2024-03-03 This Week: Court of Honor, March Camping Trip, Summer Camp, Parents Meeting, Merit Badge Counselors, One Month Look-ahead

Troop 131,

I hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed the glorious weather today!

 Thank you to Mr. Jahns and the three scouts (see attached photo) who came out last minute and helped with the set up for the Rise and Against Hunger service project early Saturday Morning.  Over the course of 6 hours, the volunteers helped make almost 10,000 (yes that number is correct) Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) for shipment overseas!  How cool is that?  It inspired me to know that we too could make our own MRE’s for camping/backpacking trips!

COURT OF HONOR (all welcome)

We will have our semiannual court of Honor at 7:30PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill!  This event is open to parents and family members, and I encourage families to come and support the scouts and the troop!  Unlike the September CoH/picnic, there is no food, however, we are still going to have a great time!

Scouts, be sure to look sharp, wear your full Class A uniform including merit badge sash!  All scouts will leave with at least one patch, so be sure to attend!

Can I ask that scouts who are participating in the Court of Honor ceremony to come ½ hour early and at 7:00 PM to help with set up and make sure they have their roles down. Mrs. Farmer sent out the script, so be sure to look at it beforehand and practice!

MARCH CAMPING TRIP- Change of Plans

Unfortunately, and despite our best efforts, we are not going to be able to do the shooting trip this Month!  However, fear not, we are working to reschedule for later this year and like all good Scouts, we are prepared with a Plan B!  We will camp near the Appalachian Trail (AT)/Whisky Hollow Shelter. The trip will include a full day hike on the AT to Sky Meadow.  More information and a link to sign up will follow soon!

SUMMER CAMP

Mrs. Lacayo, our Summer Camp Coordinator, Mr. Devlin, and Mr. Irwin hosted a great parents info session last Monday.  If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to Mr. Lacayo at: summercamp@t131.org!

Goshen 2024

Summer camp is coming up! This year, we will be attending Camp Olmstead at Goshen. I’ll provide more details about camp activities and merit badge sign ups in the coming weeks, but here are a few things to know now:

• Location:Camp Olmstead in Goshen, VA
• Dates:Sunday, June 23 – Saturday, June 29, 2024 (week 1)
• Camp Fees:If you register by April 11, the early bird cost for one Scout is $475.  Regular registration will increase to $505 per Scout.  (Note: This does not include the $80 bus fees; see below.) 
• Transportation:Scouts will ride the bus to and from Goshen. (This is a change from last year – we are asking everyone to take the bus unless you are bringing supplies.) The roundtrip cost is $80. The bus leaves from Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax, VA, and will drop back off at the same location. 
• Merit Badges:There are many merit badge options available; you can view the schedule here. New Scouts will go through the Trailhead program. I’ll send details in March about how we do sign ups.
• Forms:Each camper will need to fill out BSA Medical Forms A, B1, B2, and C, as well as the NCAC form. All forms can be found here.
  
  Please note: Part C requires the signature of a medical professional, so prioritize getting this signed! 
• Scholarships:The troop is committed to making Goshen accessible to as many Scouts as possible. If you are interested in a Campership (financial aid) to help cover the fees, please let us know before February 28, 2024. 
• Adult Campers:Interested in joining the Goshen fun? We will need a few good adults to join the Goshen trip. You can come for a portion of the week or the whole week. I’ll follow up with more info in a separate email, but for your awareness, adult early bird registration costs $230, and increases to $270 for regular registration.

PARENTS/COMMITTEE MEETING

See note below from Mrs. Devlin, our committee chair concerning the upcoming Meeting.

Dear T131 Families,

Parent / Committee Meeting 

Please mark your calendar for our upcoming parent and committee meeting via Zoom on Thursday, March 14 @ 7:30pm (link to follow).

This is your chance to find out what’s going on with the troop, get questions answered, make suggestions, and find where you can support. All are welcome! 

Uniform Swap

As we get ready for new scouts in April and May, please gather your son’s outgrown uniforms. If you send them to the troop meeting, we can add them to our uniform swap box. 

Volunteer Needs

We are looking for some adult volunteers in these areas:

• Scoutmaster – We are looking for someone who might be interested in this role to shadow Mark for a gradual transition into being Scoutmaster, especially some of our parents who are former scouts. Please ask questions, we’d love to discuss.
• Service Coordinator – Our outgoing service folks are happy to discuss the requirements; this can even be done by one parent with a little extra time to track service hours and opportunities.

If you’re a parent who doesn’t have time for activities or camping, please consider helping with one of these positions, I’m happy to discuss!

Thank you for your consideration, see you in March! 

Anastasia Devlin

786.457.3043

MERIT BADGE COUNSELORS

We are always looking for parents’ involvement in the troop and one great way is to become a merit badge counselor.  If you are interested, then see the process below.  Anyone can become a counselor; however, you must be registered with the troop, be YPT certified and complete the online merit badge course.  Keep in mind that some merit badges, such aquatics or shooting sports, require additional training/certifications.

See link below to the google doc with the current list of counselors.  Register for the ones you are interested in/qualified for and don’t worry if there are already multiple counselors, it is great for the scouts to have options.  Counselors for eagle required merit badges (in yellow) tend to see more action, however, it is great when there are opportunities for electives as well.

(Scouts, keep in mind that you must have a conversation and receive a blue card from the Scoutmaster or one of the other Assistant Scoutmasters BEFORE you reach out to a counselor).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19yJTQS1qk7-UBpIjI2fgJBLrB2qMx-48/edit#gid=1739196674

Merit Badge Counselor Registration Process

1. 
   Inform the Scoutmaster and Committee Chair that you intend to register as a merit badge counselor
2. Submit an online application through this link – https://my.scouting.org/VES/OnlineReg/1.0.0/?tu=UF-MB-082c22

 If already on our unit charter, you can register with “Colonial District 22” as a dual registration. If a dual registration, there will be no fee required with the application. 

 If not on the unit charter, you will register with Colonial District and the fee will be $25 

3. Once the application is completed, you can submit directly to Colonial District via email (registrarcolonialmbc@gmail.com) the following:

* The MBC Information sheet (https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34405.pdf)

* Certificate of completion for Youth Protection Training (YPT)

* Certificate of completion for the online MBC training (accessible through My Scouting, same as where they do YPT https://my.scouting.org) 

4. Once complete, theColonial DistrictMerit Badge Registar will contact you and verify that you are registered with the District. You should see the merit badges listed in Scoutbook. 

SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead

Monday, March 4^th – Court of Honor – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill (all welcome)

Monday, March 11^th – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM (PLC) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Thursday, March 14^th – Parent & Committee Meeting- 7:30 – Virtual

Monday, March 15^th – 17^th – Camping – Primitive Camping and Day Hike to Sky Meadow – Whisky Hollow VA

Monday, March 18^th – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM (BoR) (OA Elections) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Monday, March 25^th – No Troop Meeting – Spring Break (ACPS & FCPS) 

Monday, April 1^st – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM (ACPS- No School) – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Friday April 5^th- 7^{th –} OA Spring Fellowship – Camp Snyder

Monday, April 8^th – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill

Monday, April 15^th – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM (BoR)- Immanuel Church on the Hill

Friday April 19^th – 21^st – Camping- Fishing- Pohick Bay