Daisies
Where to begin
So you've signed on to be a Daisy leader and you've got the list of girls in your Troop - that's great! Now what? Where do you start? Here is some helpful information to get you started and keep you from feeling overwhelmed!
Complete a membership registration form and a Volunteer Application / Criminal Background Check.
Local Level New Leader Orientation (NLO) is organized by our council Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey contact Maria Gonzalez for council specific trainings or our Service Unit registrar Virginia Gryta for service unit trainings. New Leader Orientation generally takes an hour and will give you the basic information you will need to become a leader.
New Daisy Leader Orientation –
Maria E. Gonzalez
973-248-8200
mgonzalez@gsnnj.org
Volunteer Toolkit training can be found here.
The school coordinators generally put girls into troops based on what day and time the girls can meet. Once you have finalized a day and time you will need to choose a meeting location.
Schedule a Parent meeting:
See parent meeting checklist.
When planning your parents meeting, keep in mind that Girl Scouts is a cooperative organization and everyone (not just the Leader) is expected to help. For example, let the parents know the girls LOVE helping to choose the project/ badge/ field trip and have their parent/caregiver "run" the meeting - not just provide the snack. Always have a calendar at the parents meeting and get your parents/caregiverto sign up to run their meeting- often the dates after Christmas need to be changed but at least the parents all know they have a meeting to run and can start thinking about it. Give all of the parents/caregivers a list of ideas. Make sure your working parents plan ahead to have their meeting on a day that they can be there or help to chaperone and bring snacks to the bowling, etc. By setting that expectation early on, you will be able to distribute the work of the Troop across the parents/caregivers and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Registration:
Registration check list
All girls and parents need to be registered Girl Scouts. Parents cannot help at meetings if they are not registered.
All new members can register online once they know their troop number.
How to Register Online?
· Go to www.gsnnj.org
· Click on MYGS at the top right corner of the page.
· This brings you to My Account page
· First-Time Users: If you have never logged in before; click on New Online Account on the right side of the page. If you need assistance at any time, then please click on the Help Desk button and fill out a Help Desk Ticket. Someone will get back to you during regular business hours.
· Returning Users: If you have been in our system and have a login, then login to your account.
If you have forgotten your login; follow the Forgot Username and/or Forgot Password links providing you have set up security questions previously.
Troop Leaders must submit the following registration materials to Virginia Gryta.
via email Virginia Gryta
•Troop Roster
•Leader/ Co-Leader Agreement forms
Uniforms:
Daisies can purchase either the Blue Daisy Vest or Blue Daisy Tunic. Most troop leaders order the vests and all of the pins and patches for the entire troop. Parents need to pay for the uniform BEFORE leaders purchase them.
Vest/ Apron: $23.00
Daisy Petals: $10.00
Daisy Insignia Pack $12.25
Council ID Set: $7.00
Troop Numerals: $1.95 each
Handbooks: The Daisy Girl Scout Hand Book is optional and up to your troop leaders. Leaders should purchase the handbook, however, having each girl in your troop purchase a book is totally optional. It’s up to each troop to decide if it is necessary. Many leaders just make copies of pages and distribute to their troop.
How to Open a Bank Account
The leader needs to send the following information to customer care at Council.
1. Troop Number
2. The name, address and fax number of the bank (the preferred bank is Peapack Gladstone at 278 Green Village Rd, Green Village, NJ 07935 tel: 973-377-0081 fax: 973-377-4195)
3. The 3 names on the account; one of whom must be the Service Unit Treasurer (currently Laura Ranji)
4. The address where the banking statements should be sent (typically the Troop Treasurer's address)
Once council receives this form, someone at customer care will authorize the bank account.
How to Book a Classroom / Online Room Request for School District of the Chathams.
As school is about to start, I thought I would forward some information on how to request a classroom for your troop meetings.
Technically, all school room use requests are supposed to go through the SDOC Facility Use Request online process.
Here is how it works:
1) Leaders go to the SDOC website - http://www.chatham-nj.org
(one leader from each troop, but a leader of more than one troop only needs to do it once.)
2) Under “Our District” (found on main tab bar) click on “Facility Use Request” from drop down list
3) Leaders have to become approved to use the site by clicking on “Become a Requester” (This will only have to be done once for all the years they lead, so it is worth doing and having.)
4) Chatham GS leaders should use the following information in “Your Organization Name and Info" to fill out the form:
a) Organization: GSNNJ Chatham Service Unit-Troop XXXX
b) Address: 95 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Riverdale, NJ 07457-1426
c) Liability Insurance is Jan to Jan. So enter Jan 1, 2016 (or the January following the end of the school year - ex. 2014-15 use Jan 2016. 2015-16 use Jan 2017). An updated copy of GSNNJ Insurance is automatically sent annually form GSNNJ to SDOC every January.
d) Pay Sales Tax- “No”
e) Tax exempt: #221-512-252/000
f) Desired Pin: whatever leader chooses. Unique to each leader.
5) Under “Contact Person-Your Name” - Enter your personal info, address and phone number, etc.
Once submitted you will receive an confirmation email and can request a room at any SDOC facility specific school.
6) Once you have your Facility Requester Login information, the rest seems pretty self explanatory.
Planning your meetings:
Once you have your room confirmed, you are ready to go! Remember that you must have at least one other registered adult accompany you with the troop at meetings. You can find adult to girl ratios in Safety Wise.
Some tips for a successful Daisy meeting:
Below is a very basic “template” for a typical Daisy Meeting
Begin with Girl Scout Law and Promise
Flag Salute
Daisy song
Snack
“Message” or “Lesson”
Craft
Friendship Squeeze
Hand out badges
Clean up
Tips for success for meetings:
Have a simple activity for the girls to do when they first arrive - a coloring page is a great activity they can do on their own. You can even turn it into a mini-community service project by having them color a page from Color-A-Smile.
Never underestimate the power of a snack! Giving the girls a healthy, easy to eat snack and a drink will save you from a room full of cranky Daisies. Have the parent helper at the meeting bring the snacks/drinks so the job is distributed across the parents.
Plan simple activities for the girls to do so they can earn their petals. There are a wide variety of resources from the Daisy Leader Book to internet sites that will give you tons of ideas. Some sites, like Pinterest, MakingFriends.com, offer kits that include materials based on Daisy petal themes. Remember, you are guests in the classrooms. It is the responsibility of the troop to provide everything - including crayons, pencils, scissors, etc. Please do not borrow from the classrooms.
Badges: Many troops hand out the petals as the girls earn them. One great suggestion is to invest in a package of “Badge Magic” (you can purchase it at craft stores, the council shop or even Amazon). If you have an extra adult in the room have them attach the petals to the vests while the meeting is going on and avoid losing tiny petals in the classroom :)
A very handy tool to access all the petals and badge requirements for all levels is the Award and Badge Explorer. You can create a pdf and share with your troop!
Daisy Petal Planning Suggestions:
Kindergarten Daisy center
Considerate and Caring
Make the World a Better Place
Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout
Friendly and Helpful
Respect Authority
1st Grade Courageous and Strong
Honest and Fair
Responsible for What I Say and Do
Use Resources Wisely
Respect Myself and Others
Extras/Fun Patches
Chatham GS Bowling Event
Chatham GS Father/ Daughter Event
March in Chatham 4th of July Parade as troop
Community Service Activity
Selling cookies
Check https://www.gsnnj.org/en/discover/activities/events.html for other optional trips/activities
Check http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/Daisy.html
Petal Activity Ideas
Daisy Center
· Learn a Daisy GS song
· GS Law coloring book
· Make a bead necklace or bracelet using petal colored beads
Considerate and Caring
· Make Valentine’s for a nursing home or secret pals within the troop
· Make Color a Smile drawings and to send to a hospital or nursing home
Make the World a Better Place
· Do a playground cleanup
· Decorate the school library
· Donate and plant flowers at the school or for teachers
Be a Sister to Every Girl Scout
· Have an older troop join a meeting and make friendship pins/bracelets
· Have an older troop come in 1st grade and have them talk about bridging
Friendly and Helpful
· Contact an organization like Operation Smile and make get well kits
· Decorate 3 or 4 souvenirs per girl which say “A Daisy Was Here” for each girl to take home and leave every time they do a good deed at home (set the table, help a sibling, etc.)
Respect Authority
· Visit local police station/fire department
· Ask Principal to come talk to troop
· Have police officer/fireman talk to troop at school about safety/ respect
Courageous and Strong
· Visit yoga studio, karate studio, etc.
Honest and Fair
· Do a craft and let girls divide out supplies,etc (amount/colors) in an honest and fair way
Responsible for What I Say and Do
· Read the poem Drop a Pebble in the Water and let each girl toss a pebble into the water showing the effects of that one act. Then have girls make their own totes to carry supplies, uniform to and from meetings.
Use Resources Wisely
· Participate in EcoTrek
· Do a recycling craft
· Have girls bring in water bottles for snack
Respect Myself and Others
o Do a team-building event like the Low Ropes Course at Jockey Hollow
o Read The Rainbow fish and discuss. Then let girls decorate their own fish and make a mural to dedicate to the school as decoration
Still not sure what to do? Contact Chatham Girl Scouts to find a mentor who can help.
Attend monthly Leader Meetings in Chatham to get the latest information from Council, the Service Unit and learn from and share with other leaders.