| July 18, 2010 | ||
| July 19, 2010 | ||
| July 20, 2010 | ||
| July 21, 2010 | ||
| July 22, 2010 | ||
| July 23, 2010 |
Information for Parents - UPDATED 3/14/2010
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 18 through Friday July 23. 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
The Camp Resolute issued 2010 Summer Camp Guide for Parents is (or will be very shortly) available on the council website at http://www.campresolute.org/forms/index.htm. Please review the guide as it contains hints and information about Camp Resolute. 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 18. 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 Book. 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 18 at camp. Please make checks payable to TOP Photography, not Troop 4.
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.
Forms to Fill Out
The Troop has created a handy PDF packet of all required forms. You must use these forms. Also include is a checklist to help eliminate common mistakes. The Camp wants the forms before scouts arrive at camp in order to review them and speedup the check-in process. Therefore, please turn them in at any upcoming Troop Meeting, but no later than the final seasonal troop campout. This deadline is June 25th. Those that cannot attend the final regular season troop events can drop the forms off by June 25th in my scout box drop off box near my garage door at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale, MA. A troop leader will be assigned to organize and track status of incoming forms, and they may contact you if there is a problem.
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. The form is included in the Camp Resolute Scout and Parent Guide that is (or soon will be) located on the Troop Website along with this document. Please download the form, sign, and submit along with your health forms to Phil Bedard prior to June 17th. As an alternative, you can scanning / email, or send US mail to Phil at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale, MA 01747
Volunteers / CORI Check
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, maiden name (if applicable), date of birth, social security number, address and phone number to the Council so that they can have a CORI check done. If you are able to help with the adult coverage, please provide this information to Phil Bedard by May 27th (mail or drop off at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale 01747). This goes for registered adult leaders as well. To protect the security of your sensitive personal information, the troop will simply pass on this data; we will not retain it.
Medical Forms
There are a few required medical forms, one of which must be signed by the Scout’s doctor, plus one additional form that must be completed if the Scout is taking any prescription medicine. In addition, the Troop procedures for submitting the medical forms are different from the ones stated in the guidebook. This year, to avoid confusion on forms, we are handing out a set of the specific forms to be filled out, directly to each scout attending camp. The package also includes a checklist to help you avoid common mistakes. This takes the guess work out of which forms apply to you. In addition to the hard copies we hand out, the same package of blank forms is included on our website.
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. These DOCTOR’S OFFICE FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY THE CAMP THIS YEAR. THE DOCTOR MUST USE THE BSA FORM. 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.
Merit Badge Sign-Up
Scouts should review the merit badge course listing in the 2010 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:
- Select the merit badges from the list in the 2010 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.
- 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.
- Bring your selections to the June 3rd 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.
- 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. Our next planned t-shirt purchase is fall 2010, however we have a limited supply from our last purchase. Email Phil Bedard with desired size if interested, and we’ll check stock.
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 15 troop meeting. The due date for “new Scouts” - scouts who joined from last November to now - including crossovers from Webelos, is the May 27th 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 $325.00 per scout. The “brother fee” for a brother that is also attending $279.00. 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!