WELCOME TO YEAR 3!!

I am so excited to prepare our third year of Frontier Girls! This is going to be a great year of learning and fun adventures! Our theme will be Emergency Preparedness. We will learn all about being safe and prepared wherever and whatever we are doing.

The calendar has been updated to this years meeting times. Please note that not all meetings are on Mondays, as our girls are getting older, I am trying to work with everyone's expanding schedules! If you can't make a meeting, don't fret, you have all month to work on them on your own. However, I don't recommend missing November, as I hope to have a couple local firefighters come do a presentation on Fire Safety!

Our Pancake Breakfast will be on Sunday, September 15th from 7:00-11:30am. We will also have a ham raffle and a bake sale. Each family is asked to bring a few items for the sale. As this is our main fundraising event of the year, lets make it count!

We will also have a small booth at the Parish Social. I am thinking of purchasing a carnival game from Oriental Trading Co. this year. The basketball goal is just such a pain to move back and forth!

Our first meeting will be Monday, August 26th from 3:15 to 5pm. Returning members please wear your vests to the meeting, and bring your folders! I know Emma and Vanessa can't come, but I will meet with you personally afterwards, or at a separate time to get you started!

Hope to see everyone at the first meeting!

Winding Down the Year

Sorry I haven't posted news for awhile, thank you all for bearing with me through my family's most hectic time of the year! 3 birthday's and Easter in a month and a half, plus I have started Curves Complete, and it has taken a couple weeks to get that schedule worked into our family schedule!

February we worked on the Geneology badge, they were sent home with Family Tree's and Family Histories to finish by the May meeting. They are also supposed to interview a grandparent and get a childhood story to share. We will share these stories at the MAY meeting.

March we earned the Cultures by Country Badge. Each girl needs to choose a Country that their ancestors came from, and earn the badge for that Country. I need a list of the countries that each girl chose so I can order the badges. We decided that one requirement we wanted to do was the first one: Try a traditional food or snack from that country. Everyone is to bring one for the April meeting snack. Nathalie did France, Claire did Ireland, Emma did Germany. I need the countries that Megan, Vanessa and Jaclyn chose.

The April meeting will be planting flowers at the park. I will buy them ahead of time, and bring them with us. Everyone needs to bring their snack they are sharing that is from the Culture's Country. 

At the April Flags meeting we finished the Tall Flags badge with our Original Routines. Emma and Megan were chosen as Co-Captains for the 2013-2014 school year. Congratulations to both of them! That was a tough and exciting competition, and I enjoyed all the routines!

The May meeting we will earn the Ice Cream badge, and share our stories that we learned from our Grandparents. 

The Video is due to Kerry by May 31st. I would like to have a night were we can work on putting this together. Wednesday nights are now free, so maybe after the April meeting, as I would like to get a little more footage for it. Remember the winning troop recieves $100!

Now that I have the Soccer Schedule I will get in touch with Lisa about the Horseback Riding. Gabe's games are all at 12 or 1, and with Kevin working Saturdays we can't split up. We might have to wait till summer vacation starts, or on a Sunday afternoon. 

The girls and I also discussed the Summer Camping Trip for this year. They expressed an interest in staying home and camping at Mozingo and seeing if we can bring the Pappert's boat. At the Camping Trip, we will have our Awards Ceremony, and Megan will level up to Butterfly. I would like to earn the Outdoor Cooking Badge, the Emergency Preparedness Badge and maybe a Water badge during the Camp-out.

Two other Summer Events will be Swimming at the Maryville Pool, and the Stanberry 4th of July Parade.

One more item of note! Inside their folders  are copies of all the Awards and the requirements to earn these, also there is a list of the Life Skills requirements. These are things to think about this summer, and rainy days. I do NOT plan on having a Life Skills Day this summer.

January News!

Exciting Happenings in January for our Troop!

For the second time in two years, a member of Troop 146 is the National Frontier Girl of the Month! This January, our very own Vanessa Pappert recieved the honor! Here is her post in the January 2013 Newsletter which can also be viewed on the Frontier Girls Website. (Emma Lager was March of 2012).

Girl of the Month – Vanessa Pappert, Butterfly, Troop #146

Submitted by Lori Lager, Leader of Troop #146

Vanessa can always be counted on to be there when you need someone. She is where she needs to be, when she needs to be, and has a smile on her face as she does it. She is the person that you can count on to help with service projects, and is the first to volunteer when I need help or someone to do something during a meeting! She can make copies, gather supplies, sweep the floors, and even helps keep the younger girls moving on their chores as well.   She enthusiastically tries everything that I throw at them. She has never complained that a badge or activity is to hard, or to easy, or that she is just not into that; she simply does the work, and she does it to the best of her ability and with pride! She never complains, or negotiates; and she stays focused on her tasks. I often see the other girls amazed that Vanessa is able to accomplish so much in the amount of time that she does, and it always looks nice! She is focused! And it shows in all aspects of her life. From all the church activities that she involved with as a Server, and helping her mother with the choir, and the numerous sports teams that she is involved in, to her schoolwork and academic clubs, and with her two younger sisters.   Speaking of her two little sisters, she also treats all the other girls in the troop as her sisters! She is kind, patient, loving, caring, and devoted to our troop! She serves as Treasurer and Scribe for our troop, and is also on the Tall Flag Corp. She was the first one to have the new promise memorized when we chaged to Frontier Girls, and she is the one we all look to when even I still get mixed up during the Flag Ceremonies sometimes! Nessa knows what comes next!   Vanessa truly lives the Frontier Girl Creed with her lifestyle, and she does it with style and ease that will truly take her many places in her life!
Thanks! Lori Lager Troop 146



There will also be 2 Meetings in January! January 14th will be our first Level Specific Meeting. 
We will meet as normal after school until 5. It is for the Otters only. The Dolphins who would like to earn Service Heart Hours, and also work towards their Leadership Award, are invited to come and run the meeting! They will be earning the My Troop Badge and the Kindness Badge.


Kerry has also posted a very fun Contest for the Troops and Girls! A Video Contest! Here are the Rules and Regulations. I would really like to participate, and am willing to post their video on YouTube under my account. I would like to make a further rule that no names are mentioned in the video for security reasons. 

Help us promote Frontier Girls by creating a short video about what Frontier Girls means to you or your toop and posting it on Youtube, Godtube, or any other public video Internet outlet of your choice.  There will be two prizes, $100 for the best video featuring a Frontier Girls troop, and $50 for the best video featuring an individual Frontier Girl.  Complete rules are as follows:
ELIGIBILITY:  This contest is open to all registered members of Frontier Girls and their immediate family.  The following individuals are not eligible, members of Kerry Cordy’s immediate family and members of Frontier Girls Troop #101.
TO ENTER:
(a.)  Create video about what Frontier Girls means to you or your troop and post it on Youtube, Godtube, or any other public video Internet outlet of your choice.  Email a link to your video to kerry@frontiergirls.com along with your name, and troop # if it is a troop entry, and your complete mailing address.  Entries must be received no later than May 31, 2013.   You may enter as many times as you wish.
(b.)  Submissions may include materials which are in the public domain or for which you have obtained the prior written permission or clearance of the owner.  Submissions must not incorporate or include anything that violates any law or the copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right or any other right of any third party.
(c.)  The words, “Frontier Girls” must appear in the title of the video.
(d.)  Any video that uses profane language (including in music lyrics attached),  or in any other way disparages the name of Frontier Girls, will be required to be removed from the Internet immediately and the entry will be disqualified.
(e.)  Each video may only be entered one time.  If more than one person in a troop submits the same video, the first person to submit the video will be considered the official entrant.  Any disputes regarding troop video submissions will be taken up with the registered Frontier Girls troop leader of that troop.
(f.) ANY ENTRY THAT DOES NOT SATISFY ALL REQUIREMENTS OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES WILL BE DISQUALIIFIED.
SELECTION OF WINNING ENTRIES:
Judging of the submitted entries will take place between June 1 and June 15, 2013.  The currently registered members of Troop #101 along with their parents will act as the judges.  Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
(a.)  How well the video conveys what Frontier Girls is all about.
(b.)  Creativity
(c.)  Quality of the production
There will be one winner of $100 for the chosen video submitted featuring a Frontier Girls troop, and one individual winner of $50 for the chosen video featuring an individual member.   Winners will be announced in the July 2013 Frontier Girls Newsletter.  Links to all submitted videos will be posted on the Frontier Girls website.
  

November Meeting

Sorry this is so late in posting! Things have been crazy with Holidays, birthdays, basketball games, and I have a final exam I am trying to study for also!

We had a very productive meeting! We earned the U.S. Hisotry Badge by outlining the original 13 colonies on a map of United States, then we had to label the state capitols on the map. For those that did not finish this, I need it completed by January! Butterflies are also supposed to label a few National Parks, please turn these in at the Decemeber meeting, January Meeting latest! We also made a timeline of American History with the starting point being the American Revolution and the Ending Point being the Afghanistan War. We also put in lots of little facts about Civil Rights, inventions, College founding, American Indian laws, etc. This was a little challenging, but once finished, gave us some good insights! Such as the fact that it took us 100 years to start obeying the Civil Rights Laws that were enacting at the end of the Civil War! We also talked about famous American inventors and what they invented; and we also talked about the relationship between the American settlers and the Native Americans, and we learned what the Reservations are, why there were established, and the fact that they still exist baffled the girls!

We also finished the U.S. Consitiution Badge with these requirements, and also our collections and mailing of the donations to the service men counted as a requirement for the Patriotism badge that we also started at the meeting. We learned about the 4 branches of the military and what their duties were, we made little flip books to help us.

We will be taking December off of the Liberty Award and will earn the Gingerbread badge, and the Edible Art badge. I am really looking forward to this! It should be great fun! As I said in the newsletter, I could really use some extra eyes to suppervise, and hands to be in different places at the same time. We will be mixing the ingredients and baking gingerbread men cookies, and building gingerbread houses. I plan on buying a couple of the house kits from Wal-Mart, then having them all build them together. I also ordered, off Oriental Trading, some take home bags that they can decorate with sticker foamies into gingerbread houses, and also foam gingerbread men ornaments to make. I will arrive early and have "stations" set up, then they can move through as groups, once we work together to mix the gingerbread batter, so we can get that baking.

I plan on finishing the Liberty Award at the January meeting; and holding a small Awards Ceremony at the end of the meeting, approximately 4:45! Parents and anyone else that wants to come and invited, the girls have really worked hard to earn this Award, and they deserve the recognition! At the Ceremony I will hand out all the badges that we have earned so far with the Liberty Award, but also the Fairy, Gingerbread, and Edible Art ones, and also for those who have earned Service Hearts, these will be handed out then as well. All homework will need to be turned in no later then the January meeting for me to be able to hand you that badge, and if you are short any of the main badges (Elections, Patriotism, Government, Constitution, History) I can NOT hand you the Liberty Award till it is turned in.

Homework Assignments are: 

Otters: (Brylie & Kali) you will need to do the History badge, and make the serviceman booklets. I will give this to Rachel and she will help you. Turn in your work by the January meeting. Hope you had fun at the party!

Dolphins: (Nat, Claire, Jaclyn, Megan) finish filling in your state capitols on your map.

Butterflies: (Emma & Vanessa) 1. finish filling in your state capitols on your map, along with 5 National Parks. 2. A paragraph on what the requirements are to be Presidents, why do you think these are in place, and would you change any?

PLEASE WEAR YOUR WHITE SHIRTS AND VESTS TO THE JANUARY MEETING!!

A change is coming to Frontier Girls!!
During our Elections Badge, the girls voted to have more meetings a month. I proposed to them various ideas of what these meetings could entail, and being the Democracy! that we are, we are adding a second meeting a month starting in January, however, your involvement in this meeting with be varied! The second meeting of the month will be an age level specific meeting! 
I will add these dates to the calendar as I tie them down, but our first one will be January 14th, and will be an OTTER meeting, LED BY THE DOLPHINS! This will give the Otters a chance to be the center of attention, and the Dolphins, my middle aged group, the chance to be the leaders! The Dolpins will help the Otters to earn the My Troop Badge and Kindness Badge.
The February Special Meeting will be just for Dolphins.
There will not be a March one, since we will have an outside event, see below.
The April Special Meeting will be just for Butterflies. 
There will not be a May one since school will be out!  

Horse UpDate
I have talked to Lisa McCrary, and she was really enthusiastic and willing to help us earn the Horse badges. She has agreed to let us spend a Saturday with her family, and her horses and to learn all about them, and even maybe ride them. Kevin has also been in contact with a guy in Eagleville who holds horse day camps for troops to come and learn about horses, go horseback riding, and then watch a horse stunt back riding show at the end. I will keep all updated. I am going to try to plan something for early March so it doesn't interfere with Easter.

Snack Rotation List

Claire has finished the Snack Rotation List for the year. A copy was sent home last Monday, but in case they were lost in backpacks, here is the list again, and I will also put it on the calendar page, who is to bring snacks to each meeting!

November: Vanessa
December: Emma
January: Remington
February: Jaclyn
March: Kali
April: Brylie
May: Megan

October Meeting

We had a very fun and productive meeting this month! We also had a guest join us, Lauren, and I was so pleased at how well ALL the girls made her feel welcome and included! We have now completely finished the Our Flag and U.S. Government badges for the Liberty Award.
 
To Finish the:
  U. S. Presidents Badge: all girls need to read a biography of a President on their reading level and tell me,  1. when they were President (& which # of Pres. they were) and 2. something important that happened during their Presidency. Butterflies will also have to write a paragraph on what the requirements are for the job of President. Why do you think these are in place, and would you change any of them? We will assign this as homework at the November meeting, so you don't have to worry about it till then, unless you want to knock it out early!
  Elections & Voting Badge: all girls need to 1. visit the polls with a grown up on November 6th. and 2. watch part of the election results, what is a blue state? what is a red state?
  U.S. Constitution Badge: Dolphins & Butterflies need to re-write the Bill of Rights in their own words, what does it mean to you? We will assign this as homework in January, unless you want to get it out of the way now, go ahead!

We played Presidential Bingo and learned lots of interesting trivia about the Presidents, and got to know what they looked like a little better, we also made a timeline, and put them all in order from Washington to Obama! We talked about the Constitution and who wrote it, and who signed it, and the process and arguing it took to get the job done. Also, we learned that there has been 1 President from Missouri, ask your daughter if she remembers who he was and where he was from in MO!

We also held our own elections! The red words are some of our vocabulary words that we learned while earning the Voting & Elections Badge. We had three Propositions, two amendments, and a new position to elect. The Amendments were: 

1. to change to Quest Clubs which would allow boys into the troop without changing how we do things! This failed 4-5. We decided to re-visit this issue at a later date, maybe with parents presence.

2. Proposition X which would change our meeting times to twice a month instead of once a month. This passed by a landslide! I am considering options, and this will go into effect starting in January! I am thinking that the second meeting of the month be special events, such as one month, have an Otter meeting run by the Dolphins, this would give the Otters more of a chance to do something they want, and the Dolphins, the middle age group, more of a leadership position as the older girls. I was also thinking of having a special Butterfly meeting for just the older girls to do something a little more age appropriate for them.  Then the Dolphins would also get a special meeting... or the second meeting could be a Character meeting when we do just a character badge... or an Awards meeting where we work on Life Skills/Make A Difference/Leadership Awards, etc... or we could just meet twice a month, and get more badges done!

The Propositions (Rule changes):
1. No toy closet. This failed, meaning they are allowed into the toy closet. I am adding an addendum saying, only after all work is done, and the room is cleaned!

2. Only Healthy Snacks for snack time. This also failed, so they can still have cookies and brownies and whatever they want!

3. Lori does all the cleaning after the meeting. This passed. I vetoed this. However, I will HELP all patrols!

Our New position was for Job Inspector. This person will check the room after the meeting to make sure everything is how we found it. Two people were nominated and seconded. They were Claire and Megan. Megan won the majority. Congratulations, Megan!

I am really sorry that our Horseback Riding Trip had to be cancelled. However, after talking with several parents, it might be a blessing in disguise! There is a Horseback Riding badge, and a Horse Care badge, and it was suggested that earning these badges might come easier on more of a one-on-one situation. Several local people/families were mentioned as possibilities that we may talk to about  helping us, and allowing us to spend a day with them and their horses, and also get to ride them. I will make some phone calls, and hopefully make some plans!

I also spent this weekend gathering supplies for our Fairy Event. This should be lots of fun! I am really excited about doing something very girly and goofy after all this Liberty Award work!

Horseback Riding Trip

Our horseback riding trip is now fixed for October 27th! 

There is NO COST for the girls. Any adults or siblings 6 years and over who would like to ride, the cost is $16 per person. 

Our trail ride starts at 2pm at Indian Cave State Park and will last for one hour. 

We need to leave here no later than 11:30am to have time to drive over and be ready at 2. I will need to come straight back home, as I have another commitment that starts at 6pm here. But you are welcome to do as your family wishes after the ride.

We will not have a chance to feed the kids. Please have lunch finished by 11:30, and I will bring snacks and drinks for the ride home.

September Meeting & October Frontier Girls Newsletter

September Meeting Reminders: 
We gave each other a challenge. I did not know the significance of the Liberty Bell and it's history, so we made a deal that every girl who brings information about the Liberty Bell to the October meeting will receive three cookies! 

Also, requirements for the Butterfly level girls are one more than the rest, so this extra requirement will be homework for them. So there is not a crunch period, in February, to get the Award finished, here is an assignment that I recommend they have ready for October's meeting: Read the Bill of Rights and re-write it in your own words. What does it mean to you, for you?


October Frontier Girls Newsletter Highlights

Contest  -November Contest – Our American Eagle has yet again hidden himself somewhere in our website. Everyone who finds the correct page that the eagle is located on will be put into a drawing to win $5 for their level.  Help us improve our search engine ratings by clicking on as many pages as possible until you find the eagle seen below.  Then email kerry@frontiergirls.com with your name, level, and mailing address along with which page you found the eagle on to be entered in the drawing.  Very few girls are currently entering this contest, so you odds of winning are quite good!

 


New Badges - Popcorn, Food Presentation, Sportsmanship, Crochet & Statue of Liberty.


My post about the Make A Difference Award and Servant Hours also made the newsletter! Please check it out below, I am anxious for girls to get started on projects, not only so they can earn this prestigious award, but that we can be seen more in the community.

Girl of the Month
Each month Kerry likes to highlight a Frontier Girl who is working on something special or who goes above and beyond. So I will be on the lookout for someone to nominate!

Crafts
There was a cute Emergency Campfire Kit shown. A decoupaged box with S'mores ingredients.

Community Service and Servant Heart Hours

HEART HOURS FOR SEPTEMBER ARE SEPTEMBER 16th.. the Legion is having their Pancake Breakfast. Helping with drinks and clean up count towards your hours.

I have been thinking about service hours the past week, and thought I would make a post listing ideas for the girls to do. As I only see some of them once a month, check here for ideas for during each month. I will have an opportunity each month for some time to be earned, but for the girls who do more, here is some more! I would like to see more girls work on a Make A Difference Award this year. If you are interested in earning this award, and would like extra help, please contact me, and I will help you with the details! Keep in mind that parents, grandparents, teachers, and others in the community would love to help you also!

Make A Difference Award Ideas:

• Collect donations & Make "I Care" kits that include toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, combs, etc. for a charity to hand out.
• Collect donations & Make "Birthday in A Box" boxes for charity that include cake mix, icing, candles, paper plates, cups, etc. that is needed for a child's birthday party.
• Host a Safety Seminar for younger children. Seminar ideas are: Halloween, bike safety, water safety, stranger safety, community safety, emergency safety
• Hold a Meeting for the Character Trait of the month at the school to lead them in learning more about that trait, and maybe earn the Frontier Girl badge for it.
• Host a community wide Father/Daughter Dance or a Mother/Daughter Tea to raise money for a specific charity or to raise awareness of an issue important to you.
• Create an Adopt-A-Grandparent program
• Grow a vegetable garden for the needy/food pantry
• Create a website or a blog teaching about an issue/event/idea that is important to you. An example can be found at www.dontwastewaterweneedit.weebly.com that was created by a Dolphin awhile ago.
• Collect donations & create care packages to deployed platoons.
• Hold a Clean Up at a local park, around school, Lake Mozingo, the Nature Trail, around Tri-C area, or other community place.
• Hold an event to create/collect donations to decorate or beautify a classroom, community building, or area around the community. An example may be to hold an event for students to make posters of their favorite books, then help laminate and hang them in the school library.
• Be an assistant coach for a sports team. You will need to lead at least two practices and hold a major role in at least one game.
• Host a movie night, game night, or holiday celebration at a local nursing home.
• Host a Make It night to make stockings for deployed soldiers, catnip toys or fleece blankets for the animal shelter, make holiday decorations for a nursing home or other community place, make tie-dyed shirts for the needy

Remember also, when you are thinking about and planning this award to keep in mind the hours needed to earn the award. Planning, phone calls, gathering supplies, the actual event, clean up, follow up all count in the total time needed. Otters should spend at least 5 hours to complete, Dolphins- at least 10 hours, Butterflies- at least 15 hours for the award. Also, is there a badge that you can earn while completing the award?

Service Heart Hours:

•  helping other girls with their Make A Difference Awards counts on your Heart time.
• clean off your bookcase and donate books to a library, clean out a closet and donate items to a charity, clean out your toy box and donate the items to charity/hospital
• make cards for soldiers who are overseas or for patients in hospitals
• make dinner or dessert for a community member who could use something
• clean up leaves, wash windows, shovel snow, clean a gutter, weed a garden, clean up trash for a senior citizen, or disabled person
• help a senior citizen, disable person, or community place decorate for a holiday
• help cook or serve a meal at a homeless shelter or funeral
• Ring the bell for the salvation army during Christmas time
• bake cookies or other treats and take them to the fire or police station 
• create a poster for an Awareness Event such as November is Military Family Month, and there is a Be Kind to Animals Week in May
• volunteer or participate in another charity or community event. Examples would be if someone hosts something for National Youth Service Day in April (or create one yourself), if another committee or organization holds an event in the community such as Valentine's Cheer Plates at St. Columba Parish, the 5/6 Grade Basketball Tournament
• Participate in a local event or run for a charity, such as a Relay for Life, Special Olympics, Memorial Day festivities, help with a Vacation Bible School
• support a cause such as participate in a Life Chain, Prayer Event, walk in a parade to raise awareness for a cause such as the animal shelter, pro-life, Don't Text and Drive
• helping at Mass such as when your class does mass, be a server, song leader, alcolight, lector, counts every time you do it. This really adds up especially when you serve once a month!
• help a teacher or grandparent clean up a closet, basement or other area

Financial Statement

We have been very fortunate with our beginning of the year fundraising!

We started the year with $29.31 in our account.

We made $848.80 at the Pancake Breakfast.

We made $10 at the Parish Social.

We received a donation of $24.50 from the CYO! Be sure to thank your local CYO members when you see them!

We have $951.61 for the year. So here is our budget as it stands right now.

New Flags: $100
Badges & Awards: $325
Horseback Riding: $150
Self-Control Party: $100
Parades: $75
Jamboree: $25
Pizza for Box Top Night: $50
Camping: $50
Flowers for Park: $30
Which will leave us $46 for supplies for meetings and badge requirements. We should be able to manage this, as the majority of supply money will be needed for the edible art, gingerbread, fairy and ice cream badges. There should be little to no out of pocket expenses for families through the year except registration dues to Frontier Girls and your daughters vests. 

If you have not ordered your daughter her vest yet, you can do so at www.frontiergirlsclubs.com/shop.

We will update the financial statement at the end of the school year to see what the actual costs were compared to budgeted, to see if we may need to have a small fundraiser then.