Camp Hart Fall Festival

Fall Fest 2012The Camp Hart Fall Festival was a great time for all who went.  There were 8 stations lined up that the boys went to. They started the day running the obstacle course and then hurdling over hay bales.  Then they moved on to the pumpkin carving station where in addition to carving a pumpkin in small groups they got treated to some apple cobbler and a few rounds at shooting tennis balls with a 3 person sling show. Next they made their way to the Leathercraft station and learned how to imprint on leather while making a little medallion for themselves. Afterwards they moved on to the ‘Safety and Targets’ station where they learned proper range etiquette, the safety rules for archery and bb-gun shooting and then they learned a bit about proper form and were able to draw their own bulls-eye targets.

Finally we had lunch but only half the day was done.  After getting their bodies refueled they moved on to the BB-Shooting range and got to fire a BB rifle for a few rounds.  For many of them, this was their first time.  After BB’s it was right on to the Archery range where they got to fire several arrows into the bulls-eye.  Mom’s and Dads alike had fun at these two stations.

After the shooting sports we moved on to the campfire station where the boys learned a few songs, a bit about outdoor interfaith religious services and more. And finally a long tiring day came to a close with the Map & Compass station where the boys got a brief introduction to using a map & compass and then had to go on a scavenger hunt finding clues using what they just learned.

Accomplishments

For those that attended, while having a day of fun, they fulfilled several requirements at the same time.

ALL

  • Outdoor Activity Award Requirements
    • Attend a day camp or resident camp
    • Participate in an outdoor activity
    • Participate in an outdoor campfire program
    • Participate in an outdoor sporting event
    • Participate in an interfaith outdoor worship service.
  • Archery Belt Loop
  • BB-Shooting Belt Loop

TIGERS

  • Elective 6: Song Time
  • Elective 35: Fun Outdoors

WOLVES

  • Requirement 2f: Participate in an outdoor flag ceremony
  • Requirement 5d: Show how to use a hammer.
  • Requirement 10c: … Go to a park or wooded area… with your family.
  • Requirement 11c: Give two ideas on how you can practice or demonstrate your religious beliefs. Choose one and do it.
  • Elective 11f: Sing a song with your den at a pack or meeting
  • Elective 12a: make a free hand sketch of a person, place or thing (bulls-eye targets)
  • Elective 20c: Archery Safety Rules.
  • Elective 23e: Attend a day camp in your area.
  • Elective 23g: Participate at a campfire
  • Elective 23h: Participate in an outdoors worship service

BEARS

  • Requirement 1b: list things you can do to practice your religion
  • Requirement 3i: participate in an outdoor flag ceremony
  • Requirement 10a: Go on a day trip or evening out with members of your family.
  • Requirement 12d: Attend an outdoor event with your family.
  • Elective 20a: Archery
  • Elective 25c: Participate at a campfire
  • Elective 25e: Participate in a religious service at a cub scouting event.
  • Elective 25f: Attend day camp in your area.

WEBELOS

  • Web Requirement 8e (2 & 6)
  • Artist Requirement 9
  • Craftsman Requirement 4 (1/4 of the requirement)
  • Sportsman Requirement 3: Belt Loops for two individual sports (archery & bb-shooting).

 

Webelos Progress October 15, 2012

On Monday the Webelos finished up their Fitness Activity Badge requirements with a discussion on drugs, alcohol and tobacco.  For those who did not finish their assignments or missed the first week of Fitness can review and complete this on their own. Please keep in mind that the Fitness Activity Badge is *REQUIRED* to earn the Webelos Rank.  We still have 13 boys that need to turn in their homework to complete this.

 

Pennypack Bridge

This is a great family event that celebrates some of our local history. The bridge was built in 1697 and is one of the oldest stone arch bridges still in continuous use.  The will be having activities and a dedication along with access to different exhibits, re-enactors, and historians.  George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and his wife will be there to meet and greet.

The event is this Saturday October 13th from 10am – 2pm. It is being held at the Frankford & Solly ave section of Pennypack Park. Parking may get difficult so I advise people to arrive a little early as the march across the bridge will begin promptly at 10am.

For more information you can check out the invite:  http://www.w3r-us.org/temp-web/pa-bridge_flyer2.pdf

Although this is not an official pack event there is much for your scout to learn and achieve by visiting the bridge. Also if your scout wears his Class A uniform he will have an opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt and upon completing the hunt he will be awarded a special bandana.

 

Tigers:

1g Historical building

 

Wolves:

4f Historic Location

10c plan a walk. Go to a park with your family

10f Live program

 

Bears:

3b Learn about 2 famous Americans and tell about things they did to improve our way of life

3d Visit a place of historical interest

8e Find out about some history about your community

10a Go on a day trip with your family

12d Attend an outdoor event

 

Webelos Progress Report – October 8, 2012

Fitness Activity BadgeYesterday The Webelos 1 and new Webelos 2 boys reviewed the Bobcat requirements and worked on their Fitness Activity Badge.

In our den meeting we discussed what fitness means, the importance of both physical and mental fitness, how mental and physical fitness work together, we talked about building a safety notebook at home and what should go into it, we covered meal planning and how to use the food pyramid to assist, we also covered portion sizes and the importance of reading food labels.

Next week we will finish off the discussions one what some of the terms on the labels mean, the effects of tobacco, alcohol and drugs on the body; physically and mentally and then move on to the Athlete Activity Badge.

The boys *DO HAVE HOMEWORK*

  1. They need to read the Fitness chapter in their handbooks.
  2. They need to complete fitness requirements 2-8.
  3. Review the Athlete chapter in their handbooks.

 

After next week’s discussion, assuming your son has turned in his handouts, he will have earned his fitness activity badge.  For those boys who missed last nights meeting, they can complete the fitness requirements with the assistance and guidance of a parent.

The Handouts

Meal Plan & Record
Fitness Talk Sign Off Sheets

Additional Resources

How to Protect Your Child From Child Abuse
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/index.html
Kids Health : Smoking Stinks
Kids Health: Alcohol Dangers
Kids Health: What You Need To Know About Drugs
Choose To Refuse (Formerly Take A Stand Against Drugs! for Requirement 8)

Webelos At Fort Mifflin – Bring Your Books

Webelos BadgeIf you are in one of the Webelos Dens and you bring your book with you to Fort Mifflin, the Scoutmaster from Troop 500 will sign off on your camping with a Boy Scout Troop requirement as well as other related requirements.

So be sure to bring your books.  If you do not yet have a book you can either pick one up at the Scout Store downtown or DiGuilios on Frankford Ave.

Welcome To A New Scouting Season!

The title says it all!  Welcome back to a new scouting season.  In addition to welcoming back our returning scouts we would also like to wish the best to our scouts who crossed over into the Boy Scouts.  Your pack wishes you the best of luck and hopes you enjoy your learning experience in the Boy Scouts.

We hope everyone had a great summer and enjoyed the summer activities that we had planned for you.  We would love to get your feedback on our summer activity line up.  Below is a recap of our summer activities for those who may have missed some of them.

New Season

As we get back into the swing of things with our weekly meetings starting back up on Monday September 10th. For our returning scouts there will be no delay in extracurricular scouting activities as we start the season with our Fort Mifflin camping trip on Sept 21st. What a great way to start another fun filled season.

The beginning of the season is also the best time for your boys to bring in any friends or family interested in scouting. If anyone they bring joins and pays their dues for the year your son will earn his recruiter badge.

During this time we will have a lot of new scouts showing up with an interest in scouting. We expect that our seasoned scouts will exhibit the core values of scouting and help make the new scouts feel welcome. They should take the time to introduce themselves, introduce new boys to other pack members & leaders, as well as assist them with earning the Bobcat rank. This common courtesy also covers requirements for the various ranks; for example

  • Tigers: Elective 9, Help a new boy get to know other people.
  • Wolves: Elective 22e. Invite a boy to join Cub Scouting or help a new Cub scout through the Bobcat trail.
  • Bears: Achievement 24a, Help a by join Cub Scouting or help a new Cub scout through the Bobcat trail.

This year we will be working on having monthly Pack meetings, to be held the first Monday of every month except where noted otherwise due to a short month or a holiday.  The goal is award boys their accomplishments on a more regular and timely basis. It also serves as a great opportunity for the parents to see what their boys have accomplished throughout the course of the year as well as provide more opportunity for the boys to show off their talents and skills.

We look forward to seeing you all in a week or so.

Summer Recap

Summer Activities

June

We started off the summer with a district hosted ‘Cub Scout Bullseye Shootout’ in early June at Camp Hart where the boys got to engage in a variety of age appropriate shooting activities such as archery, archery games, bb shooting, slingshots, zyclones, water pistols and the obstacle course that had them nice and tired for the ride home. Towards the end of the month we took part in one of the Scout Nights at the Camden Riversharks which included the game, dinner, a fireworks display, a movie with snacks, camping in the outfield, breakfast and a baseball clinic run by the players.

July

July is the month of summer camps so we only had a night of bouncing and climbing at BounceU towards the end of the month.   We had 2 boys attend Summer Day camp and 1 attend Summer Resident Camp where they got incredible head starts towards their rank before the scouting season even started having earned several belt loops, pins, activity badges and completing a variety of requirements & electives.

August

In August we had a camping trip at the Renaissance Faire which for a mere $10 including a night of camping and a day at the Renaissance Faire, which itself is normally around $40 per person.  Then we closed out the Summer with a great hike in Wissahickon Park.

 

National Summertime Activity Award

National Summertime Activity Award Certificate

Pack 155 is proud to have earned the National Summertime Activity Pack Award by hosting at least 3 summertime activities, one each in the months of June, July, and August. We did double that by having two events in June & August while keeping only 1 in July due to summer camps that month.

In June we went to the CubScout Bulls-eye Shootout and to the Scout Night at The Camden Riversharks.  In July we went to BounceU.  In August we camped out at the Renaissance Faire and went Hiking in Wissahickon Park.

National Summertime Pack Award StreamerHere are some statistics on a pack level;

  • 65% of our boys participated in a Summer Scouting Activity of some sort.
  • 60% of our boys participated in Pack Summer Activities.
  • 55% attended 3 or more Pack Summer Activities.
  • On average, 57% of the pack was active through Summer
  • July was our most active month with 60% participation
  • Our most popular events were BounceU at 55% and the Shootout and Hike at 45%

National Summertime Den Participation RibbonRecognition doesn’t end there. 3 of our dens earned the National Summertime Den Participation Ribbon for having a 50% or better participation rate. The Tiger Den (now the Wolf Den), the Bear Den (now Webelos 1), and the Webelos 1 Den (now Weblos 2) earned this ribbon.

For those of us who like numbers;

  • The Bear den (now Webelos 1) was the most active den at 70% participation.
  • The most active den in a given month was the Bears at 78% in July.
  • The most active den at a given event was the Bears with 67% participation at both BounceU and the Hike.

The Scouts

Lastly and most importantly, we’d like to thank the boys and parents who participated with us. Ten of our boys earned the National Summertime Activity Pin for their rank by attending at least 1 event in each of the Summer months. There were 3 Tigers, 1 Wolf, 5 Bears and 1 Webelos earning their pins.  While they did not earn the pin we did have 3 other boys participate in Summer activities. One attended 3 pack activities; 2 in June and 1 in July. One attended 2 pack activities, both in August and a 3rd boy attended Summer Camp in July.

Tiger National Summertime Award Pin

Tiger National Summertime Award Pin

Wolf National Summertime Award Pin

Wolf National Summertime Award Pin

Bear National Summertime Award Pin

Bear National Summertime Award Pin

Webelos National Summertime Award Pin

Webelos National Summertime Award Pin

 

 

Hiking Success!

First I would like to thank all those who attended the hike. It was a tough call waiting until the last minute to decide if we were going to hike or not but God was rooting for us and the weather panned out nice.  We got off to a late start and covered three miles.  While it was about 2 miles less than planned we did hit some pretty rugged trails making those 3 miles easily feel like 5-6; some of those climbs definitely got the heart pumping making for a great little work out for all.

Naturally we took several hydration breaks, had a nice lunch 130′ feet up at Indian Lookout and explored nature learning about poison plants, the state flower and more.  we had a decent turn out of family members who joined us as well; parents, grandparents and siblings.

We’d like to thank everyone that came out.  Due to your participation in today’s hike the pack met all requirements for the National Summertime Activity Award acknowledging that our pack offered a quality year round program.  50% of our scouts earned the individual national summertime award by participating in one pack activity a month through June, July & August and a couple of our Dens also earned the honor by having a 50% participation rate, meaning at least half of the den attended at least 1 activity per month.

Tomorrow’s Hike – Weather Warning

The safety of the boys is of utmost importance however there are conflicting weather reports as to when the storms will stop.  Therefore we will make the call tomorrow morning and send out notifications via the site, facebook, twitter and email informing you of our decision to either reschedule or proceed.

PLEASE BE SURE TO KEEP AND EYE OUT ON EMAIL AND THE SITE FOR AN UPDATE!!!

2012 Summer Day Camp Summary

Cub Scout InvestigatorsThe Roosevelt District just wrapped up its Summer Day Camp held at the Torresdale Boys Club.  It was a blast for all who participated; cubs, leaders & parents alike.  Summer Camp is not only a great source of summer fun, but it is a tremendous opportunity for the Cub Scouts to get a head start towards their new rank before the new scouting season even starts.

Pack 155 had two boys in attendance; Jared Wonsor who recently moved into the Bear den after earning his Wolf rank and Tommy Sytsma who recently crossed over into the Webelos Den after earning his Bear rank.  Two adult volunteers, two youth volunteers and a young sibling also represented Pack 155 at the Summer Day Camp.  Cubmaster Tom Sytsma and Den Leader Karen Wonsor volunteered a full week of their time as staff members for the camp while their daughters, Avery (12) and Brianna (17) gave up a full week of their Summer break to volunteer as den chiefs.  Tom’s 5 year old, Aedhan, attended as part of the Kiddie Korner which is a program for siblings not yet old enough to participate as scouts.

In order to promote future Summer Camps and try to increase pack participation and maximize opportunities for our members we felt it would be a great idea to fill you in about our week and show you what the boys accomplished in as little as 5-6hours/day for 4 days with the 5th day being pure fun & games culminating in the closing ceremony.

The typical day starts at 9:00 am with the opening where the boys are given water bottles to maintain hydration. These bottles can be filled at the various stations throughout the day.  After the opening, the dens split going to different stations.  They meet up as a group for an hour of pool time and again for lunch. Some days also have special programs for the boys to enjoy. The day ends around 3:15 pm to close out the day.

There were five stations  that the boys rotated through, aside from lunch and the swimming pool.  They were Archery (an obvious favorite), Arts & Crafts, Science & Nature, Scout Skills, and Games & Sports .  With the theme of the camp being CSI: Cub Scout Investigators our special programs were K9 demonstrations & Crime Scene Investigation discussions held by the Philadelphia Police Department.

Friday is the only day that alters from the routine. After the opening ceremony the battle begins. It is an all out water war with *EVERYONE* being fair game.  Unless you are in the rec center or in one of the safe zones, the kids have the freedom to attack you without repercussion. It is 3 hours of water guns, water balloons, buckets of water and if the fire department isn’t on call, they bring a fire truck out and let the hose rain down on the kids.  At noon, a cease fire is called and lunch begins. After lunch everyone at camp is treated (Rita’s water ice this year) and then the closing ceremonies begin.

The closing ceremonies involve each den performing a skit or song, with a few other seasoned scouters doing a few run off skits of their own.  Lastly everyone is awarded their diplomas, certificates of recognition and if they scored some bulls-eyes, a bulls-eye aware from the Archery Instructors.

So what did the boys (L)earn???

I will list what each rank covered and if any of our boys were part of that rank who they were. There is a lot of overlap which isn’t reported here as we are still trying to find out what requirements are the same for multiple things. For example, earning the Astronomy Belt loop serves as one of the requirements to earn the Scientist Activity Badge for Webelos.

Tiger Den

These are the boys who are brand new to scouting and will be entering their pack for the first time in September. They would either be 7 years old or entering 1st Grade in September.  Summer Camp is a huge advantage for these boys as they will have gained some familiarity with the Cub Scout Program by being actively involved in a fun setting before their first year even begins.  Oh and you read that correctly, the tigers completed certain electives multiple times and in different ways.

  • Bobcat Requirements: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 – Bobcat Badge COMPLETED
  • Tiger Requirements: 2d, 5f, 5d, 5g
  • Tiger Electives: 2, 9, 19, 22 (5 times), 29, 31, 32, 33 (2 times), 34, 35 (3 times), 40 (5 times), 47 (2 times)
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate (Frisbee), Weather, Wildlife Conservation,
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Wolf Den

These are the boys who earned their Tiger rank and will working towards their wolf rank starting in September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 8 years old or entering 2nd grade in September.

  • Bobcat Reviewed
  • Wolf Requirements: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 1j, 1l, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 3b, 3c, 5e, 7b, 7f
  • Wolf Electives: 4a, 4c, 4e, 4f,  9b, 12a, 14d, 18g, 20a, 20h, 20i, 20k, 20l, 23b, 23c, 23d, 23e
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate (Frisbee), Weather, Wildlife Conservation,
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Bear Den

These are the boys who earned their wolf rank and will now be working towards their Bear rank come September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 9 years old or entering 3rd grade in September.

Jared Wonsor participated as a member of this Den.

  • Bear Requirements: 5b, 5c, 5e, 6d, 6e, 15b, 15c, 16a, 16b, 16c, 18c, 19a, 19d, 21a, 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 23c
  • Bear Electives: 6a, 6c, 6f, 6g, 12
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Basketball, Kickball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Weather, Wildlife Conservation
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11

Webelos Den

These are the boys who earned their bear rank and will be working towards their Webelos rank in September *or* have already earned their Webelos rank and will be working towards their Arrow of Light come September. If any of these boys are brand new to scouting then they would either be 10 or 11 years old or entering the 4th or 5th grades in September.  Where as the other dens have requirements and electives, the Webelos have Activity Badges which they have to complete in order to earn their Webelos Badge and ultimately their Arrow of Light.

Tommy Sytsma participated in this den.

  • Webelos Badge Requirements: 3, 4, 7a, 7b, 7c
  • Activity Badge Requirements:
    • Citizen 3, 4, 5
    • Forester: 9
    • Naturalist (COMPLETE):  1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
    • Outdoorsman: 5, 7, 9, 10
    • Readyman: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
    • Scientist (COMPLETE): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12
    • Sportsman (COMPLETE): 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Belt Loops
    • Archery, Astronomy, Baseball, Basketball, Flag Football, Kickball, Marbles, Science, Soccer, Table Tennis, Weather, Wildlife Conservation
  • Cub Scout Academic & Sports Pins
    • Archery Pin Requirement 1, 3
    • Science Pin Requirement 10, 11