Scouts who took tents home on Sunday to dry them out should be sure to return them at the meeting on Thursday. Our group of scouts & leaders going to Cantigny will need those tents! If you can not come to the meeting, please contact Michael Payne at pain08@comcast.net and make arrangements to drop off the tent at his house before Thursday.

Our first outing in October (on October 5-6) will be a Friday night camp-out at Cantigny, followed by a visit to the Civil War encampment and reenactment on Saturday. Watch your e-mail for the sign-up. In preparation for that outing, we will have a presentation at the Troop meeting on Thursday, September 20, by Mr. Colin Fagan, who is a reenactor, and a member of the 8th Illinois Cavalry, one of the most well-known Illinois regiments in the Civil War. Parents are welcome at the presentation, which will be held in the Social Hall at RPC. Please arrive on time so we can begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

Scouts who have not yet attained 1st Class rank are reminded to bring their books to the Troop meeting on Thursday. We need to update books with requirements completed at summer camp.

27 scouts have already signed up for our Friday camp-out at the Scout Cabin. We would appreciate knowing as soon as possible how many will attend (for food planning purposes), but sign-up any time before Friday evening is fine. Those who don’t want to camp but still plan to come for the evening events are welcome. Events will include cooking, satisfying some of the rank requirements for those who need them. We’ll also have an outdoor movie, weather permitting. Scouts are welcome to bring their own tents, or they can use the Troop tents. Scouts below 1st Class should bring their books.

Sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2012/08/scout-cabin-campout-form-sept-7-2012/

The first Troop meeting of the year will be at the Scout Cabin on Friday, September 7. We’ll be cooking (good for scouts needing to earn the cooking requirements!) and will likely have an outdoor movie as well. Scouts should be dropped off at the Scout Cabin at 7:00 p.m. and picked up on Saturday morning by 9:00 a.m. (scouts can call for pick-up). Scouts should come prepared to sleep in tents for the night. A light breakfast will be served on Saturday morning. There is NO COST for this outing, but we need to know how many to plan for, so we’re asking that you sign up in advance at http://troop24riverside.com/2012/08/scout-cabin-campout-form-sept-7-2012/

For our new 5th grade scouts, we have covered all of the Tenderfoot requirements at our meetings. Some of these scouts are ready for Boards of Review tonight, and we will be doing make-ups on requirements for those who missed a meeting. For Tenderfoot Requirement 11 (Identify poisonous plants) scouts who need this requirements should come to the meeting with a picture of at least 3 local poisonous plants. For all requirements the scouts should come prepared by first reading the appropriate pages in their handbooks. Older scouts who are missing requirements should come prepared to work on their missing requirements. Scouts above 1st class may be working on readying the trailer for summer camp.

Although many of our scouts will be involved with other activities this Thursday (Open House at Hauser and Apollo Awards at RB), there will be a meeting. New scouts will be working on Tenderfoot requirements:
T11 Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.
T10 a Record your best in the following tests:

Push-ups
Pull-ups
Sit-ups
Standing long jump
1/4 mile walk/run

T10 b Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

Our newer scouts will be working on Tenderfoot requirement 4a (Whip & Fuse rope) as well as catching up on any requirements missed. Other scouts will be working on First Class requirement 5 (Citizenship). 17 of our older scouts need this requirement. Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review will also be conducted tonight.

Next week’s scout meeting will be at Riverside’s Scout Cabin. The meeting will begin at 7:00.

At 6:30 scouts who need the following rank requirements (most scouts who are not already 1st Class or above) are invited to be at the cabin at 6:30 SHARP to work on these requirements:

First Class 6: Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in your community.

Second Class 6: Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of wild animals (birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, mollusks) found in your community.

For the wild animal requirement, it’s possible that we will not actually see 10 different animals in that 30-minute period. Scouts should come with pictures (downloaded from the internet is fine) of 10 animals they have personally observed in Riverside at some time.