Girl Scouts Leadership Experience
Girl Scouting has always been about leadership. In the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience, the focus of Girl Scout activities is to discover, connect and take action. The short-term outcomes are to have the girls gain specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors and values in Girl Scouting. The long-term outcome is for the girls to lead with courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place. It is our goal as Girl Scout Leaders, to help our girls achieve these outcomes.
Meetings:
Starting November 15, 2011 our troop meetings will be held every two weeks on Tuesday from 5:15 pm to 6:30 pm at Watkins Recreation Center located at 420 12th Street SE Washington, DC 20003. We do not meet on school holidays or if schools close due to inclement weather. We will start each meeting promptly at 5:15 with snack and to give the girls some time to adjust after a day at school, we will begin our meeting at 5:30 pm by saying the Girl Scout Promise and Law. During the meetings, we will have fun working on the Daisy/Junior Quest, try-its, playing games, making crafts, singing songs, and working on service projects. We will have a snack at each meeting which parents will provide on a rotating basis. All the girls will have kapers (jobs) each week during our meetings, which we will keep track of on our Kaper Chart. The Daisy's/Junior's will keep journals, learn about the world around them, and build friendships. .
Activities:
We are excited about the many activities our troop will do this year. Each month we will plan a field trip related to something about which we are learning or to perform a community service project in addition to our regularly scheduled meetings. The field trips will be to local places of interest. For these event parents will need to provide transportation for their child to and from the field trip location. Also some field trips will incur an additional cost outside of the fees paid for dues for special events such as the Cookie College, DC Stepshowcase and Science Expo etc (not an inclusive list). Some field trips may also include hiking, a visit to the post office, working at the local food bank, entertaining residents of a local retirement home etc.
Try-It On Your Own – The girls are always welcome and encouraged to complete the requirements for Try-It badges outside of our girl scout meetings. Use the Try-It-On-Your-Own form to report the information back to us, and we will get the try-it badge for your daughter. WE WILL LIMIT BADGES AWARDED TO 5 PER YEAR FOR TRY-ITS DONE OUTSIDE OF OUR MEETINGS.
Dues:
At the beginning of the year (or your first meeting), we will collect $40 from each girl. Weekly dues of $.25 will also be collected at each meeting. The dues provide the troop with funds for supplies, field trips, try-it badges, and other items needed throughout the year. Checks for the initial dues should be made payable to Troop 1782, and should be turned in with all necessary forms at the first meeting.
Folders:
At each meeting, we will have a folder for each troop member in a file box. Please check your daughter's folder at the end of each meeting. The folder will frequently contain items like newsletters, permission slips, and other important and timely information. You can turn in permission forms and leave notes for leaders in the Leader folders, which will be in the same file box as the troop member folders.
Website:
For the latest information on the activities of Troop 1782, please visit our web site at http://girlscoutstroop1782.weebly.com. The site has useful features like a calendar of events and a photo gallery. The calendar contains information on all official troop meetings and activities, plus many other regional scout activities that you are welcome to do on your own. Suggestions and comments on the troop site are always welcome!
Uniform/Handbooks
Girl Scouts are not required to wear uniforms, but we encourage all the girls in our troop to purchase a Daisy or Junior tunic (Daisy only), vest or sash and to wear it to all of our meetings and activities. When purchasing a vest, be sure to buy a size large enough to fit your daughter for two years. You will need to purchase the following patches for the vest: Flag, Troop Numbers (1782), the "Girl Scout USA" strip, the Girl Scout council strip and Daisy or Junior insignia tab. All other patches and pins will be purchased by the troop and awarded at special ceremonies through out the year. We also strongly recommend purchasing a copy of the Daisy or Junior Journey Handbook (we will let you know which of the three books to purchase) and the Daisy or Junior The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting Handbook because each book contains the history, policies/requirements for badges,record log of your years as a scout in a unique and personalized keepsake type book. These items can be purchased at 4301 Connecticut Avenue Washington, DC.