Today we have yet another snow day in my part of the country. Fortunately for me, the weather only canceled one meeting back in the beginning of January.
I was up early as usual, and went to compose my Monday email to my parents. Since we meet the first and third Fridays of each month, I send out an email on the Monday of that week to tell the parents what we will be doing and if they need to bring anything in the responsibility bag.
In this email, I also give information and attach flyers I have scanned from our monthly Leader meetings. (We have “gone green” and no longer give out enough papers for each troop. I have gone green and scan these papers so I am not wasting my own ink and paper). I give firm deadlines and only one reminder. If it is missed, it is not my fault. I am busy, too!
My latest email had two deadlines for upcoming events.
Photo credit: stockarch from morguefile.com
The deadline for completing our Bronze Award hours is March 31st. I have already gleaned from our meetings and from my daughter that some girls are way behind in their hours. In a nice way, I shared with the parents in my latest communication that this would be a good day to get some hours in and to make a plan for finishing on time. Both the child and the parent signed the Bronze Award form in January…now that it is March it is time to evaluate their progress and get moving!
Just like the real world-school and work-has deadlines, so does the Bronze Award. I have told parents that there will be no exceptions on the deadline, so they need to guide their daughter on this. While I sincerely hope that the girls achieve their goal, I cannot be personally responsible for the completion. I am only responsible for my own child. As Girl Scout leaders, we want what is best for all of our girls, but we cannot make parents do things they do not want to do. It is a lesson that I learned over the years and I stopped feeling badly if a girl missed something. I did my part…the parents have to do theirs, too.
I certainly hope that there will be good news when I speak to my girls this week and ask how their hours are coming along.
What is a responsibility bag ???
Amanda, in a post on how to earn the orange Daisy petal, my girls, who were in kindergarten at the time, decorated canvas bags to keep their tunic and paperwork in. This was called their “responsibility bag” because they were responsible for bringing it to meetings and having their things inside it.
I have one girl, who as a fifth grader, who still uses hers!
Thank you for asking!
i love this post and the one regarding the animal shelter/bronze award project. i have 15 juniors (6 2nd-years and 9 1st-years), and so far all i have heard is vague interest in the bronze. our first meeting for the school year is next weekend and i’m going to try to get everyone excited at that point. thanks so much for posting!
You are welcome! I always believe in giving warnings and touching base about deadlines, but in the end, if a child does not have something completed or handed in, I am not to blame. I spent countless hours on the Bronze Award planning, as well as supervise my own daughter. It was up to the others to do the same for their child. Good luck with your planning!