Troop 301,

November 1st – SPECIAL PLC – ALL 1st CLASS AND ABOVE SCOUTS MUST ATTEND!

November 3rd – Regular Troop Meeting – Lashings (Mr. Palmer guiding 4 scouts) Greg B., Chris B., James B. and Cole D. (Scouts need to brush up on their lashings and see Mr. Palmer at the PLC). PERMISSION SLIPS are past due for the Turkey Cookout (They need to go to Mr. Stickevers now).

THIS IS THE “DROP DEAD DATE” TO TURN IN POPCORN FORMS!

November 5th – Webelos Woods at Baiting Hollow – See Mr. Palmer ASAP

November 10th – Regular Troop Meeting – Flag Etiquette (Mr. Anello & Mr. Fabrizio)

November 11th – Veteran’s Day Parade – Meet at 9:30 am at Capital One Bank (See details HERE)

November 11th – 13th – Annual Turkey Cook – This year it is at the SMITHTOWN HISTORIC SOCIETY grounds in Smithtown. Each Patrol will be cooking ONE side dish that were assigned at the PLC. Enough for 100 people will be needed.

Predators = Corn
Cobras = Stuffing
Black Ravens = Sweet Potatoes (real ones [not canned] washed and wrapped in foil)
Panthers = Green Beans
SPL & ASPL = Gravy and Cranberry Sauce

November 17th – Regular Troop Meeting – New Program Module – Conservation Scrap metal recycling with Mr. Calamia and 1st half Leave No Trace presentation- Alex B. Presenting Deadline for handing in your LEADERSHIP POSITION APPLICATION form if you want to be considered for a position toward advancement to STAR, LIFE of EAGLE.

November 24th – No Regular Troop Meeting due to THANKSGIVING.

Remember that we do not meet at the St. James Lutheran Church the entire month of December! Meetings will be elsewhere.

Troop 301,

With the December elections coming soon, we want to prepare all scouts that may want leadership roles in the future.

As stated in BSA policy, ONLY PATROL LEADERS are elected by the patrols they are in and the SENIOR PATROL LEADER is elected by all the scouts in the troop. Most of the rest are “appointed” by the SPL and/or the Scoutmaster.

All positions for election or appointment are to be done “with the scoutmaster’s approval”.

This means that DEN CHIEFS to SPL’s all have to get approval to run or serve.

There is nothing that says that a boy has to serve in a leadership role or that he is entitled to serve. It is, however, a “requirement” for advancement beyond 1st class.

We want all of you who would like to advance and serve the troop as leaders to be prepared and matched to a position they want to do and can complete successfully.

This requires action and effort on the scouts part and this will be discussed at the November PLC.

Don’t miss it! November 1st at 7:30 pm in the church hall where regular meetings are held (Full Class A)

The LEADERSHIP POSITION APPLICATION can be found HERE.

Mr. Bauer

Troop 301,

We are continuing out skills training with PIONEERING!

Remember: It’s NOT just KNOTS.

Pioneering lets you use knots and lashings to be creative and build things that you need or just want to play with.

To do it safely, you need to have a basic knowledge of the types of rope materials that are out there as well as their limitations.

On October 27th, Mr. Herrmann will present TYPES OF ROPES as well as the KNOTS YOU NEED TO KNOW.

On November 3rd we will move to LASHINGS.

When we don’t use our skills, we lose our skills so brush up on your Knots and Lashings prior to thes meetings.

On our own website we have a page devoted to knots and lashings that can be found HERE

Be sure to watch the video and to check out the link to troop 542′s website:

http://www.bsatroop542.org/Knots.htm

Also coming up is the PLC on NOVEMBER 1st and the VETERAN’S DAY PARADE on NOVEMBER 11th before we head to the Turkey Cookout Campout on the Smithtown Historic Society grounds across from the Smithtown Uniter Methodist Church.

The parade lineup is at 9:30 am at the Capital One bank in St. James. Scouts need to be in FULL CLASS A uniform with their troop fleece. If it is warm, fleeces will be omitted. If you do not have a fleece, wear underarmour (thermal wear) UNDER your uniform. NOTHING SHOULD COVER YOUR UNIFORM OTHER THAN A TROOP FLEECE!.

ONLY BSA UNIFORM HATS ARE PERMITTED! If you dont have one, you are NOT wearing a hat.

Mr. Bauer

Gentle reminder- Your scout’s annual dues are due. The rechartering exercise happens around Thansksgiving. In order for your son to be included on the charter, dues need to be paid. What do your dues cover?

A portion of the dues is used to support the general operation of the troop. However the majority of the money is spent for your BSA membershipm merit badges, rank advancements, insurance and your subscription to Boy’s Life magazine.

Dues are $85 for scouts and $15 for adult volunteers. In order to be included for 2012, please make sure your payment is received no later than November 10.

Thank you!!

Mrs. Bindert

Troop 301,

The campout will be on Saturday and Sunday morning.

We will leave early Saturday morning so the boys have a full day to build the shelters.

The park can be found online HERE.

Below is a diagram of the park.

Scouts need to have hiking boots as well as gear such as a backup tent and a sleeping bag correct for the temperature of the camp.

Ground cloth is likely a “must”. (Cheap plastic dropcloths work)

All scouts will be expected to participate in the construction of low impact “natural” shelters suitable for sleeping overnight.

Low impact = Branches, sticks, leaves that are “dead and down”.

Scouts who sleep overnight in one of these shelters will complete requirement 8 of the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge

Sitting outside the structure all night DOES NOT fulfill the requirement!

Scouts NOT looking to complete this requirement can stay in tents that they bring.

Each patrol is expected to prepare all the meals for the campout with at least one being a “foil” meal cooked in the fire.

Meals should be “scout meals” and selections can be found HERE

The campout agenda can be downloaded HERE.

Be Prepared

Mr. Bauer

Contact Frank Bailey at DELMARCOMP@aol.com or 631-732-4529 for National High Adventure information.

Philmont Scout Ranch

Born in 1938 as Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp, today’s Philmont Scout Ranch is a bustling center for high adventure and training. Youth and adults take advantage of the ranch’s camping, training, and work programs. Most activity takes place during the summer, but Philmont also offers its Fall Adventure and Kanik winter program.

More than 860,000 Scouts, Venturers, and leaders have experienced the adventure of Philmont since the first camping season in 1939. Throughout its existence, conscientious attention to low-impact camping techniques have helped maintain the ranch’s wilderness flavor.

The area surrounding the ranch is rich with history, from the Native Americans who made this arid land their home to the land barons of the 19th century. The town of Cimarron boasts a number of historical buildings, including the St. James Hotel – site of at least 26 killings during Cimarron’s wilder days.

Are you interested in going with our council?

July 28 – August 11, 2012

$2,100.00 Per Person

Download the details on the council trip HERE

Download the Youth Application HERE

Download the Adult Application HERE

Two crews of 12 will be going so space (and time) is limited.

This can be the adventure of a lifetime!

Introducing Troop 301’s 1st Annual Photo Contest

Subject: The Great Outdoors

 ** Prizes will be awarded **

Photographs will be judged on:

1. Creativity
2. Composition
3. Interpretation of the Subject

Email your photographs to deancbauer@optonline.net by Dec 31, 2011 to be entered.

Photographs will be shown at the Thursday, January 5^th, Troop Meeting

The Rules:

1.  Email must contain: “T301 Photo Contest” in the Subject line

2.  Photographs can be “cleaned up” by PhotoShop (or similar software) for red-eye, cropping and color, highlight or shadow correction, but can NOT be enhanced or altered (special effects, background replacements, etc) in any way.

3. Submissions must include the camera brand & model, the date and location the photo was taken.   Date taken must be between October 6 and December 31, 2011

4.  Photographs must be taken by the Troop 301 Scout entering the photo and be able to discuss it with the audience and/or judges.  No more than 2 submissions per Scout.  Photos must be appropriate and any photo deemed inappropriate will not be entered and shown.

5.  Photos must be in a “JPEG” format, preferably sized to 8 X 10.

Mr. Takach send us a Troop 301 Popcorn update;

Show-N-Sells; Just six(6) to go. Both King Kullen and Stop N Shop sales have provided record breaking sales for those who have participated.

Scouts have earned well over $900 in total toward their scout accounts and almost matching in troop funds. Has your scout participated? If not, there are plenty of dates left.

I have seen these scouts have a lot of fun at these Show-n-Sells. And why not, they are hanging with their pals, making new friends, and learning something along the way. How to sell a product and learn both the success of selling and agony of defeat (rejected). I’ve seen our own scouts being quiet and afraid at first and now have grown to be a great bunch of salesman. If your scout is reserved and afraid, you will not be disappointed in how he will be transformed in a couple of hours. I have seen this many times over. Parents, don’t have your scout miss out on this life skill.

Learned Skills:

Scout interaction, making friends, sharing stories with each other

Scouts decide who’s doing what and keep switching roles

Selling a product and convincing customer to upgrading to the more expensive product

Meeting unfamiliar faces and their reaction towards them – learning success and rejection

Learning the two phase process of selling. one for popcorn and if that didn’t work the 2nd string for a donation of a couple of dollars. (worked 7 out of 10 times in an hour – yes I watched)

Handling money – both collecting and change back

Inventory

NEWS FLASH: heard that one of the scouts has already sold over $800 in popcorn individual sales which means his summer camp is already paid for. Is this a runaway scout or will there be others reeling him in as the top selling scout?

** Once he reaches $1,000 he gets two free tickets to the Islander game in Feb 2012 plus meet and greet the players, hang out in the penalty box during warm ups, ride a Zamboni or be on center ice during introductions.

** If he gets to $2,500 in sales, Trails End puts away another 6 % into an education fund. and that qualifies for any future sales also going into his scout account regardless of the future amount. and That is on top of his 35 % of gross sales for his scout account.

Upcoming Show-n-Sell dates:

Oct 8 … Lowes 10 – 4 pm

Oct 9 .. ..Lowes 10 – 4pm

Oct 15 King Kullen 10 – 4pm

Oct 16 King Kullen 10 – 4pm

Oct 22 Stop N Shop 10 – 4pm (campout)

Oct 23 Stop N Shop 10 – 4pm (campout )

Troop 301,

Each October we hold a Family night/Awards night as one of the regular meetings. At this meeting the boys will receive all the merit badges they have earned since the year end picnic in June.

The boys will also go through the campouts and events the troop has done since the Pasta dinner back in March.

We will also take this time to recognize the scouts who have completed Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review resulting in rank advancement.

Family members are invited to celebrate along with the troop and ask that family members bring deserts to share with all.

We start this meeting a little earlier than usual and ask that parents get the boys to the meeting by 7:00 pm.

While the boys setup, a couple of the scoutmasters will give a small presentation to show the equipment the boys use and items the boys should have of their own. Hints on types to buy and some details will be covered.

This is typically a fun night so please join us.

I also mentioned permission slips are due for the October 22nd and 23rd campout which is “Camping without tents” and at Indian Island Park in Riverhead. The activity fee (to cover the cost of camping and propane) is $5 per scout for this campout.

This theme is to prepare the scouts for wilderness survival if they ever find themselves in that position.

We will specifically be building “survival shelters” from sticks and leaves. If the boys want to earn credit toward this requirement from the WILDERNESS SURVIVAL merit badge, they will need to sleep one night in the structure. This is ONLY required if they wish to fulfill that requirement and they are all encouraged to bring tents or arrange to sleep in tents with buddies if they decide not to or weather does not allow.

I hope to see you all Thursday by 7:00 pm.

Mr. Bauer

Troop 301,

 The car wash was a Success with ~100 cars washed in just 2 hours!

Thanks to Harry T. and Greg B. for helping along with about 35-40 members of the 5th grade class and a half dozen teachers.

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Wednesday, October 5th is now the new date I will be having a car wash eagle project fundraiser from 3:30 to 5:30 at St. James Elementary School on Lake Ave. in St. James. Please e-mail me if you are going to attend. My e-mail is deancbauer@optonline.net. Thank you and I hope to see you there.

Dean Bauer

(Adults coming to have their cars washed are also appreciated)

….added by Mr. Bauer