Weekly Post, Week of April 14, 2013

Post date: Apr 14, 2013 3:41:52 PM

Greetings Troop 737! Last week, we complete a lot of planning, both at the scout level with the PLC, and the adult level with the ASM and Committee meetings. Please read this posting very carefully because a lot of information has been added.

Our next activity is the new scout campout. This is a critical campout for all first year scouts. At the conclusion of this campout, these scouts will have attained their Tenderfoot Rank, and make significant progress toward Second and First Class Ranks. They will also learn how to camp with Troop 737 so you can enjoy many years of camping with the troop using the troop and patrol methods. Our signup for this event is not what it should be, we do not have 100% of our new scouts signed up and committed to going. Also we are short some older scouts due to some recent Conifer High School testing preparation that was announced in the last few weeks. We are also encouraging new scout parents to come, see and learn also. We will cap off this campout with an 83.5 pound pig that we are planning to roast on Saturday. We really like to see as many first year scout parents as possible.

No less important to first year scouts is Summer Camp. We have two camps this year, one in Idaho and one in Colorado. The Idaho camp is capped now at 21 scouts. We have four HALOs that are busy planning this camp, but we are pretty sure that we will need one to two more drivers, each way. As you can imagine, we can’t go without the appropriate number of drivers. If your son is going and you can help drive and stay or drive and go, please let us know.

The real trouble we are having with summer camp is with Camp at Ben Delatour, west of Fort Collins. We have very few first and second year scouts signed up to go; currently the number is around seven. Furthermore, we only have two HALOs to help with planning and this is not enough. We will need to have all scouts that are not going to Idaho, and want to go to summer camp, sign up and pay, very soon. We also need more parent volunteers for this camp. We will need help with planning for a successful trip, and full parent volunteer coverage for the entire week. This coverage can be no less than four adults staying with the troop for the entire week. We can cycle adults in and out, as long as we have four adults for the entire week.

Final note for parents: This troop is lead by volunteers that are very busy with other aspects of their lives and families when they are not at scouts. I would like to ask all parents to be mindful of this and pick up your scouts on time. For the past several months, we have once again fallen into the routine that one or two scouts are picked up late from almost every meeting and event. This requires two adult leaders to stay until the last scout is picked up. I have personally spent about 30 to 45 minutes after meetings for each of the last four meetings alone. Please plan on being on time for pickup. It’s not OK to keep our volunteers on the hook every week!!!

Upcoming Signup Deadlines (see below for details):

· April 15^th is the final signup and payment for New Scout Campout!

· Summer Camps; signup and final payment due by May 1.

Service Patrol:

The service patrol for April is the Wolverines and Stags Patrols. All members of the Wolverines and Stags Patrols should be inside our meeting room no later than 6:15 PM to help set up for the meeting. The Serpents will be teaching the Barracudas how to be a service patrol in the future.

Please read below for details on upcoming events, and always stay current with our Troop Calendar on the web site. This is the best way to have the most current information.

Upcoming Activities:

Troop Meeting: Advancement & New Scout Campout Prep – Monday, April 15^th @ 6:30 to 8:00 PM at ELC:

· HALO: Mrs. Osborn

· Advancement: Merit Badges and Baden Powell

· Campout Prep for New Scout Campout.

· Scoutmaster Conferences; Chance Palmer, Nicholas Mizenko

New Scout Campout (NSC) – Friday, April 19 – Sunday, April 21:

· HALO: Mr. Westfall

· April is coming fast and for all you new Scouts, please do not hesitate to sign up.

· This is a *great* chance to quick start your achievement progress with some immediate requirements towards Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and even 1st class

· Activity areas include 1st aid, totin chip, fire man chit, map and compass, nature, cooking ropes and knots, a fort tour and some other surprises.

· And once again, Mr. Hoffman has graciously offered to do the traditional pig roast

· Our 18 year traditional location – Ft. Lupton

Troop Meeting: Scout Skills Night & Scout Show Prep – Monday, April 22^nd @ 6:30 to 8:00 PM at ELC:

· Advancement: Merit Badges and Baden Powell

· Scout Show Prep

· Scoutmaster Conferences

Scout Show – Saturday, April 27-10:00-4:00:

· HALO: Mr. Westfall

· Also in April is the annual Scout Show

· Who knows what this year brings but last year’s outdoor cooking demonstration featuring ‘Smacos’ was a huge success!

· We will need Scout volunteers to help set up, to run the booth and then take down

· Look for the sign-up sheet with time slots that work for you.

· The Scout Show is a tremendous opportunity for the *full* family to come and have fun including participating in games, archery, cooking demonstrations (a lot of great Scout cooking!), and much more

· Bring the whole family

· Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks

· Mr. Johnson has 100 Scout Show tickets to hand out for scouts to sell. These cards sell for $10 each and 50% goes to your account. This is a great fundraising opportunity that you can use to help pay for your summer camp. I am sure that your parents would appreciate the help

Swim Check & PLC Meeting – Monday, April 29^th @ 6:30 to 8:00 PM at Wulf Rec. Center:

· HALO: Mrs. Baty

· The swim check is for all scouts going to Delatour and all scouts that need their Second and First Class swim requirements. The details are being worked out so please stay tuned for more information soon.

· The PLC will need to meet and plan the next few meetings and campout.

Church Cleanup Day – May 4^th @ 8:00 to 12:00 PM at ELC

· HALO: Mr. Pond

· We are planning to cook our own lunch for this event, so we will need adult volunteers to get the food and do some cooking on the morning of the event.

· All scouts should put this event on the family calendar and plan on attending. This is one of three events that our chartered organization asks us to support. It is our responsibility to help the church and this is one way we show our support for all they do for us.

May Campout at Wellington Lake – Friday, May 17^th – Sunday, May 19^th:

· HALO: Mrs. Riley

· Mrs. Riley is looking into a new venue for our May campout. Steamboat will not work because the State Park is usually still under as much as four feet of snow in mid May. Stay tuned and we will let you know where we are going shortly.

Camp Ben Delatour Summer Camp, in state, July 14-20:

· HALO: Mr. Snyder, Mr. Gutierrez

· Camp Ben Delatour is in the Red Feather Lakes region west of Fort Collins. This camp is for first and second year scouts and any other older scouts that will be working on Trail to First Class and/or Merit Badges.

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Island Park Summer Camp, out of state, July 6-14:

· HALO: Mrs. Fizgerald, Mr. Kleist, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Wilkinson

· This out of state adventure is mostly for mostly older scouts, year three and up. This camp is outside the west entrance of Yellowstone and is a two day trip to and from camp. The troop leaves on Saturday, July 6, and arrives back on Sunday, July 14. It is a full 12 hour drive so we need parents to drive and stay for the week.

As always, please read the troop web site, especially the calendar, for the most current information on all upcoming and scheduled events.

Mr. Hoffman

Scoutmaster

Troop 737