[Updated May 8 with corrected deadline for dropping off medical forms at Mr. Bedard’s house. The deadline is June 15.]
[Updated April 11 with new fee information.]
[Updated March 27 to include a link to the new 2008 Scout and Parent Guide and the new 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 6 through Friday July 11. 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. The Camp Guide for 2008 will be handed out shortly, as soon as it is published by the council.
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 read the Camp Resolute Scout and Parent Guide for 2008. It contains all the information you need to know about the camp and its activities and procedures. Adult leaders can find comprehensive camp reference information in the Leader’s Guide.
Be sure to read all the material below, though, because there are a few things that Troop 4 will handle differently than indicated in the Guide.
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 6. 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 troops picture (the pictures are ready for pick-up Friday night). For those wishing to purchase a troop photograph, the troop will be collecting the $9 fee upon arrival on Sunday July 6 at camp.
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.
A New Form to Fill Out
Sorry about this, but Massachusetts has added another form for parents to sign off on. (Camp Resolute Forms – 2008) It is an authorization to use firearms at the ranges and a release for photos taken during camp. If you could download the form and sign off however you want to that would be great. Please include the form in the Health form package. Please mail or drop off all required forms at Phil Bedard’s house before June 15.
Volunteers / CORI Forms
The Troop will have the regular adult leaders for the week. However, many of the adult leaders are also taking a full vacation week for the high adventure Camp Tahosa trip and their vacation time to commit to Camp Resolute is limited. Parents, we need your help to take a day and/or night or two during the week to attend the camp to help meet the adult requirements for the 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 interested in helping out, please email or call Phil Bedard before May 24 with the day and or nights that you can help out.
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. Please complete and sign the CORI form that is included here and return it to Phil Bedard no later than May 24 (mail or drop off at 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale 01747). This goes for registered adult leaders as well. The information is needed by that date as the troop must submit all CORI forms before June 1 to the Council.
Medical Forms
There are two “check-up” forms that 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 and different from what the troop has done in the past. The completed and signed forms MUST be mailed or dropped off at Phil Bedard’s house NO LATER THAN SUNDAY JUNE 15. The Camp wants the forms before to review them and speedup the check-in process. Blank forms will be included in the Summer Camp Guide.
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 doctors’ offices use a standard form. The standard form is fine to use as an attachment for details, but the signatures must be on the form (BSA rules).
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 15. Phil’s address is 22 Harmony Trail, Hopedale, MA 01747. I will soon have a drop off box for scout materials, similar to what Dave Kirchner had by his front door.
Merit Badge Sign-Up
Scouts should review the merit badge course listing in the 2007 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 2007 Camp Guide. Each scout should sign up for 3 or 4 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. Email your son(s) selections to Mr. Dave Callis as soon as possible, but before June 15. Dave’s email is dfcallis@msn.com.
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 Dave Callis 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. The troop t-shirts are available at any troop meeting for purchase.
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 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 17 troop meeting. The due date for “new Scouts” – scouts who joined from last November to now – including crossovers from Webelos, is the May 29 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 $30.00 more.
As mentioned, the camp is owned and run by the Knox Trail Council. The fee set by the Council this year is $290 per scout. The “brother discount” for a brother also attending camp reduces the fee for the second brother to around $230.00. 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!