Monday, February 29, 2016

Third Annual Older Girl Recognition Event

Pima Neighborhood

Girl Recognition Event

Monday, May 16, 6:30-8 pm

*NOTE DATE CHANGE*




Leaders, 

Pima is proud to host its third annual girl recognition event. If you have girls who have earned the Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award, have hosted a neighborhood event, or are seniors in high school, please invite them to this event. This is an opportunity for you to present their awards (that you have purchased) or to publicly acknowledge their accomplishments. Pima will provide flowers for high school bridgers, as well as Silver and Gold Award recipients, as well as a reception for girls and their supporting troops and families.


If you have a girls who are in eighth, tenth, or twelfth grade, they may bridge at this event.  All girls will bridge together with girls from other troops in their grade.  Please send me a list of names of girls who are bridging. 

This is a formal, "uniform" event.  Please ask your girls to wear white shirts and black bottoms plus a vest or sash.

For the program, I need the following:

  • Troop #
  • Correct spelling of  all girls' names
  • A list of awards.  We recognize "metal" awards earned in since the beginning of the current Girl Scout year (October 1, 2015). "Metal" awards include Presidential Service Awards, service bars and leadership torches, as well as the Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards.  If you wish to recognize other accomplishments, please check with Diana.  
  • A complete record of neighborhood event volunteer service to the neighborhood by each girl.


You may also email this information to pima.neighborhood@gmail.com
Deadline for submission is May 1st

Encampment

SUPERHEROES vs. VILLIANS

PIMA NEIGHBORHOOD ENCAMPMENT – SPRING 2016

Who: All troops, 3rd grade and up. 
Second grade Brownie leaders may attend overnight with their daughters. 
Whole second grade Brownie troops are invited to attend on Saturday.

What: Camping and fun in the pines! Our neighborhood encampment!

Where: Camp Maripai, south of Prescott, Arizona

When: April 29-May 1, 2016 

Cost: $37 per person. ($15 for troops attending just for Saturday--no meals included.) 

Get ready! We are having our spring Neighborhood Encampment at Camp Maripai, our beautiful Girl Scout camp located outside of Prescott, about 1.5-2 hours from Scottsdale. 

It's a beautiful camp. You'll love it! 

Wide Games! We will plan a fun wide game on Saturday to reflect the theme with activities and games. The remainder of the time is open for your own troop's activities, so you can take a hike, work on a badge, or even give your girls some down time. Whatever you wish! We will need adult and older girl volunteers to help plan and run the Wide Game. Please email Lee to discuss. 

Archery and Horseback Riding: Archery is available for 4th graders and up (approx 1 hr/group, $6/girl). 

Horseback riding is available for 4th graders and up (approx 1 hr/group, $25/person). If time allows, the Horseback Riding Patch can be earned (2 hrs, $40/person). Adults can ride if space is available.

Meals! Saturday breakfast, Saturday dinner, and Sunday breakfast will be provided. Each troop will provide their own lunch on Saturday, dinner on Friday, and any snacks they wish. Feel free to buddy up with another troop! This is a great bridging or friendship building opportunity! 

Accommodations! There are various cabins and buildings for us to stay in, each of which accommodate a different number of people. Younger girls and first-time campers are generally most comfortable in the larger buildings, while older girls will stay in cabin sites or even platform tent sites. Some buildings have beds, some have only mattresses. 

Swaps! Once again, we will have a swap exchange. Please prepare your swaps around a wilderness/camping/outdoors theme or the encampment theme. We suggest that each girl bring at least ten swaps, but that's up to you and your troop. We will be having a SWAPS Contest this time so get creative!

Required Training! All troops must have a troop First Aider, with current First aid and CPR cards. All troops must have an adult present who has completed Troop Camp Certification Levels 1 and 2. (Leaders who are attending with just their daughters are exempt.)

More information! The full registration packet will be distributed soon. In it, you will find detailed information including directions to the camp, the schedule, the menu, and so forth. Troop camping assignments will be available a week or two before the encampment.

Registration is due March 7. Space is limited--first come, first served!

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Leader Awards


It's that time of year when we honor all of our fantastic leaders and give special recognition to those that have gone over and beyond to give their girls a fantastic experience and to contribute to the neighborhood. We need your help to point out those volunteers that deserve this special recognition. If you have anyone to nominate for the following awards, please let Julie Gregory know ASAP and she will tell you how to proceed!

Council Recognitions - nominations need to be completed and turned in by February 25

Appreciation Pin - This is given to a volunteer for outstanding service in at least one geographic area, neighborhood, or program delivery audience. ( previous recipients are Susan Vargas, Holly Snopko, Michelle Johns, and Maxia Webb)

Honor Pin - This pin is given to a volunteer for outstanding service in two geographic areas or program delivery audiences. ( previous recipient Julie Gregory)

Neighborhood Recognitions - these need to be turned in by March 7

Volunteer of Excellence - Given to a volunteer within a service unit who has contributed outstanding service while directly partnering with girls in support of the Girl Scout Mission. ( previous recipients are Michelle Johns, Mary Cole, Patricia Dallas, Diana Laulainen-Schein, Louise Turner, Jennifer Anderson, Laynee Langner, Brandy Altstadter, Susan Vargas, Holly Snopko, Jodi Weaver, Susan Butler, Catherine Bell & Sandy Stratton)


Year of Service Pin - given in 5-year increments for service given as a registered adult volunteer

Numeral Guard - given in 5-year increments to an individual for combined girl and adult years as a registered Girl Scout

3-Year Leader Pin - Given to volunteers who have served as a leader in Arizona Cactus Pine Council for 3 years

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Leader's Gala


What: Mark your calendars on April 4th for the annual Pima Neighborhood Leader's Recognition Gala!  

Dinner (Tom Thumb BBQ) will be served, presents will be handed out to all attendees, and volunteers will be honored.

If you want to enjoy an adult beverage with your co-leader, this is a BYOB event.

Where: The event will be held at Michelle's starting at 6:30. (Please refer to your service unit roster for the address). The event will be held outside, so dress appropriately.

Monday, February 22, 2016

TCC Training at Camp Basic


Registration for the Troop Camp Certification Level 2 (TCC2) that will be held at McDowell Mountain Park on April 9th, in conjunction with Camp BASIC, is now open!

As this is a Council training, you must register for it online:

http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/content/girlscoutsaz/en/sf-events-repository/2016/troop-camp-certification---level-2.html

This training is open to Girl Scouts Council-wide so it will fill up FAST.  Please don't delay in signing up!

If you have any trouble signing up, please contact the registration help desk (reghelp) at 602-253-6359 or Robin Haney at robinhaney@girlscoutsaz.org .


This is open to girls 14 and up as well as troop adults.

The prerequisites are Intro to Girl Scouting and TCC1 (both online).  

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Cookie Notes of Interest

Toffee-tastics are again $5 a box. All other cookies remain $4 a box.

Basha's Agreement. Must be signed and taken to any Basha's, AJs, or Food City booth.  Click here.

COOKIE CUPBOARD LINK (Hours and Notes)
Please remember to check the spreadsheet before you drive to any cupboard.  Hours can and do change on a daily basis.  In addition, check the "notes tab."  Many cupboards have special instructions and/or will tell you what they have in stock.

TROOP-to-TROOP TRANSFERS 
Addresses for cupboards were sent via email.  If you need cookies or want to trade out extra cases, you have two options.  The first is closer to home and is a list for troops in the Pima and Fountain Hills area. The second will connect you to troops across the valley.

For troop-to-troop transfers in PIMA and FOUNTAIN HILLS, click here.

For valley-wide transfers, click here.

DO NOT CALL LIST
If you want to set up your cookie booth, just remember not to contact: Fry's, AJ's, Food City, Basha's, Albertson's, Sam's Club, Walmart, Safeway, or ASU (or any other business who is added to Ebudde). Albertson's is not participating in boothing this year.

ASU has asked that troops do not booth at ASU except through the council-scheduled booths.


TRAINING MATERIALS
As promised, extensive training materials are available here: http://www.eternity.com/gs/cookies2015/

COOKIE PROGRAM MANUAL
Your cookie program manual is NOT a disposable.  They intend to use that same manual for years to come and hand out only the Troop Supplements each year. Therefore, do NOT throw out your cookie manual after the sale is over this year. Think Green!  Click here for the electronic version.

EBUDDE MANUAL
The Ebudde manual is only available online. Click here for the Ebudde Manual.

PARTICIPATION RATE BONUS
If the neighborhood reaches a 90% participation rate in sales, we will receive a bonus equal to 50 cents per girl in the neighborhood.  As such, we can make well over $200.

INITIAL ORDER CALCULATOR
Don't know how many cookies to order initially?

Boothing Notes

BOOTHS

Second, per the email yesterday Basha's, AJs, and Food City booths are available to everyone starting at 6 pm tonight.  Please read the conditions (reposted below).  These will be very very different booths with lots of rules that must be followed.

While I have your attention on booths, remember your Safeway booths M-F are 3 to 6. Do NOT stay past 6.  Safeway is very aware of the agreement they made and any violation of that rule will put our continued relationship with them in jeopardy. 

Please remember to take ALL your trash.  My troop picked up empty cases (sopping wet from the rain) from the Safeway parking lot on Monday night, which means they had been sitting in there at least a day.  :(   If you see any cookie trash, please clean up as if the mess were your own.  We're all moms, so we have a lot of experience doing that anyway. ;)  

​BOOTHING RULES FOR AJs, FOOD CITY, and BASHA's​
Girls will booth outside the stores with troop cookie inventory.  As guests at these locations, all girls and adult volunteers must follow a strict Bashas’ Code of Conduct and Operational Guidelines.  All troops boothing at these locations must bring a signed copy of the Bashas’ Code of Conduct and Operational Guidelines to their booth. 


To protect the Girls Scout reputation and partnership with Bashas’, any infractions will result in harsh boothing penalties, so please follow all codes of conduct and operational guidelines to help strengthen and broaden our relationship with Bashas’.  We want girls and volunteers to shine!

Troops will need to bring a table and chairs, and check in with the Store Manager for set-up locations.   Anyone boothing must be seated and may not approach any Bashas’ customer entering or exiting the store.  Signage should be used to attract attention to the table and groups should wait until approached by a passerby, not the other way around.  Signage should be freestanding or attached to the table.  Signage cannot be attached to the building.