The Troop 1954
Wednesday Newsletter

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Thanks to everyone for their help at last night's meeting.  We're on the move toward Camporee at the end of March!

Welcome to new scout Silas Ott.  Silas has been attending a bunch of activities with us including last weekend's Kiwanis camp-out and the Scout "O" Challenge the week before.  He'll be a member of the Crimson Fromage and a great addition to our troop.

In other Scout news, we regret that Kirk Baen will be taking a leave of absence for a while and hope that he'll rejoin us in the near future.

One of our on-going projects is to build complete camping kits for each patrol.  We took another step toward this goal last weekend with the purchase of two additional cast iron dutch ovens (we already had one in house).  Later this week, I'll be putting out a list of durable and consumable goods we need to complete these kits.  Many of you might have some of this stuff lying around the house.  If you can donate it to the troop, that would be fantastic!  So, look for that list later in the week.

Attendance
Acting SPL Daniel Kurtz presiding, assisted by acting ASPL Zach Painton
 
Biohazards   Patrol Leader, Ben Painton.  Coached by Dr. J
Nathan
Ben P.
Mason
Justin		  
   
Crimson Fromage     Patrol Leader, Chris Jenkins. Coached by Mr. Painton
Gus
Silas
Ben W
Sean
Johnny
 
Highly Flammable Piffs     Patrol Leader, Zach Painton.  Coached by Ms. Patty
Zach
Daniel
Corey
Dane
Will

Announcements
 

1) Congratulations to all the scouts who achieved advancement at last weekend's campout.  I don't have the list in front of me right now, but it was impressive.

Important: We now have a fairly large group of First Class.  All scouts of that rank and above are eligible for election to OA (Order of the Arrow).  The OA is a honor camping society founded in 1915.  It's purposes are: 1) to recognize those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives.  2) To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit.  3) To promote Scout camping.  3) To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.  You can find more information on their Website at: http://www.oa-bsa.org/    Scouts are elected to OA membership by their peers.  All scouts vote on OA membership.  We will be having OA elections at our meeting on Tuesday March 2.  The OA team from Lockhart has graciously agreed to come in and run the elections.

Several scouts are very close to completing their 1st Class requirements.  Now's the time to finish those up so that you will be eligible for election to OA by March.

2) This Saturday, January 31, we'll be having another clean up day at the Scout Hut.  We'll be working from 1:00 to about 5.  I want to move the furniture out of the game room, and get that place cleaned up more.  If you've got spare mops bring them.  We'll also do some more general cleanup around the rest of the place.

3) Our next event will be the Report To State Parade on February 7th, a week from Saturday. We’ll be discussing our participation in that next meeting.

4) Patrol Leaders Council Retreat will be on Sunday, February 8th from 4:00 - about 8:00 at the Paintons. We’ll be setting the meeting and activity schedule for the next three months, so let your patrol leaders know what you want.

5) Merit Badge University will be on Saturday Feb. 21. It’s too late to register if you haven’t already. We’ll be talking about an alternative troop activity at PLC for those who are not going to MBU.

ALSO: Did everyone see the great article about Ms. Patty in the San Marcos Daily Record?  If you haven't seen it, you can get to it by following this link:
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/01/25/news/news5.txt

 
Article:
Now that we've got a rather large bunch of First Class, or very soon to be First Class, I thought I'd spend a moment and go over the requirements for Star Scout, the next step for all of them.  I've taken this from the usscouts.org website.  The links should take you to more information on their site
  1. Be active in your troop and patrol for at least 4 months as a First Class Scout. 
  2. Demonstrate scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life. 
  3. Earn 6 merit badges, including 4 from the required list for Eagle.*
  4. While a First Class Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster. 
  5. While a First Class Scout, serve actively 4 months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (or carry out a Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to help the troop):

 
Upcoming Events
 

January (Now February) PLC Retreat

PLC Retreat will be held at the Painton's on Sunday February 8.  We'll start after at about 4:00 and continue through early evening.  We will be setting the meeting schedule and activities for the next three months as well as discussing issues of organization and leadership.  SPL, ASPL, and the PL from each patrol (or other representative) as well as the patrol coaches should plan on attending.  Other scouts and parents, please e-mail me or any youth or adult leader with your ideas and suggestions.

Report to State

Saturday, Feb. 7 is the Report to State Parade.

Merit Badge College

Saturday, Feb 21 is Merit Badge College

Twin Valley Camporee

Friday, March 26 - Sunday March 28 is the Twin Valley Camporee.  This year
sounds like a really good one.  It will be held at the Ruby Ranch outside of Buda (very convenient).  It will have a medieval theme with competition in catapults and jousting as well as the usual first aid and fire building. Each scout has been assigned to be a specialist in one or two of the Camporee activities.  They should bone up on those activities over the next month and a half.

Saturday April 24th, Indoor Training for Scout Leaders and Parents

8:30 to 4:00 at the San Marcos Methodist Church.  This is the essential course for understanding how Scout Troops and meetings are supposed to work. The more parents who have this the better.  I really urge anyone who hasn't taken this course to do so.

Saturday and Sunday May 15 and 16, Outdoor Training

This is the second half of the complete scout leader training course.  It will be held at Kiwanis Camp outside San Marcos.