Weekly Post, Week of March 4, 2012

Post date: Mar 5, 2012 12:18:09 AM

Greetings Troop 737! Wow, what a busy last few weeks. We had the Klondike, several crossovers, Fitness merit badge kickoff and the new scout orientation. March and April are starting to look equally busy, starting with the Quinzee campout. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do so this week as we are into Campout Prep and final planning.

I would like to remind everyone going to Peaceful Valley summer camp that the second summer camp payment is due March 5^th. The amount is: $75 if you have paid the $30 deposit and $105 if you are just signing up and/or have not yet paid anything.

This week we have our Troop Elections and Quinzee Campout Preparation meeting. We will hear from out SPL candidates and then elect one of them. During the ballot counting, you will meet as patrols and elect your Patrol Leaders and assistants. After the ballots have been counted, your current SPL will announce the next SPL and then the two of us will pick the rest of the leadership positions some time during the week. There will still be some time to sign up for leadership positions prior to the start of the elections. We will also conduct the Quinzee preparation some time while the ballots are being counted.

The church office has asked me to let you know that for the next couple of weeks, we're having a silent auction to benefit the kid's mission trip to Ecuador this summer and all the items are set up in Fellowship Hall against the windows. Parents are welcome to bid on the items but please remind the scouts not to touch anything.

For Life Scouts looking for an Eagle Project, I have the following information from Troop 400 Scoutmaster, Mr. Buckles: Janet Shone (jansho@yahoo.com) is in charge of Beaver Ranch Park and has some great opportunities for foothills camping, service projects and Eagle projects. Troop 400 has done a number of Eagle projects at the park and I wanted to pass along the contact information for your reference.

Finally, I have made a mistake in changing the date of our next advancement meeting before confirming with Mrs. Anderson. I am going to talk to her and the other ASMs and see what adjustments to the March calendar need to be made to accommodate the JLT and PLC meetings and the advancement meeting. Stand by for more changes.

Uniforms:

Reminder, below is the schedule for the Uniform Table at regular troop meetings for the rest of the year.

· March 19^th

· April 9^th

· May 7^th

I want to remind everyone that they must have at least one Class B, uniform Tee Shirt, and I know that many of last year’s new scouts don’t have these yet. I recommend two for every scout going to summer camp! There are also a variety of other scout uniform items including troop hats, sweat shirts, neckerchiefs, etc. Please plan on stopping by next time it is set up:

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.

Service Patrol:

The service patrol for February will be the Thigers!! All members of the Nuclear Flaming Eagles Patrol should be inside our meeting room no later than 6:15 to help set up for the meeting.

Upcoming Activities and Sign up & Payment Deadlines:

Personal Fitness Merit Badge – March through May ELC

· HALO: Mrs. Roche

· Please see her separate email.

· Here is the schedule, these dates are also on the calendar:

o Tuesday March 13th @ 7:00 PM – Progress testing and requirement #’s 2 & 3. (Please note TUESDAY not Thursday)

o Thursday March 29th @ 7:00 PM – Progress testing and requirement #’s 4 & 5. (this is Spring Break week, don’t worry if you miss)

o Thursday April 12th @ 7:00 PM – Progress testing and requirement # 1.

o Thursday April 26th @ 7:00 PM – Progress testing and requirement # 9.

o Thursday May 10th @ 7:00 PM – Progress testing only.

o Friday May 25th @ 7:00 PM – REQUIRED! Final testing and requirement # 8.

Troop Meeting – Troop Elections - March 5, 2012 at ELC:

· HALO: Mrs. Roche

· From Mrs. Roche:

Troop elections are coming up on Monday, March 5^th. Most rank advancements (Star, Life & Eagle) require that a scout hold a leadership position for 6 months. This is your chance to sign up for a leadership position and fulfill the rank advancement requirement. Please go to the troop website (www.themountaintroop.com) and click on Scout Positions under the Leadership/Volunteering heading along the left side of the home page and read about the positions available. There will be descriptions and sign up sheets at the next couple of Monday meetings.

SM & ASM & HALOs for Upcoming Events Meeting/Committee Meeting - March 8th, 2012 at 6:30 at ELC:

Once again, I would like to build on the success of our last SM & ASM & HALOs for Upcoming Events Meeting & Committee Meeting and again have as much parent participation as possible. There is a lot to talk about and plan for in the coming months. I will have much more information next week, but if you are a HALO of an event in the next month or so, please plan on coming and helping.

· The ASM meeting starts at 6:30 PM: Need to discuss upcoming events with HALOs.

· The committee meeting starts at 7:00 PM: Need to discuss troop business vital to running the troop for the next month and into the future; finances, advancement meetings, summer camp, etc.

If you have never been to one of these meetings, please come by and see what we do and give us your ideas! I will send out an agenda for these meetings by next weekend.

Quinzee Campout – March 10 & 11, 2012 at Tahosa:

· Sign up deadline March 5^th.

· HALO: Mr. Trower

· Cost: $15 for meals and transportation costs.

· We will meet very early on Saturday Morning. Exact time is still TBD.

· Here is an email from Mr. Trower:

The Troop quinzee campout at Tahoso is quickly coming up, Saturday morning, the 10th of March, returning Sunday afternoon the 11th. All scouts and adults that have winter camp training are welcome to attend. This is always a great event. Please sign up at this Monday's meeting to attend. The camp fee is just $15. During the Troop meeting on the 5th, we will do our camp prep for food and equipment. I will also be going over the proper way to build a safe quinzee. I look forward to seeing you then,

Luther Trower

Troop 737 Quinzee Camp HALO

Troop Meeting – Guest speaker; Mr. Furman - March 12, 2012 at ELC:

· More details soon.

JLT/PLC (Junior Leader Training and Patrol Leader Council) – Saturday March 17, 8 AM to about 11 AM at ELC:

· More Details shortly, but we will try to get both meetings done at the same time. I know that last PLC decided to hold a separate PLC, but calendar decisions may force us to combine them. We will talk at the committee meeting and see what we can work out.

Peaceful Valley Summer Camp; July 08 to 14, 2012:

· HALOs: Steve Stalter and Allan McCabe

· The Signup and Payment Deadlines are rapidly approaching. The HALOs will be getting the registration login information soon and shortly after that will begin inputting names. Registration for Merit Badges is still a few months away, but you want to have your name entered so that on the day registration opens, the HALOs will be able to sign you up for your first choices.

· Cost: The fee for each scout for summer camp is $250. A$30 deposit is required for each scout to put their names in and we can register scouts on the Peaceful Valley Web Site as we get the deposit. The payment schedule is as follows:

o As soon as possible, a $30 deposit. We will register scouts by name as soon as we get this deposit

o March 5^th, 30% including the $30 deposit.

o April 2^nd,the next 30%

o May 7^th, the final 30%

o The fee for the adults still needs to be determined by the number going. We get the first two slots for free, so we have some options.

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.

Wood Badge Training - This course is offered in two parts. You must attend both weekends. Friday-Sunday April 13-15, 2012 and April 27-29, 2012.

Please go to this link for more details and registration information: http://www.timberlinedistrict.com/registration/calendardetail.asp?ActivityKey=1045319.

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