VISTA 8:

Co-managers

Marisa Naujokas 847-332-2829 evgs@comcast.net
Sara Sullins 847-733-2953 sullinss@bcbsil.com

Evanston Registrar

Jan Sarkor 224-723-0735 jansarkor@yahoo.com

Agenda

1. Cookies!

Excellent job everyone! We have successfully completed another year of selling cookies. We hope that your cookie adventure went smoothly. Evanston GS sold over 53,000 CASES of cookies!

Many thanks to our whole cookie team who put in many hours of work for our VISTA:
 Mary Fitch, Cookie Ambassador evgscookies@comcast.net
 Sara Sullins (also Evanston co-manager): Order Coordinator
 Cathy McCullough: Site Sale Coordinator cmccullough62@sbcglobal.net
 Becky Zwolinski and Rachel Sobel, Cookie Delivery Day Coordinators
 Caroline Miller: Incentives Coordinator ct.miller@att.net

We are preparing to put a team in place for next year. Mary Fitch will absolutely not be coming back next year, so we need an ambassador or a team (you can share the job). Let Sara or Mary know if you are interested.

2. Evanston GS wins major award!

Our SUVA/VISTA, Evanston Girl Scouts, has won the GSUSA President’s Award! This is a prestigious award and is considered a very high honor.

This award reflects the commitment and work of every leader in our VISTA. The award recognizes active GS communities that fulfill obligations (trainings, financial reports, etc) and represents an outstanding example of leadership and service to their girls.

EVGS is a vibrant GS community thanks to every one of us! We all deserve a pat on the back!

Our VISTA, and several of our leaders, will be recognized for this award and other Council-level awards at a Council luncheon on April 24th in Niles. Consider coming to see the best in Girl Scouting. If you would like to attend, contact Marisa (evgs@comcast.net). Outstanding Leader and Outstanding Volunteer awards are VISTA-level awards, and will be given out at our May meeting.

3. Membership Drive: Adult Volunteers and Kindergartners!

We are calling on all EVGS troops to get active in our membership drive!

Consider registering more adults in your troop, particularly if they chaperone or drive the girls. Adult registration is a matter of liability—if they are registered, then GSUSA stands behind them should anything come up. They can also think of it as a $12 donation to GS.

Also consider helping younger girls at your school get started in GS. We have already had two new Daisy troops get started in kindergarten classes at Willard and at Oakton. There will be recruiting/informational meetings at Pope John XXIII School and at Chariavalle. Add your school to the list!

These last few months of school can be a good time to hook girls’ interests for next year. Some troops are so excited they want to start now just so they can have a few meetings. All troops are welcome to meet over the summer as well. Think about it for March/April before things start getting busy in May.

If you are interested in setting up an informational meeting or inviting kindergartners to your meeting at your school, contact Marisa (evgs@comcast.net). We have many resources to help you.

4. Upcoming Events

--Camp Duncan March 20-21 (Elizabeth O’Connor eoconnor999@yahoo.com) The Evanston GS Camp Duncan weekend will take place March 20-21, 2010. The fun starts after lunch on Saturday, with a weekend of action-packed events. Some activities include archery and various team-building events. The fee of $56.45 per person includes 3 meals (dinner on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday), lodging, and all activities. REMEMBER: girls should bring a little extra money if they want to buy a souvenir in the camp shop. The fee does NOT include badges which I’d expect to cost about $3 each at the camp store.

You should have given Elizabeth a $10 per person deposit. The balance of the payment ($46.45) will be due March 18 (TODAY!!). If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Elizabeth at eoconnor999@yahoo.com or 847-332-2543.

--5th Grade Pool Party at the McGaw YMCA (Debbie Dehyle ddehyle@gmail.com) The 5th Grade Pool Party is coming up this Sunday evening, March 21 from 5-7 pm. There will be 80 5th graders from several schools enjoying swimming and pizza! All slots are full. Contact Debbie for details. The cost is $5 per girl.

--Evanston-wide overnight in the fall. We will be having an all-ages Evanston GS overnight at a GS site like Happy Hallow in the Fall. It will be a great chance for girls of all ages to get together. Happy Hallow has a heated building, platform tents, and space for tent camping. Sara will organize it, so keep it on your radar for next year. Contact Sara (ssullins@bcbsil.com) if you would like to help her with organizing it.

--Earth Day is April 22—keep the dates 4/17-4/18 open! This year is the 40th anniversary year. WE NEED A VOLUNTEER TO HELP ORGANIZE AN EVENT. You can design what you want, and can work with Keep Evanston Beautiful to head up an Evanston trash pick-up day, or contact the Evanston Ecology Center for some help. Let Marisa or Sara know if you want to volunteer.

--Check the council Web site www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org for lots of Science Sampler days and STEM Saturdays (Science Technology Engineering and Math). And don’t forget to check the Program Resource Guide for things to do.

--Also check the council Web site for summer camps! They are offering day camps and overnights. These camps are great for girls and are offered at a very reasonable price!!

5. Evanston Leader Trainings

Any new leaders or leaders bridging to a new level (e.g., Brownies to Juniors) will need leader trainings. Most of you have been through training you need already. If not, contact Paula McKernan at peacherino@gmail.com.

The first step for a new leader is Volunteer Essentials. Paula is hoping to get one more VE training in this spring. If you are interested or know of someone, contact her at peacherino@gmail.com. ~~This training required of one leader per troop (for each level of scouting i.e. Daisies, Brownies, etc), but all are welcome and would find it helpful.

The next Evanston GS CPR and 1st Aid trainings will be offered next fall. You can get trainings elsewhere (YMCA, Evanston Hospital, St. Francis Hospital).

 Daisy training is available online at this link: http://www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/trainings/daisy-leadership-essentials/ (cut and paste the link into your browser). Contact Traci for details at 847-573-0500 or TTobergte@girlscoutsgcnwi.org.

GS Leader trainings are available at other sites in our council, and you can look up the schedule at this link: http://www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/media/forms/training_calendar.pdf).

Outdoor Ed trainings will be coming up, and Sara is hoping to offer them in Evanston. With Volunteer Essentials training, you can do day trips and overnights in buildings like a museum. You need Outdoor Module 1 (online) to go outdoors, Module 2 for cabin camping and campfires, and Module 3 for tent camping. You can do Module 2 and 3 in one day after doing Module 1 online. If you are a veteran camper, you still need to do the trainings because camping with a group of girls is very different from camping with your family.

6. Upcoming Evanston Leader Meetings
 Cluster Leader Meeting - Tuesday April 13 @7:30 PM at St. Edward’s Church in Chicago. Please see this Link to the location on google. There is a good amount of parking. The meeting will be in the church hall. Address: 4350 West Sunnyside Avenue, Chicago, IL Church phone # (773) 545-6496. Please bring any photos you may have to share and fun stories from the cookie sale or thinking day. [Cluster meetings include Evanston and three northern Chicago communities.] THIS MEETING IS CRUCIAL THAT YOU ATTEND! SPRING REGISTRATION PACKETS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED AT THIS MEETING! Spring registration takes care of registering so that you can start out in fall with fewer things to do. Spring reg covers membership from 10/1/2010-9/30/2011.

 Evanston meeting Thursday, May 20 - St. Nicholas – Evanston Leader Recognition and Award night. This meeting is when all Outstanding Volunteer, Outstanding Leader, Hidden Heroine, and New Found Treasure awards are given out. You will also receive pins recognizing your level of training and involvement with EVGS, and, for every 5 year increment, your years as a GS.

7. Evanston Girl Scouts Web Site: A resource for leaders

Evanston GS has a Web site with pictures and activity ideas for Evanston leaders and families. Please visit http://www.ilcrossroads.org/vistas/8/photos/ to see the pictures. You can click on Troop Activities under http://www.ilcrossroads.org/vistas/8/resources/ourvista/ for activity ideas from what other troops have done. If you have your troop’s activities and pictures to share, please send them to Ivy Sundell at crowwoods1@aim.com. Please include details that might be helpful to other leaders (costs, things to look out for, what was great about it, etc.).

8. Other Reminders:

A) If you know of someone who will be receiving a leader award in May (you might be getting one but we’re not telling—come to the May leader meeting to find out), the tradition is to create a “Smile File” by secretly collecting letters and notes from co-leaders, girls, and parents to thank them for all they do. You can include photos or other things. Be creative! Have the smile file ready at the May leader meeting. ALSO: many leaders get pins signifying years in Girl Scouting and recognizing your training and volunteer activities. Many leaders get a recognition!

B) When you are taking a day trip out of the area, going on an overnight or camping, please send your Trip Information to Sara Sullins. Please include the destination, dates, Leaders names, First Aid/CPR person and your Outdoor Education person information. This is not only a Council requirement, but a GSUSA requirement.

C) Don’t forget to use a permission slip any time that you are not at your regular meeting place! This is a GS requirement! Don’t let any event slip by without one—you never know when something might happen and you need that slip.

We had a great leader meeting last Thursday. The agenda is attached. Everyone who was there gave themselves a pat on the back--literally! The reason?

Evanston GS has been awarded the GSUSA President’s Award!! The award is given in recognition of outstanding communities (VISTAs/SUVAs), and it is a high honor to get this award from Council.

What it reflects is the vibrant, active, and committed community of volunteers that we have in Evanston. That means every one of us. It means that Evanston leaders fulfill their obligations for training, are very active in the community, have low attrition of girls and adults, and recruit new troops to keep the community growing and thriving.

So stop reading, reach over your shoulder, and give yourself a pat on the back!!

We also had a great discussion about teamwork between leaders. We all shared experiences and advice that was very helpful. Remember to support each other, draw on each other’s strengths, and don’t forget to ask for help from co-leaders and parents!