Wow! We made it through the deep dark winter of January and February, with snow like some of us have never seen. Finally, a normal winter. The month ended with 9 scouts participating and earning their Swimming and Life Saving merit badges. Thanks to the many parents who carpooled the scouts to this event at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. I know the scouts made some great memories and learned many swimming techniques that will last a life time. Thanks to all of the parents who saw the value in this skill and for helping your sons achieve these skills.
We also survived the District Klondike Derby. As I reflect back on the experience, I know the scouts will have great memories of camping in the deep snow, cooking around our troop fire barrel, Klondiking on the ice of Causey and having fun with snowball fights! Thanks to all of the scouts who participated in this camp out.
Camp outs:
The troop's goal is to have 6 camp outs a year, along with summer camp. With the 3 camp outs the 11-year-old scouts should get during their first year, and the 12 camp outs during their 12/13 years and the 5 day summer camp out, they should have 20 official scouting camps by the time they turn 14. This will qualify them for the camping merit badge, which is required for Eagle. Because of this, scouts need to understand the importance of participating in every camp out. That's a big demand and that's why the rank of Eagle Scout is tough to get by the time you turn 14!
Troop Web Page (Blog): http://cbtroop933.blogspot.com
The Cedar Bench Blog continues to grow with information. Hopefully, you've bookmarked the link and visit it occasionally. If scouts or parents are interested in receiving digital pictures of camp outs, please let me know so we can e-mail you them.
Upcoming events:
March will see us continue to work on various scouting activities. We'll be finishing up the Emergency Preparedness merit badge, a carryover from summer camp. We'll be introducing the Photography merit badge this month also. Hopefully scouts have access to digital cameras, which are a really inexpensive way to learn photo taking skills compared to the old days when you had to develop your pictures for money to see the results!
Also, hopefully, some of the scouts have been inspired to do a coin collection or some other kind of collection. We've had a lot of discussion on the coin collecting merit badge and it would be sad not to have had or started this kind of activity while in their youth.
Merit Badges:
There are 12 required merit badges, with 3 alternates (cycling, hiking, emergency preparedness). The troop will provide opportunities through instruction and activities for the required merit badges. These 12/3 badges will be spread over 2 years, thus 6 badges a year. Here's the schedule:
2007/2008 - Personal Management, Swimming, Life Saving
2008 first half - Emergency Preparedness, Personal Fitness, Family Life
2008/2009 - Communication, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Country
2009 first half - Citizenship in the World, First Aid, Environmental Science
Ongoing - Camping, Cycling, Hiking
Start over in the winter/spring of 2008/2009
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