Hammond Mission, CBS News, Culture Fest and Cookies!

Time for an update on Troop 10265! I haven't updated the blog since November -- too busy! We have done a LOT since then!

In November, we cooked and served a meal for the Hammond Mission. It was a GREAT day! The girls (and parents and siblings) all pitched in to make spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, salad, and brownies. We all had fun cooking and the girls earned their "Simple Meals" badge! (Be sure and let them practice cooking at home, too, if you aren't already! They are pretty skilled in the kitchen!)

Once we had everything cooked, we drove to the Hammond Mission to set up and serve lunch. I think everyone there enjoyed it a lot. Ava led us in grace and everyone was able to take turns serving and asking people if they wanted seconds or thirds. I was impressed with how well the girls were able to talk to people at the shelter and make them feel that it was our pleasure to serve them lunch, which it was! We had some leftover food that we were able to donate to another area shelter the same day. I'm so proud of our troop for giving back to the community this way! Parents who helped set a great example for the girls, too. Hopefully all of the girls will be inspired to continue being involved in community service for their whole lives!

Next up we visited CBS News in Chicago for the "Entertainment Technology" badge. Mr. Dodge led us on a tour of the station, where the girls saw how producers and writers come up with the news stories for each broadcast, how the control room works, and learned some history of the CBS Chicago station (site of the Presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy).

Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist explained "green screen" technology to the girls. The girls' green vests blended right in to the weather maps on the screen, so it looked like they were being overtaken by storms! All the girls got to try their hand at seeing how to use the green screen.

Lindsey and Julianna try the green screen and their vests blend right in!

With Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist

A Troop 10265 Forecast!

Anchor Jim Williams let the girls not only watch his rehearsal for the evening news, but also let them stay in the studio for the live (!) broadcast. I was so proud of the girls because they stayed super quiet during the news! During the broadcast we got to see the remote-controlled cameras at work in the studio. At the end of the broadcast, the girls were able to stand outside and BE on the actual news at the end, with Jim Williams mentioning our troop as being from Munster! It was exciting!

Hopefully the girls learned a little something about the news business and the technology used to bring us the news. Maybe one of them will be inspired to go into the news, technology or entertainment business someday!

Learning how a producer writes the news for the broadcast.

Live, on the actual CBS Chicago News, Troop 10265!

Troop in the newsroom

We also got ready for the holidays by making yarn and twig ornaments for the "Go Green!" themed Girl Scout tree at the Center for Performing Arts. We learned about making a campfire by making our own edible campfires, and the girls all said they wanted to go camping as a troop!

In January and February we spent time preparing for Culture Fest. We made beaded animals to represent the many creatures in our country, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Mr. Raffin helped get us on the right track with the craft (Eagle Scouts can do anything!) and the girls took it from the there, making dozens of beaded animals on their own at home and in a couple of crafting sessions together.

I can't thank the parents, siblings, and girls enough for all the help before, during and after Culture Fest. Mrs. Regan made beautiful scarves for the girls to wear as costumes. Mrs. Perez made amazing arroz con pollo. Mr. Perez, Mrs. Perez, Mr. Regan, Mrs. Heritage, Mr. and Mrs. Raffin, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Christopher, Mrs. Surd and Mr. Dodge helped us  to decorate, supervise, set up and clean up afterward and the girls proved that they are natural businesswomen! They walked around Wilbur Wright selling our foods and crafts and, in the end, our troop made $389 in ticket sales! (With expenses, we made a tiny profit, but still, we did very well!)

At the same time the girls have been working hard to sell cookies during a very long and snowy winter! So proud of them for not giving up!

We had a cookie booth sale at Strak's in Schererville in February where the girls worked very hard and sold a LOT of cookies. Each girl who worked will get credit for selling 31 boxes. We also raised more money in donations to be able to send "Gift of Caring" cookies to the military.

Initial order!!

Team Regan at work selling cookies in Strak's

Final cookie orders are due THIS FRIDAY MARCH 13 in one email to Mr. Dodge or me and I will pick up your final orders at the cookie cupboard and should have them ready for you to pickup this Sunday, March 15, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.


Final Cookie Money (100 percent of what you owe including any toffeetastic orders) is due by no later than 3 p.m. Friday March 20 so we have time to deposit it before we leave for Spring Break. (I do have extra gluten-free toffeetastics. They are $5 a box and they are DELICIOUS so let me know if you want to add any on. We were lucky to get the ones we have because they are in high demand in our area!

Thanks all for being so good about making deadlines so far and for working so hard to help your daughters with their sales! Many have exceeded this year's troop goal of 150 boxes! I'm sure they would have had a tough time doing that without some awesome moms and dads, so thank you!

Next up on our calendar will be our next meeting Friday April 10 after school. Tea Party at Hartsfield Village (and bingo with the seniors) on Saturday April 11 at 1:30 p.m. (We spent our last meeting getting ready for the tea party, transplanting African violets and decorating pots that we will bring as gifts to the tea party. The girls also earned their gardening badge and brought a tomato plant (in seed form) home. We got a visit from master gardener Susan Radovich, who taught us a bit about gardening and even brought her old Girl Scout sash to show us!

Whew, that'll teach me to wait so long before updating this blog!