Troop Activities
Troop Meetings. Troops may meet in person or virtually. Use the
helpful information in the CDC’s How
to Protect Yourself & Others guide to minimize risk and
exposure.
Virtual Troop Meetings. Online meetings
are terrific alternative offering girls and troops lots of connections
and benefits. Badge-earning programming and essential girl-to-girl
connectivity can easily happen at Zoom meetings.
Girl
Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma has Zoom accounts available for troops to
use at no charge for the membership year 2022. To request your Troop
Zoom account information, complete the GSEOK Zoom Activation Form,
this may take up to 7 – 10 business days to receive your account
information and instructions.
In-Person Troop Meeting
Locations. Outdoor spaces where social distancing can be
maintained are strongly recommended for meetings. Additionally, Girl
Scout offices, program centers, and service centers are open for
taking reservations for troop meetings. If you are interested in
making a reservation for one of our properties,
email camps@gseok.org to check for availability.
GSEOK
sites available for reservations:
Ada Office | McAlester Service Center |
Bartlesville Service Center | Ponca City Program Center |
Eaton Lodge | Stillwater Lodge |
Hardesty Leadership Center | Troop House |
For meetings held in public buildings, contact the facility
ahead of time and ask:
Is the space cleaned, and touch surfaces (i.e., tabletops, light switches, chairs, etc.) sanitized daily?
Who else uses the space? Is the space cleaned between groups?
What type of faucets/soap dispensers are available in the restroom (sensory or manual)?
Consider whether you can supplement cleaning practices. For example,
plan to bring sanitizing wipes to wipe down surfaces when you arrive.
If faucets are manual, take some time to show girls how to shut them
off with a paper towel. Use paper towels for doorknobs whenever
possible.
Troop Meetings in the Home. Girl Scouts of Eastern
Oklahoma and Girl Scouts USA do not recommend in-home meetings and do
require prior council approval if a troop requests to meet in
their home.
Backyard Meetings. For back and front
yard meetings, make sure that the grounds are completely safe for
children. For example, be careful that pools are fenced or otherwise
safely sectioned off. The same goes for any equipment or tools or
recreational apparatus that is deemed unsafe for girls such as outdoor
trampolines. Make sure that pets are kept separate from the girls
meeting space. Ensure that both the troop leader and co-leader can see
girls and monitor their whereabouts at all times. Maintain the use of
the buddy system for errands or bathroom breaks. If the property is
large, ensure that the meeting space is kept distinctly separate from
non-members.
Transportation (carpooling). It is
imperative to take all safety precautions when girls are traveling in
motor vehicles. If possible, girls from different households should
not carpool. Coronavirus transmission risk is high when people are in
close proximity less than six feet apart. The risk increases when
people are in a closed-in area or indoors for longer than 10 minutes.
When transporting girls, always space out the girls to avoid crowding
and keep the windows partially open to provide ventilation. While
masks are not required, masks are recommended. Please review the CDC’s
mask recommendation for the county you are going to ahead of time.
Make sure parents are aware ahead of time if girls will be in a car
together. Always, for every in-person event, meeting, or
transportation arrangement, conduct the pre-screening process to
ensure that coronavirus does not touch Girl Scout gatherings.
Large Group Gatherings. When planning large gatherings,
follow CDC and GSEOK recommendations and guidelines. Make sure social
distancing can occur. Volunteers should review the mask recommendation
from the CDC for the county in the event will be held in.
Answers to the following questions will guide this decision:
· Is the event indoors or outdoors? (Outdoors is safer than indoors.)
· Can social distancing be maintained?
· What county will the event occur in?
· What is the local transmission rate of that county?
Day Trips and Activities. In conjunction with Safety Activity Checkpoints, follow the same guidelines found in the Troop Meetings and Hygiene sections of this document.
Look ahead to review the CDC recommendations and review the
COVID-19 by County. If the activity of sporting equipment is
being provided, ask the provider if they wipe down equipment in
between uses. Make whatever appropriate accommodations are necessary.
For example, bring extra sanitizer if none will be provided for public
use at the activity location. If the trip will need to include plans
for a meal, it is best to eat outside and/or each girl bring a packed
lunch from home whenever possible. When not possible, an indoor eating
experience should be at a location where social distancing is
practiced.
Overnight Stays. Although travel plans
are often arranged several months in advance, we recognize that the
COVID-19 risk is fluid; it can and will change, and contingencies
should be planned ahead of time for rescheduling, canceling, or
pivoting to a virtual activity. Please follow the normal process for
submitting the 585F
Request for Approval of Activity Requiring Council
Permission.
Note: These recommendations and requirements are for troop activities. Council-level program events and trainings may have additional safety protocols.
Hygiene, First Aid and Face-Covering
It is important to continuously follow our state and local health
organizations and the CDC in the latest recommendations to reduce the
risk of transmission.
Below is a shortlist for
volunteers to consider for in-person gatherings:
· Pre-screening and Symptoms Check forms are used
· Girls and adults wear masks in counties where the CDC has deemed high risk, COVID-19 by County. This status could change weekly, please check accordingly.
· Outdoors is preferred to indoors, whenever possible
· Always maintain 6 feet distance
· Wash hands
· No touching the face
· Carry disinfectant and make sure girls are using it as appropriate
· Girls bring their own snacks and supplies whenever possible
Pre-screening and Symptoms Check. Prior to in-person troop meetings and activities, all participants should be screened to ensure:
· they are healthy and have not experienced symptoms that are associated with COVID-19 in the previous 72 hours,
· that they have not knowingly been in contact with someone that has exhibited symptoms or has been confirmed positive with COVID-19 or a person waiting to see if they are positive; and,
· that they have not been to any high-risk geographical regions particularly those regions that require a 14-day or otherwise specific quarantine period.
Face Coverings. Masking indoors is no longer required. Masking
is voluntary. The status of each county may change weekly. Please
check your current status on the CDC’s COVID-19
by County for guidance in your local area. This status could
change weekly, please check accordingly.
Be
Prepared. Be prepared with first aid supplies including COVID-19
prevention items such as hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol),
tissues, disposable facemasks, and disinfectants. Easily accessible
trash baskets or bags should be supplied for meeting and activity
space, if not already available. Disposable or no-contact thermometers
may be added to supplies if available and not cost-prohibitive,
however, caregivers should be checking temperatures and allowing their
girls(s) to join group activities only when temperatures are
normal.
Routinely clean and
disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched
(i.e., tabletops, markers, scissors, etc.). Use a household cleaner,
or see the EPA's list
of effective cleaners approved for use against COVID-19. Follow
the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection
products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time,
etc.). See the CDC’s website
for more on cleaning and disinfecting community facilities.
Personal Contact. Hugs, handshakes, high-fives, and even
activities like the friendship circle can transmit COVID-19 from
person to person and therefore discouraged. Create a safe way for
girls and volunteers to greet and end meetings instead (like tapping
elbows). Note: Use culturally appropriate messages, materials, and
resources.
Troop Meeting Reminder. Share your plan
for in-person troop meetings with families. Ask caregivers to go over
it with their Girl Scout before the meetings so she understands that
there may be some differences. For example, she may be asked to use
hand sanitizer when she arrives at the meeting. If girls know what to
expect it will be easier for them to adapt to the new troop meeting style.
Reporting COVID-19 Positive Incidents
If you or someone in your troop tested positive for COVID-19 and had recently attended a Girl Scout activity, please email Katie Gill Miller, at kgillmiller@gseok.org or call at 918-745-5228 to discretely inform the council.
Acknowledgment of Receipt and Understanding
All participants of Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma acknowledge that COVID-19 is a contagious virus that spreads through person-to-person contact. As with any social activity, participation in Girl Scouts could present the risk of contracting COVID-19. While GSEOK takes every safety and preventative precaution, GSEOK can in no way warrant that COVID-19 infection will not occur through participation in GSEOK programs.