IMPORTANT LINKS & FORMS REQUIRED EACH YEAR:
1. Proof of Registration: Join GSUSA or Renew your Membership ($30/year per girl; $15/year per adult)
2. Annual Parent Permission Form
3. Health History / Medication Release Form
GSUSA Membership
GSUSA Membership dues are $15 per girl annually, payable to GSUSA. There is also an additional $15 annual Council fee (girls only) to cover annual programs and maintenance in our local area. Adults are only $15 per year. Girls and adults can join or renew your membership online at www.girlscoutsfl.org/join. GSUSA Membership is valid from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. We strongly recommend that at least 1 adult from each family register as a GS volunteer.
What is a Girl Scout Volunteer?
Any adult member of Girl Scouting is referred to as a “Volunteer”. All events that allow adult participation require that everyone be a registered GSUSA member, so you will be covered under the GS insurance policy in the event of an accident. Please be sure to register online as an Adult Team Member (Code 11) so you participate, too!
Girl Safety
Girl Scouts is all about fun, but safety comes first! We use the “buddy system” and review safety guidelines throughout the year. These are created with your daughter’s safety in mind, so please be sure to review and discuss them with your daughter as needed. GSUSA Safety checkpoints
Our Council
Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida (also known as "Camp Choee" and the location of the Council Shop)
11347 SW 160th Street, Miami, FL 33157 (305) 253-4841
About Troop 204
Troop 204 was formed in September 2008 with a core group of 10 Daisy Girl Scouts from Ludlam Elementary. Since then, some of our girls have switched schools, we have added a few members, and we expanded to multiple levels. We now have 40 girls in the troop, ages 7-16, from over 15 local elementary, middle and high schools.
Troop Meetings
Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes meet on the second Saturday of each month from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at South Miami Little House, unless it is a holiday weekend or we have a conflicting event. We start our meeting with the pledge, followed by the Girl Scout Promise. We then briefly discuss any troop business before breaking into girl levels for badge work & activities, followed by a snack to end the meeting. Since we only meet once a month to discuss official business and work on badges, we encourage you to try to make each meeting. You are welcome to stay and help out with the meeting, or you may drop off and pick up later. Please be on time for pickup.
Seniors/Ambassadors meet on the second Sunday of each month from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm at South Miami Little House or Karen Gottlieb's home (unless it is a holiday weekend or we have a conflicting event). Older girls run these meetings on their own with minimal adult input. The goal is to give them opportunities to develop their leadership skills.
Troop Dues
Annual troop dues cover the cost of meeting supplies, snacks and the badges and awards the girls earn. Dues are $100.00 for Seniors & Ambassadors and $120 for all other levels. Annual dues are collected at the first meeting in September and there is a $10 late fee for not paying dues by the October meeting.
Uniforms
We have two uniforms: Class A ("official" GSUSA uniform) and Class B (troop t-shirts). The official GSUSA Uniform consists of a white polo shirt, khaki pants or shorts and an age-level vest or sash. Our troop uses the vest since we earn too many badges and patches to fit on a sash. Please visit our local GS Council or online GSUSA shop to purchase your uniform.
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We typically wear troop t-shirts on most of our trips and to most events, unless Class A / official uniform is required. Troop shirts are $15 each and were designed by our girls. They are printed each year in the Fall (since the cost increases considerably if we do them one at a time), so be sure to order enough to last you throughout the year. A few extras are printed for new girls who may join late - ask Karen for available sizes. Place a T-Shirt Order
Insignia, Badges & Patches
Insignia refers to the official GSUSA membership stuff that go on the front of every girls’ uniform – membership pins, American flag, Council ID, troop crest & numbers, etc.. Badges are earned by completing badge activities in the official GS handbooks for each level. Badges go on the front of your vest. Fun Patches are any other type of patch given for participation at an event or for visiting a special venue or location. Patches go on the back of your vest ONLY. Where to place insignia on a uniform
Event Photos
Although you can upload photos directly to this website, we have found it easier to use Shutterfly. Our Shutterfly group site is www.girlscoutstroop204.shutterfly.com. The password is: troop204. Please upload & share event photos here. We also have a closed group on Facebook to share info and photos. If you want to be added to it, please friend Karen on Facebook. The FB group is only for T204 members and not viewable by the general public.
Please note that non-members will only see the first page of the Troop Track website as well, so photos of the girls on this site are safe and are not accessible to anyone on the Internet. For the safety of all of our girls, we ask that you do not post any photos on Facebook of another child without first getting consent from their parent.
Teach the Girls
Do you have a career or special skill that might be of interest to the girls? The badges listed in the Girl’s Guides cover a wide variety of subjects from science to entrepreneurship to geo-caching and more. We ask that each parent lead at least one badge activity per year, but you are welcome to do more if you like. You can help girls earn badges at ANY level – just let a troop leader know what you are interested in doing and we can tell you what badge(s) might fit the activity.
Fall Product & Cookie Sales
Girls are encouraged to participate in both sales, but it is not mandatory. However, most girls who sell fall products and/or cookies can easily earn enough money to cover ALL annual GS event dues and event fees.
- Fall Products are Oct. – Nov. and are nuts, candy, photo gifts & magazine subscriptions/renewals
- Cookie sales are usually mid January-mid February and, well, you might have heard of these before!
Complete details and packets will come from the Product & Cookie Coordinators prior to each sale.
Events & Activities
We typically have 2-4 events each month in addition to the troop meeting. You are not required to attend any of them, but we hope you will want to! We try to select a variety of activities so there is something for everyone.
Our troop uses Troop Track for event RSVPs, and you will receive an email notification when a new event is added. RSVP cutoff dates are included in the event description, as well as any other important details. Types of events and how to register:
Troop Meeting – Monthly troop meeting. Please RSVP so we can be sure to have enough snacks & supplies for all girls attending.
Hosted events – Organized by troops (ours or others), service units, or organizations. RSVP in Troop Track. Any event fees will be taken from your troop dues. Note that most GS Council events are only $5-10 but do not give refunds for cancellations!
Council programs** – Organized by GS Council and listed in the Program Book or online on the GSCTF website. We will send out an invitation for all Council programs that we plan to attend as a troop. (Note: You may register individually for ANY Council event you like, even if we are not attending as a troop). To register as an individual, fill out a Program Registration Form and submitting to Council with your payment. Council program fill up very fast, so don’t delay in responding or you may miss out! (Once they are full, Council events rarely have any spaces that open up later.)
Questions?
Please feel free to contact your troop leader with any questions you may have!