Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida
www.gssef.org                                                                                                          October 30, 2014

Mark Your Calendar!   

You don't want to miss any of the great things happening at GSSEF.calendar

 

Baby Basics: Ends October 31 

Fall Product Sale Program: Through November 15
Emerald Awards Nominations: Through November 10
Camp-Tastic!: December 6
Cookie U: January 10

Annual Thin Mint Sprint: April 12

 

Save the Dates

2015 Girl Scout Cookie Sale Program: January 22 - February 15
Volunteer Weekend: April 10-12  

 
Program Spotlight
Looking for Your Next Fun Program?spotlight
GSSEF offers a full calendar of Girl Scout Programs all year  long. You are sure to find a program to match your girl's interest and curiosity.  Programs range from healthy living to S.T.E.M. to outdoor and much more.

Find Programs:
Online Program Calendar

We post program updates frequently on Facebook, so stay in the know and like us on Facebook. And follow us on Twitter.

Girls' Choice Badge Voting Begins October 31st
Girls will have the opportunity to choose the next new national Outdoor Badges. There will be four Outdoor Badges added to program in fall 2015-one each at Brownie, Junior, Cadette, and Senior levels. Voting opens on October 31st which is also our founder's birthday, Juliette Gordon Low.  Once when asked what the girls should do, she responded "What do the girls WANT to do?". Girls' Choice Badge is a perfect example of this.

All girls can vote - parents please help your girl to cast her vote. The online voting link - http://bit.ly/1sS9nBA will be live after 9 a.m. on Friday, October 31st.

 

Engineering Family Fun Day - November 8th

Where can you build a rocket or gum drop dome, make polymers, learn about renewable energy and make ice-cream? At the Annual Engineering Family Fun Day at Dreher Park on November 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. The Southeast Florida Section (SEFL) of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) proudly presents their 7th annual Engineering Family Fun Day (EF2D) for Palm Beach County students. The event's goal is to educate the community on the opportunities available in engineering and also inspire an interest in the areas of math and science in young students from elementary to high school levels.

  

Each of the eight sponsored booths will feature a hands-on, interactive engineering related activity.  Additionally, if you are interested in volunteering (this is an excellent opportunity for Girl Scouts interested in volunteering hours), please contact Kim O'Donnell, at Kim.ODonnell@ fpl.com.

        

 camps 

Registration is open for Camp-Tastic!
Have you Registered?
Camp-Tastic! is OPEN to families, troops and kids of all ages! What is it? It's a big scout-tastic day at Camp Welaka as we host a program that celebrates who we are and what we love. From 12 - 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 6th, explore Camp Welaka while  engaging in fun hands-on activities like canoeing, archery (must be at least 8 years old), fire building, SWAPS, and so much more.  You can come for an hour or stay for the day and don't forget to pack a lunch. For additional information, see flier here.

Register today!
The registration cost is $12.00 per person. Children 3 and under are free. To register, click here.

                              

 

 

 

   mall 

Save the date for Mall Madness on February 28-March 1, 2015 at Coral Square Mall, Coral Springs. You won't want to miss this one! See flier here.

Get Ready for Mall Madness

Registration Opens 10 a.m., December 1st      

Can you believe we'll be celebrating 10 YEARS OF MADNESS! Mark your calendars! Registration for Mall Madness 2015 opens on Monday, December 1st, at 10:00 a.m.! Anyone that registers for the 10th year anniversary between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on December 1st, will be entered into a drawing to win a gift card for each girl in their troop!   

 

Mall Madness VIP Admission 

VIP admission of $45.00 includes an exclusive 10th anniversary swag bag filled with goodies, patch, official Mall Madness VIP shirt, and first admittance into the mall.  


Mall Madness General Admission 
General admission is $30.00 and includes a patch.
   
     

 

 smart  

Be a Smart Cookie: Save the Date for  2015 Cookie U - January 10 

Great Event - Same Day-Two Locations 
Be sure to mark your calendars for our annual Cookie University on January 10th, 2015. Cookie U will be held at two locations on the same day and is open to all Daisy, Brownie, Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts. Both troops or individual girls can attend. Come for the girl-centric business courses in marketing and finance - share amazing ideas - get inspired - and graduate with your degree in Cookie Awesomeness. All Cookie U students will earn and receive selected national GSUSA Daisy Leaves, Badges and our own Council Patch too. Stay tuned. Location and times will be available soon. Look for them in E-News.    

 
annual
Important Announcement about the GSSEF Annual Recognition Ceremony
GSSEF prides itself on the dedication and commitment both adults and girls exude towards Girl Scouting and we strive to recognize the achievements of each. It is because of YOU that we are able to continue our Girl Scout tradition for over 100 years. In years past we've recognized achievements such as Silver and Gold Award recipients, Adult Volunteer Recognition, and outstanding community partners at our Annual Recognition Ceremony. As the number of girl and adult awardees continues to grow, GSSEF is no longer in a position to present an Annual Recognition Ceremony that will appropriately honor and meet the needs of so many deserving recipients. In no way does this decision diminish the extraordinary work of girls earning the highest national awards or the adults who receive national awards, nor does it change our Council's commitment to recognition. In fact, we are absolutely committed to introducing new ways to share the stories of the girls, projects and adults with more people - as well as discovering more options to offer local recognition opportunities too.     

The requirements for completing and earning Gold and Silver will remain the same. The deadline for the Gold and Silver Award Class of 2015 is April 1, 2015. Completed projects must be delivered to either GSSEF Service Center with the Final Report and Project Scrapbook. Projects received on or after April 2, 2015 will be included in the Class of 2016.
products
It is Never Too Late to Participate in the 2014 Fall Product Sale Online Program! 
Are you a new troop that has just started meeting and would like to add funds to your newly opened troop bank account? By participating in the 2014 Fall Product Sale Program, your troop can earn proceeds while the girls learn five essential life-long skills...goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. And have FUN doing so!!!!

   


Start Today
Getting started is easy. Just follow the steps in the flier here  and start earning troop proceeds and girl rewards today.  

     

To learn more about our Fall Product Sale Program, or to find additional troop and family resources, click here.

 

          

 

emerald
Last Call for Emerald Award Nominations
Do you know a dynamic woman in Palm Beach County that deserves to be recognized? We  are currently accepting nominations through November 10th that reflect excellence in leadership in the following fields: Financial Literacy, Healthy Living, Global Citizenship, Environmental Leadership, and STEM.  
 
Awards will be presented to honorees at the Emerald Awards Celebration on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at The Beach Club in Palm Beach.

GSSEF Annual Thin Mint Sprint 5K will take place on April 12, 2015 at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach.
 running 
Grab the Family and Lace Up those Running Shoes!  
It's never too early to put our family-friendly Thin Mint Sprint 5K on your calendar - April 12, 2015!  Registration is now open for this chip timed race on a certified course. There is also a Tagalong Trot 100-yard dash for those eight and under.

Besides the race, the morning is going to offer other fun and exciting activities such as face painting, balloon twisting, a photo booth, a light breakfast, and even massages! The first 300 to register will receive a t-shirt, and a box of Thin Mints will be given to ALL finishers. Registered Girl Scouts will receive a patch for participating in this event.  
 
For more information, click here. 
 
advisory
Request for Applications for Girl Advisory Member to GSSEF Board of Directors                                           

 

GSSEF is now accepting applications for girl advisory members to our board of directors. It is for the 2015-2016 term. Applicant must be at least 14 years old. The application deadline is January 8, 2015.

 

To complete an application, click here. 

 

  instagram

Picture This! GSSEF is Now on Instagram 

A picture is worth a thousand words. So be sure to follow us on Instagram as we share our story in pictures. Look for the Instagram icon on our website soon. 

Girl Scout Gear All Year 'Roundgear
Our stores have everything you need to make
it your best Girl Scout year ever. You'll find Girl Guides and Journeys books, official uniforms, pins, t-shirts, badges and  fun patches. And lots of great Council merchandise.

Take a look - 2014 Fall Retail Store Circular
Browse GSUSA'S Online Fall Catalog
Questions, contact Jodi Potter, store manager, at jpotter@gssef.org.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, to stay in the know about retail specials. You'll also find new merchandise arrivals and specials on the Store web page.
Retail Store Specialsspecials

Mystery Monday Bundles on Facebook - Save Big 
It's time to get social. Have you liked us on Facebook?  You will want to do so to learn of  special retail store offerings. This month we will be revealing Mystery Monday bundles on Facebook on the following Mondays: November 3rd, November 10th, November 17th and November 24th.

winners
Winners of the Drawing for a Nickelodeon Suites Resort Kidsuite
The winners of the drawing for a one night stay in an Oasis 2-Bedroom Kidsuite at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort in Orlando are Ryann Greenberg (Oakland Park Retail Store) and Karla Romeo ( Jupiter Retail Store). Congrats!

   
asked
We asked, You answered, We listened!

We can't wait to honor our volunteers in new and exciting ways next spring!   

We want to honor and celebrate volunteer accomplishments in ways that are personal and meaningful to you. Surveys sent after this past April's Annual Recognition ceremony provided us with a lot of feedback about the event itself like who attended, who didn't and why. You also had a lot to say about the timing and location of the event.

 

Based on your feedback, this year we will not be holding one formal large-scale event. Instead, we have the opportunity to be creative, be personal and be local.  And once again, we are asking for your input. We will be sending another survey to delve further into just what kind of recognition you'd like to see, now that the possibilities are endless. We hope that when you receive the survey you'll take just a couple minutes to share your input with us.

 

It is important to note that while the ceremony is changing, the National Awards remain an important tradition that will continue. Award nominations will still be requested early in 2015 and will be reviewed by the Adult Recognition Committee. Once the nomination packets are available, they will be posted on our website. Stay tuned to E-News for more information on the National Award nomination process and deadlines.

 

Again, we want your input! Should you have any ideas for adult recognition, please share them with your Mission Delivery Manager for Volunteerism. You can also email suggestions, and any questions you may have about adult recognition to volunteer@gssef.org.  

 

 

give 
Calling all Girl Scouts
  Please email your Girl Scouts Give Back story and photo to sbeigh@gssef.org.  

member
Registration Questions
To update membership records, contact our Council Registrar at mjoseph@gssef.org.
nextI Can't Wait for My Next Girl Scout Adventure!
Clever Science Investigators

50 Girl Scouts participated in this Society of Women Engineers outreach program. 

Troop #10112
Troop #10112 thought  Spooky Science night was just frightfully fun!
National Public Lands Day 
Troop #21105, #22222 and #20669 planted over 1,000 trees.
   
Check-out more photos on GSSEF'S Flickr page. Do you have photos from troop or service unit activities that you would like to share? We'd love to give your troop or service unit a shout out here or on social media. To submit, complete this short form here (activity description and photo uploader).
social
Stay Connected, follow us on:

            

When sharing on social media, use the hashtag #GSSEF.

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