Weekly Post, February 8, 2015

Post date: Feb 8, 2015 10:21:19 PM

Hello Troop 737,

Thank you again to our MCs at our Court of Honor, Brandon Martin and Colter Snyder. Also thank you to Bill Plaehn who presented a great “Why Eagle” talk. Great job guys!! Congratulations to Nolan Bly who won the latest raffle prize.

Thank you to all the scouts and scout Dads who participated in Scout Sunday today.

Monday night is Advancement night, which is changing a little bit. We will only be offering two merit badges; First Aid and Family Life. Scouts who do not want to take these merit badges are encouraged to finish other merit badges that they have started in the past but not completed. Scouts could also organize a group of scouts do to a merit badge that is not offered. You can do this by working with troop merit badge counselors during Advancement night or some another time. The list of merit badge counselors is on the website; look for the tab on the left side of the home page. The list will also be in the sign up book at each meeting.

Merit badge Counselors, if you are contacted by a scout, please do your best to help him out. I understand we all get busy but please do what you say you are going to do. We want to set a good example for our scouts.

All Troop Guides and Instructors will be expected to help with our bran new scouts. This is one of your main responsibilities so please participate.

Monday night will also be the last night you can sign up for Quinzee. We will be doing campout prep and food prep. For this year’s Quinzee we will be heading up to Guanella Pass for 3 days. We will build Quinzees on Saturday, enjoy ourselves on Sunday and head home on Monday, Presidents Day.

I am very sorry that we will be out on Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, all the parents who are going on the trip can go out on Friday night or find another time for a romantic evening with their spouses.

URGENT NOTICE! We have 7 scouts and 2 or 3 adults signed up for Medicine Mountain Scout camp in South Dakota. We are almost there. We would really like to make this camp work so please sign up. We will make a decision this week to see if this trip is a go or if we have to cancel. That gives you tomorrow’s meeting to sign up and pay a $135 deposit. Adults owe just $65. This is for scouts who are currently in the seventh grade and above. The dates are July 12 – 18. So talk to you buddies and sign up!

If we do not get enough signups, there will only be one summer camp option. This is the instate option and we only have 27 spots total, including adults. If money is an issue, please contact me; we do have scholarships available

REMINDER To be included in the Troop 737 group text messages, text @troop737 to (303) 625-7829. This is mainly for Scouts but parents are welcome to join. You can opt-out of messages at any time by replying, ‘unsubscribe @troop737’.

Upcoming signup deadlines

February 9 for Medicine Mountain Summer Camp in South Dakota, see above.

February 9, for the Quinzee camping trip on February 14 -16.

NOW Boundary Waters sign up now see below. We still have open spots for Boundary Waters. Where are all the 14 to 16 year old scouts? Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime! See info below

Sign up for summer camps now … see costs and payment due dates below.

Sign up for Big Horn training http://www.denverboyscouts.org/openrosters/view_homepage.aspx?orgkey=1897

Scoutmaster Minute Review

Mr. Plaehn brought up some excellent points during his “Why Eagle” talk at the Court of Honor. He has a son who is currently a senior at Conifer High and he earned his Eagle rank at a Troop down the hill. As a senior he has been going through the college application process. Both father and son have come to realize that Scouting and especially earning Eagle can help so much in getting into the school of your choice. The first thing schools look at is academics and test scores. The same dedication and work ethic that boys practice in scouting can be applied to earn good grades and do well on tests. The next two things that colleges are looking for are consistent community service and leadership. Throughout scouting boys are doing community service. Scouts do community service for most rank advancements and help out on many other ocations. Lots of scouts do community service through their church or other organizations. Mr. Plaehn suggested that scouts keep track of all the community service they have done. If a boy stays in scouts and earns his Eagle rank he will learn leadership skills and have the opportunity to practice those skills. While earning Eagle, scouts lead a project from start to finish. Giving back to your community and practical leadership skills are what colleges are looking for. NOTE: It would be best if scouts earned their Eagle rank before their senior year so they can put it on their college applications.

Here is a list of upcoming events:

You can always check out the full schedule on the Troop website at: https://sites.google.com/a/themountaintroop.org/troop-737-home/troop-calendar

February 9 Troop Meeting 6:30 – 8pm ELC Service patrol is the Diamonds. Please show up 15 minutes early to help set up. Advancement night and campout prep for Quinzee. Only First Aid and Family Life will be offered. Scouts are encouraged to contact other merit badge councilors for merit badges that they have started in the past to finish up. New scouts will be working on Trail to First Class. Quinzee participants will need to prepare retort cooking.

February 12 Program Comittee meeting 6:30 pm ELC All adults are welcome. We will go over the upcoming activities. Meet in the basement in the room under the sanctuary.

May 8 Troop Committee meeting 7:15pm ELC All adults are welcome. This is when the business of the Troop is discussed. There are quite a few open positions on the committee.

February 14 - 16 Quinzee campout Meet at ELC at 7:30am Saturday morning leave by 8. Build Quinzees on Saturday. Explore area on Sunday. Return Monday, Presidents day noon. Location not finalized but probably up on Guanella pass. I realize this is over Valentine’s Day and I am sorry. Maybe you can go out on Friday night on find another special night with your loved one.

February 16 Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) meeting 6:30 – 8pm ELC If you are a Patrol Leader or in a troop leadership position please come and help plan the upcoming Troop activities. If you are a Patrol Leader and you cannot make it to this meeting you need to talk to your assistant Patrol Leader or someone in your Patrol so that all Patrols are represented at the PLC.

February 28 New scout and parent oreinataion 9am to 3pm. All new scouts and at least one parent from each family are expected to come to this very important and informative meeting. Come learn how Boys Scouts is different from Cub Scouts and how Troop 737 functions.

Summer camps.

Sign up early and make your payments. The troop will not be fronting costs. If you do not make your payments on time you will not get the early discounts and you may not be able to go. There is plenty of time for scouts to make money for summer camp. If money is an issue please contact me, we can make it happen

For the out of state we will be going to Medicine Mountain Scout camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is for scouts who are currently in the seventh grade and above. The dates are July 12 – 18. We have reserve a total of 25 spots. The first 20 scouts who sign up and pay the deposit will be set to go. The other 5 spots are for adults. We are looking for a HALO (Head Adult Leader Organizer) to head up this group. Here is a YouTube video about the camp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EEWMdCk6uY

Medicine Mountain Scout Ranch in SD – July 12 – 18 Maximum 25 total slots

Early Bird Scout Payment schedule

First deposit due 12/31/14 $125

Final payment due 3/15/15 $135

Early Bird Adult Payment schedule

First deposit due 12/31/15 $60

Final payment due 3/15/15 $35

Deposit due at initial sign-up scouts $10.00

Deposit due at initial sign-up adults $5.00

Early Bird Scout Price Due March 15, 2015 total $245 after initial deposit $235

Early Bird Adult Price Due March 15, 2015 total $100 after initial deposit $90

Standard Scout Price Due May 1, 2015 total $295 after initial deposit $285

Standard Adult Price Due May 1, 2015 total $125 after initial deposit $115

Late Scout Price After May 2, 2015 total $320 after initial deposit $310

Late Adult Price After May 2, 2015 total $150 after initial deposit $140

Include all merit badge costs

NOTE: This does not include transportation and food costs to and from camp.

The instate camp which is for all Scouts is Camp Alexander, which is about 45 miles west of Colorado Springs. The dates for this camp are July 26 – August 1. We have signed up for a campsite that accommodates 21 to 27 people. So again, first come first serve. Here is a video about Camp Alexander https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lfDd-s9_AkQ See costs and payment dates below.

Camp Alexander in Colorado – July 26 – August 1 Maximum 27 slots

Total Costs Scout $320 Adult $235

Payment Schedule:

Initial deposit due upon sign-up $35

Due January 5, 2015 $75 per camper

Due March 2, 2015 $100 per camper

All remaining fees due April 27, 2015 $110 per scout, $25 per adult

Some merit badge costs are extra.

Boundary Waters: It is time to make your deposit of $100 so that the planning can start on crew make-up, transportation and entry points. As it now stands we have 19…only 8 scouts and 11 adults.. (Isn’t this supposed to be a trip for the older Scouts?). Parents need to understand and encourage the older scouts to attend.. where are all the 14-16 year old Scouts… It is the best way to keep those older scouts in Scouting and moving towards achieving Eagle. We need at least 5 more scouts to sign up so we can have 3 full crews of 8. The deadline has been extended to January 1^st. Please sign up or let me let me know if you are interested. The dates are 6/9/15-6/18/15, which includes one travel day each way to/from Minnesota. The final cost will be determined after we buy group-plane tickets, which won't be until spring, 2015, but the total cost will be about $900 per person. A deposit will be needed by 12/1/14 (expect about $100 down). This is a trip NOT to be missed by any Scouts at 14 ages or above (13 years old is allowed with a parent).

Big Horn Training. This is the preeminent Boy Scout leadership training. All the scouts that have attended this training have had a great time and found the training to be invaluable. All scouts who are 13 years old or older and have achieved at First Class can attend. I know I wish I had the opportunity to take this training when I was in school. Here is a link for more info: http://www.denverboyscouts.org/openrosters/view_homepage.aspx?orgkey=1897

As Scoutmaster of a very active troop, I am constantly being approached about our troop helping out in the community. The troop policy has been to give our Eagle projects the priority over any other service opportunities. Instead of bombarding you all with these other opportunities I will keep a list and if a scout wants to participate in a service project or he needs service hours for rank advancement, he can email me for the list.