At the Troop meeting on February 17, Mr. Culloden will begin the Personal Finance Merit Badge with our older scouts. Scouts who want to work on this merit badge should see Mr. Payne to obtain a blue card prior to beginning work on the badge. This is an Eagle-required merit badge. More information can be found here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Personal_Management
The Des Plaines Valley Council’s annual Merit Badge Academy will be held on Saturday, March 12, at Elmwood Park High School. For more information, visit the Council’s website at http://www.bsa-dpvc.org/boy_scouting/boys_adv_mba.php#adult The registration form (available online) has to be signed by one of our scoutmasters, and scouts have to bring a signed blue card to the class. If you have questions after reviewing the Council’s information, please contact Asst. Scoutmaster Stephanie Lanken at stlanken@yahoo.com.
DATE CORRECTION: At the Troop meetings on January 20, February 10, and February 17, scouts will be working on the First Aid Merit Badge with Asst. Scoutmaster, Dr. Stephanie Lanken. The First Aid merit badge is one of the mandatory badges required for an Eagle Scout (21 total required). The Troop works on this badge once a year, so this is the best chance for 6th graders (or any scout who has not yet earned it) to complete the merit badge. If you need this badge, please make every effort to attend these three meetings.
Although the Troop does not have to register our scouts for merit badge classes before we arrive at camp, it would be best for your scouts to choose classes and read the appropriate merit badge books in advance. Merit badge books can be purchased at the Des Plaines Valley Council Scout Store. Some merit badges are more appropriate than others for first-year scouts, and some have prerequisites. Please review the Owasippe 2010 Merit Badge Schedule with your scout.
All first-year campers will take the Pathfinder class. All first-year campers should also sign up for the swimming merit badge (those who already know how to swim and who pass the swimmer test) or for swimming instruction. Other merit badge classes that are appropriate and recommended for new scouts are Leatherwork, Mammal Study, Reptiles & Amphibians, and Fishing. (Although some material suggests Camping for 1st year scouts, we do NOT recommend Camping for new scouts as none of them will be able to actually earn the badge while at camp due to the prerequisites.) New scouts should choose 2 classes in addition to Pathfinder and Swimming, with perhaps an alternate.
If you have questions about merit badge classes, Mr. Payne is most qualified to answer those since he is familiar with Owasippe. After your scout has chosen classes, please e-mail his selections to Nancy Hopkins.
Some other useful information about merit badges:
Introduction to Merit Badges
How to fill out a merit badge card (blue card)
Scouts who are working on the Personal Fitness Merit Badge: You must complete your fitness log and turn it in to Mrs. Lanken in order to receive this merit badge. Personal Fitness is an Eagle requirement, as well as a requirement for all scouts going to Seabase this summer.
For any parent who would be interested in being a Merit Badge Counselor, the next training session through the Des Plaines Valley Council will be on January 19, 2010. Being a Merit Badge Counselor is a good opportunity to help the boys in the Troop in a specific subject area, without committing yourself to attending every Troop meeting. To sign up, contact the Council at dpvc147@scouting.org or (708) 354-1111.
To all Scouting Families:
Sorry this got out a little late, but I’ve been putting off some things. As current librarian, I’ve been organizing, alphebetizing, checking and updating books from the merit badge library upstairs in the church attic for public use. I’ve finally got the checking done, which means that I now know which books are available immediately and which books I need to update. In this email I have attached the inventory of merit badge books that ARE READY TO USE.
If you need any of these merit badge books for Camp Mach or any other reason, they will be available. I do not have a check out list available at the moment, but I should have one ready soon. In the next few months, I will be updating the books going down the list in alphabetical order.
“First Come, First Served.”
As we only have a total of 38 books available for use, keep in mind the inventory is limited. In the future this inventory might change, and we will let you know if there are any significant updates after Camp Mach.
NOTE: After you go to Camp Mach and you get your merit badges, if you purchased your Merit Badge book, please consider donating it to the troop library!
YIS,
Joe R. rogersr2@ameritech.net
Some scouts signed up for merit badge classes at Camp Mach that may be difficult to complete at camp unless they work on some requirements before they leave. If a scout does not complete a merit badge while at camp, a partial completion will be issued, stating which requirements were successfully completed. The scout can finish the remaining requirements after finding a merit badge counselor through the Council. A couple of other merit badge classes require you to bring specific supplies to camp. In case you don’t remember what you signed up for, here are the merit badges that may not be able to be completed entirely at camp without advance work:
REQUIRE WORK BEFORE CAMP
Bird Study – Abraham O
Bird Study Requirement 5 requires observing 20 different species of birds at camp and may be difficult to complete at camp
Camping – Alex B, Brady C, Connor C, Christian F, Abraham O, Calvin P, Jeff R, Joe R, Drake Z
Camping Requirement 9 requires a scout to have completed 20 days and nights of camping as well as specific activities on those campouts
Cooking – Peter B, Connor C, Daniel D, William G, Casey G, Max H, Kit K, Cody L, Jack L, Charlie M, Andrew P, Jack R, Andrew S, Nick S, Daniel S, Callen V
Cooking Requirements 3 & 4 require that the scout plan a 2-day campout menu and prepare 4 of the meals. Requirement 7 requires that a scout plan and prepare meals at home.
Environmental Science – Connor C, Michael G, Cole G, Joey J, Cody L, Stuart M, Christopher O, Calvin P, Jack R, Jason S, Callen V, Drake Z
Environmental Science Requirement 3e requires research on an endangered species found in Illinois. This should be done prior to camp.
Nature –
Nature Requirement 4 requires the study of various facets of nature. Work at home prior to camp can help toward earning the badge at camp.
Orienteering – Nick J
Orienteering Requirement 7 requires that the scout take part in 3 orienteering events and write a report on each one. Requirement 8 requires the scout to set up an orienteering course.
Pioneering – Nick J
Pioneering Requirement 2 requires completion of 1st Class requirement 7a, b, c. Requirement 9 requires design and construction of a pioneering project.
REQUIRE SUPPLIES TO BE BROUGHT TO CAMP
Fishing – Nick S
Bring to camp: fishing gear
Swimming – first year campers
Bring to camp: long pants, long-sleeve button-up shirt, socks, old shoes, all of which will go in the water
Wilderness Survival – Brady C, Michael G, Cole G, Karl J, Nick J, Cody L, Stuart M, Tyler P, Jack R – Scouts should be aware that this class requires them to build a shelter from natural materials, and spend a night in the shelter.
Bring to camp: Wilderness Survival Requirement 5 requires scouts to make a personal survival kit. Supplies for the kit should be brought to camp. An example of a survival kit can be found here: http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/film_can/survival_kit.html
REQUIRE PURCHASE OF KITS AT CAMP (BRING MONEY) OR PRIOR TO CAMP (AT SCOUT STORE)
Basketry – Alex B, Cody L, Christopher O
Leathercraft – Brian J, Chris M
Woodcarving – Christopher O
Scouts camping on May 1-3 at Kankakee River State Park are invited to bring their bicycles. The state park has one of the nicest bike trails in the state–10.5 miles, paved, relatively level, with no roads to cross other than park roads. Click here for pictures of the bike trail at this time of year. Bikes can be transported in the larger of the Troop trailers, with the smaller trailer hauling all other gear. Joe Ourth, one of the leaders on this outing, will work with interested scouts on the Bicycling Merit Badge. Under Boy Scout rules, helmets are required. For scouts more interested in fishing, the Kankakee River offers a great place to wet a line. The Kankakee River is one of the cleanest rivers in the state. Bring fishing tackle (leaders will have some extras). No fishing license is required for scouts under age 16.
The February outing is for scouts who are first class or higher. It is a day outing to Upper Limits in Bloomington, IL for the climbing merit badge class, or for Rock Gym 101 if your scout already has the climbing merit badge. The merit badge class is $40, Rock Gym 101 is $30. If your scout is going for his climbing merit badge, he must obtain the merit badge book, know the knots, and be able to answer the questions in the book. These will be covered in the troop meeting on 2/5, which is mandatory for the merit badge.
Each scout should bring a sack lunch on the outing and wear comfortable clothes, such as t-shirt and shorts covered by sweat pants. The deadline for the permission slip, money, and waiver for the February 7 climbing outing is Thursday, 1/29. Scouts will not be allowed to climb without the waiver. As always, we will need volunteers to drive and stay with the scouts. Anyone who knows how to climb and is willing to come in and teach on Thursday, 2/5, please contact the Scoutmaster.
Some websites that show knot tying are:
The Upper Limits website is www.upperlimits.com
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