Looking for Feedback!

We value your opinions!

We’ve heard from several attendees of Thinking Day that they were really pleased with the event. Carrie, Elizabeth, Trina and I were pleased. We had some challenges with the facility, but we’re Girl Scouts—so we made it work!

Thank you to all of the girls, their leaders, and their families for making the event great. The Troop presentations were wonderful; I thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Everyone should have received their patches on Friday night. If you did not receive your patches, please contact Trina Huntington.

We would love to hear your feedback, good and bad. It’s always helpful in planning the next event.

 Thank you!
~Jane

Thinking Day Details

There will be a single microphone, but we don’t know if it will have a stand.  Please be flexible. =)

Job Assignments:

Opening Flag – Troop 4554 (Brehem) plus PA’s to assist

Pledge – All Daisies (in place)

Promise – All Brownies (in place)

Law – All Juniors (in place)

Closing Flag – Troop 3536 (Pottmeyer)

Order of the presentations:

3547 – Nepal (Hallquist/Lugo)

4560 – Russia (Treveno/Winje)

4554 – Japan (Brehem)

4545 – Brazil (Selanders-Hardy)

4501 – Hungary (McCulloch)

3546 – Scotland (Hutchinson)

3536 – Ivory Coast (Pottmeyer)

4588 – Mexico ( Zuljevic)

3540 – China (Smith)

3530 – Iceland (Huntington/Winslow)

1233 – Norway (Carpenter)

Please, please, PLEASE turn in your registrations!

Leaders, we are trying very hard to get the details finalized for Thinking Day. Several of you told Carrie Hallquist at the Service Unit meeting last night that you intend to come to Thinking Day. Please download the registration form [HERE], fill it out, and mail it with your check, payable to Troop 3530 to:

Jane Winslow
338 Riverwood Street
Richland, WA 99352

Several Troop leaders have asked who will be doing what at Thinking Day. As we are missing 6-8 registration forms, it is quite difficult to make plans. Right now, we are leaning toward:

• One girl from each Troop participating in the Opening Flag Ceremony, plus 2 girls from each Troop to hold their Troop’s country flag.
• All of the Daisies leading the Pledge of Allegiance. (Those who are not already holding flags.)
• All of the Brownies leading the Girl Scout Promise. (Those who are not already holding flags.)
• All of the Juniors leading the Girl Scout Law. (Again, those who are not already holding flags.)
• PAs (Program Aids) will be doing all of the “Did You Know” facts between presentations. Please email 3-5 facts about your country, environmental sustainability for your country, or just interesting things about your country to jane.winslow@gmail.com. We are preparing the facts for the PAs.
• We have not decided about the Closing Flag ceremony just yet.
• One parent from each Troop—NOT the Troop leader—will distribute SWAPS at the end of Thinking Day. The leader should herd her girls through the line.

Our goal is simply to involve as many girls at all levels of Girl Scouting in each portion of Thinking Day. Of course, we cannot hope to practice any of this, so we thank you in advance for your help and in identifying girls that can participate as outlined above. If you can make these decisions in advance within your Troop, we would really appreciate it.

Thank you Troop leaders!
~Jane

Video Files for Thinking Day

I have a Mac.

We will be running any slideshows or videos that you produce from my Mac Powerbook. I have Keynote and PowerPoint installed, as well as iMovie and QuickTime. All media M*U*S*T be sent to me in advance of Thinking Day. I need to be able to load it on my laptop and test it. We will not have time to test during the set-up for Thinking Day. It absolutely MUST be done in advance.

Getting the files to me.

I use Dropbox, a free utility for both Macs and PCs. Dropbox allows free “cloud sharing” of files. You can save your file to a new location on your computer called “Dropbox.” When you share that folder with me, I can get to it from my computer. It’s really cool! Here are the steps:

1. On your computer, go to www.dropbox.com.
2. Click the large blue box that says “Download Dropbox.”
3. Follow the instructions on the next page. Run the Dropbox Installer. Launch the program.
4. Create a login and password. Log in, if you aren’t already.
5. From the web browser window, create a folder called Troop### (whatever your Troop number is.)
6. Put your video or slideshow file in that folder.
7. From the web browser window, click the tab that says “Share a Folder.”
8. Click the button that says “I’d like to share an existing folder.”, and then press “Next.”
9. Navigate to the Troop### folder, making sure it’s highlighted, and press “Next.”
10. Under “Invite collaborators to this folder,” type in jane.winslow@gmail.com. Press “Share folder.”
11. I will receive an email, alerting me that you have shared a folder with me. I will then have access to your file.

If you run in to difficulties setting this up, please give me a call. I am usually available in the evenings after 6pm. You can call me at home, 627-6490.

Thanks,
~Jane

Today is the registration deadline!

If I don’t have your registration form today, please send me an email with how many girls are attending. I’m looking for the number of patches to order, as well as trying to help Troops figure out how many swaps to prepare. We would love to have you!

~Jane

Did You Know?!

Each Troop is learning fun and interesting information about their country. The committee would love to have 2-3 fun facts about each country to use to introduce your Troop. If you could please email it to me, that would be great!
~Jane

Swap Count Updated

After meeting this evening, the swap count is closer to 150 pieces. We have great support for this event! Thanks!!

Registration for Thinking Day—THIS WEEK!

Good morning Girl Scouts! Wednesday is the deadline for registering for Thinking Day. Please print out the form, available for download [HERE], and mail it in with your check. I have spoken to a couple of Troop Leaders who have one more meeting before turning in their registrations. I ask that if you are one that doesn’t think you’ll have your form in by Wednesday, to PLEASE send me an email right away.

The registration form gives us the number of girls attending. Several leaders have asked how many swaps to make for Thinking Day. It’s a difficult question to answer right now, because I don’t know how many girls each Troop is bringing to the event! For planning purposes, based on previous years, roughly 100 swaps.

The registration forms also tell us how many patches to order for the girls. We can certainly order patches after the event, but we know from prior experience that the girls love to get their patches that night.

Please send in your registration forms as soon as possible! Our committee has a planning meeting this evening, so if you haven’t sent your registration form, PLEASE send me a quick email with how many girls your Troop anticipates bringing.

Thanks!
~Jane

No Food at Thinking Day

Just a reminder, because I’ve gotten some questions from new leaders this year. Food has been eliminated from this year’s event. Please make sure that your girls have eaten BEFORE they arrive for Thinking Day.

Thanks!

SWAPS

Happy New Year everyone!

Are you getting excited about Thinking Day?! At least for my Troop, we start working on Thinking Day activities in January. We’ll be learning about Iceland this year, and concentrating on energy sources so that it ties in with our Junior Journey, “Get Moving.”

What’s a swap??

The tradition of exchanging keepsakes started a long time ago when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides first gathered for fun. They would exchange these types of objects, and called them “swaps.” It stands for “Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere.” Now you know!

We’ll be brainstorming ideas for some cool swaps for Thinking Day. Maybe a sparkling fish to represent ice fishing, a pinwheel to symbolize wind power, or maybe even an icicle. Hmmm. The possibilities are endless! Swaps should tell something about the Thinking Day country. Here are some tips from the Girl Scout website:

Let the girls decide.

• Girls should think about the kind of swap they would like to receive from someone else.
• Try not to spend a lot of money. Consider making something from donated or recycled material.
• Be creative, and take time to make hand-crafted swaps. (Include directions for making the swap if it is a craft project that can be replicated.)
• Try to have one swap for each event participant and staff member.
• Plan ahead so there’s time to make the swaps.
• Make swaps that can be worn, used, or displayed.
• Make swaps portable. Remember: Swaps must be carried or shipped ahead to the event, where other girls will be carrying them away.

If your Troop is struggling with ideas, here are a couple of links to swap ideas for you to peruse.

• http://www.makingfriends.com/swaps.htm
• http://www.scoutswaps.com/
• http://www.swaps-a-lot.ecrater.com/
• http://www.squidoo.com/swaps

If you have a great idea for a swap project, or a great resource, please leave a comment and share it with us!

~Jane