Scouts who started working on the Family Life Merit Badge are invited to meet with their counselor, Mr. Andersen, on Thursday, April 26. The meeting will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Westminster Room at RPC during the regular Troop meeting.

All scouts should bring their books to the meeting on Thursday. They will leave their books so that we can update our online records to record their rank advancement requirements. Books will be returned next week at the Court of Honor on April 19.

At the Troop meeting on Thursday, April 12, scouts will be working on Tenderfoot requirements 10a & 10b:

10a Record your best in the following tests:
Push-ups
Pull-ups
Sit-ups
Standing long jump
1/4 mile walk/run
10b Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

In addition, starting at approximately 7:30 p.m., we will discuss options for merit badges classes at Camp Tesomas. Ideally, scouts and parents will have reviewed the choices in advance (which can be found at http://clsr.samoset.org/resources/TSCAdvancement.pdf. The meeting will be an opportunity for questions about camp activities in general. Parents are not required to attend this meeting, but are welcome to come if you have questions about camp (especially parents of 5th graders or anyone who has not previously attended a summer camp).

Selections of merit badge classes should be turned in by next Thursday, at the Court of Honor.

Scouts will be working on the following Tenderfoot requirements at the meeting at the Scout Cabin on Thursday:

4b. Demonstrate that you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch.
4c. Using the EDGE method teach another person how to tie the square knot.
6. Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

Don’t forget to bring your books to the meeting.

Due to spring break, there is no Troop meeting this Thursday (March 29). We will meet on April 5 AT THE SCOUT CABIN. Scouts who are ready for a Board of Review should contact Nancy Hopkins at nmhopkins1@comcast.net. Boards will be held on April 5, with location to be announced.

Our scouts will be meeting at the Scout Cabin tonight. At the same time (7:00 p.m.) we’ll have a meeting at Riverside Presbyterian Church for parents of our new scouts. We’ll have paperwork for you to fill out, and will be able to answer any questions you have about Troop 24.

See you tonight!

The second session of the Law Merit Badge will be held this Thursday in the Social Hall at RPC. Scouts who were not at the meeting last week can still participate but will have to make up the material covered last week. All scouts should bring pen/pencil and paper (or print out merit badge workbook found here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/e/e5/Law.pdf)

Scouts should have the merit badge book (available at the Scout Store) and should review it before the meeting.

Scouts are invited to stay after the regular Troop meeting for sock hockey (“Sockey”) games from 8:15 to 8:40. If your scout stays, please pick him up no later than 8:45.

Scouts are asked to bring cards or a favorite game (quick-playing game, NOT Monopoly or Risk, for example) to the Scout Cabin tonight. From 7:00 to 8:00 we’ll play games, and from 8:00 to approximately 9:30 will watch the movie Men in Black (rated PG-13). We’ll have snacks and hot chocolate. Parents can pick up their scouts (at 9:30, or send your scout with a cell phone). Please remind your scout that he needs to SIGN OUT when he leaves so the leaders are sure everyone has been accounted for.

Reminder: The Troop Meeting this week is on FRIDAY AT THE SCOUT CABIN at 7:00.

At the Troop meeting, this Thursday, January 26, our scouts will be working on merit badges.

Scouts in high school, and who are Star or Life rank, will be working with Rick Andersen on the Family Life Merit Badge.

All other scouts will be working on the Scholarship Merit Badge. Assuming the scout meets the requirements for good grades, there is only one requirement (Requirement 5) that must be completed outside of the meeting, and that can be done before Thursday and signed off on Thursday, or it can be completed later. Stephanie Lanken will be the merit badge counselor, and several of our leaders will be assisting with some of the requirements.

Requirement 1:

• Show that you have had an average grade of B or higher for one term or semester OR
• Show that for one term or semester you have improved your school grades over the previous period.

To fulfill this requirement, scouts should bring a copy of their report card (or in the case of District 96, a printout from PowerSchool for Grade History) for the 1st semester of the current school year (and if necessary the spring 2011 semester to show improvement).

Mrs. Lanken will be checking off grades. Please reinforce to your scout that there is no need to “share” their grades with other scouts at the meeting.

Scouts will also need to bring their assignment notebooks (Requirement 2c-using a daily planner show your counselor how you keep track of assignments).

They will also need proof that their behavior has been satisfactory (Requirement 3). In the case of Hauser students, this can be printouts from PowerSchool for each class showing that the scout has received a 01 04 rating in the Teacher Comments section (01 Commendable Effort 04 Commendable Conduct). Now that Hauser does not send out paper grades, you have to go to Grade History and then click on the % for each class to see the Effort/Conduct grade. An alternative way to meet Requirement 3 is to get a note from the principal of the school that states that during the past year your behavior, leadership, and service have been satisfactory. In the case of Hauser, the note can come from Ms. Berman, Mrs. Westin, or Mr. Wolf. If you plan to ask for a note from an administrator, we suggest the scout take a copy of the Scholarship worksheet to the school official: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/b/bf/Scholarship.pdf

Outside of the meeting the scout must do ONE of the following:
a. Write a report of 250-300 words about how the education you receive in school will be of value to you in the future and how you will continue to educate yourself in the future.
b. Write a report of 250-300 words about two careers that interest you and how specific classes and good scholarship in general will help you achieve your career goals.