Girl Scouts: Wellness Fair Wednesday CANCELLED

Hi everyone,

I just got a note from the people organizing the Wellness Fair we were representing Girl Scouts at this Wednesday.  Because of the cold forecast, they've cancelled and are looking to find a reschedule date.  I will let you know when they have rescheduled.

It's pretty great that we get to represent all of Girl Scouting at this event.  I can't wait until we find out when the new date is!

A huge thanks to Evie and Carrie for their work preparing the display and presentation materials!  We'll still make sure to use them!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Cookie Orders and Help Needed!

Hi everyone,

Just 2 quick notes:  

#1)  Cookie orders are due today (and tomorrow if you must!) As always, that's not the end of your chances to order; it's only the last chance to get your cookies in the very first drop February 14-17.  I can get more cookies through March, so if you get your order in late, or have friends/family that wants some after today/tomorrow's deadline, I can still make that happen.

#2)  Two Troop Community Service Events coming up still need girls to participate!  These are great chances to make the world a better place.  If we don't get more sign ups for the Family Fitness Day we'll have to cancel the "Make Your Own Game" area there, and that would be a huge letdown for the Greendale School District, the many young kids that loved that area last year, and for the scout that has signed up to help (thanks Carrie!) That's February 10th, 1:00-3:00 at Greendale High School.

Sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa5ad22a13-girl8

That's all for now!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Cookies--due date and gluten free

Hi everyone,

Just two cookie notes:

1)  Please get your early orders in to me by 1/27 so I can get them logged.  You will be able to get more cookies after 2/15-ish, but the initial order gets submitted by me on 1/27.

2)  Gluten free cookies.  You may have heard they're out of stock.  That's not ENTIRELY true.  They can't be ordered online for mail delivery anymore.  HOWEVER, our troop will get 24 packages of them to sell.  (And any more I can get my hands on, but more than 24 is not guaranteed.)

So I need to know, at the moment, how many Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Caramel Sea Salt cookies everyone has sold.  If I know early enough, I can get started fighting and wheeling and dealing to get my hands on more if we need.

Thanks,

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Great news and an idea. Also sign up and "Great Job!"

Hi everyone,

I'll try to keep this short and to the point:

#1)  Great news!  The Family Fitness Day our scouts were asked to help with got shorter.  So it'll be easier for our scouts to make it.  Our time slot is  1:00-3:00.  So just 2 hours.

#2)  IDEA:  Since Student Activity Night was canceled, and since our scouts have to put something together for the Drug Avoidance/Health event on 1/30, would any scouts be available to put some work in on that from 6:00-7:30-ish tonight?  We'll order a pizza or two and the girls can prep our background information, our prize-wheel categories, and prep how their activity will work.  We'd just do it at our house.  Email or text (414-595-6668) an RSVP. 

#3)  Speaking of the health/drug fair and Family Fitness Day;  Sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FA5AD22A13-girl8

These are great ways to serve the community, serve scouts, the troop, and make the world a better place.  Also a great way for the girls to practice getting in front of people and being leaders in their school and in the community.  Everyone who's anyone will be there!  (Seriously, these experiences are what scouting is about--making the world a better place, and letting the scouts provide service and leadership to other kids and community members.)  

#4)  Meeting congratulations:  WOW!  Once again, it is pretty cool what these girls can do when turned loose on the world.  A big round of applause for our activity planners:  Quinn and Carrie with nocturnal animal pictionary (so fun!), Ellen for teaching us how the phases of the moon work (and remembering her information for our night walk!) , Kendra and Katie for teaching us how to make galaxy bottles, Evie and Teagan for setting up the night hike, and Eva M. for stepping in and being our late night talk show host with the most!

The girls are definitely learning how to take leadership and make things happen.  It's great to see them growing and turning ideas into action.

That's all for now.  Sign up!  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4FA5AD22A13-girl8

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Last one--are our leader girls ready?

Hi again, again,

Just a final reminder for the girls leading segments of our "Night Owl" badge meeting tomorrow to review what they're doing and make sure they're ready to lead their sections!

Here's who wanted to run what:

Activity 1)  Galaxy Jars by Katie and Kendra

Activity 2)  Moon phase cookies and learn about the phases of the moon by Ellen

Activity 3)  Nocturnal Animal Pictionary by Quinn and Carrie

Activity 4)  Late Night Talk Show by Eva, featuring Evie and Teagan

Activity 5)  Night hike and listening for nightime wildlife by Evie and Teagan  8:00PM that night at Scout Lake Park, meet in the parking lot off of Loomis.

See you tomorrow!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Slight schedule change for tomorrow's Night Owl Night Hike.

Hi again,

The second email of the night!

Just a quick shift to the schedule tomorrow night for the Night Hike.  I realized we shifted our soccer practice tomorrow so it's ending at 7:30 instead of 6:30, so the night hike will shift.  We'll meet up at:

8:15 in the Scout Lake Park parking lot off of Loomis. 

The Night Hike Leaders will take a couple minutes to tell everyone what we're looking for and paying attention to (What nocturnal wildlife might we hear?  What tracks might we see?  What animals might we see?  What might be in the sky?  Might we see a moon dog?  What the heck is a moon dog?  What phase of the moon are we looking at?)

Then we'll take as quiet of a walk around the lake as we can, maybe stopping if there's something interesting to explore.

We ought to still be wrapped up by 8:45 I bet.  If anyone wants to head out for a hot chocolate to chat about what we saw, they're cordially invited.

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Fw: Family Fitness Day IMPORTANT

Hi everyone,

This is the first of a couple emails tonight, but the one I need you the most on!

I mentioned earlier this year that our Girl Scouts' "Make Your Own Game" activity area at the Family Fitness Day at GHS last year was a BIG HIT, and that we were sure to get invited back.

Well, we were invited back.  This year's event is 12-3PM at Greendale High School on February 10th.

Unfortunately, Evie has an awards ceremony that day, so she and I won't be able to attend.  I CAN bring all the "Make your own game" supplies and stuff and drop it off at GHS earlier in the day.  I can also pick everything up afterwards.

BUT, if we're going to do this great (and FUN) service activity for the kids of Greendale this year, we'll need a few scouts (4-6) and a couple parents (2) to hang out in the room, supervise, help little kids, and explain what's going on to everyone.

Do we have the numbers?  Please let me know ASAP!

Aleks

(P.S.  At least one more email on its way.)

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

From: Kerry Owens-Bur <kerry.owens-bur@greendale.k12.wi.us>

To: Aleks Skibicki <kwaterk1978@yahoo.com>

Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 3:56:18 PM CST

Subject: Family Fitness Day

Hi Aleks,

Do you know if the Girl Scouts are willing to do the Make Your Own Game again for the Family Fitness Day on February 10?

--

Kerry Owens-Bur

Principal, College Park Elementary School

414-423-2851

E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to open records law and may be disclosed to outside parties.

Girl Scouts: Last call for Milwaukee Wave Girl Scout Night and Adventure Race/Tubing!

Hi everyone,

#1)  A few families had told me they were waiting on scheduling questions before deciding on whether to go to the Milwaukee Wave Girl Scout Night Game on 1/26.  Game starts at 7:05 (transportation available if needed!) all scouts attending get Wave Socks and a Wave patch.  We're doing the $10 tickets special, and if your scout (and any other family members) want to stick around after and watch Beauty and the Beast on the Jumbotron and a small soda and popcorn, that's $5 extra.

I'm sending in our registration Saturday, so this is it!

IF YOU PREVIOUSLY TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING, PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN JUST TO BE SURE I HAVE YOU ON THE LIST 

PLEASE TELL ME HOW MANY TICKETS AND WHETHER I SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE +SODA/POPCORN/MOVIE UPGRADE.

#2)  Adventure Racing, Girl Scout Style!

Official registration link and info here:

https://www.gswise.org/en/sf-events-repository/2019/adventure-race--grades-6-12--otd2-9-00-am.html

"Get your team together, it's time to Adventure Race, winter style. Keeping with tradition of true Adventure Racing, your team's map and compass will be your key to finding all checkpoints throughout Camp Silver Brook and crossing the finish line. Trek to each checkpoint or pop on some snowshoes (weather permitting). Celebrate with everyone as you go tubing at Sunburst Ski hill."

One girl mentioned she was interested at a meeting, but I didn't hear anything from any parents?  Evie is doing it as a sleepover from Saturday Morning to Sunday Morning. It sounds super fun, and tubing is always a blast!

You can register your scout at that link, or I can register your scout if you want me to.  Just tell me the details.The cost is $45, but as always, the troop can cover all or part of it if that cost would be a financial burden.  Just let me know; the rule has been "No questions asked, and no tales told" since the girls were in kindergarten.

IF YOU DO REGISTER YOUR SCOUT ON YOUR OWN, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.  IF A BUNCH OF OUR GIRLS SIGN UP, WE CAN MAKE OUR OWN TEAM AND THEN I'LL SIGN UP AS A CHAPERONE.

Thanks everyone, I can't wait to hear from you!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Great work girls! 1) Supply list for next week sign up 2) Get your cookie paperwork!

Hi everyone,

It was a very productive meeting after school yesterday.  The girls worked together and decided they want to complete their "Night Owl" badge requirements, and will be doing 5 activities; 4 at the meeting, and 1 later that night.  Here's the list of activities and activity leaders.

NOTE:  The nighttime hike will still happen in the cold, but NOT in rain. So dress appropriately!

Activity 1)  Galaxy Jars by Katie and Kendra

Activity 2)  Moon phase cookies and learn about the phases of the moon by Ellen

Activity 3)  Nocturnal Animal Pictionary by Quinn and Carrie

Activity 4)  Late Night Talk Show by Eva, featuring Evie and Teagan

Activity 5)  Night hike and listening for nightime wildlife by Evie and Teagan  8:00PM that night at Scout Lake Park, meet in the parking lot off of Loomis.

The girls leading each activity studied their parts, and agreed to make sure to study and plan their roles between now and Wednesday too; if you can remind them though, that would be great!

There aren't a whole lot of supplies needed, but what the girls came up with is on the sign up page here.  There were a lot of supplies that we already have, so I left that off the sign up list and will bring it on Wednesday:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4fa5ad22a13-december2

COOKIE SALE:

We gave the girls at the planning meeting their cookie sale information for this year.  If your scout wasn't there, reach out to me by email or phone (414-595-6668) and we can coordinate on getting that to you too.  Cookie selling officially starts tomorrow!

Remember, while the money from cookies supports troop activities and events, there's a lot to learn from the sale too; it helps develop skills like goal setting (how many boxes would our troop need to sell in order to do ______________ ), communication and bravery (even asking relatives to buy cookies can be scary for some girls, but is a safe way to develop courage and interpersonal skills), and business/financial literacy (if you spend $10 on something you think will help you sell cookies, but you only sell one more box, was that a good use of resources?  What about if that expense helped you sell 20 more boxes?)

See you Wednesday!  And one more time:  I'm so proud of what these girls can put together and do!  Great job!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Super Proud! Also planning meeting this Wednesday

Hi everyone,

These girls are amazing!  I am so proud of them.  Whether it was planning and executing the meeting for last month, or their ability to run stations and help out at the Greendale Cookie Party last Friday, these girls are so capable and able to be leaders that it is inspiring.

This Wednesday is the planning meeting for our Girl Scout January.  The additional task for 2019 is: 

The meeting the girls plan has to be enriching/learning/growing.  A good starting point would be the Girl Scout badges, and see if there's a good fun one that we could wrap up in a 2-hour meeting.  An overview of badges and badge related activities is here:  https://www.girlscouts.org/badgeexplorer

Also, we'll use any time we don't use planning to prep for the January 30th Drug resistance Resources Fair that our troop will be providing a booth for again this year.

I'll bring the snacks, the girls will bring the ideas!

Aleks

Girl Scouts: Dibs on Cookie Party Stations!

Hi,

Since our troop is hosting the event for Greendale tomorrow (Friday), I figured I'd give our girls dibs on any particular stations they want to help at.  

Here's what we've got:

Cookie Quiz

Cookie Crown

Cookie Tac Toe

Cookie Catapults

Create-Your-Own Cookie

Cookie Math

Cookie Necklace

Cookie Drop

Cookie Stacking

Cookie Face Race

Cookie Relay Race

We have parent helpers from other troops, but our girls get first crack at them!

Aleks