Boy Scout Troop 61 - SPAGHETTI DINNER!!

~ All You Can Eat ~

Saturday, January 17, 2009
4:00 – 7:00 PM
South Congregational Church
1301 Forbes Street, East Hartford
Cost: $6 Adults; $4, ages 12 & under
Max. $20 per Family

Pack meeting canceled for 12-19-2008

Unfortunately we have to cancel the pack meeting for December 19th. Please check in with your den leaders and here for updates on upcoming events.

Next Pack event is the weigh-in nights for the Pinewood Derby and the Movie Night before the race. We'll post details in the next few days.

Happy Holidays from Pack 61

Storm Watch

We'll be posting here on the blog by 6pm 12-19-2008 if the pack meeting will be canceled. Please check back for updates.

Tiger Go-See-It from Dec. 13!!!

The boys had a great time, and I think the parents did as well!! Thank you to the East Hartford Fire Department for such a great experience. We all learned a lot.

www.flickr.com

Tiger Den Activity on Sat. Dec. 13

As discussed at the last den meeting on Dec. 5, we were looking forward to a Go-See-It at the East Hartford Safety complex this month. Thanks to Dan Dube (and Cubmaster Bryan) we have a time set!

Tigers, please meet met at 11 am on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Safety Complex on the corner of School Street and Tolland Tpke. Dan said to park in the little parking lot near the fire station bay doors. See you all there and in uniform!! Plan for about an hour for a tour of the building.

Since this is such a large den I will most likely ask Dan for another day in the spring for those that cannot make it this weekend.

Call me with any questions. Also, don't forget about the Den meeting this Friday, Dec. 12.

Popcorn Pickup 12-7-2008!

The popcorn will be ready for pick up Sunday 12/7 from 10-2 at 67 Barbara Dr, East Hartford. If you can't be there to pick up your popcorn, you need to make arrangements with your den leader or fellow parents.




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December Events

• December 4th - Committee meeting - Topics will include: Popcorn roundup, scout banks, pinewood derby
• December 13th - Rock Cats Winterfest (see below)
• December 16th - Pinewood Derby workshop - Trace and cut cars, 7pm in Church Hall
• December 19th - Pack meeting

We received the below Rock Cats event information, if there is interest please send a note to pack61easthartford@gmail.com and we can see about doing this as a group.

Rock Cats Winterfest

"The Rock Cats are excited to invite you to our first ever Winterfest at New
Britain Stadium! The Saturday, December 13th event will feature complimentary
food and refreshments, a variety of kid-friendly activities and games, and a
very special visit from Santa Claus - who will be on hand to greet fans and
families for the entire event, which will run from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

The Rock Cats in-Stadium Official Team Store – The Third Base Shop – will be open
for fans’ Holiday shopping needs during the Winterfest and will feature a Grand
Slam Holiday Sale with up to 50% savings on a wide variety of official Rock Cats
and MLB clothing and items including Hats, T-Shirts, Sweatshirts and more! Red
Sox, Yankees, Mets, and, of course, Rock Cats fans can conveniently take care of
their family’s gift needs at the Winterfest, while also enjoying a Stadium tour,
having their picture taken with Santa and/or Rocky, and receiving free gift
wrapping.

Those generous attendees who bring either an unwrapped toy or item
of clothing for donation to a needy child on the Rock Cats Wish List will
receive a free ticket to the Rock Cats 2009 Opening Night game!"

The Derby is coming ...

On January 24th we'll be holding our Annual Pinewood Derby, below are a number of cars seen at this years Pow Wow leader training day.



More details about the Derby at the next pack meeting.

Communicating advancement

The full details are here at usscouts.org for the Academics Pin. To earn your communication belt loop all you need to do is complete these three requirements:

1. Tell a story or relate an incident to a group of people, such as your family, den, or members of your class.
2. Write a letter to a friend or relative.
3. Make a poster about something that interests you. Explain the poster to your den.

Rake some leaves, advance in scouting

Today's highlight on Advancement is Citizenship, the full details are posted at USScouts.org here.


To achieve your belt loop you need to do the following:

1. Develop a list of jobs you can do around the home. Chart your progress for one week.
2. Make a poster showing things that you can do to be a good citizen.
3. Participate in a family, den, or school service project.

Note: Those that have participated in the recent Fall Cleanup at South Congregational Church, or the Scouting for food collection have completed the 3rd requirement.

Popcorn

Reminder, all popcorn orders are due to den leaders. Let's get our orders in as soon as possible so we can start handing out it out.

Get Blitzed on scouting!

We'd like to highlight a new feature on our blog, the ability to subscribe via e-mail. Just enter your e-mail in the "Subscribe to Blog" area on the left to start the process. Then you will receive a message asking you to confirm your subscription. You should then receive an e-mail on each new post.

Recent Scouting event pictures

Today we received the pictures for Rocket Day and the CRRA Trash Museum. Reminder to all parents, if you have any pictures of Scouting events you can share please e-mail us at pack61easthartford@gmail.com so we can arrange to post them for all.

Rocket Day - October 2008

CRRA Trash Museum

The Bobcat

The Bobcat badge is the first rank earned by every boy in Cub Scouting. All boys will first work on their Bobcat badge to complete the Cub Scout joining requirements. All our new scouts this year need to complete their Bobcat badge.

To earn their badge they need to be follow the below steps.

1. Learn and say the Cub Scout Promise and complete the Honesty Character Connection.
   
   The Cub Scout Promise
   I ____(name)____ promise to do my best
   To do my duty to God and my country,
   To help other people, and
   To obey the Law of the Pack.
   The Honesty Character Connection
   Know: Discuss these questions with your family. What is a promise? What does it mean to "keep your word?" What does honesty mean? What does it mean to "do your best?"
   Commit: Discuss these questions with your family. Why is a promise important? Why is it important for people to trust you when you give your word? When might it be difficult to keep your word? List examples.
   Practice: Discuss with family members why it is important to be trustworthy and honest and how can you do your best to be honest when you are doing the activities in Cub Scouting.
2. Say the Law of the Pack. Tell what it means.
   The Cub Scout follows Akela.
   The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
   The pack helps the Cub Scout Grow.
   The Cub Scout gives goodwill.
3. Tell what Webelos means.
   WE'll BE LOyal Scouts
4. Show the Cub Scout sign. Tell what it means.
5. Show the Cub Scout handshake. Tell what it means.
6. Say the Cub Scout motto. A motto is a guiding principle.
   Do Your Best.
7. Give the Cub Scout salute. Tell what it means.
8. With your adult partner, complete the exercises in the parent's guide, "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse."

The Bobcat badge is the first step in our children's advancement through scouting.

Look to the skies ...

Today's Highlight on Advancement is Astronomy, Usscouts.org has the details on the Belt Loop and Academics Pin requirements. If your scout completes these requirements please let your den leader know.

Here is a Meteor guide for the remainder of 2008 as additional information to inspire us.

November 11 or 12, 2008 North Taurids
Like the South Taurids, this shower is long lasting (October 12 – December 2) but modest, and the peak number is forecast at 7 as well. Because the South and North Taurids overlap, there’s some chance of catching a few extra meteors per hour. In most years, you would see the maximum numbers at around 1 a.m., when Taurus the Bull rides high in the sky. Unfortunately, in 2008, the nearly full moon will wash most of these meteors from view.

November 17, 2008 Leonids
Historically, the Leonids have produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history, with rates as high as many thousands of meteors per hour. These storms often recur in cycles of 33 years. In 2008, we anticipate more of a whimper than a growl from Leo the Lion, with a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour. Like the October Orionids, the Leonids produce swift-moving meteors, and tend to put out the greatest numbers just before dawn. The peak, however, on November 17, also features a large bright waning gibbous moon in the sky after midnight. Forget the Leonids this year, unless you are a serious meteor observer – or unless you happen to spot a few whizzing past in bright moonlight!

December 13, 2008 Geminids
The Geminids are often the year’s grand finale for meteor-watchers. As a general rule, it’s either the Geminids or the August Perseids that give us the most prolific meteor display of the year. The Geminids tend to intensify and climax at about 2 in the morning. With maximums commonly reaching 50 meteors per hour, this is a glorious time of year to sprawl out on your reclining lawn chair and to take in the show. Just be sure to bring along warm clothing, blankets or sleeping bags, and a thermos with a warm beverage. Unfortunately, there is a bright moon – only one day past full – for the 2008 Geminid shower. As a result, you probably won’t see very many Geminid meteors this year.

Tips for watching meteors
Here’s the first thing – the main thing – you need to know to become as proficient as the experts at watching meteors. That is, to watch meteors, you need a dark sky.

You also need to be looking at the right time. Meteor showers occur over a range of dates, as Earth moves through space, crossing “meteor streams.” These streams of icy particles in space come from comets moving in orbit around the sun. Comets are fragile icy bodies that litter their orbits with debris. When this cometary debris enters our atmosphere, it vaporizes due to friction with the air. If moonlight or city lights don’t obscure the view, we on Earth see the falling, vaporizing particles as meteors.

Although astronomers have tried to publish exact predictions in recent years, meteor showers remain notoriously unpredictable. Your best bet is to go outside at the times we suggest, and plan to spend at least an hour reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky.

In 2008, the moon gets in the way of quite a few of the year’s best showers. The most moon-free shower of the year will probably be the Perseids of August, and, even for the Perseids, you’ll have a narrow window for meteor-watching in the hours between moonset and dawn. This custom sunrise sunset calendar also includes moon phases and moon rise and set times.
Peak times are derived from data published in the Observer’s Handbook 2007 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

November Events

Upcoming events

• November 2nd - Fall Cleanup day at South Congregational Church 11:30am, bring rakes and help the home of Pack 61 prepare for the winter. Lunch will be provided for helpers.
• November 6th - Committee Meeting, all interested parents are welcome. Topics of discussion will include the upcoming Pinewood Derby
• November 8th - CRRA – Scout Day
• November 9th - All popcorn orders into Den Leaders
• November 21st - Pack Meeting

CRRA Scout Day

The CRRA trip is scheduled for Nov 8 from 12-2pm. This event is free and is an educational experience on recycling and conservation. You can visit their website:

www.crra.org

If you would like to attend, please us at pack61easthartford@gmail.com.



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Bear den schedule

All meetings will be at Amanda Ingraham's house starting at 6:30 unless otherwise noted

• October 31st - Den and Family Halloween Party
• November 1st - Drop off Scouting for Food bags
• November 14th - No meeting - Updated
• December 5th - Den meeting
• December 12th - Den meeting
• January 2nd - Den meeting
• January 16th - Den meeting
• January 30th - Den meeting
• February 13th - Den meeting
• February 27th - Den meeting
• March 6th - Den meeting
• March 20th - Den meeting
• April 3rd - Den meeting
• April 10th - Den meeting
• May 1th - Den Meeting

Rocket Day 2008

At 2pm on October 26th we'll be blasting off the 2008-2009 session with Rocket Day at Elizabeth Shea Field in East Hartford. Rocket kits should be available from your den leaders at a cost of $5 which includes 2 launches for spaceworthy craft. Please contact us at pack61easthartford@gmail.com if there are any questions.

Update: In case of bad weather we will reschedule for 10/2/2008


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Great Escape popcorn challenge

Kurt, the Wolves leader, was able to get a prize for any scout that fills up 1 and 1/2 sheets. The prize is a reduced $2.00 admission to the Great Escape in Glastonbury, regular price is $6.95. If you have not been there, this is a BIG indoor playground that the kids will love. We will organize this and go as a group at a later date.

There are about 3 weeks left before we have to turn in our order forms. Besides the neighborhood, family and friends - here are some other places to try:

• Your work place
• Your church
• Any other clubs/organizations you may belong to
• We have the ability to sell online also - just email pack61easthartford@gmail.com and we can issue you a password. This works great for out-of-state family and friends.

Popcorn

If there are scouts who want to participate in online ordering for out of state relatives using the www.orderpopcorn.com web site, contact us at pack61easthartford@gmail.com for your scout code. Scout codes will only be generated on request.

Reminder, popcorn orders are due to your den leaders with payment on November 9th.

Help Wanted

We're looking for a few parents to round out the Pack 61 team:

Pack Secretary

• Keep notes on business conducted at pack leaders' meetings. Record only key items such as things needing follow-up or items for the history of the pack.
• Assist Cubmaster and Committee Chairman with correspondence for the pack.

Advancement coordinator

• Collect den advancement reports at pack leaders' meetings for use when ordering badges and insignia from the local council service center.
• Help plan induction and advancement recognition ceremonies.

In addition to these two important roles we need helpers for a few upcoming events

• On October 26th we will be blasting off with our 2008-2009 session Rocket Day, we are going to need a few parents to assist in preparing the rockets for launch.
• January 24th is our Pinewood derby and last year proved it's never too early to start planning. This year is going to be even better than the last and it's going to take a team to bring us there. At this stage we're looking for assistance with sponsor activities as well as event planning.

Parents, please contact us at pack61easthartford@gmail.com with questions or to sign up. Our next committee meeting is at 6:30 on October 9th in the Church Library, all interested parents are encouraged to attend.

Orienteering Event

The Webelos 1 group will be participating in the state DEP Orienteering event on Sunday October 19th. There is a $5 event fee, see below for details, all scouts are welcome.

Description: Using map and compass, participants will find several checkpoints. This meet is sponsored by the Western CT Orienteering Club
Date: 10/19/2008 Time:10:00am to 2:00pm
Location: Sessions Woods WMA
Rt. 69
Burlington, CT
Accessibility: Handicapped parking, wheelchair accessible, info. call Laura, 860-675-8130.
Directions: http://www.ct.gov/dep/directions
Sponsor: DEP WildlifeFee:$5.00 per person
Registration: Registration is not required.
Contact: Laura Rogers-Castro-(860-675-8130)
Contact Email: laura.rogers-castro@ct.gov
Details: Additional information at bandjhenderson@sbcglobal.net

Update: The event on the 19th is not a class. It is a local Orienteering Event with 5 courses offered from Beginner to Advanced. Basic instruction and loaner compasses are available on the day of the event. Registration runs from 10:00 to noon. After brief registration and some instruction, you and your scouts can go out on the basic course which has controls located on or very near trails. Cost is $5.00 per scout.

Please let us know how many are interested. E-mail: Pack61easthartford@gmail.com

Webelos One schedule

Current Webelos One schedule

October 10 - Den Meeting 7pm
October 17 - Den Meeting 7pm
November 7 - Den Meeting 7pm
November 14 - Den Meeting 7pm - Updated
December 12 - Den Meeting 7pm
December 19 - Den Meeting 7pm

Tiger Den schedule

Current Tiger Den schedule

October 18th – TIGER Den "Go See It" East Hartford Fall Fest at the town Green on Main (See below)
November 7th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH// bring popcorn orders in
November 14th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @ THE CHURCH led by TBA
December 5th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH
December 12th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH led by TBA
January 9th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH
January 16th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH led by TBA
February 6th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH
February 20th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH led by TBA
March 6th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH
March 20th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH led by TBA
April 3rd - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH
April 10th - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH led by TBA
May 1st - TIGER DEN MEETING - 7PM @THE CHURCH

The 19th Annual Fall Fest

Saturday, October 18, 2008 from 10:00 AM - 4 PM at the East Hartford Town Green located on Main Street. Featuring family oriented games, crafters, contests, moon bounce, giant slide, bathtub racers, race cars, music, entertainment, pony rides and hay wagon rides. Purchase an all inclusive wrist-band for unlimited rides for $7.00 or pay for individual rides. Sponsorship provided by E.H. Chamber of Commerce. Free children’s pumpkin painting while supplies last. IN THE EVENT OF INCLEMENT WEATHER, THE EVENT WILL BE HELD INSIDE THE EHCCC.

Again this year ChildPlan, will be hosting a “Create Your Own Scarecrow.” Hay and stakes will be provided, bring your costumes and decorations. Prizes will be awarded in several categories. Limited to first 50 families to register. Details visit www.childplan.org or call 860-291-1741.

McDoanlds Recruiting night October 2nd

On Thursday October 2nd we will be holding a recruiting and scouting awareness night at 2915 main street in Glastonbury between 5pm and 7pm. We hope to speak to parents and their children who are interested in scouting. Scouts of pack 61 should wear their uniforms to help us support scouting.



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Update: Tonight's event helped sign up several new scouts and provided information for a number of future scouts just a little too young.

Rocket Day

This Fall's Rocket Day will be held at Elizabeth Shea Park at 2pm on October 26th. There will be a cost of $5 per scout's rocket, each rocket will be launched twice depending on the condition after the first launch.

We're looking for a few parents to help setup rockets for launch.

Parents are encouraged to bring digital cameras and video equipment, if possible to share pictures so they can be posted at this site.


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October 2008 Events

Upcoming events:

• October 9th - Committee meeting at 6:30 in the church library. Dicussion topics to include:
  Upcoming pack meetings
  Voting approval of new leaders and committee members
  General event planning
• October 18th - Ham and Bean supper at South Congregational Church (a Church event)
  6pm in Charrier Hall, Adults - $8, Children under 12 - 5$
• October 24th - October pack meeting
• October 26th - Rocket Day - Location and time to be posted once confirmed

Rocket Day 2007:
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp8A-f5W-Co

Pack 61 Blog

We just finished our Rocket Day event last weekend, the pictures are located here. This upcoming Friday we have our last pack meeting of the session.