New SPL

We wish James all the best as our new Senior Patrol Leader

ELECTIONS !!! - Parents please make sure scouts read this !!!!

Next week we will hold our elections for new leadership positions, at both Troop and Patrol Level.
You, the Scouts will elect a new Senior Patrol Leader and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. In addition Quartermaster and Scribe will also be elected, and it would be really nice if we had a webmaster who really wanted to look after our Troop blog and Facebook page

Then you will head off into your patrols and elect a new Patrol Leader and APL

Read the descriptions below , and make sure you are voting for someone who you honestly believe can do the job well.

Positions with ** should attend PLC meetings monthly or delegate to their assistants.

Senior Patrol Leader**
• Preside at all troop meetings, events, activities, and annual program planning conference.
• Chair the patrol leaders’ council.
• Appoint Scout leaders with the advice and consent of the Scoutmaster.
• Assign duties and responsibilities to other Scout leaders.
• Work with the Scoutmaster in training Scout leaders.
• Set and enforce the tone for good Scout behavior within the troop.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader **
• Be responsible for training and giving direct leadership to the following appointed Scout
leaders: historian, Order of the Arrow troop representative, scribe, librarian, instructor,
quartermaster, and chaplain aide.
• Help lead meetings and activities as called upon by the senior patrol leader.
• Guide the troop in the senior patrol leader’s absence.
• Perform tasks assigned by the senior patrol leader.
• Function as a member of the patrol leaders’ council.
• Help set and enforce the tone for good Scout behavior within the troop.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.

Patrol Leader **
• Plan and lead patrol meetings and activities.
• Keep patrol members informed.
• Assign each patrol member needed tasks and help them succeed.
• Represent the patrol at all patrol leaders’ council meetings and the annual program
planning conference.
• Prepare the patrol to take part in all troop activities.
• Show and help develop patrol spirit.
• Work with other troop leaders to make the troop run well.
• Know what patrol members and other leaders can do.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Assistant Patrol Leader (**Attend PLC if PL not present)
• Help the patrol leader plan and lead patrol meetings and activities.
• Help the patrol leader keep patrol members informed.
• Help the patrol leader prepare the patrol to take part in all troop activities.
• Lead the patrol in the patrol leader’s absence.
• Show and help develop patrol spirit.
• Represent the patrol at all patrol leaders’ council meetings in the patrol leader’s absence.
• Work with other troop leaders to make the troop run well.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Quartermaster
• Keep records of patrol and troop equipment.
• Keep equipment in good repair.
• Keep equipment storage area neat and clean.
• Issue equipment and see that it is returned in good order.
• Suggest new or replacement items.
• Work with the troop committee member responsible for equipment.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.

Scribe **
• Attend and keep a log of patrol leaders’ council meetings.
• Record attendance  of all troop members.
• Record advancement in troop records and on the troop advancement chart.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Work with the appropriate troop committee members responsible for finance, records,
and advancement.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.
• Handle correspondence appropriately.

Order of the Arrow Troop Representative
• Serve as a communication link between the lodge or chapter and the troop.
• Encourage year-round and resident camping in the troop.
• Encourage older-Scout participation in high-adventure programs.
• Encourage Scouts to actively participate in community service projects.
• Assist with leadership skills training in the troop.
• Encourage Arrowmen to assume leadership positions in the troop.
• Encourage Arrowmen in the troop to be active participants in lodge and/or chapter activities
and to seal their membership in the Order by becoming Brotherhood members.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath, Scout Law, and OA Obligation.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.

Webmaster **
• Establish and maintain a safe and secure troop website.
• Ensure the troop website is a positive reflection of Scouting for the public.
• Manage the troop’s electronic communication tools.
• Work with the Scouts to provide up-to-date troop information.
• Work with the scribe.
• Set a good example.
• Wear the Scout uniform correctly.
• Live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Show and help develop Scout spirit.

Ten Tips for Being a Good Patrol Leader

	Keep Your Word. Don't make promises you can't keep.
	Be Fair to All. A good leader shows no favorites. Don't allow friendships to keep you from being fair to all members of your patrol. Know who likes to do what, and assign duties to patrol members by what they like to do.
	Be a Good Communicator. You don't need a commanding voice to be a good leader, but you must be willing to step out front with an effective "Let's go." A good leader knows how to get and give information so that everyone understands what's going on.
	Be Flexible. Everything doesn't always go as planned. Be prepared to shift to "plan B" when "plan A" doesn't work.
	Be Organized. The time you spend planning will be repaid many times over. At patrol meetings, record who agrees to do each task, and fill out the duty roster before going camping.
	Delegate. Some leaders assume that the job will not get done unless they do it themselves. Most people like to be challenged with a task. Empower your patrol members to do things they have never tried.
	Set an Example. The most important thing you can do is lead by example. Whatever you do, your patrol members are likely to do the same. A cheerful attitude can keep everyone's spirits up.
	Be Consistent. Nothing is more confusing than a leader who is one way one moment and another way a short time later. If your patrol knows what to expect from you, they will more likely respond positively to your leadership.
	Give Praise. The best way to get credit is to give it away. Often a "Nice job" is all the praise necessary to make a Scout feel he is contributing to the efforts of the patrol.
	Ask for Help. Don't be embarrassed to ask for help. You have many resources at your disposal. When confronted with a situation you don't know how to handle, ask someone with more experience for some advice and direction.

The origins of scouting

We all know who the founder of Boy Scouts is...

Robert Baden Powell or more formally
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM GCMG GCVO KCB

All quotes From Wiki

After having been educated at Charterhouse School in Surrey, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa. In 1899, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the town in the Siege of Mafeking. Several of his military books, written for military reconnaissance and scout training in his African years, were also read by boys. Based on those earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys, published in 1908 by Sir Arthur Pearson, for youth readership. In 1907, he held the first Brownsea Island Scout camp, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting.
The first Scout Rally was held at The Crystal Palace in 1909, at which appeared a number of girls dressed in Scout uniform, who told B-P that they were the "Girl Scouts", whereupon B-P and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell formed the Girl Guides Movement. After his marriage on 30 October 1912 to Olave St Clair Soames, Baden-Powell and his wife actively gave guidance to the Scouting and Girl Guiding Movements. Baden-Powell lived his last years in Nyeri, Kenya, where he died and was buried in 1941.

How many know that his Scouting for boys had origins from North America???

Scouting for Boys (1908) is Baden-Powell's rewrite of his earlier book Aids to Scouting (1899)^[2] with many youth training ideas openly taken from The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians (1906)^[3] written by Ernest Thompson Seton, who later became the Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America^[4][5] Aids to Scouting was mostly a written explanation of the military scouting and self-reliance skills lessons Baden-Powell had learned from Frederick Russell Burnham, the British Army Chief of Scouts, but following the siege of Mafeking this military handbook unexpectedly became popular with many youth groups and educators, like Charlotte Mason, in Britain.^[4][6][7] At Mafeking, Baden-Powell had recruited and trained boys aged 12–15 as postmen, messengers, and later to carry the wounded, to free men for fighting. Upon his return to England, following the Second Boer War, Baden-Powell learned some British schools had been using Aids to Scouting to teach observation and deduction. In 1906, Seton discussed youth training ideas with Baden-Powell and shared with him a copy of The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians.^[5] Soon after, Baden-Powell decided to revise Aids to Scouting into a book for boys.^[4] Several friends supported Baden-Powell, including Sir William Alexander Smith, founder of the Boys' Brigade, and Cyril Arthur Pearson, who owned newspapers and printing presses.^[8] Baden-Powell wrote a draft, then called Boy Patrols, which he used and tested with 22 boys for one week at camp on Brownsea Island in the summer of 1907, where Pearson's literary editor Percy Everett assisted.^[4]
Scouting for Boys was published in six fortnightly instalments of approximately 70 pages each, from January to March 1908. They were produced by Pearson's printer, Horace Cox. These six publications were a success, and as planned were issued in book form on 1 May 1908. Although Aids to Scouting strongly influenced the book, Scouting for Boys presents Scouting from the perspective of outdoorsmen and explorers rather than military men, and it adds the Scout Oath, Scout Law, honors and games for youth.^[4][5] The book was very popular upon release, and became one of the best-selling books in history. Scouting for Boys has been translated into many languages. In 1948, the book was still selling 50,000 copies annually. Only in 1967 was a decline noted by the publisher, and in the last decades of the 20th century, even by the Scout movement, the book came to be seen as a period curiosity.^[8] It is claimed to be the fourth bestselling book of the 20th century.^[9][10] A realistic estimate is that approximately 4 million copies of the UK edition have been sold. Extrapolating this to 87 different language editions worldwide, historic world sales of Scouting for Boys can be estimated at 100 to 150 million copies since 1908

Ernest Seaton was Canadian, thus the North American link

For those who love history, the Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians can be read online here
Birch Bark Roll book


 and lastly Scouting for boys

I hope I leave you knowing more about where scouting came from, and why we do what we do.

 

Smith Mountain Lake trip

Once again we had a super weekend away with scouts of all ages, and an unusual number of our adult leaders in attendance.

We decided as school was still out for most scouts to leave early and make camp in daylight for a change...... and we cooked a Jambalaya for the masses. Vegetarian for one with Tofu and sausage and chicken for the rest.  Desert was a fruit cup each.

Saturday morning had the troops up early getting breakfast on the go, leaders enjoyed breakfast burrito's from Doug (with hot sauce)

All at the dock by 8:50am , 10 scouts and 2 leaders go to ride across on the boat, rest in cars.

Our venue for the day was Barry and Charlotte's lovely lake house, which has a super dock area

Within 10 minutes everyone was asking if we could jump off the high dock next door

Many more pics here : Dougs Pics

Tubing is one item all the boys look forward to, some with more trepidation than fun

and some just cant wait to leave

and after all the fun, there can only be one result

Dinner prep

 

What do I do with these ??

Leaders Stirfry

Summer Camp 2015

The scouts and leaders have just returned from a very successful summer camp.

18 scouts from seniors to newest scouts that just graduated into scouts, all attended and had a successful week. Many merit badges were completed and a few will return with partials.

The most important tool for camp

Here is Mr Grisgraber's report:

we're number 1.......07!

Another summer camp complete, and I think everyone will agree it was a very successful one!

We now have a new Troop cheer, see above...

Ian did a great job as Senior Patrol Leader. We tried to focus on running the Troop with the Patrol Method, and in general it was successful. I think Ian and his Patrol Leaders have a better idea now of how it can work, and the benefits of making it work. Hopefully this experience will play forward into the future leadership of the Troop.

The younger Scouts showed that they've learned a lot since their first experience last year, and have made a lot of progress. The older Scouts especially showed a lot of good leadership abilities, we're looking forward to seeing more. Everyone was working together well.

Hammocks seem to have become the most popular sleep system of the camp, but some hard lessons were learned the first night with the torrential rain. It's a learning process.

We performed several Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review for rank advancements.

The Scouts took a wide variety of merit badges. Metalworking was very popular among the older scouts. Rifle shooting was another popular badge since the age limit was lowered a bit for this year. Everyone seemed to enjoy their classes, and the longer-format class seems to be working well. Many were able to get two merit badges for one class due to the new format. Three scouts completed the FROGS program, giving them a head start into Tenderfoot, Second, and First Class advancements. Great job everyone!

There are many partials, we will start going over how to finish them on an individual basis in the next meeting. We will also have the actual badges that were completed to hand out. We will also be going over what we can apply from camp toward rank advancements, ie First Aid, so make sure you bring your Scout Handbook to the next meeting. There will be a quiz.

We had two new members tapped out to be inducted into the Order of the Arrow, Ian and Mr. Cannizzaro. In addition, five Ordeal members successfully converted to Brotherhood: Sean, Michael, Dylan C., and Harrison R. Congratulations guys, now that you've seen a little more of how active the OA is at camp, hopefully that appeals to you and you'll continue that path.

Due to this being the 100th anniversary of the OA, the tapout ceremony was particularly special, including a drum team and grass dancers. Very impressive - if you haven't seen it, next Thursday would be a great opportunity to go up to camp and check it out. 

Family night went especially well due to the camp cookery of Doug - what a feast! The staff we invited were especially grateful to be finally eating the barbeque that they had been forced to smell all day while it slow-cooked, I heard we tortured the entire side of the camp. We received nothing but positive comments about the meal, and your generous donations covered the costs.

The leaders were quite busy as well - I can't remember anyone actually taking a nap! Highlights included:

• José was by far the most motivated of all of us, completing both the Swim & Water Rescue and Paddlecraft Safety programs. He is now able to administer the BSA Swim Test. As the newest leader, he may have been showing off, we'll see if he's still as motivated after his 10th camp!
• Allen and Phil completed Scoutmaster/Assistant Scoutmaster Specific Training, which is now required for leaders for our next rechartering. 
• Allen and Bob created some tasty entries for the Scoutmaster Ice Cream Making Competition.
• Doug and Bob were able to show the fish in the lake who's boss.

• Bob and I shot sporting clays on the new 5-stand shotgun course, and tied for second place among our 5 shooters. The course is new this year, and extremely challenging. Those who take the shotgun merit badge in the future will be using various parts of it for the merit badge.
• We won first place for the Scoutmaster Dutch Oven Cook-off in a very close race - sampling them all was the best meal of the week for the adults!.

As I mentioned previously, next year's camp has been reserved for week 3, July 3-9, 2016. This date was chosen to cause the least interference with the Catholic Heart Work Camp mission trip of St. Paul's if any Scouts would like to attempt doing both camps. We will be in the same campsite, Chippewa A, everyone seemed to like the site. Unfortunately, the 4th of July is on that Monday, but we didn't want to go any further into the summer. Hopefully that won't deter anyone from attending.

Thanks for everyone's work that made this possible, and especially the leaders for keeping great coverage all week.

Camp site improvement project

 Leaders at Flag