Movie event to benefit Mt. Olive cats

This is not a Long Valley Girl Scouts event, but a worthwhile event nevertheless.  A Junior troop is hosting a showing of Homeward Bound at Clearview Cinemas in Mansfield next Monday, 3/25 at 10 am and the price of admission is - cat care supplies!  The girls are collecting donations to support the TNR (Trap - Neuter - Return) project my friend runs in Mt. Olive.  It's a great way to kick off spring break and benefits a great cause!

Earning our red petals for learning to be courageous & strong

Yesterday we earned our red petals (courageous and strong) with a visit to Sensei Carmona at New Jersey Martial Arts Academy in Landing.  We learned about respect, self-defense, and bullying, and had lots of fun doing it!

Getting Ready for Bridging!

Don't forget that we will have a meeting at 4:30-ish at my house, 355 Naughright Road, on Thursday 4/4 to discuss plans for the girls' upcoming Bridging Ceremony when they stop being Daisies and start being Brownies.  *sniff*

In preparation I have started collecting ideas on a Pinterest board created especially for the occasion.  If you are on Pinterest and would like to add to it, you can friend me (I'm "ahimsamama") and I'll add you.  And the url for the board, in case you want to take a peek, is http://pinterest.com/ahimsamama/girl-scout-bridging/.

A few more dates for your calendars

A few exciting opportunities for our troop have come up, so please mark your calendars and let us know if you are able to attend so we can reserve our spots!

1.  Camping Workshop - Friday 4/26, 7 - 9 pm, Flocktown School Multipurpose Room.  Workshop includes the following:  making SWAPS, making sit-upons, singing camp songs, making a troop banner.

2.  My Flower Garden Workshop - Friday 5/10, 6:45 - 8:30 pm, Zion Lutheran Church New Parish Hall.  Workshop includes the following: snack, patch, games, crafts, and Mother's Day gift.

• This is a ways off but please note that the Long Valley Girl Scouts Camp Out will take place on Saturday 9/14 - Sunday 9/15 at Jockey Hollow.  Girls will have the option to stay overnight or just come for the day.  We are reserving a spot for our troop - you do not need to make a commitment now but please keep the date in mind.

• On April 1, I will call the Department of Public Works to sign up our troop to participate in the Long Valley Community Cleanup.  We are assigned a location but we get to pick a date during the week of April 20 - 28.  We had tentatively chosen Monday, April 22 - how does that work for you?

• Lastly, we need to collect more dues in order to cover our expenses for the rest of the year.  We would like to get $40 per girl, which will cover the two workshops above, some outstanding supply reimbursements, and expenses for the upcoming Bridging ceremony.  Please send a check with your Daisy to the next meeting made out to "Troop 95030".  Thank you!

Support Troop 561 Book Drive!

Earning our Green Petals

Today we took a tour of the Washington Township Public Library with Mrs. Birch, where we discussed how to Use Resources Wisely.  We learned about all the great things we have at our library, we read stories and made bookmarks, we learned how to take good care of our books, and we even found out that we can get our very own library cards if we come with a parent or guardian!  We are very grateful to Mrs. Birch for her time.

P.S. ~ Don't forget that cookie money is due to Kelly ASAP as our cookie payment is due to the service unit next Wednesday!!!

Library Tour is On!

In case you were wondering, not rain nor (a foot of) snow shall keep the librarians from their appointed rounds!  I just double-checked, and we are ON for our library tour with Mrs. Birch today!  See you there at 3:15ish!

Moms Meeting to Plan Bridging Ceremony

We will hold a moms meeting at my house, 355 Naughright Road, on Thursday, April 4 at 4:30 to plan the girls' Bridging Ceremony for the weekend of May 17.  We would love to have everyone's help and input, so please make the effort to attend.  Girls are welcome and they can hang out and play while we chat.

Girl Scout Sunday/Girl Scout Sabbath

Next Sunday, March 10th is Girl Scout Sunday.   Girls who are attending church or CCD on that day should wear their uniforms, and you can check with your individual place of worship to see if they will be doing anything special. 

Girl Scout Sunday kicks of Girl Scout Week which honors the birthday day of Girl Scouting.  It will end the following Saturday, March 16th with Girl Scout Sabbath.  Jewish girls can wear their uniforms to their services and check to see if anything special will take place.

In addition, all Girl Scouts of all faiths are invited to attend a special Shabbat on Friday, March 22, 2013 at the Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff at 8:00PM.  The shul is at 585 Russell Avenue in Wyckoff. Cantor Barbra Lieberstein is coordinating and can be reached at cantorbarbra@aol.com.

Girl Scouts of all ages and all faiths are welcome to attend.  Girls should wear their uniform vests or sashes (and khaki bottoms and white tops are always appropriate) to earn their Girl Scout Shabbat patch.  Patches will be given out after the service so an RSVP reply to JewishGSNNJ@yahoo.com is appreciated for planning.

A Fun Night Was Had By All

We got our 743 (!) beanie babies and webkinz packed up to ship out to Operation Gratitude for soldiers to use in their outreach to children in the communities where they are serving, and had pizza together, and then had a lot of fun crafting and hanging out at the Caring for Our Community workshop hosted by Troop 629.  An all around successful day!