Another CMM Story by Selina

Hello Everyone!
I haven't wrote much ever since I became the editor, but here I am now! Okay, getting right to the story!

Campfire Meadow Magic (for those of you who don't know, it is an event where our troop brings other troops of Girl Scouts to our leader's giant meadow in her backyard, and teach them basic and/or advanced skills on camping, survival, and fun ways to enjoy, appreciate, and respect good mother nature) this year was loads of fun as usual.  It is a troop fundraiser, and we earned about $500 in one day towards our trip.

I feel that this year's girls got a lot out of it, and I really hope that they had fun! I even made a new friend with my same name! A shout out to Selena! I hope you and your troop are having fun with the new knowledge, songs, and memories you've gained during our time together! :)

It is really magical when you see their eyes just light up when that first spark flies. To watch this generation of girls get their little hands into the soil and enjoying the feel of earth between their fingertips! It brings me back to when I was their age, sitting in the backyard making mud cakes and splashing in rain puddles. I only wish that I had an elder brother or sister to play with me, and teach me all about the wonders of the natural world.

That is why, my only wish this year, is that there were more young girls bursting with curiousity  like all of you who participated this year, eager to explore, create, and understand. I wish our troop got to work with more of them, and hopefully change the way they view the outdoors for the rest of their lives.

We will post more information on our next CMM session in Spring. We hope to see more old and new faces then!

Until next time, stay safe, have fun, and we cannot thank you all enough for your kindness and support!
Selina

Campfire Meadow Magic (CMM) by Rosie

Hi! This is Rosie writing! We did another Campfire Meadow Magic for our funds to Europe. It went pretty well, even though we didn’t make as much as we wanted to. This year we introduced “Primitive Camping” as an option for the girls. In primitive camping, girls could learn different knots, how to put up latrines, tents, and a wash station. I think the girls enjoyed that! We also had the regular activities at CMM like songs, skits, and S'mores and beginning fire building. Overall, Campfire Meadow Magic was another great success! A shout out thanks to the troops who participated! We hope to see you guys and many more new girls in next year's CMM! :)

Show Us How You Get Down!!!

Huge Groups for Songs, Skits, and S'mores

A Few of Our New Friends

Kidnap Breakfast by Katie

Last weekend the troop put on a fundraiser called Kidnap Breakfast where the leaders of other Girl Scout Troops with younger girls brought their girls to us (without telling them beforehand) in their pajamas to eat breakfast, make crafts, play games, and learn Girl Scout songs! It took a lot of work to set up and clean up (two hours before and two hours after the event!) but it was worth it because we had so much fun with the girls! They all seemed really excited to be there and when I taught them games (with the help of Lizzy and Emma) they were really energetic. Overall it was a great event, and I even had some of the girls recognize me when they saw me again at my church the other day and told me about how much they loved it! I'm also looking forward to seeing some of them again at Campfire Meadow Magic this weekend!

Teaching the Penguin Song

This was a fundraiser for our trip to Iceland and England next summer - we made about $350 from the event.

Our Jobs for the Year by Coumbah

 Last Friday we picked tasks for everyone in our troop to participate in. I became The President and our Sponsorship Representative, Selina and Brittany are in charge of Kidnap Breakfast, Rosie and Emma are in charge of Campfire Meadow Magic, Katie is the leader of the Iceland planning, and Lizzy is in charge of the England planning. Everyone seems super excited about what they are in charge of and we can't wait to continue our fundraising efforts and planning for our trip this summer!

Organizing Responsibilities

1640 Service Unit Meeting Presentation by Lizzy

Hi Lizzy here,
 On August 8th the troop made a presentation to the service meeting (a group of all the leaders in an area to discuss activities, money, etc.) We were there to present our fundraisers and our trip to Iceland and England. When we arrived, we passed out information sheets regarding the fundraising and introduced ourselves. I think that was the hardest part for me because it takes a lot of courage just to randomly say hi and talk, especially with these adults who didn’t really look like they wanted to have a conversation.The leaders there were all talking amongst themselves and we had to kind of politely insert ourselves in. The actual presentation went pretty smoothly, though despite the fact that we were all a bit nervous. Once we got the ball rolling however, it became easier to talk. It was mainly just to get some exposure on the troop and let everyone know how we were doing. It was definitely a learning experience, and I hope that it introduced the troop to the other leaders.

Coumbah Speaking at Our Service Unit Meeting

Left to Right: Selina, Katie, Coumbah

WHERE are we going? READ THIS!! by Rosie

Hey guys! I have some really exciting news! Ok, are you ready? (You better grab something to hold onto when you hear what has happened). All right, we have made our final decision about where we are going in Europe. We are going to (drumroll) England…and… Iceland!!!!!!!!! (I thought that deserved multiple exclamation marks…). Mrs. Susan and Mrs. Donna ordered the plane tickets a week ago! It’s official! WE ARE GOING TO EUROPE GUYS! :D

Looking at Europe Map

Leadership Workshop (Summer 2013) by Katie

Last week, the troop gathered in Mrs. Donna's house to complete a workshop on leadership and general useful life skills. We focused on subjects like how to work in a group, how to plan for the future, how to talk to people you've never met before, how to get a real job (including application and interview processes) and even looked at a college application. To go with each section, we did an activity to put what we were learning into action. For example, when we talked about getting a real job, we had the opportunity to interview each other with questions commonly asked to high school students during interviews.

The section that I got the most out of was the networking and talking to strangers section. I've never really liked greeting people, and I found it easier to just wait for people to approach me. However, we went over a lot in this section that I found pretty helpful! Our activity was to pretend that our leaders were leaders we had never met at a service meeting. We introduced ourselves with an elevator speech, tying us into the event. It gave me a pretty good idea of what to expect for when we actually go out and do so, and it gave me the confidence to try out those techniques in other places as well.

Left to right: Katie, Selina, Coumbah, Lizzy, Rosie, Emma, Brittany