Congratulations to our Arrow of Lights who crossed over to Troop 572 at our May pack meeting. We wish you the best of luck in whatever lies ahead!
Congratulations as well to all the scouts (and especially parents) who survived our muddy camping weekend at Tolt MacDonald. Despite the rain, I think it was a great weekend!
Our school year is wrapping up, and in the summer we rely heavily on parents to plan and lead outings. See the note below and consider if you’d be interested in taking something on!
In this issue:
- June Pack Outing – Let’s launch those rockets!
- June Pack Meeting – Awards Picnic
- Pack Leadership – We need you!
- Summer Planning
- Camping Opportunities, Reminders, and Updates
- 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.
2. June Pack Meeting – Awards Picnic
Wednesday, June 15, 6-8pm (note earlier start)
Juanita Beach Picnic Shelters
9703 Juanita Dr. NE, Kirkland
Come celebrate the achievements of our scouts at our end-of-the-year picnic! Charge your camera batteries to catch the moment when your scouts are awarded their final patches of the year and receive their neckerchief and slide for next year. We will also be distributing new Class- B T-shirts for the Scouts to wear at their summer outings!
Thanks to Amanda Howell for taking the lead on organizing the picnic!
What’s for Dinner?
The picnic dinner is a blend of items provided by the Pack and potluck contributions from the families. Food to bring is assigned by den, and we also need to few folks to help out with setup, cleanup and grilling.
A scout is… thrifty. We want to make good use of our pack funds, so we are making two changes this year. First, if you do not need/want your current neckerchief, slide or rank book, please bring them to the picnic. We will be collecting these and reusing them in future years (it’s OK if your book has writing in it.) If you are the sentimental type, feel free to keep any of these as mementos. The second change is that we will be handing out books at the first den meeting of the fall. This will alleviate you having to keep track of them all summer long, plus will cut down on books given out to scouts who may not be continuing. Some scouts will get a used book. Just remind them that a scout is thrifty
3. 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 Cub Scouts (as is the case for me), the Activities Coordinator, Membership Chair, 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!
* 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.
4. Summer Planning
In the summer we usually try to offer a handful of pack-wide activities that are parent-led. Last summer, we offered a tidepool/beach walk/scavenger hunt, a hike, a bike ride and swimming at Strattonwood (and maybe more – I just can’t remember them all!).
Please sign up to LEAD an outing.
Responsibilities include creating a sign-up genius and making sure all logistics are in place.
If you have an idea that’s not listed on the Sign Up Genius please let me know and we can make it happen!
5. Upcoming Camping Opportunities
Updates on our camping opportunities:
- July 7-10: Camp Edward Residence Camp – If you haven’t paid yet, you must do so ASAP. Contact Melinda (melinda.chambers@gmail.com)
- 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.
Cub Scout Pack 428 