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This month, the troop will stay close to home for our first weekend campout with the new Scouts who have just joined Troop 96.
We’ll gather on Friday night at the St. Gilbert Church parking lot at 5:30PM. Once we check-in and load the gear into the trailer and vehicles, we’ll head to McHenry for an evening of roller skating. After the “general public” leaves the roller rink, we’ll stay behind, set up our tents on floor of the rink and spend the night. In the morning, we’ll pack up and head to Camp Lakota in nearby Woodstock for the rest of the weekend.
On Saturday, we’ll have plenty of time to work on making camp, basic Scout skills and, of course, making a special dinner in each patrol that we’ll share with the entire troop. For Saturday’s dinner, all patrols and the adults will bring their meals together for a buffet.
Bring your permission slip to the March 10 meeting (Grab a Copy Here), plus $15 for food. Cost for skating is $10 and the troop will pay an additional $5 for each Scout who participates.
This month, the troop will stay close to home for our first weekend campout with the new Scouts who have just joined Troop 96.
We’ll gather on Friday night at the St. Gilbert Church parking lot at 5:30PM. Once we check-in and load the gear, we’ll head to McHenry for an evening of roller skating. On Friday night, after the “general public” leaves the roller rink, we’ll stay behind, set up our tents on floor of the rink and spend the night. In the morning, we’ll pack up and head to Camp Lakota in nearby Woodstock for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday we’ll have plenty of time to work on making camp, basic Scout skills and, of course, making a special dinner in each patrol that we’ll share with the entire troop. For Saturday’s dinner, all patrols and the adults will bring their meals together for a buffet.
Bring your permission slip to the March 10 meeting (Grab a Copy Here), plus $15 for food. Cost for skating is $10 and the troop will pay an additional $5 for each Scout who participates.
I will lead a Life-to-Eagle Training session on a Sunday evening, March 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the GL Village Hall. Life Scouts (and enthusiastic First Class and Star Scouts) are encouraged to attend with their parents. Please RSVP to Mr. Klemens as soon as possible.
You won’t want to miss Monday’s Troop Meeting.
- First, we are up to full strength with all new Scouts on board now: Joshua B from Pack 188 crossed over last week and seven Scouts crossed over from Pack 96 on Saturday: Ethan B, Matthew D, Will D, Mark G, Thomas H, Andrew O, Conor S.
- Second, we will hear all the stories from the campers who just returned from the weekend in Wisconsin: two nights cabin camping, skiing, snow tubing and cooking. Check out this fine looking Dutch Oven lasagna:
Richard W, Alex K and Michael W
- Our plans for Monday’s meeting includes SPL NOMINATIONS, Skill sessions: Rollerskating Merit Badge: A Preview by Christian M., TECHNO-CHIP Review by Mr. J. and a Game: High-Low by Mr. K. + David H.
There will be a Parent’s Meeting on March 12th from 6 until 7:30 PM. Although this meeting is designed to share our program with the parents of our newest Scouts, all parents are welcome to attend. (Scouts ought not attend this session.)
The meeting will be held at the Grayslake Library public meeting rooms. Refreshments will be available.
We will have troop adult leadership speak to the parents about topics such as the Concept of a Boy-Run Troop, the Aims and Methods of Scouting, Activities, Troop Communications, and a more. Of course, there will be time for your questions. Experience has shown that this meeting helps our newest Scouts to succeed and accelerates them into full membership with the troop. We hope you can join us for this informative night.
In Boy Scouts, when a Scout completes all the requirements for his next rank, he sits down for a chat with the Scoutmaster. This is a requirement of every rank and gives the Scout and the Scoutmaster a chance to talk one-on-one.
The Conference is also one of the few times that we can get to know each other better. It’s a great chance to make a connection that wouldn’t otherwise happen. Of course, every Scoutmaster Conference is done in full view of the rest of the troop, but is done in a confidential manner, in keeping with the Youth Protection Guidelines.
The Scoutmaster Conference is not a re-test of the Scout. The person who signed his book indicating completion of the requirement does the testing. The Scoutmaster Conference is designed to check on the learning that took place, but more importantly, to better understand how the Scout is progressing in the troop and how he feels about his membership.
Since every Scout in the troop needs a Scoutmaster Conference for each rank, there are times that the schedule can get really busy. For example, when all of the new Scouts join, we see a big increase in Scoutmaster Conferences since everyone is excited to get their first ranks.
In order to schedule a Scoutmaster Conference, a Scout can ask at a troop meeting, send me an email or call on the phone. The Scout needs to take the initiative. I schedule them in the order requested. Scoutmaster Conferences vary in length, but typically last about ten minutes for the first ranks, and longer for the higher ranks.
I like to tell Scouts that a better name for a Scoutmaster Conference might be a Scoutmaster Conversation. Our meeting is a chance to talk about Scouting, the troop, and his progress and plans.
New Scouts are arriving! At the Monday, Feb 10 troop meeting, eleven new Scouts attended. They were celebrated on Sunday at Pack 627’s Blue and Gold Dinner and received the Arrow of Light Award. (Check out their group photo below after the jump.) It’s great to have all of you with us. Soon Scouts from Pack 188 and 96 will also be joining. Also at last night’s meeting, Joe T and Kevin G completed their first rank and are our newest Boy Scouts. Well done!
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Check out this article in the Lake County News-Sun about our Almond Road service project.
What is a Campership?
Camping and other outdoor activities are an essential part of Scouting. The outdoor program is one of the most recognized methods of scouting. Indeed, it is easiest to enjoy the full benefits of the Scouting program by attending events like Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan summer camp, Jamboree and Philmont.
Every Scout deserves a week at summer camp, and no Scout should miss camp because of a lack of funds. We feel so strongly about the outdoor program that Troop 96 has put a process in place to reduce the chance that a scout will be denied a camp experience due to financial constraints. We call this our Campership Fund to assist our Scouting families.
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