Oops! Here's the mask-ed picture!

Sorry everyone!  I forgot the attachment!  Here you go:

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Girl Scouts: Fun December Meeting!

Hi everyone!

That was a pretty fun way to close out the year!  Here's what we did, and what we learned:

We started with a Holiday Party--and it was delicious!  Thanks to all the scouts that brought treats--we had an awesome spread.  

The girls had asked to wear holiday face masks (like the invigorating/cleansing/skin care kind) so we got those on and there was a LOT of giggling!  (Picture attached--I think you'l laugh too!)

We followed that up with the girl's plan to play pictionary, and eventually turned that into charades (which the girls seemed to enjoy more too.) We have a pretty good bunch of artists and actors in our group.  To keep things on theme, all the answers were holiday or Girl Scout themed.

Then we got to some of our thinking parts.  We took some time and each girl shared a challenge or two from their journal that they worked on in the last month.  We talked about how we felt, before, during, and after we did our challenge.  The girls were very open about how trying new things made them feel, but also noticed that everyone felt very good and proud after they achieved their challenges.  The girls agreed to keep holding onto their challenge journals and adding challenges as they discover them, and to keep trying to challenge themselves even if they are scared, shy, uncertain or embarrassed.

We also practiced the craft we'll be teaching at CraftCon 2020 (Feb 14th, save that evening!)  Clove-Orange Air Fresheners.  For the girls that hadn't done this craft with the troop before, we talked about the history of clove-oranges, and why they work (natural preservatives in the cloves willl seep through the oranges and cause it to dry out without molding or rotting--that's why you can find dried 200 year old clove-oranges at Old World Wisconsin!)  

Finally, we worked on one more activity from our MEdia journey guide--"Playlist Partners!"   Each girl found a partner and made a playlist of 5 songs they thought would fit that girl.  Then they showed each other their playlist creations and talked about how accurate they were.  The challenge here was to think about how other people see you, and about how you see other people.  What you THINK other people might like, might not be how they actually feel inside.  The girls all brought the playlists their partners created for them home in case there were song titles they didn't know, they could listen to them on YouTube or some other streaming source, and see if their partner picked a good one.

One note before wrapping up:  The Annual Greendale Cookie Kick Off Party is January 8th.  Here's a sign up for the girls to help and attend.  Troops from all over Greendale will be there, so this is a great chance to be a leader and have fun at the same time!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FA5AD22A13-cookie6

Other than that:  Happy Holidays!  Stay warm and keep Scouting!

Aleks Skibicki

Girl Scouts: Reminder--meeting Wednesday 3:00-5:00

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder not to take the bus home tomorrow!  Pickup is at 5:00 since this is an "action meeting" to do all the stuff the girls came up with last week.

See you there!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Meeting Recap, Announcements, and Homework!

Hi everyone!  (Sorry this is long, but we kind of did a lot yesterday!)

You can tell we're getting close to winter break--the energy was jumping yesterday at the meeting,and with a nearly-full house, it was a little chaotic at moments.  Nevertheless, we still managed to get through a lot of planning and prep, so here's the breakdown/recap:

We started by introducing ourselves to our troop's two new friends:  Eirlan and Eloise.  Welcome to the party!

Then we took a few minutes to warm up our brains and bodies with some holiday themed fun--we had a blind-drawing challenge (we have some pretty good blind-artists!) and a candy-cane relay race.  Since we used up SOOOO much energy in the relay race, we just HAD to have a snack so we decorated some ugly sweater cookies for a treat, and then got down to work.  

1)  The first job we had to take care of was to pick a craft for our troop to teach/run at Girl Scout CraftCon 2020!  That's a new event for the Girl Scouts in Greendale/Greenfield/Hales Corners where troops from all around will each have space and supplies to teach other troops a craft they had fun making/doing.   After some discussion (and distraction from our cookie-decorating snack) we decided to share the clove-orange historical air freshener craft we made when we were Daisies/Brownies.  It should be a ton of fun, and we all agreed that any age scouts will be able to do the craft and have fun with it.  The event is February 14th, 2020, 6:00-8:00 at GMS, so save the date if you can!  It'll be a great opportunity to both teach others, and to learn a ton of new crafts too!

2)  The second job we had was to figure out a way to make sure all the girls remembered to do and bring their "Challenge Journals" from last month to the meeting next week.  For the new girls and for the girls who missed last meeting Quinn did a very nice recap:  

Every girl got a little journal, and wrote 10 challenges for themselves for next month, and then will complete as many of those challenges as they can and write down how they feel before, during, and after they complete that challenge.  Examples:  dance in public, make art that they are proud of, share art with classmates, clean their room, make up with someone they're having a conflict with, etc.  

We gave our new friends journal notebooks, so we're all ready for next week!  We kept it simple, and will just send a reminder out to everyone during the next week.  One girl suggested using the girls' email addresses, and she'll try that too!  They also thought that girls would be more likely to do the challenge journals if there were prizes, so I'll bring prizes next week for any girls that have worked on their challenge journals and bring them back!  (It would be great to have finished all the challenges, but doing at least half would be a good goal for now!)

3)  Third, we talked briefly about next month's annual "Cookie Kickoff Party" that'll be January 8th 6-8:00PM (after our meeting.)  The girls talked about how much fun they had helping in the past, and are excited to run stations again this year!  So save that date too!  (If anyone wants to just stick around between the meeting and the Cookie Party, we'll order a few pizzas so they can have dinner in the down time.)

4)  Fourth, the Girls came up with the plan for next week, and here's where it gets a little complicated.  We'll split the meeting between a holiday party and Girl Scout Journey work.  

For the holiday party, the girls decided they wanted to:

1)  Do holiday face masks (like the skin-toning kind, not the halloween kind) and play games like holiday pictionary/charades

2)  Have a holiday snack contest :

Their plan was to ask everyone to bring in something they made themselves with enough for 12 small portions--one for each girl--and then they'd all try each other's treats.  They pointed out that the servings would have to be small, because even 12 small things can get filling!  They also wanted to remind everyone that snacks don't have to be sweets--that some healthy items are nice too!

For the Girl Scout Journey Activities (MEdia) they picked:

1)  Playlist Partners!  The girls will split up into partners and will create a music playlist based on what they think their partner would like.  Then they'll share their playlists with each other and see A)  How other people see them, and B) How well they know other people.

2)  Logo Evolution:  The girls will look at how some companies logos have changed over time, and then design their own modern logos for either companies or themselves and explain their creations.

5)  Finally, we took some time and discussed our choice of a movie topic for our Scout "Take Action" project.  (The plan is to make a movie related to an issue in our community, and host a showing of the movie somewhere with community members invited; we're thinking the Ferch's theater!)

Let me take a moment to talk about how much I appreciate the girls that worked on pro/con points online for this week.  I can tell that a lot of time and effort was put in by the girls that did work online, and even if the topic they were promoting didn't get picked, their work was amazing and well done.  While there weren't names attached, there were some clues about who might have filled in info (K-pop references!), and I'll have patches or something special for those girls.  (I can't tell who filled in info about the vaping topic though so if someone can let me know who that was, that would be great!)  

The girls were very thoughtful in their discussion, and after reading through all the pro/con points from online, they came up with some very good additional points and thoughts.  It's pretty great to see the complexity of the girls' thinking  as they grow up.  I can guarantee I've been in adult meetings with a less coherent/nuanced/thoughtful discussion of ideas--have any of you been to a Village Board meeting lately? :)

The girls ended up deciding on making the subject of the movie pedestrian safety in Greendale.  One big thing that seemed to be important to the girls was the connection to the Greendale Memorial for the little girl that was hit by a car, and also the connection to their classmates that walk to school and sometimes almost get hit by traffic dropping kids off.  

Which brings us to HOMEWORK:  (Yuck?  No--it's the fun kind!)

The girls' job in the next week/month is to think up movie segments/ideas that could be used to make a compelling movie about pedestrian safety and driver responsibilities in Greendale.  We watched a couple short documentaries last month, so they can get ideas from those (If you want to rewatch them with the girls, they were very good, and inspirational, especially for girls.  They're available on Netflix, and probably from the library on DVD:  Ladies First about a girl born to incredible poverty in India who became the world's number 1 woman archer, and Period.  End of Sentence about a group of women in India who are working to end the stigma about women's periods in Indian culture and also promote women's financial and social independence.)

Some ideas so far:

Find the family of the girl in the memorial and see if they would be willing to be interviewed

Interview police officers about traffic rules

Get data on how often people don't stop at stop signs

What other ideas can the girls come up with?  

That's about all for now!  See you next week!  (Next week is an action week, so meeting from 3:00-5:00!)

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Reminder--Wednesday Planning Meeting!

Hi everyone!

Just one last reminder that it's a planning meeting day Wednesday.  I'll bring the snacks, the girls will bring the ideas!

We'll meet from 3:00-4:30 in Mrs. Perry's room in the 8th grade lower area.  

See you there!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Reminder--Planning meeting NEXT WEDNESDAY 12/11

Hi everyone!

Just a quick reminder that our planning meeting is next Wednesday (action meeting the following Wednesday).  On the menu:  pick and plan a couple more activities and activity leaders from our MEdia Journey, and go through the options for our movie subjects.  Remember, the page to list your pro's and cons for different topics is here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FfsMU-2KQhGWHyNOcidTxejFsrKPsmxJpoobXF_66e0/edit?usp=sharing

Also, the Greendale Girl Scout Cookie Party is coming up soon-ish (Current plan is the evening of 1/8, pending room approval.)  So if we have time, we might get into that too, though that's mostly done since we've been doing it so long.  We'll see if the girls have any new ideas or things to either add or remove.

Finally, our original December activity plan was to do a sleepover at the Museum BUT, it turns out that's limited to age 12 and under so that eliminates most of the girls.  So we'll see about coming up with something new on the quick.

Note:  Since it's a planning meeting, we'll wrap at 4:30.  The following week, as an action meeting, we go until 5:00.

See you next week!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: FINAL HEAD COUNT FOR WEDNESDAY RESTAURANT VOLUNTEERING

Hi everyone,

Please check in if you and/or your scout will be joining us Wednesday, and let me know if you're meeting at our house and need a ride, or if you're going straight to Trickle Bee.

I want to make sure we're not waiting for anyone who's no longer coming, and don't leave before everyone is here!

Thanks so much!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Meeting Recap and Next Week Volunteer Time!

Hi everyone!

What a fun meeting!  The girls are really good at planning these.

Since several of the girls had to go to Lego League for the beginning of the meeting, we started a bit short--but the girls handled it very well.  After dividing up leadership roles, the girls took a few minutes to get themselves set, and then we got right into their action plan.

We started with a Quinn-led game of telephone to get us warmed up.  The girls quickly saw how fast messages could get confused and mixed up, and noticed how similar that could be to real life when rumors get spread, or when one person decides to repeat something they may have overheard in the halls or somewhere else at school.

Kendra led us in our second activity--challenging ourselves.  Each girl got a little notebook, and wrote out 10 ways they want to challenge themselves to break out of their comfort zone before the next meeting.  They decided they would even take notes when they finished their challenges noting how they felt before, during, and after they made their challenge attempts.  We'll see how the girls do next meeting when they decided they will check in and hold each other responsible.

After that, we moved over to Teagan and Eva's activity--comparing the various sorts of media to a 7-layer dip.  Like the dip, all the various kinds of media blend into each other and interact with each other so it's not always easy to separate them.  Plus the dip was delicious!

Finally, Carrie led us in considering how we would change a popular TV show to make it more accurate, appropriate and positive.  The hardest part was finding a TV show everyone had seen!  It finally turned out that "Jesse" from Disney was a show all the girls were familiar with.  They came up with a lot of really good thoughts, including avoiding stereotypes and stereotyping characters, to making relationships more realistic, and even considering the role of consequences for kids actions.  

We wrapped up by watching the movie "Period.  End of Sentence" as I mentioned before.  We didn't get a lot of time after to discuss it, so if you get a chance, please talk about the movie with the girls and discuss what messages and themes they took away from it.  (Notably, how the women of that village took something that they were extremely embarrassed about, and used it to empower themselves, earn a living, and help pursue their dreams--but only because they were brave and determined enough to challenge themselves to overcome the embarrassment.)  The girls also took some notes about movie making techniques that they thought worked well in a documentary.

NEXT WEEK:  VOLUNTEERING AT TRICKLE BEE

The plan would be to meet up at our house at 10:30 if your scout needs a ride, and expect them to be back at our house around 2:30.  If you want to bring your scout there directly, that's OK too, and you can go straight there anytime in the 11:00-2:00 window.  The address is:

4424 W North Ave. Milwaukee, WI

Happy Wednesday and Keep Scouting!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Recap and Next Week!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick recap of what we did yesterday, and a peek at what the girls decided to do next week.

We started with a little activity to get our creativity rolling and also think about how headlines can sometimes be misleading--"News of the Day!" Each girl made up a headline or two about an ordinary occurance, but made the headline sound super dramatic.  Then we all tried to figure out what the real story was.  For example, can you guess what stories these are REALLY talking about? (Answers at the end.)

1)  Girl Caught with Addictive Substance at Greendale Middle School!

2)  Teacher Refuses to Let Students Speak Their Native Language In Class!

3)  Sky is falling!  

4)  Doctors HATE This Teacher For Ruining Their Income!

5)  The OCeans Are Moving!

6)  Teachers Force Students to Do Physical Labor!

7)  Disease Spreading Rampant Across Greendale Middle School!

8)  Teacher Doesn't Return to School After Students Drive Her Out!

Once we were feeling pretty creative we decided what to do next week, and the girls picked out these activities:

1)  Think of 10 ways to challenge yourself then check in next month.

2)  Remake a TV show, but make it more timely and appropriate

3)  Play the telephone game to show ho messages can get changed as they spread

4)  Make a 7-Layer Dip and think about how the layers blend into each other like different kinds of Media blend into each other.

We put together our snacks (caramel apple buffet!) and then watched a short documentary while taking notes about techniques and things the filmakers did that worked well and made the movie good.  (The movie was "Ladies First" a short documentary about a woman archer from India who was ranked #1 in the world, and the discrimination and challenges she faced in her quest for Olympic Gold.)  The girls took some good notes on what worked and things they want to incorporate into their movie.

I would like to watch one more movie next week, a short documentary called "Period. End of Sentence" that won the Oscar for Short Documentary last year.  It's rated TV-PG, but I wanted to make sure I ran it by all the parents first because it does talk about the taboo women in India faced about their periods and how they are overcoming it, using it to empower themselves, start a business, and gain independence in their male dominated rural village.  It actually was inspired and produced by a group of High School girls in California, so there's a double connection.  Here's more information about the movie.  It's on Netflix if you have that and want to preview it. (Or just want to watch it--it's very good and realistically inspirational!)

https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/period-end-sentence-transforming-taboo-cause

Let me know if you don't want your daughter watching it, and we can find some other activity for her, or you can pick her up a half hour early.  (It's only a half-hour movie.)

Thanks, and see you next week!

Answers to the Headline Stories above:

1)  A girl had coffee at school.

2)  The Spanish teacher has a rule:  "No English in Spanish class."

3)  It was snowing.

4)  Healthy Choices class helps keep kids healthy.

5)  There are waves on the ocean.

6)  Kids have to take gym class.

7)  Some kids have colds at GMS

8)  A math teacher got the flu and stayed home the last couple days.

Aleks

Girl Scout Reminders: Meeting, Nuts, and Movie Pro/Con Sheet

Hi everyone,

Just a couple quick reminders:

#1)  Meeting this Wednesday is a planning meeting, so it goes until 4:30

#2)  Remember to have your scout support or critique options for the MEdia journey movie they will be making.  Feel free to send the link to their email addresses so they can do it from their chromebooks if they want:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FfsMU-2KQhGWHyNOcidTxejFsrKPsmxJpoobXF_66e0/edit?usp=sharing

#3)  Nut sale products are (mostly) in the back of my van, and I'll have them sorted by scout by tomorrow afternoon.  So if you had a nut order, let me know when is good to pick it up and I'll make sure it's ready!

That's all for now,

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Meeting Next Wednesday, and Movie Topic Online Debate!

Hi everyone!

#1)  Just a quick reminder our next meeting is a planning meeting after school next Wednesday 11/13 from 3:00-4:30.  The following meeting is the next Wednesday, 11/20, and is an action meeting from 3:00-5:00.

#2)  Last meeting the girls brainstormed ideas for the movie they'll make as the culmination of their MEdia work.  To save some meeting time, and to keep the debate focused, I made a Pro/Con spreadsheet for the girls to fill in as a Google Spreadsheet.

It's pretty simple and probably self-explanatory, but here's an explanation anyways:

On the left side are listed all the topics they came up with.

After each topic are spaces for up to 10 Pro and 10 Con reasons for the girls to use that topic for their movie.  The girls can fill in any Pro and Con reasons they think of.  They can add as many or as few Pro or Con reasons to as many or as few topics as they want.  They don't just have to pick one topic, and they can think of both Pro and Con reasons for the same topic if they want.

As an example, I had Evie start filling in the "Pedestrian Safety/Rights and Driver Rules/Responsibilities" topic. (But she could have, and probably will do more later.)

The only rules are:  

• Don't delete anyone else's Pro or Con reasons, even if you disagree with them.
• Be respectful and appropriate.
• Keep in mind that we'll share the various reasons at the next meeting.

Here's the link, anyone with the link can edit the sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FfsMU-2KQhGWHyNOcidTxejFsrKPsmxJpoobXF_66e0/edit?usp=sharing

#3)  The girls picked volunteering at Trickle Bee, a volunteer run, pay-what-you-can restaurant, for our activity this month.  We're trying to set up their visit for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but are waiting to hear if they have room for us to help.  (it's a small restaurant!)  If we get the "OK," who would be available between 11:00-2:00 Wednesday 11/27?

See you next Wednesday!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Meeting recap!

Hi everyone!

We had a lot of fun yesterday getting rolling on our MEdia Journey work.

As usual, we started with a snack yesterday we did some cookie decorating, and followed up with a little discussion of how media influences how we think of the world around us.  To get a fun feeling for how we're influenced by media, we played a game of "Brand Boggle" where the girls all raced to see who could name the most brand names in certain categories (foods, drinks, technology, etc.)  The girls could see how the media they paid the most attention to affected how much advertising and branding they were exposed to in those areas.

After that we moved on a to second snack, our traditional Caramel Apple Buffet and created some pretty crazy caramel apple concoctions.  While eating our apples, we talked more about advertising and some of the techniques that companies use to manipulate you into buying their products.  The girls had a lot of ideas, and there are definitely more tricky advertising techniques today than there were when I was young!

To get a feel for detecting these techniques in real life, the girls split into groups and each group made a commercial using as many of those advertising tricks as possible while the other girls watched and tried to figure out what techniques they were using.  Ask the girls about their product--some of them got a little crazy!

Finally, we closed up with a discussion about the positive roles of media around us and shared examples of how we have been inspired by media, or uplifted by something we've seen, read, or listened to.  

There were a few minutes left, so we took that time to brainstorm ideas for a movie the girls could make about a social issue which they could get shown for a world premier at Ferch's later this year.  Soon I'll put up a Google form with the various ideas and spaces for the girls to put support for their ideas and vote for their favorites so keep an eye out for that.

That was all for October!  Happy Scouting!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Reminder--Meeting Wednesday Room 149 after school until 5:00

Hi everyone,

Just a quick reminder that we have a scout meeting after school Wednesday.  We'll start working on our MEdia Journey project, have a snack, and maybe do something Halloween-ey or fun too.  This is an action meeting, so we're scheduled until 5:00.

See you there!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Bench/Sign Ribbon Cutting OCTOBER 28th 3:00PM Greendale Health Department

Hi everyone,

The Greendale Health Departmetn wants to celebrate the official "open for business" on our troop's signs, benches, and the brochure (published any day now) on 10/28 right after school.

They're inviting village representatives, and representatives from the AARP, and I'll invite representatives from Girl Scouts.  There'll be snacks too!

It shouldn't take a lot of time, but we may make a trip out to visit one of the benches/signs--probably the one in the attached picture.  But I believe the plan is to start at the health department (in the CLC behind the library).

Girl Scouts: Missing anyone for Saturday?

Hi everyone!

Here's my list for Saturday.  Am I missing anyone?

Evie + 2 

Colette + 2 

Katie

Teagan

Ellen

Carrie

Eva + 1

Meet at our house at 5:00, back home 10:00-ish (we'll text when we're on our way.)  Our family schedule is cutting it pretty tight getting to our house at 5:00--Evie's second soccer game ends at 4:30 at Grant Park so we're going as fast as we can.  If for some reason we're not there right at 5:00, assume we're just a couple minutes away and will be pulling up any second!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Productive time! Fun Meeting on Monday

Hi everyone,

Just a quick recap of Monday:

We started by eating pizza and getting a jump on monthly activities throughout the year.  They're subject to some variability depending on how schedules go (except for doing a dance class in May--we promised Kendra that stays on the list no matter what!)

Here's what the girls are hoping to as activities in addition to our regular meetings:

October:  Legends and Lore at Old World Wisconsin

November:  Volunteer on a day off at Trickle Bee, a "pay what you can" restaurant dedicated to helping everyone enjoy a good meal, regardless of their ability to pay.

December:  Visit Discovery World

January:  Museum Overnight Adventure

February:  Crime Scene Investigators Girl Scout Event

March:  Program Assistant Core Training

April:  Pool Party at GHS Pool

May:  Dance Class at Danceworks

After that we took to the trails and found one of the benches that we got installed and put up two more of our directional signs at trail crossroads; they look great!  And then as you know, we hurried back to GMS just a little late--sorry again!

Girl Scouts: Meeting rescheduled to MONDAY 10/14

Hi everyone!

The GMS office was able and willing to move our cancelled Friday meeting to Monday (I hope everyone enjoyed the dance!) so the official new plan is:

Monday 10/14 Room 149 3:00-4:30PM

We'll do some planning, and then we'll also put up some more (maybe all) of the silver project signposts that are left.  The girls got a couple practice signposts put up on Thusday to see how to do it, and even had time for one official one too!  (Pics attached)

In other good news, the project is going to be featured in the "Life in the Village" magazine in November with a full page (maybe 2) spread!

Woohoo!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: URGENT SCHEDULE CHANGE!

Hi everyone!

No meeting Friday!

I can't believe I didn't notice I was double booking our scout meeting with the Student Council Dance.  (Neither did the office though, so I don't feel too bad!)

Anyways, our Friday meeting will NOT be Friday.  I'm asking the school to move it to Monday, and will let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I WOULD still like to get some scouts together Thursday for a sign-planting-practice and photo-op.  Is anyone available after school for about an hour?

Thanks, and sorry for the rescheduling!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Reminder and an Extra

Hi everyone!

3 things:

1)  Just a reminder that our first meeting for 2019-2020 is Friday 10/11.  It's a "planning" meeting so it's right after school until 4:30.  IF the weather is nice, we will also go outside and put in some of the walkway directional signs for our silver project that just arrived at the Health Department!  (They look awesome!!!  Nice job design girls!)

2)  Speaking of that, since the weather might be rough Friday, I would like to get a couple girls out after school on Thursday (tomorrow) to practice installing signposts, and get some pictures to use for the Life in the Village Magazine that will be featuring this project in its November issue!  Would any girls be available for an hour-ish right after school?

3)  If you plan on joining us at Old World Wisconsin on 10/19 for the "Legends and Lore" Halloween event, please let me know if your scout is coming solo and needs a ride, or if you're coming with family and if so, how many?  I'll pre-order tickets to save some time and just need to know how many.

Thanks!

Aleks

Just a quick look at the walking path map the girls put together at the campout!

Hi everyone,

We just got the draft back from the map company showing the final result of the girls work at the campout this year measuring walking loops and distances.

This is one side of the brochure, the other side has information about the benefits of walking, etc. that some of the girls put together earlier in the year.

This looked really good, so I figured I'd show it to you right away!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: 4 Things (Kind of important?)

Hi everyone!

Just a few things to handle right now:

1)  Anyone else for Old World Wisconsin Halloween Legends and Lore on October 19th?  Meet at our house at 5:00, back by 10:30.  I have Eva, Katie, Colette, and Evie (and family members where requested.)

2)  Nut Sale!  So, order taking for the Nut Sale starts 10/4, and it helps the troop a lot.  Besides paying for things like the September campout, meeting supplies, and financial help for scouts that need it for events, nut sale and cookie sale money also cover registration renewals each year and this year they went up from $25 per girl to $50 per girl (already handled for everyone, so all our scouts are set for 2019-2020!).  I have forms and materials, and we can connect however you like to get those into your hands between now and 10/4.

3)  Meetings!  I'm waiting for confirmation from GMS, but here's what I'm looking at for the moment:

In October, start with Friday 10/11 and then Wednesday 10/30.  10/11 for planning, 10/30 for action.

The rest of the year, we're looking to continue the 2nd and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, with the 2nd being for planning, and the 3rd Wednesday for action.

4)  Gluten Free Cookies!  This year, in order to avoid shortages, Girl Scouts are asking me to plug in our troop's full and final Gluten Free Cookie order next week.  The cookies will be the Caramel Sea Salt Chocolate Chip ones from last year.  I'm going to take a guess based on last year's sales, but if anyone anticipates selling a lot more, or a lot less GF cookies this year, please let me know.  Also, note that the GF cookies will be $6 this year, and all other cookies will be $5 this year, if that affects your calculations at all.  

Thanks!  Happy Scouting!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Getting rolling!

Hi everyone!

I will be stopping into the GMS office this week to get our meeting days/places locked in, so expect that information soon!

In the meantime, there's still a lot going on:

#1)  Signpost-ing!  The signposts for the silver award project are in at the Greendale Health Department, and the company making the directional stickers is making them right now (so they'll likely be ready for this week) which means that it'll soon be time for the girls to put the signs in the ground!  Woohoo!  

As soon as the completed directional signs are in hand, we'll schedule a date to go through the village and plant the signs in the appropriate places.  The signposts came with an installation tool which is easy to use, but it is heavy, so we'll want to have as many girls as possible on hand for sign-day.

#2)  Back by Popular Demand:  Old World Wisconsin Halloween Legends and Lore!  I've already been asked MANY times by the girls to make sure this is in our schedule for this year, so let's make sure it is!  This event is, without a doubt, the best Halloween event I've ever found for girls in our age range.  It's not kid/baby-ish, but also isn't a blood-and-guts horror show.  This year we'd go October 19th.  We'll meet at our house at 5:00 (Evie has a couple soccer games that day, and the last one ends at 4:30 at Grant Park, so we should be able to make it home by 5:00.) We can bring both the van and the car, so we should be able to provide rides for as many girls that want to go, but this is a family-welcome event.

The event ends at 9:30, so we should be home around 10:30PM. (Depending on how long it takes to get everyone to the cars, etc.)

I'll get us preregistered ASAP, so I do need to know who is interested and available to go!

Details:

Halloween Legends and Lore at Old World Wisconsin

Troves of supernatural tales brought to Wisconsin over the generations come to life as you explore the Crossroads Village after dark at this always spooky, sometimes scary, family-friendly Halloween event.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

5:30pm-9:30pm

$12 adults (13 and older) $9 children (5-12) Children 4 & under are Free. WHS Members receive 10% off admission.

Thanks!  Happy Scouting!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Camp weekend!

Hi everyone!

Camp weekend is coming up in a few days, so I wanted to make sure we're all ready to go!

Camp is at Silverbrook, as usual, and a packing list is at the end of the email.

I have Colette, Evie, Ellen, attending both nights

I have Eva M., Teagan, and Katie attending, but need to confirm dates.  (Please let me know!)

Anyone else?  

Choices:  

1)  Just daytime Saturday, 

2)  Friday Overnight and Saturday Day, 

3)  Saturday Day and Saturday Overnight, or 

4)  Both Friday and Saturday Overnight.

In terms of transportation:

Friday:  I can bring a vanload of girls to camp right after school on Friday--if you want to jump in on that, either have your scout bring her gear to school or drop it off at our house during the day Friday.

Saturday:  If your scout is coming up on Saturday morning, or returning on Saturday evening/afternoon then she would need a ride.

Sunday:  Kathleen and I both will have vehicles to bring scouts back on Sunday, and plan to be back in Greendale at about 11:00AM since Evie has other obligations at noon.  Between us we should be able to fit everyone returning Sunday, even if it is literally everyone.  

Please let me know how your scout plans to get to camp and get home afterwards.

Packing List:

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION 

(Name and contact number of at-home adult)

For everyone:

() Sunscreen

() Bug spray

() Change of clothes

() Long pants/sweatshirt if it turns cold

() Comfortable walking shoes

() Something to tie your scout's hair back at the fire, if she has long hair

() Rain/mud boots if it looks like the trails will be muddy

() Snack for during the day

() Light/small backpack (a drawstring bag is just about right.)

() A water bottle (filled, because the water at camp tastes camp-ish)

In addition, for scouts sleeping over:  

() Bedding/pillows/sleeping gear 

() Pajamas/sleepwear

() Toothbrush/toothpaste, 

() Hairbrush, 

() Toiletries as needed,

() Flashlight

See you Saturday!

Aleks

Last minute reminder: Meet by the statue/flagpole if you're helping with the County site review!

Hi!

I'm expecting Teagan, Katie, and Eva (and Evie!) at the flagpole after school today.  We can't wait too long, because we need to be at Scout Lake Park by 3:15.  If any other scouts can/want to go, either bring them to the lakeside building at Scout Lake Park at 3:15, or meet at the statue/flagpole right when school is out.

See you soon!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Silver Project County Location Review at Scout Lake Park TOMORROW

Hi everyone!

After going through the county review process, the director of Milwaukee County Park Trails would like to meet to review the 3 sites the girls noted in Scout Lake Park for 2 signs and a bench.  

Jessica Wineberg needs to look at the specific sites, decide specific sign orientations and specific exact locations, as well as make the call to get diggers hotline to make sure we wouldn't be cutting any wires, pipes, or other infrastructure.

She would like to meet at Scout Lake Park at 3:15.  Who can join her?  If it's easier, I can just pick any interested scouts up after school and carpool us all over.  Just let me know who I would be waiting for to we don't strand anyone at GMS!

Aleks

Additional Rennaissance Faire choices for the girls

Hi again,

Here is the passport the girls will work on on Sunday.  It would be great if the girls took a look at it ahead-of-time to see which activities they want to target.  Note that some of the activities are free, and some cost money; we like to target the free ones when possible so it's easier for family members to join in too!

Aleks

Girl Scouts Renaissance Fair Sunday: Details and Questions!

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to school!  This Sunday is "Scout Day" at the Renaissance Faire and a bunch of you signed up to to go, so here are some details and questions:

We'll meet at our house (4256 Teakwood Ct.  Greendale, WI 53129)  at 9:00AM, with the goal of getting to the Faire when it opens at 10:00AM.

We generally get back home around 6:00-6:30, but if we're having too much fun, we may stay as late as 7:00 so wouldn't be home until 7:45.  If your scout is going without her family, we will make sure to text you as the time gets closer so you know precisely when to expect us.  

Scouts Weekend: Any Scout (Boy Scout, Girl Scout, Spiral Scout, etc.) is welcome to participate. Leaders and scouts IN uniform receive a discount for their entire party – no coupon needed.

Adult Tickets (age 18+) $20.00 (regularly $25.95)

Scouts (age 13-17) $15.00 (regularly $25.95)

Child Tickets (age 5-12) $8.50 (regularly $11.50) – limit 6 children per paying adult.

As always, if there is financial need, the troop can cover a scout's ticket, and the troop will pay for the patch at the end of the day if the girls complete their Rennaissance Fair Passport.

While we are there, we generally buy some food items to share, but your scout will probably want to bring money to spend on any additional snacking or souvenirs they want.  $20 should leave them with money left over to bring home.

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW:

In order to plan rides, since I see there are a lot of families going, I need to know who plans to drive themselves, and who would prefer to carpool.

ALSO:

On Wednesday, the schedule for the weekend will be posted here:

http://renfair.com/bristol/the-faire/stage-schedule/

If your scout has a chance to look through it and pick out things they might be interested in, it would make life a lot smoother when we're actually at the Faire and trying to decide where to go.  With this large of a group, we may split up into squads, so girls can have better chances of getting to what they want to see.

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Campout Game Planning!

Hi everyone!

As you may (or may not) know, every year each troop at the September Silverbrook Campout is responsible for one of the "stations" during the day camp.  This year our troop is teaming up with another troop in our age group to be responsible for the "Party in the USA" games at the game field!

So, girl(s) from the other troop and our troop are getting together to plan and prepare.

When:  TUESDAY JULY 30th at 5:30

Where:  Ferch's

What:  Ice cream and game planning!

Who:  Any Girl Scout--even if you're not going to the campout (You still have a great Girl Scout Brain and can have great Girl Scout ideas!)

Come prepared with ideas for fun activities that fit the theme of:  "Party," "USA," "Party in the USA," "States," "Road Trip," etc.

Let me know if your scout can join us, so I know what size of table to save,

Aleks

Girl Scouts: BONUS--Outdoor Challenge

Hi everyone,

I saw this from Girl Scouts, and wanted to make sure you all saw it too.  If any of our scouts hits 15 of these (you can make your goal higher if you want!) return the sheet to our first meeting in Fall and I'll get you the Outdoor Challenge Patch. (Sheet attached.)

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Girl Scouts needed for meeting with Greendale Friday re: walking paths

Hi everyone,

More great news about the walking path project the girls started:  because of their work with the evaluation/audit, and because the girls used the AARP guides, the Health Department was able to get a $7,500 grant from AARP for signs, brochures, and benches, and there's a meeting tomorrow (Friday) at 1:00 at the health department with the Greendale DPW to talk about locations and types, etc.

If any Girl Scouts are available a bit before that (12:00) to get up to speed, then join in the meeting with the Health Department and the Public Works Departments, they have been invited, and that would be fantastic.  Plan on meeting at the library at noon.

The meeting itself should be an hour or less, so figure we'll be done by 2:00, though if it goes well, I could envision a post-meeting quick trip to Ferch's (it would have to be fast though, since I have to get Evie to camp at 3:30 at Marquette downtown.)

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Fun Parade! LAST CALL FOR SEPTEMBER CAMPOUT

Hi everyone,

Fun parade today!  The weather turned out just perfect; this might have been the best parade weather ever!

I have to have our t-shirt sizes turned in on Monday July 8th for the campout in September (September 6th-7th-8th but you don't have to go all three days.  You can choose between:  Friday->Saturday overnight, OR just Saturday during the day, OR Saturday->Sunday overnight is all ok!)  If you don't sign up NOW, you can still go, but you will NOT get this year's t-shirt or patch.  

(Also, Teagan and Eva M., I'll need to know your t-shirt size since you're already signed up, or else I'll just guess!)

Also, if you haven't signed up for the other summer events, here's the signup with the remaining ones:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa5ad22a13-summer

 I've updated the sign up genius with the Old World Wisconsin Trip on August 4th, and the Chicago Red Stars Professional Soccer Game on August 3rd.

Girl Scouts: Professional Women's Soccer Girl Scout Game with World Cup Players??

Hi everyone!

Since we're STILL trying to put together a sporting trip for the girls to finish the last bit of their badge, one opportunity has dropped in our lap, courtesy of Illinois Girl Scouts and Milwaukee Kickers.

Our soccer team is putting together a trip to see the Chicago Red Stars on August 3rd for a special "She Inspires Me" game in connection with Illinois Girl Scouts.  4 World Cup Starters play for the Red Stars and (should) be on the field in August!  (Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, Midfielders Julie Ertz and Morgan Brian, and Defender Tierna Davidson.)  And their opponent (Utah Royals) have 3 World Cup starters on their team too!  (Becky Sauerbrunn, Christen Press and Kelley O'Hara.)  

The girls will have a chance to talk to one of the players on the Red Stars (not sure who, don't get your hopes up for one of the big names, though it's a possibility).

At the moment, I still have a little room in the van for scouts that might want to go but whose parents don't, but I might need another parent to also drive a carload if we get a bunch of girls that want to go and don't get a bunch of parents that also want to go.  As always, if you drive a carload/work as a chaperone, we'll cover your ticket & parking.

If you're interested, please (1) tell me AND (2) register at the site below BEFORE JULY 11th --make sure you mark the team as "Cheetahs/Bombers U14/15" because we'll be adopting you for the day.  Tickets are $20, but no money is due now--I'll send in money for everyone on June 17th and we can catch up any time.  And make sure to tell me how many you're signing up and whether they'll need a ride or not.

The game is at 7:00PM, and we'll probably leave Milwaukee between 3:00-3:15 to get there around 4:45 since there'll be a Kickers Tailgate beforehand.  Plan for the girls to eat dinner there.

Website with registration and some more details:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScukuSVy8UaDLjAKVs51mSSJjYaMd2bgCpjrN4D8CP8eQxdIA/viewform

You can also select to get a "She Inspires Me" Red Stars T-Shirt for an additional $5.  

Happy summer, and see you at the parade tomorrow!  (9:30AM on Grange!)

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Cool Waters Final Call, Old World Wisconsin 8/4?

Hi everyone!

I have three families signed up for Cool Waters on 7/20:

Carrie + family, Teagan + family , Eva M. + family

Anyone else?  I have to give final numbers to the organizer very soon!  Cost is all covered!

Also:  How does 8/4 sound for our traditional troop trip to Old World Wisconsin?  Who's in?

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Greendale 4th of July Parade Lineup

Hi everyone!

Just a quick reminder for the 4th of July Parade next Thursday with some great news: We're near the front!  

Our scouts will be lining up in spot #7.  I have flags reserved and candy ready.  The parade organizers are asking us to meet on Grange at 9:30 this year, and since we're near the front, it's probably a good idea to stick with their timeline this year.

What:  4th of July Parade

When: 9:30AM July 4th

Where:  Meet on Grange across from Southridge, end by Greendale High School

Who:  All scouts!

Happy marching, see you soon!

Aleks

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Greendale. Parades <greendale.parades@gmail.com>

To: Megan M <mmermal@gmail.com>; "dthughes@gmail.com" <dthughes@gmail.com>; Julie Thomas <msjulieathomas@gmail.com>; "kaitlin.fa125@yahoo.com" <kaitlin.fa125@yahoo.com>; "ecbach@yahoo.com" <ecbach@yahoo.com>; "tracy3107@yahoo.com" <tracy3107@yahoo.com>; "kwaterk1978@yahoo.com" <kwaterk1978@yahoo.com>; Amy Kaminski <ctmhamy@gmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, June 9, 2019, 7:00:29 PM CDT

Subject: Greendale 4th of July Parade Lineup

To all of you wonderful scout groups out there, we will be putting you together in the parade and you all have the same number.

We are excited that you are joining us this year for the Greendale 4^th of July Parade hope you will sign up to join our 4^th of July parade.  We have a new system this year so PLEASE read this entire email. 

 

Your location number for the parade is below, we are trying to streamline line-up day and ask that you print this email out and bring it with you so you know right where to line up on Grange Avenue.  We are entering the same way as other years from the Southridge parking lot just north of Grange Avenue, numbers will be on the side of the road, PLEASE only line up on the right side of the road so other units can make it to their spots. 

 

We are having pacers this year for the parade.  This is to avoid large gaps and make a more enjoyable experience for not only parade participants but residents too.  Please work with your pacer, you will be introduced before you start the parade.

 

IF YOU ARE NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 25, YOU NEED TO ARRIVE BY 9:30 AM

IF YOU ARE NUMBERS 26 THROUGH 50, PLEASE BE SURE TO  ARRIVE BY 10:00 AM

The parade begins at 10:00.

 

Your number is:

 

 

7

 

 

Please note: Throwing of candy or distribution of items directly from vehicles is strictly prohibited in Greendale parades. However, we welcome distribution of goods to the public by parade participants walking next to vehicles and handing out items. This ensures the public's safety as well as your own.. 

 

Jackie Kraemer  414-405-6389 - Cell

jackiekra@wi.rr.com  

Rachel Geittmann

Karen Weller  

GPCC Parade Co-Coordinators

Girl Scouts: Meeting Recap and Summer Link Again

Hi everyone!

What a fun last meeting!  We did so much, so here's a quick recap:

We started by heading outside and cleaning up around GMS.  The girls collected so much trash and litter from around the school you can really see the difference they made!  (Picture attached.)

To relax afterwards we churned our own ice cream in plastic bags.  Our 2-3 ingredient ice cream tasted great and was nice and refreshing since the heat and humidity had turned up right about then.  The girls were pro's at making it, so I'm sure they could share the recipe and process at home if you want to do it as a family!

After that we took a little bit to work on one of our badge "missing assignments" by making some nature-inspired poetry and sharing it with the group.  I've already sent everyone the pictures and videos (if I had them) of the recitals--you can see how much fun the girls were having!  

Then we took it inside, and had our pizza while we reminisced about what fun we remember from this year, and what we might want to do next year.  From the girls' notes, here are some highlights:

Fun from this year:

Pizza

Snow Tubing

Winter Adventure Race

Tie Dying

Nightime walk around scout lake

Smoothie making

Making clay baguettes

Beach cleaning and pizza

Kahoot quizzes

Thanksgiving grilled cheese making

Yogurt parfait bar

Renaissance Faire

Making dog treats

Walking path audit

Edible fire-making

Silverbrook camping

Fun Ideas for NEXT Year:

Waterpark

Winter Scavenger Hunt

Renaissance Faire

Discovery World (Overnight?)

Grant Park Lodge Sleepover

Cake Pop Making

Jump Zone (Overnight?)

Swimming

Old World Wisconsin Halloween

Fro Yo

Build a Fort and Watch a Movie

Some of those ideas are already on the menu, so remember to sign up here for our Summer adventures!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa5ad22a13-summer

Happy Scouting!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Summer Adventures

Hi everyone,

Here's a sign up for various summer adventures.  Please mark your scout's attendance ASAP so I know what to plan!

Sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FA5AD22A13-summer

Here's what's NOT on the list, but should happen during summer--I'll let you know when each gets added to this sign up:

1)  Old World Wisconsin Trip

2)  Natural Tie-dye Party 

3)  Sports Event (Milwaukee Milkmen?)

Aleks

Girl Scouts: This week and next!

Hi everyone!

Two notes:

#1)  YES there's a meeting this Wednesday, and we do have a room reserved.  We'll start in Mrs. Perry's room, as usual, but will move outside if it's nice.  Plan on doing some school cleaning, some making-our-own-ice-cream, some pizza, and some summer/next year planning.

#2)  Sign up for helping at School's Out next Tuesday.  As always, this celebration is a lot of fun, and let's not forget it all started because our girls needed a space to do their Bike Safety Bronze project two years ago!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FA5AD22A13-schools2

Thanks, and see you Wednesday!  

Aleks

Attachments!

Sorry, as usual I forgot these!

Girl Scouts: September Campout, Contests and Info

Hi again!

One more email today.

First:  The service area picked the finalists for the patch and T-shirt designs for the campout next year, and the girls all get to vote on their favorite.  The images of the 4 final shirts and 3 final patches are attached.  Please send your votes to me ASAP

Second:  The campout is at Silverbrook again, the weekend of Sept. 6-7-8.  As always, girls will have the option of going just during the day on Saturday, or sleeping over either of the two nights.  I'll get the sign up genius out fairly soon to pick, but before then, please let me know if your scout will be attending at any time at all so I can get registration numbers right.

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Summer Fun! And meeting NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY 6/5 (Last meeting party!)

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note with some dates to save and upcoming scout events.

#1)  School's Out event on June 11th 4-8PM  We've had two requests for our troop specifically to be there--Girl Scouts themselves were interested in having some of our girls do the "Edible Fire" making that we did at the drug resistance fair in March.  (Fun story:  the skills/technique the girls learned there taught them how to be the most successful fire creators at the Outdoor Ed. campout for school last week!) 

Also, the Greendale Health Department was interested in having the girls do their bike safety booth again at School's Out.  

Since I'm in charge of School's Out, I can get us whatever space we want.  Also, I can make sure that all our girls get free burgers, etc. from the Lion's Club grill all night long.

So, block that date off in your calendars.  As the girls know, this is pretty much a fun-time event, with breaks to do crafts, play games, get faces painted, etc.  

#2)  4th of July Parade!  As always, we'll join the Girl Scout portion of the 4th of July Parade and keep local dentists in business with all the candy we throw out there, so lock that morning in!  

#3)  Cool Waters Pool Party  July 20th, 6-8PM  I registered our troop for the Cool Waters Girl Scout Pool Party.  Family are welcome to join in!   I do need to know how many scouts and how many not-scout-family-members will be coming, so please let me know.

#4)  Scout Weekend at the Renaissance Faire Aug 25th (Yes, I know school will have started by then, but I think it still counts as Summer Fun!)

#5)  Old World Wisconsin:  After popular demand, we'll get out there this summer too.  I don't think there's a specific scout date, but I'll look into the various special events going on.

Finally:  Our meeting will be next Wednesday,June 5th room or no room!  It'll be our traditional end-of-the-year party.  We'll make our own ice cream, play games, remember the past year, and brainstorm ideas for summer and next year.

Might have an opportunity—anyone interested?

Hi,

Camp Hero (info below) is short of participants this year. When I spoke to someone from Girl Scouts they said they MIGHT be able to get girls entering 8th grade into the camp which is usually just for 9-12. 

It always sounded awesome, and if they don't have participation now it might not end up staying around long enough for our girls to be the appropriate age. 

Let me know if your scout might be interested, and I'll see if I can get scouts to see what strings they can pull for us. 

Info on camp Hero:

CampHERO
June 16-21
This overnight camp is an opportunity for girls to experience careers in the protective services.
Your week will be jam-packed with activities from all three career fields:
• Learn about blood splatter analysis and crime scene processing
• Use the jaws of life to extricate a crash victim
• Learn CPR
• Chase down and handcuff a suspect
• Rappel down the side of a building
• Perform search and rescue
• Get self-defense savvy

Link including a video:  https://www.gswise.org/en/camp---outdoors/camp_hero.html
 
CampHERO is made possible by Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast, Milwaukee Fire Department, Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, and Milwaukee Area Technical College.

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