October Newsletter
This month in Girl Scout history:
1915: National membership dues of 25 cents a year are instituted.
1917: The Rally, a monthly magazine for Girl scouts and their leaders begins publication. Edith G. Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, becomes the first Honorary President of Girl Scouts, setting a precedent for succeeding wives of American Presidents.
1927: The Juliette Low Memorial Fund is created to be "dedicated forever to good will and cooperation among the nations of the world".
1978: The redesigned Girl Scout logo, symbolizing the diversity of Girl Scouting and its focus on girls, is officially launched. The presentation marks the kickoff of a three-year campaign to acquaint the public with the contemporary identity of Girl Scouting.
SWAPS
At the August Leader meeting, many leaders shared their SWAPS ideas. Lee Kline brought in Rainbow SWAP instructions and supplies. For all of you who took part in this activity, we encourage you to bring in your rainbows to share with our new leaders at the October meeting (10/16/08).
Fall Product Sales
The annual Girl Scout Fall Product sale has begun! Pre-orders run through October 11th. Your troop’s Fall Product manager needs to enter your troops order on the Ashdon Farms website by 11:59pm on 10/13/08 (local time). Remember, girls may continue to take orders after October 11th. The Fall cupboard at the Council office will be open 10/23 – 11/07.
This is a great fundraising opportunity for new and continuing troops. Remember, troops earn $1.00 per product!
Thank you Julie Gregory for being our Neighborhood Fall Product Sale Manager!!
Want Ad
Copper Creek and Rainbow Sands neighborhoods need a certified canoe instructor for their neighborhood encampment. The Encampment is October 24-26 at Shadow Rim. They are more than willing to pay above the Council-recommended fee to cover gas, etc. If you are able to help, please get in contact with Sheri Love at shelov@juvenile.maricopa.gov or 480-688-3668.
We are still looking for alternate cookie drop off location to avoid President's Day weekend. This is in response to the requests of the leaders who would rather not cut their 3-day weekend short to pick up cookies. Please let us know at the neighborhood meeting or contact jennypfennigsadams@girlscoutsaz.org
If we are unable to find an alternative drop off location, then our cookies will be delivered on President’s Day, as before.
Registration
A message from Julie Gregory, our neighborhood registrar:
Returning Troops: Thank you to all of the returning troops that have turned in their registration. I really appreciate that you honored my deadline. There are still a few that have not turned theirs in yet. If they are not turned in by the end of the month, your bank account will be closed and your troop number will be given to a new troop.
New Troops: You have no deadline, but you cannot meet with the girls until the registration is turned in. Please carefully read the instructions for filling out the forms so that there are no problems.
Bank Changes/Additions
Jenny Pfennigs-Adams, our MSE, needs to be present when adding signers to the accounts. We are working on dates to get this done. We are taking care of new troops first and then those that already have at least one signer on the account. You will receive an email from Julie Gregory to let you know when to meet.
Grandparents’ Day
In late August, Audrey’s Angels, a non-profit organization whose mission is to seek to enrich the lives of the elderly by providing stimulating interactions through a unique sharing of art and music, asked the Pima Neighborhood for help in providing senior citizens in 12 group homes with cards for Grandparents’ Day.
Dianna Horan from Audrey’s Angels would like to thank Pima Neighborhood Girl Scouts for your help in reaching out to the 12 senior group homes that participated in the Grandparents’ Day program. The combined efforts of Troops 256, 844, 933, 1144, and 1317 provided all the cards that were needed to send one to each resident of the homes.
Websites
The Pima Neighborhood website has a new address! Big thanks to Diana Laulainen-Schein and Lee Kline for making this possible. Please check out the website at www.pimags.com.
Pima Neighborhood Website
http://www.pimags.com
East Service Area Team Website
http://www.girlscoutsazeast.org
Service Opportunities
We are looking for some amazing troops to organize neighborhood events for the 2008-2009 year. Here are the available neighborhood service opportunities:
October 2008 (end of month, weekend of 25th-26th) - Juliette Low Birthday
Ideas include a songfest at a local park, bonfire songfest, harvest/costume
party, etc.
November 2008 - Father/Daughter Event (6th grade and up)
Ideas include indoor rock-climbing, ice skating, bowling, etc.
January 2009 (end of month) - Brownie Try-It Day
March 2009 (end of month or early April) - Outdoor Skills Day
If your troop would like to organize one of these events, please sign up at the
neighborhood meeting or contact Maxia at maxiaw@msn.com
or Julie @ juleeagreg@aol.com
Thank you to those who have volunteered for the following services:
Melissa Geiser's troop - March 2009 Daisy Day
Troop 2014 - February 27,2009 “Candyland”
Daisy/Brownie Father/Daughter Dance
Troop 1870 – Junior Father/Daughter Event
Troop 9 – Neighborhood Food Drive
Holly Snopko’s troop – Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays drive
**** There is still time to organize a neighborhood event for the Juliette Low Birthday celebration ****
“The Windows of Christmas”
Once again DanceMotion is offering Girl Scouts in the Phoenix area a low cost way to give the girls an opportunity to experience the art of Ballet. Since 2001 Scouts throughout the Valley have attended and enjoyed their original holiday ballet performances.
This year DanceMotion will be producing an original ballet performance called “The Windows of Christmas” at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.
According to Scout leaders, attending the show and getting the backstage tour they offer only to Girl Scouts ties nicely into the following program links: Brownie Try It – Dancercize and Junior Badge – Dance.
DanceMotion has generously agreed to offer a group discount price of just $8 per person for groups of 10 or more which makes it an affordable option for troops, and a great idea for a Mother/Daughter or Family holiday event. They also offer their own Fun Patch to commemorate the event at a nominal cost.
For more dates, times and more information about the performance, please see the flyer posted on the PimaGS YahooGroups website.
If leaders want to purchase group tickets, contact Lois Rush at LJRush@hotmail.com or call 480-922-9455.
***Do not call the Orpheum for group sales. They are only able to sell full-price tickets. ***
Fall Encampment
This year’s “Olympics in the Pines” Fall encampment was awesome. The weather was gorgeous, the games were fun, and the girls had an awesome time.. In addition to the wide-games, girls had the opportunity to sign up for archery and ropes challenge course.
A big thanks to Lee Kline for coordinating the event!
Lee wants to extend her thanks to everybody for coming, and she hopes everyone in the neighborhood is getting their TCC so more troops can come to the spring encampment.
Spring 2009 encampment dates are still in progress.
Fall 2009 is set for Oct 2-4, 2009 at Willow Springs, Prescott, AZ.
Want to get the inside scoop on the next encampment? We’re looking for some people to be on the Spring 2009 encampment planning committee. There will be a planning meeting for all who are interested immediately after the October neighborhood meeting. Just look for Lee Kline or Maxia Webb.
Troop Camp Certification
If your troop wants to go camping or participate in an encampment, then this is what you need. Troop Camp Certification (TCC) is a one-time training for any registered adult in your troop. It's painless, it's fun, and it's very
informative. Everyone there is there for the same reason, and most of them are not seasoned campers. Some troops even have all the adults go together.
You learn the basics on camping safety, campfire safety, leaving no trace, camp kapers, and more. You also get to cook you own meals as a group using different techniques (mess kit cooking, Dutch oven cooking, propane stove, etc.) You get a little recipe booklet that your girls are sure to love. It's also a great hands-on experience that you can then implement with you troop. You do not have to sleep in a tent or on the ground.
The trainers are wonderful and have a plethora of information to share with you. They know songs, recipes, tips on how to deal with "things," stories from past experiences, and they are with you all weekend to converse with and answer questions.
Each troop must have one person with TCC and one person with First Aid training for encampments and camping trips. The Council has attempted to make this overnight training as painless as possible. One option is to do the training locally. The TCC is provided at Camp Sombrero in Phoenix from Saturday morning to Sunday noontime with one mid-week prep class prior to the camp weekend. The other option is to do it all at once from Friday evening to Sunday. The latter is usually done up in the woods at Camp Maripai or Shadow Rim.
Here are the upcoming dates for TCC:
Shadow Rim, Payson
October 10-12, Friday 7pm to Sunday 1pm
Camp Sombrero, Phoenix
November 4, Wednesday 6pm to 9pm
November 22-23, Saturday 9am to Sunday 1pm
Camp Sombrero, Phoenix
December 2, Tuesday 6pm to 9pm
December 13-14, Saturday 9am to Sunday 1pm
The fee is $35 and all meals are included, except for Friday night dinner. You can register online at www.girlscoutsaz.org and click on E-Council registration, or follow the links on our Pima GS website.
Pima Neighborhood Yahoo Groups
Need to sign up to our Yahoo Group? This link will take you there:
http://www.lazyd.com/gs/pimags.htm
Please note that you will need a (free) Yahoo account to access files and
neighborhood information. However, once you've established a Yahoo ID, you can then personalize your account so that the Pima GS group emails and notifications come to your current email address.
Lingo / Urban Legend
True or False? All drivers need to be a registered leader (either 01 or 02) in order to take girls on field trips or encampments.
Have another urban legend you want debunked?
Have a lingo you want defined?
Have you heard a “Girl Scout rule” that you want clarified?
Write it down and drop it in the suggestion box (that is beautifully decorated
as last year's Fall Product mints tin) at the next neighborhood meeting.
Pima Neighborhood Meeting Dates
Below are the dates and the monthly topics we will focus on. All of the scheduled meetings will be held in the Fellowship Hall at Shepherd of the Desert Church on the north/west corner of Shea Boulevard and 96th Street. Meetings will begin promptly at 7pm.
Please try to arrive 5-10 minutes early to grab any forms, flyers, and your agenda for the evening. Please remember that one representative (leader or parent) from each troop need to be present at each neighborhood meetings.
October 13, 2008 - Encampment by Lee Kline
November 3, 2008 - Ceremonies / Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards by Ellie Clinger
December 1, 2008 - Cookies!! By JoEllen Kenney
January 5, 2009 - Songs by Cadette Troop 256
February 2, 2009 - Field Trips / Service by Susan Vargas
March 2, 2009 - Bridging and Financial Reports by Paula Rupnik
April 6, 2009 - Badge Workshops by Susan Vargas
May 4, 2009 - End of the Year Volunteer Recognitions by Ellie Clinger
Feeling lost about what to do? Ask one of our service team members! We have people to answer questions about registration, finances, school troop coordination, fundraising, communication, leadership/skills training, and advisors for every girl program age group. A full list of contact information will be distributed at the neighborhood leader meeting. Can't wait to see you there!!
Need to add anything to next month's newsletter? E-mail Maxia at maxiaw@msn..com with "Pima NH" in the subject line.
