1. REMINDER: Parent Meeting – this coming Monday, 11/22 at 7:00 – please come if possible. We like to have at least one parent for each scout.
2. Loaves and Fishes yesterday evening – 17 scouts and parents/family members turned out! Great participation.
3. Merit badges your son is working on – at this past Monday’s meeting, in keeping with the November theme of Citizenship, Dr. Dick Masur and I led a discussion with the scouts to kick off work on two merit badges: Citizenship in the Community (CC) and Citizenship in the Nation (CN). I distributed the requirements and a worksheet for each merit badge and we went through the various requirements needed to pass them. Each scout was asked to bring the materials home and show them to his parents, as you can play an important role in helping him get through these, prompting him, etc. We work on these during winter months because they do not require outdoor activities. The goal is to earn both – or at least one – of these merit badges by the next Court of Honor, which will be either January 26 or February 2. For those of you who are not familiar with the merit badge process, the scout should be prepared to demonstrate that he has performed each requirement. For some, this is simply making notes in the worksheet, for others it is performing some kind of activity (e.g. volunteer time for CC; visiting a federal site or the state capitol for CN; writing a letter to his member of Congress or Senator for CN). When the scout has completed all of the requirements and is ready to meet with the counselor he should call me or Dr. Masur (we are both counselors for these merit badges) to set up a time to meet. The scout typically comes to our house and we talk through the requirements. When the scout has passed we fill out a card that we give to Ralph for his signature and submission to the council. The scout’s parent is certainly welcome to sit in on the discussion with the counselor. These merit badges are not difficult to earn but are best done in small doses – if you encourage your scout to do one or two of the requirements per week he should be able to finish both in a couple of months. Vacation is also a good time to work on them as the scout often has available time. We are planning to set up a field trip to one of the places described in Cit in the Nation over the Christmas/New Years break so you can plan on that. One important requirement that you can help your son with, and may want to think about now, is finding a charitable organization for CC at which he will donate 8 hours of time. Loaves and Fishes can work for this, although it takes 3 visits (5 months because we alternate months) but you may also have other ideas. Volunteer opportunities often exist during the Holiday season.
4. At our first meeting in December, December 1, we will be hosting Webelos cub scouts and conducting First Aid demonstrations for them. This is an important night for the troop because these webelos are thinking about which scout troop to join and we would be interested in having them join Troop 6. So we are looking for 100% attendance, in uniform, that evening. The boys will be preparing for the first aid night at next week’s meeting.
5. December 12-14 is the annual Camp Gronholm weekend in which we do a conservation project and build a great bonfire. There is a heated cabin with bunks on the property, although each year we typically have a few boys who enjoy cold weather camping and sleep in their tents. We encourage everyone to come out on Saturday evening for dinner and the bonfire – it is near Elk River, about 40-45 minutes from here.
6. Christmas caroling on Monday December 15 at the senior citizen apartments at about 68th and York (just north of the Southdale YMCA).
7. “Shut In” night at the church on the evening of January 2. We get the church from about 6:00 p.m. until Saturday morning at about 8:00. We play games in the gym, board games, have access to the kitchen to make pizza, etc. It is a good activity on a cold night.
8. We will be having another meeting of the people who will be going to Philmont in the next few weeks. We will be distributing health forms and firming up logistical planning.
9. Finally, I will be asking you to make a decision regarding whether you and your scout, and any family members, are planning to go to the Giants Ridge Ski Weekend over President’s Day weekend, February 14-16. We will be leaving early (about 7:00 a.m.) from the church on Saturday to drive to Biwabik (Giants Ridge is a few miles outside). We should be able to check in by 1:00 p.m. or so and all skiers can hit the slopes shortly after. Skiing is open until 8 or 9:00 p.m. We will ski all day and evening Sunday and leave Monday after breakfast. We stay in the Sports Dorm at the foot of the ski hill. Four to a room. We have 10 rooms reserved but can adjust that upward or downward depending on who has committed if we give GR some lead time. So I will need to know who is coming fairly soon. This is a family event at which many parents and siblings, and sometimes friends of scouts, join us. Cross country skiing is available as well as downhill/snowboarding. It is one of the highlights of the scout year. The total cost depends on whether you own or need to rent skis but will include the following: ski pass for two days, lodging for two nights, Saturday dinner, 3 meals on Sunday, Monday breakfast. In past years the range of costs has been from about $125 - $160. This does not include gas or the cost of a fast food restaurant on the way up and back. Return by Monday mid-afternoon (Monday is a school holiday).
