USAGSO Beijing Organizing Committee Minutes
A file containing the minutes from the most recent meeting of the USAGSO Beijing Organizing Committee can be found under the "Leader Resources" tab.
Organizing Committee-wide Events
Did your troop enjoy the Investiture ceremony this year? Did your girls have fun on the fall hike? Did your girls and their dads/someone specials dance the night away at the Snowflake Ball? Did your girls learn something at Thinking Day? Is your troop participating in the Bridging Ceremony to commemorate the Girl Scout year and to recognize those girls who are bridging up to the next level? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, read on:
These committee-wide events don't just happen. Troops take turns year after year organizing them. If your troop did not organize one of these events this year, that means it's your turn! Please think about which event you would like to organize next year. Planning an event is an important skill for the girls to learn, PLUS they have fun! And it is a rewarding experience to do something that benefits your fellow Girl Scouts.
The experienced leaders/troops are the ones who should take up these organizational responsibilities, allowing the new leaders each year to get established and focus on their troops. So, new leaders from last year and any others who didn not organize an event this year: please step forward to organize an event in 2011-2012. You can buddy up (two troops per an event) to share the responsibilities. You will be doing the committee and all of the girls a big service. And your girls will feel empowered as a result of their efforts.
Thank you.
Girl Scout Bridging May 21 from 10:00 to 11:30 at ISB
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 21 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. for our end-of-year Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony. Each Girl Scout will be recognized for completing a year in Girl Scouts. See invitation attached for more information. Families encouraged to attend!
Attachments:
World Thinking Day 2011 in Beijing
USA Girl Scout Beijing's 2011 World Thinking Day was a great event! Thank you to Cadette Troop 54 for organizing a wonderful afternoon around the theme "empowering girls will change our world." Thank you to all 13 troops who hosted booths, and to all the troops and families who attended. Thank you also to our special guests, Dawn Dowling and Dawn Scott, who hosted special booths showing how empowering girls really does change the world!
Attachments:
Don't Forget: Spring Patch Designs Due March 1
This year at Thinking Day girls will vote for the best spring patch design. All registered Girl Scouts in Beijing are invited to submit an entry for the patch design contest. The theme for the patch is Spring Into Action - 2011.
Here are the contest details:
-- limited to 4 colors (not counting black and white);
-- limited to 3 inches wide and long – can be any shape;
-- girls should submit a drawing of their patch – actual size and colors;
-- patch must say "Spring Into Action" somewhere on the design;
-- limit 2 entries per Girl Scout;
-- vote will be held at Thinking Day (each girl has 1 vote); and
-- patch submissions are due to your troop leader by March 1st
Early Bird Patch Contest -- Due February 1
USA Girl Scouts Overseas Headquarters in New York informed us about a world-wide patch design contest: Thank you to all who participated in Early Bird registration for 2010-2011. More than 4,000 girls participated and received Early Bird patches in the fall.
Next year you can be a part of the fun from the beginning by helping to design the 2011-2012 Early Bird Patch. Any registered girl member of USAGSO can submit her design by sending the attached form to:
overseas@girlscouts.org or
USAGSO
Girl Scouts of the USA
420 5TH AVE
New York, New York, 10018
on or before February 1, 2011. The winning designer will be notified by February 28, 2011.
Happy Designing!
USAGSO
overseas@girlscouts.org
FAQs about the Snowflake Ball
See the attached for information about the Snowflake Ball. Feel free to contact your troop leader if you have questions. Or you can contact MaryKay at girlscoutsbeijing@yahoo.com.
Attachments:
Snowflake Ball January 22 6:30 to 8:30 at ISB
The annual Girl Scout "Someone Special and Me" Snowflake Ball will take place Saturday, January 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 at ISB's Upper Gallery. Each girl must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This is one of the most memorable events of the Girl Scout year. Don't miss it! Dress: Tuxedos or suits for dads; party dresses for girls and moms. There is no entrance fee, but families are welcome to bring a snack to share. Cake and punch will be served.
Fairy Tale Tea for Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts!
Cadette Troop 54 invites all Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts to a Fairy Tale Storybook Tea on Sunday, November 7 from 2:00 to 4:00 at the ISB Elementary Cafeteria. Come enjoy a fun afternoon with your favorite characters -- Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Alice, Heidi and more! There will be stories, games, snacks, and lots of fun! Girls are invited to dress up -- either in a party dress or as their favorite book character or princess. Tickets are 50 RMB per pair (1 Girl Scout and accompanying adult). Proceeds will go toward Troop 54's take-action project and spring trip. For more information, call 8046-2943 or 8531-4784.
Girl Scout Fall Hike Saturday, October 23 8:00 a.m.
On hike day each hiker should bring a bottle of water and a pack lunch, as well as a snack. Be sure to dress for the weather by wearing layers, including a coat/jacket and a hat! It is also important to have good walking shoes. NO flip-flops or sandals! You might also wish to bring a light-weight picnic blanket. Perfect time for those Brownie sit-upons! The hike will happen rain or shine, so come prepared! Each girl hiker will receive a hike patch. Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. Contact your troop adult volunteer for particular details related to your troop.
Girl Scout Leader/Volunteer Training October 16
Don't miss this year's GS troop volunteer training. This training is especially helpful for new leaders, but is also helpful for leaders who have been in Girl Scouts for many years. Our trainer, Paige Snider, has returned from Hong Kong training with lots of new ideas and tons of information to share. Training will take place at Embassy House from 9:00 - 1:00 on Saturday, October 16. Lunch will be served for those who stay until 1:00. We will break at noon, so that those who cannot stay for lunch can depart to meet any afternoon obligations they have. Each troop should send at least one troop volunteer.
Great Job at Investiture 2010
Thank you to Brownie Troop 84 for organizing such a wonderful Investiture and Rededication ceremony. Thank you also to Senior/Ambassador Troop 35 girls for assisting the Brownies, and to Junior Troop 17 for doing the flag ceremony and the cake. The winner by popular vote of the T-shirt design contest was Kristi in Junior Troop 86. It was a very close race, with second place going to Clara's panda design (Junior Troop 11) and third place going to Kimberly (Junior Troop 17) for her heart/rose design. We'll have another design contest for our spring patch in the spring, so save up those good ideas!
Follow-up Issues from September 13 Meeting
-- Please turn in your registration materials to Nicole (pynicole.chang@vip.sina.com) this week. She lives at Cathay View. Nicole will work with our treasurer Michelle (michelle.hrabar@gmail.com) to submit materials to New York this month.
-- Beijing troop patches were handed out to Troops 12, 49, 11, 84, 10, 13, 17, and 35. These are the patches that are normally given to the girls at investiture. Other troops need to email Ellen (ellen.inbeijing@yahoo.com) and tell her how many 1st year and 2nd year girls you have so that she can know how much of which type of patch to give you.
-- Submit t-shirt designs to Katharina (buchinger_kd@yahoo.de) by Thursday at the latest.
-- Katharina needs to know how many girls are in each troop so that she can prepare and pre-package the correct number of ballots and plastic candles to give to each leader (to then disburse to her troop's girls at investiture). Please check the info below and email Kat to provide or confirm the correct number of registered girls in your troop.
Troop 92 -- 17 girls
Troop 171 -- 8 girls
Troop 12 -- 9
Troop 49 -- 15
Troop 11 -- 15
Troop 84 -- 17
Troop 10 -- 12
Troop 13 -- 4
Troop 89 -- 10?
Troop 17 -- 17 (this is my troop -- correct)
Troop 86 -- ?
Troop 54 -- 9?
Troop 18 -- 9?
Troop 35 -- 3
See separate email from Lauren Jordy (laurenjordy@mac.com) for info on ordering fun patches and for info about the fall hike.
T-shirt Designs due to Katharina by Monday, September 13
If any of your girls want to participate in this year's T-shirt design contest, please get your submissions to Katharina this Monday, September 13 (or make separate arrangements with her for delivery to her house on a different date). The contest will take place at investiture on September 19. Contest rules are in the attachment.
Attachments:
Need Updated Troop Leader Contact Information
We have 14 USA Girl Scouts Overseas Troops in Beijing this year! That's four more troops than last year. All Troop Leader Volunteers -- please update your contact and other information by contacting our Committee Secretary, Sandy Moore.
Troop leaders are asked to make copies of their registration forms (girls and adults) and bring the originals and the fees to our next committee meeting this Monday, September 13. All girls whose registrations are submitted to New York prior to October 1 will receive an "early bird" patch. Thank you!
Final Reminder: Girl Scout Parents Meeting - Downtown AND Shunyi
This is a reminder about the mandatory parent meetings for parents of girls new to Beijing Girl Scouts. To simplify the procedures for all families, we will hold two separate meetings as follows:
-- Friday, August 27 at 6:00 at the Embassy House library. This meeting is only for families of girls wishing to join a downtown troop. Map available here under "location": http://www.embassyhouse.com
-- Tuesday, August 31 at 6:00 at ISB cafeteria. This meeting is for families of girls wishing to join a Shunyi troop. Address and driving directions here: http://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/how-to-find-us.aspx
Important things to note:
-- These are organizational meetings for parents only. We will not have any activities for girls.
-- Plan for traffic and arrive early. We know all parents are busy; we will start on time and keep the meeting as short as possible.
-- Only parents of prospective Girl Scouts can attend. (Do not send a driver, ayi, or other representative.)
-- It is at these meetings that we will assign girls to troops (August 27 for girls downtown; August 31 for girls in Shunyi).
-- Remember that pre-registration does not guarantee troop placement. We NEED NEW TROOP VOLUNTEER LEADERS at the Daisy - Junior levels. If no parent volunteers step forward, we will not be able to place all of our pre-registrants.
For girls who are successfully placed in troops, here are the basic forms/fees required:
-- one girl registration form per girl (+ 300 RMB per girl)
-- one adult registration form per adult (+ 100 RMB per adult)
-- one health form per girl signed by parent (NO doctor's exam required)
The first two forms above are on the shutterfly site below; the health form is on the second website below.
In addition to the fees above (part of which are remitted to Girl Scout headquarters in NewYork, the rest used to finance Beijing-wide GS activities), each troop assesses additional fees used for troop supplies and activities throughout the year. If your daughter needs books or uniform supplies, those are extra, and can be ordered through your troop leader.
Thank you for your interest in Girl Scouts, and see you on either August 27 or August 31 at 6:00!
Sincerely,
MaryKay Carlson
Overseas Committee Chair, Beijing
USA Girl Scouts Overseas
girlscoutsbeijing@yahoo.com
Pre-Registration for Girl Scouts August 31 6:00 p.m. at ISB
The mandatory registration meeting for parents of girls new to Girl
Scouts in Beijing will be held on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:00 p.m. at
the International School of Beijing cafeteria. Mark your calend now, and keep up with us at girlscoutsbeijing.shutterfly.com.
Girls from kindergarten (starting at age five) through high school are eligible to join Girl Scouts. USA Girl Scouts Beijing is currently pre-registering girls for the 2010-2011 program. If you know someone would like to join a troop, please E-MAIL the following information in this exact format to girlscoutsbeijing@yahoo.com:
Girl’s name, birth date
Citizenship (Chinese law requires foreign citizenship)
Grade, school
Address
Home phone
Cell phone, mother/parent’s name
Mother/parent’s e-mail address
Specify meeting place preference (Shunyi or downtown)
Submission of this information does not guarantee placement. Unfortunately, every year we have more girls wishing to join Girl Scouts than we have spaces available. Girl Scouting relies on committed parent volunteers. Please consider volunteering to be a troop leader!
NOTE: The information above is for girls who are NEW to Girl Scouts in Beijing. If you were already in a troop this year, please contact your troop leader about continuing next year.
Attachments:
Urgent Request from Beijing Committee Chair MK Carlson
Thank you to all the parents who have helped make this year in Girl Scouts so much fun! Your troop leaders really appreciate everything you do to make scouting such a rewarding experience for our daughters.
I am writing today because we need help to keep Girl Scouts going in Beijing. Some of you may not realize that, in addition to GS leaders, USA Girl Scouts in Beijing relies on a steering committee that meets one evening per month during the school year to plan our committee-wide activities for all Girl Scout troops in Beijing. The committee has a handful of officer positions as follows:
-- Committee Chair (me)
-- Co-Chair (vacant)
-- Registrar (Sue Downham -- who organized our membership drive in early fall)
-- Secretary (Karin Martin -- who takes minutes at our monthly meetings)
-- Treasurer (Wendy Rudolph -- who keeps track of committee finances)
-- Supplies (Ellen Zimmerman -- who keeps up with our inventory and orders)
-- Trainer (vacant)
Of the positions above, only Ellen Zimmerman (supplies) and I (chairperson) are available to continue next year. At a MINIMUM we URGENTLY need to fill the positions of Registrar, Secretary and Treasurer. You do NOT need to be a troop leader to be a GS committee volunteer/officer.
Will you please consider volunteering for one of these jobs? The time commitment is not onerous. If we do not have volunteers step forward, we will not be able to have a Girl Scout program in Beijing next year. Girl Scouts depends on committed volunteers. Your daughter and her fellow Girl Scouts need you.
Please reply to girlscoutsbeijing@yahoo.com if you are willing to consider one of the positions, and I will send you more information. Thank you -- MaryKay
End-of-Year Bridging Ceremony on May 29
On May 29 all Girl Scouts in Beijing and their family members are invited to attend the end-of-year Bridging Ceremony and Court of Awards. More information can be found in the attached invitation. The ceremony will commemorate the end of the Girl Scout year, as well as recognize those girls who are moving up, or "bridging," to the next level in Girl Scouts. Each registered Girl Scout in Beijing will receive a membership star to wear on their uniform, demonstrating that they completed another year in Girl Scouts.
Attachments:
April 19 USAGSO Beijing Committee Meeting
The next monthly meeting of the Beijing Committee of USA Girl Scouts Overseas will take place on April 19. Draft agenda is attached. Each month, troop volunteers from each of the ten Girl Scout troops in Beijing get together to plan the multi-troop events throughout the year. Since Girl Scouts is a volunteer-driven organization, we need the commitment of active, committed parents. If you or someone you know is interested in leading or co-leading a Girl Scout troop for the 2010-2011 school year, please contact girlscoutsbeijing@yahoo.com.
Attachments:
Great World Thinking Day in Beijing!
Thank you to Junior/Brownie Troop 89 for organizing a great World Thinking Day on behalf of the Beijing chapter of USA Girl Scouts Overseas. All ten Girl Scout Troops in Beijing participated. Girls from age 5 (Daisies) through 17 (Ambassadors) did a great job focusing attention on this year's theme: "together we can end extreme poverty and hunger." Great job everyone! Thank you also to the many girls who submitted creative patch designs for our spring patch contest. Congratulations to Karen Carlson, who submitted the winning design (patch #1). Troop leaders are invited to add pictures to the Thinking Day 2010 album below, or to create individual albums highlighting their troop's booth.
Patch Design Contest Rules: "BFF - Beijing Friends Forever"
This year at Thinking Day we will vote for the best spring patch design. All registered Girl Scouts are invited to submit an entry for the patch design contest. The theme for the patch is BFF – Beijing Friends Forever 2010.
Here are the contest details:
-- limited to 4 colors (not counting black and white);
-- limited to 3 inches wide and long – can be any shape;
-- girls should submit a drawing of their patch – actual size and colors;
-- patch must say "BFF" and "Beijing Friends Forever 2010" somewhere on the design;
-- limit 2 entries per scout;
-- vote will be held at Thinking Day (each girl has 1 vote); and
-- patch submissions are due to your troop leader by March 1st
Girl Scout World Thinking Day Sunday March 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Each year, girls participate in activities, games and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.
The theme for World Thinking Day 2010 is "together we can end extreme poverty and hunger."In Beijing, our World Thinking Day event will take place on Sunday, March 7.
Please see the photo album below for pictures from last year's World Thinking Day, and contact your troop volunteer for more details about how your family can participate in this year's event.
Snowflake Ball Saturday, January 23 from 6:30 to 8:30
On January 23 the Beijing Committee of USA Girl Scouts Overseas will hold the second annual "Someone Special and Me" Snowflake Ball. Each Girl Scout is invited to attend with her "someone special" -- usually a parent. Dress for the ball is party dress for girls and women; tuxedo or suit for men. Last year's ball was lots of fun, and this year's promises to be even better! More information is available through your Girl Scout Troop volunteer. Be sure to arrive at the dance venue right on time! You won't want to miss any of the fun.
Early Bird Patch Design Contest - Due Date February 1
We received the following message from USA Girl Scouts Overseas: Thank you to all who participated in Early Bird registration for 2009-2010. More than 2000 girls participated. This year your girls can be a part of the fun by helping design the 2010-2011 Early Bird Patch. Any registered girl member of USAGSO can submit her design by sending the attached form to: overseas@girlscouts.org or USAGSO, GSUSA420 5TH AVE , New York , New York , 10018 on or before February 1, 2010. The winning designer will be notified by February 28, 2010.
Fall Hike a Big Success!
We had over 150 girls and family members participate in our fall hike to Shentangyu on October 17. The great weather and beautiful scenery helped make the day especially memorable. Crossing the stepping stones to ford the creek was fun! Some pictures have already been added. Please add your troop's as well!
Congratulations on Investiture 2009!
Approximately 100 Girl Scouts and their families participated in the 2009 Investiture and Rededication ceremony. Many thanks to Senior/Ambassador Troop 35 for organizing the event, and to Brownie Troop 84 for leading the songs. Thank you to all girls who submitted designs for the t-shirt design contest. Entry number 4 designed by Sarah in Troop 86 got the most votes. Second place was submitted by Karina in Junior Troop 86, and third place was drawn by Karen in Junior Troop 17. Leaders are invited to add their photos to the investiture album and to create individual troop albums as well.
Investiture and Rededication Ceremony Sunday September 20 2:00 p.m.
The official opening of the Girl Scout year is commemorated by our annual Investiture and Rededication Ceremony. The event will be held at WAB's Blu Theater at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 20. All girls and their family members are encouraged to attend. Siblings welcome. See invitation below for more details. Please RSVP to your troop leader by September 17.
