Guiders Staff Room Part 3

[Groovee]

Reconvening over here ladies.

Thanks! I'm going to need it!

Trainers are always so good at delivering content and being encouraging and answering questions. I've never met one who was anything but lovely and brilliant at doing whatever they were doing. Is it a long process Milly?

I'd be interested in hearing about becoming a trainer too Millicent!

So it's quite a lengthy process. You need to apply to HQ. Then you will be put in contact with your region training team. You'll need to meet a trainer and observe a training, then be observed in your unit. Then if all that goes well you will become a prospective trainer. Then from the looks of things you have to deliver at least three observed trainings, keep a knowledge checklist, record and personal development plan. It's (rightly) quite hard core but if you're interested the link is here www.girlguiding.org.uk/making-guiding-happen/learning-and-development/helping-others-to-learn/becoming-a-trainer/

(I'm not even a prospective trainer yet!)

FFS why do I leave it till we have 2 hours to departure to try and print the Brownie holiday diaries? When will I ever learn?!

My printer can fuck off to the far side of fuck today, bastard thing good job DH is here, it printed perfectly from his laptop

Anyway, Christmas themed Brownie holiday here I come! Someone get me a large G&T for sometime Sunday evening

Enjoy!!!

Have fun Rue!

Why do I have a parent who keeps insisting he did not fill out a consent form and therefore has no details regarding our trip next week?

If he didn't fill it out then how did did his child get on the home contact sheet!

This is same parent who only realised on the day of a sleepover that his child needed transported there!

Has he returned the cover sheet along with the permission? That's what normally happens here...

He filled in the form in front of me and I handed him the cover sheet for his info. I also emailed a copy of it.

I'm fed up as this parent really is trying to lay blame at my feet. No wonder the leader of her previous unit wished me luck when she transferred her to me.

If you are the guider, Do your assistants appreciate how much extra work you put in to running the meeting? And if you are an assistant (or at least, an assistant who turns up every week, runs a craftor activity once a month, but doesn't generally do anything outside the meeting place do you appriciate how much extra there is to do to keep the unit ticking over.
I'm not doing brownie stuff all day, every day, but by the time I've done the accounts, written letters, printed forms, chased for subs/other money for trips, sorted forms, arranged thank you'd for visitors, booked sleepovers, bought any extra bits we need, ordered badges/trading stuff, district meetings, division meetings, planning meetings etc, there seems to be something every day. (Maybe I need to organise myself, but I find it easier to do 20 mins here and there rather than 3 hours all at once).
The reason I'm asking is because we had a brownie leave night as she is moving. She gave me a bunch of flowers to say thank you for everything and my assistant commented about the lack of anything for her. I didn't want to point out the above, that I probably spend at least two hours+ extra each week sorting brownie stuff. I am very aware we are all volunteers and I always thank her for her time, buy Christmas gifts/flowers after pack holidays/sleepovers/big events to say thank you (i get nothing at these times). I wasnt really sure what she wanted me do, split the flowers? (If I am ever given chocs or biscuits I make sure they are shared).

What do you all reckon?

We often get a box of chocolates and we have had flowers in the past. The flowers I gave to someone else as DS is allergic. Chocolate gets shared and everyone else gets the wine.

But I think when parents hand in gifts they have thought about the leader they have most contact with and not the ones who do come week after week.

Brownie holiday this weekend and I'm almost there: just need to finalise emergency contact list and get it to home contact and print a couple of bits.
But honestly ,I still haven't had all the consents and balances. still (today) getting messages about leaving early etc from parents.
I'm tired of chasing, tired of niggling, weeks of preparation, weeks of planning, plus weekly meetings plus bookkeeping plus first response plus a career and my own family with their own issues.
Because I have so much going on I can empathise with the parent who doesn't know if they have paid or not and needs to ask twice...and therein lies my problem. I now have a situation where 9 families think it's ok to give me money in dribs and drabs, not in an envelope, unlabelled, no consent form etc etc etc. I can't keep track of them all. I have sent a polite (just) but assertive email to everyone saying I am no longer able to accept cash unless in a labelled envelope, and that late payment of any trip payment will forfeit places. It's either that or jack it in for my own sanity.
Hopefully I'll have perked myself up by Friday or it's going to be a miserable weekend!

I have sent money home for an envelope . Tawny Owl does the accounts and if she's not there then I won't accept it unless it is in an envelope.

The amount of admin stuff is quite scary when totalled! I also prefer to do an hour here and there.

Gifts... Most of our parents treat us equally, I'm first point of contact by email, Wise Owl in the hall, it's a good balance we have.

Finished for the Easter hols. Except I haven't... away this weekend on a 'going away with' training weekend. Then next weekend helping another unit on their holiday (extra experience, plus a chance to pick the brains of the new residential advisor 😁). I'm secretly looking forward to it, although I'll miss my kids.

Other news... 1st night of the gang show, dd1 is in it, and by some unfortunate twist of fate (yup, he stitched himself up) dp is too. They're really excited!

Is anyone else going to the South West region Legoland thing this weekend? I'm taking 9 of ours with one of my student young leaders...

I think we must be very close to each other in Bucks @inflagranteDelicto I'm off to Gang Show tomorrow :-D. Enjoy the Going Away with weekend. One of these days I'll be brave enough to do my GAW licence instead of borrowing leaders and their licences!

I loved doing my GAW and toy with the idea of standing down as unit leader and being district floating bod with Brownie GAW licence

I really want to get my Brownie camp licence but too many hurdles at the moment.

I'm traumatised from our bowling trip! Never again!

Don't say that! I was thinking of taking mine bowling next term!! What was traumatising?!

So... LiT organises the bowling trip that the girls asked for! Quite a thorough risk assessment.

One brownie doesn't listen to being told to sit down when it's not your turn. Gets in the way of another brownie who drops bowling ball on the brownie's foot. Cue an upset hurt brownie and a traumatised brownie who is so distraught we are very worried about her.

Hurt brownie happily puts sock and shoe back on to take her turns. First turn, she fires the bowling ball behind her towards her team. LiT manages to stop the ball getting to far. Next turn does the same again 🙈.

Leader evaluation... far too much paperwork and the stress feeling that bowling is now a unit banned activity! I think axe throwing would have been less eventful!

Accident forms filled in for GG and the bowling place. Manager was highly amused at hurt brownie happily skipping out of the bowling!

oh poor LiT! Did she have badly aimed bowling balls in her risk assessment?

maryann at Brownies I don't do the behind the scenes stuff (I try to go to planning meetings etc but don't do admin, shopping etc) and I absolutely appreciate how much the main leaders do!
I do most of the admin for my Guides but another leader does most of the prep for meetings, so again I appreciate what she does, as I feel anyone could do the bits I do but I couldn't do what she does.

groovee We took Brownies bowling for a couple of years ago and had no issues, so it's not automatically a disaster! Poor distraught Brownie!

Did anyone see GG's Bungee jumping April fool? One camp I'm going to this year claimed they were buying a camp cow. Another camp claiming that some campers would get to go to space. The cow one was my favourite!

It ironically it was all in the risk assessment. The previous brownie trip was fine! But it's shot us to pieces 😂

On my mobile right now, but pm me where you are @millicentMargaretAmanda - you can't be too far! Maybe join forces for one...

Training weekend was great. Learnt so much, and now have a much fuller idea of what to do. Very full on! But great, and worth doing.

Bowling sounds a nightmare, although when my unit went a couple of years ago we were injury free!

Gang show was wicked, dd1 has become a party animal after the after-show party- they got in at 2am! Did you enjoy it? Dp said they finally nailed strictly yesterday. Dd1 keeps watching Eccles on YouTube 😁