News
What's
New
Reminders
Opportunities
Troop News
- Girls from Troop 11163 (Britta M., Michelle R.,
Nicole H., Chelsea K. and Kirsten B. of Plymouth) all earned their Girl
Scout Gold Awards and were honored at a ceremony August 7, 2008, at the
community room at Lunds in Plymouth. Read more about their accomplishments!
- Be sure to visit Brownie Troop 12771's Web site!
Does your troop have a Web site? Contact us to link your troop's Web
site on our Troops page.
Don't have a Web site but would like to
create one? Refer to our council's Guide to Creating Troop/Group Web Sites.
- Troop finance reports (2008 Troop Finance
Report and Troop Bank Account Record) are availabe here!
Each troop must complete the "2008 Troop Finance
Report" and turn in 2 copies, along
with a copy of your May (or latest) bank statement, to Kris P. or Norma
P. If your troop has not already changed
the name and troop
number on your troop bank account, you need to complete the
“Troop Bank Account Record” and hand it in to Kris
P. or Norma P. The IRS is adamant
that all
troops turn in a finance report ON
TIME and that the council has a record of each troop's
bank account on
file in order to keep our non-profit status. Please help us
by getting
your Troop Bank Account Record and Troop Finance Report in on time.
- Spring Registration Packets are due (with
signed registration forms and ONE troop check) to
Kris P. If you have not picked up your packet, please contact Kris P.
to have your packet put in the cooler for
pick-up. The packets are not left in
the troop files after the meeting as they are pre-printed with
girl/adult names, addresses, etc.
The forms are back to a 3-part form
this year – your troop copy is the middle copy of both the
girl and adult registration form. Membership fee is $10 again this
year, and cookies credits may be used as payment (3 cookie credits plus
$1.00, or 4 cookie credits … sorry, no change). There are
also new health history forms in your packets that need to be filled
out and kept with your troop files. These are now an annual form and
only require a date for the last tetanus shot/booster, not all
immunization dates.
Keep in mind that spring registration is an easy way to beat the rush
in the fall
with all of the school paperwork that needs to be filled out and allows
you
to get started right away in the fall!
- GSUSA will be publishing a new version of Safety-Wise
in the Spring of 2009
that will be available online. In the
meantime, GSUSA has provided updates
to Safety Wise that will be effective
October 1, 2008. Use
these updates with the existing Safety
Wise (11th printing or above). Please make a copy of these
changes, and put it in your troop's copy of Safety-Wise.
- Updated Gold Award Packets are now
available for those who are starting their Gold Project. Girls who are
already working on their project can continue to use the
packet/guidelines they are currently using.
- Juliette Low Bracelet Kits are being sold as a
fundraiser by a troop in another service unit. The kits are $6 each and
each bead/charm ties to the Juliette Low story which is included. If
you are interested in purchasing the kit, please contact Julie M..
- You can take your troop to camp without being
Outdoor trained and have the program and food provided by experienced
camp staff. To find out more about Troop Camp, visit the River
Valleys Web site.
Also, a twist on Troop Camp...troops can attend WITHOUT their
leaders! This is a pilot program being held August 4-6
at Camp
Greendwood. Again, to get additional information visit the River
Valleys Web site, or call the Brooklyn Center Service Center
at 763-535-4602 with questions.
- Get ready for Camp Spookamaga! Camp Spookamaga
is a
Halloween event that take place each year at Camp Lakamaga. It's an
opportunity to celebrate the birthday of Juliet Low, the founder of
Girl Scouts. It's an opportunity for older Girl Scouts to provide
frights and fun for younger scouts. It's an opportunity for older girls
to display their creativity, leadership and organizational skills. It's
an opportunity to meet and work with other girls from all over the
council area. It's an encampment and... It's a Blast! For more
information, check out the flyer
or go the Camp Spookamaga Web site.
- The council has recruited a number of
Talent
Match Volunteers (TMVs) to work with girls in many different
capacities. You can access the Talent Match database online
at
the Brooklyn Center Service Center website.
You can find the User Name and Password here. Please take a minute to go
through
the database to see if there is someone you can utilize in the future
for an event, activity or project your troop will be working
on. Search
for volunteers by subject matter or see all volunteers. If you make
arrangements with a volunteer to help with your troop, please speak or
meet with them first to discuss your needs and review your desired
outcomes with them before they meet with your girls to avoid any
confusion. Please
contact Wendy
W. if
you have questions about the database.
- Beginning this fall, the girls will
begin a new
Leadership Experience program. The new program includes
changes in
age-levels, a new level and new journeys/pathways to help the girls
develop leadership skills. This handout explains the
new age-levels and resources. At this point, we don’t have
all the answers but we will continue to update you as we receive more
information from the council. There will be many meetings on this
topic,
and we welcome questions from you that we can pass on to have answered.
The most significant changes will be adding a year to the Daisy
age-level (K-1) and adding the new Ambassador level for 11th and 12th
grade girls. We are happy to listen to your concerns and answer any
questions we can. The Fall/Winter issue of
the Leader magazine had an article on the leadership journey (pages
4-7) and the first pathway was detailed on pages (8-11).
- Reservation applications are being
taken for
troop overnights at Camp Lockeslea and Camp Elk River (Popp Cabin
& Timber Meade Upstairs) between June 2 and
August 24. Application forms can be
found on your CD in the Council Resource Guide or at our council Web site. A list of
available weekend dates also is available at our council Web site.
Contact the site
registrar
with questions.
- Summer Troop Camp at Camp Greenwood
is back by
popular demand! You will participate in activities lead by camp
counselors, so you don't need to plan a thing - you get to have fun,
too! This is a great way for girls to experience summer camp, meet new
friends, and learn a new skill.
- The adult training sessions
for program
age-level, outdoor, and first aid are posted on the Greater
Minneapolis Council Web page. Please be
sure to
register for
all training sessions to avoid arriving at a training
location and not
have a trainer show up due to low registration numbers! (Note: One
person per troop may register for the first aid training due to the
high demand.)
We also have information on Frequently Asked Questions about being a
Girl Scout First Aider.
The following is also available: Training
Schedule for Basics and Daisy; Training
Schedule for Basics and Brownie; and Training
Schedule for Basics and Juniors .
We will post a schedule for New Leader Orientation sessions when it
becomes available.
- Cadette and Senior troops
that would like to participate in the Adopt-A-Family
program need to contact Diane
R. to sign up.
You
also can find
out what's new at our council!
And be sure to check
out new events!
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- If you have borrowed the small green bridge
and/or a
set of the "standard" size flags from the storage closet, please return
it so other troops have to opportunity to use them for their spring
ceremonies...no questions asked!
- Be sure to browse through our
wonderful
selection of books in our service unit library to
help with your
troop meetings/events. Please return all outstanding materials as soon
as possible as we have other leaders waiting to use them!
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- Are you a saged and experienced Girl
Scout
Leader? Remember all the questions you had your first year? Mentor new
adult Girl Scout leaders through the stages of troop leadership and
girl planning. If you would be willing to help mentor a new
leader/troop and get them off to a great start, please add your name to
the sign-up sheet during our service unit meeting or contact Kris P.
Find out about our council's volunteer opportunities.
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Go to Troop News to read
about
our service unit's troops and to take a peek at Web sites of troops in
our service unit and in other service units!
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