Troop 957 – Over the last few weeks we have had a sign up for discover SCUBA. Discover SCUBA is an introductory course into SCUBA diving. You will learn about SCUBA diving and actually get to learn and use SCUBA equipment and dive underwater in a pool environment. This will be offered through the Great American Dive Company (TGADC).

 

Several of you have signed up and this week will be the last week for sign ups and then we will coordinate a date with the troop calendar and TGADC. We wanted to make you aware that the Great American Dive Company will be offering a Groupon for Discover SCUBA coming this Thursday through Sunday. The normal cost is $25 for the course but with a Groupon it will be only $10! How a Groupon works is you sign up at http://www.groupon.com/stlouis/ and they send you emails of special pricing on various events, food establishments and products. You purchase the Groupon from their site and print off the Groupon and present it to the vendor.

 

If you would like to sign up, do it this Thursday, or you can email Al Schroeder at albys0720@charter.net to be added to the list.

We have scheduled the following summer camps:

 

July 08 - 13: Webelos Weeklong (Beaumont, Camp May, Campsite McMillian) (for current Webelos 1)

July 14 - 15: Dad-n-Lad** (Beaumont, Camp May) (for ALL, especially current Tigers, Wolves)
July 15 - 17: Webelos Mini-Camp (Beamount, Camp May, Campsite McDonnell) (for current Bears)

Speak with your Den Leaders about costs, applications, and timelines for getting signed-up!!!

Check out the Summer Camp events page for all the details.

**Dad-n-Lad Notes:
1. Dad must attend and stay overnight with their scout(s).

2. Since we didn't receive our first choice (June 16-17) for Dad-n-Lad, the camping fees are fully refundable. If you are unable to attend the July 14-15 camp, let your den leader know, and we'll see if one of the other scouts would like to buy your spot. Otherwise, we can get you a refund. The deadline for refunds is Feb. 1.

3. Get Excited! This is an important step for our boys. Many of them need their dad there with them for their first full night in a tent in the woods. We generally see boys "GROW-UP" overnight through the experience of sleeping in a "Boy Scout Camp Tent" with their dads. Beaumont tents are not totally sealed off like modern tents. If they are encouraged, boys begin to love sleeping in the outdoors and the beautiful natural world God has given us. Many of them go from being "scared of the woods" at night to "sleeping out under the stars" without tents later in their teens as boy scouts.

Do what you can to adjust you schedules to be with your sons for Dad-n-Lad. You and your son will remember it and talk about it for many years to come, even when he is an adult.

The Blue & Gold Banquet is our birthday party for Cub Scouting held in February. At the banquet we celebrate all the hard work and achievements of the scouts, parents, and leaders.  

We encourage the whole family to attend. This is the perfect event to invite the grandparents to attend.  

Tickets are available for purchase at the den meeting and pack meetings, and must be purchased by the first den meeting in February. The tickets are $5 per person, or $25 per family (kids 3 and under eat free). The tickets are only required for the meal; no ticket is necessary to attend the banquet.   

The doors will open at 5:45 PM, dinner will be served at 6 PM, and the program will start at 6:45 PM. 

This is one of the most important events of the year. So, make sure the scouts wear their full uniform with all of their patches and medals.

Check out the Blue & Gold Banquet event page for all the details. 

Check out the Pinewood Derby event page for all the details. 

We need your help - and so do thousands of hungry people in our community. Our scouts and parents are participating in the annual Scouting for Food drive this fall.  The 2011 food drive will take place on two consecutive Saturdays.  On November 12, we'll place plastic bags at doorsteps of over 3,000 homes in the area.  The following Saturday, November 19, we'll return to pick up the filled bags.  Food donated in a particular area will be distributed through relief pantries in that area, including the Calvary Church food pantry. The first Saturday, we'll assemble in the Atrium at Calvary Church at 9AM and we should be finished before noon. The second Saturday, we'll meet in the Gym at Calvary Church at 9:30AM, organize into teams, and start pickup at 10:00AM.

Drivers and registered adult passengers are needed to transport the scouts. Parents please try to attend both days with your scouts. 

We need as many parents as possible to stay at Calvary Church, while the dens deliver the bags, to sort popcorn. When the dens return from delivering the bags, the popcorn should be sorted and ready to go home with the scouts.

Mark the dates on your calendars, and stay tuned for for more details to come. Visit www.scoutingforfood.org to learn more about hunger in our area.

The AHG MO2002 Freshman Patriots are working on the Creative Writing badge. We’re having a guest author come visit us on Tuesday, November 1st and would like to open up the invitation to anyone that may be working on the same or similar badges. Byron von Rosenberg is author of “I Don’t Want to Kiss a Llama”, “Clyde the Unidale” and many other works of prose and poetry http://www.byronvonrosenberg.com/whatdo.html. He also works at the BSA Scout Shop off Lindberg. In return for his speaking with us about what it takes to be an author, he will offer some of his works for purchase. If you would like to attend with us, please let me know by Monday, Oct 31, so I can arrange the appropriate amount of space. 

This will satisfy many advancements in the den books as well as for the AHG program.

If you and your scout are attending please reply to Ann Wilson at ann.wilson1@wellsfargo.com or Marj Hicks.

This is not a Pack 957 event and each parent will be responsible for the supervision of their child or children. Den leaders and pack leadership will not be there to watch your children.

The October Pack Meeting is a outdoor campfire. Gather around the campfire for skits, songs, and fireside fun! Dress appropriately (gloves, coats, hats), and bring along chairs and blankets. Feel free to bring along the ingredients for S'mores and hotdogs to roast on the fire.

The fees for Dad N Lad are due at this pack meeting. The fees are $32/person, and dad is required to attend. We have submitted the following lottery dates June 16-17; June 30-July 1; July 14-15 at Camp May (Beaumont). Our first choice this year is June 16-17 at Beaumont. If we don't get our first choice the fees are fully refundable. Check out the Events page for more details.

Bring your items for the October Service Project (Calvary Food Pantry). Items needed are: travel size shampoo, conditioner, and body soap, as well as toilet paper.  

Don't forget to practice your den song and skit for the pack meeting. 

Do Your Best!

We will be serving on project #189: Operation Clean Stream in St. Peters. We'll be cleaning up the stream near the Oak Tree Village Retirement Community. This is the same retirement community where we'll be singing Christmas carols in December.

All participants must register in advance to receive lunch and a t-shirt in addition to work gloves for the clean-up.  Cub Scouts must have a parent partner attend with them.  Those participating will meet in the Calvary Church parking lot at 8:30 AM and shuttle to the site to alleviate parking problems.

This project can help you earn your World Conservation Badge. 

Sign up at http://stlouis.serveday.org/projects/st-peters/operation-clean-stream-in-st-peters.