Scoutmaster Notes

Hello all, some calendar details to share.

October 10 - 12:  Our next outing is the Peterloon camporee, at Camp Friedlander in Loveland.  Next Monday’s meeting will be outing planning, including menus.  Please plan on being there for the entire 7 - 8:30pm timeslot.

Parents Meeting:  One of the Mondays in October (we haven’t selected one yet) we will be having a parent’s meeting.  The next few months will be quite busy and we need to start setting dates for the various events.  I will let you know the precise date shortly, but I am hoping for the 13th of October if we can make the necessary arrangements.

7 - 9 November:  Camp Birch.  The weekend of Nov. 7-9 the boys will have the opportunity to earn their archery merit badge.  The troop has reserved the Miami campsite within the Camp Birch facility which is located in Yellow Springs, Ohio (about 1 hour away).  We are scheduled for archery in the morning and BB guns in the afternoon.  We need leaders for this event.  It’s easy to do and great fun.  Please come and join us!

10 November: We will have a special guest visit our regular scheduled meeting and discuss the points so the boys can earn their merit badge.  Also at this meeting will be a merit badge counselor.

Merit Badge Challenge:  24 January, 14 & 21 February — this is a two part announcement.  First, what is Merit Badge Challenge?  For the boys, it is an opportunity over three Saturday mornings to earn three merit badges (two of which can be Eagle-required badges).  This is held at Fairfield High School.  For the troop, this is our major fundraiser of the year.  We do not sell popcorn, we sell concessions for the three mornings and generally make enough to subsidize our year’s expenses.  All hands are needed for this to be a success;  parents, siblings, scouts not taking badges, etc.  PLEASE PUT THESE DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR NOW, 7:00 - 1:00 is approximately typical.   Second,  in order to take merit badges, the boys need to sign up, similar to the process for Summer Camp.  We’ve sent home a list of available merit badges and an application form.  Registration has opened and class assignments are on a first come, first served basis.  If you are going to attend Merit Badge Challenge to take merit badges, we need your paperwork NO LATER than Monday 13 October and next Monday is preferred.  The cost is $12 per scout, payable by check to “Merit Badge Challenge, BSA Fairfield HS”.  If you are not planning on taking badges, plan on coming to work!

5 - 6 December:  YMCA Overnight Lock-in.  This is an all-night swimming pool, soccer, and dodge ball event that the boys love to attend.  We need a minimum of two adult leaders who are willing to stay awake with the boys.  If we can get three adults, you can alternate naps!

I want to thank you all for the continued support.  I am quite pleased with our troop, we’ve got a great group of boys.  It’s time for us to help keep the Outing in Scouting!

Thanks to everyone who made it to the meeting tonight. Please remember, scouts meets all year long. Scouts, if you can not make the meeting, please let your patrol leader know in advance. THANKS.

Next week is our Court of Honor where badges, awards, and the like will be handed out to our scouts. Please plan on attending–normal time and normal place. Please also bring a snack or dessert to share. The troop will provide the beverages and utensils.

On that same subject, I need some help from the scouts, particularly the new scouts. Please look at your handbook, page 6, and let me know if you have the scouter requirements approved. Please email me this week with your status so that we can have the proper number of badges available next Monday.

In two weeks it is the summer camp parent’s meeting, normal Troop time and location. This is a mandatory meeting for the parents of all first time attendees and highly recommended for all others. The attendance of the boys is optional. Please put this on your calendar and plan on attending as we will be running through all of the particulars associated with summer camp and will be answering any questions you may have.

Thanks for your continued support–see you next week!

If you have spent any time in the troop, you will have quickly realized that email and email attachments are a primary form of communication.  In order to be compatible with the largest spectrum of computers, I try to always use PDF documents.  The downside with PDFs is that the most frequently recognized software for opening PDFs is Adobe Reader–a large, bloated program with repeated security flaws and no annotating capability.  As I consequence, I use and highly recommend Foxit Reader, which you can get here.  It is small, fast, simple and allows you to type on PDFs, making it convenient for filling out documents like permission slips.  Simply print before saving.  If you are a Linux user, this program runs just fine on Wine.

Being human, I do make mistakes and may send out a file as a spreadsheet or wordprocessor document.  The typical software for working with these files is Microsoft Office, which can be quite expensive.  Thankfully, there is a free alternative that works on most platforms and provides high-end functionality as well as compatibility with MS Office documents.  This is Open Office, which you can get here.   Now, I will not say this program is small, but it is full featured and will do just about everything you need at home and school and more.

With these two pieces of free software, you should be able to open and use all of the files that I may send or to which I may link.

Good luck

Susanne spent some time on the phone yesterday and has confirmed that we can attend the Ft. Hamilton Camporee at VOA park.

The weekend is still May 16 - 18.

Scouts should be receiving calls from their patrol leaders so that we can put together the attendance list.

Adults–we have to pay also, $12.95 per person, please let Susanne know that you will be attending so that we reserve the appropriate number of slots.  See your email for her email address.

We will also be looking for folks who will be there that weekend to be listed as the leader and to take responsibility for buying the adult patrol food.  The boy’s activities will be planned and the patrols will take care of their food.  This is a GREAT opportunity to see what is involved in pulling off a weekend.  The work is light and the fun quotient is high!

Many thanks to Susanne!

This past weekend we were talking about gear–what to buy, where to shop, how to find out where to best spend your money. As with many things, personal experience is a great guide, so discussing equipment options with the scouts and scouters (Scoutmasters) is a great place to start. I also use the internet quite heavily for research. Three of my ‘go-to’ sites are:

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/

http://www.thebackpacker.com/gear/

I am also a big fan of REI equipment and use the reviews on their site (http://www.rei.com/) for guidance.

If you have other sites that you use and trust, please comment back so that we can all share.

Well, we made it home. A great time was had by everyone. Wish you could have been there! Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

A few reminders and comments on dates, including possible outings/events:

-21 April (tomorrow) - Troop meeting. Summer camp payment and merit badge selections due.  Also, finial signup for the aviation merit badge.

-2 & 3 May - Newport Aquarium Scout Weekend–discount tickets for you and the family at the aquarium. Is anyone interested in making this a troop outing? My family will be going down Sunday afternoon.

-3 May:  Aviation Merit Badge.  Here are the details as I received them.  “Sporty’s at the Clermont County Airport is sponsoring a Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Day on Saturday, May 3rd from 9:00am to 2:00pm.  Just minutes off I-275! ”  It will be possible for registered scouts to earn the entire merit badge on this morning, though some prework is required.

-10 May - Great Miami Clean Sweep (8am - 12)–teams will be cleaning the length of the Great Miami river. Another great opportunity to earn service hours and to give back to the community. Is the troop interested in participating? Alex and I are currently planning on it for ourselves.

-16 - 18 May - Next Troop Outing. The plan is still to go caving but we are running out of time for someone to step forward to lead–if spaces in the caves are still available. If you have an alternate activity in which you would like to participate (hiking, camping, bike riding, etc.) please talk to Alex and I and we will look at alternatives. IF WE DO NOT GET LEADERS SOON, THIS OUTING WILL BE CANCELED.

-6 - 8 June - Ft. Ancient camping at Ft. Ancient. We help with their annual Pow Wow and this year are hoping to be earning the Indian Lore merit badge.

See you tomorrow evening. Please give consideration to helping to lead an outing. The boys will do most of the hard work but still need us adults to help out.

Folks,

The church just contacted me.  They are looking for help this Sunday moving furniture and setting up for the Interfaith Hospitality Network.  If you are available from 12 -2 on Sunday the 13th and interested in earning some service hours as well as the good will of the church, please let me know ASAP so that I can give them some idea of how many folks we can have there to help.

They will be re-arranging several of the church rooms, setting up beds, etc so skills (and strengths) of all ages will be appreciated.

Many thanks and see you this weekend!

Hello everyone,

Lot’s of calendar updates, so here goes:

12 April:  Dan Wagner Eagle Ceremony, Faith United Methodist 2 - 5pm.  Everyone is encouraged to attend.  This is a special ceremony and a great opportunity to see one of ours reach the height of scouting.  Scouts in their shirts and slacks, please, no jeans.

18 - 20 April:  Camping at Heuston Woods (near Oxford).  This is in place of the Camporee originally scheduled for the 25th - 27th.  The district moved the Camporee to May and so we have adjusted our plans.  Todd has a full schedule planned and it should be a great time.  I do need a co-leader for this event.  Jeff, we will need a permit and I would appreciate help with the drivers.

21 April:  Final payment for summer camp is due as are final merit badge selections.  Merit badge selections are to be reviewed with Mr. Wagner or Mr. Mickle.  Please make all checks payable to Troop 990.

3 May:  Aviation Merit Badge.  Here are the details as I received them.  I will be learning more shortly.
“Sporty’s at the Clermont County Airport is sponsoring a Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Day on Saturday, May 3rd from 9:00am to 2:00pm.  Just minutes off I-275! ”

Sign-up sheets will be available next week at our troop meeting.

16 - 18 May:  Caving outing.  For this one to come together, we very much need two adults to come forward to help arrange this weekend.  Alex, SPL, will help with researching and planning the activities.  The adults leaders (one of whom must be a BSA registered adult) will help with the logistics and making the actual reservations.  If no one steps up soon, this event will have to be cancelled!

Summer 2009:  Northern Tier High Adventure canoing and camping, Canada.  We are looking to arrange an outing next summer to the BSA Northern Tier station.  This is an outing open to scouts aged 13 and older.  Mr. Weber and Dan will be leading this outing.  More details will be forthcoming.  What is important at this time is that we determine how many folks are interested and willing to attend.  Please let me know if your scout would like to experience this wonderful opportunity to get into the back country as we need to make reservations very soon.

It is a busy time and our calendar reflects this.  I don’t know about you, but I am really looking forward to getting out and camping again.

In order for this to come together, though, we really need help with planning and leading the outings.  There are plenty of folks to help everyone learn the process, but we can not rely on the same folks planning and leading each event.  That is the surefire road to burnout!

Thanks to you all for your support!  The scouts and I appreciate it.

Here’s a common problem for new parents. Your son has just joined the troop and you stay to hear the announcements or to visit with other parents and it all sounds like Greek. Abbreviations and references that you’ve never before heard thrown around like you know what everyone is saying. This unwelcoming behavior is not intentional, please forgive us, we don’t even realize we are doing it. To help your transition from Webelos to Scouts, I will try to provide a decoder ring for common terms and slang that you are likely to hear and may be new to you.

• SPL: Senior Patrol Leader - this is the scout who is in charge of the troop. He organizes and leads each meeting and is responsible for the daily working of the troop.
• ASPL: Assistant Patrol Leader - this is the troop’s second in command and the right hand of the SPL. Together, they set the programming and see that the troop functions as they want it to.
• Scouter:  An adult volunteer
• Camporee: An gathering of multiple troops, usually sponsored by a District or Council. The organizing body (often a local troop) develops the programming for the weekend, usually a series of scout-related games and challenges.
• Peterloon: A large camporee sponsored by Dan Beard Council and held every other year at Camp Friedlander, usually in the fall. Troops come from across North America to attend this outing.
• Totin’ Chip: A card that represents approval to carry a pocket knife on a scout outing. This card is earned by a scout after they demonstrate and explain how to safely care for and use knives and axes. Until this card is earned, the scout may not bring or carry a knife on an outing.
• Firem’n Chit: A card that represents approval to carry matches and to light a fire on a scout outing. This card is earned by a scout after they have demonstrated and explained fire safety. Until this card is earned, the scout may not carry matches or tend a fire.
• High Adventure: Generally speaking, any event that has a higher level of risk, such as rock climbing, that requires special skills both for the scouts and the leaders. More specifically, this is used as a reference to one of the three scout reservations where specialized adventures are available for older scouts.
• Philmont: The BSA high adventure base in New Mexico. High altitude backpacking for boys 14 and older. Considered by many to be the ultimate scout experience.
• Northern Tier: The BSA high adventure base on the US/Canada border. One week or longer back-country excursions combining backpacking and canoing.
• Seabase: The BSA high adventure base in the Florida Keys. Scuba diving, island camping, and serving on the crew of a sailboat are activities here.
• Scoutmaster’s Conference: The first of two reviews completed by a scout before a new rank is granted. This is a discussion between the scout and a scoutmaster where the rank requirements may be discussed and provides the scoutmaster an opportunity to learn some more about the scout. If completed successfully (yes, you can fail these!), the Conference is followed by a Board of Review.
• Board of Review: The second of two reviews completed by a scout before a new rank is granted. This is a review by members of the troop committee and other non-scoutmaster parents where the development of the scout is reviewed. Upon successful completion of the Board of Review, the new rank is granted to the scout.
• Blue Card: The card (which is blue) used for tracking the status and completion of a merit badge. When signed by a Merit Badge Counselor, the blue card is the prime reference and proof that the merit badge has been successfully earned. Though registered with Council electronically, it is important that the scout keep their portion of the blue card as final proof of their accomplishment.
• Merit Badge Counselor: A registered adult who has indicated a specific interest in and willingness to teach a particular merit badge. Merit Badge Counselors may be associated with a specific troop or may offer their skills to the entire District or Council. When a scout indicates interest in working a specific merit badge, the Scoutmaster will provide a list of Merit Badge Counselors.
• Scoutstuff.org: The scout website where equipment, books, uniforms and other neat scout stuff may be researched and purchased.
• Meritbadge.com: The best website for anything associated with merit badges. All of the available merit badges are detailed, including the requirements and worksheets to simplify documentation.
• Service hours: Scouting is about giving back–to our others and to our community. One way this is reinforced is through the accumulation of service hours. These count toward rank advancement. Service hours must be approved by the Scoutmaster before they are accumulated and are to represent service to the community or to others.
• JLT: Junior Leadership Training. Now known as Troop Leadership Training, this is a troop-level all-day event where scouts are taught the fundamentals of leadership. Teamwork activities, strategies for leadership, and the proper functioning of a team are taught.
• NYLT: National Youth Leadership Training. A week long course on leadership run at the Council or National level. Youth are nominated by the Scoutmaster and spend a week experiencing what it means to be a leader of fellow scouts.
• Summer camp box: a large plastic lockable storage box used for carrying gear to summer camp. Also convenient for storing gear between outings. Mine is a 24 gallon box, approximately 26″x18″x17″, that I found at Walmart.
• OA: The Order of the Arrow. This is the Boy Scout Honor Society which promotes camping and community service. Becoming a full member is a multi-step process. A scout is first elected by a majority of the scouts in the troop. There is then a ceremonial Calling Out ceremony at a camporee or summer camp, followed by a weekend outing of service called the Ordeal, finished up by more community service, at which point the scout is a full member of OA, a lifetime honor.

Well, there are a few of the abbreviations, words, and phrases that have scout-specific meanings. If you come across others, please let me know and I will add them.

Your’s in Scouting.

With the transition to Boy Scouts and our focus on getting outside as often as
we can, there becomes the inevitable need for specialized equipment. It is
easy to focus on the big stuff, but it is really the smaller stuff that is
needed immediately. Here is a basic list of new scout equipment. With new
scouts that are soon going to be growing, I would recommend against going and
getting the best of the best. They’ll just grow out of it. Good quality is
more than sufficient. Ultra light weight will become a benefit when they are
14 and permitted to go on long back pack trips. Until then, go with simple.

Gear:

Mess kit and eating utensils. My personal preference is for simple, sturdy,and able to resist a campfire–a steel plate and stainless steel fork, knife,
and spoon (or pocket knife and spork) is the minimum. A small pot that can
serve as a single serving bowl is also convenient. A small stuff sack for
storage is recommended.
Sleeping bag with stuff sack (I use a 20 degree bag for most of the season)
Sleeping pad - high density foam is usually a good starting solution while
your scout is smaller and lighter. Inflatable backpacking pads will come
later as they gain size and weight.
Rain poncho
Liquid filled compass (similar to the one in the scout handbook)
Comfortable day pack (padded straps are a must and I personally prefer a
simple waist strap for supporting the weight)
Water bottle - 1 Liter in volume (the Nalgene type)
Duffle Bag of a size to carry the above plus two nights of clothing
Flashlight — an LED headlamp is popular with all of us and do not have to be expensive
Summer camp box (we’ll describe in more detail as we get closer to summer
camp)
Simple pocket knife with a 3 inch or shorter blade

Good references for the level of quality and expense for all of these
materials can be found at the scout shop or at scoutstuff.org, and you can
get them locally at Walmart, Meijers, Target, & Bass Pro.

Clothing:
The fundamental premise for clothing is that anything that traps moisture
close to the skin will cause problems ranging from blisters to frostbite.
Fundamentally, this means no cotton (though, admittedly, briefs are probably
OK, though they will promote chaffing in the summer) UnderArmor has the
right idea, but much more cost effective solutions can be found at Kohl’s and
Target (for example) particularly when they are running sales.

Scout Shirt
Moisture-wicking/synthetic undershirts (2)
Hiking socks - 2 pairs. My personal preference are thin synthetic liner socks
underneath heavier wool socks
Sturdy walking shoes/boots, sized to fit over the liner socks and wool socks
Non-cotton pants or exercise pants
NO JEANS
Stocking cap for winter (2) - one for wearing outside, one to keep dry and
wear at night
Cap with a brim for summer

When we get into colder weather, multiple layers are very, very important.
Personally, my layer system is:
-Synthetic t-shirt
-Synthetic thermal underwear, tops and bottoms
-Liner socks and wool socks
-Moisture-wicking nylon pants
-Polar fleece sweater
-Winter jacket
-Mittens
-Stocking cap
-Heavy hiking boots

Wow, quite the list, eh? So, where to start? For the first few outings,
the most important gear will be the mess kit, water bottle, sleeping bag,
sleeping pad, flashlight and the synthetic clothing necessary to stay dry and
warm. You can then add on a bit at a time as we work our way up to summer
camp where all of this gear will be used.

This is the scout-specific stuff. Personal hygiene gear such as soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste are assumed as necessary. Even though we scouts do tend to rely on the “man rules” of weekend cleanliness, nasty teeth are, well, nasty and not appreciated by anyone. We assume the boys know to take care of the minimums.