Hope you all are having a great weekend and congratulations to the local fans as the Commanders scored another win this weekend …. wish I could say the same about my VT Hokies!
Thank you to the following scouts and adults for helping with Scouting for Food and pumpkin clean up this weekend:
David, Tadhg, Theo, Jonathan, Ricky, Andrew, Karsten and Peter f
Mr. Moore, Mr. Jay, Mr. Nguyen, Mrs. Ramirez
Unfortunately, we really needed more scouts to attend and as a result we were only able to complete 5 out of the 6 areas that we are responsible for. Therefore, we are going to need about 8 scouts and two adults tomorrow (and during the meeting) to finish putting up the stickers in the final area. The rest of us will stay at the church and have a normal meeting!
See message below from Mr. Moore, we really need more than 7 scouts to attend the pickup next week, so please sign up and volunteer!
I apologize if I missed any other scouts at the pumpkin clean up.
TROOP MEETING
Even though many of you have school off tomorrow …
We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill! As always, your leadership team will have a good meeting plan for you all.
Please note, this is the only meeting we will have before the Naval Academy Trip and while we do not need to do any meal planning (they are feeding us) if you need gear from the shed then be sure to get it on Monday.
WREATH SALES
Just a reminder, we have a short window this year (sales end November 11th) so please start your sales as soon as possible. Remember, 50% of the proceeds goes to the troop and the other 50% goes to your scout account. This money can be used to pay for camping trips, scout activities, and even upcoming high adventure …. Just saying!
JOHN WELLS EAGLE PROJECT
See message below from John Wells concerning his upcoming Eagle Project.
Hello Everyone,
I hope everyone is well. I did not want to leave November free for anyone because I know how much you all love service, so my Eagle Project will be on Saturday, November 9th! We will be cutting/drilling wood and rebar and assembling garden beds at Chinquapin Park. This should take a few hours which is strenuous, but amazing for people who need service hours! I need about ten people, but if you would like to accompany me with the project and my SignUp Genius is filled up, feel free to email me at john.hayden.wells.2008@gmail.com and I’ll see if we could use more help. Also, for additional information or questions, feel free to use that same email. Have a wonderful day!
SignUp Link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A48ABA92BA0F8CE9-52937545-eagle
Cordially,
John Wells,
Historian of Troop 131, Alexandria, VA.
SCOUTING FOR FOOD!
See note from Mr. Moore concerning Scouting for Food and see link below to sign up so that we can get a good head count!
Please join us
in the parking lot at 10AM THIS Saturday 11/9/24 at Immanuel Church on the Hill (3606 Seminary Rd., Alexandria, VA), to pick up food items from neighborhood homes that were donated to the Scouting for Food collection drive.
Scouting for Food is a great way for Scouts to earn service hours and help those in need in our community, especially as colder seasons are upon us. We are in need of parents (with automobiles) to transport Scouts to the neighborhood to pick up donated food items
Parents, please contact Andrew Moore if you are able to drive for our Scouts (andrewdmoore2@aol.com, 202-258-7103).
Sign up also available online:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/5080C4BAFA6292-51440594-scouting
Please wear Class A uniforms. Thank you for your service to your community!
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
See note below from our Committee Chair, Mrs. Devlin. Scouts BSA (National) has a new system for re-chartering this year. Instead of the troop collecting your fees and paying collectively, each family is asked to pay directly. The only caveat is that the troop will still collect our dues directly. See note below and thanks for your patience as we get used to the new system.
Good evening scouts, parents, ASMs, committee members and T131 fans,
……
Cutting to the chase here, it’s almost time for fees/dues/recharter.
Adults
BSA Adult Volunteer Annual Fee = $65 paid direct to BSA
Scouts
BSA Youth Annual Fee = $180 (up $5 from last year):
- $85 National BSA fee
- $80 Participation fee for NCAC (National Capital Area Council)
- $15 for Scouts Life magazine (optional)
- Paid directly from parents to BSA, they’ll reach out to you via email in the next month or sowhen your son’s registration is expiring (most T131 scouts expire 31DEC2024)
Troop 131 Scout Dues = $25
- Goes toward camping gear, scout food, rank patches and merit badges
- Troop 131 dues are only for scouts—no dues for adults
- Paid via Zelle/cash/check to Mr. Baldwin by Nov. 15
- Scouts can pay some or all of this with the funds in their scout accounts on file with the troop—see attached doc from Mr. Baldwin for your scout’s balance
Note: We never want the ability to pay dues to stand in the way of the Scouting experience. If you would like a scholarship, please contact me or any adult leader directly and we’ll take care of it!
This is a big shift for us as a Troop—we used to collect all Troop money and submit a check directly. We’re taking notes on the new system, and BSA is eager to improve the process however they can.
Last important piece of info from the committee meeting is the adult camping fees–starting in 2025, we will waive adult camping fees for those volunteers who are supporting our activities! (If there are extra per-person fees for events like climbing or rafting, it will be announced.) Thank you to all who continue to support our boys’ outdoor experiences.
Please reach out with questions.
Anastasia Devlin
Chair, Troop 131
786.457.3043
SCUBA CERTIFICATION & MERIT BADGE SIGN-UP/INTEREST FORM
See link below for this amazing scuba program that Mr. Saulki has set up. There are three parts starting with Discover Scuba in December, then the Confined Water Course in May and the Final Scuba Campout and Open Water Course in June.
You do not have to commit to all three activities at this time, however, they build on each other, for instance you cannot do the Open Water Course if you have not completed the previous two activities. You must compete all there to get the Merit Badge and Certifications. Some scouts completed the Discover Scuba Course last year, so they can skip this first part if they want and move right to the confined water course.
I would encourage all of you to take the Discover Scuba course. If you love it, then sign up for the other two courses. If not, then no problem.
Please use this form to sign up (commitment) for the Discover Scuba but indicate interest only for the Confined Water and Open Water Course. We will have separate sign-up sheets for those two and following the Discover Scuba Course.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbxA9oTZsJbSlW31xic50bwQt3wkxm7M7S5YebMvWIj2ODnQ/viewform
PHILMONT SCOUT RANCH-2026
I know it seems crazy to be thinking about the Summer of 2026, but such is the requirement for High Adventure Camps
Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Farmer, the “lottery” (where we request certain dates) for Philmont Scout Ranch opened earlier this month and I am pleased to announce that we were able to reserve a spot for two crews for a 7-day trek for August 1st -8th 2026!
See link below for additional information and sign up/interest sheet. Please note that an initial $150 deposit will be due in late November of this year.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN4gfaMCcMhY5pKC53yJj7iaj_xf1rbGmptw73twFLusIKgw/viewform
SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead
Monday, November 4th – Troop Meeting- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday, November 9th – Scouting for Food Pick-up
Saturday, November 9th – John Wells Eagle Project
Monday, November 11th – No Troop Meeting Federal Holiday
Friday, November 15th-17th – Camping US Naval Academy Scout Day
Monday, November 18th – Troop Meeting (BoR)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, November 25th – No Troop Meeting- Thanksgiving
Monday, December 2nd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill (TROOP ELECTIONS)
Saturday, December 7th – Discover Scuba – Chinquapin pool
Monday, December 9th – Troop Meeting (PLC)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, December 16th – Troop Meeting (BoR)- 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, December 23rd – No Troop Meeting
Monday, December 30th – No Troop Meeting
