Pack 39 meeting Tuesday evening

Hi Tiger Cub parents,

It's time our first Pack meeting of 2010. The meeting is tomorrow night (Tuesday) and we have a lot of big plans on the calendar in the next 30 days, so be sure to attend and get all the info. The meeting is in the usual place (UUMC Fellowship Hall) at 7:00 PM. Gathering and set-up begins at 6:45.

As an extra incentive, we will be handing out the popcorn prizes and patches tomorrow night as well.

If you cannot make it tomorrow night, be sure to note that our check in for the Pinewood Derby will be this Friday from 5pm to 7pm in the UUMC Fellowship Hall. We will be impounding cars at that time. As we are expecting up to 50 racers this year, we will need to do everything we can to speed up the racing process on Saturday.

Scott Singleton

REMINDER: Tiger Cub Go See It this Thursday evening

Hi Tiger Cub parents,

I hope that many of you were able to attend last Saturday's pinewood workshop. This message should serve as a reminder of our upcoming Go See It! activity for Tiger Cub Achievement 4.

Steve Price (aka Daniel's dad) has graciously offered to lead a tour of UNC TV studios!

The Den will convene at UNC TV studios in RTP (see directions below) at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 14. We will not organize transportation, but please do take advantage of carpooling opportunities! Mr. Price says that there are some pretty cool sets in place, so there will be some interesting things to check out. He will lead a tour of the broadcasting sets and explain the cameras, lights, etc.

May I please ask that you reply with your attendance plans?

While we're there, we'll have a brief Den meeting where we'll complete Tiger Cub Requirement 4D -- which is simply playing the game "Tell It Like It Isn't" (form a line, whisper something in the first scout's ear, then have each scout whisper in the next scout in turn, and talk about how the initial statement changed as it progressed). I thought that it would also be a good time to catch up on achievement record-keeping and handbook signing for those who have updated achievements.

DIRECTIONS: UNC TV is located in RTP and has ample FREE parking. It takes about 20 minutes to get there from campus. The address is 10 TW Alexander Dr, RTP 27709. Take I-40 to the Durham Freeway, go north. Second exit is Alexander. Exit and go left over the bridge. First right is the entrance to GSK, take the second right entrance (not well marked due to construction). Once you turn off Alexander, take the next right and follow the long drive. UNCTV is a large white building, park in front and enter the main lobby (Mr. Price will be there to let everyone in). Lost? Call Mr. Price's cell 919-218-6108.

FINAL PINEWOOD DERBY WORKSHOP

The Pack will hold one more Pinewood Derby Workshops at Fitch Lumber in Carrboro this Saturday, January 16, from 9 to 12.

SIBERIAN TIGER TEAM MEETING

There will be a Siberian Tiger Team meeting on Saturday, January 16 at 11:30 AM. Kim and Steve Price (aka Daniel's parents) will officially be in charge. In large part, this meeting will focus on Requirement 4D as well as achievement record-keeping and handbook signing. Because we will have done much of this at the Thursday Go See It activity, only those scouts/families that could not attend the UNC TV event need attend this "make up" session.

May we please ask you to reply IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING?

Kim and Steve will send out details as necessary to those planning to attend.

Thanks -- we hope to see you Thursday night!

Scott Singleton

Info about this Saturday's Pinewood Derby workshop

Pack 39 parents,

It's that time of year again... Time to pull on the firesuit, don the helmet, and hit the track. OK, well, it's not quite like THAT. But it IS Pinewood Derby time!

We know there are a lot of scouts (and parents) that are entering their very first Pinewood Derby. So we thought we'd do something new this year to give the rookies a nice head-start. At the first workshop this Saturday at Fitch Lumber we'll have two separate Pinewood Derby 101 sessions, at 9:00 and 10:00, led by Brian Norris. Brian will explain how everything works, walk you through the basic car construction process, and give you a variety of tips and tricks. Then you'll be able to get to work with the help of Brian and several other experienced parents. And while this is mostly geared toward the first-time contestants, Bears and Wolves are all welcome, too.

The two sessions will be identical, so you only need to attend one to get all of the information. Whichever session you choose, please try to be on time so that we can have a great session and move quickly into construction. After the session you'll be able to work on the car at your leisure for as long as you want until they kick us out at 12:00.

For those of you that have tools (coping saws, clamps, files, etc.) please bring whatever you can. (Labeling might be a good idea.) For those of you that do now have tools, we will have several sets of tools available for your use, and you should be able to borrow some from other parents, too. The only thing you'll absolutely need is your car kit. You may also want to purchase some items at Fitch Lumber (weights, sandpaper, paint, etc.) so bring some cash or cards for that. Brian will bring some car design templates that your scout can use to draw his car shape and use to trace the design onto his block of wood.

Also... A big thanks to the folks at Fitch Lumber who provide such a great environment for our workshops.

See you there!

-Brian Norris

Tiger Cub update -- Jan 7 2010

Hi Tiger Cub parents,

Happy new year! We hope that your holidays were wonderful. Our holidays certainly were -- but it's still hard to believe that we're all back at work, school, etc...

There are lots of wonderful activities and opportunities coming up of which we wanted to remind you.

PINEWOOD DERBY AND WORKSHOPS

The Pack will hold two Pinewood Derby Workshops at Fitch Lumber in Carrboro. These are a great opportunity to get started, learn from experienced derby designers, and use tools that you may not have. The workshops are scheduled for Saturday, January 9, and Saturday, January 16, from 9 to 12.

These workshops are NOT mandatory. In general, attending either one of these events is sufficient, but everyone can attend as much as they like.

The Pinewood Derby itself will be held on Saturday morning, January 30. The time is TBD, but it usually starts early and lasts until lunch time. The Pack Committee will be sending out more info in the coming weeks.

For better and worse, the Derby has rules that govern the construction of the cars. Please see the appended message from the District Pinewood Derby chair and the attached rules (DOC). While I was put off by the rules our first time through, I've learned that the rules do ensure fair competition. Please do let us know if you have any questions or need some hints. There are lots of good, experienced derby car engineers in the Pack (not us) and there's a ton of information available via Google : )

(In the appended message, the District Derby on March 6 is mentioned. For now, you don't need to worry about this event. However, the three fastest, most beautiful, or most original cars will be invited to participate. In other words, nine scouts from our Pack will participate in the District-wide Derby.)

In addition to the race itself, there will be a set up and weigh-in time on afternoon/evening of the Friday before (January 29). Look for more information -- as well as opportunities to volunteer to help -- in the coming days.

TIGER CUB DEN AND TEAM ACTIVITIES

Our activities this month focus on Tiger Cub Achievement 4 -- How I Tell It. For the Go See It, Steve Price (aka Daniel's dad) has graciously offered to lead a tour of UNC TV studios!

The Den will convene at UNC TV studios in RTP (see directions below) at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 14. We will not organize transportation, but please do take advantage of carpooling opportunities! Mr. Price says that there are some pretty cool sets in place, so there will be some interesting things to check out. He will lead a tour of the broadcasting sets and explain the cameras, lights, etc.

While we're there, we'll have a brief Den meeting where we'll complete Tiger Cub Requirement 4D -- which is simply playing the game "Tell It Like It Isn't" (form a line, whisper something in the first scout's ear, then have each scout whisper in the next scout in turn, and talk about how the initial statement changed as it progressed). I thought that it would also be a good time to catch up on achievement record-keeping and handbook signing for those who have updated achievements.

DIRECTIONS: UNC TV is located in RTP and has ample FREE parking. It takes about 20 minutes to get there from campus. The address is 10 TW Alexander Dr, RTP 27709. Take I-40 to the Durham Freeway, go north. Second exit is Alexander. Exit and go left over the bridge. First right is the entrance to GSK, take the second right entrance (not well marked due to construction). Once you turn off Alexander, take the next right and follow the long drive. UNCTV is a large white building, park in front and enter the main lobby (Mr. Price will be there to let everyone in). Lost? Call Mr. Price's cell 919-218-6108.

We had tentatively planned to hold our January Tiger Team meetings immediately after the Pinewood Derby workshops. (In past years, my older son's den has met at Weaver Street Market or Armadillo Grill for an early lunch. This has worked well and is convenient.)

UNFORTUNATELY, none of the Team coordinators are available this Saturday, January 9. Thus, there will be no official Tiger event this Saturday, UNLESS someone would volunteer to lead the meeting.

There WILL be a Tiger "make up" meeting on Saturday, January 16 at 11:30 AM. Kim and Steve Price (aka Daniel's parents) will officially be in charge. In large part, this meeting will focus on Requirement 4D as well as achievement record-keeping and handbook signing. Because we will have done much of this at the Thursday Go See It activity, only those scouts/families that could not attend the UNC TV event need attend this "make up" session. We'll send out more details about this meeting next week.

FRANKIE'S

Thanks to your scouts' hard work selling popcorn this year, the Pack will be treating itself to a party at Frankie's Fun Park on Sunday, February 14, at 1:00 PM. More details will be forthcoming, but you can expect each scout to receive entrance (that includes several Attraction Tickets as well as some Arcade Credit for games. You can find out more about the venue at:

http://www.frankiesfunpark.com/raleigh/

PACK 39 BLUE AND GOLD BANQUET

In February, our usual Pack Meeting will be replaced by our annual Blue and Gold Banquet. This will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall of University United Methodist Church (i.e., the usual Pack meeting place) on Saturday, February 20. This event involves a dinner for the families as well as a special time of scouting achievement recognition. For example, we expect that several of the Webelos scouts will be awarded the Arrow of Light. In addition, all our boys who have completed their achievements will be awarded their Tiger Cub Badges at this event.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Jen and Scott Singleton

++++ message about Pinewood Derby rules follows ++++

Dear Scouters,

Attached please find the 2009-10 District Pinewood Derby Rules. All packs are responsible for distributing the rules to their scouts.

There are two important changes to the rules this year which appear in bold in the attachment.

1) Cars competing in the Speed category can be no taller than 5". This limitation is due to the height of the electronic timer at the finish line. If needed, the timing gate could be removed for the Beauty and Originality categories as these cars merely have to cross the finish line but are not timed.

2) No weights can be added to the wheels.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I look forward to seeing you at Districts on Saturday, March 6.

Best regards, Margaret Pendzich, Pack 845 Committee Chair.