Troop 153 News - May 14th

2012 Hiking Stick Program

Thank you to all the scouts and parents who came out for the first hike of the year last Saturday.  We participated in the Lorain County Metroparks Bird Hike and went on a 2-hour hike learning about the various birds that live in Sandy Ridge Reservation.  The highlight for the scouts was the fly by of the local Eagle about 25 feet above their heads.
Several of the other participants mentioned to me how well behaved the boys were, so that is great to hear those type of comments. 

We did find out after most everyone left that the Lorain County Metroparks has a hiking stick program.  If you take 6 organized hikes in the Metroparks in 4 different parks you will receive a hiking stick.  I picked up the paperwork for the scouts that completed their first hike Saturday and we will be trying to schedule more so the scouts can achieve this.

The next hike is scheduled for June 2nd at the Sandy Ridge Reservation from 1PM - 2:30PM.  We will be exploring the waters edge so please dress appropriately....might get wet!!!

 Scout Physicals
Each year we are required to have on file the complete medical form for each scout.  The medical form consists of three parts of which Part C must be done by a physician.  We are fortunate to have Dr. Dennis Carson as one of our Scout Parents.  Each year he and Mrs. Carson donate their time to providing these physicals at a troop meeting for $20 and the money is then donated to the troop.

This is a very convenient way to get this taken care of and help the troop in the process.  Dr. Carson will be at the May 20th troop meeting to give physicals for any scout or adult leader who would like to have this done.  If you have not completed Part A and B yet, please follow this link to the medical forms to complete and bring to the May 20th meeting.

Memorial Day Parade
Troop 153 will be participating along with the Cub Scouts of Pack 153 in the North Ridgeville Memorial Day Parade on May 28th.  All Scouts and leaders should arrive to the Marc's Parking lot at 9AM in their full Class A uniforms.

Upcoming Events

May 20th:  5:30PM - Patrol Leaders Meeting
May 20th:  6:30PM - Troop Meeting
May 28th:  9:00AM - March in Memorial Day Parade
June 2nd:  1:00PM - Water's Edge Hike at Sandy Ridge
June 10th:  5:30PM - Adult Leader's Meeting
June 25th:  9PM - Night Hike (Columbia Reservation)

Troop 153 - Week of May 7th

Scouters,

We had a great time camping at Merit Badge Midway this weekend.  You can see the troop developing very well and growing as a single unit.  Thank you to the adult leaders (Mr, Krupka, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Van Dyke and Mr. Price) for their support and work on the new shelves in the trailer.  They look great!!!  The boys worked on their knots, scout skills and each earned a few merit badges along the way.

Click here to view some pictures from the weekend.......Merit Badge Midway Pictures

Weekly Character Focus:  A Scout is Clean


Troop 153 is moving forward very well and as we grow the expectation for us will continue to be raised.  As such, we want to make sure we are consistent as a unit with our uniforms.  The expectation is that you are to be in your Class A uniform at all events unless told otherwise.  Below I have provided a few things to relative to what class A is, but the standard is also found here on the Uniform Inspection Sheet.

Class A consists of:

Official BSA uniform shirt with appropriate insignias
Numerals and Epaulets should be Olive Green in color
Neckerchief is green unless an approved recognition neckerchief is awarded
Neckerchief must have a slide (no tying of neckerchief)
Pants/Shorts do not have to be BSA, but must be Olive in color with belt
Good durable shoes with socks

Class B is any t-shirt that the scouts have received from council or the troop.  (Camp shirt or troop shirt)

I would like to see everyone transition to this by June 1.  However, if your numerals are already on in red you can just replace with olive when you purchase a new shirt.  If you have any questions please let one of the leaders know.
 
May Activities

May 12th:  Birding Hike at Sandy Ridge Reservation in North Ridgeville. (8AM - 10AM)

May 20th:  6:30PM Troop Meeting  (Camp Physicals (Tentative) & Toten Chip Training)

May 28th:  March in the Memorial Day Parade (9AM)

May 30th:  Volunteer at Community Meal Event at St. Peter's (5:30PM)

TBD:  Swim Test for Summer Camp


Troop Logo

Matt Knoth of Knoth Design has agreed to donate his time and talent to help the troop with a unique logo.  This logo will then be used on the trailer that will include a Wall of Honor for our past 34 Eagle Scouts out of Troop 153. It will also be a part of the new line of Class B apparel that we will be using for troop activities.  More to come on this.....

Cedar Point Camping

New this year is an outing at Cedar Point.  The fun will start on Friday, August 10th when we camp on the grounds of Cedar Point with all the Roller Coasters.  We wake up to an all you can eat breakfast and will spend the day in the park returning the evening of the 11th.  Please see the flier for additional information.....Cedar Point Camping.  If you are interested please send Janet Pfaff an email at jlp_momx3@hotmail.com to register before June 1st.  Early bird pricing is $70.



Yours in Scouting

Chris

Troop 153 Updates

Saint Peter Camping Experience
Thanks to everyone that came out to camp at St. Peters this weekend on Saturday.  It seemed like everyone had a great time and we learned a great deal in the process.  I just wanted to recap a bit some of the events that happened over the weekend.  Click here for more pictures....cross your fingers!!!

• Some of the newer scouts learned how to make beef jerky, how the dehydrating process works and benefits when you are camping or hiking.  The taste taste went well and I see more of this in the future with fruits and more jerky for sure.   
• The scouts accomplished a great deal on the trailer by cleaning, organizing and taking inventory of the contents to get ready for the camping season.  They look great and it looks like Mr. Gibbons and Mr. Van Dyke are going to be working to install some shelves at Merit Badge Midway.  They also made some repairs to the trailer so thank you to both of them for their help this weekend.
• A few scouts took a trip to the Sandy Ridge reservation to help Shannon Turner install two pet waste stations for the park.  Everything went very well and Shannon appreciated the help.
• The troop also participated in some community service by helping to clean up around the exterior of the Middle School.  They raked, picked up trash and debris for a few hours.
• Some of the scouts worked on their fireman chit and toten chit cards for fire and knife safety.
• They had some downtime where they played some games and took advantage of the opportunity to have a McDonald's in the area and took a milkshake break from the excitement.
•  Troop attended Mass and then the scouts made an excellent dinner of Beef Stroganof and garlic bread before settling in for the campfire and smores. 

 All in all, it was a great outing.  Each time we go out the scouts(and myself) learn a great deal to make the next outing better and from talking to the scouts at campfire about what went well and what we can do better I was impressed with what they thought could be improved for next time.

A scout thank you goes out to Mr. Van Dyke and Mr. Gibbons who camped with us.  They both have a wealth of talent and knowledge that will be an asset to the troop.  

There are a few scouts that I still need to get $5 from for food from the weekend.  If you have not paid please bring to the next meeting.

There are some deadlines coming up this week that I need to get some information back from you:

Important Items:

1.  If you are interested in attending the Merit Badge Midway (May 4th-6th) I will need to get your $15 registration fee by this Sunday's Meeting.  Additionally, please email me as soon as you can the merit badges that your scout would like to work on.  Some workshops are filling up and I don't want them to be shut out.

2.  I will be meeting with Scout parents during this Sunday's meeting at 6:45PM (Meeting still begins at 6:30) to help fill out the paperwork for the Summer Camp in July.  The forms and registration fee are due this Sunday as well.  The sooner we get it in the sooner we can register for merit badges before they get shut out.  Please review the information and come with questions.

YIS,

Chris 

Camping, Camping, Camping.....

Troop,

Great meeting last night!!!  First of all, for some reason Google Calendar is having issue with the appointments being sent out in the wrong time zone.  I apologize and I am working to see if there is a fix for this.  The times on the blog are correct, but the invites are the only issue.  There is a great deal happening in the next few months, so I have attached some information on the upcoming events. Please do not be overwhelmed as we are here to answer any questions and walk you through the next few events.

April 20-22 St. Peter Camping

• Arrival on Friday, April 20th is 5:00 - 5:30PM at St. Peter's Catholic Church behind the parish center and we will be having dinner as a group that evening.
• We are planning to attend Mass as a Troop on Saturday evening at 5PM, so if the families would like to join us you are more than welcome.
• Departure is 10AM on Sunday, April 22nd.
• The majority of Saturday will be used for cleaning and organizing the equipment for the camping season.
• We will also be helping to install some pet waste stations at Sandy Ridge and participating in Community Pride Day.
• A $5 fee per person will cover all the meal expenses this weekend.

I have included a permission slip for the activity this weekend and a general guideline list of camping gear to assist the newer scouts. 


Merit Badge Midway May 4-6

Merit Badge Midway is a camping trip at the Joint Vocational School campus in Oberlin that we attend each year.  It is a great way for scouts to achieve a few merit badges in a relatively short amount of time.  The cost of the outing will be $15 ($10 registration/$5 Troop Expenses).  If you are interested in attending please email me back who will be attending and 4 choices for Merit Badges your scout would like to work on which can be found on page 3 in the Merit Badge Midway Guide.

I need this information back as soon as possible so I can get you registered for classes before they are closed out.

Summer Camp


We will be attending Boy Scout Summer Camp from July 15th - July 21th.  This is another great opportunity for the scouts to get out camping and accomplish many of there merit badges along the way.  You can find a general flier here.  If you wish to have a more detailed look at the week you can find the entire leaders guide by clicking here.  The scout cost is $230 for the week and includes all of the meals.  This is due no later than May 1st and the check should be made out to Troop 153. 

I will also need to have some additional leadership support, so let me know if you have the ability to attend for the week or part of the week.  I will be available this weekend to answer any questions about the summer camp activities and process.

There is a great deal of information here and we are here to help you through it, so please ask myself or any of the other leaders.  I will be around at the camp all weekend so this would be a great time to get some of this done.

Yours in Scouting

Chris 

Scoutmaster Corner - April

Scouters,

The Red & Green was a great success and thank you to all the scouts and family that helped.  Welcome again to the new Scout families that have joined Troop 153.  We are looking forward to getting to know you and making some great scout memories.  I am going to attempt to use this blog and try to keep everyone up to date on happenings within the troop.  This is a work in progress so as I learn more about this tool it should develop in its functionality.

April 20-22 Camping

We are planning our first camping trip of the season on the weekend of April 20-22.  We will be tentatively be camping on the grounds of St. Peters church in North Ridgeville.  We are still awaiting final approval from the Diocese.  The plan for the weekend is to work on organizing and preparing the troop trailers for the camping season.  Additionally, we are planning some Youth Leadership Training sponsored by the BSA.  If you would like to sign up for this please click here.

Merit Badge Midway

Merit Badge Midway is a camping trip that will be on May 4-6 at the Lorain County JVS.  It is a great opportunity to complete a few merit badges and have some camping fun.  I spoke to the District and more information should be coming shortly.

Boy Scout Camp 


Just a reminder that we will be at Summer Camp the week of July 15th.  Please keep this week open for your scouts to attend as it a wonderful experience for them.  More information will follow....

New Assistant Scoutmaster

I am please to announce that Sean Van Dyke has accepted the role of Assistant Scoutmaster with our Troop.  Sean bring many valuable skills to the troop that he can teach the scouts to help in advancements.  Sean's energy is also a great asset to the Troop and we welcome him and his scout Connery to the Troop.