Troop Policies and Information
Brownie Troop 570
Policy and Procedures
Brownie Troop 570 welcomes 1st, 2nd and 3rd year Brownies to our Troop. We look forward to working with the girls this year and will adapt to whatever level the girls are currently at.
Troop Leaders:
Leader- Cheryl Terry (Miss Cheryl)
Home: 570-689-0910 or cell: 570-430-3525
Email: Katgat@echoes.net
Assistant Leaders-1.Bill Terry (Mr. Terry)
Home: 570-689-0910 or cell 570-430-3533
Email: medic529@echoes.net
2.Milissa King (Miss Milissa)
Home: 570-503-1930 or cell 570-983-8717
Email: mking951@aol.com
Troop's Private Website:
Check out our private troop website for updates, newsletters, photo gallery, snack schedules and much more. Check for updates and important information frequently. Please let us know if you do not have Internet access or are having difficulties with the website. Our troop website is http://www.brownies570.1hwy.com/ ** This is a private website available only to our troop. Only those given the website may access it. It is not obtainable through a general search. For the privacy and safety of our girls, please do not give out this website to anyone other than our troop family.
Committees:
What part can you do? Please see sign up sheet for what part you can play in helping make this troop a great one. Please sign up as it helps us out tremendously.
Meeting times:
Meetings will be held every Wednesday starting
September 17th, 2008 and ending May 27th, 2009. Additional dates maybe added for special events and field trips. Meetings start at 6pm with a 5-10 minute grace period for girls to socialize and complete a pre-meeting activity. Meetings end at 7:30pm and pick-up is expected on time. Pick-up times are strictly enforced. For safety, please escort your child into the building when dropping off or picking up your child.
The late pick-up policy is as follows:
1st offense- warning
2nd offense: Brownie girl will be restricted from attending next Troop event/meeting
3rd offense: Brownie girl will be removed from Troop roster and will not be entitled to attend any additional troop events/meetings. No refunds of dues will be issued.
If you know you will be late for pick-up, please let us know but make every effort to have an alternate pick-up person. If at any time your child will be picked up by someone other than the parent, please send in a written note stating such and who will be the person picking up your child. The safety of your children is of the utmost importance to us, therefore a photo ID maybe required of those we are not familiar with when picking up your child.
Meeting and Snow policy: NO SCHOOL/EARLY DISMISSAL DUE TO WEATHER MEANS NO SCOUTS. (We follow Wallenpaupack School District Closures.) Notice will be given if troop will meet when school is out because of a holiday break. If Snow begins after school is out and an event/meeting has to be cancelled, the Telephone Mom Manager will contact you.
Sickness, Late and "No Show" policy- if you are sick, on vacation or for some reason just not planning on attending a troop event/meeting, please be courteous and call one of the leaders to let us know. After 3 "no show with no courtesy phone call", the brownie will be removed from the troop roster. Parent will need to contact one of the leaders with an update and intentions for rejoining the troop. As for sickness, please use good judgment and do not send child if exhibiting signs of sickness. If your child will be late for an event/meeting, kindly join us quietly to participate in the rest of the scheduled activities for the day.
Membership and Troop Dues:
Annual (non-refundable) Girl Scout Membership fee of $10 is due yearly when registering with the troop. Cash or check is required payable to the "GSHPA."
Troop Dues are $75.00 for the year- which works out to be $1-2 per week. Cash/Checks (payable to GSHPA Troop 50-570).
We have established a payment plan with 2 options for your convenience:
Plan A: Payment of entire year dues/pay full amount of $75.00 by October 1st, 2008
Plan B: Payment due in 2 installments- $37.50 due by October 1st, 2008 and second payment of $37.50 due by January 28th, 2009.
Dues must be paid by due dates or Brownie will not be able to attend any further troop events/meetings till dues are paid up to date.(This teaches the girls responsibility and that there are consequences.)Dues are nonrefundable and become part of the troop funds. Dues pay for try-it badges, pins, and Celebration parties, supplies as needed and 1 field trip per year. Additional Monies maybe required for extra activities and field trips. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify. Please see Miss Cheryl if you would like more information or to apply.
Uniforms:
- Required Uniforms and Prices:
Sash- $5.75 for 59" long sash (we recommend this size for all girls as they will need to wear it for all 3 years of Brownies.)
Troop Numbers (3 total) 5-7-0- $1.25 each (total cost for the 3 numbers is $3.75)
American Flag- $1.75
Council ID Bridge set- $4.00
Brownie Insignia Tab- $ 2.50
Parents are responsible for buying the sash and the other required insignia. (See prices above for totaling costs.) To help assist parents with acquiring the necessary uniform and insignias required, we will make a ONE-TIME trip to the council store to purchase these items for you.
If you would like us to get your Childs uniform and insignias, please complete and send in the uniform form with payment no later than October 1st, 2008. UNIFORM DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 1st in order for us to have the uniforms in time for the Investiture/Rededication Ceremony.
- Optional Uniforms if wanted but not required:
Blue Short sleeve shirt- $18.00 or Mock Turtleneck- $18.95
Skort- $23.00 or Cargo Pants- $23.00
Brown Socks- $5.00 or Tights- $4.75
Tie- $5.00 Belt- $5.75 Beanie- $5.75
Note: any brown belt, socks, tights or shoes are acceptable with the above uniform options.
Girl Scout attire, gifts and souvenirs can be obtained from the following locations:
- GSHPA Council Shop, Scranton-stop by and shop, phone or email orders. Call for available times. Madison Ave, Scranton, 877-582-2100 or 344-1224, or
Email: store@spgsc.org Cash/check/visa/MasterCard/discover
- Boscov's, Scranton or Wilkes Barre
- Dunkelberger's Sports, Stroudsburg
- Girl Scouts of America website- goshop.girlscouts.org however the prices are same regardless of where you order.
- Twinkle Toes, Hamlin
If you did not meet the uniform deadline, you will need to obtain the required uniform and insignias from one of the above locations before the Investiture Ceremony.
As many of our activities will be of the active nature, please ABSOLUTELY NO HEELEY'S OR FLIP FLOPS FOR MEETINGS OR FIELD TRIPS. Please try and refrain the girls from wearing good clothes/shoes for meetings and field trips as we do get messy/dirty with arts and crafts and games.
The troop funds will supply New Brownie/First Time Girl Scouts with the Brownie Pin at the Investiture Ceremony and a World Trefoil Pin to those who have not received one previously on Thinking Day Celebration in February. Every Brownie Girl Scout will also be given a Brownie Membership Star Pin in May at our Last Meeting End of Year Bash.
Please see copy of the official placement of pins, badges and other insignia that is included in your Childs folder.
Snack:
Each week after our activity time, we will have a short period for snack time. We will assign a rotating schedule for bringing in snacks. On your assigned week, please send in a snack (small plates and plastic ware if necessary) and either juice boxes or bags. We will provide the napkins. The snack schedule will also list any allergies the girls may have. Please pay close attention to the snacks and drinks you supply for any of the noted allergies.
Communication:
We feel communication is the best policy! We want to keep the lines of communication open. Please feel free to contact us with concerns, questions and suggestions. We have set up a "Communication File". Each week the girls/parents should check their file to retrieve any important papers/permission slips and updates. I will have a file in the front of the "Communication File". Any correspondence or money sent in should be placed in a sealed envelope with my name on the front and the girls name inside the envelope and placed in my folder. We will be posting a monthly newsletter on the website and also on a poster board during meetings the first meeting of each month. This will help to update you on events occurring for the month, any reminders and the snack schedule. Please take a few moments to check out the newsletter and updates. If a written copy is needed, please let us know.
Crafts:
We will be completing crafts throughout the year. Some will be related to earning Try-it badges and once a month we will do a fun "Holiday" craft associated with the Holiday that month. Periodically, we will send home a "craft wish list" requesting donated items to assist us with completing those crafts. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.
Field Trips:
We are looking forward to taking the girls on several field trips throughout the year, some free and a few may require additional monies. The troop funds have been set up to pay for 1 field trip per year. Although the field trips are optional, we feel they will be a valuable teaching experience for your Child, not to mention, a fun outing! We plan to offer some suggestions but will allow the girls to plan their year of activities by a majority vote. Permission slips and Health History forms are needed for every trip and must be completed for every girl and adult accompanying the trip. Permission slips will be sent home and must be returned at least one week prior to trip with payment (if needed). Any "non-registered" persons attending any Brownie meeting/event/field trip must fill out a Health History and parental permission form in order to accompany the troop. GS Insurance is available for "non-registered" individuals for trips; if interested, please see Miss Cheryl. Insurance costs will vary based on the total number of non-registered members attending, with a minimum fee of $5 per event coverage. For outings, please dress appropriately for any changing weather conditions,send a spare set of clothes and have them wear old clothes and shoes as we do get dirty/wet.
Troop Roster and photo release:
We would like to compile a Troop Roster with the names and phone #'s of each girl. Each girl on the roster will receive a copy. This will allow the Telephone Mom manager to make the necessary calls when needed and will allow you to call other Brownies should you need car pooling or for invitations to Birthday events. We have many fun and exciting things planned this year and would like to capture the memories with pictures. We need your permission to perform either one of those tasks. If you approve, please sign your name to each authorization sheet. As we now have a private troop website, we would also like to have the troop roster and photos we take added to the website. Please sign the website photo authorization form if you approve of the photos being added to the website. If you object to the troop roster on the website, please initial under the "NO" area on the troop roster.
Fundraising Activities:
The Girl Scouts of America sponsor 2 fundraising events each year. Each troop is responsible for participating in the QSP/nut sale and the Famous Cookie sale. They benefit both the troop and the girls individually. The fundraisers provide the troop with additional monetary assistance, we otherwise would not receive. Funds received from fundraising sales, as given by the council, are considered troop funds and not individual rewards. Girls will receive "cookie credit" in late spring, based on their sales, to be used towards troop trips. We ask that each girl participate in the fundraisers. Specific details will be sent home as we receive them. As for the cookie sale, we will be setting up booth sales where the most money is usually raised. We will be asking each Brownie/parent to sign up for at least one- 2 hour time slots but would greatly appreciate if you assist and sign up for more. The more we sell, the more we get! Specific credit to the girls will be based on the hours assisting at the booth events, how many boxes are sold during their time slots and how many boxes she sells individually to family and friends. Girls must be in full uniform when attending or performing in ANY Girl Scout/ Brownie function.
Any checks written to the troop for dues, field trips, fundraising, etc. should be written to GSHPA Brownie Troop 50-570 and place into a sealed envelope with my name, your child's name and what it is for and then placed into my folder in the communication file.
