Pack 89 Notes - October 10, 2017

Post date: Oct 16, 2017 12:9:1 AM

Pack 89 Families,

Are you ready for this weekend? How about next weekend? Because we are BUSY over the next few weeks. Bobcats are going well and the scouts are keeping Cubmaster Ward on his toes, good work everyone. If you still need your Bobcat, let me know and I will get you on the schedule.

1) Beech Grove Mulching Party! (14 October) THIS SATURDAY! Beech Grove is having a clean-up day to get the Church ready for Driver Days on Oct. 14. This is a great opportunity to give back to our host Church and let them know we all really appreciate their support. Scouts should come out in their Class B tees and clothes that parent’s don’t mind getting grubby and help us spread some beautiful new mulch. We’ll do some weeding and general clean-up too. Many hands make light work – and the kids really have fun with it. The whole family is invited and if you can only come by for a part of the time that is fine (remember that at least one parent must stay with their scout). If you have rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels or pitchforks, please bring them along. Start time is 8:00 am or as soon as you can get there after that! We are usually finished in in 2-3 hours. If you can make it, Beech Grove would love to see you!

2) Pack 89 Family Campout! (14-15 October) NEW INFO! We’ll meet at Mattanock Town (1001 Pembroke Ln, Suffolk, VA 23432) for our first family camping event of the year. We try to time it so that the temperatures are still pleasant. Arrival time is 3:00 p.m. Directions are attached.

Ø Requirement: each rank has an outdoor requirement and in addition the Dens will work on some of their respective Rank adventures. So this is an important event. As cub camping is family camping, one adult needs to camp with each scout. The whole family can come, but doesn’t have to.

Ø Equipment: tent, nothing giant or expensive. A Coleman Sundome 3 works great, is durable, and is easy to get at Walmart, Target, or Amazon for under $50. Sleeping bags are great, but not necessarily required if you just have a couple warm blankets or a comforter (one to sleep on, one to sleep under). If you really want a sleeping bag, for cub camping a decent 40° bag off the rack is perfectly fine and a fleece wrap is usually just as good. Pillow, flashlight, extra batteries, toiletries, and clothes. Good to go. As you and your scout grow in camping proficiency, you may add to your equipment list, but the basics stay the same.

Ø Meals: the leaders will provide the meals. We do this so the scouts can concentrate on learning basic skills. At the Webelos level they will start cooking themselves. We’d love for you adults to lend a hand if you can though (really).

Ø Facilities: There is an indoor men’s and women’s bathroom. Bring TP just in case.

Ø Help: we want this, and all camping events, to be fun for the scout and as stress free for you as we can make it. If it wasn’t fun, we’d have stopped doing it too. If you have any issues, feel free to let us know, we’ll do what we can to help.

3) Den Meeting #5! (17 October) Keep working on your Achievements.

4) Pack Committee Meeting! (19 October) Interested in the direction the Pack is going? Have some ideas you’d like to offer? Want to step up and help more? Come hang out with us at the Pack Committee Meeting at 7 pm at Beech Grove. We’d love to hear what you have to say – and get you in khaki...

5) Driver Days Parade! (21 October) How about the chance to march in a parade and be the center of attention? Well, have we got a deal for you! Come help Driver celebrate being Driver and march with us through cheering crowds of your friends and relatives. Sign-ups will be out soon and all you have to wear is your Class A uniform and a big smile. We usually gather at the church and walk over to the staging area, and w a i t … But it is worth it, just be patient.

6) Pack Show & Sell #7! (21 October) NEW INFO! Yes this is the same day as the Driver’s Day Parade, but you are already in your uniform so why not sell some popcorn! We currently have no one signed up for the 11-2:30 p.m. shift and only 2 scouts signed up for the 2:30-6:00 p.m. shift. Sign-up sheets will be out again next week.

7) Webelos Scout Skills Campout! (Oct 21-22) What, even more activity this weekend? You bet. The Webelos will assemble right after the Driver Days Parade and head out to Izaak Walton Park, 480 Kings Fork Road, Suffolk, VA (near King's Fork Middle School). You have heard about this generally from Cubmaster Ward before about the Pack’s Webelos. We are very active in getting them ready to merge seamlessly into a Troop as they complete their Webelos years. Knowing how to camp and function as a Patrol makes all the difference when the boys bridge up. They know what to do and how to act with the older Boy Scouts and generally have a very shallow learning curve when they bridge. This campout is the start of that process for the Web Is and something of a progress check for the Web IIs. It’s local, it’s great fun, and it’s also where they decide their patrol name and earn their patrol patch. Set the weekend aside to come camp with your scout. Attached is an example camping checklist to help you organize.

8) NASA Langley Research Center’s Centennial! (21 Oct) If you have not heard, NASA Langley is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. As explained by our former Pack Committee Chair and resident NASA enthusiast, Mr. MacDonald, “NASA LaRC is the oldest and arguably most innovative among NASA’s many installations and as part of celebrating its centennial, it is hosting an open house. This is a BIG DEAL. The last one was five years ago and, unlike most of the local military bases, unless you have a specific reason and credentials to get on LaRC, you don’t get on LaRC. Best of all, IT’S FREE. So if you’re a fan of the Hampton Air and Space Center, think the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is cool, or know about the amazing Udvar-Hazy Center, this would be right up your alley. The Wright Brothers invented flight; NASA LaRC crafted it.” See attachment.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/100/100-years-of-crafting-flight

https://www.nasa.gov/langley/100/innovation-at-100

https://www.nasa.gov/langley/100/events

9) Pack Show & Sell #8! (22 October) Our last show and sell of the season, make it count!

10) Pack Halloween Party! (Oct 24 at 6:30 pm) GLEBE CHURCH! We move over to our other “home” at Glebe Church (4400 Nansemond Pkwy, Suffolk, VA 23435) just due to the size of this party. This is a whole family event, wear your favorite costume, but nothing too scary please. Each Den will have a game station set up (parent’s don’t leave your Den leaders hanging) and the prizes are treats you bring. Every family should bring a bag of Halloween candy/prizes for their den’s game. We’ll take care of the donuts on a string – our most hilarious event. We also hold a costume contest with a huge variety of classifications. Have an older kid too cool for Halloween? They can help judge the kids’ costumes. As a side note, generally leave the props at home. While we leaders certainly love the shooting sports, running around with cap guns in a church is sometimes not well received. We’ve also had a boy bring a real sword – there are common sense safety concerns too. Otherwise, this is just a fun night.

11) Halloween! (31 October) – Yeah, we are not even going to try to compete with this – no meeting. Enjoy Trick or Treating!

12) Final Popcorn Order Date! (31 Oct) NEW INFO! This is the absolute deadline to turn in your individual orders for popcorn and peanut sales! Note that this is Halloween night and we are not meeting, which means that the last meeting to turn in orders is Oct. 24. After that you must get your orders and payments to Nickie on your own. If you have a sheet ready, you can turn it in sooner (which will make things easier for our Popcorn Kernal) but you cannot turn it in later!

13) Blackbird Patrol Crabtree Falls Camp-out! (3-5 Nov). NEW INFO! The Blackbirds have a stand-alone hiking adventure to the Blue Ridge Mountains to see the tallest waterfall in Virginia. This annual rite of passage is a great experience and a good time to put into practice those patrol camping skills.

14) Raingutter Regatta! (7 Nov at 6:30) GLEB CHURCH! Wow, it’s that time already! Get your Bos’n whistle out and prep your lungs to power your sailboats down the gutters at Glebe. I hope to have the boats available for sale at the next meeting. The rules for building them and the race is attached here in case you want to get a jump on things. Don’t over-engineer this. Build the boats the way the rules say and you scout will be fine. Don’t design catamarans or add masts or a rubber band motor. KISS. Keep it Simple Scout. Some very cool but “illegal” designs – which means do not buy these:

15) God and Country Program! (5 November) NEW INFO! As explained by Mr. Willis, this is a Bible-based program in which the youth study a passage of Scripture and do a number of activities related to that passage. There are four levels to the program, suitable for school age children from 1st through 12th grade. These programs are built around a workbook style of learning, following step-by-step lessons published by PRAY (Program for Religious Activities for Youth). In these books, you can find activities that involve study, prayer, service projects, and a time of sharing religious values between a child and a parent or mentor. Flyer attached. Registration deadline for the class is Friday, October 27th.