Girl Scouts of Nassau County Girlfriends April 2020

APRIL 2020

GirlFriends is a publication of Girl Scouts of Nassau County

2020 ADULT RECOGNITIONS CEREMONY

Our

volunteers are amazing, smart,

kind, resourceful, brave, determined, and dedicated—to use just a few of the adjectives describing them in their nomination letters. On Sunday, March 8, over 300 fam-

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month and we are celebrating our everyday heroes all month long! Our amazing volunteers deserve to be recognized often, but we especially look forward to this time to let them know just how special they are. April 22 is Girl Scout Leader’s Day. Remember to thank your outstanding volunteer.

ily members, friends, staff, board members, and troop members came together

Thank you, volunteers, for bringing the power of Girl Scouting to girls!

to recognize these outstanding volunteers at the 2020 Adult Recognitions Award Ceremony at LIU Post campus. At this event, Council distributed over 135 awards for Thanks, Honor, Appreciation, Continuing Service, Tenure, and the GSNC Spirit Award.

Congratulations to all of our recipients!

Top: Spirit Award recipient Betty Bedford 2nd from right, and her coleaders (GSUSA Appreciation Award recipients), Debra Hatch, Fatima Perry, and Latoya Moore.

Above: Tenure and Service Award recipients Barbara Betkowski (60-year Tenure, 50-year Service) and daughter Ann Betkowski (50-year Tenure).

Left: Savannah Speedway Champions, from left Fred Siciliano, Beth and Michael Haft, Kaitlyn Gioia, Bill Nelson, Samantha Gioia, CJ Gioia, and Tracy Gorman, recipients of GSUSA's Honor Pin.

Below: Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s 2020 Adult Recognitions recipients.

As a Girl Scout volunteer, you’re an everyday hero with an extraordinary super power: you prepare girls for a lifetime of leadership, accomplishment, and adventure. Because of you, every girl has the opportunity to learn what she’s capable of achieving and reach for the stars. And with your mentorship and support, girls grow into the leaders and change-makers the world needs. Being a Girl Scout volunteer is one of the most powerful, rewarding journeys you’ll ever embark on.

That’s what makes National Volunteer Appreciation Month so near and dear to our hearts! Every April, we celebrate the meaningful and inspiring contributions our volunteers make all year long. Because without their unwavering commitment, there would be no Girl Scouting. You’re the reason we can make a difference, and we’re forever grateful to all that you give to girls and Girl Scouting!

Not a Girl Scout volunteer?

It’s not too late to embark on this incredible adventure!

If you’re looking for ways to have a powerful, lasting influence on girls in your community, we’d love to chat. Join now at gsnc.org or email us at customercare@gsnc.org to learn more.

Don't forget your Girl Scout Volunteer. . .

GIRLS STAND UP!

CEO:GS CEO Girl Squad

The CEO Girl Squad is a select group of girls who

Celebrate and show your volunteer you care

work with the CEO and

this Girl Scout Leader’s Day!

staff members on projects

Visit girlscoutshop.com to

ranging from program development to research

browse our gift options!

and marketing. Members submit an application and go through an

While supplies last.

interview process to serve a two-year term. Members also have an opportunity to meet with the GSNC Board of Directors.

The group is in its second year and currently, there are 10 members. The girls were emcees at the Adult Recognitions Ceremony in March. They are committed to having their voices heard throughout the council and to making Girl Scouts the best experience for girls.

This year, the CEO Girl Squad made a recommendation to our Board of Directors that the group transition to the Girl Leadership Committee (GLC) of the Board. Their recommendation was reviewed by the Board in February and the Board agreed to move forward with the recommendation. Creating a Girl Leadership Committee of the Board will be historical and will give girls’ voices a permanent spot in our Council bylaws.

GSNC Shop

In short, the proposal says the GLC will have nine girl members of Senior or Ambassador level and at least one will be a Memberat-Large of the Board of Directors. Members will be required to attend two Board meetings and the Annual Meeting. They will serve a term of two years. They will contribute their perspectives

Each spring, Girl Scouts

on the Girl Scout experience to the Board of Directors and general Council operations.

of the USA conducts a

The next steps will be to officially put the proposal on the agenda for

national survey with girls,

the Annual Meeting on May 20. Delegates will receive their Annual

parents/guardians and troop

Meeting packets later in April and will have a chance to review the

volunteers called Girl Scout

full proposal then.

Voices Count to find out what’s

CALL TO ACTION:

working and what’s not in Girl

l If you are a girl age 11-17, the CEO Girl Squad invites you to

“stand up” for this proposal and join them as visitor at the

Scouts. At Girl Scouts, we care about

your experience, good or bad, and we want to hear from you!

Annual Meeting on May 20, 2020. The meeting starts at 7:00pm.

We will use your feedback to improve our services and programs.

l If you are a delegate, you can

Beginning in May; check your email for the invitation to

cast your vote for this proposal

participate. As a “Thank You”, everyone who completes the

at the Annual Meeting on

survey will be entered into a raffle to win one of twenty

May 20, 2020. The meeting starts at 7:00pm.

$50 gift cards! We can’t wait for you to make your voice count!

Got questions?

Girl Scout Voices Count

For more information, email GSVoicesCount@girlscouts.org.

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Have you seen Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s new Camp Guide? It’s more than you think—sure it includes Camp Blue Bay Summer Sleepaway Camp, but did you know it also has information about Summer Adventures Troop Camping and Weekend Council Camp Programs, both of which require no training for adults? Got you thinking?

Visit gsnc.org to learn more, and check out our new camp video on gsnc.org/campbluebay.

Parent/Child Overnight

Registration Form Parent/ Child Overnight

If you and your daughter(s) cherish quality time together, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

At the Parent/Child Overnight, you may choose to take part in a variety of planned camp activities, enjoy a local attraction, or just relax and enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings of East Hampton.

 August 29-30, 2020  September 12-13, 2020 Child’s Name: Parent’s name: Address: City, State, Zip: Phone: E-Mail: # attending _____ x $30.00= $______

Bring along your lunch for Saturday. Dinner, evening snack, and Sunday breakfast will be served in the Dining Hall.

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Be sure to register soon, as the event fills quickly. We can accommodate up to 200 people in platform tents. Limited indoor space (dormitory style Troop Houses) is available upon request.

Who: All registered GSNC girls with a parent/guardian Date: Saturday to Sunday, August 29-30, 2020 or September 12-13, 2020 Time: 9:00am Saturday to 11:00am Sunday Where: Camp Blue Bay, East Hampton Cost: $30.00 per person

BLUEMP B Please place ROwith: C AY  Tent or  Troop House

KS

Happ Cam y per

Check payable to GSNC Mail to: Camp Blue Bay 103 Flaggy Hole Road East Hampton, NY 11937

Spend the day Saturday enjoying the great outdoors; take a hike to the beach, play some games, and create a fall decoration. After dinner, it’s time to get festive! Paint a pumpkin, take part in some fall carnival games, and end the night with songs and s’mores around the campfire.

Open to Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior and Ambassador troops with appropriate coverage. Troops can choose to arrive Friday night or Saturday morning. No training required for adults, but we do ask that you limit the number of adults to allow more girls to attend.

Indoor space and tents will be assigned based on the number of people in your group; troops will be expected to share sites.

Cost:$55.00 per person Register: gsnc.org (Registration will open May 15, 2020)

GIRL S

Get excited and fall into autumn at Camp Blue Bay.

OF NAS UTS S CO

NTY COU AU

Fall Festival Troop Camping Weekend October 16-18, 2020

FOR GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THIN K SU CAMP, CONTACT: customercare@gsnc.org MM or 516.741.2550 CAM ER

P

gsnc .org

FOR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CHILD OR TROOP ATTENDING CAMP, CONTACT: Laura Bissett-Carr, Director of Camping Services at Camp Blue Bay bissettcarrl@gsnc.org or 631.604.2201

GIRL SCOUTING AT HOME

What’s in Store for You as You Progress Through Girl Scouts . . .

As a Daisy, you will build a strong foundation by learning the Girl Scout Promise and Law which will help you and your troop discover who you are and the values of Girl Scouting.

Continuing on with your Girl Scout experience, as a Brownie, then Junior, onto Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors, you will: l have opportunities to do community service

l go on a Journey or two

l help with younger troops

l and go on adventures

l earn badges and awards

Introducing our new “Girl Scouting at Home” section found on the Parent page of the Online Community (OLC)!

In response to our current situation, activities that can be done at home will be added as quickly as possible.

There will be at-home badge activities and special patch challenges. In addition to these activities, we are also organizing a list of web links that your children can go to for virtual experiences at museums, zoos, and other locations globally.

For those who are new to Girl Scouting, the OLC/Online Community is a secure site for Girl Scout members to get the most updated information, resources, and support.

Not sure how to log on; check your inbox! If you are registered, you should have received your invitation to the GSNC Online Community via email. It is simple to join; just follow the link in the email. (If you cannot locate this email, check your spam filter or use the Password Reset option on the log in page to receive a new password. Your username is the email address you registered yourself or your daughter with.) The OLC is listed on the home page of our website in the top navigation bar.

All of which helps you connect with your world. These connections will help you when you want to earn the highest awards in Girl Scouting: Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.

Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. This is a troop project, where the girls learn how to come up with a Take Action project, and plan, design, and carry out the project, guided by their leaders.

Silver Award is the highest award a Cadette Girl Scout can earn. This is an individual or small group (max 4) Take Action project where the girls become detectives in their community to discover an issue they wish to help solve or improve.

Gold Award is the highest award a Senior or Ambassador Girl Scout can earn.

This is an individual Take Action project, where the girls are the CEOs. Using the GoGold portal, they discover what issue in their community/world that they want to help make a difference in and then develop, plan, get approval, and implement their project.

gsnc

OLC

Online Community

To access the site visit: https://member.gsnc.org Once you are logged in, be sure to do the following: Set up your profile:

Seniors and Ambassadors who earn the Gold Award tackle issues that are dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond.

Think of the Gold Award as a key that can open doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities.

In the top right hand corner click on your name

As always in Girl Scouting there is progression, and you see it with earning the highest awards. When girls earn their Bronze Award, they tend to continue on to earn all three.

Set up your notifications:

We challenge you to stay a Girl Scout through high school and earn the highest awards!

l From the drop-down select Edit Profile l Enter your information in the form l Save Changes by using the green button at the bottom In the top right hand corner click on your name l From the drop-down select Notification Settings l Choose your desired settings and you’re done!

Browse around and be sure to follow groups of interest to you; just click the big green JOIN button to the right to post content/questions and receive group updates.

Looking for something? Type your query into the search box.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact customercare@gsnc.org.

Finally, we are currently devising a plan to deliver virtual programs/activities/get-togethers via Zoom, so we can all stay connected as sister Girl Scouts. So, stay tuned and stay connected!

TROOP Clicks 4 GS Troop 2469 did “Flying Fitness� at Emerge Yoga in Massapequa.

4

The girls from Troop 1335 had to figure out how to turn Pringles into a circle. The Pringles Ringle challenge was a fun STEM activity.

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4 The busy bees of Troop 1395 have set some high goals for themselves ... and they spent National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend working toward their cookie goals by holding Girl Scout Cookie booth sales.

They even “blinged their booth� with a bee-themed handmade banner. They are working toward covering the costs of their troop activities.

4 To pass the time, Stella and Lucy from the West Hempstead/Franklin Square Service Unit are earning their Think Like an Engineer badges by building a leprechaun trap using cookie cases . . . not pictured is the pile of slime inside the cookie box that the leprechaun will get stuck in! Stay safe, Girl Scouts.

3 Troop 1335 from Elmont volunteered at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point over the February break. The girls set up for the biweekly cookie cafĂŠ.

The girls also got a tour of the grounds.

Awesome Opportunities ahead!

Girl Scouts of Nassau County is fortunate enough to have a relationship with Advancing Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM).

AWSM is a program whose mission is to advance the career opportunities and career satisfaction of female scientists at the Feinstein Institutes at Northwell. This group is made up of Feinstein Institute’s female faculty members who lead programs in basic, translational and clinical research in a wide variety of areas. “The core initiatives of AWSM are in recognition, career development, advocacy and education, and networking

and mentoring.� This upcoming summer, three of our Girl Scouts will be lucky enough to spend their summer internships with members of AWSM. Alexandra will work with Sangeeta Chavan studying the intersection of the nervous and immune systems. Hannah will work with a female PhD in Anne Davidson’s lab on systemic lupus erythematosus. Isabella will work with Ciara Bagnall-Moreau in Lior Brimberg’s lab on effects of maternal anti-brain antibodies brain development. Congratulations girls!

What a great opportunity.

ALEXANDRA

HANNAH

ISABELLA

Tribute FUND

In Memory of: 110 Ring Road West Garden City, NY 11530

Diane Kopitowsky

–Elizabeth Meisser

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GirlFriends, 110 Ring Road West, Garden City, NY 11530

Lilly T. Buscemi –Nina and Teresa Buscemi

GirlFriends (USPS 135-280), is published quarterly with a special issue in August.

Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Inc. 110 Ring Road West, Garden City, NY 11530 Periodicals Postage Paid at Garden City, NY 11530.

Maureen McPartlan

–Dale Oswald

Andrea Elder-Howell, Esq. President and Chief Volunteer Officer

to remember

Randell Marie Bynum Chief Executive Officer Donna Rivera-Downey Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Anna Lenz Graphic Design and Production Manager Designed by Anna Lenz Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Inc., an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Agency, is a member of Long Island’s United Way, Inc. Village of Hempstead CDA, United Community Fund of Great Neck, and The Community Chest of Port Washington.

Ramona M. Burkel (Hicksville SU, leader, SU volunteer, Outdoor Trainer, Oktoberfest Committee and Ceremonial Unit) –GSNC Board of Directors and Staff, Laura Bissett-Carr and Wayne Carr

April 22

Girl Scout Leader’s Day

May 20

Annual Meeting To be determined (TBD)

June 4

Family Appreciation Night (Tentative) Adventureland, East Farmingdale

To be determined Gold Award Ceremony (TBD) Molloy College, Rockville Centre

Lori Newman (Sister of Barbara Leader, Hicksville SUVM) –GSNC Board of Directors and Staff Peter Krempa (Son-in-Law of Martha Naples, former GSNC Staff) –GSNC Board of Directors and Staff

Happy Birthday: Joyce Leslie O’Connor –Barbara Paulinski

gs

April 2020

• Issue 2

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Olive, the Baby Dinosaur from Jurassic Park Live Tour Comes to Visit GSNC! On February 18, Olive and the Paleontologists from the Jurassic Park Live show provided our Girl Scouts with two sessions of STEM programs and a meet and greet with Olive herself! In the first session, the Paleontologists taught our Daisies and Brownies about dinosaurs, volcanoes, and other prehistoric fun facts, culminating with setting off a volcano in front of our eyes!

In the second session, Olive and her friends revealed to our Juniors a behind-the-scenes look of how the Jurassic Park Live show comes alive. The girls learned about advanced puppetry, the technology involved, and also experienced a live demonstration of stunt work and what kind of training occurs to become a cast member.

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