2017 Fort Washington Camping Trip

Cub Scout Pack 155 Tent CampingOur Fort Washington camping trip is rapidly approaching and it is time to start getting a headcount to ensure we have ample supplies for the event.  Specifics about the location, directions, and such can be found on the calendar event linked above.

The camping trip is from Friday May 5th through Sunday May 7th at Fort Washington State Park.  We will be camping at Site A and the cost of the camping trip is $20 per person which includes all meals for the weekend: Friday Night Cracker Barrel; Saturday Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Campfire Snacks; and Sunday Breakfast.

We have started collecting headcounts at the last meeting and will need final headcounts and payments by Monday May 1st.

It is always suggested that families bring a case of water. Additionally here are the supplies list below

Outdoor Essentials for Cub Scouts

  • Personal first aid kit
  • Filled water bottle
  • Flashlight with spare bulb and batteries
  • Whistle
  • Rain Gear
  • Sunscreen
  • Trail Food
  • Map & Compass

With permission and appropriate training:

  • Pocketknife (Whittling Chip required for scout activities)

** If you or your scout require any medications please be sure to bring them and store them in a zip lock bag **

What you have above, is the basics necessary for taking care of yourself outdoors. It is vital to always have the above with your regardless of the activity type you are participating in.

Now for our camping trip the following items, in addition to the items above, are necessary for this weekend to be a successful and safe weekend.

  • Backpack for your gear
  • Class A Uniform/Class B Uniform
  • Scout Uniform hat or billed hat (ball cap)
  • A knit cap is great to sleep in if you get cold easily
  • Clothes to sleep in (pajamas or sweats)
  • Sweatshirt and/or Jacket
  • Hiking boots (it is recommended that you scotchguard them)
  • Rain Gear (jacket and pants preferred over poncho)
  • Extra shoes, socks & underwear.
  • Extra set of clothes
  • Tent, poles, and stakes
  • Waterproof ground cloth (tarp or plastic sheet)
  • Sleeping bag +20 degree recommended (if it has cartoons or super-heroes on it it is NOT a sleeping bag)
  • Sleeping Pad
  • Pillow
  • Extra blanket (optional but could be necessary).
  • Insect Repellent
  • Sunscreen
  • Cup or Mug and Mess Kit
  • Toilet paper (remove tube, crush and put in zip lock bag) this is a must have !!!
  • Toothbrush and Toothpaste
  • Soap, washcloth, towel
  • Cub Scout Handbook (in plastic bag)
  • Good Attitude!

OPTIONAL FAMILY ITEMS

  • Camp/Lawn chairs
  • Lantern
  • cooler/ice chest

Please note, that even though that this camping trip is at the beginning of May, it can still get quite chilly at night. Be prepared!

Pinewood Derby Weigh-In

For those that would like to preregister for the derby this weekend, we will have the scales available at the scout hall tonight from 7:30p – 8:30p in the Boy Scout Room. You can check the weight of your car and if it is ready to go you may register it tonight so you are all set for Saturday morning.

 

 

2017 Pinewood Derby

Let's Get Down and DerbyThree weekends ago we held our held our sixth annual Pinewood Derby Workshop. It went really smooth and we had a great turn out this year. Several boys and their parents took advantage of the opportunity to get some pinewood derby tips, choose a design, get their cars cut out and sanded down.  Afterwards they had last week and the rest of this week to get their cars painted, add the wheels and get ready to race.

This year’s Pinewood Derby is this upcoming Saturday, April 22nd.  Vehicle registration and weigh in will start at 10:00 AM and end promptly at 11:00 AM.  The Pinewood Derby itself will begin at 11:00 AM with the first heat running at 11:15 AM.

REMEMBER, ALL CARS MUST BE REGISTERED AND WEIGHED IN BY 11:00 AM — NO EXCEPTIONS.

Once the race begins new cars will not be accepted under any circumstance.  The software we use to generate the race schedule uses an algorithm that guarantees each car runs on each track at least once and races against different cars each race.  It is impossible, once the first race begins, to add new vehicles to the lineup without starting all over and invalidating the results of any races that already had taken place.   We do not have the time to start over nor is it fair to the scouts who were on time. Therefore we will not be doing so.

SCOUTS MUST BE IN UNIFORM: This is a pack event, and the scouts should be in full uniform.  This will make for much better photos of the scout with his car, which most parents love to take.

Lunch

Lunch will be provided at no cost for the participating scouts. Parents, sibling or friends may purchase something to eat and drink at a nominal cost, after lunch is served to the scouts.

Good Sportsmanship

This is already in the rules and you would expect that this should never be required to be part of the rules, but it is.  The Pinewood Derby is for the scouts and it is meant to be a fun time for the scout. Sometimes scouts and even parents can take things a bit too far which not only ruins it for the scout, but for other scouts as well. A visibly upset parent will make their child upset and that change in mood will spread to others.

Good sportsmanship is one of the things we teach our Cub Scouts and must be shown at all times.  Bad sportsmanship, regardless of whether it is from a scout or an adult is absolutely forbidden. A scout and his car will be disqualified if the scout, his parents, their guests, or leaders display unsportsmanlike conduct before, during, or after the derby.

The Rules

It is important to make sure that your car adheres to the rules. The rules are attached below.  The rules for our pack are in line with the district rules and strict adherence will be enforced.  If your car does not adhere to the rules it will be unable to race. It is also important to remember that the decisions of the judges are final.

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Pinewood Derby Rules

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Lion, Tigers, Wolves and Bears…TONIGHT.

Hello everyone! I just want to make parents/guardians of the LIONS, TIGERS, WOLVES AND BEARS aware tonight (Monday 4/10/17) we are “hiking” through the neighborhood. Please make sure your son (and any accompanying siblings are in proper footwear. Also a bottle of water. We’ll see you all at the meeting tonight. 🙂 

Scout Night at The Phillies Tickets

2017 Phillies Scout Patch

The tickets for Tuesday night’s Phillies game will be available for pickup at the Monday night meeting.  In the event that you cannot make the Monday night meeting. Please reach out to Sandi Ramos, using the contact information provided on the flier you were handed, to make arrangements.

Those scouts who wish to participate in the pregame parade around the field should be in full uniform and try to make it to the park by 5:30 PM to meet up with the others. Sandi is the point of contact, so please be sure you provide her with correct contact information tomorrow night in the event she needs to reach you.

The pack will be sitting in section 204, which is in right field. So we will be going into the right field entrance. The closest parking lot is parking lot Q.

Here is the parking lot map for your reference: .

 

2017 Pinewood Derby Workshop

Pinewood DerbyTomorrow we will have a pinewood derby workshop starting at 10:00 AM.  We will be handing out the Pinewood Derby car kits along with the rules for the Pinewood Derby. Then we will go over the basics of how to turn your block of wood into a pinewood derby car as well as provide cutting services for those who need them.

This is a service for parent and scout, you must be present with your scout to work on his pinewood derby car.

We also ask that anyone with a scroll saw, coping saws, dremel tools (with cutting attachments) or other smaller woodworking tools to please bring them to assist with cutting.  It would be a huge help.

Since the work shop will encroach on the lunch hour we will be hot dog lunches available for $3 which will include a hot dog, a drink, and a snack.

Scout Night at The Phillies

2017 Phillies Scout Patch

Scout Night at the Phillies is on our Calendar as an optional activity; however due to interest and a leader attending, we are converting the Tuesday night game to an actual Pack activity.  In order to do this we will need to move fast.

It is a special night held by the Philadelphia Phillies for Scouts and their families at reduced ticket prices.  Tickets include a pre-game parade on the field for all scouts in full uniform, and scouts will receive a special patch seen here. Units with 25 or more tickets get their name listed on the side auxiliary message boards during the game.  You can view the calendar event here.

As stated above, we will need to move fast.  We have 30 seats reserved at $16 each.  The seats will be in Section 204 (Pavilion), rows 8 & 9, and we should have the ability to add more should there be a need.

Headcount and Payment is due at tonight’s (March 27th, 2017) Cub Scout Meeting.   We do understand that short notice is tough for some, so we will also take payment during Crew 1776’s meeting at the gym on Thursday March 30th, 2017 from 7:00 – 8:00 PM.

Thanks go to Den Leader, Dan Griess, and Scout Parent, Sandi Ramos, who teamed up to make this a pack event. They are contact points for this event, and their contact information will be on the flier handed out at tonight’s scout meeting.

Fun Scout Day at The Franklin Institute

Franklin Institute LogoWe had quite a few attend Scout Day at the Franklin Institute. And while the Franklin Institute wasn’t quite as organized as it had been in the past, all of the scouts had a great time. We had a few families spin off on their own and a few others spun off into smaller groups. For as packed as the institute was at times, along with the varied interests it seems that this worked out great.

The Jurassic World exhibit was pretty impressive and the dinosaurs were very realistic. The best part is that the animatronic dinosaurs we encountered were life-sized. I hope some of you took pictures as the imagery and surroundings in this exhibit were amazing

The Robot Revolution exhibit, wasn’t as exciting as many of the robots were getting recharged or repaired — but that didn’t stop the scouts from playing 21 and tic-tac-toe with robots, watching robots play soccer, try their hand at some simple programming, or putting together some cube robots.

The scouts in attendance, while traveling through the rest of the exhibits were able to knock out the following requirements:

  • Tigers: Sky Is the Limit Adventure Requirements 4, 5, 6, 8
  • Bears: Super Science Adventure Requirements 1, 2, 3
  • Wolves: Air of the Wolf Adventure Requirements 1C, Motor Away Adventure Requirements 1A and 1B
  • Webelos/AOL: Adventures in Science Adventure Requirements 2 and 3D

Please be sure to bring the worksheets provided. Also let us know which standard exhibits you hit as well because we are going to skim through the handbooks to see what other requirements may have been completed along with the above.

2017 Cyber Chip Rank Requirements

Cyber Chip EmblemEach rank requires that scouts earn the Cyber Chip award in order to earn their rank. All of the cyber chip requirements for your scout can be found here:  https://cubscoutpack1776.scouting1776.org/advancement/other-awards/cyber-chip/

Once you have completed these requirements, please be sure to print out the certificates at the end of the program sections and give them to your den leader in order to get credit. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to your den leaders.

Victory on the High Seas (2017 Klondike Derby)

Small Pirate ShipCongratulations to the pirate scouts who attended this year’s Klondike Derby, A Pirate Adventure. Their combination of scout spirit, team work, and ability to complete the tasks earned Cub Scout Pack 1776’s ship (sled), The Black Pearl, a first place win on the high seas.

The scouts sailed The Black Pearl from port to port participating in many pirate games and challenges along the way.  Those challenges consisted of multiple first aid scenarios, using a compass to discover treasure, building shelters on a deserted island, land fishing, sword fighting, and shooting a marshmallow cannon at enemy ships on the horizon.

The mighty sailors manning the Pack 1776 Ship, The Black Pearl, are invited to the Roosevelt District Round Table on Wednesday February 8th at the Philadelphia Protestant Home to be acknowledged for their victory on the high seas.