Dear Scouts,
Last week, I made a mistake in my welcome to the new Webelos scouts, so I want to again welcome Ryan, Ben, Owen and Pablo. Pablo is the younger brother of Eagle Scout Simon Cadavid, and we are really glad to have him. Welcome to the troop Pablo ! A shout out Happy Birthday to a terrific scout, a role model in every way, Jonah Carter. He will be celebrating his 18th Birthday and check out the Troop 132 Facebook page for a picture of Jonah with the troop. I think we all know and can say he’s an outstanding scout in a class of outstanding seniors. I cannot say enough good things about these scouts. They earned many skills, overcame many obstacles, and always put the troop first. We are really blessed to have these young men part of our troop and I’m very grateful. Happy Birthday Jonah and remember (this applies to everyone), that you are always part of this troop and always welcome to any meeting or event. We sure would love to have you guys as ASM’s as time permits in your busy life ahead so please keep that in mind and we expect you back ! We wanted to again thank the Board and Liaisons of the Scout House, who recognized the hard work you all did at the Scout House cleanup day. We are happy and grateful that the entire Board was so keen to let you know how much they appreciated your efforts. And for our next service project, scouts are trained and ready for the Town’s Drop Off / Swap Off (DOSO). This year, because of the many events in one month it is optional but will be highly attended. Of course, be friendly, courteous and kind as you greet citizens, but when in doubt about any thing that can be dropped, ask an adult volunteer - that’s their job, not yours. Many scouts have been working hard on advancement. So as a reminder: Don’t forget your book. Fill it out. Record dates in the back; Get sign off; and after any Board of Review (or blue card sign-off), see Mr. O’Neil, our Advancement Chair. (If you leave it to me then there’s a good chance it might not get done). Learn, review and be tested and recognized for learning these skills. Each meeting, each event we are on, there are opportunities just waiting for you. Advancement Corner Congratulations to Sebastian, Luke, and Jonah Y for making Scout; and Evan for making Tenderfoot. I see many of you making excellent advancement progress (and some of you confirming past advancement to make sure your records are up to date). Great job - it should a good Court of Honor in June – and again in September! I’m off this weekend to a small family gathering on the Cape and won’t be able to make the DOSO. I really like the DOSO and meet and see many old friends but I’m leaving it in good hands of Lucien. Lucien as our ASM is running this event and very proud that he stepped up! He has been at every Drop off and knows the drill. Listen to him and follow his lead; don’t forget, a scout is ‘obedient.’ Coming soon is the Annual Bike Trip, more service opportunities (Lincoln’s Eagle project, the Concord Library Book Sale), Automotive Maintenance MB training; Surf Outing, our final Court of Honor of the year, the Iceland Adventure, summer meetings and Summer Camp! Keep up the good scouting and do your good turn daily! YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster
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Dear Scouts,
Our troop under Grady’s leadership welcomed new Webelos scouts, Ryan, Ben and Owen and parents to our troop. They all crossed over a very solid rope bridge, which actually supported me! We warmly extend our greetings and hope to see you on many trips including the family bike trip to Nantucket where you can get to know the troop better. A special shout out to the scouters (adults) who made the cross over really special and there are many but Mr. McWilliams did a fabulous job with the “adult” meal; Mr. Galluccio for membership work, Mr. Muno for helping the scouts with their meal (the brisket was great); and many of others who all contribute to the running of the troop. Several photos have been posted to the troop FB page and if you are not in the group just request access. All Scouts! This weekend is Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all those on earth and those in Heaven. Be sure to thank her and show her your appreciation for the many unrecognized things they do for you. You cannot measure how much your moms do for each you. Sometimes it might not feel like they are helping but they always have your best interest in their heart. My mother who passed away many years ago, much before her time, said to me “mothers are your best friend.” They are. They always look out for you, even when you think you might know more then them or feel independent and don’t always take their advice. They have your best interest in mind and no one knows you like a mother. Show or better tell them how much you appreciate them this Mother’s Day. Many scouts are working on advancements and ready for Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards. Grady set up time before the meeting if you are getting stuck or need anything to help you along the journey. We are all here to help. For the next Troop Court of Honor in June we will need everything completed by May 23,2023 as Mr. O’Neil will be traveling. If you have questions or don’t have badges that you thought, come to the meeting and talk to him about what you need. Let’s work together and get these requirements complete so you can be recognized for what you earned. Next weekend is the Town of Concord Drop Off / Swap Off (DOSO). This year it’s not a mandatory event since this was split off from the Cross-Over (when they were together it was easier to manage), but since the date shifted, it’s optional but highly encouraged. Don’t forget this is an opportunity to earn service hours, help the community, work with your fellow scouts and get first “dibs” on any item you want. Everyone benefits. Lucien is our honcho. Yup. He’s 18 and now in charge of the event. Pay attention to his direction and give him the support he needs. He will need crew chiefs and follow his overall lead. Thank you Lucien for stepping up! Don’t forget to signup for the Annual Family Bike Trip over Memorial Day Weekend (this year to Nantucket); the Automotive Maintenance Merit Badge Training (June 4, 2023); and the Service Project supporting the Concord Free Public Library Book Sale (June 10). The troop received a big THANK YOU from the Scout House Board this week. The thank you was for the clean up event in April and was signed by several board members in appreciation for our work. Well done Scouts! Keep the Scout House “Clean”! The klondike derby sleds are now taking a break over the summer at Grady’s and the two-man saw was super sharp and we will need some practice. I expect to bring this to camp where we will all get trained on how to do this. Never too early to practice for 2024 Klondike wood cutting competition ! Enjoy the weekend and many thanks to all scouts and parents for a great Cross-Over! Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
We have an upcoming camping trip called the Cross-Over, as well as many other activities planned for May and June. It's important to be welcoming and polite to our new scouts and their families during these events. The Cross-Over is the first overnight trip with the troop, and later in the month, we have a bike trip, which will be the second chance for the new scouts to bond with the troop and their families. Remember to bring your book and work on your advancements, as each event is an opportunity to apply what you learn in meetings and on the trail, and get signed off. We'll have another troop court of honor in June, and I'll be checking in with many of you to see where you stand and what you need. Take advantage of this weekend, bring your book, and work with your patrol leaders, your ASPLs, or your SPL to either learn and be tested, or figure out what you need to do next. I'm excited to spend some time with you and the new scouts! Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
Welcome back from spring break. SPL Grady led our first meeting back with a hike to North Bridge and the Robbins House, where he described some of the history. It was great to get out and hike now that the days are longer and look forward to more of these events. May and June will be a busy time of year for scouts and lots of opportunities for advancement. Bring your book and let’s make some progress. We are here to help. Get some of these requirements completed and signed off so you can get recognized at the June court of honor. Do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
I hope you all had a nice Spring Break! Special thanks to Mr. Rzepczynski for keeping the Troop and Troop Committee going in my short absence; and to Grady for running the PLC meeting. I returned last weekend after 1275 miles of sailing from St. Croix to Miami. We first sailed from St. Croix into the Caribbean Sea to collect and classify Sargasso weeds as part of the 2023 super bloom. This year is a big event which tons of Sargasso weed will bloom in May and June, some of which washes ashore in the eastern Caribbean, Mexico and US. This super bloom is not well understood. The weed also contains small crabs, fish and habitats for other sea life and while its thought of as a blob, is really a lot of windrows of weed spread out. After a couple collecting stations, where we toss nets, tow, collect, sort, and measure, we then sailed on across Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic/Hati, then north of Cuba and onward to Miami picking up the gulf stream. This took about eight (8) days running 24 hours a day (no stops). I was part of the crew from the Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu) and had to stand watches and take part in running the entire ship including sailing handling, navigation, engine duty, galley, and classes. This short program is a bit unique and I was glad that I was able to go. The ship’s watch schedule is 6 hours on and 12 hours off, which rotates daily. So somedays you are on 7am-1pm, then off until 1AM, on to 7AM, then off till 7pm to 1AM. It’s easy to get tired and not enough sleep as there are always things to do. No internet and the ship is always moving and sometimes squally weather. No air conditioners and it was mostly hot and sunny with occasional showers. And don’t forget there are emergency drills & firefighting that have to be practiced. I did get a chance to brush up on celestial navigation, which uses the sun, stars and planets to find your location. Most of the time, I was pretty close to the GPS! There was another class that followed us in Miami, which was a high school class with oceanographers from Woods Hole and they were conducting some under water robotics stations from Miami to Charleston SC. If you follow this link you will see me in the picture sorting Sargasso weed (https://sea.edu/ships-and-crew/ships-blog/). I always learn a lot; in some cases, this is like scouting where there is a lot of learning by doing, working within a community and what works best is when we think of others first. You have heard me say things like Ship, Shipmate and Self, where ship is the mission, shipmates are our crew or patrol and self is at the end. Just like scouting, our mission comes first, taking care of our troop and patrol and then finally don’t forget to take care of yourself. We have a busy month of May coming up with a couple of camping, biking, surfing and service (Drop Off / Swap Off, the Concord Free Library Book Sale) opportunities stretching into June (along with some Eagle service projects looming). Do your best to help others, especially when the call comes for Eagle projects. These are troop events and we work together to serve the beneficiary and support our fellow Scouts. Remember to bring your books to meetings and remind me if you need Scoutmaster conferences and a follow up Board of Review (we will have a new Signup form starting this week!). In June, we have another troop Court of Honor, so hoping you are working to complete some advancement activities. We are rescheduling the Auto Mechanic Merit Badge Training (scouts will learn to replace a tire and check the oil; these are some basic life skills that I think all scouts should have) to June, and will soon have a sign-up for Family Life Merit Badge Training, so much Advancement activity this month and next! Do your good turn daily and look forward to seeing you all! YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
I hope you enjoyed the Court of Honor as much as I did - I am so glad we had an opportunity to tip our caps to Cameron, Freddy and Lucien, who have meant so much to our Troop these last 7 (!) years. We all enjoy recognizing your many accomplishments but most importantly, seeing the good scouts that you are all becoming. We have a fantastic group of scouts who have strong support from your families, which make a big difference to our program. That means we can have many opportunities for scouting, camping and service projects and I know you are all involved. Next week I leave on an adventure for a couple weeks. I have the opportunity to sail onboard the SSV Cramer as part of the Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu) from St. Croix to Miami. Many of the scouts have been on board when the vessel has been in Woods Hole as we visited her while waiting for the ferry. This voyage is 0ver 1000 miles and a good eight (8) or so days at sea. I’ll be part of the crew and working with engineering and on deck. I’ll brush up on my celestial navigation and other dust off my sailing skills. This is the longest voyage for me in several years and really looking forward to it. These opportunities do not come up very often and I’m jumping at the chance! That means I’ll be leaving you in good hands with your Senior Patrol Leader(s) Lincoln and Grady, as they transition between them. I’ll also miss some events like the Scout House Clean-Up, the PLC meeting, and a couple meetings (one with Webelos). We will make sure you have all the help you need and also that we schedule some boards of review soon. A reminder, we will have another Court of Honor in June before camp; this give you a chance now to complete those requirements and get sign-off, so take advantage of this opportunity! Bring your books to all meetings and events and keep learning new scout skills (and write them down). Do your good turn daily and I’ll be back on the weekend of the April 15! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
Troop 132 is off on a Ski Trip this weekend staying, skiing at Gunstock Mountain, and staying at a cabin at TL Storer camp site. Your scoutmaster is back from two trips, one to Arizona , where I attended an engineering conference. There I had the chance to visit a friend from Concord who was a scout in Troop132 and his father, David Whitney, was the scoutmaster. His son Ian is a member of troop 39 Flagstaff and I got to attend Troop 39’s Court of Honor. It was a treat visiting another troop and while some of the ceremony is different, we all share the same ranks and merit badges and food after the event! Their troop was getting ready for a trip to Carlsbad Caverns, visit Space X and Roswell New Mexico during their spring break. Sounds like a great trip. I then continued to Odense, Denmark, which is becoming a sort of Silicon Valley for robots. We are building a new robot and finishing up the engineering and manufacturing line. Scouts are there in Denmark too, and our company hosted some scouts over an open house last summer. Scouts are everywhere and we all share the same goals and aims; it’s great to be connected to the entire scout world. Troop Court of Honor Tuesday 3/23 – All welcome and scouts expected This Tuesday, we have a Court of Honor and some will earn ranks and merit badges. In our troop, we expect all the scouts and welcome all parents, siblings and relatives and friends to attend. Even if you are not earning a rank, badge or special awards support your fellow scouts and you might also learn some things about merit badges and what is required to earn a rank. All are welcome and encouraged to attend, especially our senior scouts this particular Court of Honor. See you Tuesday! Advancements After meeting with many of you to review your scout journey, I would ask that you bring your book with you on most, if not all, events and keep your records up to date. Your Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader and I will be more than happy to help. Remember the four (4) ways a scout advances; they learn, are tested, are reviewed and are recognized. Many of you have learned and all you need is to be tested and reviewed and then update your books. So please bring your books to meetings and events so that as you learn and tested with your PL, SPL or other designated leader (just ask me) and we will help you. Parents, you can help your scouts by taking pictures of the advancement pages so that in the unlikely event the book is lost or pages ripped, we can carry those advancements and dates over to a new book. I know many of you have learned and fewer are tested and reviewed. Scoutmaster Conference and BOR If you need a Scoutmaster conference, just let me know and I will be happy to make some time to accomplish this. Then it’s our scouters’ (adult volunteers) job to schedule a board of review (this depends on rank and availability of our scouters). Keep up the learning pace and we will help with all advancements that you are ready to be tested. Klondike Sleds – need a summer home Congratulations again to the troop for earning 2nd place at the District’s 2023 Klondike Derby. We repaired the sleds and now have two complete units with both wheels and skis, a placeholder for flags and solid wood replaced the damaged supports. These have served you well. Now we need a scout family to store the sleds inside a garage or shelter. Frankly I’m out of space and need a scout family with some room to store them. They are not pressure treated (too heavy) and would be subject to rot if left outside. Can you let me or Ms. Flinn know if you are willing to store them. Scout Elections Congratulations to Grady for stepping up to serve as SPL. This is a tough job with lots of on the job learning. Lincoln has been doing a great job this term, and our troop strives to provide opportunities for senior leaders to both lead and also rotate to accommodate many of the sports and extracurricular activities you are involved with. Welcome Grady to this new role, which starts in April. Scout Spirit Living the scout oath and law every day is the mark of a good scout. Our aims as scouters are to provide opportunities and help develop character, provide leadership development, citizenship training and personal fitness. I am very proud of that Pijus put the scout law into action. He did his good deed. If you want to recognize a scout, look at their deeds as they stop and help others. Well done! Good morning. I hope this email finds you well.My name is Dan Keller and I am Pijus’s English teacher. I wanted to mention this positive moment to you. This morning, there was a student scurrying down the hallway. Unfortunately, his entire pencil case exploded as a result of his fast pace. As many students were side stepping around this student, there was one who stopped and helped pick up his materials. That student was Pijus. I’m sure proud of him! This small moment shows what a kind, considerate and caring individual he is. Have a great day, Dan Keller Do your good turn daily! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
As you know, I am still away this week. I just wanted to say how proud I was to see the troop in action at this year's Klondike Derby. Great results come from leadership and teamwork. Well done Lincoln and Grady and Troop 132! Mr. Verlander provided the following trip report:
See you on Tuesday. Remember we have elections for positions of responsibility. If you want to stand, don't forget to fill out the POR Application Form and get it back to me and Lincoln before the Troop meeting. In the meantime, do your good turn daily! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan Dear Scouts,
I hope you all enjoyed a good winter break. I spent some time up north, near and actually on the Canadian border on snowmobiles. There was well over 2 feet in the mountains, which was terrific. We have a busy few months ahead of us the Klondike, ski trip, Scout House cleanup and many other events are planned. It will be a busy and fun spring and early summer, including Iceland, surfing and the bike trip to Nantucket. There are more details to come but we are a busy and active troop. The Troop Committee met last week and we have an upcoming PLC. Due to work travel schedules I will be away for two weeks in a row starting this Sunday. One trip to sunny and warm Phoenix and then back to the Klondike and a Sunday afternoon, early evening trip to our cobot factory in Denmark. So please be patient with some scheduling and communications, as I’ll be in a couple different time zones and delays getting back to everyone. Next week we need to focus on Klondike planning and tuning up our skills to compete and test our skills against other troops. This year, we will have two sleds with either ski or tire setup if we want to run two sleds we can. I also had some time to clean up the two-person saws. They are now waxed and ready to cut wood like new and put on an old fire hose as a sheath. That should make it easier to transport. Let’s focus on knots (bowline and timber-hitch), first aid (hypothermia), and fire building. These are all good basic scout skills. Remember with this snow coming this weekend, there are opportunities to do good deeds so get out and shovel your house, your neighbor’s house, and fire hydrants. Put scouting to good practice. Do your good turn daily! Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan Dear Scouts,
Current Friday afternoon Mount Washington Observatory weather. Temperature -36, wind 100 gusting to 112 and windchill is -92. Pretty impressive weather. Barnstead NH, TL Storer is 0. Remember last year it got to -7. Very impressive artic cold front. As you know, the Klondike Derby is postponed until March. Given this change, the PLC will meet one week early - on Monday 2/6/23 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm (with Pizza), to review our schedule for February and March. We were prepared. We had met and planned this trip. The Troop Committee was aligned with our plans and we had a backout plan as well. I was looking forward to it and this is one of my favorite trips for many reasons. First, winter camping is challenging. Next, working as a team on timed scout skill events tests our ability. Fire starting, ice fishing, lashings, wood cutting, tent set up (sometimes) and administering an ice rescue and first aid we complete against other patrols. It’s a good yardstick to measure our program. I’m always proud of our scouts on how they work together and practice ahead of time, communicate with each other the plan, the carry it out. It’s something to witness and tests leaders in a real concrete get it done situation. It’s always challenging and always rewarding - sometimes not right away but reflecting back on what we can learn from it. I know we are still interested in Iceland in June and we will be doing more planning ahead. It’s a busy year and it goes by fast. I know the scouts enjoyed the climbing and Klondike preparation. Now we will have more time to tune our skills which should include orienteering and basic map and compass. Keep warm and do your good turn daily. Yours in Scouting, Mr. Duggan |
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November 2023
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