Calvary Cub Scout Pack 208

River Ranch Campout
This week is the last week to sign up for the River Ranch campout on March 11-13. Cost is $30 per tent plus $10 per person for food. Most families are going to the optional Rodeo on Saturday night Adults $15 and kids $6 (up to age 12) and under 5 is free. Note the tent fee is the camping fee for having a tent at River Ranch. You still must provide your own tent unless you are borrowing one from the pack. Attached are the directions and a list of activities you can do on Saturday afternoon. Den leaders please plan a belt loop or rank advancement activity for Saturday morning. This is a great place to bring bikes and a good place to earn the biking belt loop.

Camp cards
If you have an outstanding balance please plan to pay it on Thursday. I have more camp cards. Please plan to prepay if you want more cards.

Parent/Leader Meeting Tuesday March 1 7pm Cafe
There are a few things that we would like to do but need volunteers to help. One is help with the new facebook account for the pack (Cub Scout Pack 208). Another is someone to research marching flag poles and flags which will also be used at campouts. It would be helpful to have more locations where we can camp and to get feedback if we should try new places or stay with the ones that we have. If you have other ideas that would help our pack please plan to attend and share your thoughts. This is a family ministry so your kids are welcome. I often let mine play on the playground while we are talking (that is of course a personal decision).

Spring Break
March 17 is spring break so there is no scouts. If you ask, I will be glad to assign scout homework for this missing week.

Webelo Crossover
March 31 the webelo 2′s will cross over to Boy Scouts.

Sugarloaf Key KOA April 8-10 Mile Marker 20
Last family campout of the year. Saturday night dinner is Turkey and mash potatoes. Cooks might wonder how we cook 12 turkeys in the great outdoors. This is a closely guarded secret that is only shared with the families that come camping with us. We went to Sugarloaf for the first time last year and every single family that went said they wanted to go back. Leave your bike at home for this campout and bring your fishing pole. Webelo 2 families that cross over in March are still welcome to attend.

Westgate River Ranch Camping Trip 2011.doc

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Our next family campout will be at River Ranch and sign up’s start tonight and will continue to next week. Attached is a map.

Den leaders please plan a belt loop activity or a rank advancement activity for Saturday morning. Saturday after lunch will be free time for families. There are a number of free things to do at River Ranch as well as many low cost family activities. I will provide a list as we get closer. This is an excellent campout to bring bikes.

Camping Cost is $30 per tent plus the food will cost $10 per person. We are going to have smoked beef brisket and chicken for dinner on Saturday night.

There is a rodeo on Saturday night which is optional. The cost for the Rodeo is $15 for adults and $6 for kids. Last year most families attended so be aware that we probably will not have a campfire if all attend the rodeo.

The usual family assignments apply -

Bear families dinner on Friday.
Webelo 1 Saturday breakfast
Wolfs Saturday Lunch
Webelo 2 Saturday dinner
Tiger Sunday Breakfast

Westgate River Ranch Camping Trip 2011.doc

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Rank Advancement
Now is a good time to check your son’s handbook for the remaining requirements needed for his rank advancement. You should make sure you understand what he needs to do. When I was a Den Leader, I usually tried to be done in March but needed to work with my parents to make-up for missed den meetings. As your son gets older and he crosses over to boy scouts, it will be his responsibility to make sure he has his handbook, gets it properly signed when a requirement is complete or submits the necessary paperwork to receive a merit badge. Find reasonable ways to increase his responsibility level with each passing year in cub scouts.

Friends of Scouting
Remember to turn in any pledges for scouting. This is a personal decision but a very necessary one to support the program that we all love.

Pinewood Derby
You will have two more den meetings to weigh your son’s pinewood derby car before the race on Saturday February 12th in the gym. Let’s us know if you need an extra wheel or nail.

Camp Cards
Camp cards were given out last night. The cost to the pack is $2.50 per card and you sell them for $5 each. That means your son makes $2.50 for every card he sells. You will find this is the easiest way for your son to make money for scouting. We would like you to pay for your cards as soon as you are able and then you can keep the money your make. I encourage each of you to set a goal for your son. Boy scout summer camp is $250 (for the webelos 2′s that cross over this year) and day camp is around $130. Both are a lot of fun and both are very reasonable goals. Other options include letting your son pay for a family campout or a uniform or a cub scout knife (if he is a 3rd grader or older). Our unit was fortunate to get the cards early so you have an advantage in selling them right now.

Webelo 2
Next week we will meet at our usual den meeting location. The boys will attend the troop meeting while we review the shadow box instructions with the parents. We are preparing the boys to crossover at the end of March.

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Welcome back to Scouts – I hope you had a great Christmas break.

January means Pine Wood Derby preparation time for cub scouts. The actual pack derby is February 12 and the District Pine Wood Derby is March 5. Both are in the Gym at Calvary on a Saturday. We will be passing out cars to all of the cub scouts next Thursday January 13th. The cost of the car is included in your son’s annual dues. All family members all allowed to build and race a car in the open division for the price of the kit $5. I have attached a starter guide to help those of you that are new to this most memorable of activities in cub scouts.

I need all Webelos (4th and 5th graders) to come prepared with the design that they want for their cars. We will have the band saws and belt sanders available next week and we need to cut your cars then. Tigers, Wolfs and Bears will work on drawing their patterns on their cards on the 13th and will cut their cars on the 20th.

Webelos campout at Tanah Keeta on February 4th – 6th Cost is $25/person
Sign up will be next week (13th) and the week after (20th). This is intended to be a Father and Son weekend as this is practice for when your son is a Boy Scout. The pack supplies the tents for the boys so Dad just needs to bring a tent for himself. Its best to leave the family condo-sized tents at home for this campout. I have included the packing list that I give my boys. It also includes suggestions for staying warm. I don’t pack for my boys so if they forget to pack socks then they get to wear their one pair the whole weekend. Its up to you how you want to parent but consider that natural consequences are a great way to teach responsibility.

Pine Wood Derby templates for those that need ideas -

http://home.simplyweb.net/bosworth/template.htm

Next few weeks at a glance -

January 13th Webelos get their pine wood derby cars cut

January 20th Tigers, Wolfs and Bears get their pine wood derby cars cut

January 27th Pack meeting – Begin weighing PWD cars

February 3rd Regular Den Meeting – distribute Camp Cards

February 10th Den Meeting – Last chance to weigh PWD cars

February 12th Pine Wood Derby in the Gym

Pine Wood Derby Starter Guide.doc

Tanah Keeta Webelos Camping 2011.doc

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Merry Christmas!

Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and almost everything else is just noise. When you allow your focus to settle on worldly things, you are teaching your kids that our Savior is less important then something in the world (so don’t do that).

December Calendar

December 2 – Christmas wreath distribution in the West parking lot. If you can help us please arrive about 6:30pm. You will be picking up the wreaths that you sold to your neighbors. The mail away wreaths will be sent directly to your out of town sales. We will not have a regular den meeting on Thursday so its best to skip this week if you don’t have any wreaths to deliver. It is important that everyone pick up their wreaths this Thursday.

December 9 – John Knox Christmas parade 4pm. I will send a map with directions before the event. I include it here so you can write it on your calendar.
7pm – regular Den Meeting

December 16th – 7pm Christmas party in the cafeteria. We will have pizza, cookies, Christmas wreath commission checks and you should bring wrapping and ornaments to decorate your den leader.

December 21-22 at Calvary Ft Lauderdale 5-9pm http://www.calvaryftl.org/festivalOfJoy/index.html

We will return to Cub Scouts on January 6th where we will distribute the pine wood derby cars.

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This month we are selling Christmas wreaths. The cost and profit details are included in your information package as well as some common questions and answers. If your son sells more then 10 Christmas wreaths he will earn a commission check. We have had boys earn over $500 and its a great opportunity to teach him about tithing and savings. All the money is due on November 4th and the wreaths will be distributed on December 2nd. It is critical that you turn in your money and pick up your wreaths on these dates.

The uniform bank still has a few uniforms. See Andrea at the information table if you are in need of a uniform.

Monday 18th is a parent and leader meeting at 7pm in the cafe. The purpose of the meeting is to train new leaders, organize our first family campout, identify volunteers for pack positions and discuss pack business. Please attend if you can. Sorry for the late notice.

We will be passing out the purple class B t-shirts and camp mugs on the 21st. This will also be the first night to register for our campout at Fisheating creek on November 12-14. The fellowship at the campouts is perhaps the best blessing of this ministry. I strongly encourage you to join us and let God bless your family with His creation.

The 28th will be a pack meeting in Mission Base Alpha. Remember to help your den leader with ideas for Christian or Patriotic skits. This is a good time to bring friends and family that are interested in your son’s scout career.

Your cub scout homework for this month is to wait until after your son falls asleep and put your ear to his chest and listen to his heart beat. I am sure you will agree with me that children are truly God’s gifts to us. Yes I know I used this one last year but it still works even if you have done it before.

May God richly bless your family.

Jerry

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To take training online go here http://www.scouting.org/ and create a login, then take the online training classes This is Scouting and Youth Protection.

University of Scouting is Saturday October 9th Classes start at 9am but plan to arrive by 8:30am. You should wear your class A uniform.

Here is the link for the registration:
http://www.sfcbsa.org/Training/UnivofScouting/tabid/95/Default.aspx

Here is a link for a map of Miramar High School
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Miramar&state=FL&address=3601+S+Douglas+Rd&zipcode=33025-3205&country=US&latitude=25.975942&longitude=-80.262772&geocode=ADDRESS

You are welcome to read thru the course directory or you can follow these tracks. If there are several of you from the same den that are attending, let me know so I can suggest other classes so you each can add something to the pack. You will find that its best to play to your personally strength. Meaning if you are naturally a relaxed person and are comfortable being silly then use that. On the other hand, if you are like me and consider yourself a planner/organizer type then the pack can use that in a different capacity.

Tigers
C1207 Cub Crafts (2 period class)
C3130 Skits, songs, applause and cheers
C4241 Tiger Den Leader Training (2 period class)
C6144 Cub Scout Games

Wolf/Bear Leaders
C1207 Cub Crafts (2 period class)
C3130 Skits, songs, applause and cheers
C4242 Wolf/Bear den leader (2 period class)
C6144 Cub Scout Games

Webelos
C1110 Webelos to Scout Transition
C2121 Webelos Advancement
G3187 Knots & Lashings
C4345 Webelo Den Leader (2 period class)
C6144 Cub Scout Games

Belt Loop link
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/cub-scouts/acad-sports.asp

Requirements to earn leader knots
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/square-knots.asp (scroll down to the bottom and click on the appropriate den leader knot). If you have been to University of Scouting before you have probably earned one of these knots. Tell me if you think you have earned one.

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http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/default.aspx?cat=01CLO&ctgy=PRODUCTS&C2=CO_APPAREL&C3=&C4=&LV=2

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Camping 101 will be at 9-10:30am Sat Oct 2 Markham park. Sign-up and directions will be September 23 at the front table. Camping cost is $20 per person and Camping 101 is free you just have to pay to get into Markham park. I need both groups to sign-up so we have a head count.

If you have never been camping before or are willing to volunteer to assist in preparing meals for the pack then this is for you and your son. We will have three groups:

(1) New Quartermasters – we will review all of the gear and the plan for each meal, how to cook with it, how to clean it and possibly how to fix it when its broken. We will review loading and unloading the trailer and where key equipment is stored in the trailer.

(2) New camping families – what to buy, what to bring, who to ask for help, how to set up a tent, how to take care for your gear, and a review of youth protection basics. If you have a new tent or have borrowed one, you can bring it. We will also assign an experienced Webelos family as a mentor for you.

(3) The cub scouts of the parents of both groups will get to setup tents and other camping equipment.

All are guaranteed to have fun. Anyone that doesn’t have fun will be discover that duct tape can turn Grumpy into Bashful or Dopey (not able to talk!). Please report any sightings of Grumpy.

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We have a great year all planned out and are excited that you want to participate with us. Our ministry is about making vessels of honor so we pay careful attention to what we "pour" into our sons. We have the awesome responsibility to represent Jesus Christ to our boys and unfortunately all of us fail. Living with our imperfections while always striving to be like our Savior should be a significant part of every Christian’s walk. I encourage all of you to spend time in the Word and in prayer so that you are useful for the Master. If you are already there then please help me find ways to train and encourage the boys and families in the pack.

There are always a lot of questions to get started and we have tried to provide a lot of information on this website. Please take the tour and get informed. Here is an important overview of September and each month we will post important announcements.

September 2010

Den meetings will start on Thursday September 9th 7-8pm Go up the big staircase and make a right and there will be an information table in the hallway. If you are a returning scout you will be in the same room as last year. If you are a new scout, check in at the table and you will be assigned to a den. The East and West main doors are locked after hours so plan to use the doors on the South side of the main building. I will look into having the South side doors open on the second floor as our normal entry to cub scout den meetings.

The last Thursday of every month is a pack meeting. September 30th 7-8pm we will meet in Mission Base Alpha. By then you should try to complete the application, confirm your contact information, pay your annual dues, get your son a uniform and a handbook. If you did all that already then be the first one in your den to learn the names of everyone else in the den (quick what’s my name? – no it isn’t Jeff). The fellowship of God’s people is always a great blessing for me.

Sign-up for the Webelos campout (4th and 5th grade scouts) will be September 16th and 23rd, that’s only 2 weeks away. The campout is October 1-3 at Markham park. We will also be holding Camping 101 training on Saturday October 2 at Markham park from 9-10:30am. If you have never been camping or are an assistant quartermaster (somebody that is responsible for the pack’s camping gear) then you should plan to be there. Note the date! We will provide more information as the date gets closer.

Remember to bring vintage uniforms for the uniform bank.

Jerry

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