Our Troop Pancake Breakfast Chairman, Sue Jones, will be at the Troop meeting this Thursday, 1/26, to pass out the Pancake Breakfast Ticket Packets. Each Scout is required to sell a minimum of 15 tickets prior to the March 3 breakfast. If a Scout is not at the meeting this Thursday, his ticket packet will be delivered to his home over the weekend. In order to coordinate sales with the Pack, please do not begin selling tickets in the neighborhood until after Saturday. The Cub Scouts will be receiving their ticket packets on Saturday afternoon. Also, please make a note of the date of the breakfast, March 3, since all Boy Scouts are required to work a shift at either the breakfast or at the breakfast set-up. Please contact Sue Jones (sue_jones@designpac.com) directly for any additional tickets needed. Thank you for supporting the Troop!

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.

Our Troop has been in existence since 1917. During that time at least 72 of our scouts have become Eagle scouts. (Our records–and those at the Council–may not be complete, but we know there have been at least 72.) We would be interested in learning what our former scouts are doing, and to that end, we have an update about Eagle Scout Matt Kasl, 2004.

Matt is currently a 1st Lieutenant and Platoon Leader in the U.S. Marine Corp for a Light Armored Reconnaissance unit operating out of Khan Neshin in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. He has been there since October and his first deployment will end in May. His address is:

1st Lt Matthew Kasl
1st LAR BN D Co.
Unit 41242
FPO AP 96427-1242

We’re proud of our Eagle Scouts!

Riverside Presbyterian Church, our charter organization since 1939, invites you to attend RPC on Scout Sunday, February 5. RPC’s service begins at 10:00 a.m. with Coffee Fellowship to follow in the Social Hall.

The Boy Scouts of America annually celebrates its founding on February 8, 1910, based on the program started by Lord Baden Powell in England in 1907. Scout Sunday was added to the Scout celebration in the middle 1940s. Scout Sunday is always the Sunday preceding February 8. The Scout Sunday tradition was started to make people in houses of worship aware of Scouting, and to allow Scouts to live out their “Duty to God” pledged each week. The Scout Law says that a “Scout is Reverent” and the Scouts of all ages promise to do their “Duty to God”.

Scout families who would like to provide treats for the coffee hour after the service are invited to drop them off in the Social Hall kitchen of the church any time between 9:00 and 10:45 am. Thanks for your contributions & hope to see you there!

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding children hungry in body and spirit.  The approach is simple: children and adult volunteers hand pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and Christian and humanitarian relief organizations partner with FMSC to deliver the food to children around the world.

Troop 24, along with Girl Scout Troop 657, will be participating in a joint service opportunity to package food.

Friday, February 10, is an early release day for District 96 scouts. Scouts and chaperones will meet at RPC at 1:00 p.m. and drive to the FMSC location in Aurora. We anticipate returning to RPC at ~5:30 p.m.. There is no cost for this outing/service project.

We need a lot of chaperones/adult volunteers for this outing. The adult to scout ratio requirement for this age group is 1 : 4. If you are interested in volunteering and chaperoning, please indicate your interest when registering your scout.

To register, please fill out our registration form: http://troop24riverside.com/2012/01/feed-my-starving-children-service-project-21012-form/

For more information on Feed My Starving Children check out their web site at http://www.fmsc.org/

Contact Susan Lynch with questions.

Because the class size for the Fermilab Nuclear Science Merit Badge was limited to 12, we had more scout interest than available space. For those who did not sign up for the Fermilab outing (January 28, NOT January 21 as one of our posts mistakenly indicated), you have another opportunity. DPVC provides this information:

In conjunction with National Engineers Week, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is hosting an engineering fair and other activities at its Rice Campus. The purpose of the engineering fair is to communicate what engineers do, and attract young people to careers in science, technology, and engineering. The fair’s open house will consist of presentations and hands-on demonstrations by local professional engineering societies and businesses. Visit www.dupageeweek.iit.edu for more information. A Nuclear Science merit badge class for Boy Scouts will be offered on February 18, 2012. The open house and other activities will be held on February 25, 2012. The open house and the merit badge program are free.

The merit badge class will run from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 12:15 pm. Scouts need to bring “blue cards” and a copy of the merit badge book (2010 edition) with them. Registered counselors, Pedro Kong and B. J. Andrews, from the Calumet and DesPlaines Valley Councils respectively will sign the blue cards. Registration will only be accepted from 7:00 p.m. on January 31 through 7:00 p.m. on February 1, 2012. Registration is required due to the limited spaces in the class. For more information and to register, send email to AtomicEnergyMB2004@hotmail.com. Please provide the name of those attending, phone number, council name, and troop number in your email. Registration will be processed within three days and you will be informed if you are accepted or not.

IIT Rice Campus is located in Wheaton at 201 East Loop Road. Take the Naperville Road Exit off the East-West Tollway (I-88) going north towards Wheaton. Follow the sign to Naperville Road. Proceed north on Naperville Road to Butterfield Road (Rt. 56). Turn east on Butterfield Road and proceed to East Loop Road (about one mile). Turn north on East Loop Road. IIT Rice campus should be visible within one block.

Interested scouts from Troop 24 should sign up individually as described above. Our Council name is DesPlaines Valley.

This Saturday, January 21, scouts who have started but not completed the American Heritage, Reading, or First Aid Merit Badges are invited to join Scoutmasters Robertson and Lanken at the Riverside Library from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. A room has been reserved for the scouts, so this will be a great time to finish those badges. Scouts should bring their merit badge books and worksheets. Blank worksheets are available at http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Merit_Badge_Worksheets Contact Mr. Robertson with questions.

At the Troop meeting on January 19 scouts will be working on completing the First Aid Merit Badge. Older scouts and parents are needed to assist with teaching CPR. If you are available to help, please see Asst. Scoutmaster Stephanie Lanken at the meeting. In addition to the First Aid merit badge, there are a number of first aid requirements for all rank advancements through 1st Class. Please review your books to see if you are missing any of these requirements. Scouts should bring their books to this (and every other!) meeting.

Troop 24 is planning a day outing to Bemis Woods on February 4, 2012, to participate in the Des Plaines Valley Council Klondike Derby.

Scouts will meet at RPC at 7:15 a.m. and return the same day at approximately 4:00 p.m.

The Derby this year will feature scout skills as well as games and contests. Each patrol should be ready for fun and challenges.

The cost will be $8 and a can of non-cream soup (to be dumped into a communal pot for “garbage can soup”). Scouts should also bring a sack lunch to accompany the soup. Dress appropriately for the weather.

We will be looking for drivers. Since this outing is close, drivers do not need to stay. If you can drive please indicate the appropriate information with your son’s registration. Adults are welcome to stay and participate. If you would like to participate, please register and pay for yourself separately from your son.

Please remember you must register on the Troop online form AND pay (preferably using the online WePay system). If your son is not registered he will not show up on the roster. The deadline to register for this outing is Thursday, Feb. 2.

Register here: http://troop24riverside.com/2012/01/klondike-derby-february-4-2012/

Contact Dawn Gmitro with questions.