to make this week already, so let me know if you need one as well. I also still have a couple of the Journey books, which you can read together at home when we are not using them at the meeting.

Hope to see everyone next week!
Misty

Girl Scout Bash!

What a great event! We had seven Daisies in attendance and we had a blast! We even sang our Daisy song for the other Girl Scouts. I was so proud of our girls!!

Informational updates

The pumpkin patch today was great fun! We were glad to see a couple of Daisy friends.

Don't forget about the Juliette Gordon Low All Truman Troop Birthday Bash in the Primary cafeteria on Wednesday, October 19th, from 6:30 to 7:30. Abby & I are going, as are several other Daisy friends. Hope you can attend!

Sorry for the confusion recently about the upcoming meeting schedule. With my school schedule & Niki getting ready to be out of town, we've been having issues! The final decision: we will have a regular meeting on 10/25 and on 11/8 as normal. There will be no meeting 11/22, which is the week of Thanksgiving. The next meeting is tentatively 12/13, but we will confirm that as it gets closer.

We have decided to put off Investiture till December or January (possibly during the holiday party??). We want to make sure most of the girls can be there for the celebration, and through November is just nuts for everyone.

Everyone is now registered & most people have paid their supplies fees. I have a few more items to order, so if you have lost a patch or pin or book, please let me know ASAP so I can add it to my order.

FYI, we have been discussing the importance of the buddy system in our meetings, in preparation to start going on more field trips with the girls. If you can continue to stress the importance of staying with their buddy at meetings and checking in with a leader before leaving the group, we would really appreciate it!

Looking forward to seeing Daisy friends this week!
Thanks!
Misty

Meeting 9/27/11

Our first regular meeting of the year went well! We welcomed 5 new friends, and reviewed the Promise & Song. We also discussed and created our new Kaper Chart to use this year during meetings.

Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday, 10/11/11 from 6-7pm at the Primary cafeteria. We hope to see you all there!

Thanks!
Misty

Information for our first meeting

Apparently I've told about half of the moms the wrong date for our first meeting! The meeting is actually 9/13 from 6-7pm at the Primary cafeteria. Somehow I'd gotten it in my head that our meeting was next week & was at the same time at the Truman Elementary Parents' meetings - NOT TRUE! Please come for a short meeting on 9/13 after the first grade Parents' meeting at Truman Primary and we will get everyone's paperwork filled out, dues paid, and have a brief parents' meeting (we need lots of help this year - there are plenty of small things to do that will make a big difference!). We will have a craft for the girls to do, and we will review the Girl Scout Promise & song with the girls to get them back in the groove.

I have had a couple of moms ask me about new t-shirts for the girls uniforms this year - any opinions? I'm fine with the ones we have or getting new ones, whatever the group decides. We will discuss in more detail at the meeting on 9/13. The Girl Scout store has a couple of cute ones at $18-25 each. I also thought this one on Etsy was cute - long-sleeved is $12 and short-sleeved are $10: http://www.etsy.com/listing/55850795/personalized-girl-scout-daisy-t-shirt. Also, we could plan a craft with this shirt & let the girls color it themselves: http://www.colortime.com/c9/GS-Daisy-T-Shirt-p211.html.

If you aren't going to make the meeting on 9/13, please contact me - we have to have all registrations in by the end of September or the unregistered girls won't be covered by the liability insurance. Don't forget that each girl has at least $15 of "cookie dough" that they can use in the Girl Scout store or towards their registrations. I will have the cookie dough cards with me at the meeting.

Helpful links:
The troop facebook page (this is a closed group, so send me a request to join if you want access): https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/266239830069624/
Online membership renewal: https://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/Home/tabid/166/Default.aspx?pid=43

First meeting update

We were originally planning to have our first meeting on Sept 13 from 6-7pm, but last night I learned that the 1st grade parents meeting is going to be from 6-630 that same night.

Instead of having a full meeting on 9/13, I want to have a brief parent's meeting from 6:30-7 (possibly shorter!) instead - I'll have a coloring page for the girls & we can get registration forms filled out & discuss the year.

Our first full meeting will be on Sept 27, 6-7pm. We have secured the Truman Primary cafeteria again, so meetings will be held at the same location as last year.

See you then!

Swim party a huge success!

Thanks so much to the Boswell's for hosting the Daisy swim party yesterday (and thanks to Stacy for the tasty shakes)! The girls had a wonderful time playing together & us moms got time to chat! We didn't really ever get around to a parents meeting, other than briefly discussing registration procedures & deadlines. We'll go over everything in September.

A couple of people are having trouble viewing the blog, so I have also started a closed Facebook group as another source of information. Only the members of the group can see the group's info, and group members cannot see each other's information unless they are "friends". Please search on Facebook for the "Troop 3412" group & ask to join if you would like access.

The link for online registration is here if you are paying by credit card. You can also cut & paste the following to your browser: https://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/Home/tabid/166/Default.aspx?pid=43. I have paper registration forms to fill out at the first meeting in September, if you would rather pay by cash/check or cookie dough incentives (if you haven't received yours yet, I have it).

Don't forget, our first meeting is the second Tuesday in September (9/13) from 6-7pm in the Truman Primary Cafeteria.

See you in September!
Misty

Registration information

The link for online registration is here. You can also cut & paste the following to your browser: https://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/Home/tabid/166/Default.aspx?pid=43.

I will have paper forms with me on Saturday as well. If you do renew online, please let me know!

Thanks,
Misty

ZooSnooze overnight

What a blast! The girls got to hear about local nocturnal animals & even pet a couple of them. Then we took a walk through the zoo after dark with our guide, Rachelle. We saw many animals that aren't as visible during the day visits. We stayed up REALLY late, and then took a morning zoo walk to visit the OKC Trails exhibit before packing up the party. Thanks to the 2nd grade Brownie troop for the invite!

Our next activity is the pool party at the Boswells on 8/13. Hope everyone can come! I'd like a chance to have a brief parents meeting sometime at the party to plan the upcoming year, hand out cookie dough & discuss a good meeting day/time for fall. I will also have registration forms and information.

Thanks!
Misty