Guiders Staff Room Part 2

[Groovee]

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/extracurricularr_activities/715087-Guiders-39-staff-room-tea-wine-chat-and-optional-dancing

Part one above, new thread for when required x

I'm feeling a bit proud of myself. After having only joined guiding last september and being a LiC since this september, I've just organised my first outing for all the Guides in the district (five units) to go ice skating, so had consent forms and home contacts and emailing different leaders and parents etc. We had about 50 people go in the end and it was great. A small group did their promise on the ice, which will be memorable for them.

Other than that we'll also be doing the christmas cake in tins mentioned above and some sort of christmassy themed map reading walk thing.

How was the hostess night.

We decorated the bean tin Christmas cakes from a fortnight ago tonight. I did 4 examples in 20 minutes before I left home: three with simple disc of marzipan, fondant then 3-D decoration and one completely marzipanned which I did with royal icing and a 3d Christmas tree in the first 5 minutes of the meeting to show them the options.

I had honestly thought we'd bish-bash-bosh decorate them (had prepared coloured fondant, cutters etc) and have at least half an hour left to practice carols for next week.
...no. Spent the full 90 mins decorating cakes. Fortunately the group that comes in after us didn't show up so we had half an hour to clean up before leaving but goodness me they displayed an enormous level of creativity and frankly went bonkers with the 3-d modelling options for fondant icing. All the cakes look absolutely amazing and the girls had a ball, which is great, but I definitely need to shift my expectations if we ever do this again!
Would I recommend the whole process as a creative positive experience...absolutely yes. Would I recommend it as a pre-Christmas simple make alongside other stuff...Heck no!!!!

...and we have two more meetings this term...

A question: do you run on every term time meeting or do you go for a set number of meetings per term?
We tend to run longer than other local packs because in my head as a busy Mum it's simpler if every term time Thursday has a meeting, but I am aware that other groups start later or finish sooner each term. I usually do 38/39 meetings per year. How do you all work it?

End of term depends on other things e.g. if we are going to the panto, but not on a regular meeting night, we might have a meeting that week or we might not, depending on whether it's close to the end of term or not. Ditto in the summer if we have a residential or day out planned we may have a meeting after it or make it our last one.

Also as I don't have school aged DC yet I sometimes take holiday in July or September (or a week before Easter instead of over Easter itself etc.). Generally I'd start the term later for that, but occasionally I've persuaded another leader to cover one week for me.

We meet on a Friday so tend to finish the week before school does, simply because last day of school round here usually finishes at 1pm and we tend not to get anyone coming back out for Rainbows - the vast majority come to us straight from school.

Generally, though, we meet during school terms so if they're in school, they're at Rainbows :o

Has anyone checked term dates for next year yet? I've not even looked, must check before our last meeting this term! I think it's a short term though, I think Easter is early and the summer term is going to be looooong. Might finish early for that one!

Some of my brownies go to private school and the holidays have been different in some terms. In June of every year I do a term date thingy and work out weeks off. Parents appreciate the breaks like finishing earlier for Christmas. It works for our pack. If I ran to the state school holidays then I'd have girls missing when it's not their fault.

momb, it sounds like the cakes were a great success after all!

We seem to run to term dates, but start back the week after they go back to school. No idea why though.

Definitely doing much less Christmas next year! I'm all Christmassed out already after doing the Christmas fair up at my girls' school and several other things I've taken on.

Still no idea what to do as a filler next week for those who have finished their button art . I might print some mask templates and pack lots of stencils and just let them do whatever like the other week. Seemed to go down well.

We're off to Winter Wonderland tomorrow at Hesley Wood with the Rainbows and a local Brownie unit. Fingers crossed Desmond does one tonight!

Dd2 is incredibly excited about going.

My newLiT is good at admin. She likes it AND does.what she's promised to do when she promised. And and and comes.up with ideas, check them out with us, keen o more girl.lead guiding and then gets on with it.

How long will this happy dream last?

Phew - I have finally got to the end of both threads!!

Please can I join? I offered to help out at Rainbows just over a year ago and as of now (LiC has stood down) I am the LiC of the group!

I am mega keen and have an unhealthy love of admin .

Welcome to the mad house :o

Personally, I can't wait for Friday night when I'll have closed the door on the last Rainbow after our Christmas party! I need a break...

hello, can I be another newbie if that's ok...? Can't believe I've only just found this thread. I've done 10+ years as Rainbow LiC and many more before that as B/G/SS.

We finished Rainbows for the term on Monday both me and assistant had had enough for this term. I really need to do my accounts soon though

Welcome everybody, it's good to have you here.

Morning ladies

My DBS/refs are finally sorted, I have a uniform, I have my first 'on my own' (with Brown Owl supervision from through the doorway in case I need help ) meetings after Christmas.

Just need to actually be able to access the waiting list so I can invite the next girl on it after Christmas and need my training book so I can crack on.

Feel like I'm getting there now

Hostess evening was great, kids loved it, visitors loved it.

I had completely lost my voice so the girls all organised themselves, welcomed everyone in, and compered their performances. They did so well!

We did an ice cream tasting for our final meeting, and then watched Tom and Jerry's nutcracker for the final part of their dancer badge.

That means they have all got 5 interest badges this term :O I hope the newbies don't expect that every term now!

We sang carols at the local care home tonight. In some ways it is such a tough meeting as many of the residents are very confused or unable to speak or quite disruptive......however, many of them are ex-GG from times gone by, and we all know that music touches parts that other forms of communication do not. We do a mix of traditional carols and GG songs and every year the response is enormously rewarding. Three years ago a lady who hadn't spoken for over a year sang with us. Tonight we invited the ex-GG members to join pinkies with us for Brownie bells and even one of the most timid Brownies linked fingers with a largely uncommunicative lady who put her hand out to join in. Three hours later I'm still a bit weepy at the memory. So powerful. It is such a trivial thing on one level and yet the girls learn so much. Feeling proud for all of the girls tonight. They did a lovely thing and made a difference.

Wow Momb, well done to you, and to all of your girls!

Hello lovely ladies. I'm currently a district spare leader after being speaking out about a terribly lead Guide unit. It was horrible and went all the way to division but none of my concerns were raised. The apparent solution was to move me out the division and leave the unit alone. It has left a sour taste and mojo.

DH is an explorer leader so I keep toying going beige but my heart keeps me in Guides.

Horrible situation birdboo. Maybe start your own unit?

Sadly there isn't the numbers. There is always the discussion about raising numbers but never any action about it. Guides seem to be run more like a friends meeting group without much connection to the outside. When discussing going to Our Chalet and Kanderstag as a holiday for DH and I fellow Guiders asked why I would want to go. .

I've had no help in finding a new unit to go to. I live in Hull and the solution was to send me outside of the city. I miss proper Guiding so much.

Is there a primary school that doesn't have a "logical" Brownie unit? You can usually get enough girls for a viable unit (anything from about 8-10 girls upwards) with a few assembly/leaflet drops within a one form entry primary school I'd say. It would be very unlikely that anyone could complain you were poaching if a whole school had no accessible unit geographically and this is very common in many areas. I can think of one and a half schools in our area that are like this (one has no logical unit and the other does but all the girls at the logical unit are actually from another school, and the logical unit is full).

It's harder for Guides but Brownies are just smaller Guides, honest!

Or a Brownie unit that doesn't have a feeder Guides, or Brownies with no Rainbows? Obviously where you get on with the Brownie leaders!

Happy new year everyone I hope you all have some great guiding adventures this year!

Happy new year to all you lovely people.

My mag came a couple of days ago and have only just finished the read through.

Very impressed with some of the changes and the senior section spectacular pull out. I'm definitely going to Alexandra Palace ☺

I thought Gill Slocome's quote about balancing guiding and your life as well as making sure that any role or task you are asked to do are right for you was really thoughtful and important. So many of us are balancing roles and responsibilities because they need to be done and the biggest moaners are strangely silent when a job needs to be done.

Planning meeting this week...

Hello all, hope everyone has had a restful Christmas and New Year?

I need to pick your brains ladies - we're doing the Festivals roundabout next term. Can anyone think of a visitor I could organise to come for a session?