Christmas Party and Other Happenings

Hi all,

Sorry it took me so long to get this updated, I needed to confirm a location and now I am ready to go.

Christmas Caroling
Our troop will be Christmas caroling at the Barnes and Noble Book Fair on December 14 from 10:30-11:00.  The girls were very excited about this opportunity, especially when given the opportunity to suggest which songs they would be singing.  Please let me know ASAP if your daughter will be Christmas Caroling with us.

Christmas Party
In preparation for our caroling, we will be having our Christmas party on Friday December 13 from 6-8:00 p.m. at Riverchase Community Center in the Missouri Room.  Adults and tag-a-longs are welcome.  I only ask that you RSVP how many, so I get enough ice cream.

Events that will take place at the Christmas Party are:

• Ice Cream Party - This has become a tradition for the girls since Kindergarten.  I will bring the ice cream and ask everyone else to bring the toppings.  Please let me know what you would like to bring.  In addition to the toppings, I will need bowls, spoons and drinks. 
• Secret Santa Gift Exchange - Another tradition...at our last meeting the girls exchanged names for our annual homemade gift exchange.  If they have misplaced or don't remember who they drew, I have a list.  The rules for the gift exchange are simple.  The gift must be hand made and nothing may be purchased to make the gift.  It is really fun to see the creative things that the girls come up with.  
• Practice Christmas Carols - The girls made a list of 20+ songs that they would like to sing in the 30 minute time period of Christmas Caroling.  They are ambitious, but I am not going to be the one to tell them something can't be done.  I will have printed words to the Christmas Carols they chose and they can sing their carols.

December Meeting
The 5th grade troop from our school will be attending and running our next few meetings.  They will be helping us complete our Brownie Quest Journey in order to fulfill requirements for a badge they are working towards.  

Girl Scout Meeting Schedule

Changes, changes, changes...seems to be a theme.

Schedule:
I have opted to move the meetings to Mondays after school.  Initially, this was to accommodate those who wanted to participate in Girls on the Run, but selfishly, it allows me to consolidate my girl scout schedule to one night.  Location will be the same. (I am not posting because this is a public blog.)

All meetings will take place from 3:45-5:00 p.m. on the following Mondays:
September 30
October  14 & 28
November 11 & 25
December 9
January 13 & 27
February 10 & 24
March 10 & 24
April 14 & 28

VERY IMPORTANT
If you were not at the parent meeting, I need for you to sign the teacher release note that I will attach as an email.  Please do not return these to teachers, get them to me first! Scan and email or drop it off at my house, but I need them by next Wednesday (9/25).  Please sign the top and bottom copies.
I keep one copy and give one copy with a list of the girl scouts that are in each class to the teachers.  If I don't have a copy of the note, I will not keep your girl at school.  

Drop Off/Pick Up

• You must come inside the building to pick-up your daughter.
• Please send me an email or call me to let me know if your daughter is not attending school or leaving early on the day of a meeting.  I get a little frantic when I have 8-10 kids that I need to be accountable for.
• I need a telephone number where you can be reached during our meetings.  If you were not at the parent meeting, please email that number to me so I can update my list.

Snack Schedule
I do ask that you sign up to bring a snack and attend (or send a representative) at least one meeting. Those of you who have not signed up, please send me your first and second choice ASAP.

Here is the schedule so far:
9/30- Michelle
10/14 - Linda
10/28 - Debbie
11/11 - Nancy
11/25 -
12/9 - (I bring ice cream) Ice cream toppings needed
1/13 -
1/27 -
2/10 -
2/24 -
3/10 -
3/24 -
4/14 -
4/28 -

Simple snacks like Teddy Grahams, Cheese It's, Oreos or pretzels work best.  They do not have to be individually wrapped and you can make them at home.  I have a water pitcher that I fill in the fountain, so drinks are not necessary.

Parent Meeting Information - Registration and Fees

Thank you to all of you that made it on Monday.  This next few blog posts basically recap what we went over at the parent meeting.  Please review the entire update and any that follow.  If you have any questions or issues, the best way to contact me is via email, cell phone or facebook.  My phone will only accept texts from other iPhone users.

Registration
This is the most current list (9/19) of girls that Girl Scouts is showing me as being registered:

1. Rhiannon
2. Ellie A.
3. Penny
4. Elise
5. Amy
6. Katelyn

This is the most current list of adults (9/19) that Girl Scouts is showing me as being registered:

1. Nancy
2. Milli
3. Jessica

Obviously, there were some registration changes this year.  Girl Scouts of Eastern MO is encouraging all families to register online, if possible.  If your family requires financial assistance, you don't have access to a computer or aren't comfortable paying via credit card online, you can still do the paper form.  The additional change is that it is your responsibility to complete and mail in the paper registration to the Girl Scout Council. If you would like the paper forms that you need to submit, please let me know when you would like to come to my house to pick them up.

Any adult that stays in the cafeteria during meetings, drives to field trips, etc. MUST pay the annual $15 registration fee and must submit to a one time background investigation done by the Girl Scouts of Eastern MO .  Adult registration is also done online, but can be done via paper as well.  Just let me know when you want to pick up the forms.

How to register online:

go to http://www.girlscoutsem.org/

click "Program Information and Online Registration Site" and follow prompts

Questions? Contact the Help Desk

Phone 314-400-4600 M-F 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Email: helpdesk@girlscoutsem.org

Fees:

Because you are already paying the $15 annual fee to Girl Scouts out of pocket and the troop is financially stable, the will be no additional dues collected.  

I strongly believe in the girls raising their own money to pay for the things they want to do.  So, we will be participating in Fall Product Sales as well as Cookie Sales.  More information on that to follow.

Showering the Community

On April 13, Girl Scouts will be "Showering the Community" at Walmart stores throughout the area. Troops are needed to handout "raindrops" that list personal care items needed to Walmart customers. Items will be collected at the exit doors of Walmart. Each girl that participates in the Showering the Community event will receive a raindrop patch as a thank you.

Our school district has been assigned to the Arnold Walmart. They are still in need of troops from 2-4 p.m.

I know this is last minute, but if your daughter would like to participate, I was going to try to pull enough girls together to take down there. Let me know if you girl would be interested ASAP.

Thanks so much!

April Showers

Hi all! April Showers is just around the corner. See below for important key information regarding dates and times for bag distribution and pick up.

Bag Distribution:
Friday, April 12 3:45 p. m. at school.
We will meet after school in the commons area. The girls will be paired off and will be assigned to a driver. It goes without saying that we need a lot of adult help with this. Please let me know if you are available to help out with getting the girls into the neighborhoods.

Following the bag drop off, we will meet at the back playground at Fenton City Park for a pizza party. Feel free to stay and have some pizza and let the girls play for a bit. Hopefully the weather will cooperate more than it did last year.

As a final note, I am scheduled for jury duty on Friday. If I am unavailable at any point, Anndee Glick will be handling the coordination until I arrive. A big Thank You to Anndee so that we don't have to interrupt the rest of your weekend with Girl Scout stuff.

Bag Collection
Saturday, April 20 9:45 at school.

We will meet at school before separating and heading back into our assigned subdivision to collect bags. Once bags are collected, we will meet at the Goode Pavilion in George Winter Park. (Same as last year, all the way to the left after entering the park.) The girls will use black markers to mark through bar codes. We are done once that is completed. No later than noon.

Again, we need lots of adult help so please let me know if you can help out.

Also, I will assume that unless I hear differently from you, that your girl will be in attendance at both bag distribution and collection. Please let me know any differently.

Camp Kiwi

You should have all received a "S'more Summer Fun" Girl Scout camp book.

If you didn't here is a link to the book. http://www.girlscoutsem.org/News/Publications/Smore-Summer-Fun.aspx

Anyway, one particular camp that is being promoted is Camp Kiwi. It is a "day camp" (that is actually help in the evening) at Mastadon State Park. I am going to send Amber and Amy, so if anyone else is interested please let me know when you register.

Camp Kiwi

The theme of the camp is: Reality TV Game Shows.

When: June 9-13, 2013

Where: Mastadon State Park

Time: Sunday 4:30-8:30 p.m., M-Th 5:30-8:30

For Whom: Girls entering Kindergarten - current 8th grade

Cost: $42/girl

To register go online at www.girlscoutem.com or refer to "GSEM Smore Summer Fun" publication for registration info (Use Day Camp Application)



Any further questions should be directed to Dana Bieg (camp director) 636-464-3972 or email tdbieg@aol.com

March 12 Meeting will be held offsite

I'd like to start this post by saying a gigantic thank you to Jenn Rose for setting this up!!!

For our March 12 meeting we will be traveling to Z Total Body for a lesson on fitness and even get a little exercise. The girls will get a healthy snack and will also receive a fitness patch.

I will need a few drivers. The girls will meet in the commons areas, just as we so for each meeting. We will plan to arrive at Z Total Body by 4:00. We should be done by 5:00. You can choose to pick you child up by 5:00 at Z Total Body or at 5:15 at school. Please advise me which to expect and if you are available to drive.

The address for Z Total Body is:
932 H Meramec Station Rd

You can check out the website at the following link:
Ztotalbody.net

Remaining Meeting Dates/Snack Reminders

January 15 - Feng Ling
January 29 - Amanda Causey
February 12 - Amanda Causey
February 26 - Kim Dixon
March 12 - Jenn Rose
March 26 - Nancy Abram
April 9 - ???
April 23 - ???
May 7 - ???

April Showers - April 12 and April 20

Please reserve those April Showers dates. They are a Friday after school and a Saturday morning.

If you would like to volunteer to bring snack/stay at any of those meetings that don't have a name, just let me know.

Important Cookie Sales Dates

I wanted to send out a list of the dates in case you misplace the handout that Jessica sent with cookie order forms.

Go Day (start selling) - January 12
Cookie Forms due to Jessica - Saturday, February 1
Pick up cookies from Jessica - March 1-2
Money is collected when you deliver cookies. You are responsible for payment of all cookies ordered. Money is due to Jessica by March 15

If you need Jessica's contact info., let me know.