We had a terrific Pack meeting last night. Although we missed the SAR dogs, there was lots of activity!
We wanted to congratulate and thank your boys for their help with the flag ceremonies. The scouts did a terrific job! We'd also like to thank all the moms and dads for their help, but would like to specially recognize Jim Baxley (aka Jay's dad) and Bret Johnson (aka Keir's dad) for their help getting the color guard and flags to-and-from the stage.
The boys looked great in their uniforms last night. We think everyone looked squared away and we want to thank you for your efforts and attention to detail.
We'd also like to congratulate the boys for their high-class behavior. All the scouts were quiet and (mostly) still and respectful during the hour-long meeting. I know that those are not easy feats for first-grade boys. Please do pass along our praise to your sons!
Congratulations are also due to ALL the Tiger cubs for their efforts so far in the Pack, Den and Team activities. We are so proud to see all the boys earn their Bobcat badges and their Tiger immediate recognition emblems. Keep up the good work, moms, dads and scouts!
Wow -- what can we say about popcorn sales? All the boys and families put forth truly remarkable efforts in this fund-raising activity. We had 100% participation for the Den. We had more than half of the Pack's awards for $500 sales. AND we had the Pack's top seller in Matthew Hoogervorst. Well done to all the boys -- but especially to Matthew!
Finally, we wanted to pass along our thanks to Jason Barile (aka Dylan's dad) for saving Peter Baldwin's beads. We have to admit that the plastic lanyards used to hold those beads on the Tiger paw emblem are problematic and that knots come undone. I note that in the picture of the emblem (see appended), the lowest bead on each thread is stabilized by passing the lanyard around and back through the bead. You may want to try this. You are also welcome to substitute yarn or leather or anything else that works. If you've found a clever solution, please do share it with the rest of us so we won't spend all our time in uniform chasing beads on the floor : )
Thanks again -- and happy Thanksgiving to all!
Jen and Scott Singleton
We had a great Den meeting and Go See It! activity with the Chapel Hill Police on Saturday afternoon. It was great to see so many of you out -- especially at this hectic time of year!
This message serves to update you on several ongoing activities as well as to remind you of several upcoming activities.
ADVANCEMENTS
You should have received notification that our iWork.com record-tracking document was updated for the scouts' advancement activities through Saturday's Den meeting.
The Den has now completed the "Den" and "Go-See-It" parts of Tiger Cub Badge Requirements 1, 2 and 5. If your scout has any unchecked boxes on the sheet titled "Tiger Badge", that means that you'll need to work on those together (or that your scout hasn't presented his handbook to me or another Team coordinator for recording).
All of the scouts attending Saturday's Den meeting received their Immediate Recognition Emblems as well as beads for completing their badge requirements. Congratulations!
If you couldn't attend Saturday, we'll have more recognition ceremonies at upcoming Den and Team meetings.
PACK MEETING
Our next Pack meeting will be held this Tuesday, November 24 at University United Methodist Church. As usual, the gathering begins at 6:45 pm, with meeting start at 7:00 pm sharp.
The big events at this meeting will include a review of popcorn sales (and prizes) and an Arrow of Light ceremony. The Arrow of Light is the highest achievement that a cub scout can earn, and the only uniform patch that can be carried forward from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.
The Tiger Cubs will also conduct the flag ceremonies to open and close the meeting. I have attached a "script" for the ceremony. We'll "rehearse" briefly just before the Pack meeting begins. If you're scout would like to participate, please have him on site by 6:45 and dressed perfectly! Scouts with untucked shirts, flipped hats or neckerchiefs over collars won't be selected for participation in this important ceremony that honors our nation's flag.
Unfortunately, the Search-and-Rescue dogs will not be able to attend our meeting -- their handler was called out for another service. We hope to have them at the December meeting.
IMPORTANT: All popcorn money is due to John Eble at Tuesday's Pack Meeting. If you have any outstanding debts, please do collect those and turn them in to John before or after the meeting.
NEXT DEN ACTIVITY
Our next Den activity will be a Go See It! activity as part of Tiger Cub Badge Requirement 3g -- watch a sport and learn its rules.
We are planning to attend the UNC Women's Basketball game vs. St. John's University on Sunday, December 6, at 4:30 pm. We will plan to meet at 4:00 pm for a brief Den meeting before attending the game together. We hope that they will announce our participation at the game.
IMPORTANT: In order to secure group ticket prices ($4 per ticket), I'll need to get a firm count ASAP. May I please ask you to RSVP with the number of tickets you'll need for the game (typically 2 tickets -- one for the scout and one for the parent)?
Thanks for your enthusiastic participation -- we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
Your Den Leader
We know many of you are still in recuperation mode from the Yorktown trip, but it's time for our next event on the calendar!
We will meet as a Den (i.e., both teams together) this Saturday at 1:45 PM at the Chapel Hill Police Station (828 Martin Luther King Blvd). We'll be completing some of the activities for Tiger Cub Badge requirement 2 - Where I Live. In particular, we'll be taking care of 2G - Go See It Activity: Visit a police station or a fire station. Ask someone who works there how he or she helps people in your community.
We'll also talk about flag ceremonies -- in preparation for conducting the flag ceremony at the November Pack meeting!
At home, you can be working on 2F - Family Activity: Look at a map of your community with your adult partner. You may also work on the Citizenship Character Connection that's part of requirement 2.
Please have your scout dressed in his class A uniform. We'd like to see those shirts tucked in and those neckerchiefs on straight. Some day soon we'll be conducting a uniform inspection that includes a report card -- be prepared!
Please have your scout bring his handbook. This will make a great opportunity for us to catch up on the scouts' activities and achievements.
Finally, may we please ask you to REPLY with your plans for attendance (yes or no)?
Thanks -- and see you Saturday!
Your Den Leaders
Hi Tiger Cub parents,
This is just a quick update for November.
First, we will NOT have a Tiger Cub activity this weekend. I think there was a discrepancy between the schedule document and the Google calendar. I am still looking into how we might complete our Go-See-It activity. We may try to incorporate an activity into our trip to Charleston. I will email again this weekend or early next week with more details.
That leads us into the trip to the USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC. More than half our Den will be on that trip. We'll be leaving next Friday afternoon/evening in preparation for assembling on the Yorktown Saturday morning. All attendees should see a lot of information coming out this weekend or early next week. This will include the ship's "plan of the day" for our visit (this will come out on Thursday), a FAQ, a packing list, options for dinner on Friday and brunch on Sunday, and information for family members who won't be sleeping on board.
Our next Pack meeting will be Tuesday, November 24. There will be a presentation on rescue dogs (including a performance by the dogs : ) and an update on the popcorn sales. We'll also have awards and advancements for all who have earned them.
May I please ask for any updates on your scout's achievements toward the Bobcat badge? I don't usually use email for this activity (as I've expressed : ) but I'd like to recognize all the boys who have earned their Bobcats and I don't know for sure when I can look at handbooks. Please let me know any updates to your scout's achievements by 10:00 PM ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9. The Pack's advancement chair will be going to the Raleigh scout shop on Wednesday morning.
We've had a great fund raising effort with the popcorn sale. The Tiger Cubs had 100% participation -- every scout sold some popcorn -- and that's the most important thing. At the November Pack meeting we'll talk about the Pack sales goal, individual prizes, and the like. For those who have ordered popcorn for delivery, we'll be seeing additional information from the Popcorn Kernel coming out soon. I believe that the product will be available for pick up from the Kernel's house starting Sunday, November 15. He is hoping to have final money returned at the November 24 Pack meeting.
We also had a great (albeit damp : ) camping trip. We had a geocache treasure hunt, walking tacos, a campfire with ghost stories and jokes, a demonstration by the park rangers, and our Big Sweep clean up. I think that all who went had a wonderful time. I was so impressed to see more than half the den in attendance! For those who couldn't attend -- we missed you and hope to see you at the next event.
We hope that everyone is doing well and look forward to seeing you at the next scouting event.
Please let us know if you need anything.
Cheers,
Your Den Leader
