We're having an open house on Saturday morning, October 13.  This is a chance for those of you who have busy work-week schedules to come visit us at the office to get updates or answers from the volunteer support team AND pick up books and patches for your troop, all in one stop.  (Be sure to check out our brand-new Troop Leader V-neck shirts!)

There's something for everyone camp! Take a look at all of the fun coming your way.

October:

Fall Festivities| Walker, MN
Grades 2-5 (adults are welcome, too!) | October 26-27, 5:30pm-4:30pm| $35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering adults and program aides

Fall Festivities--Day Only|Walker, MN
Grades k-adult | October 27, 9am-4:30pm| $25 girls, $15 adults, $5 volunteering adults and program aides

Haunted Harvest| Walker, MN
Grades 6-12 | October 27-28 9am-11am| $35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering adults 



November:

Fall Festivities| Spicer, MN
Grades 2-5 (adults are welcome, too!) | November 2-3, 5:30pm-4:30pm| $35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering
adults and program aides


Fall Festivities—Day Only|Spicer, MN
Grades k-adult | November 3,
9am-4:30pm | $25 girls, $15 adults, $5 volunteering adults and program aides

Haunted Harvest| Spicer, MN
Grades 6-12 | November 3-4 9am-11am|$35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering adults

Check out a complete list of upcoming council activities at our website.

Consider using your Program Aide or Volunteer in Training skills to help at council-sponsored activites--most are offered at a reduced price to volunteers.

NOVEL Ideas Mini-Series| Hinckley, MN

Grades 6-12 (adults are welcome, too!) | October 6 (9am-Noon), October 27 (9am-10:30am), November 10 (9am-10:30am)  |Registration Deadline: September 28^th, 2012| $10

Join author of The Seeing Stone, Karlajean Becvar for 3 Saturday sessions to complete the Senior Novelist Badge from the It’s Your World—Change It! journey series. You’ll spend time with a local author to learn what it takes to write a book, visit the Hinckley Fire Museum to connect with the inspiration behind events in the book, develop you own plot, and, by completing some activities at home, you’ll earn the Novelist Badge for Senior Girl Scouts. Price includes: snacks, supplies, entrance to the Hinckley Fire Museum, free copy of the book The Seeing Stone by local author Karlajean  Becvar and the Novelist Badge. Additional books can be purchased for $10 each. Contact Jennifer Schmitt (jjsgschmitt@dishmail.net) for more details or to register.

Growing up in Girl Scouts, I sometimes felt that the older I got, the less programming I was offered. I hope as older girls in Girl Scouting today you don't think this is still the case. I want to highlight some older girl adventures coming your way:

Mentoring Awards:

Juniors: Check out page 33 of Junior: The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for information on how to earn your Junior Aide award.

Cadettes: Check out page 30 of Cadette: The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for information on how to earn a Leader in Action award and your Program Aide award. (Please note: you'll have to complete one Leader in Action award before you'll be eligible for Program Aide Training). Keep your eyes open for details of upcoming Program Aide Trainings--they'll be offered in each region starting in the Spring of 2013.

Seniors: Check out page 32 of Senior: The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for information on how to earn your Volunteer in Training and your Counselor in Training awards. Keep your eyes open for details of upcoming Volunteer in Training courses offered in the Spring of 2013. Counselor in Training courses are offered at select camp properties during the summer camp season.

Ambassadors: Check out page 29 of Ambassador: The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting for more information on how to earn your Volunteer in Training, Counselor in Training, and Counselor in Training II awards. Volunteer in Training courses will be offered in the Spring of 2013. Counselor in Training courses are offered at select camp properties during the summer camp season.

It’s almost FLAMINGO TIME!!!

Troops throughout the council are getting ready to participate in this year’s Fall Product Sale program which gives girls a great opportunity to raise funds for their upcoming Girl Scout adventures. 

The Fall Product Sale, which runs October 6 – October 21, 2012, features delicious chocolates and nuts such as Dark Chocolate Mint Penguins, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bears, melt-in-your-mouth Dulce de Leche chocolates, and also the fun, new, collectible Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace mailbox tin which contains the ever popular Mint Treasures.  The other part of the Fall Product Sale is the magazine portion where girls may sell any of a large variety of magazines either in person or online. With over 665+ magazine subscriptions, plus 50 digital subscriptions and 30 combo deals, where customers buy a regular subscription and get the digital version free, there is something for everyone in the magazine sale.  Remember, with online magazine sales there is no need to collect money from troop families, and no need to pick up or deliver any products! 

Troops earn 20% of the proceeds from the sales of both the magazines and the nuts and chocolates.  Girls may earn fun recognition items like a hair tie lollipop, tap and wrap watch, or Fiona Flamingo, this year’s Fall Product Sale program mascot.  Also, the Fall Product Sale program provides much needed resources to help support our council’s local offices and you, our volunteers. 

Please remember, girls in a troop need to participate in BOTH the council-sponsored Fall Product Sale AND the Cookie Sale programs for a troop to be eligible to participate in any additional money earning activities such a bake sale, rummage sale, or other troop fundraiser.

In the Fall Product Sale program, troops may sell just chocolates and nuts, or just magazines, or both!  There are no minimum or maximum sales amounts required in order to participate.  Interested?  Click the link for more details Fall Product Sale for Volunteers or contact Maureen Graham in the Waite Park office to find out how you can get started!

It’s almost FLAMINGO TIME!!!

Troops throughout the council are getting ready to participate in this year’s Fall Product Sale program which gives girls a great opportunity to raise funds for their upcoming Girl Scout adventures. 

The Fall Product Sale, which runs October 6 – October 21, 2012, features delicious chocolates and nuts such as Dark Chocolate Mint Penguins, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bears, melt-in-your-mouth Dulce de Leche chocolates, and also the fun, new, collectible Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace mailbox tin which contains the ever popular Mint Treasures.  The other part of the Fall Product Sale is the magazine portion where girls may sell any of a large variety of magazines either in person or online. With over 665+ magazine subscriptions, plus 50 digital subscriptions and 30 combo deals, where customers buy a regular subscription and get the digital version free, there is something for everyone in the magazine sale.  Remember, with online magazine sales there is no need to collect money from troop families, and no need to pick up or deliver any products! 

Troops earn 20% of the proceeds from the sales of both the magazines and the nuts and chocolates.  Girls may earn fun recognition items like a hair tie lollipop, tap and wrap watch, or Fiona Flamingo, this year’s Fall Product Sale program mascot.  Also, the Fall Product Sale program provides much needed resources to help support our council’s local offices and you, our volunteers. 

Please remember, girls in a troop need to participate in BOTH the council-sponsored Fall Product Sale AND the Cookie Sale programs for a troop to be eligible to participate in any additional money earning activities such a bake sale, rummage sale, or other troop fundraiser.

In the Fall Product Sale program, troops may sell just chocolates and nuts, or just magazines, or both!  There are no minimum or maximum sales amounts required in order to participate.  Interested?  Click the link for more details Fall Product Sale for Volunteers  or contact Maureen Graham in the Waite Park office to find out how you can get started!

Check out these great programs at Camp Sanderson in Spicer!  Click here to register. 

We are also looking for volunteers who would like to assist at these programs.  If you are interested please contact Jessica Kershner at jkerschner@gslakesandpines.org.  Jessica is also to the person to contact if you have any questions specific to these programs. 

Fall Festivities| Spicer, MN

Grades 2-5 (adults are welcome,too!) | November 2-3, 5:30pm-4:30pm| $35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering
adults and program aides

Come celebrate autumn at Camp Sanderson! Join us for a Friday Fall-themed dinner. Spend the night in the
Program Center, and the day celebrating the season with pumpkins, squash, and scarecrows. Price includes dinner, breakfast, lunch, snack, lodging, program materials and a fun patch. Deadline to register is October 12 and space is limited.

Fall Festivities—Day Only|
Spicer, MN

Grades k-adult | November 3, 9am-4:30pm | $25 girls, $15 adults, $5 volunteering adults and program aides

Come celebrate autumn at Camp Sanderson! Join us for a day of pumpkins, squash, and scarecrows. Enjoy the
colors of fall during a craft session, and songs and games to celebrate the season. Price includes lunch, snack, program materials and a fun patch. Deadline to register is October 12 and space is limited.

Haunted Harvest| Spicer, MN

Grades 6-12 | November 3-4 9am-11am|$35 girls, $25 adults, $10 volunteering adults

Join us Saturday for the daytime Fall Festivities, then we’ll enjoy an autumn-themed dinner, and when the sun
goes down we’ll haunt the campground. Take a haunted stroll through camp, go spider sniffing, and learn about things that go “bump” in the night. Be sure to bring your favorite scary stories to the campfire. Cost includes lunch, snack, dinner, breakfast, lodging, program materials and a fun patch. Deadline to register is October 12 and space is limited.

As staff, our flow of work is centered around an academic year. This means that we are especially busy in the fall getting things started, and in the spring getting things wrapped up and prepared for the next year. One of the things that we make a priority in the fall is to support the local registration nights. We pass around a sign-up sheet and make sure there is a staff member present (as much as possible) at each one. Each one is a little different, but each one has the same underlying current running through them: passion for Girl Scouts!

Regions three is blessed with a strong volunteer base.

We have five trainers and a dedicated core of volunteers who

have hosted a Volunteer Retreat for three years.

 I hope you can join them as they relax, refresh and reconnect;

as they embark on another Girl Scout Year!

Volunteer Retreat!

October 12-14, 2012

Camp Shingobee Timbers

Pack your bags and get ready to

“Camp Like a Girl”!

See the home page on the website for details.

http://www.gslakesandpines.org/files/3222.pdf

Please, contact Bonnie if you have questions!

Here's one more opportunity for you to get an overview of the Fall Product Sale process, find out how to navigate this year's new features, and get some tips for increasing your troop's sales--or just focusing your efforts to make the sale go more efficiently so your troop has more time for other activities this fall!

We'll be offering a training via conference call on Monday, September 24, from 5:15-6:15.  RSVP to Keri Lynn (kigo at gslakesandpines.org) to receive the toll-free number to call in, from the comfort of your home or office.  If possible, we encourage you to follow along by viewing the powerpoint on our website.  We'll have plenty of time for your individual questions.

Here is information on two opportunities for troops to take part in service projects to benefit their local communities this fall.  The first one is in the Ashland area, but might also be a neat idea of something a troop or service unit may want to organize in your own area.  The second opportunity is for the greater Duluth area.  Click below for more details, including the contacts at each of these organizations if you would like to find out more information.

Thank you for all the wonderful things your troops are doing for your communities.  You keep us all inspired!  If your troop would like to share information about a service project you are planning or show us what you've accomplished, we'd love to hear from you.  You can comment below or click any of the Regional Team's names in the left column to e-mail us.

Tricia Andrews, from the Bemidji Girl Scout Office, will present a Program On The Go for Cadette Scouts and their leaders who wish to complete the Silver Award. 

She will present the orientation in Brainerd on Monday, October 1, from 6:30-8:30, at the Girl Scout Office/Room across from Monica’s office on the corner of Kingwood and 8th St.

Tricia would like this form used for registration:  http://www.gslakesandpines.org/files/2317.pdf. It’s also under the program page at the www.gslakesandpines.org website.  The cost is $5 per girl, adults free. Girls and adult receive the Silver Award Guidelines and Forms and other handouts that help them learn about the Silver Award process and what makes for a successful final project. The deadline for having the forms in to Tricia will be the Friday before the event. That would be September 28th. They need to be mailed or faxed to Tricia Andrews at the Bemidji office. She would like a minimum of 20 participants. 

If anyone has any questions, they can call me, Pam Stock at 828-9110 or email me at lpsstock@msn.com.

Save the date for our next Region 5 Training Day: Saturday, December 8^th! Check out the pictures from our fall regional training day Hawaiian Luau!

Here's a great day program coming up in early October, developed by your friend Acer from camp and the fine folks at the new Estuarine Research Reserve on Barker's Island in Superior!

Girls in Science

In partnership with the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve

Think science is awesome or think science isn’t interesting?  Join successful women scientists at the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in Superior, WI in hands-on, real life outdoor experiences that will show you how science helps the natural world.  Girls will have time to talk about science careers and adventures working in the great outdoors with female scientists, and then experience the St. Louis River freshwater estuary by providing assistance with an outdoor research project.  Come with questions and be prepared to get wet, dirty and have a blast.  Snacks will be provided, but please pack a lunch. 

October 6, 2012

10 am – 3:30 pm

Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve Offices

Barkers Island, Superior, WI

Grades 3-8

$10 (Girls may use $5 in Cookie Dough)

Register by Friday, September 28, 2012

Send registration and payment to the Waite Park Office no later than Friday, September 28, 2012.

Questions? Contact Jessica Schiff, Outdoor Program Specialist, at 218-302-3182 or jschiff@gslakesandpines.org.

Fall is upon us and that means Girl Scout registration nights are happening across our council.  Be sure to check our website to find a sign up date in your region.  If you've already signed up, that's great!  Your girls leader will be contacting you soon.  Is your girl wanting to be a part of Girl Scouts but she wants to participate in other ways besides being in a troop?  Check out additional ways for girls to be involved.  They're called pathways. Learn more at www.gslakesandpines.org

Continue to check out the G.S. website for upcoming trainings.

Registration nights are starting , girls will be bringing home flyers from school.
Some ask what if we can not make it to the registration night, you can still become a member of Girl Scouts, on each flyer is a contact perosns name
amd phone number, give them a call and they will get your  girls registered and conected with a troop.

Did you know that Girl Scouts is the premiere leadership organization for girls?

Carrying on that success begins with a Girl Scout Recruitment Night! Recruitment Nights are about more than just filling out and collecting forms; they are about showing new families the wonderful opportunities available to their girl through Girl Scouts.

The flamingoes are coming--run! 

Run to your nearest troop leader meeting or the Duluth office, that is, so you can get your materials for the Fall Product Sale! 

Don't let your girls miss out on the chance to earn money in October and November, so they can fund their exciting Girl Scout adventures until the cookie sale.  Don't let your girls miss out on the chance to qualify for other troop fundraisers--remember, you need to participate in BOTH the council-sponsored Fall Product Sale AND the Cookie Sale to be eligible to organize your own bake sale, rummage sale, or other troop fundraiser.  Finally, don't miss out on the chance to get your hands on some Dark Chocolate Mint Penguins, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bears, melt-in-your-mouth Dulce de Leche chocolates, and the adorable, collectible Juliette Low Birthplace mailbox tin!

The hustle and bustle to get everyone ready to go back to school has started, but don’t forget to connect with your troop leader to let her know your daughter will be returning and find out when the first meeting will be. Also if you didn’t jump-start, remember to turn in the registration form for the 2013 Girl Scout year.

As I am starting to fill my office with supplies for Our World Our Family, I can’t help but get excited for our annual camping extravaganza. It is by far my most favorite thing about Girl Scouts and I get strange looks from some of my co-workers when I express my enthusiasm for it. There is so much work that goes into one weekend for 1,000 people, but by Sunday afternoon as I’m driving out of camp with tired eyes and sore feet, I know that it’s all worth it.

Our program team has been hard at work putting together a menu of choices for fun activities your Girl Scout can attend, beginning October 27.  From robots to campcraft to touring Europe, we've got something for everyone.  Check out all the options here, and sign up early for your favorites.  Remember that Girl Scout Programs are more than just a day or weekend of fun activities for your daughter--she is learning to discover, connect, and take action to make the world a better place!

“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: “I am with you kid.  Let’s go.” –Maya Angelou

I just received this year’s Girl Scout catalog and new items are arriving in the council shop.  Even though I have an entire drawer of Girl Scout shirts, I always get a new one each fall. It’s sort of my grown-up version of buying school clothes! It also marks the beginning of fall recruitment.  Girl Scout recruitment happens year-round, however the beginning of the school year is a great time to connect girls and adults with a Girl Scout Pathway.

Recruitment is an “all hands on deck” task and we truly appreciate all the work you do in your communities to help.  This year we have a variety of resources you can use for recruitment—a recruitment planning guide that’s full of helpful tips, pencils, brochures, family handbooks, color flyers you can personalize (and we’ll print,) and more.  Our staff is also available to assist with planning events, and we’d love to join you if we can!  Contact Jamie Sands, Membership Specialist if you have ideas about how we can help grow Girl Scouting in your community, if you’d like to help, and/or if you need assistance or supplies to make it happen.

It's so exciting to be a part of Girl Scouts' 100th year.  We've learned so much about how our fashions and media have changed over the years, but the core values and many of the life skills girls are building have stayed the same. 

Here's one of the many unique ways people are celebrating our anniversary: an old-fashioned corn maze!

Healthier Girls ... Be One | Northland Arboretum | Brainerd MN

Girls Ages 11-15 & adults | Wed August 29 | Free

Use this link for more information or to RSVP today!