The scouts had a fantastic Luge weekend and are ready for the Winter Olympics.  At this week’s meeting, we will continue to work on any unfinished advancement requirements.  This is your opportunity to catch-up on those requirements we can do at the meetings and be poised to advance rank after our first campouts in March and April.  We reviewed and worked on every module except First Aid which we will begin in March.  Review your unfinished requirements, practice, and come prepared to demonstrate your proficiency.

Ski Outing sign-up deadline is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 7.  This is an action packed weekend with skiing at Granite Peak on Saturday and Tesomas winter activities of Cross Country Skiing, Ice Fishing, Quinzee building, and Snowshoeing on Sunday.  We will return on President’s Day Monday in time to shop the mattress sales.   Don’t miss out.

MANDATORY MEETING on Thursday, February 22 for Troop and Order of Arrow elections.  All job assignments will end on February 28 and you must see Scoutmaster Flaherty for a new troop position.  The following Thursday, March 1 is pancake breakfast set up; don’t forget to turn in your pancake ticket money.

• BRING SCOUT BOOK TO ALL MEETINGS
• MEETING OPENING 7:00
  •   ZULU patrol is responsible for meeting set-up, FLAGS, and clean up. Report at 6:45 in Full Uniform.
• SKILL INSTRUCTION
  • Catch-up on unfinished requirements
  • To Be Completed at Home: Second Class 8c & 8d; see the form from the Forms & Documents link on the Troop website.
• QUARTERMASTERS:
• MERIT BADGE: [First Class & Above]  First Aid Merit Badge will begin in March.
• TROOP ACTIVITY: Tug-of-War
• CYBER CHIP:
  • Scout Rank and Star Rank need to acquire the Cyber Chip for your age. Go to http://www.netsmartz.org/scouting to review the requirements.  Once you have completed the Read, Write and Watch requirements, please sign up on the Troop 24 website to schedule a meeting to complete the Teach and Talk requirements.  We have the Cards.  The chip expires after one year, see Scoutmaster Flaherty to “Recharge” or renew the Chip.

Wednesday, February 7 is the deadline to sign up for the Granite Peak Ski Trip/Tesomas Winter Camp Trip that will take place February 16-19.

For more information, read the original post about this trip.

To register for this trip, click here.

Tomorrow (Sunday, February 4th) is Scout Sunday. You are invited to attend the 10 am service of worship at Riverside Presbyterian Church, the charter organization for Troop 24 and Pack 24. At this service, we will celebrate the long standing relationship between RPC and the scouts. The service will be followed by coffee fellowship hosted by Troop 24.

The Troop 24 Committee encourages scouts and their families to attend the Scout Sunday service. It is a chance for many of our scouts to experience worship in a place of different denomination or faith. Scout Sunday is also an occasion for us to show our appreciation to the members of RPC for their support and use of the church for 79 years.

We hope all scouts who attend bring something to share during fellowship (e.g. coffee cake, cookies, fruit, cheese & crackers, etc.).

Scouts and Leaders should wear their Class A uniform and merit badge sash. If you have a Girl Scout or Cub Scout in the family, they are welcome to wear their uniform. We hope to see you there.

Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout, Michael Lynch!

On Saturday, February 3rd, James J will have a workday for his Eagle Project. His project is building boxes for the Hauser Junior High robotics team, so that they can safely transport their robots to competitions. The project will take place at Ascension Lutheran Church, 400 Nuttall Road in Riverside. Scout and adult volunteers can sign up to work 10am to 12pm or 1pm to 3pm (or both shifts). Refreshments will be served, and service hours will be given!

Please sign up here:
Scout volunteers
Adult volunteers

Join Troop 24 for a President’s Day Long Weekend Outing with skiing/snowboarding at Granite Peak Resort and Winter Camp at Tesomas, we has so much fun last year we decided to do it again!

This outing is  Friday, February 16 – Monday, February 19 and is an action-packed weekend of winter sports and activities.  We will depart Riverside on Friday early afternoon, stay in a hotel Friday night so we can hit the slopes of Granite Peak first thing Saturday.  After a day of skiing we will enjoy dinner and head to Tesomas where on Sunday we will participate in Winter Camp activities such as Ice Fishing, Cross Country skiing,  snowshoeing, sledding, building a Quinzee and playing broom ball.  We will depart Tesomas early Monday morning and arrive back in Riverside mid-afternoon.  This is a great opportunity to enjoy some winter fun and work on the Snow Sports merit badge.

• Scouts can attend on their own, but they should have prior skiing experience.
• If your scout is new to skiing we ask that a parent also attend, due to the large ski area and the number of trails (75) we also encourage scouts new to skiing to book a ski lesson on your own.  The group will not be taking ski lessons during this outing.
• Families are invited and encouraged to join us for Friday night and Saturday skiing in Wausau but only Scouts and Leaders are permitted at Tesomas Winter Camp.

Friday, February 16 – Monday, February 19

Friday Itinerary

• Depart: RPC  at  2:00 p.m. (4.5 hr drive)
• Arrive at hotel at ~5 p.m.
• Dinner in area
• Swimming at hotel

Saturday Itinerary

• Continental Breakfast: 7:00-9:00 a.m.
• Ski or Snowboarding: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Dinner in Wausau
• Drive to Tesomas arrive ~7:30 pm
• evening activity

Sunday Itinerary

• Breakfast at Tesomas
• Winter Camp Activities 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Lunch 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Winter Camp  Activities 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Dinner at Tesomas

Monday Itinerary

• Depart Tesomas 8:00 a.m.
• Breakfast on the road
• Return to Riverside ~2:30 p.m.

Cost and Payment:

The price of this outing is dependent on the size of the group. There is a discount at Granite Peak if we are a group of 20 or more; therefore the payment for this outing will be handled a little differently then other outings.  When you register you will be asked to pay $40 per person non-refundable deposit.  Once registration is closed (February 7) you will be notified of the remaining cost and asked to pay it.  If you cancel at any time you will forfeit the deposit.  If you cancel within 48 hours of the departure, you may be charged an additional $25  cancellation fee per person, depending on the impact the cancellation has on our group rate.

Below is a menu of the costs which assume that we will not be a large enough group to qualify for the group rate.  If you need to rent ski equipment the cost of the weekend will be ~$206 per scout.  If you have equipment (including helmet), the costs  drop to ~$152  per scout.  If we get a larger group (>/=20) the cost will be less for the skiing.

Menu of Costs per person:

Friday night accommodations options and cost

• between $25 – $35 per scout or leader/adult  for shared room
• $103 for family room

Saturday costs

• Ski or snowboard rental: $42 (w/o group rate)
• Helmet rental: $12- BSA policy is everyone must wear a helmet.  If you do not have a helmet, you must rent one.
• Lift Ticket : Youth (6-18) – $52 , Young Adult (19-29) – $62,  Adult (30+) – $76
• Group dinner: $15

Sunday Winter Camp cost include: 2 nights accommodation in bunkhouse, 3 meals Sunday, Winter activities (Ice Fish, Cross Country ski,  snowshoe, sled, build an igloo, broom ball)

• Scout $50
• Leader: $40

Additional Meals:

• Friday dinner at fast food restaurant, Saturday lunch at chalet and Monday breakfast at fast food restaurant are at your own expense.  Scouts should be given pocket money to cover these three meals.

Leader in charge will be Bruce Robertson. For questions contact Susan Lynch

Scouts, Adults, AND Siblings, sign up here: https://troop24riverside.com/2018/01/winter-outing-2018-sign-up-and-deposit/

Deadline for sign-up: February 7, 2018

Troop 24 welcomes the Cook County Sheriff K-9 unit on Thursday to demonstrate their abilities and talk about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  Thursday’s meeting will satisfy Second Class 9a, so don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to see a drug dog up close and get all your questions about police work answered.  Meeting starts promptly at 7pm in the Social Hall.

Thursday is also Boards of Review, so sign up on line if you are completed with all your requirements.  We will start Family Life merit badge next week with Mr. Jerz.

PLC  Meeting is January 30 at 6:00 pm at RPC.

WE ARE STILL MISSING ONE TENT!!  PLEASE RETURN IT ASAP!!!!