The Girl Scout Promise and Law
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
The Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Girl Scout Troop #
Our troop meets the ______and ______of each month from _____ p.m. at ______. Your daughter can get to our meeting by ______
______
We will communicate primarily through e-mail as it is difficult and time consuming to phone everyone.
Administration
REGISTRATION COSTS: There is a $10 fee for annual Girl Scout National Dues. This $10 per person primarily covers insurance. We require the primary parent to register as well for insurance purposes. If you feel both parents will be carpooling and attending events, please register both parents.
ANNUAL TROOP DUES: Our troop collects annual dues of $_____. This is normally done in October. The money helps defray costs of badges, snacks, and activities throughout the year. As the year progresses, there is also often a fee associated with specific field trips. We ask the participating scout to pay for those as well.
FUND RAISING: The most famous fund-raiser in Girl Scouting is Cookies. Scouts take orders in January, make deliveries in March, and do site sales in March of each year. This is our major fund-raising source, and the troop receives $0.55 per box of cookies sold. Also, we will need a TROOP COOKIE MANAGER. If anyone is interested, let me know!
FINANCIAL AID: If a parent ever feels the cost of scouting is becoming too much on their budget, please let me know. You can fill out a financial aid form request to help pay for that scout’s activities. On the other hand, if you feel you could help pay for a girl’s activities, please let us know that as well.
PERMISSION SLIPS: Whenever the troop meets outside the normal meeting location, a permission slip is required. We will fill out a permission slip that will last for one year. Details about the event will be given out through email or at our meetings.
HEALTH FORMS: At the beginning of the year, you will be asked to fill out a Health History Form and Emergency Consent Form. We take these on every trip, so in the event that something happens to a Scout, we will have all the needed medical information at hand. Adults who travel with the troop are also asked to fill these forms out. Forms will be photocopied and kept in sealed envelopes for privacy reasons.
UNIFORMS: There is only one “required” uniform item in Girl Scouting, and that’s the Girl Scout pin. However, in Brownie Scouts, girls enjoy wearing the uniform items, and at certain events, we look best wearing whatever “official” items we own. We will be purchasing the following for each girl:
Brownie Vest
GSUSA Identification Strip
Brownie Troop Numeral
Brownie Girl Scout Insignia Tab
World Association Pin
Brownie Girl Scout Pin
If your daughter wants to buy more parts or the complete uniform, they can be purchased at the Girl Scout Western Washington Council Shop, 601 Valley, Seattle, WA. You can also order by phone at 206-633-5600. Girl Scouts USA allows you to order on-line. The website address is http://www.girlscouts.org. J.C. Penney’s also has on-line and a mail order section for scout uniforms. Locally you can find uniforms at The Grange in Issaquah and The Treehouse in Redmond. I recommend you purchase all you can from our Council Shop as the money earned from the sales stays in our Council.
Girls are not required to buy any books this year. The books require reading skills which many of the girls do not yet possess.
Parent Support
CO-OP TROOP:
There needs to be at least two adults at each meeting. This means, it will be necessary for parents to be involved. To participate in our troop; each parent will have the responsibility for one or two meetings between November and June. (Note any parent is welcome to join us at any of the meetings.)
Troop Policies
The promise and girls scout law will guide behavior expectations.
Pick up
Please arrive 5-10 minutes before the end of troop meetings.
Uniforms
Vests should be worn to meetings and events.
School Closure
Assume the meeting is cancelled unless you hear from me.
Girl Scout Program
Girl Scouts of the USA is committed to helping today’s girls become tomorrow’s leaders. For over 90 years, the Girl Scout program has delivered quality experiences for girls locally, nationally, and internationally. The Girl Scout program is girl-driven, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of participating girls. It provides girls with a wide variety of opportunities. The program encourages increased skill building and responsibility, and also promotes the development of strong leadership and decision-
making skills. All program activities are age-appropriate and based on The Four Program
Goals, as well as on the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
Girl Scouting is open to all girls ages 5 to 17. Girls participate in the more than 233,000 troops and groups throughout the United States and in 81 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas. More than 300 local Girl Scout councils offer the opportunity for membership in every corner of the United States.
There are five age levels in Girl Scouting:
• Daisy Girl Scouts, 5-6 years old
• Brownie Girl Scouts, 6-8 years old
• Junior Girl Scouts, 8-11 years old
• Cadette Girl Scouts, 11-14 years old
• Senior Girl Scouts, 14-17 years old
THE FOUR PROGRAM GOALS:
In Girl Scouts, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. The Girl Scout program includes a myriad of enriching experiences, including field trips, sports skill-building clinics, community service projects, cultural exchanges, and environmental stewardships.
Our unique experiences allow girls to grow courageous and strong by helping them:
• Develop their full individual potential
• Relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect
• Develop values to guide their actions and provide the foundation for sound decision making
• Contribute to the improvement of society through their abilities, leadership skills, and
cooperation with others
Girls Scout Organization
NATIONAL: The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) is located in New York, and is administered by a national staff of professional Girl Scouts. Local Girl Scout Councils direct activities in cities and communities.
COUNCIL: The Girl Scout program for the Western Washington area is administered by the GirlScout Western Washington (GSWW), head quartered in Seattle, WA. They have a primary office at 601 Valley, Seattle, WA 980199 and small outreach offices (the closest to us in Bellevue).
SERVICE UNIT: This is the unit we most often interact with. Our Service Unit is made up of all the schools that are on the southern half of the plateau, and there are currently over 50 Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, and Senior Girl Scout troops in our Service Unit. We are known as “Service Unit 440.” Throughout each year, the Service Unit sponsors activities, ranging from our annual Spring Encampment, to service projects, to dance, and badge workshops. Service Unit events are an opportunity for the girls in a troop to see and work with other girls they normally know from school or their neighborhoods.
TROOP: The Troop is the basic unit for Scouting activities. It’s composed of girls who live in the same area, and often, but not necessarily, go to the same school. We are “Troop _____” and we will keep that troop number throughout our years in scouting. Our troop comprises of girls from ______Elementary School. The size of troops and frequency of troop meeting times are dependent upon the Troop Leader.