Last Meeting of the 2011 and more!

What a wonderful day we had ice skating! We all agreed that it was just not long enough. Next time we will definitely allow 2 full hours for skating! The girls were so determined and focused in learning that surprisingly no one got discouraged. We are so proud! At the next meeting we'll present each girl with their Ice Skating Participation Patch.

I've been in touch with both Sterling Riding Academy and Pine Trails Ranch and both are willing to do a horseback riding day for our troop for the same cost as the Council charged. So I will set that up for after the first of the year.

Today in the mail I received our troop crests! Please bring $1.50 to the next meeting to pick up a crest. They are placed below the Heart of Central California patch on the Brownie Vest.

Our next meeting is a week from tomorrow and is officially our last meeting of year! Tamra has been kind enough to help with the preparation and execution of a holiday tea. We will teach manners, etiquette and introductions. The girls should wear normal clothes to school (along with their vest) and bring a fun hat, headband, tiara or hair pretty to wear at the tea. Target has some really cute headbands with halo's, Santa Clauses, snowflakes, etc. Fancy hats can be worn as well.

We will be doing a cookie exchange this year. Each Brownie should bring 1 dozen homemade, holiday cookies to share. This is the perfect time for you and your daughter to bake your favorite holiday cookie. For the purpose of transporting the cookies home, please refrain from using heavy frostings, etc. We'd like the girls to be exposed to the tradition of baking across many religions and celebrations, so please pick a cookie that is either a traditional cookie in your family going back many generations or a cookie that represents your holiday, cultural or religious celebrations. The girls will present their cookies and each will come home with a dozen cookies--one of everyone's. Think outside the norm of cookies like chocolate chip, sugar or other cookies popular year-round.

Lastly, the Girl Scout Holiday Boutique is this Sunday, December 11th. We technically have to RSVP to be given a time slot so I sent an email to the coordinator and let her know 3-4 girls would be attending. I will be taking Eliza for sure, but please let me know if you are interested in the other slots. More info: http://groups.dcn.org/davisgirlscouts/2011-holiday-boutique

November/December Troop Events

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a very relaxing and joyous Thanksgiving. I know most kids will not be so happy when the alarm goes off tomorrow morning!

This Wednesday is our Ice Skating Field Trip! We will depart Pioneer at 1:45ish and head to Vacaville Ice Sports: 551 Davis Street, Vacaville, CA 95688. (707) 455-0225. I only have one confirmed driver and that's Stacey, Chloe's mom. Please let me know if you can drive. We should be back in Davis no later than 3:45. The girls will be dropped off at home by their driver so please have someone home at that time. ALL PERMISSION SLIPS ARE DUE TO JEN BARTH TOMORROW!

We are solidifying our December schedule a bit and need your input! Originally the girls were going to participate in the Amazing Harmonatras performance on December 4th. The cost is a bit high for the event ($15 per girl), so I'd like to find out how many of you think your girls would be interested in going to the Girl Scout Holiday Boutique. The boutique is on Sunday, December 11th. It's very similar to the Davis Art Center kids gift bazaar. Each girl can bring money and buy gifts for their loved ones, friends and even themselves. Items range between $.50 to $5. Recommended amount of money to bring is $10. The girls will earn a patch for their vest and also get an idea if next year, they would like to participate in the boutique by making and selling items! From what I gather at the leader meeting, this is an event they definitely don't want to miss!

Whether or not the girls decide to go to the boutique or participate in the Harmonatras, the activity takes the place of one meeting in December. Our last meeting in December (and for 2011) is on December 14th when we'll do our Holiday Tea. Tamra has been kind enough to offer to help put together a formal tea for the girls. We will have lessons in manners and also do a cookie exchange. Each girl will bring a dozen homemade cookies to swap.

Last, but not least, we will be putting together a troop donation drive headed by Kirsten Wold. Details on that will be forthcoming.

Please respond as soon as possible regarding the field trip, your vote on December events and action items above. Below are flyers of interest: Nutcracker 2011 tickets, Girl Scouts WICKED ticket availability, and December Horse events.

Upcoming Event Flyers

Nutcracker 2011
Download Flyer Here

Discounted WICKED (Broadway Sacramento) Tickets for Girl Scouts
Download Flyer Here

December Horse Events - CANCELLED

More Flyers on their way!

What We are Working on

So far this year, the girls have begun working towards their Safety Pin, GS Way badge, and have earned a patch for the back of their vest for celebrating Halloween. The Halloween patch is a Participation Patch and should be placed on the back of the vest. The next patch they will receive is the Participation Patch for Ice Skating.

Welcome to our Troop Website!

Hi everyone! This is our new troop website/blog. This website was created not only as an information portal for our troop but also to have a place where the girls can eventually star as guest "bloggers". I will post pictures, updates on patch/badge earning, meeting information and Girl Scout announcements here. This website will not be public, it will be for our Girls Scouts and their families to view. If you would like to follow the website, you can sign up to be a "follower" as well. You can invite your extended family members to follow the blog too. If you do not want to become a follower, you will be notified of updates via email. The website will replace the meeting and informational emails I send out before and after meetings and events! A few things you will find here:

• Upcoming Events List
• Troop Members and Leader information
• Important troop, service unit and GSUSA information and links
• Troop Google Calendar with the entire year posted
• Snack and parent host schedule
• Girl Scout Promise and Law
• Troop specific information such as troop philosophy, etc.

I am very excited to finally have a website up and running. I've wanted to do this since Daisies and I finally had the time to create and maintain it with my new work schedule! If you have any suggestions for additions to this site, please feel free to contribute. I would also love to have a parent as the occasional guest blogger!

Jen Allen