Troop 131,
I hope everyone enjoyed themselves this weekend including the big crew that went to Prince William Forest for a little winter camping fun! Although they elected to camp only one night due to the storm, I know that everyone has improved their orienteering skills or experienced a good 10-mile hike.
A big thank you to Mr. Nguyen for posting all those great photographs of the troop in action onto the Facebook page! Also, a big thank you to Mr. Grocki (who went camping even though it was his birthday) and the other adult leaders who help make these trips happen!
Unfortunately, I will miss Monday’s meeting again this week for a work activity but there will be other adult leaders there to help you all out if necessary.
Next week is the Bi-annual troop Court of Honor. Unlike the one at the end of the summer, this one will be indoors, and we will NOT serve food. As always, families are strongly encouraged to attend and help celebrate the accomplishments of all the Scouts. We are Scout led, so adult speeches will be held to a minimum, and your SPL will be looking for Scouts to volunteer to take on the speaking roles for the ceremony. We expect this to be a good time as always and YES; THE CAMPAIGN HAT will make an appearance!
Philmont 2026 scouts; just a reminder, that the final payment is due today (2/22). Seabase 2027 scouts; the initial payment is due by 2/28. Please make payments to Andrew Baldwin, the Troop Treasurer!
TROOP MEETING
(For now) We will have a Troop meeting at 7:30PM this Monday at Immanuel Church on the Hill! Your leadership team will have a good plan!
If the roads are a mess from the snow, then we will cancel but for now we are planning on having a meeting.
SUMMER CAMP INFO SESSION
Meghan Hoyer and Mike Gruss have graciously volunteered to be our Summer Camp Coordinators for Camp Olmsted this summer. If you see them, please thank them because as someone who has had this role in past years, I know that it is yeoman’s work! They are going to hold an information session, for any interested parents at the meeting this week. If the meeting is canceled due to weather, then we will push to March 9th and after the court of honor.
It is worth mentioning that we have two summer camp options this year.
Option 1: Week 3 (7/5-7/11) Traditional Summer Camp at Goshen/Camp Olmsted
https://www.gotogoshen.org/camps-programs/camp-olmsted/
Option 2: Week 4 (7/12-7/18) Lenhok’sin Trail Trek at Goshen/Camp Baird
https://www.gotogoshen.org/camps-programs/lenhoksin-high-adventure/
The upcoming information session is for Option 1 (Olmsted) only. I will host a separate session for Option 2 (Lenhok’sin) at a later date. The Lenhok’in trip is intended as a Philmont training experience, however, older scouts (13 years old by 9/1/2026) who are not going to Philmont may also attend. Scouts may attend both sessions if they choose.
MARCH CAMPING AND SHOOTING TRIP!
One camping trip down and on to the next one. This is a great one and thank you to Mr. Farmer for organizing it. We did a similar trip this last year and it was a blast (pun intended). Mr. Farmer has arranged for us to have more adults and more range time … so that means more time shooting! At this point and unfortunately, the initial 18 slots are filled up, but we will keep a waitlist in case a scout has to drop.
On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 6:04 PM T131 Outdoors <outdoors@t131.org> wrote:
Who: Sharp Eyed Shooters
What: Troop 131 Shooting Sports Extravaganza
When: Fri 13 Mar- Sun 15 Mar
Where: Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Farm
Why: We love a Rootin Tootin Shootin Time
Cost: Just $10 for everyone
MAX of 18 SCOUTS- so sign up early
We’ll be at the same spot we were last year in Poolesville, MD with an extra night of camping this year.
https://forms.gle/gW66NzzrEj2RQsoe9
Chris Grocki
SCHEDULE: One Month(ish) Look Ahead
2026
Monday, February 23rd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, March 2nd – Troop Court of Honor- Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday, March 7th – Entrepreneurship Merit Badge – Immanuel Church on the Hill (tentative)
Monday, March 9th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (PLC) – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Thursday, March 12th – Committee, ASM and Parents Meeting – TBD
Friday, March 13th– 15th – Camping/Shooting Trip- Izaak Walton League, MD
Monday, March 16th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (BoR) – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Saturday, March 21st – Day Trip to Old Rag- Etlan, VA
Monday, March 23rd – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (OA Elections) – Immanuel Church on the Hill
Monday, March 30th – NO Troop Meeting – Spring Break
Monday, April 6th – Troop Meeting – 7:30 PM (No School ACPS) – Immanuel Church on the Hill
