Weekly Post, October 02, 2011

Post date: Oct 2, 2011 10:49:38 PM

Greetings Troop 737! Congratulations again to all of our new troop leaders and to those leaders that have successfully finished their terms. I am in the process of updating the web site with all this information and hope to have it done by tomorrow evening. In the meanwhile I have attached my working spreadsheet to this web page and email for your reference.

Yesterday we held our Junior Leader Training run by our outgoing SPL, Addison Trower. He did an absolutely fantastic job leading this meeting and passing on his leadership knowledge. This was a great way to end his tour of service as SPL. Addison has agreed to be a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, a role I am sure he will do great in.

Popcorn selling is winding down; please keep up with information by reading Mrs. Barber’s emails and at Circle time.

I have made some changes to the calendar for this October as follows:

  • The Wilderness Survival Campout will start on Saturday Morning at about 6:30 AM, and go to Sunday at 1 PM. We may change the meet time after talking about it at the campout prep.
  • The regular meeting on October 10th has been changed to a PLC.
  • The SM/ASM & Committee Meeting has been moved from October 13th to October 20th due to a conflict with a band competition.

Service Patrol:

The service patrol for October is the Serpents, Please show up in force early and help set up the room for our meeting.

Sign up & Payment Deadlines:

  • Wilderness Survival Backpack Camp Out - Last day to sign up is October 3rd Meeting. The cost has now been fixed at $10 for Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. More details are below and at campout prep tomorrow. Mr. Wickham has come up with a great idea where we can learn some real survival skills.
  • Denver after Dark is rapidly approaching. October 3 is also the last night to sign up and pay for this activity. See Mr. Johnson for details.
  • There are several Merit Badge Colleges offered on October 15th, if you want to go, buddy up and carpool, but sign up first. You can go to the Denver Area Council Web Site to sign up for the badges you want to take. Do it soon.
  • University of Scouting is on October 22, and again, you can sign up at the Denver Area Council Web Site. This is a great way to get adult leader training for Committee Members and for Assistant Scout Masters. Please see me for details; I have been to several of these. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go to this one because of the State Band Championships.

Troop News:

Every scout and scouter in the troop will have to fill out the BSA National Health form ASAP. The council and district will no longer accept the older Colorado From. I will attach the current form to this posting for your use. I will let Tom Smith give you all the details, but just know this, you do not have to go out and get a physical right away if you are not due. For activities less than 72 hours, you can fill out and sign Part A and B.

Upcoming Activities:

Fall 2011 - Scoutmaster Invitational: Will be rescheduled in some form, later in the autumn. I thought I would take you all to the scout day at the US Air Force Academy Football game, but that is the same weekend as the Indigo Mountain campout. I am still working on an idea.

October 03, 6:30 PM at ELC - Regular meeting: Campout Prep.; I would also like to remind the SPL and ASPL for Meetings to make sure that they come up with an alternative activity for those scouts not going on the compout. The campout prep will take some time to complete; we have a lot to go over. I am also doing a Scoutmaster Conference with Ryan Harrington.

October 8-9, Wilderness Survival Campout. Mr. Wickham and Mr. Trower have put together the following plan:

Here is the setup:

You are about to go on a trip to a cabin in Michigan Creek area north of Jefferson Colorado. The cabin has everything you’ll need – clothing, food, cooking gear, water, even a phone. However, the road is very rough, with several water crossings, so there is a possibility that the vehicles will break down and we won’t make it. If this does happen, we will need to be prepared to find our way out while relying on our wilderness survival skills. Depending on the circumstances, we will need to be prepared to build a shelter, build a fire using different ignition sources, cook over an open fire, find a way to sanitize water we might find, and build a solar still if we can’t find any water.

To prepare for the trip, each scout and adult will need to bring their ten essentials in a small day backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, a tarp big enough for yourself, or yourself and a buddy, and one additional small container we will provide beforehand for you to pack with what you think you should bring. We’ll also pack one large Tupperware bin with emergency supplies. We will discuss all of this and what to put in your container on Monday at Campout Prep. The adults will need to bring some other food just in case we break down. The vehicles will have some things we might be able to use; one has several pots, an axe, and a few tarps.

We will meet at the church at about 6:30 AM for a departure shortly after. Each scout should be in their day clothing, not class A uniforms. You should have eaten breakfast and have your lunch with you in your pack as part of your ten essentials. I recommend things like jerky, nuts, trail mix, dried fruit and a small amount of candy, like snickers. Make sure that you have enough for your lunch and for "survival" for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. The trip to the cabin is in early October, so it is expected to be cold. Dress accordingly.

October 10, 6:30 PM at ELC – PLC Meeting to plan October and early November activities. If you are on the PLC, please attend in class A uniforms.

October 24, 6:30 PM at ELC - Regular meeting: Introduction to Patrol Method. The new PLC will be organizing the troop with a strong emphasis on the patrol method. Don’t be too surprised to see some big changes, including patrol meetings! We will use this meeting to get started.

November 4th and 5th at ELC: Winter Camp training. Winter Camp Training is required for all scouts and adults that will camp in the winter months; November - March. This one time training starts on Saturday morning for trainees, and includes a lunch prepared by our master scout and adult chefs. Expert training is conducted by Boy Scout experts that are very experienced in winter camping. Trainers will show up on Friday evening to prepare for the next day's training activity, and will sleep over with snacks and movies. Exact time and details will be worked out in October.

November 11 – 13 Indigo Mountain Cooking and Service Campout. Mr. Wulff is the HALO for this event and I would like to request his help. I am having trouble contacting the Indigo Mountain Nature Preserve; I have left more than a few messages with no call back coming. I am now getting a little worried about this. Perhaps Mr. Wulff or someone else who has spoken to them can work on this until we get through.

District and Council News and Upcoming Activities:

2012 Big Horn Information: Summer 2012 dates are posted. If you are interested, more information will posted as it comes out. This training is required for all Scouts desiring to hold the Senior Patrol leader position.

Denver After Dark, October 14-15: Mr. Johnson is the HALO for this event and will have more information shortly. See the calendar and attachment for details.

University of Scouting, October 22, 7:30 AM to 4 PM: This is a great adult leader training opportunity. I will be going and would gladly share a ride with scouters from our trop. ASMs can get their training as well as a large variety of other topics. I think I am going to take CPR to get ready for Philmont. If you are interested, please see me if you are interested.

There is much more, but too much for now. I will post these in the coming weeks so we have a full list of District and Council events.

Please make sure that you keep an eye on the calendar and your emails, and I will see you soon.

Mr. Hoffman

Scoutmaster