Space Adventurer

Sunday, March 15, 2020
Hampton Roads Academy
739 Academy Lane
Newport News, VA 23602
Check-in: 9:30 a.m.
Time: 10 a.m.-noon
Open to Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies and Juniors only.
Capacity: 30 only (space is limited).
This is a free event.

Enjoy learning about space and exploring the stars at this badge event for the Space Science Investigator badge lead by Hampton Roads Academy students! We will be diving deeper into the Earth's relationship to the other planets and discovering how our atmosphere works. Girls can expect a comprehensive and exciting approach to collaborative learning while boosting confidence and teambuilding skills.

Register by March 10, 2020. Event questions? Contact 20oferra@hra.org.

Space Science Badges

Saturday, February 22, 2020
Hampton Roads Academy
739 Academy Lane
Newport News, VA 23602
Check-in: 9:30 a.m.
Time: 10 a.m.-noon
Open to Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies and Juniors only.
Capacity: 30 only (space is limited).
This is a free event.

Enjoy learning about space and exploring the stars at this badge event for the Space Science Investigator badge lead by Hampton Roads Academy students! We will be diving deeper into the Earth's relationship to the other planets and discovering how our atmosphere works. Girls can expect a comprehensive and exciting approach to collaborative learning while boosting confidence and teambuilding skills.

Register by February 20, 2020. Event questions? Contact 20oferra@hra.org.

World Neighbors & Girl Scouting Around the World Badges Workshop

Saturday, February 8, 2020
Crooks Memorial United Methodist Church
204 Cook Rd
Yorktown, VA 23690
10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Open to Girl Scout Juniors and rising Juniors only.
Cost: $15 (includes two badges) and attendees are asked to bring non-perishable food item(s)

This workshop is presented by Girl Scout Senior Troop 1659 as a money-earning activity and features informational interactive presentations, games, crafts and food tasting.

Click here for more information and to register. After registration, you will receive a link to pay, permission, photo release, health forms, and items to bring.

Trouble accessing SignUp Genius? Email Event Coordinator Julie Verdura at julie.verdura@yahoo.com for the link.

Summer Camp Registration is Live!

It's cold outside, so why not start thinking about something warm like Girl Scout camp?! We have so many awesome opportunities for your girl to have some fun, try new things, explore and make new friends. We've built up our leadership opportunities for Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors, continued girl favorites like horse camp, and added some brand new themes like "On Target", "DIY By Design", "Tree Top Adventures", and "Around the World". Check out the Summer Camp Guide for details and then register here.

All registrations and camp forms are due to Council by May 15, 2020. Get your registration in by February 1, 2020, for an Early Bird discount. We can't wait to see your girls at camp!

Deadline Extended: Help GSUSA and Earn Free STEM Badges in the Process!

Girl Scouts of the USA is looking for troops at each Girl Scout level to participate in a research study on troop use of Girl Scout STEM program.We are seeking troops who are willing to engage their girls in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year.

What's Involved

• Throughout the study timeframe, October 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, troops will go about their regular troop-selected activities.
• By December 1, 2019, leaders and girls will complete a pre-survey.
• Troop leaders will report their troop's program activities monthly through a short online tracking survey.
• At the end of your troop year, troop leaders will complete a leader post-survey and administer a girl post-survey to all girls in their troop. All surveys will be available online and in paper format.
• All surveys must be submitted to GSUSA by August 15, 2020.

Who Can Participate

• Any Girl Scout troop interested in participating in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year. We are looking for troops at all Girl Scout levels (multi-level welcome).
• Troops with any level of STEM experience welcome. No STEM experience required.

Troops Needed for GSUSA Pilot - Get a $100 Gift Card

Girl Scouts of the USA has teamed up with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to test the NEW K-12 Entrepreneurship badges, made possible by Susan Bulkeley Butler. We need troops who will volunteer their time to test the NEW badges. Troops selected will be assigned to test the new badge content for their assigned grade level. Multi-level troops may also apply if they have the capacity to facilitate all levels of programming. No entrepreneurial program experience necessary – all Girl Scout volunteers can deliver this program!

Why participate? Your girls will…         

• Be the first to try new entrepreneurship badge activities.
• Help develop national entrepreneurship program by providing feedback.
• Earn a $100 gift card for their troop to support troop-related program expenses.  

Interested in doing STEM programs with your troop and earning badges for free in the process?

Girl Scouts of the USA is looking for troops at each Girl Scout level to participate in a research study on troop use of Girl Scout STEM program. We are seeking troops who are willing to engage their girls in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year. 

What’s Involved

• Throughout the study timeframe, October 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, troops will go about their regular troop-selected activities.
• By December 1, 2019, leaders and girls will complete a pre-survey.
• Troop leaders will report their troop’s program activities monthly through a short online tracking survey.
• At the end of your troop year, troop leaders will complete a leader post-survey and administer a girl post-survey to all girls in their troop. All surveys will be available online and in paper format.
• All surveys must be submitted to GSUSA by August 15, 2020.  

Calling all troops! Help test the new entrepreneurship program!

Girl Scouts of the USA has teamed up with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to test the NEW K-12 Entrepreneurship badges, made possible by Susan Bulkeley Butler. We need troops who will volunteer their time to test the NEW badges. Troops selected will be assigned to test the new badge content for their assigned grade level. Multi-level troops may also apply if they have the capacity to facilitate all levels of programming. No entrepreneurial program experience necessary – all Girl Scout volunteers can deliver this program!

Why participate? Your girls will…           

• Be the first to try new entrepreneurship badge activities.
• Help develop national entrepreneurship program by providing feedback.
• Earn a $100 gift card for their troop to support troop-related program expenses.  

Interested in doing STEM programs with your troop and earning badges for free in the process?

Girl Scouts of the USA is looking for troops at each Girl Scout level to participate in a research study on troop use of Girl Scout STEM program. We are seeking troops who are willing to engage their girls in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year.   

What’s Involved

• Throughout the study timeframe, October 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, troops will go about their regular troop-selected activities.
• By December 1, 2019, leaders and girls will complete a pre-survey.
• Troop leaders will report their troop’s program activities monthly through a short online tracking survey.
• At the end of your troop year, troop leaders will complete a leader post-survey and administer a girl post-survey to all girls in their troop. All surveys will be available online and in paper format.
• All surveys must be submitted to GSUSA by August 15, 2020.  

It's time to renew your troop!

Set your troop up for another year of success and adventure! Give them even more opportunities to prepare for a lifetime of leadership and the chance to explore the 42 NEW Girl Scout badges and one NEW Journey.

Renew your troop today!

Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) - What's New?

Beginning Tuesday, July 16th, the 2020 Year Plan was open for customization by leaders who are registered for 2020 membership year. If you are not registered for 2020 membership, you will need to register to gain access to the VTK.

What's new in the VTK?

• The primary contact/caregiver of an individually registered girl will now have access to the VTK. The primary contact/caregiver does not need to be a registered member of Girl Scouts to get access to the VTK, only the girl needs to be a member. This access will be through their member community login. Girls who are 13 years of age or older may use their caregiver's login to manage the VTK.
• All Girl Scout Cadette badges are now on the VTK.
• The three class Journeys for Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors are available in the six-session format. The Girl Scout Daisy, Brownie and Junior Journeys are now in the six-session format. This is a total of 287 plans for troop meetings on the VTK for volunteers to guide girls through the content.

Brownie Wonders of Water Journey Workshop

Girl Scout Cadette Aliya from Troop 273 is pursuing her Leader in Action Award by hosting the Brownie Wonders of Water Journey Workshop on July 15th, July 16th and July 17th, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Fun Room at A Place for Girls.

The workshop will include all elements to earn the Journey, including Take Action project. Girl Scout Brownies must attend entire workshop to complete the Journey. A special guest speaker will bring fun hands-on models, presentations and materials to add to the Journey Workshop experience on July 16th.

The cost to attend is $15 per Girl Scout Brownie (includes Journey badge set). Adults may be asked to stay to meet girl-to-adult ratios. Only 15 spots are available - register via email to troop273.girlscout@gmail.com with Girl Scout Brownie name and caregiver contact information. Available payment methods will be provided in an email following registration. Fee to attend must be paid within 48 hours of email registration to confirm spot.

It's Your Planet Love It! - Journey in a Day

Sunday, September 22, 2019
Chesapeake Arboretum
624 Oak Grove Rd
Chesapeake, VA
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Open to girls in all grades. This is not a drop-off event. Only girls pay to attend.
Cost: $17 per girl.

Learn about how and where food is grown, harvested, processed, distributed, and consumed, and why it matters. Plan a Take Action Project to share your knowledge with others. Arboretum staff and local farmers will be on hand to teach us the importance of caring for our planet from Earth to Sky!

Register by September 15th. Questions? Contact customercare@gsccc.org.

Earn Your Business Badge

Mondays-Thursdays (all year)
Duck Donuts
Chesapeake, VA
6:30-8 p.m.
Open to Girl Scouts in all grades.
Cost: $15 (includes workshop, grade-level badge, and two Duck donuts). Registration required (minimum of 10 girls needed for this workshop to be held).

Join the Duck Donuts staff as they walk you through all business badge stations at their store. Earn your Money Counts, Meet My Customers, Business Owner, It’s Your Business Run It! (Customer Insight) and It’s Your Business Run It! (Marketing) badge. Design and market your very own donut and a chance to win one of the famous ducks!

Register here. Questions? Email chesapeake.085@duckdonuts.com.

What's New on the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)?

Girl Scout Cadette Badge and Journey resources are now on the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)!

You can take a look at the Badge and Journey Meeting Plans, found in the Resources tab, Cadette. Select "Badges", "Journey" or "All" to view the plans.

Create your Year Plan by clicking on "Add Badge/Journey". If you have a multi-level troop, click on "Use Filters" to select Cadette. If you do not have a multi-level troop, select "Badges" or "Journey". Start creating your year plan now!

How can you get started?

Upcoming Girl Events

Girl Scouts Sleepover
Kappa Delta Sisters & Girl Scouts Overnight
Kappa Delta House
127 Richmond Rd
Williamsburg, VA 23185
Friday, February 23 - Saturday, February 24, 2019
Open to girls in grades 6-8 only.
Capacity: 25
Register here by February 20, 2019.
Questions? Contact: kaarnold@email.wm.edu

Kappa Delta Pen Pals Program
The Kappa Delta Sisters from The College of William & Mary invite you to take part in their pen pal program. Girls of all ages are invited to write letters to Kappa Delta Sisters. Each Girl Scout will be partners with a Kappa Delta and write each other about their interests, goals and plans for the future.

A caregiver’s permission is needed to participate in the pen pal program. An adult is asked to complete this registration and permission form so each girl may be assigned a pen pal.

College Knowledge Badge Workshops

Open to girls in grades 11-12.
$15/girl for 5-10 girls

Need help starting your troop’s girls on the path to college? The College Knowledge badge workshop by Atlanta Advising will help you!

Atlanta Advising is a college admissions advising business owned and operated by a long-time local Girl Scout leader. The College Knowledge badge workshop will demystify the process, give you concrete steps to undertake, and get you headed and equipped in the right direction. Presented in two 2-hour troop meetings, with additional time for a tour of a local college, you will complete all the badge requirements and get all the important college education information needed.

Topics covered include:

• Where should they start this process?
• When should they start? 
• How does each girl figure out which colleges?
• Will be right for her? 
• Where should they look for information?  
• What is the real cost of college these days?

To register or for questions, email Virginia Harvey ginny@atalantaadvising.com.

Girl Scout Cadette Workshops

Saturday, January 5, 2019
Salem High School
1993 Sundevil Dr
Virginia Beach, VA
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Screenwriter workshop
1 to 4 p.m. - Public Speaker workshop
Cost: $7 per workshop (includes badge and all supplies). A box lunch option is available for an additional $5.50.

Girl Scout Cadettes are invited to register and attend workshops, Screenwriter and Public Speaker, organized by Girl Scout Cadette Sydney from Troop 571 and hosted by the Virginia Beach Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Girls may register for one or both workshops and will learn how to create a screenplay for a show or movie and find their inner performer and be unafraid to speak up!

Registration deadline is December 22, 2018.
For more information and to register, visit https://girlscoutcadetteworkshops.weebly.com/.

Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) - What's New?

The Volunteer Toolkit is the troop management system that every troop leader needs to use to save her or him time keeping up with the troop roster, emailing parents and caregivers, and reporting financial information. The best resource just received a makeover to include even more program content and new features. All this and so much more is a few clicks away!

What's new in the VTK?

• A brand new Explore tab. You have the option to select View Popular Tracks if you're not sure what you are looking for, or if you know what you are looking, click Start Adding Petals, Badges or Journeys. It's an easier way to fill your year plan. Once you are viewing a track, you can click on the icon to the right of the meeting to read the requirements to earn the badge.
• In the Year Plan tab, you can click on Take a Guided Tour to add a Badge or Journey Meeting or Combine Meetings. With each click, another pop-up instruction tells you exactly what to do.

Attention: Volunteer Support Team Members

The new Girl Scout badges and Journeys are here! That means volunteers you support will be turning to you with questions. Make sure you have all the latest answers!

Join us for a special webcast hosted by GSUSA’s Volunteer & Girl Experience teams especially for Council service teams and Council trainers.

You’ll hear updated information on our new badges and Journeys, learn how your volunteers can get started, and discover how to effectively use the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) when implementing this new content rollout. Of course, you’ll have the opportunity to get answers to your questions.