TROOP 4 Family News Letter –
January 29, 2012
High Adventure Status:
The camp Tahosa roster is firming up. We currently have a roster of 31 scouts and adults. Over the next month, the high adventure team will put together a plan/schedule for our preparations. Stay tuned.
Be aware that it is still possible to add folks to the roster. If we add you soon to the roster (i.e., the next couple weeks), the price will likely remain the same. We will re-quote additional airfare with Southwest in a couple weeks to accommodate any additional scouts / parents that want to join us. See Phil Bedard if interested.
February Winter Sports Weekend:
The annual NH Winter Sports Weekend is almost upon us. The Lanciano’s have once again graciously invited the troop to their mountaintop alpine adventure base in Alexandria NH. Venture scouts (high school) are eligible to depart with the advance party on Friday. Ventures will meet and depart at the St. Mary’s Parish Center on Friday February 10th at 6pm. As a fundraising incentive, the Biohazard Patrol (8th graders) are also eligible to depart with the advanced Friday if they work extra hard on the pancake breakfast fundraiser, by selling at least $250 worth of tickets.
All other scouts will meet and depart from the Parish Center on Saturday February 11th at 8 am. Scouts will return from the event for pickup at the Parish Center at 3 pm on Sunday. All scouts should eat a meal before they depart, as there will be no meal stop on the ride up north.
Don’t forget your sled on this trip. Intense sledding is the main feature. For safety, scouts are encouraged to bring a ski helmet or sport helmet if they have one. Interested scouts can also try their hand at cross country skiing and snowshoeing. There is no fee for this camping trip.
All scouts should bring a bag lunch on Saturday. All scouts will cook outdoor patrol style meals for Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. We’ll stop for a fast food lunch on the ride home. Meal planning will be done by scouts at the Feb 2nd troop meeting. Meals will be cooked by patrols outdoors over their wood fire.
Scouts will be sleeping in the wood stove heated luxury of the Lanciano cabin ground level (aka basement). While no tents are required, scouts should bring their full complement of winter camping gear (see website checklist), including sleeping pad and sleeping bag.
A permission slip (attached at the end of this newsletter) for this event is due at the beginning of the Feb 2nd Troop Meeting. Remember, as with all camping trips, if you sign up to go, and something comes up at the last minute, you must make arrangements to provide your assigned food items to your patrol leader.
NOTE – If you can’t go to the Feb 2nd meeting, and want to go on the trip, you must email Phil Bedard before Feb 2nd so that your patrol leader can include you in the plan. We need to enforce this rule for this camping trip. Late permission slips have made it difficult for patrol meal planning, and difficult for transportation planning.
Order of the Arrow Election is complete. Congratulations to our newly elected members. New members will receive some welcome information from the Lodge over the next month or two. Questions can be directed to the Scoutmaster, or the Troops OA Rep, Dev Sgammato.
Troop Skate Night: Thanks to Mr. Rosa for arranging a reservation of the Gillete Stadium outdoor skating rink at Patriot’s Place in Foxboro. We have the rink all to ourselves, from 6pm – 730pm on Thursday February 23rd. This is our usual “off” school vacation Thursday, however, the opportunity was too good to pass up, so we’ve scheduled this fun optional event. Scouts, siblings and parents are all welcome to attend. Cost is only $5, which includes not only the skating, but skate rentals, too. Our expert scout skaters will coordinate a Skating Merit Badge class at the event. Many of the badge requirements can be covered right at the event. We also hope to play a bit of hockey, so bring your stick. It would be helpful if attending parents can drive/carpool their own scouts directly to this event. However, if there are a few scouts that need a ride, we will coordinate transportation, and those scouts can meet at the parish center at 515pm sharp. We anticipate returning back home before 9pm. In addition to the campout permission slip, we’ve also added a Skating Night permission slip to back of this newsletter. To determine headcount/transportation, we need this slip returned no later than the Feb 16th troop meeting. Earlier is better.
Koosh Re-invigorated: Thanks to Mr. Allemao for doubling our supply of Koosh balls! The game is back tto it’s original fast pace.
Pancake Ticket Sales: Thanks to all scouts for selling over $2100 in pancake tickets so far. That’s an average of $50 per scout…with a month still to go! Great job. Remember that all scouts are expected to sell at least $100 worth of tickets. This is our only troop fundraiser of the year. Thanks!
Advancement: Final round of Board of Reviews is next Thursday, Feb 2nd. Scouts should come prepared per the instructions discussed in Scoutmaster Conferences.
Troop Eagle Court of Honor: will be Thursday, February 9th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at St. Mary’s parish center. Note that this is a date change: it’s been pushed ahead one week.
This Court of Honor will feature rank advancement and many merit badges from summer camp and summer adventures. We will be doing the Troop’s famous pot-luck style dinner. Families with last name starting with letters M-Z are asked to bring a main dish. Last names A-L please bring a desert item. All families should bring 1-two liter bottle of chilled soft drink. The troop supplies all paper goods and silverware. You will receive a call or email from a committee member before hand to work out the details, in order to avoid duplicate dishes. New scouts, family members and siblings are all encouraged to attend this family event.
Troop Four Website: Please frequent the Troop 4 website at: www.troop4milford.org.
Please call the Phil Bedard at 508-561-7058 or email at pbedard1@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Troop Four Permission Slip
For the Troop Four Camping Trip on February 10-12 at the Lanciano Cabin in Alexandria NH
_____________________________________ has my permission to attend the event as noted above and below. If I can not be reached in a medical emergency, I authorize the Adult Leaders to obtain the appropriate medical care, at my expense, if necessary.
During the event I can be reached at the following telephone # ______________
If I can not be reached, please contact __________________________
at this telephone #______________________ Relationship to scout __________
Signed _____________________________________ Date ____________
Scouts, please check 1 box
____ I am a venture, or a Biohazard with $250 in pancake ticket sales, and I plan to go with the Friday advanced crew
____ I plan to depart with the Saturday crew
Parent, please check 1 box
____ I would like to come, too, and can drive ____ scouts (including my own). I will depart with the advance team on Friday
____ I would like to come, too, and can drive ____ scouts (including my own). I will depart with the Saturday crew
____ I don’t plan to participate
Permission Slip is due at the Feb 2nd troop meeting. Call Phil Bedard before Feb 2nd at 508-561-7058 if your scout would like to attend the camping trip, but can’t attend the Feb 2nd meeting to sign up.
There is no fee for this trip
Troop Four Permission Slip
For the February 23rd Skate Night at Patriots Place – Foxboro, MA
_____________________________________ has my permission to attend the event as noted above and below. If I can not be reached in a medical emergency, I authorize the Adult Leaders to obtain the appropriate medical care, at my expense, if necessary.
During the event I can be reached at the following telephone # ______________
If I can not be reached, please contact __________________________
at this telephone #______________________ Relationship to scout __________
Signed _____________________________________ Date ____________
Please check 1 box
____ I will handle my son’s transportation
____ I will handle my son’s transportation, and can drive ___ additional scouts
____ I will not be attending with my son. Please arrange for a volunteer to drive him
Total skating attendees from our family, including my scout is ________
The troop will get in touch with volunteer drivers after the headcount is in. Thanks!
There is a $5 fee per person to offset the rental fee for the rink. Check payable to Troop 4, or cash in an envelope with scout’s name on it.
Permission Slip is due at the Feb 16th troop meeting. Call Phil Bedard before Feb 16th at 508-561-7058 if your scout would like to attend the skating event, but can’t attend the Feb 16th meeting to sign up.