For those who are interested in seeing some of the results of the scouting adventure, check out this study on Eagle Scouts:
http://www.scouting.org/
Enjoy!
Below is a link to some photos from Patrick’s Eagle Project. Enjoy!
We started this month’s PLC with position reports.
Notably, Robert D.P., the Campmaster, asks that 3 meal plans, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, be filled out by next week in order to have a handy pre-filled list when we go camping again. Be sure to complete the quantity list and duty roster as well. We may be adding a cracker barrel, so plan for that too. In addition, the OA Rep would like to remind those in OA that there is an OA meeting on Thursday. The Webmaster states that the website is running smoothly, and that a website committee will be set up very soon (more on this later! I’ll write an article about the Authors’ Bureau).
After this, we heard reports from Patrol Leaders before moving onto to discuss plans for upcoming events.
We talked a bit about prep for OA work weekend, and about Napowan (our fence for our campsite was approved!). Also, we are trying to schedule a fun meeting, at which we can sit back and chill out. There’s only one open meeting left though – all the others are designated to COH, elections (which are NEXT WEEK!), and Memorial Day. Here are some suggestions of activities that were thrown out there: trebuchet exhibition, team building fun, flashlight wars, and capture the flag. Next, a method of making election speeches more fair was suggested and will be used next meeting.
Announcements:
- Chose two MC’s for COH.
- Merit Badges are now more difficult at Napowan. Patrol leaders can have meetings to go over all the prerequisites.
Mr.Pi’s Announcements:
- NYLT scouts selected and approved, what to expect.
- When camping, put your scout book in a zip-lock bag to keep safe from water!
- A Junior Leadership lesson, given by Mr. Pi, is in the plans for summer.
- Patrol Leaders: Plan some cooking meetings or practice cooking with your scouts!
- A highly inspiring speech, which contained too much pure awesomeness for these margins - Come to PLC to get the full effect!!
- Leave No Trace training coming up in May. Ask Mr. Pi for more details.
Finally, I’d like to say that Zach had a GREAT YEAR and did an AWESOME JOB as SPL!! We all applaud you!
…and that’s all folks! See you next time!
What a busy meeting! Being the last meeting before elections, we did a lot today!
After flags, we reviewed a bit about saluting and standing at attention during flags. These things are important to know, as a good citizen respects the American Flag! Practice!
We broke into Patrol Time, in which we chose our respective Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders. During this time, I made a little announcement about the webmaster position and reached out to those who were interested in helping out — more on this coming soon!
Afterwards, we had each position leader to describe his position. Below is a summary of each:
- Historian – Documents troop activity with pictures, history, items, etc. Makes a presentation of what activities the troop has partaken in at COH.
- OA Rep – Need to be OA in order to do this. OA rep. goes to OA meetings and takes notes about things discussed there. Then, later, at PLC, he announces what happened at the meeting and upcoming events.
- Quartermaster – Deals with equipment: tents, tarps, set-up, etc. A fun job, according the current quartermaster, Ryan H.
- Leave No Trace – Educates the troop about Leave No Trace principles, and things the troop can do to help out. Discusses ways to preserve the environment, especially at campouts. There is training available!
- Scribe – Takes notes at PLC, collects attendance of each troop meeting. Shows that you can be organised!
- Campmaster – works with quartermaster. Plans and resolves campout needs. Manages meal plans and other campout things.
- Webmaster – Manages the troop website (this one!!). Finds or creates content for the website. Often these will be in the form of pictures, art, articles, or other posts, and probably will be from other position leaders, such as the historian.
Note: Quartermaster, Campmaster, and Webmaster each of committees! Contact the position leader if you want to help out.
- Den Chiefs – Helps packs and dens. Helps cub scouts get their requirements, etc. Needs to be a 2nd year scout, however, and needs to coordinate with the Den Leader.
- Librarian – Manages the library-crates. Helps out those interested in checking out a book, keeps track of circulation.
- Bugler – A fun job! Need to know how to bugle or trumpet though
. According to Jason B, our current bugler, the most difficult part is having to get up early to wake everyone up. - SPL – Leads guys at campouts, meetings, PLC, and other troop activities. Coordinates with the Scoutmaster to plan events. Communicates with Patrol Leaders. Is the leader of the pack!
Take note that the Campmaster is looking to expand his position by getting an assistant – who is skilled with computers – to help out on the planning and documenting side of the job. If you’re interested, see Robert D.P.!
Also, the Quartermaster is looking for assistants to help out in and about the trailer! If you are excited to get to know how everything works behind the scenes, see Ryan H.!
In addition, the Webmaster (me) is looking for scouts to help out with the website by joining the Board of Authors. No technical knowledge is required! (As in, You don’t need to know what a computer is). If you like to draw, write, or have any other interests at all, see me, George M., during a meeting and we’ll see how YOU can become a published author! However, if you do know something about or are intrigued by computers, you can be an Assistant Webmaster and help out by managing the inner workings of the web server!
So, anyway, we signed up for positions after discussing what they were, and moved on to announcements:
- Chess info is 7 – 9 on Friday. The tournament is afterwards! Email Kenny if you wish to go!
- Thursday is an OA meeting from 7:30 to 8:00 PM. Come if you can!
- Patrick C.’s Eagle Project: Due to the rainy weather, work day was rescheduled to next week. Wear class B’s, and bring a shovel!
- Sign up for the Memorial Day Parade!
- PLC is tomorrow at 7:00 PM! Those with positions should come!
- Elections are next week!
- Joke of the week:
“Doctor! Doctor!” says the patient, exasperated.
“You need new glasses,” concludes the doctor.
“But how did you know?” wonders the patient. “I haven’t even told you what it was yet!!”
“I figured it out when you came through the window!” - Quartermaster Assistants – Don’t need to run to help out! Can be any age or rank.
- Need Napowan MB selections TODAY.
- Help out pack 209! Sign up, help recruit new cub scouts! There will be some food and dessert. 2:30 to 5 on Sunday May 20th.
- Rank Advancements! (We’ve got A LOT today!) Congrats congrats to the following!
- Ed G., who is now Scout!
- Brandon K., who is now Star!
- Dustin O., who is now Tenderfoot!
- Donald O., who is now Tenderfoot!
- Connor H., who is now Scout!
- Quinn B., who is now Scout!
- Peter H., who is now Scout!
- Leo K., who is now First Class!
- Alex A., who is now Scout!
- Tyler M., who is now Tenderfoot!
- John M., who is now Scout!
- John K., who is now Scout!
- Chaplain’s Aide – A Closing Prayer
- There will be a Service Committee soon for Service Projects!
And an awesome quote from Mr. Pi:
“Two wrongs do not make a right. But two Wrights did make an airplane!”
That’s it for this week! Try to quiet down the chairs a bit! Practice at home!! (Just kidding).
After Flags and Patrol Time, we organised ourselves and enjoyed fun knot relay race. The events involved tying two half-hitches and square lashings, and building a house of cards. However, many folded or curved the cards…I’m sure that’s not bending the rules at all! In addition, after that, the patrols had a contest to see who could construct the tallest card tower, without altering the cards!
We ended with announcements afterwards:
- Elections are May 14. Send Mr. Pi an email regarding your desired position BEFORE then! Prepare a speech!
- Jason read his Communication Merit Badge speech on Lyme Disease aloud to all of us. It was interesting and informational!
- Turn in your tent and/or tarp by NEXT WEEK.
- Conclave occurred…what do you get with 300 scouts at camp Lakota? LOTS OF FUN. There are tons of cool activities (including Lodgeball, or epic dodgeball, and intriguing training sessions for OA). Be there next year!! (Ask Andrew if you have any questions)
- No OA on Thursday. It is NEXT THURSDAY, May 10th!
- Patrick C.’s Eagle Project: Sunday, May 6th, same place – painting, mulch…bring shovels if you have them. 3rd work day is May 2oth.
- Memorial Day parade flyer is still out!
- RADIO MERIT BADGE! Flyers are available. Cost? $7.
- Napowan MB sign up deadline was today! Still can send in via email, but not for long…
- Rank Advancements! Congrats to the following:
- Zack M. (Ravens) is now Scout!
- Kyle B. is now Life!
- John P. is now Scout!
- Anthony M. is now Scout!
- George M. is now Second Class!
- Mark H. is now Second Class!
- Alex M. is now Scout!
Scoutmaster Announcements:
- NYLT – those going, get permission slips filled out ASAP.
- Help Pack 209 recruit new tiger scouts, May 20th!
- First thing you do when you get back from camp is open or set up to air those tents/tarps out! Clean those tents still out there!
After flags with a fabulous recital by Jason and his bugle, we hit the ground running into patrol time.
Next, we jumped into discussion about Spring Camporee. As we went over the roses an thorns, we reminded ourselves that we had a whole lot of fun and worked amazingly as a team. Furthermore, it was announced that our troop had won 8 ribbons! But, it is still important to recall that the main idea is to have fun, and that we still need to be good sports if we win, or don’t win, something. (Gracious Professionalism, as it is called in the FIRST community.)
Also, there’s a whole bunch of lost and found left over from both Boot Camp and Spring Camporee. Check your stuff. Do you have anything extra? Are you missing something?
After that, we had a brief announcement about Class B’s. Class B attire is anything that has boy scouting on it. Note that we do have a thrifty bin. Give if you have extras, take if you need some! However, if you can’t find a fit, you can still order them: 2012 Class B Form
Proceeding onward, we recognized the newest OA candidates from out troop, officially honored at Spring Camporee. Order of the Arrow — that’s what OA stands for — does a lot of services and activities, such as awarding the arrow of light, or holding the hunted hike. In our troop, Andrew M. is our Chapter Chief, and Pat C. is our OA representative. So, without further ado, congratulations to Scott L., TJ H., Alex V.R., Jimmy M., Will K., Brad P., Richard M., Mrs. DePau, Mr. Matuszczak! Yay!
After this recognition, we played Sock Dodgeball, which we followed with announcements.
Announcements:
- Memorial Day Parade is May 28. Fill out the flyer!
- Happy B-Day TODAY to Mr. Damisch!
- OA Ordeal Campout/OA Work Weekend at Lakota is May 18-20. Register by NEXT MEETING. Help fix up Lakota for camping season! You can get Brotherhood there as well for little cost.
- Patrick C.’s eagle project is this weekend! Thanks to Danny D. for extra help.
- At Boot Camp, Alex G. has lost his mess kit. It is blue in a mesh bag with his name on the utensils. If you accidentally took it home with you, please return it to Alex.
- This Day In History, from our Troop Historian: On April 23rd, 1564 AD, William Shakespeare was born.
- Thanks to Home Depot for helping out scouting! Alex V.R. got a great deal on flag supplies. In addition to a flagpole, he got tape measure and five sharpies for free! (More on this story coming soon!)
- Joke of the Week
- Rank Advancements! Congratulations to those who moved forward!
- Derek M. is now a scout!
- Matt N. is now a scout!
- Adam D. is now Tenderfoot!
- Turn in Napowan Forms by next week!
- And a closing from our Chaplain’s Aide.
That’s it for this week! See you all next time!
Well look at that! Below a picture of the Flying Eagles patrol flag. Looking good! (Click for a bigger image)
Look out! There’s a sale coming up at the Scout Shop, running from April 27 to May 3, 2012. Spend $100 in the Scout Shop and get a $20 gift card good on your next visit. One gift card per customer per day.
Here’s the flyer for the sale: Scout Shop April 2012 Sale Flyer
Happy shopping!
The Adults’ Billboard – bringing information to you.
The following is a schedule of events (courtesy of Mr. Stout) for the adults:
1) Next Meeting 4/30 – Memorial Day Committee Planning meeting. Adults who signed up to help that committee, or even if you have not and want to help, this is our planning meeting to organize the troop marching in the Memorial Day Parade, the cookout afterwards at the church, followed by the annual planning meeting that will decide what our events will be next year!
2) Parent Meeting 5/7 – Our once a month Parent meeting to take place during the normal Scout meeting. Please have one parent come and “stay” as we discuss upcoming events, etc.
3) OA Work Weekend (5/18 – 5/20) – There was a recent email sent out about this – with a QUICK TURNAROUND – this is an opportunity for new scouts to visit Napowan as a “Wilderness Engineer” to get Camp Napowan ready for the summer! Sign-up is DUE 4/30 (NEXT MONDAY!)
Overall Upcoming Calendar:
Monday 4/30:
- Regular Scout Meeting
- Memorial Day Committee Meets
- Napowan Merit Badge Sheets Due (5/1 is the official deadline)
- OA Work Weekend Sign-Ups Due
Monday 5/7:
- Regular Scout Meeting
- PARENT MEETING during Scout meeting
Tuesday 5/8:
- Patrol Leader Council (PLC)
Friday 5/11:
- Deadline for Scoutmaster Conferences for June 4th Court of Honor Advancements
Monday 5/14:
- Regular Scout Meeting
- Deadline for Board of Review for June 4th Court of Honor Advancements
Thursday 5/17
- (Adult) Committee Meeting – 7pm
Friday 5/18 – Sunday 5/20
- OA Work Weekend at Camp Napowan
Monday 5/21:
- Regular Scout Meeting
Monday 5/28:
- Memorial Day Parade – we are marching!
- Cookout Lunch at Church
- Planning Meeting until about 3pm
o Flyer and additional information coming soon!
Monday 6/4:
- Court of Honor!
o Flyer coming soon
o This is our “award ceremony” we hold 3 per year
