September 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to a new year of scouting in Pack 428 and a new school year! We are excited to see everyone again and to have some new adventures!

There are a lot of details and information in here, so please bear with me.

  1. Pack/den Meetings
  2. Registration and parent volunteer contribution
  3. Fall Camping – coming up fast! September 21-22 Please RSVP
  4. October outing Camp Halloween
  5. Other upcoming events
  6. Upcoming communications
  7. We need you! Open pack positions and volunteer opportunities
  8. 24-25 Leadership Team Roster
  1. Pack meetings are again on the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30-8 pm at Ben Rush Elementary. 
  2. Our first meeting will be on September 18th and is our Joining Night! 
    1. Please help us get the word out!  Tell your friends how much you love scouting.  We will have a welcome table and we’re especially hoping to welcome some new Kindergarteners and first graders.
    1. Feel free to forward them this newsletter or point them to our website: pack428.com.
    1. Please also share our recent posts about joining on your own newsfeed or any relevant groups you’re a part of Facebook post.
    1. The district website is also a great source of information, and especially this national site, which gives an overview of the scouting program: Cub Scouts | Boy Scouts of America (scouting.org).
    1. New Parents: There will also be a separate new parent online meeting on Wednesday September 25th at 7:30 pm.
  3. We will also be working on physical fitness adventures with outdoor games to play at our first meeting.
    1. Parents if you can help run stations and with the various activities, please email me!
  4. Please be on time for meetings so we may accomplish everything we have planned!
  5. Scouts are expected to wear their formal uniforms (called Class A uniforms) to all pack and den meetings. You can buy them online, but I recommend a stop at the Trading Post in Seattle: Trading Post – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org)
  6. 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 and we will have copies to fill out at the meeting. 
  7. Uniform Swap: Returning scouts – if you have outgrown pants or Class A shirts, please bring them, and a new scout can get some free hand-me-downs!
  • Individual den meetings to work on requirements for your cubs’ rank, which are also called adventures, will be once a month on a different Wednesday of the month. 
    • Some adventures are also completed at home.  The scout handbook also helps explain the program.
    • Look for information from your den leader for those times.
    • Your den leader is your first stop for scouting questions. They are here to help!
  • Registration
    • All scouts, new and returning, will need to renew/register memberships (dues: $118.45) online this year to remain in the pack: https://my.scouting.org/The renewal date may be either fall (newer scouts) or beginning of the calendar year/January (for scouts who were not new during 23-24 school year).I recommend logging into your account upon receipt of your renewal notification. (I had some small print auto-renewal enrollment by default, so check your account.)This will be a change for former scouts that paid the membership dues directly to the pack and the pack submitted the dues to Scouts (national and council).
  • Membership dues do not go to our pack, but our pack is generously funded by volunteers through company matching programs. Instead of monetary for the pack, we are requesting each family contribute at leastfive hours of volunteer time to help the pack.
    • If your company offers a matching program, please consider enrolling and contributing to our Pack!
    • There will be many opportunities for volunteering on an individual event basis and we still have a need to fill some leadership roles (see below).
  • For more information on the scouting program, please see: Cub Scouts | Boy Scouts of America (scouting.org).
  • Fall Camping-September 21-22 at Kanasket Palmer
  • Please note this is earlier in the year than usual for our fall camping trip, and a new location to explore.
    • No Discover Pass required for our group camping spot.
  • Our goal is to offer our scouts at least two outdoor camping experiences per year. There will be skits, outdoor cooking (depending on burn ban), games, a chance to work on adventures, and other festivities.
  • October outing: Our pack plans to go to the district sponsored Camp Halloween at Camp Edward (25600-B Monroe Camp Rd, Snohomish, WA 98290) on October 12th, 10 am-4 pm for our pack October activity.
  • We encourage you to attend with our pack! It should be fun!
  • Sign-ups are open now and done by families individually: https://seattlebsa.tentaroo.com/admin2/login.
  • $35/scout, $10/ adult, $40/non-scout youth over 5 years old
  • Activities include bb guns, archery, pumpkin decorating, scavenger hunt, Cub World games. Includes lunch.
  • Upcoming events
  • Scout night with the Kraken: While still a little way away, the Kraken have released their Scout night tickets.  It will be March 12, 2025 (a Wednesday night).
    • Ticket price includes a patch, as well as a small donation to the local district scout council.We are looking into if we can reserve a section together- look for more details to come.
  • District Events: Our local BSA council also hosts many day and overnight activities and publishes scouting events in the area that you can sign up for on your own. Look at email newsletters from the district and regularly check the district site: Home – Chief Seattle Council (seattlebsa.org) to view these opportunities.
  • Our tentative pack calendar is below.
  • Calendar and Communications
    We strive to provide timely communication for upcoming events without overburdening your inbox! This year we will continue our monthly newsletter with occasional reminders. We have a Google calendar accessible at our website, pack428.com. You may also subscribe directly to the calendar here: https://pack428.com/events/.

Our private Facebook group is a place where we celebrate events and achievements of the scouts and post more photos.

  • Here are our current volunteer opportunities for you to “pay your dues” of time to the pack:

Job Shadow: Committee Chair (see below for description)

Job Shadow: Events Coordinator (see below for description)

Job Shadow: Awards Chair (see below for description)

Lion (Kindergarten) Den Leader

Tiger (First grade) Den Leader

One Time: Help at Fall Camping (see sign up genius)

This year’s Pack Committee:

Cubmaster: Tomás Velázquez –A shared position would be ideal
Assistant Cubmaster: OPEN – Volunteer Needed
Committee Chair: Miriam Schmidt –Will be vacant in March
Recruiting: Bhavika Shah
Events Planning: Kristin Dickson – Will be vacant in March
Awards: Mark Plesko – Will be vacant in March
Communications: Naomi Yoo
Treasurer: Jesús Barranco
Lion Den:  OPEN – Volunteer Needed
Tiger Den: OPEN – Volunteer Needed
Wolf Den: Sommer Harrison
Bear Den: Rachna Dixit
Webelo : Phil Allen
Arrow of Light: Amanda Howell, assistant Mark Plesko

Here are our leadership needs:

Den Leader (Lions and Tigers)

The den leader is responsible for running the Cub Scout program at the den level. Dens consist of boys and girls in the same grade. Organize and the den meetings and outings. Coordinate parent involvement at the individual den level. Present den awards to scouts at pack and/or den meetings.

This leader must wear the brown leader shirt and take 2 or more hours of job-specific online training. Attendance at the monthly pack leadership meeting is encouraged.

Time commitment: 3-5 hours per month. Ideally this person will make a multiple-year commitment to the den up through the 5th grade.

Committee Chair – currently held by Miriam/will be vacant March 2025/Miriam can train you

*This is a great job for the parent a 2nd, 3rd or 4th grader.

The committee chair is a key administrative role in our pack. They run the monthly leadership meeting and make many of the decisions regarding the pack. They host the annual planning meeting, often help with reservations or organizing outings and camping, and recruit volunteers for open leadership positions. This person handles the annual pack recharter process and is the pack representative to local BSA council.

This leader must wear the brown leader shirt and take 2 or more hours of job-specific online training. Attendance at the monthly pack leadership meeting is required.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours per week.

Events Coordinator – currently held by Kristin/will be vacant March 2025/Kristin can train you

Each month the pack coordinates at least one outing and one pack meeting. The pack leadership organizes the schedule each year, but the Events Coordinator makes it happen. They are often responsible for researching and coordinating/confirming monthly pack events. This can include payment, reservations, and other pre-planning logistics such as SignUp Genius, event fliers, etc. Also includes soliciting parent volunteers to lead specific event logistics. This person is NOT responsible for planning every event the pack participates in, but rather finding parent volunteers to spread the workload.

Attendance at the monthly pack leadership meeting is required.

Time Commitment: 3-4 hours per month average.

Awards Chair – Currently held by Mark/will be vacant March 2025/Mark can train you

Collect award information from den leaders and Scoutbook. Buy awards from scout store or delegate the shopping. Organize awards for distribution.

Attendance at the monthly pack leadership meeting is encouraged.

Time commitment: 2-3 hours per month.