November 2023

November 2023 

Welcome to another month of Scouting!  

In this issue: 

  1. Next Pack Meeting: November 15 – First Aid – Led by our Webelos Is! 
  2. Pack Outing: Flying Heritage – Last day to sign up is November 9 
  3. Winter Camp Update – RSVPs are a little different this year 
  4. Scoutbook Information and Rank Requirements 
  5. Program and Training Conference – Open to any interested adult 
  6. Upcoming events Previously Posted (but awesomely revised!): 
  7. NOVA Scouting Award Opportunity – Do you like STEM? 
  8. Volunteers Needed – Think about it! 
  9. Calling all Lions – AKA Kindergarteners 

1.Wednesday, November 15, 6:30 pm

     Pack Meeting: First Aid

Our Webelo Is will be leading us through some basic first aid, and each scout will leave with their own first aid kit. If you have a kit from a previous year, please bring it to be refreshed. We will have a visit from the Redmond Fire Department, barring any emergencies. 

There is no December pack meeting or outing. Instead, we will again be making holiday cards for our local seniors. We will have supplies available at the pack meeting for scouts to take home. 

2. Saturday, November 18, 10:00 am

Pack Outing: Flying Heritage Museum

Join Pack 428 on a curated tour of the largest private collection of historical combat vehicles and apparatus! This museum is amazing and hands on, and a Scout favorite! 

Register by 11/9   

To get an accurate headcount, please include the names of your scout(s) when registering below.   

Scout entrance to the museum is covered with annual dues and will be purchased by the Pack 

Siblings and parents must purchase a ticket separately, at the museum entrance (day of event) 

Tickets are $18 for youth, $25 adult. Kids under age 7 are free.  

More info at https://flyingheritage.org 

3. Winter Camp Update 

Winter camp at Camp Sheppard is so cool! Trying to RSVP as a group is not! This year, we hope to pick a weekend for our group to go and then have scouts and families sign up directly (either for the weekend or for the day). 

Information about Camp Sheppard can be found here: https://seattlebsa.org/camping/camp-sheppard/. 

If you are interested in going and want to “vote” for a particular weekend, please email me. Choices are: Jan 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, Feb 2-4, 16-18. We will have a recommendation on the “group” weekend shortly. Of course, you may sign up for any weekend you wish! 

4. Scoutbook and Rank Information 

Scoutbook is the official BSA site to log scout progress. All our new families should have received an invitation to login to www.scoutbook.com. This is how we track rank advancements each year, and it allows parents to login to their accounts and add achievements as your scout completes them. This is a joint effort between den leaders and parents. Typically, den leaders mark progress the scout makes at meetings, but there are several that are the parent’s responsibility to do at home – namely 

  1. Duty to God 
  2. Youth Protection 

Information about how to complete these is in your scout’s handbook. 

Please take some time to familiarize yourselves with the website and begin tracking your scout’s progress. When you log onto Scoutbook, click on My Dashboard to see your scouts. There are some very helpful YouTube videos if you are having any trouble navigating the site. Please contact your den leader if you are having any trouble logging activities. 

5. Program and Training Conference 

If you are interested in learning more about scouting or getting more involved with the pack, this conference is a great opportunity for you! Any adult is welcome to attend, and the pack would be happy to pay your registration fees. Find more information here: Program & Training Conference – November 4th – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org). They are taking walk-in registrations. 

6. Upcoming Events 

There will be NO pack meeting in December. We will have a simple service project – sending holiday cards to a nursing home. Remember, each scout rank has a service component, so be sure to participate in one or more of the opportunities our pack offers. 

January 17 pack meeting – airplanes! 

7. 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”.    

8. Get Involved! 

Did you notice this newsletter’s formatting is less than desirable? This is because we currently do not have a communications chair, and our committee chair is subbing in. Do you like formatting and editing? Do you want to learn a little bit about web editing (perhaps develop a new skill set for your resumé)? 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.

We also need to start thinking about the FUTURE! Our current committee chair, our awards chair and our events coordinator all have 4th graders in the pack. Ideally, we can identify people to take over these positions in the spring, so they can shadow/get trained next fall. These positions are lots of fun (at least I think so) – and being part of the pack leadership team is fantastic. Please reach out if you’d like some more information. 

9. 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.