May/June 2008 GSCV Council Report Legislative Interns Propose Constitutional Amendment This dynamic group of young women has been very busy this legislative session. In addition to, their work with our Vermont legislators, meeting Governor Douglas, traveling to the United Nations, and speaking with former Governor Madeleine Kunin, they have now taken on the Vermont Constitution! Our interns have been an active voice for girls this year. Through the process, they recognized a gap in our election process. At present, 17-year-olds who will be 18 in time for the November election are unable to vote in the State Primary. These girls want teens to have a say! So they went about the process of finding out what could be done. They met with Senator Jeannete White and discovered that a change would require an amendment to the Vermont Constitution. So, that is what they decided to do! Talk about making the world a better place! The proposed amendment has already passed the Vermont Senate with only two dissenting votes! An excerpt from the amendment follows: "We believe that 17-year-olds in Vermont who will be 18 by the general election should be allowed to vote in the state primary elections. As 17year- olds who will be 18 by the elections and want to vote in their primaries, we feel this change would encourage more youth to be involved. Across the country, young people vote in the lowest percentages. Once people vote, however, they are more likely to continue voting. Beginning the process at 17 would increase voter efficacy and let voters know that people in government care about their votes. There is no reason why these youth should be kept from the primary polls, because they will be voting in the general election for the same presidential race. Shouldn’t the youth who are going to vote for a president be able to say for whom they intend to cast that vote? Denying 17-year-olds the right to vote in the primary not only limits their voting options, it also limits their voice..." Spring Registration is in Full Swing! The Spring Road Shows were FANTASTIC. It was great to see so many volunteers across the state enthusiastically embracing the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience! Volunteers see this change as support for new leaders; an additional resource for experienced leaders; and, most importantly, an excellent opportunity for girls! Several leaders shared that they had planned to step down, but are so excited about the new Journeys they are planning to return again! The New Leadership Experience is a great adult recruitment resource and more adults means more girl members. Just remember how contagious your enthusiasm can be! Spring Registration is well underway. The deadline has been extended to June 15. All girls who are registered by June 15 will be eligible to attend a FREE fall program "surprise" event! Watch for more information! Also, Spring registration packets have been mailed directly to Juliettes and their mentors. Juliettes are eligible for the FREE fall program as well. Please encourage Juliettes to participate. Adult Leadership Summit August 2 ~ Save the Date! Join us August 2 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier for a very special Council-wide Leadership Summit for all adult volunteers. We will explore how to make the transform- ation to the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience; review the Girl Scout Journeys and learn how to get started; investigate more about Pathways; learn how to use girl-led, learning-by- doing, and cooperative learning processes; and see how "Outcomes" are the engine for it all. New resources will be available for purchase, as well! Details will follow. Watch for a special invitation to arrive in the mail this summer. Please Consider a Gift to the Stargazing Platform Sharon A. Baade, CEO, is a shining star of our Girl Scout Council of Vermont. To honor Sharon and celebrate the many accomplishments of the Council under her leadership, we are building the Sharon A. Baade Star-Gazing Platform at Camp Wapanacki attached to the Recreation Hall. You may see the structure if you visit Camp Wapanacki during Do- Dads, Great Brownie Camp- outs, or dropping your kids off for summer camp. The platform will be a permanent appreciation of Sharon’s love of camp, of the night sky, and of her passionate commitment to the girls of Vermont. This campaign is attempting to fund the building of the structure and to provide program supplies to enable girls to see the stars and learn about the sky’s science and its cross-cultural connections. The campaign to raise funds for the Sharon A. Baade Star- Gazing Platform is off to a great start with almost $4,000 committed through our Leadership kickoff with board and staff members. We have 100% participation – that’s all Board members and all GSCV staff making contributions! Letters were mailed to all adult Girl Scouts in mid-May asking for your participation in acknowledging Sharon’s work. There are several ways to be part of the celebration: • Simply complete the form enclosed with the letter; • Contact Dannah Beauregard with your credit card contribution information at dbeauregard@girslcoutsvt.org or 800-639-3055 x103; or • Go online to the GSCV Donations page of the website, www.girlscoutsvt.org/donate.php using your credit card and mark STAR in the tribute area. You are invited to the formal presentation of this tribute gift, Saturday, October 25, 2008, as part of the final Girl Scout Council of Vermont Annual Meeting. Please mark your calendar now! In the meantime, stop by the Essex Service Center to see an artist’s rendition of the completed project. And, help us in our collection of words used to describe Sharon A. Baade and her commitment to Girl Scouting, by e-mailing your descriptive adjectives to Dannah Beauregard, dbeauregard@girslcoutsvt.org. By honoring Sharon’s efforts for Girl Scouts, we are acknowledging the accomplishments whereby 2,000 adult Girl Scouts can help make the world a better place for more than 5,000 Vermont girls. Thank you. Still Time for Girls to be Program Aides! Our Program Aide Leadership Program helps girls discover their leadership potential, connect with girls and program staff, and take action by working side-by-side with adults to implement programs for girls. This leadership program is open to girls currently in grades six and up and there are a variety of leadership options! Girls wanting to serve as Program Aides at one of the outdoor day camp programs must have both "Working with Kids" (WWK) and "Outdoor Cooking and Camping" (OCC) training. During OCC, girls learn basic outdoor camp craft skills such as fire building and cooking over an open fire. The final training component consists of attending one-week at one of our GSCV Day Camps. Outdoor Day Camp Program Aides work half of each day with unit leaders at camp and spend the second half of each day in fun activities designed specifically for their age group. Girls may register for camp as a Program Aide even though they are still in the process of completing their training. The camp registration fee is reduced by half for girls who have completed their training requirements. Girls still have time to complete trainings before camp. Check-out the dates and locations below: June 6-8 OCC Twin Hills, Richmond, or Branbury State Park, Salisbury $15 June TBA WWK Location TBA $15 June 17-18 WWK & OCC Vermont House, Hardwick $25 June 28 WWK & OCC Twin Hills, Richmond $25 Registration is through the Essex Service Center. Contact Carmel Quinn, Director of Teen Program, at 800/639-3055, x105 or cquinn@girlscoutsvt.org with any questions. The Journeys Are Coming! Beginning this Fall, Girl Scouts of the USA will be introducing the new "Girl Scout Journeys!" Each "journey" offers girls the opportunity to explore the three "keys to leadership" ~ Discover, Connect, and Take Action ~ in a fun and challenging way that allows them to reflect on what they have accomplished and what they have learned. Girls use a "journey book" as their guide. These books are a "map," journal, and handbook all in one! Each book focuses on a different theme and includes tips for planning and doing and ideas for customizing their "trip." This fall’s theme will be "Change Your World." What do the new Journeys offer? OPPORTUNITIES for growth and leadership development! You and your girls can: 1. Customize! Journeys provide "sample sessions" to give girls and volunteers ideas about sequencing experiences, discussions, and earning awards so that the "whole" feels like one big adventure. The adult books corresponding to the journeys contain many examples and encouragements to engage volunteers in creating the journey experience with girls. The journey will be much more fun and relevant as girls make it their own! 2. Stretch! Sample sessions in the journeys have been created to show how it is possible to have a Girl Scout leadership experience in 6-8 gatherings. Many girls and volunteers will quickly find there is more they will want to do! Those who have more time in Girl Scouts (a whole troop year perhaps!) can make the journey longer. The journey books are filled with tips for how to stretch out the experience. As their imaginations take hold, girls will have many more ideas about how to extend the journey with guidance from volunteers. 3. Link! Through the "It’s Your World - Change It" journey series, Girl Scouts at each level will be engaged in exploring some of the same themes. Consider, all the ways that girls networking together can increase the benefits of the journey. Are Ambassadors (grades 11-12) in the region interested in advocating together? Imagine every Girl Scout Senior (grades 9-10) in the region creating and exhibiting a unique vision for GIRLtopia. As Cadettes (grades 6-8) navigate the maze of relationship issues, what could they teach Juniors (grades 45)? What if Brownies (grades 2-3) link up on some of the steps of their quest? As Daisies (grades K-1) in one area of the Council engage in "growing something" how could they benefit from a family field trip to meet Daisies doing something similar in another area? These are just a few ideas of how expanding the connections Girl Scouts can make will contribute to powerful journey experiences around the country. 4. Explore Stories! Stories inspire girls (and adults!) to put values into action. The journey series engages girls in stories - real and fictional - of girls and women taking action in the world. Make use of these stories and expand upon them whenever you can - in any way that you and girls will enjoy. Stories, after all, capture the imagination and motivate. Ultimately, girls will create their own stories on the journey, meeting new people and taking action in the world. What other stories are going on in the region, and how can girls connect to them? What can girls find in stories - in art or life - that add to the feelings and ideas along this adventure? As a volunteer in Girl Scouts, your experiences - and your view of leadership - will influence and inspire girls. Use the reflection exercises in your journey guide to think about the three keys to leadership (Discover, Connect and Take Action) and how you can best apply them as you team up with Girl Scouts on their leadership journey. Got questions? Contact your SU Manager or Membership Marketing Director. You can even arrange for a special "journey" presentation at your next SU meeting. Camp Farnsworth Turns 100! And the Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council are throwing the "reunion of the century" at the camp, August 15-17, 2008. They are searching for generations of happy campers, alumnae of Camp Hanoum (its original name) and Camp Farnsworth (the current name), which began as an all-girls camp 100 years ago. Did you ever go there, or know someone who did? How about your mom, your grandmother, or a great aunt? Were you a counselor there? Anyone who remembers wish boats, the "rouse o’ spirit," zooming down the water slide, riding the zip line into beautiful Abenaki Lake, or mucking out the stables - in short, everyone who has ever attended - is invited. So call up your camp buddies and say "Horay!" (sic) to spread the word about the 100th birthday of Camp Farnsworth in Thetford, Vermont. Go to www.swgirlscouts.org and click on the right for the alumnae page for information, or call 800/654-1270. Then pull out your songbooks and memorabilia to bring for a rousing good time, as only Girl Scouts can do it! Girl Scouts Get Published! This spring, two of our teen members ~ Amanda Greene and Samantha Donovan ~ were invited to submit articles to New Moon magazine on issues of importance to young women. Amanda selected the topic "Mood Swings" and Samantha selected "Breast Development." At the time, the understanding was that, if approved, the magazine would select one of the articles to run in their September/October issue. On April 16, the Council heard from Heather Parfitt, Acting Managing Editor at New Moon. The magazine was so impressed with the hard work and writings of these girls that they have decided to run BOTH articles in their publication. Amanda's article will appear in the September/October issue. Samantha's will appear in the November/December issue. Parfitt wrote: "It looks like the girls worked really hard and I appreciate their willingness to tackle such tough subjects! I love Amanda’s informal style of writing. She uses some great metaphors and language to describe mood swings. Her “tips” section will look good as a sidebar (a part of the article that isn’t in the main story— but an “extra”). Samantha’s piece has some great information in it. I’m glad that she formatted it in a way that outlines the stages of breast development - this will be a very organized and easy way for our readers to understand her piece." Please join us in congratulating both Amanda and Samantha on their achievements. Excerpts from both articles follow: Mood Swings "Hey ladies! It’s time to learn some interesting facts about mood swings. To start, teenage years can be exciting and somewhat challenging. No one said it was going to be easy, especially when you’re a girl. Things might seem extra tough sometimes. The reason for that is something called “puberty”. Not only is the word weird, but the whole concept is confusing, not to mention not much fun. However, if you think about it in a human development way, it’s actually kinda cool and pretty special since it represents our first steps to womanhood. The first step in understanding puberty is knowing that the questions and concerns you have about your body are completely normal. With girls, puberty generally begins when you’re between the ages 9 and 13 and it lasts about 2 or 3 years until your body has completely changed. It normally stops when you’re between 11 and 16. Going through puberty includes going through mood swings. When mood swings start, something very strange happens, truckloads of hormones begin arriving day by day. Children who were once sweet, helpful, and fun to be around turn, almost overnight, into grunting creatures. I know it sounds scary, but everyone goes through it. Don’t worry, you won’t have it forever, it will pass. When you are going through a stage where you have mood swings, it might be hard to concentrate on things for more than 5 minutes at a time. Sometimes your parents think that, when they weren’t looking, aliens from the planet MTV snuck in and swapped you. Don’t worry about this. It happens to every single girl out there and it will eventually go away over time. ..." Breast Development "As you read the title you might be thinking "eww that sounds gross" and I have to admit it does sound gross, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. ... Breast development is one of the first signs that you are going through puberty. You’ll probably start noticing changes in your breasts between the ages of 9 and 12, but if you start earlier or later than that it’s okay, don’t worry. Oh and for those girls that know the exact size of breast you want, you’re probably going to discover that it might not turn out that way. There is no way to predict how big or how small your breasts will be when they are full grown. Also, if your’s have already started developing, you might notice that they are not the same size. Don’t worry about that either. It’s all completely normal. There are five stages in breast development. • Stage 1 is how your breasts looked before puberty began - flat to your chest, with an areola (the dark part) and raised nipple. • Stage 2 is when a raised bump called a breast bud begins to develop under each nipple. The nipples and areolas get larger and darker. You may feel some tenderness as the breast grows. • During Stage 3, the nipple and the areola continue to grow and get darker in color. Breasts get larger and may look a bit pointy. • Stage 4 is when the areola and nipple blend together in a mound that rises above the breast. Some girls skip this stage. • Finally you will reach Stage 5 where the breasts are fully developed, with a rounder, fuller shape. The areola will blend into the breast, while the nipple is raised about it. How long does it take for your breasts to fully develop? There’s no way to know for sure, but most girls reach Stage 5 about four to five years after their breasts begin developing..." Bennington Girls Nominated for "Young Women of Distinction" Award Each year Girl Scouts of the USA solicits nominations for their National Young Women of Distinction awards. The Girl Scout Council of Vermont has nominated Hillary Estes, Amanda Greenslet, and Renee Noel - students at Mount Anthony Union High School, Bennington for their work on "Jumping Across Vermont" - a Gold Project which designed and developed a peer mentoring program to extend the Girl Scouts’ Jump-In jump roping program throughout Vermont. Through their project the girls worked with the Council to establish five new camp locations. They helped train teen coaches and site coordinators to prepare them for upcoming camps and improve the overall camp experience. Trainings covered jump roping and dance techniques, topics on working with kids, safety, problem solving, team building and more. They also prepared an instructional video for use at future camp trainings. Only 10 young women from around the country will be selected to receive the national award. Whether or not our Bennington girls are honored, we are proud of their accomplishments and feel them worthy of the distinction. Please join us in celebrating their achievements. Enjoy Geocaching? Girl and Boy Scouts are invited to attend a geocaching event "Cache In, Trash Out" at Bolton Valley on June 22. While on a "cache" hunt, geocachers will collect trash along the trails and dispose of it properly. This is an opportunity for Girl Scouts to work on their "Linking Girls to the Land" badge. For more information visit: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details. aspx?guid=9ca606a8-5232-4fd9-9ac4-1c4a5cf7cc3e. Filling Out the Paperwork (3rd in a Series on Troop Finances) You’ve made it through the entire school year as a Girl Scout leader! Congratulations! You made so much good stuff happen for the girls. Now it’s time to tally up for the school year and submit your Troop Financial Report (form 119). Are you the type that records every transaction on form 465? Do you have a giant box of receipts to sort? Or, are you somewhere in between? Here’s the basics. First, gather bank statements, receipts, troop dues records, sponsorship agreements, other papers that have to do with troop money, form 465 (distributed at training) and form 119 (found in your fall troop kit). Now you may choose to do this report on paper or on computer. For those with access to the Internet, I highly recommend downloading from the GSCV website the combined version of the above forms. Go to the leaders’ page two, www.girlscoutsvt. org/Forms.php - about 2/3 of the way down the page click on the link on the right that says, "Forms 119 & 465 combined - Excel." You’re golden! Take each piece of financial information and put it into the "Detailed Cash Record of Troop" report, carefully using the "cost center" codes from the columns K and L. It’s really not much different than a checkbook register. With the magic of Excel formulas, the summary report will be created for you on the second worksheet page, Financial Report (make sure you see the tab with this title at the bottom of the spreadsheet). If Excel is new to you or you need assistance, please call your Service Unit Manager, or computer savvy MMD. For those paper and pencil kind of people, it’s not that much different. Use Form 465, Detailed Cash Record of Troop as a checkbook register-style record of income and expenses. You’ll need to do a summary of each type of transaction, so it may help to organize them before entering them. If you’ve been entering on this form throughout the year, just make an extra column on the right and code them by type. For example, deposits would be coded as Cookie income, QSP income, sponsorship income, etc. See Form 119 Troop Financial Report for the full list of categories. Most of your expenses will be in Program Supplies, Badges, Pins, Patches, or Troop Activities. Now, add categories! Take the summary numbers from form 465 and put it on the lines of form 119. Throughout the year you have been submitting quarterly bank statements to your MMD - September, December, March and June! When you receive the June statement, send it to your MMD or SU Treasurer with the completed financial report #119 from above. On the bottom of the report, be sure to include the specifics of your bank information: bank name, your bank account number, town your branch is located in, and names of the signers on your account (troop leader, assistant leader, and MMD). It’s a good idea to keep a copy of the report and statement for your files. Whew! Take that one off the to-do list! Don't Miss a Single Issueof the Council Report! Make Sure The Council has Your Most Current E-mail Address. Contact Registrar Colleen Campbellat ccampbell@girlscoutsvt.org or800/639-3055, x112 to update! Still Time to Register Whave been thrilled to see many girls returning to Camp Wapanacki, as well as new friends from New Hampshire. It's not too late! We still have space in both younger (grades 1-2) and older (6th grade and up) girl programs.There are a few spots for girls in grades 3-5, as well. Call Angela Hyldburg at 800/6393055, x113, for details. Sign up today! Volunteers Needed! Looking for some summer fun with girls? We would love to have you on our team! Volunteers are needed to support girls in the following areas: Day Camp Outdoor day camps are always looking for volunteers interested in sharing their love of the outdoors with girls. Free training is provided and kids of full-time day camp volunteers attend for 1/2price! To volunteer, contact your local Day Camp Director or Janet Francis, VP - Program Services, at 800/639-3055, x101, or jfrancis@girlscoutsvt.org. Teen Program Volunteers are needed to assist with the Smuggler's Notch Day on July 1 and the Canoe and Kayak Adventure on August 4th. No previous boating experience is required. Experienced guides will provide instruction. All you need is a passion for girls. For more information or to volunteer, contact Carmel Quinn at 800/6393055, x105 or cquinn@girlscoutsvt.org. Program descriptions are available on page two of the Summer SCOOP. You may view it on-line at http://www.girlscoutsvt.org/studio2b.php. Check Out These Trainings! The Girl Scout Council of Vermont is offering the following trainings in May and June: May 29 Partners in Planning, Program Planning, Age Level Specifics St. Albans Town School May 31 Outdoor Cooking and Camping Coventry June 7 Mega Training St. Albans Town Fire Station June 7 Outdoor Cooking and Camping Twin Hills, Richmond June 7 Outddor Cooking and Camping Branbury State Park, Lake Dunmore For more information and to register, contact Paulette Petelle at ppetelle@girlscoutsvt.org or 800/769-7451.