Welcome 2013

We hope that everyone had an incredible Holiday Season.  With the crazy amount of Christmas Cookies and New Years Snacks around, I am sure the little ones were running around with sugar induced energy while the rest of us feel like we are stuck in slow motion.  We start off the new year on January 7

We have quite a few things going on right away at the beginning of the year that we wanted to give everyone a heads up on…

Dues – Past Due

We have several that are outstanding on dues. The due date for the 2013 dues are a couple weeks past. The due date was set so that we would be able to make sure everyone was registered and on the pack charter at rechartering time. The new charter was due on December 31st.  If you have not yet paid dues, we were unable to unable to cover registration fees for the 2013 year.  Once we receive payment we will submit the appropriate fees to council and get your scout added to the charter.  Please note, that by not being on the charter, your scout is not covered by insurance and is not eligible to participate in BSA sponsored scout functions  for liability and legal reasons. We are also not able to supply physical awards to those who haven’t paid dues either. The scout will still earn and be credited for anything he earns, however the pack buys these awards as the BSA does not provide them.  Awards are one of the many things that dues help cover.

Cub Scout Klondike

The Cub Scout Klondike this year is going to be held on January 26th.  There is not a whole lot of time to get ready for this but we need an accurate head count as soon as possible and to collect the fee for the derby.  The fee is $12 per scout. It is an all day event which includes lunch, hot cocoa, a Klondike derby patch and lots of fun. The boys who have participated in this event look forward to it each year.  It is a fun time.  I’ll explain more about this annual event at the end of the meeting on Monday.

Fundraising

We are gearing up for our first fundraiser.  We will, again, be selling Krispy Kreme Donuts by the dozen in the form of certificates.  This fundraiser was a huge success last year.  The buyers get them cheaper than in store and the pack raises money at the same time.  We have some new twists this year to add some incentive.  More on this at the January Pack Meeting.

Whittling Chip

In February,  the Bear and Webelos will work on their Whittling Chip (Knife safety).  The boys look forward to this one each year. This will be a two part course with week 1 being about safety and then week two they will practice what they learned and get to try their hand at carving a bar of soap and earn their whittling chip.

Pinewood Derby

The Pinewood Derby will be coming up.  More on that later, but we will hold a workshop for those interested. If anyone has any basic wood working skills and would like to help assist with the workshop, please let us know.  We would love your help.

Trips, Outings and Camping

Spring will be here before you know it and we have some ideas in mind but let’s hear from you. Throw some suggestions our way for not just camping and overnighters but what about day trips that relate to what the boys need to work on?  Any ideas?

 

2012 Christmas Party & More

Christmas Party

Remember, next week is our annual Christmas Party.  We moved the time to begin at 6:30 instead of 7:00.  It will be a great time for all.  The leaders of Pack 155 will be providing the main dish and families volunteered to bring snacks, beverages & paper products.  We have a small gift for the boys and a surprise visitor coming as well so be sure to bring a camera.

No Meetings for the Remainder of December

Please remember we will not be meeting on December 24th (Christmas Eve) nor on December 31st (New Year’s Eve).  This is part of the reason it is important to have dues paid by Monday the 17th.  We will be rechartering the pack over the Christmas break so once again I can’t stress the importance of coming to us if you have any issues. We can not put anyone on the charter who hasn’t paid dues.

Dues

Dues for the 2013 year are $100 and will cover the full year from January 1st, 2013 through December 31st, 2013.  If you have any concerns, speak with us immediately as anyone who has not paid will not be registered with the pack for the new year. It is important that all boys have an up to date registration so that they can participate in organized scouting activities.  Proper registration is mandatory for insurance and liability purposes.  Please Note:  The $100.00 is strictly for the 2013 scouting year and covers the entire year, January 1st through December 31st.  For new scouts it does not cover the $20 that covered the remainder of the 2012 scouting year.  If you still owe this $20.00, it is due immediately and must be paid in full before any monies will be applied to the 2013 scouting year.

The New Year

The new year is going to start off busy. Right from the get go we will be getting ready for lots of fun such as the Klondike Derby, Pinewood Derby, Blue & Gold and then camping season and summer activities will commence.

Webelos Progress Report – December 10th, 2012

The Webelos have been finishing up the Citizen Activity Badge.  This badge is required in order to earn the Webelos Rank Badge.

The Citizen Activity Badge has a total of 17 requirements.  In order to earn the badge, they need to complete the first 8 requirements and then any 2 of the remaining 9 requirements.   As a group, over 2 den meetings we have covered the following requirements; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 14.  If your scout was absent for either of these two days they will need to make up what they missed in order to earn the badge.  They can do this on their own and any guardian can sign off on it.

The outstanding requirements to complete this belt loop are 1c, 6, and 8. Requirement 1c is simply a quick discussion about how any of the requirements done helped them be a good citizen.  Requirement 6 is about how the Star Spangled Banner was written. Requirement 8 is to earn the Citizenship Belt Loop, which has 3 requirements of its own.  Earning the Citizenship Belt Loop is something that must be done at home hence the homework assignments.

  • Citizenship Belt Loop requirement 1: Develop a list of jobs you can do around the home.  Chart your progress for one week.
  • Citizenship Belt Loop requirement 2: Make a poster showing things that you can do to be a good citizen.
  • Citizenship Belt Loop requirement 3: Participate in a family, den, or school service project.

Both requirements 1 & 2 can be done on a piece of paper.  Requirement three will require some thought but anyone that participated in Scouting for Food has met this requirement.

 

Dues for the 2013 Scouting Year

Dues for the 2013 year are $100 and will cover the full year from January 1st, 2013 through December 31st, 2013.  The dues allow the pack to function, and more importantly keep the scouts registered with the Boy Scouts of America as well as cover insurance.

The deadline is rapidly approaching for the 2013 year. The important dates to remember are:

December 3rd – All dues paid in full by this date will include a year subscription to Boys’ Life magazine for your son.

December 17th – All dues need to be paid in full by this date.  We will be chartering the pack and registering all paid scouts for the new year this week.  Payment by this date *DOES NOT* include a Boys’ Life subscription, however we can get you a discounted rate on the magazine if you wish.

 

Please Note:  The $100.00 is strictly for the 2013 scouting year and covers the entire year, January 1st through December 31st.  For new scouts it does not cover the $20 that covered the remainder of the 2012 scouting year.  If you still owe this $20.00, it is due immediately. Your son is not currently registered nor insured.  This must be paid in full before any monies will be applied to the 2013 scouting year.

If you have any issues or concerns, it is critical that you speak with your scout’s den leader and or the cubmaster as soon as possible.  Do not wait until after the deadline has passed to reach out.

Pack Meeting Next Week on November 26th

We missed our last Pack/Parent Meeting, having instead used that date to make up make up our Halloween party which was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.  We will be making up that meeting next week on Monday November 26th.  We had originally considered skipping it but since there will not be one in December due to it being a short month, having off two weeks for Holidays, we felt it best to have it as soon as possible.

As usual we ask all boys to wear as much of their official uniform as they have. We also ask that at least one parent stay for the meeting for announcements and to support their scout in their accomplishments.  We will not be doing much in the way of skits in part due to this being a make up meeting but also because we will be having a Bobcat ceremony for all new scouts, having completed their Bobcat rank as well as handing out any other earned accomplishments to the boys.

Side note:

On the topic of pack meetings, we have decided that it would serve our families better to hold these at the end of the month going forward. This should allow us to make announcements for the upcoming month a bit timelier, minimizing short notice when possible. We will be updating the calendar with these changes shortly.

Scout Day at The Franklin Institute – December 1st, 2012

Saturday December 1st is the Franklin Institute’s Astronomy Scout Day. It is a special themed program just for Scouts! The day  includes General Admission to the Museum, an explosive live science show, a film in one of our three theaters, skygazing in the Joel N. Bloom Observatory and a variety of activities to work towards badges, belt loops, pins, and more!

Full details can be found on the Calendar however I wanted to let everyone know that the registration deadline is Nov 23, 2012.

While this is not an official pack event, several of the leaders will be there.  Each rank has a multitude of requirements they can accomplish by attending this event.

For starters all cub scouts will work towards their Astronomy Belt Loop and the Astronomy Pin.  Rank specific requirements that can be covered are listed in the exhibit guides, which we placed on the calendar event page for you. Be sure to print it out and bring it along just in case they don’t have any of those on hand.

UPDATE:  THEY ARE RUNNING A SPECIAL!!! FOR EVERY REGISTERED SCOUT 1 ADULT CAN ATTEND FOR FREE.  EACH ADDITIONAL ADULT IS $13.50.

Note on Scout Days

From time to time different facilities around the city will host Scout Days, such as “Scout Day at the Franklin Institute” coming up in December.  Sometimes they are age restricted or restricted to either the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.  While we may choose to attend some of these Scout Days as a pack we will not always attend them as a pack.  However these events will often have perks for the scouts making them a worthwhile trip should parents and children wish to make them an individual outing.  Parents are also free to group together and go as well.

As I find these events or as others bring them to my attention, I have every intention of putting these on the Calendar for the benefit of those who wish to take advantage of them.  Just because they are on the Calendar does not mean it is a pack event.  Please click on the event and read the details of the event.

Webelos Progress Report November 20th, 2012

In the Webelos dens we are continuing off the foundation laid with our Veterans day activities and working on the Citizen Activity Badge requirements.   Part of these requirements, requirement 8, include earning the Citizenship Belt Loop.  Last night in den we discussed some of the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen covering requirements 1a, 1b and part of requirement 7. We covered the basics of flag etiquette and touched on the history and symbolism of the flag completing requirement 3 and just touching requirement 4.    Those boys who participated in the Scouting for Food service project completed their service project, required for requirement 3 of their citizenship belt loop thus completing 1/3 of Activity Badge, requirement 8.

Home Assignments

  • Read the Citizen chapter in the Webelos handbook, we will have discussions based on this.
  • Complete the requirements for the Citizenship Belt Loop
    • The boys were given a hand out to develop a list of jobs you can do around the home and chart their progress for one week.
    • Make a poster showing things that you can do to be a good citizen.
    • Those who did not participate in Scouting for Food, should start working on a type of service project they can do with their families. They will need to discuss their project upon completion.

Notes:

For the next couple of weeks, excluding next week’s pack meeting we will be working on the Citizen Activity Badge requirements.  If all goes smoothly, aside from any outstanding assignments, we should be able to complete this by December 3rd or December 10th.  It is important that assignments given out be completed at home.  There are still several boys that have not turned in their Fitness assignments, the last items to earn the Activity Badge.  Regarding Fitness see  the October 8th Progress Report and the October 15th Progress Report.

 

Resources:

Coming soon!

 

Collections: Tigers, Wolves & Bears

Time for Collections!

Collecting is an important part of growing up and tonight the boys get to share about what they like to collect and tell why it is special to them.

So Tigers, Wolves and Bears don’t forget a piece of your collection to show and share with the group.  Tonight we will learn more about each other and what we like while having fun and seeing new things.

2012 Scouting for Food Summary

I want to thank all of the scouts, leaders, parents and siblings for their support of this annual program.  While it can be tiresome and seem trivial on the surface this program goes a long way to to helping families who worry about where their next meal will come from.

Last year, the Pack combined with both the troop and the crew collected 1,836 items weighing in at 2,949 lbs. This year the pack alone collected 2,627 items weighing in at 2,254 lbs of food.  To put this in another perspective we collected an entire trailer full of food that weighed 1.25 tons.  We gave almost 300 pounds to the local Catholic Social Services pantry and the remainder when to the food bank at St. John’s Lutheran Church that works closely with Philabundance.

Not only should the scouts be commended for their tremendous efforts but a hearty thank you goes out to all of the parents that helped in many ways. Some walked with a group of kids, others followed behind with a vehicle to collect food items, while others helped unload, count and sort the food.  All of the cub scouts and a few siblings had a great time and all of our cubs most certainly did their best.

After a day of hard work, our cub scouts had a fun filled sleepover at the Marks Scout Resource Building.  They had pizza for dinner, went on an urban night hike, ran around like madmen at the Logan Circle fountain, settled in for a movie with popcorn until they passed out.

Thanks again to everyone involved.

Update:  We had a total of 27 scouts, 4 siblings and 26 adults (leaders included) participate in this service project. This netted roughly 322 hours of community service for the pack

2012 Scouting For Food Sleepover

SleepoverThe sleepover Saturday night will be our first overnight trip as a pack for new scouts.  It is important that your children are as comfortable as possible. We will also be going for a mini hike during the evening and it will be cold so your children will need to be dressed appropriately.  Below you will find a list of things that they should bring along with them.

It is important that I have a proper headcount and payment in full no later than Saturday morning. We need to know how much food to buy.  Your scout must also be on the roster which means we must have any outstanding dues paid in order to get the on the roster and insured.  Note this does not count towards the $100 due by Dec 17th for the new year.  Returning Scouts, you are all paid up from last year.

Please be sure to tell me no later than Saturday morning if you plan on attending.

  • Warm Outdoor Clothing (we will be taking a walk and it will be cold outside)
  • Please bring a hat and gloves
  • Pajamas
  • Sleeping Bag
  • Pillow
  • Toothbrush/Toothpaste
  • Flashlight (optional)
  • Necessary Medications
  • This includes emergency items such as inhalers, epi-pens, insulin and the such.
  • Items pertaining to dietary restrictions.

We will see you all at 9:30 saturday morning to collect our bags.