Have you lost your spark for being a leader? Has the pandemic dampered your desire to continue? How can you get your enthusiasm back?
It has been a while since my last post, and with good reason. Running a school virtually was very different than running it in person. It was not the part-time job I was promised…it was full time plus hours, even before the pandemic started. Unexpected events happened in my personal life, so I stepped down from being a principal and am focusing on life at home.
Like many of you, Girl Scouts and meetings fell off the radar during the pandemic. Coping with crisis schooling (this was not homeschooling as that is a choice), getting my school running and my teachers situated, and never knowing when this would be over overtook my time and my life.
With only three girls left in my troop of 11th graders, it was not a big deal not to meet. Eleventh grade is one of the most important in high school, and meeting during a pandemic was not a priority on anyone’s list.
So not having a Girl Scout meeting became easy. And to be honest, no one complained about not having virtual meetings.
The Effects of COVID-19 on Troops
Leaders tried. My goodness, did they try to keep their troops together. I read so many Facebook posts in the Girl Scout leader groups to which I belong, brimming with great ideas to meet via Zoom. For those who were able to have meetings, some had success, while many others had only a handful of girls attend meetings.
And with the new scouting year starting, leaders are hearing crickets about girls returning. No answer is not an answer. How is a leader supposed to plan with no idea on who is and is not returning? For this reason, there are those who are Julietting their daughters and have them scout independently. The stress of non-answers is elimnated.
My Troop Update
And Then There Were Two
Fast forward to this July. My Council has Early Bird incentives, and I sent an email to the other two moms to sign up, so the troop can take advantage of them. One signed up right away, as she is the other leader’s daughter and is working on her Gold Award. The other mom sent us an email.
She thanked us for taking her daughter in when no other troop would (she was in fifth grade when she joined). Her daughter enjoyed her time with us, but school, a job, and activities now prevent her from finsishing.
We both emailed her back saying she was still in the troop until September 30th, and if she changed her mind, she is always welcome.
That news made us both sad, as we are not an uberactive troop. We have focused on community service, field trips, and sisterhood these past few years. With this being the final year as a troop, it is a shame to not finish it out.
So now that leaves the two leaders’ daughters to work together and spend down the bank account. The girls have plenty of ideas, we just have to get together and figure out what they want to do and if it is even feasible to do. Life is so fluid these days.
For me, after an incredibly stressful year, I am ready to dive in to my last year as a leader. Leaving full-time work has sparked my mojo, as I need something postitive on which to focus.
What Leaders Can Do to Stay Positive
Presently, everything my Council offers is virtual. With only one other girl in the troop, who happens to be my daughter’s best friend since kindergarten, we can meet at my house, outdoors, socially distant. I do not have to call this a meeting, but we can talk about scouts while the girls are having a snack. We will adhere to Council guidelines for trips once they have been established.
For leaders who do not have a tiny troop, here are some ideas for you to get your mojo back.
Change Your Perception
It is human nature to view things in a negative manner. Do not foucs on the parents who have not answered you, focus on the ones who have. These girls are your troop; the others hopefully will be. If your half your troop does not return, focus on the half that did! Think of all the cool things you can do with the money you have in the bank…it will go farther! Accentuate the positive!
Get Outdoors
If your Council permits it, get outdoors and meet! Find a park, and empty field, or any other space that gives you enough room to socially distance. You can do art, have races, or even do a service project outdoors. Think outside the box when meeting outside.
Add on to What Was Successful
If you did virtual meetings this spring and summer, what worked and what did not? Like a ladder, add another rung to what was already successful and keep climbing.
Take a Break
Sometimes you need to step back from a situation to see it more clearly. If you are frustrated by the lack of parental response, the inability to meet in person, the ever changing guidelines, or anything else, take a break. Until my girls were 10th grade Seniors, we never met in the summer. In fact, because I am a teacher, we met in October for the first meeting of the year. September was much too busy for me professionally.
Don’t be afraid to take a month off. I always found not having scout meetings each summer to be reinvigorating. You may find that taking a break and seeing what the new guidelines are for school and for scouts.
How are you doing? Are you planning on returning? If so, what will your troop be doing this fall?
I was shocked, but I have about 75% of my troop returning (we are going to be Juniors and Cadettes and had 22 girls). We have only met over Zoom a few times. First time, just to hang out. Second time, we played Bingo. Third time, we did the Simple Meals badge and had a great time – three girls demoed dishes which I had dropped off supplies for to the girls ahead of time and all the rest of them cooked along. It was so much fun. In two weeks, we are doing the Drawing Badge. Then, I plan to bridge virtually as well. We waited all summer hoping to get the okay to do in person meetings because our cases were relatively low compared to the other cities in our Girl Scout region, but then our cases started surging and now we’re all on lockdown again. š School is starting virtually. But, I think the girls look forward to seeing each other even if only on a screen and I’m really going to work to make all the meetings girl-led and interactive with them doing something while Zooming, not just sitting and listening/watching. š We will make it work. Flexibility is our word for this year!
That is wonderful how you retained so much of your troop! Our Service Unit is bridging virtually as well, and school is a hybrid of online and virtual. I hope that your girls stay with you for the long run. It is so wonderful to see them blossom into wonderful adults! Keep me posted on how it goes for you as you resume your virtual meetings!
Out of 10 I have 4 girls returning to our troop, and two new girls. (When we originally started we had three) Our troop is Daisy to Cadetteās. Our council has asked if anyone is taking on more girls. We totally are! Our official meetings donāt have to start till October. Right now we have had some meetings virtually. (Fun patches & fall rally) The girls seemed to enjoy it, and a parent asked when our next meeting was. (win for me) I am hoping to find a place to hold our meetings. With school, and libraries closed I am at a lost. Centers have space but for a price. We meet at 6pm so a park at that time wonāt work. Between day-light savings, distractions, āotherā people, and it may be hard to sanitize a picnic area. š I plan to have badge packs ready to go. If things do shut down again, or we are virtual we can still have meetings. To be honest I am ready to get started again.
Jackie, I am so glad that you are ready to go and start the year! I am sorry you lost so many girls; the bright side is that you can do more with your funds and have smaller spaces as an option. Can the girls meet in your backyard for now while you search for a space?
Personal spaces donāt seem to be an option (liability issues). We are going to try the park for as long as we can. Yet, with daylight savings, it starting to get chilly out , and keeping them focus at a park Iām little worried. Many troop are doing virtual for the entire scout year. Iād much rather do that, and the girls seemed to enjoy it. No one wants to chance allowing anyone to meeting inside their space. (Understandable)
I am a fan of meeting outdoors as long as possible, especially if you live in a cold climate and the time for that kind of meeting is limited. Virtual for an entire year seems daunting to me; yet I know in my younger days I would have done it that way as well. With only two girls left, meeting at my home or the other leader’s home outdoors is possible (we just won’t call it a meeting, as our daughters are best friends).
Last week the girls hung out and swam in our pool, and basically we are going to try to camp and do one more big adventure to spend the money in our account. Both girls are very busy high school Seniors, and the other girl is working on her Gold Award. I will try to have some service projects for them to do. Other than that, for us, we are winding down.