Pics from camporee!

Thanks, Breah, for the photos!!If you have pictures of the girls at camp and want to upload them here, please just email Keely privately or via the group email.

And they're off!!

Camporee packing list!!

Camporee details!

On Saturday, April 26th, the girls should be at Bojangles in Hillsborough at 6:00 am with money to buy breakfast or breakfast.  Even if the girl has breakfast, they need to be there at 6:00 so we can get all of the gear loaded, make sure everyone is fed, has taken a bathroom break and are ready to go on time. We plan to pull out between 6:30-6:45 (preferably closer to 6:30).

Camporee Packing List- Girls

*Day pack for carrying items while away from the campsite. (A very small backpack or drawstring bag that can be put on their back is best) *This will hold their small flashlight, water bottle, poncho, snack and personal first aid kit (if the scout wants) and lip balm

*Water bottle with their name clearly labeled on it (send it full)

*Sleeping bag- an outdoor sleeping bag (the ones that have pictures, etc. are not warm enough)

*Small pillow and an extra blanket.  One small “fluffy friend” if needed to sleep.

*Flashlight (given to the girls at meeting)

*Booklight and book as well as camera -optional (preferably a camera, not a phone or ipod with photo capability)

*Pajamas- Long sleeves and Long legs (Not satiny, no nightgowns)- Sweatsuit is fine

*Change of clothes- Pack for the weather. Pants/capris/shorts, short-sleeve shirt for the day, bring a sweatshirt or light jacket for the evening.  If not wearing pants, be sure to bring pants in case the evening is chilly.  Also be sure to pack underwear and extra socks!  Each outfit can be packed in a gallon ziploc bag to keep them dry (not required).  Also- make sure your daughter packs the bag with you!  (The first thing girls do if they don’t know what is in them is pull everything out!) (Wear one of your troop shirts and pack the other)  Please send your daughter in black stretchy pants or capris (depending on the weather and their comfort).

*Warm hat (fleece or knitted)

*Heavy sweatshirt or jacket

*Closed toed shoes- sneakers are best.  No flip flops, open toed shoes or crocs.  Either 2 pair of sneakers or 1 pair and a pair of rainboots or water shoes (one pair WILL most likely get wet, please plan accordingly. This pair should be the spare as we will change at lunch).  You may send a pair of crocs or slip on shoes for bathroom runs at night, but this cannot count towards the two pair of closed toe shoes needed.

*Poncho or waterproof windbreaker- type jacket

*Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, personal towel, something to keep hair out of the girls’ face (headband, ponytail holders, hair clips, etc.), lip balm, sunscreen, insect repellent, deodorant (if they wear it)

*Bandana and Mess kit are troop provided and we will bring

*****Medications- If your daughter takes prescription medications, bring them Saturday morning in their original packaging and placed in a ziploc baggie.  These medications should NOT be placed in the girls’ bag and we should be aware of instructions, etc.  They should NOT be packed in the child’s bag, they should be given to Melissa Wagner (our troop first aider for this trip).

*****DO NOT SEND any electronics or additional food with your scout.

Reminder that swimming has been cancelled, so the girls do not need bathing suits (it's actually preferable if they do not bring them, even for canoeing).

A few updates for April from Brie!

Just wanted to give a quick update.  Please be sure to read through this and ask any questions you may have!  

• The troop has purchased the mess kits (mesh bag with plate, bowl, cup and silverware) for all of the girls as well as a few additional for adults.  You will not need to provide those items for Camporee or any additional trips.
• We will be tie dying shirts and bandanas for the troop.  The troop has purchased the girls' shirts (unless we have told you otherwise).  If you (as an troop volunteer) would like a shirt or two tie dyed, please bring it/them to next meeting.  The shirts should be white and 100% cotton.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  We will be wearing the shirts for Camporee.
• In order for the girls to have a uniform look (without wearing a uniform) to Camporee, we will be wearing the tie dye shirts and we would like for them all to wear black stretchy pants or capris (depending on the weather and/or their comfort level as far as temperatures).  Please send your daughter in their tie dye shirt and black stretchy bottoms on the day of Camporee (we will pass their shirts out at the meeting before Camporee).
• Is there anyone who has spare room in a shed or attic who would be willing to store camping items?  We are currently working on a wants/ needs list for our troop.  At the Outdoor Training that Jessie, Melissa and myself went to, we learned quite a bit about what a troop should have.  We would love to be able to have these items so we can have the bins packed and ready to go when we decide to go camping.  Unfortunately, that requires space to store things.  I do not personally have much space to store things at the moment.  I may be able to store a couple of bins.  If you are willing to be our main point of contact to store troop items, let me know.  If we have a few people willing to store a couple of bins, we could make that work as well.  
• Does anyone know of where we can get cheap reusable grocery bags (the nylon type)?  By cheap, I mean around $1....  We need to get enough to make "sit-upons" for the girls to take.  (Small water resistant pads for them to sit on the ground or picnic table with to prevent wet behinds and give a little padding.)
• We still have some cookies available for sale.  Carrie has them at her house.  She has shortbread, cranberry and peanut butter sandwiches (correct, Carrie?).  If you have anyone interested, we would be grateful to get rid of them.  The troop had to pay for them and once they sell, the entire $3.50 would just be deposited back into our troop account.  Please let Carrie and I know if you have any you can sell.  I believe there are around 45 boxes left in total which will equate to an additional $157.50 back in our account.
• If I have not yet sent the information to you for meetings you missed (and your daughter has not received a badge for First Aid and/ or the first Quest Key), please let me know.  I apologize for not getting you the information sooner.  It has been a busy couple of months for me.  I will get you that stuff ASAP so you can try and work with your daughter before next meeting and she can show us/ tell us what she did so we can hand out the badge.

Thanks, everyone, for all you do!  

Upcoming events:
Sunday April 6, 2pm Nature Hike (more info to come on this site)

Monday, April 7 6pm meeting

Cookie update! Sale ends March 9!! Money absolutely due on March 10. . .

Update from Brie about the cookies

• Cookie sale extended to March 9.
• ALL Cookie Money due to the troop at meeting on Monday, March 10.  No exceptions.
• If you want to transfer cookies back to troop, let us know by this Saturday, February 22.
• Anything you have not discussed with us transferring back to troop by Saturday and you have on hand, you will be responsible for paying for by March 10.  
• If you have any orders currently or receive any between now and Saturday, let Carrie and I know ASAP so we can ensure we have enough cookies for your order.  
• We are only going to ensure we have enough cookies for orders and booths.  We are not going to just have extras, so be extra mindful of that.  
• FINAL order for cookies will be placed this Sunday, February 23.  Whatever we have on hand and order as of that date is it.
• If you and your scout are interested in another booth, let me know.  I want anyone interested in doing more booths to have that opportunity.  If not, that's completely fine! 
• Any checks that you take and are returned, you will be responsible for collecting that money as well as the $12 fee associated with EACH returned check.  We have two checks returned for NSF currently.  Melissa is looking into who they came from and we will let you know.  To not have this concern, you can choose to not accept checks.  It is up to you, however since the beginning we have recommended not accepting checks except for close friends and family.

Badge placement on uniforms!

Here are a couple of images indicating how the badges should be placed on the Brownie uniforms.  The first is for the vest and the second is for the sash (which applies to our troop).
Cookie badges will create a shape that should be put on the back.  Journey badges and achievement badges are primarily on the front.

Badge placement for vests

Badge placement for sashes.  Again, cookie badges go on the back.  

Update from Brie on Camporee!

We have received answers from every parent in our troop in regards to who will be attending Camporee!  This means that we can now register.  In the past I have been told that the payment could be made later.  This year, this is NOT the case.  We must pay when we register!  This means that we need to collect the $20 fee for overnighters ($10 for day-camper only) this upcoming Monday.  If you are unable to pay the fee on Monday, please email me directly (not to the entire group) as soon as possible and we will see what we can do.  I apologize for the short notice, I thought we would be able to send our registration in and pay later as they had said was acceptable in years past.  Since we would like to try and register early for a better chance at a cabin, this is what we need to do.

I have a few other important tid-bits regarding Camporee:

• Please talk with your daughter between now and Monday about the activities and see if you can get an idea on the 3 that she would like to try and do.  Please also get a 4th as an alternate.  We will need to set up the groups with activities when we send our registration in.  This will be made a lot easier if it is done ahead of meeting.  If you can email me those before meeting Monday, that would be great!  The group options are listed in the packet that I sent in the original Camporee email.
• I will have a Health History form for each girl for you to fill out on Monday during the meeting.  This is the same form that you filled out for the Cookie Rally.  (I wasn't aware, but I need to have this on hand at all times....learning everything needed is a work in progress!)
• I need a volunteer (an adult who is registered and has a background check) who is not attending Camporee.  This person would hold all of our emergency contact information (adults on the trip included) and would be the point person in case of an emergency.  This person would need to be available by phone during our trip.  Please let me know if you are willing to take that on.  
• I would like to have a parent meeting sometime towards the end of February or beginning of March regarding Camporee and just some other things.  I would like for this to be more than just the first 5-10 minutes of meeting.  What would work best? Some ideas would be: stay after a meeting for our parent meeting, another weeknight or a weekend time.  One other thing i thought may be a possibility is: if we schedule the meeting soon for during the troop meeting, I can see about an older troop coming and doing the "teaching" for the evening.  The older girls are supposed to give service to younger girls by planning and facilitating a meeting during the year.  I am flexible as to what would work for you all.  I just think it is very important for us to have time to discuss things regarding Camporee and the troop in general in person.  This email system is wonderful, but I would like to facilitate a discussion that would be much easier done in person.  Please let me know what would work best and we will try to accomodate the majority.   

Please respond to me privately if you will be unable to bring the $20 Monday and also respond in regards to the meeting.  I appreciate all of the help and support all of you have given so far!  This has been a learning process for myself and Jessie, but we are loving it!

A few updates on cookie booths!

Booth Requirements and Information:

• 2 Girl Scouts with 2 non-related adults (ie: 1 parent cannot supervise two scouts and a couple cannot supervise two scouts), we must have each booth approved by Council before setting up (Carrie can enter them into SNAP and they will be approved- they need 72 hours to be able to approve).  
• Cookies should be picked up from Carrie for booths (if you are working a booth, set up a time with Carrie to pick up the cookies- only one of the two parents working the booth need to worry about this).  If you are working a booth with Carrie, she will have the cookies.
• During the booth, please keep a tally sheet of each type of cookie and how many of each type were sold.  Nothing fancy is needed, just tick marks on a blank paper are fine.  
• After the booth, please email Brie with the breakdown of what was sold.  You will also need to get any left over cookies back to Carrie and any money from the booth to Melissa as soon as possible.  I would prefer that the person who signed the cookies out at Carrie's be the person to return left over cookies and get money to Melissa.  (The reason being is the person who signed the cookies out is ultimately responsible for the balance of cookies vs. money)
• Swipers- The app to use the swiper is Sage Payments.  If you are using the app, you can contact Brie for the user name and password.  I will need to get swipers back after each booth as well (unless you are working another booth the next weekend).  
• There are no tables at the sites!  This means that you will need to bring a table and chairs, as well as any signs or other attention grabbers for your table when you are there.  Feel free to coordinate with your partner about who can bring tables or chairs and what kind of posters or signage you would like to have up during your booth time.  Most time slots are 3 hours, so bring a chair, and also remember to dress appropriately for the weather.  Ideally, the girls should wear their sashes, but please be sure to dress warmly and be prepared for the cold!

Current Booth Schedule: 

Saturday, Feb 1:

Flyleaf Books  8:00 AM - 11:00 AM Erin/ Michele    Brianna/ Cynthia 

Fiesta Grill 2/1/2014 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Avery/ Brie     Katie/ Laura 

Sunday, Feb 2: 

Pops Pizzeria 2/2/2014 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM Alana/ Carrie    Ella/ Keely 

Sunday, Feb 9: 

Lowes Home Improvement 2/9/2014 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Emma/ Melissa    Ella/Keely

Saturday, Feb 15:

Pops Pizzeria 2/15/2014 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Alana/ Carrie    Ava/ Luke

Lowes Home Improvement 2/15/2014 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Kayla/ Jessie  ________________________________

Fiesta Grill 2/15/2014 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Erin/ Michele    Katie/ Laura 

Saturday, Feb 23:

Pops Pizzeria 2/23/2014 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM Alana/ Carrie    Erin/ Michele 

We currently have one openings for the booth on 2/15 at Lowes that is already scheduled if someone else is interested.  Also, there are other opportunities if there is interest.  If you are interested in one of the openings, please email Brie and we will schedule from there.  There is no pressure at all to do additional booths.  I just want to let everyone know that if there is interest, let Brie and Carrie know and we will be happy to schedule additional booths.  

Cookie Rally!!

Just a reminder that the Cookie Rally is this Saturday, the 11th of January!  The details are below.  Please be sure to send your scout with the $2 for entrance/ patch.  I am awaiting confirmation from the organizer regarding parking, etc.  As of right now,plan on just dropping your scout off at 9:50am and picking her back up at 12:00pm.  I will wait with any girl who is not picked up right at 12.  If you are running late, just please call or text Brie.  Parents will not be staying for the event, the girls will bring anything home they receive.  If anyone is wanting to carpool, just work that out among each other.  

Please be sure your scout has her sash (with all of her badges) and her pins on for the rally.

Thanks!
Brie

When: Saturday January 11 , 2014

10:00am - 12:00prn

Where: University United Methodist Church

150 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill

Cost: $2 per girl ( includes Rally patch!) 

No charge for Leaders and Adults

Come and have fun learning about the newly designed Cookie Sale, how to earn $$, being safe, successful booth ideas, all while playing hopscotch, games and more!