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Dear Scouts,
Last week we elected new patrol leaders and several appointed or elected positions of responsibility. I’m glad so many stepped up and take on these positions to help the troop run. We do have a gap between our senior scouts and middle school. We are not evenly distributed. Usually, we have patrol leaders that are first class and 13 or older, which is a guideline. I’m asking the senior leaders to really help out and pair up with the patrol leaders to assist; it’s a great opportunity for the older scouts to use the Edge technique, help and it’s a good way for the newly elected leaders to learn from the veterans. Next weekend we have the TL Storer Camporee. We will be leaving early Saturday morning and returning late Sunday. Tentatively we plan to leave at 7am on Saturday and leave from TL Storer at 4pm Sunday. This is because not all have Monday off as a holiday and leaving Friday night, getting to our site and setting up camp in the dark off trail is not optimal. This way we get an early start and have two days with other troops with many activities around camp. It’s sure to be fun and learning opportunity. The weekend after, Saturday October 15, the Town of Concord’s Drop Off / Swap Off is back. This is a mandatory one-day service project where we (scouts) help unload cars, help tidy areas as people take stuff, and then help with the cleanup. We will need some more adult volunteers for this day to help as it goes from morning to afternoon. Sign-ups will be available as there are plenty of sports and other activities going on and this provides an opportunity to help for some or all. Cameron is our crew chief for this day and will do a great job with the town volunteers and scouts as a seasoned Senior Patrol Leader. There are a couple other opportunities later in the month. Don’t forget the PLC on Monday October 17, 6:30-8:15 (I think we can cut it back to just 8:00) but will discuss this with the senior leaders. Let your parents know: We have a Troop Court of Honor late in the month and please tell your parents they should come. This week, we have a Troop Committee meeting on Wednesday Oct 5, at 7 pm at the Stow Rec Center. All adults are welcome. And we are planning a Troop Parents’ Meeting is planned during a Tuesday Troop meeting, while our scouts meet; the date is set for October 18, so tell your parents about all these events. A couple scouts told me they followed up from last week’s homework to honor their parents. I could not be happier about that! Do your good turn, each day! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan
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Dear Scouts,
Last weekend’s Bedford Flag Hike was a great success. Scouts learned about the history of the Bedford Flag and walked the same trail as the Bedford Minutemen to the North Bridge. Being good scouts, they also picked up trash along the way and also supported each out with good company. Well done scouts. Tuesday night, the scouts elected new senior leaders. Congratulations to Matt as the new SPL and Jonah and Nathanial being elected as ASPL’s. I believe we are increasing the term length to four months and this term will go from October through the end of January. These are exciting roles for scouts and having terms from 3-4 months provide opportunities for those with outside commitments. It takes planning but this model works really well for our troop. My thanks to Jonah as SPL, Freddy and Tommy as ASPL’s. These scouts work really hard behind the scenes to make sure our troop has well planned camping trips and service projects. The next few months will be very busy and I hope you all can attend as many events as possible because scouting happens out in the field. We use the Scout House to plan, organize, debrief and work on some general skills but our scouting program is outdoors and learning by doing. Coming up in October will be the Council Camporee at TL Storer, and then the Drop Off/Swap Off is coming back in a new form the weekend after. We were unsure of whether DO / SO service project would happen this year, and we try not to schedule back-to-back events, so our schedule is more full than expected - please mark your calendars. Let me share this. Today is my mother’s birthday and she has been gone from me for over 30 years. She lost a battle to fast, rare cancer at a relatively early age. So here is my request. Give your mothers a hug and if you follow the scout law and are brave, tell her you love her. Mothers love, care and concern for you are priceless and cannot be put into words. I was really lucky to have a great one. She grew up and lived right here in Concord. I know you all have great parents because I see it in action. Take a minute to appreciate them, they are priceless. Do your good turn, each day! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan Dear Scouts,
Here is our planned Hike on 9/17/22 following the Bedford Minutemen of 1775; Bedford Flag Trail: What; Hike the 1775 Bedford Flag Trail from the Bedford Library to Concord, end point will be the scout house. What to Wear: Class Bs What to Bring: A day pack with water, hat, sunscreen, bug spray, small personal first aid (band-aids or other items for blisters if you are so inclined), good walking or hiking shoes. Since mornings are cool, I plan to have a sweatshirt and shorts. No rain is in the forecast for 9/18/22. Electronics allowed for pick up, drop off or pictures but in general our policy is no electronics. Record this hike in your scout book just like camping, biking and service projects and have a senior leader or me (Scoutmaster) sign off When: 9:00AM-12:30pm Saturday September 17, 2022 From/To; Bedford MA to Concord (ending at the Scout House). Scouts need to arrange ride to drop off and pick up and some limited rides available from Concord to starting point in Bedford. Where: Assemble at Bedford Library, Bedford MA – I have room for 4 scouts if they need a ride from Concord and will be at the Scout House at 8:30AM. Please contact me or Jonah if you need a ride. My number is 978 697-2730 and Jonah is 978-831-0141. (Reminder: scouts should copy their parents on any communications with adult leadership). Why: This is a historic trail and scouts will learn the history and have the opportunity to earn a badge / medal. But you need to do more than hike you need to observe, learn and fil out a form which we can do as a troop or unit. We sent up a sign-up earlier this week (and included it below), but you can join us even if you haven’t signed up. We will assemble at the library and see the flag. If you plan to be late or have any issues, please let Jonah or Mr. Duggan know. We will bring small trash bags too and pick up what we can (avoid dangerous or suspect items) so we can do our good deed for the day and make the world a little better in any way we can. We have a busy fall season ahead of us full of camping, hiking and service projects galore. Stay tuned for all the details and looking forward to a nice walk. Finally, as we discussed at our Troop meeting this week, Troop 132's Reid Geckle, was in an accident last weekend. Please keep Reid and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Do your good turn, each day ! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan Dear Scouts,
We have started our meetings back at the Scout House, on Tuesdays at 7:00-8:15pm; there maybe times where we meet outside, but we will communicate that ahead of time, so please check the announcements and scouts, tell your parents if there are decisions and announcements made at the meetings. Parents, you are more than welcome to stay for part or all our meetings. The scouts start on time and right after flags and oath and law, there are announcements and any adjustments that need to be made. Planning: Regarding changes to the calendar, we were unable to secure our J-22 sloops for Newport sailing due to another sailing event in Newport. Changing schedule dates for the trip was considered but conflicted with many other events. The scout leaders decided to substitute the overnight camping/sailing with a September day fishing outing and this information and sign-up will be coming out shortly. We have a full schedule for the 2022-2023 year including of camping, service projects, Courts of Honor and some interesting scouting day outings (ice climbing, skiing), Klondike or Polar Bear Challenge. Our first Patrol Leader Council Meeting (PLC) meeting (generally held on the second Monday of the month) will be held September 12 at Monument Hall. During this meeting, we will align our schedules including an exciting spring adventure trip and we will have more details next week, and plan the next month of Troop meetings. Scouts, tell your parents about all these events and your desire (or not) to participate in all or some. We structure our meetings around these events, provide opportunities for group scout skill learnings and patrol break-outs. Parents, we always need help and we will be having a parent meeting soon to describe what we need. As always, our big fund raiser and service project is the Christmas Tree Pickup. This is a mandatory all hands event as we prepare and pick up 750 trees in one day. This year that day is January 7, 2023. Please put this into your calendar. Many hands make light work, so if we all pitch in and use our gifts (skills, time and other resources) our troop will continue to be such a success. Another key success for our troop is the range of the ages of the scouts. This year we are especially grateful to have a total of seven high school seniors (Cameron, Christian, Freddy, Jonah, Lucas, Lucien, Tommy). All of these boys are exceptional scouts, great leaders, good followers and good teachers. They are always willing to help others with their scouting journey and I’m very proud of them. They can be counted on (Trustworthy) and as a troop, we are indeed fortunate. Welcome back. Start or continue your detailed planning for the year, and stay tuned for more information as it emerges. Advancement: Shoutout to two scouts who advanced this week. Congratulations to Charlie, who advanced to the rank of Life Scout, and to Nathaniel, who advanced to the rank of Star Scout. Do your good turn each day! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan Dear Scouts,
As summer starts to fade away, I have been thinking about the fantastic time we had at Hidden Valley in July. It was great to see so many of you learning new skills and working so well as a troop. And I was especially proud of the way the older scouts worked to help the newer scouts get acclimated. I know many of you went on from camp to have other adventures, whether away from home - rafting in the Grand Canyon, cycling in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, navigating Times Square, surfing in Hawaii and visiting France, Kansas, the UK, and Denmark - or here in Concord - working, going to camp or school - it was a great summer for Troop 132! Shout out to a few scouts who spent their summer in support of the BSA. Cameron and Lucas headed back to Philmont Scout Reservation in New Mexico to volunteer. They participated in a program called Trail Crew, where they worked on trail improvements for one week, and adventured for another week. Proud they represented Troop 132 so well! We will have our first meeting of the 2022-2023 year at Scout House this Tuesday at 7 - 8:15 pm. I look forward to seeing you all in your class A uniforms ready for the new year. The older scouts will be doing a presentation on their High Adventure Trip to Sea Base in the Florida Keys. Please invite your parents to attend this presentation so they can learn more about this trip, and about our High Adventure trips in general. They are some of the real benefits of being a scout! Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster |
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