Date Change for May Meeting: Sunday, May 19^th 4-8 pm at the Callaways

We've finally managed to schedule Mrs. Yura! After the May 19^th meeting we will have completed the From Stress to Success Interest Project Patch except for the service project. See the details of where we stand and how we'll approach the service project below. We've highlighted things below that you'll want to be ready for on May 19^th.

On May 19th we will hold our business meeting from 4:00-5:00, and then welcome Cadette Troop 2855 who will be joining us for our session with Mrs. Yura at 5:30. We will learn some massage techniques and interview Mrs. Yura, who is a massage therapist and yoga teacher, then we will have a mini-class in Yoga. We'll spread out over hardwood floors, so you might want to bring a small rug or towel to sit on. When we finish, probably around 7:00, we will have our spring Court of Awards. Katie and Nicole were scheduled to be in charge, but Nicole will not be able to be at the meeting. Elizabeth has volunteered to be Katie's partner.

Jessie Bridged last Sunday!

She's a senior at last! The Service Unit Bridging Ceremony was not as formal as last year, but there were not any Gold Awards. Probably we need to volunteer to plan the one in 2004. Anyway, our troop is growing again. We are expecting Karen to join us for real this fall, and she may bring all the rest of her old troop. We're also expecting a few others to join us. Can you imagine such a large senior troop? It's exciting!

Keeping Our Schedule in Mind

Our plan to complete Gold Awards by the end of the 2004 school year goes like this:

How Are We Doing?

We've picked out the two interest project patches to complete by next fall, and we have made plans about how to finish them. We're working on Career Exploration and Girl Scout Challenge, and will need to schedule workdays this summer with Pat. We're coming along with the Leadership Hours. Rossie and Elizabeth earned 11 hours each at the Brownie Adventure last weekend.

Remember to log your Leadership Hours into your notebooks! If you don't have a notebook, we'll work on getting you to a Gold Award Workshop. We've missed all the spring Workshops, but maybe we'll all make it by fall. Remember to keep up with the worksheets for Girl Scout Challenge that we're using, and you can make a temporary leadership log. Check your handbooks (page 152) for ways to get those leadership hours done. Diana and Stephanie have decided to serve on Council Committees - good for them both!

From Stress to Success

Camping

For our second IPP, the troop decided on Camping. We have done most of the things that are listed in the IPP, but we can't give ourselves an IPP for things we've already done. That would be double-dipping! We can, however, refresh our memories and teach these skills to a Brownie troop. We'll want to wait and do this in October so that this IPP will count as a Gold Award IPP for our newly bridged Seniors -- remember that rule about nothing before October 1st of your first year as a Senior GS counts for the Gold Award! We'll find a weekend in October and arrange a trip to Scout Haven. The consensus was to stay in the tents this time so that the Brownies will have the full experience.

A darlin', darlin' Daisy troop bridged to Brownies last week at the Service Unit Bridging Ceremony, and their leaders are very interested in coming with us next fall. They are Brownie Troop 22422. Pat will talk with their leaders and find a good weekend in October. We'll ask the Camping Committee to look at the IPP and make plans for how to fulfill our requirements and show the Brownies a good time. Rossie says we have to have little sister Brownies like we did at our O-meet event.

Career Exploration Pin

By now surely everyone has read Chapter 4 in the Senior Handbook, and we've all made resumes (except Jessie - we'll have to catch her up). Now we have to complete one of the five options: plan a career fair, plan a trip to explore careers, carry out a career internship, get a paying job, or start your own business.

The girls who did the Career Mentoring event (Stephanie, Christina, Anne, Jenny, Diana - did we leave anyone out?) finally got us a straight answer about whether or not this completes the career internship option. Thanks, O persistent ones! The official ruling is that if you only do the one-day event, then no, it doesn't complete it. However, if you maintain contact with the people you met and meet with them a total of five times, then it will complete that option. Girls may also repeat the Council Career Mentoring event five times, we think. At least that's how we understand it so far.

Girl Scout Challenge

There is a lot of paperwork in this complicated process. Four worksheets have to be completed, each with time lines of things to complete and reflections on what you learned. On top of that there is a 15-hour service project.

We've worked on worksheets 1-3 in December and April. Pat suggests that during the summer we have workdays when you can come over to her house to work on either your notebook or the worksheets that will go into your notebook. How about Tuesdays beginning June 4? Let's talk about it at the May meeting.

The Henderson Park Clean-Up after the Service Unit Bridging Ceremony went quite well. The committee (Anne, Chandler, Christina, Diana, Jessie, Evelyn, and Stephanie) was very organized. Nicole was able to come and help out. Mrs. Jennings troop went all the way around the lake, and Brownie troops cleaned up around the pavilion and playground. It was a good day.

The committee put in several hours of time meeting with the Watershed Alliance, scooping out the park, and getting materials together. Here's how it went:

We should talk at the May meeting about when we're going to try the next clean-up, who's going to be in charge, and what we want to do. Remember that you don't have to work on this service project if you come up with a community service project of your own on which you will spend 15 hours. These park clean-ups, though, are the project that the troop has chosen.

Let's Go to Six Flags!

Those of you who are long time members will probably remember Pat saying that there were only two places that she would not take us: amusement parks and the Whitewater Water Park that doesn't meet Safety Wise standards. Well, see her eat her words - at least about Six Flags.

The Girl Scout 90th Anniversary was this March 12, but the whole state of Georgia's celebration will be Saturday, November 2, from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Six Flags. Girls from all over the state will be there for a day when the park will be open only to Girl Scouts! If we buy our tickets by August 1, we get in for $22 per girl. Even the parking is free for that day. If you are interested in going, please bring your check for $22, made out to the troop, to the May 19^th meeting.

FOCUS (Families of Children Under Stress) - May 31-June 2

At the April meeting Mrs. Gargiullo told us about an opportunity to knock out some leadership or service hours by helping lead activities at this special camping weekend for families of children who are disabled or have special medical needs. Our girls will not be responsible for the children, since the entire family attends the camp, but would lead various activities. All the Gargiullo ladies have gone for several years and enjoyed this special chance to help very much. They'll be going again this year and will help transport anyone else who is 15 years old and wants to help. Please let her know if you want an application to staff. If more girls want to go than will fit in the Gargiullo car, we'll work on carpools. We'll try to pin things down at the May 19^th meeting, so please check your calendars and see if you will be able to go.

Our new web address is http://www.3leaves.org/4715