Greetings Pack 428!
We hope you are all getting settled into your new routines. We had a great turn out at our camping outing last weekend, and we were amazed to see so many families at our first pack meeting! We especially welcome our new scouts. We are still signing up scouts, so if you know anyone interested in scouting, please invite them to our next pack meeting on October 18 at 6:30PM at Ben Rush Elementary (6101 152nd Ave NE, Redmond). Interested families are always welcome to attend any pack meeting. You can also point potential scouts to our website at www.pack428.com.
In this issue:
- Upcoming Pack Meeting
- October Pack Outing – Apple Harvesting
- Returning Scouts – What you need to know
- NOVA Scouting Award Opportunity – Do you like STEM?
- Welcome new treasurer!
- BALOO – Adults can go camping!
- Local and district scouting events
- Pack Calendar – check out awesome events to look forward to!
- Wednesday, October 18, 6:30-8:00 at Ben Rush Elementary
Knot Tying and other scouting fun!
Bring a friend! Friends interested in seeing what Scouts is like are always welcome at our pack meetings.
- Saturday, October 28, 10am to 1pm
Apple Picking and Cider Press
SW 16th St, Renton, WA 98057, USA (map)
Apple picking and cider press in partnership with Urban Fruit Stewards. All fruit harvested is donated to local food banks. This is a service event and is also a lot of fun!
- Attention Returning Scouts
What do I need to do to stay in scouts? How do I renew my membership?
Pay your dues: Returning scouts do not pay dues online. They pay annual dues to the pack. Dues are $125 per scout and are due by October 31. Please pay now via Zelle, if possible: pack428treasurer@gmail.com. Please include your scouts’ name and rank (or grade). If you do not have Zelle, please give a check payable to Pack 428 to your den leader. (Den leaders, please give these to Miriam.)
If the fees are a hardship for your family, please contact our treasurer, Jesus Barranco. We have some scholarship money available.
Fill out medical forms: To “do our best” with risk management, we are requesting medical forms from all scouts this year. We will make every effort to have these forms on hand at any scout outing and for sure at all overnight outings. Please find the forms here: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_AB.pdf. You can then turn in your form to your den leader.
- STEM Nova Award
Parents! In our area we have a lot of kids who have an interest in STEM activities, and Cub Scouts has some optional programs that help foster your Cubs interest in STEM. The general description is here: Cub Scout | Boy Scouts of America (scouting.org). There are 11 separate awards that follow similar patterns. Phil Allen (also the Bear Den leader) will be our Pack’s Counselor for Nova Awards.
For our Pack, keep an eye on the newsletter. Some of the weekend outings will be able to satisfy one of the options for a Nova award. When your Cub has completed all of the requirements for one of them, contact Phil Allen and he will meet with your Cub on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Ben Rush since a number of the requirements have, as a final step, “discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor”.
For instance, the first weekend outing of this flavor will be at 12:45pm on Saturday, October 14th, at the Issaquah Fish Hatchery (Guided Tours (issaquahfish.org)), satisfying one of the requirements for the “Science Everywhere” Nova Award. Email Phil Allen if you are interested in going or have other general questions about the NOVA program.
- Welcome our new treasurer!
Many thanks to Jesús Barranco for answering the call to be our next treasurer! This will be a big boost to the pack to keep our budget on track and reimbursements paid quickly.
Did you notice this newsletter came out a bit late? That its formatting is less than desirable? This is because we currently do not have a communications chair. Do you like formatting and editing? Do you want to help the pack in an easy “behind the scenes” way? This position would be perfect for you. It involves sending the newsletter each month and editing our website. Time commitment is only 2-3 hours per month, plus optional attendance at the monthly leadership meeting. Please contact Miriam if interested. Thanks!
- BALOO Training – Fun (and helpful) opportunity for adults!
At every overnight activity, our pack is required to have at least one adult who is BALOO-trained. BALOO stands for Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation. It is a one and a half day camping/training opportunity that I can honestly say is a lot of fun! (I just took the course last spring.) Our pack currently only has two BALOO-trained adults, and this can create a problem if those two adults are not available for a particular overnight event. We don’t want to have to cancel any of our overnight activities! We are looking for a handful of parents to take the training. You do not need to be on the leadership team, and there is no additional on-going commitment. We simply need more people in the pack with this certification.
Upcoming BALOO training opportunities:
Oct 27-28 in Port Orchard
March 29-30 in Bremerton
Most likely others will be scheduled in the spring.
Please contact Miriam Schmidt if you are interested.
- DISTRICT NEWS AND EVENTS
Pack 428 is part of Chief Seattle Council. More information on all of the events mentioned below can be found at Home – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org).
| November 4, Program and Training Conference Information and registration at: https://seattlebsa.org/training/ptc/ The Program & Training Conference is a one-stop training opportunity for ALL leaders and parents to get together and learn more about Scouting. You can learn EVERYTHING from the ABC’s of Cub Scouting down to planning a 50‐miler backpacking trip and everything fun in between! |
Camp Halloween
This is a day camp sponsored by the district. We don’t attend as a pack, but it is tons of fun and your scout and family are welcome to join! Registration is on your own.
For a spooky good time, come to Camp Halloween! Fun activities are planned for Cubs and non-Scout families and friends such as bb guns and archery, pumpkin decorating, scavenger hunt, Cub World games and more! Bring your friends to increase the fun! Includes lunch. Each session is 10 AM to 4 PM.
Dates: October 14, 15, 21,22, 28, 29
Cost: $35 per youth age 5 and up; $10 per adult, sibling under 5 purchasing lunch
Don’t miss out on this popular event – sign up today!
Tentaroo Registration
November 11 – Scout Night at Seattle Thunderbirds! Seattle Thunderbirds – Nov 11th 2023 – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org)
Another great opportunity for Scout units and families to enjoy a night of action packed hockey with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Use code “scouts” to purchase your $18 tickets, for orders of 10+ please call 253-856-6845 and you can avoid all ticket fees! Go to:
Addendum:
Zoo Snooze – March 8
This awesome program is back for the first time in many years! You can check out more information here: Snoozes at Point Defiance Zoo: Spend the night at the Zoo! (pdza.org). No action needed yet to register. Details on cost and registration will come in the spring. However, note, this is exactly the type of event that we need BALOO-trained leaders to attend in order to participate! See my note in the “real” newsletter for information about this fun training for adults.
Lions!
Do you have a sibling or friend who is in kindergarten? We are hoping to grow our lions den and need help recruiting scouts in this age group. Lions is a wonderful, age-appropriate introduction to cub scouting. Scouts will have a blast! Please point any interested friends to our website: Cub Scout Pack 428 – Kirkland, WA, Adventure is waiting. Build yours for more information. New scouts are always welcome in the pack at any time of year.
Cub Scout Pack 428 