May 2022 Newsletter

Pinewood Derby was a success! A few fun facts:

* Number of entries: 59

* You guys made some FAST cars! All of the top 3 cars flew down the ramp at a speed over 18 MPH, All of the top 16 cars traveled over 17 MPG. 

* The time difference between the first two cars was 0.035 seconds, the difference between car 2nd and 3rd place weas 0.001 seconds. Now that’s a tight race!

We also had some amazingly creative cars, and it’s clear that you all put a ton of effort into your cars!  Thanks for doing your best!

Pioneer Farms was freezing, but fabulous! The scouts (and grownups) had so much fun with this hands-on learning about pioneer life. Thank goodness for electricity!

17+ scouts and parents helped “green up” our community on the 23rd. Plus, they had great weather! Thanks again to Brad Beckmann for organizing this service event.

Pictures of all of the above on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pack428/

In this issue (it’s a long one!):

  1. May Pack Outing – Camping at Tolt MacDonald – overnight spots dwindling. Plenty of day spots.
  2. May Pack Meeting – Crossover Ceremony for our Webelos II and Rocket Building
  3. June Pack Outing – Let’s launch those rockets!
  4. District Event – Family Fun Fair May 21
  5. A Look Ahead
  6. Scoutbook Reminder
  7. Pack Leadership – We need you!
  8. Google Employee Volunteer Match
  9. Camping Opportunities Reminders and Updates
  1. May Pack Outing – Family Camping at Tolt MacDonald Campground (near Carnation) May 13-15

We are nearing capacity for overnight slots. Please sign up ASAP, especially if you intend to camp.

The Spring Family camp is a great opportunity to camp as a family and finish those important outdoor elements that scouts need to earn their badges. We will enjoy spending time at the rivers, biking and hiking, doing achievements, a campfire program that will be put on by the scouts, and even a little relaxation!  Bring the whole family! 

Lots of Options: Stay the whole weekend, spend one night, or just come for the day on Saturday! Please indicate in the comments if you will stay one night, both nights or day-only.

If you or your family has never camped, this is a perfect opportunity to get started. Seasoned scouts and parents are on-hand to help you and your scout learn how to set up camp – pitching the family tent, setting up any tarps etc. If your family doesn’t own camp gear, that’s no problem!  The Pack has a few loaner tents. Please indicate in your comments if you need to borrow a tent. Since it’s spring camping, you can bring a sleeping bag, but a warm blanket will work equally well.

2. Pack Meeting  – Webelo II Crossover and Rocket Assembly Wednesday, May 18, 6:00-8:00pm (please note the earlier start time)

The Crossover Ceremony is for our Webelo II cub scouts as they move on to become Scouts!  This is a very meaningful night, recognizing the hard work of our Webelos II scouts and their leaders. Please join us at 6pm to celebrate these scouts! A reception/party/celebration will follow and at 7pm, we’ll start assembling our rockets. Your dues cover the cost of the rockets for your scout, but if you’d like to purchase one for a sibling, they are $15 each. An hour isn’t much time to assemble the rockets, so you may need to finish at home (instructions are included).

3) June Pack Outing  – Rocket Launch! Saturday, June 4, 4:00-7:00pm, 60 Acres Park North

Don’t miss the always popular Annual Pack Rocket Launch!!!  Bring a picnic dinner for your family and maybe some chairs or a blanket. We could use some help setting up this event starting at 3pm. Please email me if you can help.

About the event: Because of the dangers inherent with young children and flying rockets – rockets are launched in a controlled – but still very fun – environment.  After scouts load the rockets with engines and fuses, they will take them to the launching area and hand them off to an adult who will set the rockets on their launch base.  The scouts will then stand a safe distance away at their rocket’s launch station.  After the countdown, each scout presses their launch button and watches their rocket fly high in the air.  Next, the scouts are released into the field to retrieve their rocket (tip:  have your scout decorate their rocket and put their name on it – it helps when recovering the rocket from the field). Due to safety and liability issues, rockets can only be launched from the designated launch area under the supervision of The Rocket Launch Coordinators and their designated volunteers.  No one attending our Pack Outing will be allowed to launch rockets outside of the designated launch area.

Please bring your rockets assembled and ready.  Our Rocket Launch Coordinators, will be organizing volunteers on-site for loading rockets, launching and light repair.  We will keep launching until the scouts in attendance have used up the engines – if all goes as planned, each scout will be able to launch their rocket 3 times. 

Extra Things to Consider

  • The rockets fly high, and wind conditions can vary dramatically.  Each scout will have the opportunity to launch their rocket as many as three times, but please prepare your scout for the possibility that their rocket may get carried away by the wind and may not be recovered if it falls way beyond the fields or lands in dense brush surrounding the fields.
  • Please know that the rockets take about 30 minutes to build and require additional time for the glue to dry thoroughly.  If you didn’t build your rocket at the Pack Meeting, make sure to pick up your rocket from your den leader and give yourself plenty of time for fun, stress-free building.
  • The kids should wear sturdy shoes that can get muddy.  They will be running around the field collecting their rockets after they are launched.  It can also get fairly windy and chilly on the field in the evening, so bring some extra layers of warmth for yourselves and the kids. 

Directions to Sixty Acres Park
Sixty Acres Park is located on NE 116th Street between Willows Road and 154th Pl NE, Redmond WA 98052.   From Redmond Way, turn north onto Willows Road, then turn right (east) onto NE 116th Street. 

What if it rains??
Rockets cannot fly in the rain or in high wind, therefore, if we must reschedule this event due to bad weather you will hear from us by email by 3pm on Saturday.  We will wait till the last minute possible to call it off as you never know what the weather will do here in the Pacific Northwest.  Please be patient and wait to hear from us.  If you cannot access your email, please call your den leaders for clarification. 

4) BSA Lake Shores District Spring Family Fun Fair Saturday, May 21, 11am-3pm, Rose Hill Church, 12202 NE 90th Street, Kirkland

Our local district is hosting this fair open to all scouts and the wider community. Activities include a climbing wall, crafts, pinewood derby racing, raingutter regatta races and more. Bring a friend!

5) A Look Ahead

In June we will have our end of the year picnic and awards ceremony. This is when our scouts get promoted to their next rank, and they receive any outstanding awards. The June picnic requires the help of many volunteers to grill, set up, tear down, contribute food, etc. It also needs a coordinator to make sure all these things happen! If you are willing to take this on (with help, of course), please let me know. The picnic will be June 15. We are still working on a venue for this event.

6) Scoutbook – Finish those ranks!

Deadline is May 31! You should all be logging into Scoutbook at www.scoutbook.com to note your scout’s progress towards his or her rank. (In some dens, the den leader does this, so check with your leader.) We try to award all ranks by the June picnic so the scouts can kick back and enjoy the summer events just for fun or to kick off the new year.

Parents, please help us by taking the time now to review advancements with your scouts and den leaders, and plan accordingly to get everything done in a timely manner. While most requirements are completed in den meetings, Duty to God and the Cyberchip are usually done at home. As a friendly reminder, scouts can only earn rank badges (Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos) during the corresponding rank year – so please don’t miss out on the opportunity for your scout to earn these badges of honor.  Also, for new scouts, the Bobcat Badge must be earned. If you have questions about the requirements for your rank, contact your den leader.

7) Pack Leadership for next year – we need you!

Many hands make light work, and yours are needed to support our great pack. The good news is you will not be alone. We have an experienced leadership team already who will be there to work with you and train you in your position. We are trying to fill positions early, so that the outgoing and ingoing person can work together for several months. The asterisk positions have the most immediate need. If your spouse is the one usually “hands on” with cubscouts (as is the case for me), both the activities coordinator and the communications chair are good positions for people who don’t regularly attend pack meetings. You can still help behinds the scenes! Reply to me if interested in any of these positions.

* Activities Coordinator
Each month the Pack coordinates at least one outing. We maintain an excel sheet full of past activities and things to choose from, or you can come up with your own, plus we have a lot of information on whom to contact, what needs to be done, etc. The job of the Activities Coordinator is to find parents to lead outings and to make sure that they get on the Pack  calendar (by communicating with the Communications Chair).  This person is NOT responsible for planning every event the Pack participates in, but rather finding parent volunteers to spread the work load! Planning one event a year is a privilege, planning EVERY event for the year becomes a chore.

 * Assistant Cubmaster
This job is that of an on-call volunteer to fill in when the Cubmaster is unavailable. If the Cubmaster is not available for a Pack event or outing, this person would be available to do the Cubmaster role. Specifically, the assistant cubmaster will be up to date on BSA training (Youth Protection), maintain relationships with parents and guardians and seek their support in leading activities, attend monthly leadership meetings. This is not a huge commitment, and more than one person could volunteer.

Membership Chair
The purpose of membership chair is to help ensure a smooth transition of new scouts into the pack and orientation for new parents. The Membership Chair ensures that new scout applications are processed and submitted to the local BSA Council efficiently, new scouts are added to the email distribution group and Facebook Group, work with the Treasurer to collect dues and registration as required, greet visitors at pack meetings, and answer questions from interested individuals. Melinda is currently our membership chair, and she is not going anywhere. She will work with you until you feel comfortable with this role.

Communications Chair
This person creates the monthly newsletter, maintains the website and sends emails as needed. Training and templates are available for all of these things. Plus, Miriam is our current chair, and she will be available to work with you until you are ready to take it on your own.

8) Google Match

I was informed that Google will also donate to our pack for any hours its employees volunteer. Just search for “Cub Scout Pack 428” in your donation tool.

9) Upcoming Camping Opportunities
Updates on our camping opportunities:

  • May 13-15: Family Camping at Tolt-MacDonald Campground (near Carnation) – See above.
  • June 17-19: Family Camping at Rasar State Park – Cancelled
  • July 7-10: Camp Edward Residence Camp – Deadline has passed, but if you’d like to get on a waitlist, let Melinda know. Alternatively, you may sign up individually at Camp Edward – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org)
  • July 11-14: Cub Scout Day Camp ‘Twilight’ session at Lake Sammamish State Park – Registration now open! (I believe there is still space available.)

CUBS IN SHINING ARMOR is this year’s theme. Activities include shooting sports, archery, songs and skits.

  • Day camp is staffed by parent volunteers. Please plan to volunteer for at least one of the days that your scout is attending. You will need to volunteer for one day per child attending, so if you have more than one scout attending camp, please plan to sign up for the necessary number of dates!
  • Go to the day camp website at Lake Sammamish Cub Scout Day Camp (sammtrailsdaycamp.org) and click on the Register Here button. It will take you to the registration system. 
  • You may attend either session (registration is on your own), but our pack typically attends the twilight session. We may also try to arrange carpools.