Dear Scouts,
Thanks to crew chief Nathanial and scouter Mrs. McLeod, who was our Ramblewild honcho, we had a great trip to the Berkshires last weekend. We had somewhat soggy and wet weather, which forced us to postpone the Mt. Greylock ANE hike to later (next spring?) but it was still had an excellent time camping, cooking and climbing at Ramblewild. The campfire took some doing, but with Grady’s persistence, got it lit despite the wet kindling, and it developed into a very hot fire. We had to dry logs by the fire so they would burn. As a reminder, lighting a fire seems easy but never is, and sometimes is downright frustrating and smokey. This was one of those cases. Despite several attempts with flint, steel and various teepees and such, it did light and tool some fanning to get it going. Good team work in a challenging environment! The meals were well prepared and the adults even got to taste the patrol cooking which was excellent. Long gone are days of Raman noodles, now replaced with Smashburgers a la Marcus and Steaks a la Matt ! Good meals and good fire and good night sleep! As usual, Ramblewild was challenging and we did four runs including the blue. What makes this course really hard is the last runs are the hardest because they have you progressively show competence. So you start with easy ones, spend a lot of energy and keep going to the hardest at the end. By end the end, I was tired but kept going and glad I did. The cargo net was challenging but I made it. Every scout was zooming through the courses at great speed and taking on challenges. I thought the team work and encouragement was heard everywhere and this is certainly a favorite trip. Advancement Corner Congratulations to Ethan, who passed his Board of Review for Tenderfoot and is well on his way to Second Class Rank, in a matter of days. Charlie led the troop on a hike Tuesday night to show us where his Eagle project will be built. The ground was a bit wet and soggy making a good case for his project on trail work. The short hike was very enjoyable for the scouts. Family Life Merit Badge Meeting Schedule: November 7, December 12, and January 30, 6:00-6:45PM at Monument Hall Family Life met earlier in the week and next meetings are: Nov 7, December 12, and January 30, 2024 - all sessions will take place at 6pm at Monument Hall. In the meantime, everyone should be doing chores, family project, individual project and having a family meeting. Warners Pond Update Cole presented some thoughts on Warners Pond. This is where Scout Island is and has been the subject of much discussion lately. Cole presented an outline of the options to the Troop and we are arranging for guest speakers to present to the troop and then get feedback from the scouts on the issue. All who attend (in planning now, tentative for early November) will earn Citizenship of the Nation requirement 4 as shown below.
There is a Warner’s Pond Public forum planned for Wednesday November 8 at 7pm. The scouts will learn about the alternatives and we are stakeholders in this and encourage engagement. Finally, thanks to Grady and Adam for rewriting and rerecording the Troop 132 Public Service Announcement (PSA), which will be played often at CCHS's WIQH-FM all year long. We hope it will work to attract prospective scouts Troop 132!. Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster
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Dear Scouts,
Ben Franklin was quoted as “Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise.” Our troop is, hopefully, “weatherwise!” Last month we had to cancel our sailing trip because of a hurricane/tropical storm and this month it’s rainstorms that are thwarting us. Thus, we have delayed the start of our trip to the Berkshires, based on the information we received. In addition to multiple inches of rain, the forecast indicates the possibility of thunderstorms. That’s enough to alter our plans and to cancel the hike up Mt. Greylock! So our revised plan is to meet and muster at 12:30 pm at Scout House, and to head west to set up camp. Most likely we will be setting camp in the rain so prepare and dress appropriately. The PLC met earlier this week to hammer out detailed planning and was great to have recent alum Jonah C. attend both the PLC and the Troop meetings! We welcome all members of our troop back any time you can find time. The scouts learn from your experience and thanks for sharing how being a scout has helped you transition to college! Thanks Jonah! We also had our first Christmas Tree Pickup meeting, as that day of service is coming up soon, as is the Turkey Truck! Lot’s of great service opportunities including the Coat and Hat Drive. Stay tuned for more information. For those scouts working on Family Life, keep up the good work and for those camping this weekend, let’s make sure we are prepared. Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
Family Life Merit badge continues to evolve. This past week we had a discussion with what a chore is and is not. Your homework, while it might be a chore for you scouts, is not a family chore that contributes to the household. Great discussion and many are ready to begin. We also had some discussions on projects and plan to meet again next Tuesday. Then we can post a schedule over the next three months, most likely a once a month check in starting in November. Many scout parents met downstairs Tuesday night while scouts had the meeting upstairs. I was a little late due to a prior meeting I had with my involvement on the Marine Committee with the Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu). They currently have a group of high school students out on board the SSV Cramer from Proctor Academy Oceans Classroom. The Cramer is the vessel I sailed earlier this year from St. Croix to Miami. The Cramer is currently in Lunenburg Nova Scotia and it sounds very exciting for these students who will then sail to Bermuda and Charlestown, SC. Glad to play a small role in SEA and believe it or not, it’s a lot like scouting. You are in a challenging environment; you work with other crew/patrols and learn to live and function as a unit! They do have many programs and are worth checking out. Take a moment and thank your parents for attending the meeting and helping create all these wonderful scouting opportunities like this upcoming Greylock and Ramblewild. Take a few moments and show them your book and entries for logging service hours, camping nights and the requirements you have signed off and earned. They might not know all the things you have learned so far and it’s good to share. We have a good year planned and it takes many to make this work and it’s certainly appreciated. Next week we meet to have our Patrol Leader Council Meeting (PLC) on Monday, Family Life MB training and the Troop meeting on Tuesday (we will plan for our climb up Mt. Greylock and time on the Ramblewild ropes course at the Troop meeting). I would strongly encourage all our scouts, especially the younger scouts, to attend any and all events and bring your book so you can work on advancements. You will have chances to prepare and cook meals, identify plants and animals among the many other requirements that can be met. Scouting is not just done in the Scout House but most especially, out in the wild. This is where you really learn; the meetings can then help us prepare, plan and regroup, so we can do the real scouting is outside! Please join in. In a couple weeks we will have one outdoor meeting and need to do more of those going forward. The Automotive Maintenance Merit Badge finish-up is now planned for Saturday morning October 28; we ask that you signup again, at the sign-up sheet found here. Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
We kicked off the Family Life Merit Badge training this week and have started to pick chores, family project and individual project. This is a family favorite for sure, and we look forward to continuing the discussion. Like any and all merit badges, it’s important to read the requirements carefully, especially instructions that say, “with your Merit Badge Counselor or SM approval” as this usually means “ask first.” Also, note where it says “discuss,” this means be prepared to have a dialog about the topic, not just filing out the workbook. It’s good discipline to write it down first because it helps you frame up what you are trying to say. Good luck and see you next Tuesday. Thanks to many scouts and to Mr. Galluccio and Mr. Rzepczynski for helping with the (Drop-Off) Swap-Off. I think we were short scouts and adults and I only heard from a couple of you that were unable to make it. Let’s do better here with supporting this and each other because it often falls on the few who show up to do the work. I heard we got a bow saw and some other neat stuff all while helping our fellow Concordians unload gear. We had a Troop Committee meeting Tuesday, back to our regular schedule; we welcome all parents to attend these meetings. This month, we discussed a number of good topics like recruitment and parent meetings, trips and upcoming activities; and even how we manage our shared drive, and we always need help and welcome input. One of the strengths of our troop is the involvement from many who make the job easier and create great scouting opportunities for us all. Advancement: Here's some tips for scouts for advancement. We as a troop are not pushing you to advance but our job is to provide opportunity and show you the way as a boy led troop. Our goal is to have good scouts being those that follow the oath and law. If you advance terrific because even if you just go camping and meetings you will learn and in most cases have sign-off on many of the requirements up to the rank of First Class. First Class rank is a great goal because you then benefit from being able to go on high adventure trips and taking on positions of responsibility. Let me share some tips:
Ok, remind your parents we are having a Parent Meeting next Tuesday (Oct 10). We also need to move the scheduled Court of Honor to November 14 to accommodate some scheduling. This gives you a little more time to work on advancement! Until then, enjoy the weekend and “Do you good turn daily.” Also, invite a friend to scouting or an event. Think about that! Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster |
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November 2023
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