The Troop 1954
Wednesday Newsletter

 

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Great meeting last night folks.  But playing the game and building the fires shows us where we really need to work if we want to be competitive at Camporee.  I'll have some knot tying practice rope for each scout next week.  Patrols should think about organization and leadership when they try to do these events.  That having been said, I think it was a pretty good time for everyone.

We had a fantastic camp out at John Knox over the last weekend.  The weather was, as you know, fantastic.  The guys actually went swimming Saturday afternoon!  Anyhow, the troop loved John Knox and we're really grateful to the Colliers for offering us the opportunity to camp there.  We look forward to coming back (in fact, last night, the troop wanted to go back asap).  John Knox also presents us with opportunities for service projects and Eagle projects and we'll be looking to what we can do to help them out.

We had some folks step up and offer us really nice donations in the last week.  Thanks first to Tricia Kurtz for a cash donation that's going to enable us to buy some chuckbox items for each patrol.  That was really fantastic.  Thanks also to Mike Dillon who has donated a flag pole.  All we need to do is get it set up and we're in business.  It's this kind of parent support that's going to enable us to provide really high quality scouting experiences for our boys.

We found out, unhappily, that Wolf Mountain is not available for our April camping.  The boys voted to move the Wolf Mountain/Enchanted Rock campout to May.  So, we're looking for an April activity.  Your suggestions are appreciated.  We'll place several alternatives before the boys next Tuesday.

OA elections are scheduled for the next meeting.  In order to hold elections, we need good attendance, so please, please try to make the next meeting.  Read more about OA elections below.

Point system: Hey, the Fromage won this week!  Congrats to them!

I also want to remind you that the Troop 1954 events calendar is now available on the web in a user friendly calendar like format.  You can check it our at our website at www.sanmarcos1954.org

Attendance
SPL Lee Clendennen  presiding, assisted by ASPL Daniel Kurtz
 
Biohazards   Patrol Leader, Ben Painton.  Coached by Dr. J
Alexey
Nathan
Bryan
Ben
Mason
Nick
Justin		  
   
Crimson Fromage     Patrol Leader, Chris Jenkins. Coached by Mr. Painton
Sean
Tony
Chris
Silas
Josh
Ben
 
Highly Flammable Piffs     Patrol Leader, Zach Painton.  Coached by Ms. Patty
Lee
Corey
Daniel
Zach
Dane

 

Point System Scoring

Patrol

Attend.

Uniform

Behavior

Spirit

Meeting

6 Mo
Biohazards 4 5 4 4 17 33
Fromage 4 5 4 5 18 31
Piffs 4 4 4 4 16 32
Note: OK, I've modified the uniform scoring system as follows: all present in uniform=5, 1-2 out of uniform =4, 3 out of uniform = 3, 4-5 out of uniform = 2, more than five out of uniform =1.

I still have to work on exactly how behavior and participation are to be evaluated...that's clearly the most difficult part of the system.


 

Announcements
 

1) OA Elections are scheduled for next meeting.  Read more about them below.

2) Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.  Will be from 6 to 9 on Saturday, March 6 at First Baptist.  It's a medieval theme party this year with a dinner that you purchase for $5 a head.  In addition to awards and the dessert auction, there will be skits and other far out stuff.  The Cubs need to know how many people are coming so, if you want to go, please email Eric Meyers by Sunday, Feb. 22 (that's this Sunday).  His email is eric@corridor.net.

3) Medical and Driver Information  We're working hard to get our records straight and bring our troop in line with BSA policy.  To do this we need driver information, medical release forms, and Class 1 and 2 Personal Health and Medical Record Forms.  Cece Fink has distributed these to all scout families (if you did not get yours at the meeting on Tuesday, you should receive it in the mail).  Please complete them and get them back to her as soon as possible.  The medical release, the driver information, and the Class 1 Personal Health Form will be required before any scout is permitted to attend Camporee.  The Class 2 is required if the scout intends on going to Summer Camp (and is a good idea for everyone).

4) Summer Camp  We're now scheduled for summer camp near Cloudcroft in New Mexico the week of July 4-10.  This is a great opportunity to be in a really cool place at a bargain rate.  We will be asking for commitments to attend camp very soon so please consider whether or not you and your scout will be able to join us.
 
Order of the Arrow Elections


Next meeting we will be having elections for Order of the Arrow.  These elections will be run by an OA group that is coming in specially to do them.  They are scheduled to hold the elections at 7:15.

What is OA? 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/  

Who is eligible for OA? To be elected to OA, you must be First Class or above.  You must have completed 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping including one week long resident camp (but more than one doesn't count as part of the 15 days).  At the moment, our understanding is that the following scouts are eligible for election.  Please send me any corrections.

Lee Clendennen
Corey Collier
Sean Fink
Chris Jenkins
Philip Lewis
Johnny Lozano
Ben Warms
Justin Williams

What are the election rules and who votes? At least 50% of registered scouts must be present to have an election.  In our case that means we'll need at least 13 scouts present.  All scouts who are present vote, both those who are and are not members of the OA.  You may vote for as many (or as few) people as you want.  In order to be elected, a scout must receive at least 50% of the votes cast.  If anyone is elected, the vote is over.  If no one is elected, the vote is run again.  Complete rules can be found at http://www.scoutresources.org/oa/scripts/a1_unit_elections.pdf

Do I need to be present to be elected? Well, we're not sure.  To be on the safe side, please be sure to be there!

 
Upcoming Events

 

1954 Committee Meeting, Sunday February 29

Contact Curtis Painton for more details.

Order of the Arrow Elections, Tuesday March 2

All the information you need in the article above.

Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet, Saturday, March 6

Medieval Theme banquet.  Come watch the Cubs get their rewards, participate in the dinner and the infamous FOS dessert auction.

Twin Valley Camporee, March 26-28

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.

Service Hours Available, Saturday April 3

Help with the ongoing clean-up of the Guadeloupe Cemetery on Post Road

April Camping, April 16-18

Wolf Mountain isn't available.  Keep this spot open on your schedule.  We'll pick an activity for it in the next week or so.

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.

Also Saturday, April 24th, Cross-over For Webelos II

Webelos II scouts will be crossing to Troop 1954 at a family campout and ceremony scheduled for John Knox Camp.

May Scout Hut Work Day, Date TBA

We're hoping to paint the main meeting room of the Scout Hut.

May Camping, Date TBA

Wolf mountain and Enchanted Rock.  Dates and details forthcoming.

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.

Troop 1954 Summer Camp, July 3 - July 11

We will be doing summer camp at Camp Dale Resler in the mountains of New Mexico.  This trip will also include visits to White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  It should be a great chance to get away from the summer heat of San Marcos and into the cool mountains of New Mexico.  It is also a fantastic chance for the scouts to make progress on advancement, have a great time, and bond more tightly as a group.  If you can possibly send your scout to summer camp, please do so.  The estimated cost for this program (including travel, all visits, and spending money), about $330 for youth and $220 for adults.