Patrol meetings, Cardboard boat race, Future activities

 

Hi Troop 136!

 

Patrol Meetings:

I wanted to be sure that you knew about the plan for this week. We will not have a troop meeting on Tuesday, September 1st. We have several patrols who will be meeting during this week.   Please look at the Band app.  The Patrol Leaders have tried to find a time that was good for their patrol members.  I will also encourage the Patrol Leaders to contact each of the patrol members to be sure they are aware of their meeting dates to work on the cardboard boats in case the Scouts in their patrols do not have access to the Band app.

1.  Be sure that when you meet in your patrols that you are wearing a mask and have hand sanitizer available when you arrive and when you leave when you are working as a team to make your boat.

2.  When you meet, be sure to review and become familiar with your patrol name, emblem, flag, and yell. These items are what you will need to display your patrol spirit at the Cardboard boat race.  Please share this with me by email.  I would like to be able to share with the troop your selection of patrol names and patches in an email next week.  

3.  Share with me your patrol patch design, your name, emblem, flag and yell by Friday, September 4th.  I want to be able to order your patch for the September Court of Honor.  I would need the designs if you want to have a patch created as well by Friday, September 4th in order to place the order for you to receive by the September Court of Honor. 

4.   While you are meeting, plan your next Patrol activity to start working toward the National Honor Patrol Award and share what you plan to do with me so I can add it to the future events in my weekly emails.  Here is the National Honor Patrol requirements:  https://www.scouting.org/awards/awards-central/national-honor-patrol/ 

 

Cardboard boat race:

You may want to review the rules for the cardboard boat race.  Be sure to follow the guidelines.  The boat can only be made out of three items: cardboard, duct tape and pvc pipes.  We will plan to meet at the YMCA pond at 6:30 pm for the boat race.  We will have the inspections and the boat race will begin at 6:45 pm.  The patrol member that will be in the boat to cross the lake and back again will be the same person and will not be required to wear a mask when they are in the water.  They will remove their mask when they enter the boat and will put it back on as they leave the boat.  We will also have a popcorn tasting and handout of supplies at each of the patrol locations.  A map will be shared with you this week with the location of the patrols.  I am hoping to be able to use the names of the patrols when I share the map details.  I should be able to share this next weekend once the patrols submit their patrol names with me this week. 

 Troop 136 Cardboard Boat Race Rules and Informa...

 

Future Activities:

8/29 PLC Meeting 4:30 pm at the church firepit area, bring your devices and look for an email from the SPL with the shared documents

8/29 Troop Committee Meeting at 6 pm (Parents and leaders are encouraged to participate)

9/1 Patrol Meetings to put together your cardboard boat (Patrol Leaders will set up a location for the patrol to meet this week.  Please let me know so that we can have adult leaders at the location supervising the construction of the cardboard boat.)
9/6 Personal Management Merit Badge 3 pm at the church firepit area, Thanks for Jeff Colborn being the merit badge counselor

9/8 Meet at the YMCA pond for the boat race at 6:30, Inspections of the boats and race beginning at 6:45 PM

9/8 Popcorn kick off tasting and pick up of sales material for the popcorn sales
9/15 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM
9/22 Troop Court of Honor
9/25-9/27 Campout at the Great Seal State Park, Central Ohio Orienteers will have an orienteering course setup and other activities will be planned by the PLC on 8/30.
9/29  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blackhawks Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

10/6  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blue Blazes Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

10/9-11 Three Eagles Shooting Event and Campout at Mount Oval

10/13  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

 

 Troop 136 - Yearly Plan 2019-2020

 

 

 

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH 

Virtual meeting tonight, cardboard race, and future activities

 Virtual Troop Meeting link for August 25th is in the email I sent to you

 Troop 136_Meeting_Plan 8/25/2020

Only Virtual Troop Meeting Tonight:

We will only have a virtual meeting tonight between 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm.  There is an Open House for some of the Scouts so we will not have a Patrol Meeting for the Dragons. There is an Open House next week for the high school students at Grove City on September 1.  We will not have a Troop meeting or virtual meeting next week to allow time for the patrols to make their boat for the cardboard boat race.  The patrols can use the time to get together using masks and hand sanitizer in an outdoor environment to make the boat.  This option allows for the patrols to meet to build their cardboard boat race.  It is also considered a patrol activity and could be used as a requirement #3 for the Baden Powell Patrol Award that we spent some time talking about with the PLC this past month.  See the links for the award information.  This is the responsibility of the Patrol Leaders to share with their patrols and to start to work together to complete.  Most of these items are things they are already doing, but it allows them to work on the requirements.  I suggested the Scouts track their time and the start time could be when they wanted.  It could be any three month time period since they were elected as Patrol Leaders.  Here is the information:  https://www.scouting.org/awards/awards-central/national-honor-patrol/

Be sure to review the guidelines for the boat race to be sure your cardboard boat passes inspection for the race event:

Cardboard boat race:

I will be at the church between 6:30 and 7:45 for the Patrol Leaders to come by to get the cardboard.  If you are not able to come tonight, contact me to set up a time to meet at the trailer to get your cardboard.  One of the Patrol Leaders will be coming over right after the virtual meeting.

 Troop 136 Cardboard Boat Race Rules and Informa...

Future Activities:
8/25 Only a virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM 

9/1 Patrol Meetings to put together your cardboard boat (Patrol Leaders will set up a location for the patrol to meet.  Please let me know so that we can have adult leaders at the location supervising the construction of the cardboard boat.)
9/8 Meet at the YMCA pond for the boat race at 6:30 PM

9/8 Popcorn kick off tasting and pick up of sales material for the popcorn sales
9/15 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM
9/22 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blackhawks Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM
9/25-9/27 Campout at the Great Seal State Park, Central Ohio Orienteers will have an orienteering course setup and other activities will be planned by the PLC on 8/30.
9/29 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blue Blazes Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

10/6  Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH 

Campout, temps, meeting plan, advancement, cardboard race, and future activities

 HI Troop 136!

Campout:

The campout was amazing this past weekend!  Shane did a great job as the SPL this weekend.  Shane had two Patrol Leaders for the weekend, Jaedon and David. This was our first campout since March and everyone had a great time.  Some of the Scouts got a little wet!  We had a downpour of rain when we showed up on Friday night, but a few minutes later it slowed to a few raindrops so that we could get our tents set up.  Ranger Roy at Chief Logan allowed us to use the handicraft shelter instead of setting up our popups.  Since we decided to use the shelter, there were three picnic tables that we could use to separate the Scouts for social distancing and some smaller round tables for the adults.  Our service project lasted between 9 am and 4:30 pm on Saturday with an hour for lunch by the beaver pond in the Nature Shelter.  The trail was over five miles in length. 

I took some photos by the pond of the Scouts and adults and shared those in the Band app.  John King - I did not think about taking the photos until after you left, sorry..  Every Scout will receive 6.5 hours of service hours.  On Saturday, most of the rain was gone by about noon and the sun came out.  It was amazing weather in the afternoon.  

Mr. Baughman brought his grandson who is a Webelos Scout with Pack 136 and they camped on Saturday night.  I will try to get some more of the Webelos and Arrow of Light Scouts to camp with us in September to help with their advancement requirements. 

The Scouts were able to wake up at 7:30 AM and had the trailer loaded and ready to go by 9:20 AM.  They were able to pack their gear, eat breakfast and even had some time to complete a start, stop and continue activity about the campout.  Most of the adults arrived at 10 AM and the trip back home was a good one with nice sunny weather.  Be sure to check for ticks if you have not done so yet.  There was a report of one scout getting a tick.  We asked for the Scouts to check on Saturday night for ticks before they went to bed and again on Sunday when they arrived at home when they got a shower.

Temperatures:  

For the Scouts and adults who attended the campout, please be sure to check your temperatures each day and enter into the spreadsheet through Saturday. This is the responsibility of the adults and Scouts to complete using the link.   Here is a link to the form:

Virtual Meeting and Patrol Meeting:

On Tuesday night 8/18, we will again have our virtual Scout meeting starting at 7 PM followed by our patrol meeting with the Blue Blazes at 7:30 PM.  The patrol will be selecting their patch design tonight at the meeting.  The Blue Blazes patrol will meet at the church fire pit area at 6:50 PM.  Bring a device to use for the meeting.  A phone would work.  We will be at the firepit area for the virtual meeting and the patrol meeting after the troop meeting.

I am working on the merit badges for summer camp this week and preparing the list of completed merit badges for our Court of Honor in September.  I am hopeful that we will be able to have an outdoor Court of Honor, but we will play it by ear as we get closer to that date.  We plan to meet for the Court of Honor on September 22nd.

 Troop 136_Meeting_Plan 8/18/2020

Advancement:  

We have had a lot of Scouts earn rank requirements and I have been very flexible and readily available for Scoutmaster Conferences when requested.  However, going forward we will have the Scoutmaster Conferences during the first and third weeks of the month followed by the Board of Review during the second and fourth weeks of the month. The times for these meetings would be determined by the Scoutmaster and the Advancement Chair.

Cardboard Boat Race Rules:

On September 8th, the Scouts will race a cardboard boat they created across the pond and back again.  Only one Scout can be in the boat during the race.  We will follow the social distancing guidelines set forth by the governor.  I will have signs posted and a map for you to use to find your patrol.  You will be wearing a mask, except for the person in the boat.  They will not need to be wearing on during the race.  A fellow Scout will collect the mask and give the mask back to the Scout when they are finished with the boat race.

Here are the guidelines for the cardboard boat races:

 Troop 136 Cardboard Boat Race Rules and Informa...

Future Activities:

8/18 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PMand Blue Blazes Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

8/25 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

9/1 Patrol Meetings to put together your cardboard boat (Patrol Leaders will set up a location for the patrol to meet.  Please let me know so that we can have adult leaders at the location supervising the construction of the cardboard boat.)

9/8 Meet at the YMCA pond for the boat race at 6:30 PM

9/15 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blackhawks Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

9/22 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Blue Blazes Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

9/25-9/27 Campout at the Great Seal State Park, Central Ohio Orienteers will have an orienteering course setup and other activities will be planned by the PLC on 8/30.

9/29 Virtual Troop Meeting at 7 PM and Dragons Patrol Meeting at 7:30 PM

Phil

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH 

New Scouts Physical Fitness, Tuesday Troop Meeting, & Campout

 Hi Troop 136!

New Scouts Physical Fitness:

New Scouts Meeting at Tanglebrook to complete their physical fitness at 6:00 PM.  On Tuesday, it will be one month since your original physical fitness check.  You will be doing the following items: pushups, situps, stretch and mile run.  Please bring your log of activity and we will compare the original scores to the current scores.

As of right now, there is a forecast for Thunderstorms on Tuesday night.  I will make a call about 5 pm on Tuesday and send a note using the Band app if we are able to meet at the park for the physical fitness test.  If not, we will meet the following week.  Hopefully the weather cooperates with us and we have good weather on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday Troop meeting:

Meeting on Tuesday will be a virtual meeting for the entire troop beginning at 7:00 PM. Only the Blackhawk Patrol will be meeting in person at 7 PM at the firepit area by the shed.  We will have our virtual meeting with the troop followed by the patrol meeting at 7:30.  If you are in the Blackhawk Patrol, be sure to bring your own chair and mask and be prepared to watch the meeting on your phone if you want.  I will also have a computer to use for the troop meeting.  As of right now, there is a forecast for Thunderstorms on Tuesday night.  I will make a call at 5 pm to cancel the in person patrol meeting and only have a virtual meeting.  The troop will be meeting virtual no matter what happens with the weather. 

Focus for patrol meetings will be your patrol name, patch, yell, cheer and creating a design of your boat for the cardboard boat race on September 8th.

Campout:If you change your mind and want to come, please add your name to the document and start taking your temperature today.  None of the PLC Members who thought the campout was a good idea have signed up for the camping trip so far.  Hmmmm....

Before camp:

1.  Temperatures will be collected on a GoogleDoc starting a week in advance of the trip just like did for summer camp.  We will also keep a log for a week after camp.  Entering the temperature each day will be the responsibility of the parent.

The log to record your temperatures is in my email.

2.  Loading the trailer on Friday:

Be at the church at 5:30 on Friday.  We will load your items in the trailer.  You will want to not carry your items to camp and they will more than likely be moving the trailer back with the tractor.  So make sure everything is in the trailer.  

3. Transportation:

You will drive with your family or you can ride with another parent if you arrange this with another parent in the troop.  I will let you work out those details.  The troop will not be responsible for transporting the Scouts to and from this event during the Covid-19 pandemic.   This is similar to summer camp.  We are asking that the parents drive their Scout to Chief Logan and then pick them back up on Sunday morning at 10:30 or they can arrange with another parent to transport their Scout if needed.  This will be worked out by the parents and not the adult leaders going on the campout.  

4. Camp setup and tents:

We will set up camp and sleep in individual tents.  You may bring your own, or you can use a troop tent.  Depending on the weather, we might have a campfire.   You may bring their own tent or let the Scoutmaster know that you need a tent.  Scouts will be sleeping by themselves in a tent.

5.  Meals:

For the meals, I have attached a GoogleDoc that could be used to help you think about what you could use for your meals.  This should be a fun planning activity with your Scout.  They can choose something similar to the list of items that we have provided.  They will be bringing the item in a sealed gallon size freezer bag.  Follow the directions in the GoogleDoc for items you would normally eat at home. Using a freezer bag to place the hot water into will not leak as a result of the hot water when adding it to the meals.  If you need some meat cold, you could use a freezer container that you bring and leave in the trailer.  Both of these could be placed in a rubbermaid container so that you could access them during the weekend.  Be sure to have a freezer bag for each meal and it makes for easy cleanup of leftover food and trash.  We will have hot water for your meals if needed and for cleaning of your utensils.  Meals will be prepared by the Scouts for themselves.   We will not have normal cooking in the patrols.  This will be similar to the backpack campout where each Scout brings their own meals.  If your Scout wants to bring a backpacking stove, please let us know ahead of time so that we can look at the stove before your Scout uses the stove.  

The link to some suggested food items is in my email.

6. Service project:

On Saturday, after breakfast we will walk the perimeter of camp and work on a service project.  We will pack our lunches and eat on the trail.  

7.  Wear a mask:  

We will ask that the Scouts wear a mask during the weekend.  When we are out on the trail on Saturday for our conservation hours, they will not need to wear the mask if they are outside and more than six feet apart from each other.

8.  Backpack:

Bring a small backpack that they can use to carry their water and lunch on Saturday along with their work gloves and ten essentials.  Lunch will need to be a carry item.  We will be out on the trail most of the day earning service hours.

9. Permission Form and Medication Form:

Updated Permission Form instead of another waiver form.  This include the waiver for the leaders of the trip as it relates to Covid-19.  If you want to take a picture of this form and send it to me once you sign it, please feel free to do so.  Since there is no cost for the trip, you will not need to make a payment.

 Chief Logan Campout August 14-16, 2020

Medication Form:

 Troop 136 Medication Schedule template

Scouting continues....I am looking forward to the trip this weekend!  Stay safe!

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH 

Carter's Eagle Scout Project moved to today, no work on project tomorrow

 Hi!

 Carter made a decision last night to move the painting part of his project to today.  The person that was there last night helping with the ramp offered a professional sprayer and the expertise to spray the outside of the building.  He decided to move the Saturday work to today.  The person that will be spraying on the paint will not be available on Saturday. He is helping with another Eagle scout project with his troop on Saturday. Using the sprayer to put the paint on and back roll the paint using rollers would be much faster than rolling on the paint. 

 Carter realizes this is short notice, but he also wants to take advantage of the opportunity to use the sprayer and the person that can spray on the paint.

We will not be working on the project on Saturday.  Today will be the last day that the majority of the work will be completed.  If you are available between 5 and 7 pm tonight, please use the sign up sheet in the email I sent so that Carter will know who is coming.

 

Phil

 

--

Phillip Freeman

Scoutmaster, Troop 136 in Grove City, OH