Considerate and Caring

The girls heard from a Junior Girl Scout and Bowman alumna who are putting the lines "considerate and caring" (from the Girl Scout Law) into action through the One Warm Coat http://www.onewarmcoat.org and Rows for Refugees http://rowsforrefugees.blogspot.com/ initiatives. If any questions come up regarding the Rows for Refugees discussion please feel free to contact me--difficult discussions and a difficult situation.

Troop 60963 Brownies put these words into action themselves by bringing in donations to the Ecumenical Hunger Program http://www.ehpcares.org, THANK YOU TO ALL.  We didn't discuss how these good are going to be used and by whom today but we will have a guest speaker from EHP at a January meeting to explain.

Girls then broke out into Daisy- and Brownie-centered activities. Daisies dissected the lines of the Girl Scout promise and law--part of beginning their journey. They also completed some crafts concerning the environment--a result was a Girl Scout bird bath!

Brownies created a mural focusing on "needs"and "wants". Our parent helper today did a fantastic, pinch-hit, job of leading the girls through a pretend scenario of budgeting a Girl Scout outing. The Brownies are asked the work with pretend or real budgets when shopping for groceries, gifts, or school supplies over the next month. Again, please feel free to ask me any questions. This can be completed before our next meeting on January 8 and will be an important step towards earning the Money Management badge.

Whew! The Brownies also learned three, new songs of their choosing! Below are the lyrics if the girls want to practice. Kristin and I will send out an email earlier in January regarding our schedule for the next few months. Lots of optional outings are planned! Happy 2016.

Jump, Jump, Jump

Jump, jump, jump! Jump over the moon.
Jump all of the morning, and jump all of the noon.


Jump, jump, jump! Jump over a star.
Choose one that is twinkling, and not so very far.


Jump, jump, jump! Jump over the sea.
Jump over the dry land, and jump over me!

The Fairy Ship

A ship, a ship a sailing, a sailing on the sea
And it was deeply laden with pretty things for me.

There were raisins in the cabin and almond in the hold
The sails were made of satin, and the mast it was of gold.

The four-and-twenty sailors that stood between the decks
Were four-and-twenty white mice, with rings about their necks.

The captain was a duck, a duck with a jacket on his back
And when this fairy ship set sail, the captain he said "quack!"

Christmas Is Coming

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!
Please put a penny in the old man's hat (twice)

A Day at the Bank

The girls enjoyed a field trip to the Santa Clara Wells Fargo Bank branch at Rivermark Plaza on Saturday, Nov 14th.  They toured the branch and got to see the ATM room and the safe deposit room, areas that are typically not accessible to general customers.  They learned how a bank works, how to budget, what charitable giving is and why it is important, and they learned about the different types of money.  They also got a very brief and general overview of financial planning.  It was a lot of information packed into a very small window of time but everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and they got to take home some budgeting worksheets to go over with their parents so they can start putting their newly learned skills to work!

The Brownies began earning their Philanthropy badge.  The Daisies earned two leaves “Making Choices” and “Money Counts”.  Please refer to the last blog entry with the uniform link to learn where these leaves should be placed on the vest.

It was a wonderful meeting and we look forward to seeing the girls on December 11th at Bowman for our next meeting.

Uniforms and Wells Fargo

Kristin found this great link about Daisy and Brownie uniforms:
http://www.gsnorcal.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsnorcal/documents/troop_resources/troop-resources-uniform-insignia-booklet.pdf

Please send her any further questions you may have about them.

Please see the earlier blog post regarding the Wells Fargo trip this Saturday, November 14. Direct questions to Kristin as she will be leading this excursion. 

I have secured spots for everyone who RSVP'd for the trips on January 23 and February 13 (Brownies only). The January trip will be paid for by the troop. I will be in touch next week regarding the reimbursement for February 13.

Have a great week!

Upcoming Meetings and Events


Our next meeting will be SATURDAY, November 14, 3-5pm at the Rivermark Wells Fargo bank (Rivermark Village, 3920 Rivermark Plz. Santa Clara, CA 95054).

Peggy Lim has organized a visit to the bank for the girls to learn more about financial literacy as they will be pursuing these badges this year.

Please drop your daughter off with Kristin at Live Oak Park:  http://santaclaraca.gov/Home/Components/ServiceDirectory/ServiceDirectory/304/2654.

Kristin will return the girls to the park by 5pm for pick up.

Following this meeting we will next meet, Friday, December 11 at Bowman. Kristin and I are hoping to organize a field trip this afternoon so stay tuned for further details.

Due to holidays and the Bowman schedule our next meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 8.

Please remember to get concerning the proposed outings for 2016. I have only four responses for the January 23 tour (see previous blog post for details) and I need to book soon.

It's Your World-Change It!


During the first meeting of the year the girls freely expressed their ideas about what they wanted out of Girl Scouts for 2015-2016. Popular suggestions for excursions included: ice skating, horseback riding, camping, visiting an animal shelter or zoo.

The Daisies and Brownies voted to pursue the journey entitled It's Your World-Change It!. Both Daisies and Brownies will pursue this journey in tandem. Brownies will also earn some of the accompanying skill-building badges; they also voted for the Brownie crest depicting a bee and symbolizing hard work but having fun while you're doing it. For more details see: http://www.girlscouts.org/en/our-program/journeys/it-s-your-world-change-it-.html

Esha and Elise, the two new members to our troop, were welcomed by their Girl Scouts friends. Many girls shared their favorite things about each of the girls as a manner of introduction. As a result, the girls earned the Make New Friends badge, below. This badge can be placed on the back of the vest.

Did you know that the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, will celebrate her birthday on October 31? Her nickname was Daisy! The girls made birthday cards for Juliette while learning about her life.

The girls ended the meeting by decorating a troop banner with their handprints and names. We hope to use the banner for yearly events such as parades, picnics, etc.

Housekeeping

Kristin will be sending out a reminder regarding uniforms shortly, please connect with her if you have any questions.

There are several upcoming events which will either be attended by the troop, and covered by dues, or could be interesting to your Girl Scout and/or family.

They include:

January 2
Oracle Arena, Oakland

Cheer on the 2015 NBA National Champs as the Golden State Warriors take on the Denver Nuggets. Girls will get a fresh GSNorCal + Warriors patch and the opportunity to participate in a dance clinic with the Warrior Girls and perform it on court during the evening festivities!

http://www.nba.com/warriors/tickets/groupnights/girlscouts

My family and I love basketball and have yet to see the Warriors play. This is a 7:30 tip-off so we are still deciding if we want to go but let me know if your family is interested. This event is not a troop event but as go/pay on your own opportunity.

January 23
Hiller Aviation Museum
10am-12pm

Girls build and fly their own balsa glider and tour the museum. A Hiller Aviation Museum patch is provided.

This would be a troop event if enough girls are interested and would be covered by dues. Please let Gina know if you are available by November 1.

February 13
Tech Museum, San Jose
2-4pm

Many science experiments, including making your own silly putty, which culminated in the Home Scientist Badge (a skills-building badge for Brownies).

This will be a BROWNIE-ONLY event. It is not being offered as a troop event as the cost is $35/girl. However, we can coordinate transportation as I hope many girls choose to go. Matilda and I plan on attending. Please let Gina know if you are interested and available by November 1. Spots are filling up quickly. Gina will register the interested girls, pay for the group, and can be reimbursed later.

April 4
San Jose
time, TBD

A craft-centric event run by older Girl Scouts which can relate to various aspects of the journey badges.

This would be a troop event if enough girls are interested and would be covered by dues. Please let Gina know if you are available by November 1.

Finally, there are still a few girls missing paperwork and dues! Please submit at your earliest convenience.

Kristin and I are very excited to start the Girl Scout year with your Daisy and Brownie daughters!

Our first meeting is scheduled for next Friday, October 23 from 4-5:30pm. We will be meeting downstairs in the staff lounge this year.

We will gather the girls upstairs at 4pm and then proceed to the meeting area.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions/concerns. We plan to have blog posts after every meeting and/or field trip this year!