Camp Resolute 2009

[Updated April 3rd]

Contents

  1. General Information
  2. Camp Resolute Scout and Parent Guide
  3. Check In on Sunday
  4. Check Out on Friday Night
  5. Troop Pictures
  6. Emergencies
  7. Visitors
  8. Parental Authorization Form
  9. Medical Forms (2)
  10. Volunteers / CORI Form
  11. Merit Badge Sign-Up
  12. Pocket Money
  13. Uniforms
  14. What to Bring to Camp
  15. Sign-Up for Camp
  16. Leader’s Guide

General Information

Troop 4 will be attending the Knox Trail Council’s Camp Resolute in Bolton, Mass. as our week long local summer activity this year. We will be camping from Sunday, July 19 through Friday July 24. At Camp Resolute, a troop reserves one of about 12 troop campsites for its scouts. Each troop has its own site and we camp as a troop. We have reserved the “Nomolos” site. Scouts sleep in 2-man tents on wooden platforms. There is a cot with a mattress for each scout. Meals are eaten in a dining hall along with the other scouts (about 150) in camp for the week.

A typical camp day consists of merit badge classes in the morning run by camp counselors. The classes are fun and scouts get the opportunity to learn about many outdoor merit badges. Each Scout selects the classes that he would like to attend. The afternoons are reserved for individual scout activities and interests. Many of these activities are explained in the camp guide.

We will be working with the newer scouts on Tenderfoot through First Class requirements during the afternoons and evenings. After dinner, there will be troop activities and camp wide games.

Camp Resolute Scout and Parent Guide

Please review the Camp Resolute Scout and Parent Guide as it contains hints and information about Camp Resolute, and includes required forms. Also, there are a few items in the guide where Troop 4 will do things differently from the guide and a few items listed that we will explain further:

Check In on Sunday

Check In: Troop 4 will meet in the Camp Resolute parking lot between 12:30 and 1:00 PM on Sunday, July 19. At 1:00 PM, we will proceed to our Troop campsite (the “Nomolos” site). Parents and other family members are welcome to help the Scouts move in. Families can stay and tour the Camp during the afternoon, or leave as soon as their entire Scout’s gear is at the campsite. If you can not meet the check in time, please call or email Phil Bedard. Please call or email if you need directions to the camp. It is about a ½ hour drive from Milford.

Check Out on Friday Night

Check Out: is Friday night, anytime after 5:00 PM and before the Camp Resolute barbecue at 6:30 PM. Parents and families are encouraged to stay for the barbeque – information regarding purchase of tickets to attend (scouts are free) is in the Camp Resolute Guide. The troop will take part in the camp barbecue. Because summer camp ends on Friday, we will not be able to have the awards ready for a Court of Honor at camp. Instead, we will announce all the awards completed at camp at the barbecue and give out the actual awards at a Court of Honor in October. The Camp puts on a great closing campfire that the Scouts and their families may attend after the barbecue on Friday night.

Troop Pictures

Each year the Council has a professional photographer take each troop’s picture (the pictures are ready for pick-up Friday night). For those wishing to purchase a troop photograph, the troop will be collecting the $10 fee upon arrival on Sunday July 19 at camp. Please make checks payable to TOP Photography.

Emergencies

Emergencies: If you have an emergency and need to contact your son, you can call the Camp number listed in the guide. At check-in on Sunday, we will have several cell telephone numbers of the different Adult Troop 4 Leaders attending camp that you can call.

Visitors

Visitors are welcome any time. Please follow the Camp check in procedures and they will assist you in locating our Troop in camp.

Parental Authorization Form

Families must complete a release form to allow their scout to use firearms at the ranges and for their photos to be taken during camp. Please download the form, sign, and submit along with your health forms to Phil Bedard prior to June 18th. As an alternative to a troop meeting, you can send via US mail to Phil at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale, MA 01747

Medical Forms (2)

There is a new medical form this year. You must complete all three parts (A, B and C). Part B must be signed by your doctor. For scouts that require medication to be dispensed at camp, there is also an “Authorization to Administer Medication to a Camper” form that must be completed. In addition, the Troop procedures for submitting the medical forms are different from the ones stated in the guidebook and different from what the troop has done in the past. The completed and signed forms MUST be delivered to a troop meeting, or mailed or dropped off at Phil Bedard’s house, NO LATER THAN Thursday, JUNE 18th. The Camp wants the forms before to review them and speedup the check-in process.

The BSA medical forms MUST be: signed off by the doctor, signed off by the parent, and have the medical insurance company name & policy number listed. Many doctor’s offices use a standard form. If such a form is provided by your doctor, please attach it to the BSA form for additional detail to avoid unexpected problems. But even if attached, please note that the doctor MUST SIGN the BSA medical form (BSA rules). Please double check your forms carefully. Each year the troop has to return many incomplete forms for update. The camp will not in-process any scout with incomplete forms. Common mistakes include no parent signature, missing medical insurance information, no doctor phone number, and no doctor signature. The effort for the troop to obtain and process all these forms is very time consuming, so please do all that you can to submit them accurately and on-time. Thanks!

Medical forms for adult leaders are required as in past years. The Council wants these forms before camp also, so please forward them to Phil Bedard by June 18th via a troop meeting, or mailed to 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale, MA 01747. You can leave them in the scout drop off box near my garage door if you prefer.

Volunteers / CORI Form

The Troop will have many of our regular adult leaders attend in shifts to cover the week. However, if we are low on leaders for a particular part of the schedule, we may contact you to see if you can spend a day or night at camp. We will have an adult leader with you, and all you will be required to do is be present. Meals are at the dining hall and there are hot adult showers. Many adults actually commute to/from work for a day or more.

If you are staying overnight or volunteering for a day, the troop must (per Massachusetts law) submit your name, date of birth, and social security number and other information to the Council so that they can have a CORI check done. If you are asked, and are able to help with the adult coverage, please complete and sign the CORI form and return to Phil Bedard by May 28th (mail or drop off at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale 01747). This goes for registered adult leaders as well. Do not forget to attach a photocopy of your picture ID to the form. The information is needed by that date as the troop must submit all CORI forms before June 1 to the Council.

Merit Badge Sign-Up

Scouts should review the merit badge course listing in the 2009 Camp Guide. Some merit badges have prerequisites that need to be completed before camp in order for the scout to complete the badge at camp. If a scout does not complete the badge at camp, he receives a “partial” completion and can finish the merit badge later with a Troop 4 merit badge counselor.

This year the troop will be pre-registering scouts online before camp. Have your son(s) follow these steps:

  1. Select the merit badges from the list in the 2009 Camp Resolute Guide. Each scout should sign up for 3 merit badges. In addition, if a first year camper is fairly good at swimming, he should take the Swimming merit badge – it’s an Eagle required merit badge that is hard to get outside of summer camp.
  2. Check the merit badge course time schedule to make sure that you don’t have any time conflicts. Some merit badges (Lifesaving, Small Boat Sailing for examples) are two periods long.
  3. Bring your selections to the June 4th troop meeting, where a Troop leader will review them, help you make changes if needed, and then will register your scout in the council’s on-line system. If you can not attend that meeting, email your selections beforehand to Phil Bedard.
  4. The most important thing to remember when signing up for merit badges is – Have Fun! Have your son(s) sign up for badges that he will have fun doing.

If your son is completing prerequisites before camp, notes indicating completion are required from the troop counselor for the badge. Please email Phil Bedard before the last June troop meeting once your son has completed any required prerequisites.

Pocket Money

Scouts usually need $30.00 to $35.00 for the week for snacks, supplies, handicraft items, etc. Scouts can bring plenty of snacks to camp, but please be sure that the snacks can be kept in the Scout’s footlocker or duffel bag.

Uniforms

All Scouts are required to have the full uniform (official pants are not required) including the Troop neckerchief. Official BSA shorts are suggested, but not required. The Scouts usually wear T-shirts and shorts during the day for activities. It is a good idea to buy “Troop 4 “T-shirts for use at camp. We are currently sold-out of most sizes, but we will replenish supplies before summer camp.

What to Bring to Camp

The list in the Camp Guide is a good list to follow. Here are some explanations for some of the items on the list: The mosquito netting is the size that fits over a camp cot sized bed (can get at Wal-mart or sporting goods store). The Scouts sleep in 2-man wall tents with a wooden floor and a camp cot for each Scout. The dowels are to hold up the netting are good to bring, but are not necessary as you can use sticks at the campsite that work just as well. Bring twine to attach the dowels/sticks to the cot. For extra clothes, one change per day is adequate. Slippers are not necessary, but beach sandals are a good idea. A mattress cover is not necessary, as a piece of plastic will do just as well to cover the cot mattress. Swimming Merit Badge Clothes are needed only if the Scout is planning to take the swimming merit badge.

Clothes and gear can be kept in a duffel bag or footlocker while at camp. A backpack can be also be used to carry some of the equipment for the week.

Sign-Up for Camp

The camp sign-up and payment process is the same format as last year. The troop is required to collect the camp fees from the scouts and remit the total camp fee for the troop to the Council. The regular due date for scouts is the April 16 troop meeting. The due date for “new Scouts” – scouts who joined from last November to now – including crossovers from Webelos, is the May 28th troop meeting. Checks should be made payable to “Troop 4” (the troop remits one check to the Council with the list of scouts). Note that scouts can still sign up for camp after the dates listed but each fee is about $30.00 more.

As mentioned, the camp is owned and run by the Knox Trail Council. This year’s fee is $305.00 per scout. The “brother fee” for a brother that is also attending $240.00. Please see Phil Bedard if the fee is a hardship. All hardship requests are confidential.

Please call or email Phil Bedard if you have any questions. The troop has had many great adventures at Camp Resolute and this year will be another fun and adventure filled week. See you there!

Leader’s Guide

The Camp Resolute Leader’s Guide contains information for the adult leaders of the troop.