March 6 – early bird registration deadline for Summer Camps

March 15 – deadline to register for Pitch-IN Canada! For more information about Pitch-In Canada and how your unit can participate, check out
http://www.pitch-in.ca/

March 15 – deadline to submit changes to Unit rosters and new girl registrations to Unit Administrators for Spring Renewal mailing. Click here for details.

March 28– Earth Hour. Register your Unit’s participation at: http://www.earthhour.org/ and switch off your power to show your support for conservation. And don’t forget to email your great Earth Hour ideas to: environment.adviser@guidesontario.org

March 31 – Unit Meeting Space Renewal Cheque Request. Click here for details.

April 15 – Applications for young adults due to National Office for JULIETTE LOW SEMINAR – Nairobi, Kenya, August 21 – August 30, 2009. For more info: http://www.girlguides.ca/international_events

April – Happy 20th Birthday Sparks! You’re 20 years young! New Spark Anniversary Challenge! Find it in MemberZone: https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/program-idea/Document%20Library/Sparks_20th_Anniversary.aspx

April 20th at 4:00pm – Due date for Application for Australia Centenary Event – Jan. 3-9, 2010. For more info: http://www.guidesontario.org/formembers/international.htm#A2. Nationally sponsored trip – 5 girl Members and 2 adults.

April 24-26 – Global Youth Service Day. Girls, choose a way to make a difference in their community to earn the GYSD Crest. For more info click here:
https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/program-idea/gysd/GYSD_Challenge_2009.pdf

May 1st – Spring Renewal begins for girl members

May 9th - SEARS DAY – New Date! Cookie Sales Opportunity!

October 21st – Campfire Celebration (across Ontario). Download the list of songs for the campfire and begin learning them now!

Volunteer Update
" Myrtle Corkum, Chief Commissioner, has announced the extension of Marnie Cumming’s term as Ontario Provincial Commissioner. Marnie’s initial term will be completed in April 2009 but has been extended for two years."

Is your passion our Program?
We are looking for Guiders who are program-savvy and would be interested in picking some gems from our old resources and updating them to current program standards. Let’s not reinvent the wheel! There are tons of tried and tested program ideas in old ONL volumes. Contact Jess Fleury at program.adviser@guidesontario.org for more information.

Leadership for Girls-Task Group
This task group will be responsible for researching what types of leadership skills for girl members are currently being offered within our Guiding curriculum and investigating possible partnerships with other organizations. This group will develop the content of training materials required to provide Guiders with the knowledge they need to help our girl members develop leadership skills. They will also look at a variety of delivery methods for the material.

Adventurous Outdoor Activities-Task Group
This task group will be responsible for determining how we can use our current resources and determine where the “holes” are in the province for adult Members to access these types of trainings. This group will also identify how to meet future training needs of Guiders who offer adventurous outdoor activities.

Provincial Recognition Ceremonies Local Community Volunteers
We still need local volunteers for these events. If you are interested in helping out, please send an email to membersupport.coord@guidesontario.org

Complete the Volunteer Application Form: http://www.guidesontario.org/forms/volunteer_application.pdf

To make sure your girls don’t miss out on Spring Renewal …
• Review your roster with parents to make sure the address in iMIS is still current.
• If you have any outstanding paperwork, send it to your UA so that these girls can be entered in iMIS.

All changes are due by March 15 to ensure that iMIS records are updated in time for the mailing.

Spring Membership Public Awareness Events

Do you have an opportunity to promote Guiding in your town/city and share with those who are not yet Members the excitement of joining? Are you looking for another way for your unit (or a group of units) to complete the “One More Girl” Challenge?

If yes, please contact the Public Awareness Coordinator who would be happy to discuss how this can happen. There are limited funds available to support this type of activity and lots of materials available for distribution.

Please note that activities that require significant registration or activity fees for Guiding participation (e.g. significant to rent booth space at a trade show, fair) will be not be considered at this time. However, please do not hesitate to make us aware of these opportunities so that they can be considered in the overall plan.

If you do not need any assistance but are holding this type of event, we would like to hear from you so that we can track how many activities are occurring. Please send an email letting Mary know the date and location.

You can reach Mary Porto, Public Awareness Coordinator at 1 877 323 4545 ext 2422
or publicawareness.coord@guidesontario.org

Mentoring Program

Ontario Council is pleased to announce that Gina Marshman has accepted the position of Provincial Mentoring Champion. Gina brings a wealth of experience at all level of Guiding to her new role and she is excited about establishing this important program in Ontario for our new Guiders.

“Mentoring is the link created between an experienced person and a committed learner who needs support through experience and advice. This link is an agreement between two people to share experience and expertise, to support growth and to gain perspective…
Mentoring is the synthesis of many events, experiences, observations and reflections. Through mentoring, both mentor and mentee share the responsibility to encourage and promote growth in their individual Guiding roles.”

These words come from the Self-Directed Mentoring Training Module and they represent the ideals of the Girl Guides of Canada Mentoring Program. Like many corporate and private institutions, Guiding has recognized the benefits of incorporating a mentoring program to ensure outstanding leadership and support retention.

In Ontario, we are in the early stages of fully implementing the mentoring strategy. We know that mentoring is happening within the province and we need your input to get this project off the ground. If you are a Guider currently registered in iMIS as a Mentor, you will soon receive an email requesting information about your current mentoring relationships.

If you are or have been involved in mentoring a Guider this year, please check your iMIS record through Member Zone and if your mentoring activity is not listed, please send the information, including the name and iMIS number of the Guider you are mentoring, to the Membership Support Coordinator at membersupport.coord@guidesontario.org.

If you are a Guider who may have thought about mentoring but were not sure if it was something that you could do, there are valuable resources on the National website that may help you decide at https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/C14/Resources/Document%20Library/mentoring.aspx The goal is to have every new Guider linked to a Mentor shortly after she joins Guiding.

If you would like more information about mentoring in Ontario or would like to express your comments or concerns about mentoring, please drop a line to email: prov.mentor@guidesontario.org. Watch for more information in upcoming ONLine and on the provincial website.

March 31 – deadline for Cheque Requests for Unit Meeting Space
Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council covers the cost of regular weekly meeting space. School board costs for 2008-09 have already been paid.
• If your unit meets at a public place other than a school and would like Ontario Council to cover the cost, please complete the form below to request a cheque and submit to the User Space Coordinator. If your meeting space requires payment of a specific amount, please include that information in your request.

• Note that cheques will be forwarded from the provincial office directly to the facility with an acknowledgement letter in May. Confirmation is not provided to Guiders; however, you can contact your Unit Administrator after May 15 to see if a cheque requisition has been submitted to the Finance department.

To obtain a Cheque Request form, click on the link below to download from MemberZone: https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/C12/Ontario/ProceduresManual/Unit%20Guider%20-%20Membership/Ontario%20User%20Space%20Cheque%20Request%20Form.doc

The Ontario Membership Team proudly presents the…
One More Girl… WONDERFUL! Challenge

This challenge goal is to support and advance the 5 R’s of Membership in Ontario: Recruit! Respect! Recognize! Retain! Rejoice! This is a two-part challenge that can be done together in your Unit or individually. If you complete both parts you will receive two patches that ‘fit’ together! We all need to help Guiding grow, so please check out the challenge at:
http://www.guidesontario.org/forms/one%20more%20girl%20challenge.pdf

Awards for Adults
Any Member may nominate a Guider for an award. Why not consider nominating an extra special Guider that you know! Get those nominations in! Let’s make sure Guiders know they are appreciated!!
Ontario Awards Booklet: https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/C12/Ontario/Awards/Forms/AllItems.aspx

Awards for Girls
Just a friendly reminder to make sure that all awards earned/ received by your girls are recorded in iMIS so they receive an invitation to our Recognition Ceremonies. Once a girl has completed her Canada Cord, Chief Commissioner’s Gold Award, Commonwealth Award, or Duke of Edinburgh Award, her Guider should notify their Unit Administrator so that her iMIS profile can be updated.

2009 Provincial Recognition Ceremonies
Sunday, October 4– Chatham
Saturday June 13 – North Bay
Sunday, June 14 – Burlington
Sunday, June 14 – Thunder Bay
Saturday, October 17 - Barrie
Sunday, October 18 - Markham
Saturday, November 14 - Peterborough
Sunday, November 15 – Kingston

Thinking about spring cleaning?
Archives volunteers for Ontario Council are looking for old pins, badges, photographs, (dated, with names of people or name of event), newspaper clippings (with same information as photographs). Old uniforms (pre 1960) are always welcome! Consult with archives.adviser@guidesontario.org if you have a calendar, catalogue or price list as we are missing some. Not required: Ontario Newsletters, Canadian Guiders, girls’ program books – you can recycle those! If you have Guiding memorabilia that you wish to part with, please drop it off at a community office clearly labeled ARCHIVES and list the contents of the box. Office locations suitable are in Mississauga, London, Hamilton, Oshawa, Kingston, or Ottawa. You can also send your treasures to the Ontario Council Archives at 14 Birch Avenue in Toronto. If you have material to donate, and are not close to one of the offices listed above, contact archives.adviser@guidesontario.org for direction.

Did you know…?
That our website features a whole list of Community Resources! This is a great place to one-stop shop for program activities (like sleepover and excursion opportunities), service projects (like Earth Day ideas), and upcoming events and promotions, and links to conservation areas across the province. http://www.guidesontario.org/formembers/communityresources.htm

Free Money!
That’s right, $250 with your Unit’s name on it. Only catch is it’s earmarked for that awesome environmentally friendly service project you’ve always wanted to do but never knew how you’d afford to… And just in time for Earth Day too! Don’t miss this opportunity! For more information and application forms, click on: http://www.guidesontario.org/forms/Environmental%20Service%20
Proj%20Appl%20form%20OCT%2008.pdf

Sparks Jump Up and Clean Up!
As spring is slowly approaching and the snow is melting, ew… where did all this garbage come from? Make a difference near your meeting space. Pick a green space near your Unit and plan an Earth Day clean up. Apply for funding now to pay for your supplies (bags, gloves, or anything else you need)
http://www.guidesontario.org/forms/Environmental%20Service%20
Proj%20Appl%20form%20OCT%2008.pdf
Don’t forget to bring along a recycle bin. Take a before and after picture and send in the difference you made in your community and you could see yourself on our website! When sending photos, be sure to include the names of the girls in the photos as well as the activity name. Send to communications.coord@guidesontario.org. Sorry photos will not be returned.

Splash into Spring
Brownies! It’s getting warmer outside, why not take a dip in the pool? The Brownie Splash program wil a whole bunch of program work and help your Brownies learn these important water survival skills. Check out:
http://www.guidesontario.org/formembers/browniesplash.htm

Bye-bye program cards!
It’s official! GGC is releasing a new format for the Guide Program book for sale in March this year. The new format replaces the original Guide Handbook as well as the Guide Program Card File. The two resources are now in one more convenient spiral-bound book. The majority of the content remains the same, but the new format is a resource for both Guiders and Girls. It has all necessary program elements, interest badges, GGC resources, uniform and badge insignia, etc. GGC has simply revised any out-of-date content, added missing badge and program details, and updated the functionality of the Guide Program Book.

Be part of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay by making a personal pledge to do something in your daily life to make Canada an even better place to live. The categories for consideration are “creating a stronger community” and “creating a healthy environment”. Our youth and adult members are excellent candidates to be torchbearers in 2010! Be sure to nominate yourself at www.rbc.com/carrythetorch or www.icoke.ca/liveolympic/torchrelay

Sears Cookie Days are an excellent opportunity for Units to sell any cookies they have left after their regular cookie blitzes. Guiders contact the Sears stores directly and arrange their selling time. A list of locations can be found here.
Ontario East
Ontario West
Ontario Central
Ontario North

SELLING COOKIES IN A PUBLIC PLACE?
Take advantage of available promotional materials to develop membership in your community. It’s a great way to let other adults know who we are and how they can get involved. Use this link to find Girl Guide materials to use for handouts when you sell cookies, attend Sears Cookie Selling Days or other community events.
https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/C12/Ontario/Promotional%20Materials/Forms/AllItems.aspx Materials are available free of charge and take approximately 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Deliveries to Offices – Help Wanted!
We are looking for volunteers who are available to act as Cookie Receivers and assist with the delivery and distribution of cookies delivered to Community Offices in Kingston, Hamilton, Oshawa, Newmarket, London, Mississauga, Sprucedale and 14 Birch. Responsibilities of a cookie receiver are to receive the cookies, verify cookie counts, ensure cases are undamaged, disperse the cookies to Unit Guiders picking up from the location, complete paperwork with verified cookie counts and signatures for signed cookies. If you are available to help, please contact Lynda Chapple at cookie.adviser@guidesontario.org

Cookie Receivers Needed
Cookie Receivers are still needed for the following locations. Orders have been placed for cookies to be delivered to these locations, so a Receiver willing to accept the number of cases indicated is required. If you can help, please contact Georgina Turnbull at cookie.coord@guidesontario.org

Etobicoke – 146 cases
Stouffville – 105 cases
Kanata - 153 cases
St. George – 85 cases
Trenton – 402 cases
Newcastle – 58 cases
Cobourg – 242 cases

Sales Aids
Sales aids have been delivered to all Community Offices and some pre-approved Cookie Receiver Locations. If you require sales aids and are unable to pick them up from one of these locations, please send your request to cookie.coord@guidesontario.org and include a mailing address where sales aids are to be sent.

Cookie All Stars Prizing and Certificates
Thanks to all Guiders who have submitted their prize orders on the National web site. Prizes will be sent directly to the Unit Guiders for presentation to the girls. As a reminder, all girls who sold from 1 box of cookies to 10 cases as part of the Cookie All Stars Program are eligible for a certificate. There will be a link on www.girlguides.ca
to the certificate template for Guiders to print for their girls. Certificates for 10 cases and above will be provided by either the Provincial or National office, depending on the level of cookie sales the girl achieved.

Earlier this month each girl Member’s family received a copy of the Summer Camps brochure in the mail. In March each Contact Guider will receive a copy of the Summer Camps brochure along with a promotional DVD and a branch specific meeting for them to use to promote camping and attendance at a Girl Guide Summer Camps this summer! We hope you will consider a Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council Summer Camp this year to send a child or you can volunteer! We need your help to operate our Summer Camps to their fullest potential. We will train you and you can choose what you wish to do! Click here for more information:
http://www.guidesontario.org/camping/summercamps.htm. There are also paid positions available.

Online registration is now open for Summer Camps! https://poweredby.infosnap.com/fp/login.aspx?host=GuidesOntario

Intent to Travel Internationally
Guiders who intend to travel internationally with their Units must complete and submit the Intent to Travel Internationally Form (IT.2) as soon as they have any thought of taking the trip, preferably before they register for an event or at World Centre and at least one year before the trip. Having the IT.2 approved not only makes the province aware of the intended trip but also enables the Guider to proceed with the planning and also to request permission to fundraise.

Safe Guide and Orientation trainings
Currently the Provincial Learning and Development team is working with trainers across the province to set up both Safe Guide and Orientation to Guiding trainings. We ask that all new Guiders please check the events calendar (http://www.guidesontario.org/events/ontarioevents.htm) for these trainings as these are mandatory. Reminder that Orientation to Guiding must be completed within six (6) months and Safe Guide training must be completed within twelve (12) months of your join date.

Adult Travel Opportunity
November 11 – 26, 2009 & February 21 – March 6, 2010 – Tours of New Zealand for Adult Member. These two tours have been arranged through Guides New Zealand and must be paid by September 30, 2009. They are designed specifically for Trefoil Members, ex-Guiders, friends and partners For more information contact: Email: pet.jen.reyam@xtra.co.nz. Mail: Guides New Zealand, Attn. Jennifer Mayer, P O Box 805 TAUPO, NEW ZEALAND

For more details and to look for other events click here: http://www.guidesontario.org/events/ontarioevents_table.htm

National Office Guide Store Hours of Operation
(50 Merton St. Toronto) January – May 2009
Monday – 8:30 – 12:30
Tuesday – 12:30 – 4:30
Wednesday – 12:30 – 4:30
Thursday – 12;30 – 4:30
Friday – CLOSED
Saturday – 10:00 – 4:00
Sunday – CLOSED

Closed April 10-12 inclusive for Easter and May 15-18 for the Victoria Day weekend.

THE NATIONAL STORE WILL CLOSE PERMANENTLY ON MAY 31, 2009

ONTARIO COUNCIL LOCATIONS

Safe Guide Clarifications

Bring-a-Friend events – Guest requirements
Friends are very much welcome to participate in Guiding activities. Information on how to manage guests is on page 16 of the Safe Guide.

• For Green level activities, provide parents/guardians with details of the activities. You could use the Activity Plan (SG.1) for this. Obtain emergency contact information and pertinent health information (e.g. allergies, if you are planning food). A completed the health form is not necessary.

• For Yellow and Red level activities, guest must have complete paperwork as required for Members (Health form, parent/guardian permission etc.)

First Aiders – does this person have to be a GGC member?
A first aider does not have to be a member of GGC. If you are organizing a camp or event you may use a first aider that is a non-member. However, keep in mind that non-members cannot be left alone with the girls and must have a PRC for overnight activities. If your are using a third party service provider(TPSP) – for example - Ontario Science Centre -who is responsible for providing first aid for your activity, then you do not need to bring along your own first aider. However, please note that you must ask for confirmation of certification from the TPSP (a copy of their first aid certificate or to confirm in writing the type of first aid certification (e.g., Emergency First Aid, Standard First Aid), date obtained or expiry date and # of first aiders who will be available during your activity). Provide all of this information to your Assessor when you submit your Safe Guide forms.

Parades – Green or Yellow? New Info!
In a past issue of ONLine, we clarified that most often parades are considered to be a green level event. However, new information has come to light. If you are arranging for your unit to participate in a parade and the parade organizers are providing a float for the girls to ride on, then this is a green level activity. However if a member of GGC is hiring someone to provide and drive a float for the girls, then this is considered a yellow level activity due to the hiring of a third party service provider (the driver).

Reporting non-Member participants on your Activity Notification/Authorization Request (SG.3)
Non-member girl participants should be included in your supervision ratios. When completing your SG.3, indicate the # of non-member girls participating. If more than one age group is participating, please be specific in this area. For example: 5 non-member girls (3 are spark aged, 2 are brownie aged).

Large Events: the Safe Guide update in the October 2008 ONLine featured a Large Event Planner with tips for both the organizing committee and the Guider who is planning to take her unit to the event. If you missed it, you can download it from the Safe Guide Update page. (https://memberzone.girlguides.ca/C12/Ontario/Safe%20
Guide%20Updates/October%202008.pdf)

Perhaps she has her filter set too high on her computer and the ONLine delivery is blocked. The ONLine is a bulk e-mail and therefore may be landing in the “Junk E-mail” box, so please suggest she check there!

Perhaps we have an out of date e-mail address for her in iMIS and she can update it as follows:
Unit Guider – contact the Unit Administrator in your Community. Link or
Member at Large – contact imis.coord@guidesontario.org (416-920-6666 Ext. 2431). Trefoil Members contact adult.admin@guidesontario.org

You may access the PDF form at http://www.guidesontario.org/forMembers/newspublications.htm

Having trouble opening PDF links?
Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) is a universally accepted format that allows us to capture and view robust information—from any application, on any computer system—and share it with anyone around the world. If you are having trouble opening the PDF files included with ONLine, please consider upgrading your version of Adobe Reader for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

ONLine Feedback
We hope you enjoyed this edition of ONLine! As it is our intent to produce this publication monthly, we're seeking feedback. Pease tell us what you liked, disliked or would like to see in future issues. Drop our Communications Coordinator an e-mail and share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing from you.

Would you like to feature something in next month's issue of ONLine? If yes, please send your article to the Communications Coordinator no later than Monday, March 23 for consideration.
Articles received after the deadline date will be saved for publication in the following month’s issue. Thank you for understanding.

 

ONLine March issue 2009            www.guidesontario.org            Toll free: 1-877-323-4545