Time is running out: please sign up for one of our two ski trips. If we do not have enough people signed up we will not get a group discount. The deadline for sign-up has been extended to Sunday, February 14. Please sign up! We need 3 more skiers to get the group discount at Sunburst.

February 20-21, scouts (and parents) with some ski experience, and who are First Class & above, will be going to Cascade Mountain. More information is available here:
http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/cascade-mt-ski-trip-feb-20-21-2016/

February 27-28, we are offering a ski trip to scouts and families to Sunburst Resort. This is a perfect outing for those who have not skied before and families with younger children. More information can be found here:
http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/ski-sunburst-february-20-21-2016/

We need 3 “older” scouts (1st Class or above) to man a station at the Klondike Derby on January 23. We have an excellent team of scouts from Troop 24 ready to compete, but in order to run the event, the Council needs us to man one of the stations.

From Wikipedia: A Klondike derby is an annual event held by some Boy Scouts of America and Scouts Canada districts during the winter months and is based on the heritage of the Klondike Gold Rush. BSA units have been running Klondike derbies since 1949.

The event varies by district, but the typical Klondike derby consists of several stations where patrols/units must test their Scoutcraft skills and their leadership abilities, earning points towards a total score.

The unit must transport their gear on a homemade sled pulled by the Scouts.

Please sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/klondike-derby-station-form-1-23-16/

How well are you prepared for cold weather and possible adverse conditions? Are you able to brave the elements? Test your skills with games and challenges at this year’s VT Klondike Derby-Iditarod. Scouts will meet at RPC at 7:45 on Saturday, January 23. We will travel to Bemis Woods (one block west of Wolf Road on Ogden) for a day of outdoor winter fun. We will return at approximately at 3:00 p.m. The cost of this activity is $7.00 per scout PLUS a can of non-cream-based soup. (The best lunch you’ve ever had at Soupy Smith’s Saloon!) Don’t miss out on this exciting winter outing. Are you up for the cold weather challenge? Space is limited!

Scouts sign up here.
Leaders and drivers sign up here.

Troop 24 has several fun outdoor adventures planned for January & February. Although registration for the Muskegon Luge outing is closed, it’s not too late to register for the Klondike Derby on January 23, always a fun event, and one that every scout should do at least once!

More information about Klondike can be found here:
http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/klondike-derby-iditarod-saturday-january-23-2016/

Mark your calendars for February 27-28 and sign up for Skiing/Snowboarding at Sunburst Recreation in Wisconsin and hotel overnight. This outing is suitable for beginning skiers, as well as those who have never skied before. Lessons are highly recommended. We will spend Saturday participating in snow sports and then stay the night at a Country Inn & Suites hotel with a indoor swimming pool. This is a great opportunity to enjoy some winter fun and work the Snow Sports merit badge.

Scouts can attend on their own or the whole family is welcome to take advantage of the group rates and join us. Families may choose to make this a day trip or stay overnight; all single scouts should plan to stay overnight.

Saturday, February 27 – Sunday, February 28
Saturday Itinerary
Depart: RPC 7:00 a.m. (2.5 hr drive)
Ski or Snowboarding: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Lessons: 10:30 a.m. (not required, but strongly recommended for new skiers)
Dinner break/hotel check in: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Night time tubing: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Swimming (optional): 9:00-10:00 p.m.

Sunday Itinerary
Continental Breakfast: 7:00-9:00 a.m.
Depart Hotel: 9:30 a.m.
Arrive Home: Return to RPC @ ~ 12:00 noon

Menu of Costs per person:
The BSA requires scouts to wear helmets while skiing/snowboarding, so the cost of the helmet rental is included in all the prices below. For those who have their own ski/snowboard equipment – see pricing that does not include equipment rental.

Ski rental, helmet, lift = $53 (includes tubing in the evening)
Snowboard rental, helmet, lift = $53 (includes tubing in the evening)
Ski or Snowboard lesson $10
Shared Hotel w/meals* = $35 (4 scouts per room)
Family Hotel w/meals* = $120 (2 queen beds)
* Meals include Pizza dinner and hotel complimentary breakfast.  Everyone will need to bring either money or sack lunch for Saturday lunch at the Sunburst Chalet.

Leader in charge will be Bruce Robertson. For questions contact Dawn Gmitro.

Scouts, Adults, AND Siblings, sign up here:  http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/ski-trip-sunburst-2016-form/

Deadline for sign-up: February 12, 2016

The weekend of February 20-21, we have a ski trip planned specifically for our First Class & above scouts who are intermediate or experienced skiers.  Scouts will ski in a buddy system with other scouts and there is no plan to partake in ski lessons.  We will spend Saturday skiing (snowboards also available) and tubing at Cascade Mt. and stay at a nearby Days Inn in Portage, WI  (4 per room). Lunch will be on your own. We’ll have pizza for supper at Cascade’s chalet and a breakfast buffet at the hotel, returning home by early afternoon on Sunday.

Cost per person
The BSA requires scouts to wear helmets while skiing/snowboarding, so you must include the cost of a helmet unless you bring your own.

• Youth (17 & under) unlimited day/night lift ticket $45
• Adult unlimited day/night lift ticket $55
• Tubing (optional) $10
• Ski/Board rental – $37
• Helmet (REQUIRED) – $8
• Accommodations & meals* = $55

* Meals include Pizza dinner and breakfast buffet. Participants will need to bring either money or sack lunch for Saturday.

Our leader for this outing will be John Flaherty.  We will need additional leaders/drivers – adults can ski as well!  Leaders and adults will need to pay for their lift/tubing tickets and equipment rentals, but meals and accommodations are gratis.

Sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2016/01/cascade-mountain-ski-trip-2016/

There is a limit of 20 for this event (leaders & scouts). The deadline for sign-up is Sunday, February 14, 2016

Troop 24 is offering a Nuclear Science merit badge workshop at Fermi Lab in Batavia, on Friday, Feb 12 from 1-3 pm during the long President’s Day weekend when the boys are off from school. The cost of the workshop is $6 per scout. The Nuclear Science badge is not an Eagle-required badge, but it is very popular and the Fermi Lab is booked for their weekend workshops all through 2016, so this date was among the very few still available. For more information, please contact Linda Sanduski at lsanduski@gmail.com

Some scouts signed up before year-end; if so, the parent registering the scout has received an e-mail asking for payment. If you are one of those families, you don’t need to register again–just pay!

The registration deadline is February 1. We have a limited number of spots.

Register here: http://troop24riverside.com/2015/10/nuclear-science-mb-form-2122015/

Waterfall Glen. One of the basic rites of passage for Troop 24. On November 7, a group of scouts took on this endeavor with the help of Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Hartwig. The outing consists of a five-mile hike and orienteering to complete some of the requirements for First and Second Class. Basically, the scouts who attend this outing need to find their way around the forest preserve using a compass and map. The map has some markers to tell the path that the scouts need to go, so they aren’t lost completely. Lucky for participants, there was not a cloud in the sky and no one ended up breaking any bones this year, so it was a very successful event all around. To top it all off, some of the scouts needed to complete some requirements for the Cooking Merit Badge, which is now Eagle required, so all of the participants were well fed by food that was planned, packed, and prepared on trail stoves by the scouts. It was an eventful outing and the group accomplished all of the goals they had set.
Kit K

What’s the Holiday Season without trampolines, dodgeballs, basketball, and a giant foam pit? On December 11, the troop held the holiday party at Sky High Trampoline in Naperville, all organized by Mrs. Dawn Gmitro. Eighteen people from Troop 24 came to the event and they all had a blast. There was no age limit to this event as people from all walks of life participated in the antics. A couple of adults, some siblings, new scouts, and old scouts came together to jump on trampolines. The facility at Sky High is enormous, with multiple different areas. There is a trampoline dodgeball court, a free jumping area, a basketball trampoline court, and a foam pit where scouts could jump, trampoline, or swing-on-a-rope into. Not surprisingly, the dodgeball court was extremely popular among our scouts and rumor has it that someone had a tendency to nail other people in the face. To end the day, the participants ate great pizza and played the arcade games that Sky High had. It was an extremely successful and fun event, enjoyed by all (ages).
Kit K