Thursday, December 18, 2008

Have a Happy Holiday

We have our 2nd official meeting under our belt and was it fun!

Mrs. Kanatas found a great Daisy friendship bracelet that each of the girls made. Some of our girls also performed their first Flag ceremony. Mrs. Coffey was moved by how well the girls did.

We read an interactive story about Juliette Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts and the girls participated in some of the speaking parts....

Our final activity was our "goodbye Daisies: song and Bridge.... Even after only doing this once...the girls picked right up and new what to do.

Remember that cookie sales begin in January. Tell all your friends and family that your Daisy will be participating in our troop sales, because Daisies are not allowed to go Door to Door and our girls will not be participating in ratail sales.

Our meeting schedule is as follows for January:

Jan: Meetings 2nd and 4th Fridays due to Winter Break: January 9th / 23rd

We will be meeting the remainder of the year in the Upstairs Multi-purpose room.

Have Safe and Happy Holiday from your Daisy Leader,
Wendy, Joan, Katherine, Renata

Friday, December 05, 2008

Helpers need for the Thursday, December 18th meeting.

We will need 4 more dads/moms....

Volunteers: Liz Buoscio

Our First Outing was a success

Hello Brave Daisies and Parents….

If they had a polar bear petal, it think we would have earned it last night. It was sure cold, but our tree looks wonderful.

We had 24 girls last night and 25+ parents for our first outing…..Fantastic!

A big thank you to Grumpies for their “special” hot chocolate and cookies…. If you get a chance to stop in at the Riverside Walk…please do and Tell them Hi from the Daisies….

So many of you had such good questions for us last night I hope to have them all answered in this email as well as through the original information form. ( see attachment : some readers may not keep original formatting of the booklet) Thank you for your patience with us as we iron out the kinks in our new troop. We have 27 girls with the possibility of 2 girls from Blythe joining us!

I have received the paperwork from the Vista and will be distributing it next week. In your paperwork there is one form for your Daisy, a health form and 1 form for the adult in your family to join.

Your Dues check $30 & $10 adult fee can be made out to Joan Kanatas as we are in the process of setting up our Checking account for the troop. I was asked if this can be made out in one check…. I checked again today and yes, one check for $40 will be fine. If you have already written out two, that is fine as well. If you already have a girl Scout or brownie and have paid a $10 adult fee, you will not need to submit a separate one to us, as you will already be registered/covered under the Girl Scout insurance.

Because we are just getting these to you, please just have them turned in to us at the next meeting ( see attachment for dates) or to the Winkler house by Dec 31. 8052 Country Club Lane, North Riverside.

COOKIE SALE: Begins Jan 1st: We wont have information for you till our first meeting after the new year due to the School Break but here are some basics
Daisies cannot sell door to door ( only to friends and family)
Our Daisies will not be selling at local businesses ( there is plenty of time for that in their Girl scout careers)
Cookie sales in our troop are NOT mandatory. If you wish to opt out of the sale, please just send us a note declining.
Cookie money will go into a troop fund to support fun troop activities for the entire troop.
Therese Kourim, ( my neighbor) has graciously offered to be our Cookie MOM and for those of you who have done this or have had other girl scouts who have sold cookies…. Know that this is a brave task and three cheers for Therese!!!

CAMPING:
Our Daisies will have min of 1 Camping experience.
It will be in the late spring
It will be in a bunkhouse, not tents, with running water and a toilet.
It is not mandatory
1 parent will need to join us if their Daisy chooses to attend.

BADGES
Will be earned as a troop during troop meetings.
Will be presented to girls at the investiture and Bridges ceremony


Our next meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 18th
We are looking for 5 additional moms to assist with the craft, Please email or call one of the leaders if you are available to help out.

Yours in Scouting,

Wendy Winkler
Joan Kanatas
Renata Coffey
Katherine Kowal

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

What do you get......

When you put 27 girls in a room.
A mighty large Daisy troop.

Thank gosh we have 4 other leaders and a bunch of moms. I count our troop extremely lucky to have so many moms.

After hearing other Troop leaders talk about the lack of parental involement, I was scared to death...But once again , not here at Ames. We have so many parents who are willing to help out...we didnt have room for them all and sent some home!

Our next meeting will be on Thursday December 18th, 3:15 - 4:30 p.m

Our Meeting theme will be Friendship and following the meeting the girls will have officially earned their FIRST BADGE! A lilac sisterhood badge. ( badge wont be awarded till the investiture ceremony in February) This is the meeting that we will definately need those extra moms. We will need 6 extra moms to assist in making the friendship bracelets. Please email Wendy if you can help out at this meeting.
Thanks to all of the Leaders and Mom helpers we had. Made for a smooth meeting.
WOW what a troop of Girls...... 27 all in total and All were very excited to be there and eager to learn all it takes to be a Daisy. Either that or the fact that we told them we were going to Grumpy’s for Cookies and Hot Chocolate after tree decorating In Riverside...

Speaking of which.... The girls all made an ornament for the Riverside walk which will be held this weekend. Thursday, December 4th 6:30-7 pm we will be Decorating our tree followed by some Goodies at Grumpy’s. 1 parent is required to attend if their Daisy would like to participate. We will meet at the Riverside Water tower. If you are unable to attend, please don’t worry, your Daisy's ornament will be hung up that night as well.

We would like to announce that one of our kindergarten Daisy moms has agreed to be the Kindergarten Liaison for our troop. Lisa Hennelly will be going us on our leaders team to represent any of the needs and concerns that the Kindergarten moms may have. Please feel free to contact her if you have any concerns, ideas etc.

Troop Forms: Our sincerest apologies to those of you who have not received their forms in their Daisy's folder. We are awaiting more forms from our Vista ( Region) and will get those to you as soon as they are available.

With our first meeting behind us, we discovered a few things that need to be tweaked.
1. Time: we would like to adjust the time of the meeting 3:15- 4:30. By 5p.m some of our girls had already hit the wall. I think we can accomplish all we need within that time.
2. Supplies: When you are turning in your Supplies, please put the girls name on them so that we know who turned them in.
3. Supplies needed: scissors, Package of #2 pencils,1 box of crayons,1 package 8-12 thin washable markers, 2 glue sticks
4. Notes to the Leaders: Please make use of the Blue Daisy folders that we sent home with your daughters. Do not send to the school office. If your question needs immediate attention, please email or call one of the leaders directly.
We look forward to seeing you at the Riverside tree decorating if you can make it!

Yours In Scouting,
Wendy Winkler
Joan Kanatas
Renata Coffey
Katherine Kowal

Monday, December 01, 2008

If you did not receive the following email please send an permission slip with your child.

Hello Fellow Daisies,
We are all so glad to have you along this year! This is just a quick reminder that our first meeting is December 2nd, in the Ames school Library 3:30 – 5p.m.
If you have not turned in your form yet, or know a girl who would still like to attend but has not turned in their forms, we will just need a letter from the parents signed with a phone number where they can be reached during the meeting.
Official uniforms will not be needed until the induction ceremony in February, until then, Girls will need to wear a white or Blue shirt.
December 6th: 6:30 – 7p.m We will be meeting in front of the Riverside Watertower to hang our ornaments for the Riverside Tree walk. We will then go to Grumpies for some Hot Chocolate and cookies. One parent must accompany each girl.


you all and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving,
Your troop Leaders,
Mrs. Winkler, Mrs. Kanatas, Mrs. Coffey, Mrs, Kowal

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Just a few more days

Till our first Meeting December 2, 2008
Ames Library 3:30-5p.m.

Its not too late, if you know of a girl who still might be interested, please tell them to come on that day, all we need is a signed note from the parent giving them permission to stay for the meeting.

During the meeting official sign up papers will be given to all the girls.

If you would like to turn in the Dues, you may make a check payable to Ames Daisy troop .

We look forward to seeing all our new Daisies and remember , Official uniforms are not worn until after the february Induction ceremony.

Uniforms until that point consist of a Blue or White Shirt/Any pants,skirt etc.

This website wil be a posting ground for all information regarding our troop. Please feel free to stop by and take a look if you have a question or call one of our leaders.


We also have exciting news, we received a $50 annonymous donation to help our girls get off to the right start on their Daisy adventure!


Thanks

Wendy, Joan, Katherine, Renata

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Treasurer Needed-

With so many activities packed into the year we are looking for someone ( mom, Dad, Aunt Uncle ) to handle the fiscal responsibilites of the troop. The treasurer will not be required to attend regular meetings and the work can be done at home. Some of the responsiblites include: handeling troop checkbook, dues, submiting checks for outings/deposits, submitting fees to our local Vista. If you feel you would like to assist the Troop in this manner, please contact Wendy Winkler or Joan Kanatas.

Patrol Lists

During our year as Daisies the girls will work in groups called Patrols. These Patrols will be responsible for various tasks during the meeting : Flag ceremonies, snacks , clean up etc. Please refer to this list to see which patrol your Daisy is in and her responsibilities for the next meeting:
The first meeting that the Patrols will be responsible for meeting events will be December 18th.
These patrols will change at various times through out the year to allow the girls a chance to work with each other.

Friday, October 31, 2008

First Meeting Tuesday December 2, Ames Library

Wow Just around the corner..... We are so excited to be able to get this year started....Better late than never. For those of you who have not turned in your Form for the first meeting please do so, as we need to order registration forms from the Vista Office and will need a close count. To those of you who have, Welcome !

A couple things to remeber for the first meeting:
*Daisy Tunics Khaki Pants Uniform will not be worn until after the Investiture Ceremony in February. Until then, Blue or White shirt/ Any pants, shirt etc.
*Girls will be picked up from their classrooms by Leaders and will be brought to the daisy Meeting. Girls will have snack/independent activity till meeting starts @ 3:30.
* Parents must come in to pick up their Daisy and sign out.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Parent Information Letter

While parents are not required to attend monthly meetings, on occasion they will be asked to participate in various events or outing and are strongly encouraged to volunteer time to at least one meeting. We are also looking for a Kindergarten Parent Liaison to be a part of the troop. If you can help in any capacity, please contact any one of the Leaders listed above.

Meetings:
2 Fridays a month……unless otherwise noted , 3:30 pm – 5 pm see specific dates below
December 2nd, Tuesday: first meeting
December: 4th: Thursday 6:30 – 7p.m Outing to place the ornaments we made on a tree for the Riverside Tree walk. Parent/s to accompany your Daisy
December 18th
January: Meetings 2nd and 4th Fridays due to Winter Break: 9th / 23rd
February: 6th /20th No Day meeting due to night Meeting 6:30 p.m. see Daisy Investiture Below
March: 6th and 13th due to Spring Break
April: 3rd / 17th
May: Meetings 2nd and 4th Fridays due to Institute Day at Ames 8th / 22nd
June: 5thth 6:30p.m.: Last meeting of Daisy School Year 2007 1st grade
Daisies Bridge to Brownies: Night meeting Date and Time TBA Later

Membership Dues:
Our troop dues for the year will be $30. The dues collected by the chapter will go toward troop crafts, supplies, badges and pins and insurance coverage for outings and overnight trips and membership into the Girl Scouts USA. Field trips and outings will be in addition to the regular dues. One parent /guardian from each family will also be asked to join the Troop as an adult member. The Adult fee of $10 dues will cover the membership into the GSUSA and will include an automatic insurance coverage from the GSUSA for all outing, trips and overnighters that the parent goes on.

Business Sponsorship of our troop:
To give our Daisies the best experience in this Daisy year we are looking for one or two business sponsorship that will ease the start up costs of our troop, IE: crafts supplies, photocopies, pins and badges. The business will receive acknowledgement in any publications we send out as well as a banner to be carried in the 4th of July Parade/s we participate in. If you know of someone who would like to sponsor our troop please contact Wendy Winkler at: wawink@comcast.net

Supplies:
Being that this is the start of a brand new troops we are asking that each girl
contribute to the Troop Supplies by bringing the following supplies to the first meeting.
scissors
Package of #2 pencils
1 box of crayons
1 package 8-12 thin washable markers
2 glue sticks
Meetings:
· Start-Up: A simple activity to be done as girls arrive/ allowing the leaders to get set up.
· Opening: Girl Scout Promise, flag ceremony/ Color Guard, and a simple song.
· Daisy /Friendship Circle: Chapter information to be shared with the girls and possible decision making See description below
· Activities: One or more program activities or craft
· Snack: Each meeting a different girls will be asked to bring a healthy snack to share with the troop. Girls will receive notice prior to their snack date.
· Clean Up: A Girl Scout leaves a place cleaner than she found it.
· Closing a meeting : Closing Song: Good Bye until next time.

Uniform:
· December 2nd- February 6th: Blue/ White Shirt
· Blue Daisy Tunic-Provided by parents Approx $13: Worn for the 1st time during the Investiture meeting February 20th
We are doing this because we understand that this is a new experience and Daisies might not be for every girl. This will allow our girls 2 months to see if this is something they would like to commit to further, without parents having to purchase a uniform that will never be worn again. In January we will send home purchasing information.
· Yellow Insignia Tab: Provided by parents Approx: $3
· Daisy Iron On Patch Provided by parents Approx $7 ( To be given to troop leaders and will be given back to the girls once they earn the appropriate petal) Parents will iron on patch before next meeting.
· Daisy Girl Scout Membership Pin: supplied by troop and will receive at the Daisy Investiture Ceremony
· We will not require the girls to purchase the Daisy books, any activities we do we will supply the needed information.

Daisy Sister
Each Daisy will be paired up with another Daisy. This will allow the girls a chance to interact with each other on a personal basis and practice the sisterhood of Daisies. Daisy Sister assignments will be done prior to the first meeting. They will also start earning their first badge “ Sisterhood of Girls Scouts” by taking this first step.

Patrols:
Depending on the number of girls, they will be divided into smaller groups called PATROLS. These groups will allow girls to share and participate on a smaller scale as well as learn in the dynamics of a group setting. These patrols will be assigned specific tasks within the meeting IE: Flag Color Guard, Snacks, Clean up, etc.

Daisy Investiture Meeting:
The formal induction into our Daisy troop. Girls will invite their families to be a witness and support them in their decision to officially become a Daisy. This is a beautiful Candle ceremony where the girls will recite the meaning behind the daisies, the girl Scout pledge and receive their Daisy Pins from their troop leaders. The pins will be placed upside down on the girls BLUE TUNIC ( worn for the first time to this event) and parents will be asked to turn it right side up once the girls have completed a good deed. A small reception will follow the ceremony.

Uniform:
· December 2nd- February 6th: Blue/ White Shirt
· Blue Daisy Tunic-Provided by parents Approx $13: Worn for the 1st time during the Investiture meeting February 20th
We are doing this because we understand that this is a new experience and Daisies might not be for every girl. This will allow our girls 2 months to see if this is something they would like to commit to further, without parents having to purchase a uniform that will never be worn again. In January we will send home purchasing information.
· Yellow Insignia Tab: Provided by parents Approx: $3
· Daisy Iron On Patch Provided by parents Approx $7 ( To be given to troop leaders and will be given back to the girls once they earn the appropriate petal) Parents will iron on patch before next meeting.
· Daisy Girl Scout Membership Pin: supplied by troop and will receive at the Daisy Investiture Ceremony
· We will not require the girls to purchase the Daisy books, any activities we do we will supply the needed information.

Daisy Sister
Each Daisy will be paired up with another Daisy. This will allow the girls a chance to interact with each other on a personal basis and practice the sisterhood of Daisies. Daisy Sister assignments will be done prior to the first meeting. They will also start earning their first badge “ Sisterhood of Girls Scouts” by taking this first step.

Patrols:
Depending on the number of girls, they will be divided into smaller groups called PATROLS. These groups will allow girls to share and participate on a smaller scale as well as learn in the dynamics of a group setting. These patrols will be assigned specific tasks within the meeting IE: Flag Color Guard, Snacks, Clean up, etc.

Daisy Investiture Meeting:
The formal induction into our Daisy troop. Girls will invite their families to be a witness and support them in their decision to officially become a Daisy. This is a beautiful Candle ceremony where the girls will recite the meaning behind the daisies, the girl Scout pledge and receive their Daisy Pins from their troop leaders. The pins will be placed upside down on the girls BLUE TUNIC ( worn for the first time to this event) and parents will be asked to turn it right side up once the girls have completed a good deed. A small reception will follow the ceremony.


Girl Scout Glossary:
· Girl Scout sign: Hold the middle three fingers up by putting your pinky
and your thumb together.
· Girl Scout handshake: Shake hands with your left hand while making the
Girl Scout sign with your right hand.
·Friendship circle: This stands for an unbroken chain of friendship with
Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all around the world. Everyone stands in a
circle and places their right arm over her left and holds hands. Everyone makes a silent wish as a friendship squeeze is passed from hand to hand.
· Friendship squeeze: After someone shares something in the circle, she
squeezes the hand of the person standing next to her, who shares something and then squeeze passes on around the circle.
· Quiet sign: Hold up your right hand. As people in the group see the quiet
sign, they stop talking and also raise their hands. Once everyone is silent,
the meeting continues.
· Girl Scout motto: “Be prepared!”
· Girl Scout slogan: “Do a good turn daily!”
· Daisy Girl Scout Circle: A circle that the girls can sit in to share ideas.
· Earned recognition: Daisy Petals, the Promise Center symbolizes the
learning of the GS Promise and each petal earned is for a part of the GS
Law each



The Girl Scout Promise: On my honor, I will try:To serve God and my country,To help people at all times,And to live by the Girl Scout Law

Parents Introduction Letter

Dear Parents,

We are very excited to announce the forming of Daisy Troop 41184 here at Ames.
This troop will be open to All Kindergarten Girls and 1st grade girls who wish to participate.

We have a wonderful group of Moms and friends who will take various roles in the troop, all with the goal of making this a memorable year for our Daisies.

Please read over following packet with our Daisy Troop information and feel
free to contact any of the leaders below with any questions you may have.

Enclosed you will find a permission slip that is for the 1st meeting attendance.
We have so many exciting things planned…..we hope you can join us as we start our girls off in the Great World of Scouting.

Sincerely,

Daisy Troop Leaders
Wendy Winkler
Joan Kanatas
Renata Coffey
Katie Kowal