Day Four and the natives are restless . . .
Structure is diminishing, sibling squabbles are increasing, toilet paper is being rationed. What’s a Scout to do? (After schoolwork that is!) Let’s think positive and plan for summer camp. Contact Mrs. Kendall (BKendallTroop169@gmail.com) to make payment arrangements before March 30. All payments from the Troop are due to Camp Read by March 31 – let’s give Mrs. Kendall a break and have payments to her by March 30. Also be sure to submit your Merit Badge sign up requests to Mr. Fedina before March 31 (he will be able to register Scouts on April 1.) Be sure to include alternate choices in case a merit badge fills up. Scouts remember to include a second adult on any e-mail, text, or other communication with Mr. Fedina. Keep washing those hands!
If council cancels camp, you will receive a 100% refund, including any “non-refundable deposit” money. Visit the WPC Council Webpage for their REFUND POLICY, scroll down to “Cancellation by the Council.”
JOTI 2020 Special Edition
Jamboree-on-the-Air is a ham radio event connecting Scouts around the world that dates back to 1958. Jamboree-on-the-Internet was added in 1997. These events are traditionally held on the third full weekend of October each year. In 2017 Troop 169 hosted a JOTA/JOTI event with the help of volunteers from the Orange County Amateur Radio Club. Our Scouts were able to connect with fellow Scouts overseas via ham radio and the internet. You can check out pictures and an event recap on our website HERE.
In response to the cancellation of all in-person Scouting events, the World Organization of Scout Movement is hosting a special Jamboree-on-the-Air April 3rd through 5th. What do you need to participate? Internet and a device (computer, iPad, smartphone, etc.). Who can participate? Scouts around the world – but from the comfort of their own home. Please do not gather to participate in this event. You can get more information HERE. Remember – Stay Calm and Scout On!
Top Five Merit Badges to Do While Under Quarantine
I love to read Bryan on Scouting. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to go to Scouting Magazine and check out his blog. He has a series of “Top Five Merit Badges” blog posts – ranging from How to Survive a Zombie Apocolypse and merit badges that help when there are llamas on the loose – that I particularly enjoy.
So following in his footsteps, here are five merit badges so you can keep Scouting while we are under lockdown. Just remember – always contact Mr. Fedina to get a “signed” blue card first and merit badge counselor contact information . While under quarantine, ask your MBC if Mr. Fedina’s verbal consent will do for now. Speak with your merit badge counselor about ways to remotely fulfill requirements such as disucss, show, demonstrate, etc.
LAW MERIT BADGE
Requirements can be found on USSP Law Merit Badge and a copy of the pamphlet can be found HERE (note – the booklet is a printing behind, the material is substantially the same but the 2019 requirement change is not updated.) How do you attend a court session while under quarantine? Easy peasy. For the duration of this quarantine I (Lisa Walsh) will consider online viewing of trials as fulfilling that requirement. You can go to Court TV and, WITH PARENTAL/ADULT CONSENT, chose a trial to watch. Some content may not be appropriate for all Scouts. You MUST have your parent/guardian’s consent or I will not sign off on this requirement. You can also use our friend Google to find any other trial or court session. I will accept verbal approval from Mr. Fedina for the”signed blue card” requirement.
PUBLIC HEALTH MERIT BADGE
Requirements can be found HERE and a copy of the pamphlet can be found HERE. Remember, the pamphlet may not be the most current so be sure to use the requirements from US Scouting Project.
This is a very pertinent merit badge given the current COVID-19 spread. With the exception of Requirement #5, this badge can be done entirely at home. Contact Mr. Fedina for blue card approval. Our very own ASM Chris Kendall is our Public Health Merit Badge Counselor.
WEATHER MERIT BADGE
Another badge where all but one requirement can be done at home and then discussed with your merit badge counselor either via phone or, after the quarantine is lifted, in person. Requirements are HERE and the pamphlet can be found HERE. This merit badge was significantly revised in 2018 so the pamphlet may have outdated requirements but should still have useful information and resources.
READING MERIT BADGE
Get a head start on the reading merit badge by cracking open a good book or four. NYS residents can get a free NYPL library card for digital access to NYPL collections. (Visit NYPL.org for more information.) Reading Merit Badge requirements can be found HERE and pamhplet (possibly outdated requirements) can be found HERE.
PROGRAMMING MERIT BADGE
It’s inevitable that you will be spending a lot of time on your computer doing all that school work your teachers so dutifully prepared and provided. While you are there you can start working on your Programming Merit Badge. Requirements are HERE and pamphlet (possibly outdated) can be found HERE.
Meetings Canceled
Out of an abundance of caution, Troop 169 is suspending meetings indefinitely. Additionally, our March 27-29th Camping trip is canceled. This is being done on the advice of our charter organization representative. It is also in line with State and Local recommendations as well as the preparations various local school districts are taking for long term closures. While adult leadership recognizes that our Scouts will be disappointed by this, we must do our part to “flatten the curve.”
What does “flatten the curve” mean? It means acting responsibly to slow the spread of coronavirus so that the health care system can manage outbreaks. The New York Times describes it well in this article. We also need to be careful not to spread the virus to more vulnerable populations (i.e., elderly, immunocompromised, sick, etc.) who may not be able to recover if they contract this virus. Please check with your health care provider or other reputable organizations (World Health Oragnization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Orange County Health Department) for information as to prevention, symptoms, and treatment.
In the meantime, what’s a Scout to do at home, particularly in the event of school closures?
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DO practice your knots! DO NOT practice your knots on your siblings absent parental permission. Animated Knots
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Look into an online merit badge. Ask Mr. Fedina for a blue card! Online Merit Badge
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Get your ScoutBook account up to date, review your progress reports, and make an advancement plan. ScoutBook
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Start a Merit Badge at home using one of Troop 169’s Merit Badge Counselors. Speak with Mr. Fedina to confirm he will issue the blue card when we start meeting again and ask for contact info for the Merit Badge Counselor. Contact the MBC and ensure he or she will work with you with the blue card to come later. Start working! Here’s a list of Troop 169’s in-house merit badge counselors.
Above all, remain calm and Scout on! Remember, Mr. Fedina will miss his Scouts sorely during this time . . . think of ways to shower him with love when meetings resume!
3/12/20
Meeting: Woodworking: this meeting we will be continuing form last week as we will be finishing our coasters.Feel free to leave your class A at home as we will be sanding creating a lot of saw dust. due to the amount of saw dust we will be making you must have your goggles to protect your eyes.
Last week: The Scouts that attended the camping trip all seemed to have a good time. Bryce made some amazing meals.
Want to know what merit badges some considered to be hard or physically demanding. Here is one scouts top 10.
10. Traffic Safety
9. Small-Boat Sailing
8. Swimming*
7. Backpacking
6. Water Sports
5. Cycling*
4. Skating
3. Bugling
2. Whitewater
1. Scuba Diving
As Mr. Fedina said at a previous meeting, If you got through a board of review and rank up,at the next meeting you can use the VR headset for the meeting. So start ranking up.
2/27/20: Meeting: This meeting will be a continuation of the meeting last week. make sure to bring what you got last week as we will be assembling the birdhouses. You SHOULD NOT bring your class A as we will be working with tools and you don’t want to risk getting your Class A dirty. Your temporary class A will be safety goggles. Make sure to bring your hand books and talk to anybody a higher rank so you can get requirements signed off on. And nobody is allowed to get injured.
Want to know some important merit badges you need to earn to become an eagle scout?
Here are the top eagle required merit badges you should work on if you have not earned it.
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First Aid
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Swimming
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Environmental Science
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Citizenship in the World
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Citizenship in the Nation
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Cooking
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Camping
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Communication
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Personal Fitness
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Citizenship in the Community
The February Campout has been rescheduled to the 28- march 1st.
We had on the Troop calendar for the February campout at Camp Turrell. It is a cabin with
bunk beds, electricity, a fireplace and a wood stove. With the bunk beds it might be more comfy than at snow tubing.Attached please find the permission slip to fill out and bring to a meeting
with payment of $20.campout PERMISSION
2/20/20
2/20/20(Meeting)This fun meeting will be on woodworking. over these meetings we will be constructing bird houses. you SHOULD NOT bring your class A as we will be creating lots of saw dust. your temporary class A will be safety goggles. Make sure to bring your hand books and talk to anybody a higher rank so you can get requirements signed off on. And nobody is allowed to get injured.
Do you want to prove that you are a great scout. try checking out some of the least popular merit badges and make it popular again. These merit badges are
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Computers
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Bugling
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American Business
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Stamp Collecting
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American Labor
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Cinematography
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Journalism
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Surveying
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Drafting
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Gardening
The February Campout has been rescheduled to the 28- march 1st.
We had on the Troop calendar for the February campout at Camp Turrell. It is a cabin with
bunk beds, electricity, a fireplace and a wood stove. With the bunk beds it might be more comfy than at snow tubing.
Attached please find the permission slip to fill out and bring to a meeting
with payment of $20.
campout PERMISSION
As Mr. Fedina said at a previous meeting, If you got through a board of review and rank up,at the next meeting you can use the VR headset for the meeting. So start ranking up.
2/6/20
This week: 2/6/20: Meeting: This week we have a big surprise for everyone, it’s a COPE meeting. THis week the meeting will be led by Kristan. make sure to bring your hand books and talk to anybody a higher rank so you can get requirements signed off on.
Eighteen Merit Badges have been updated – including some Eagle Required Badges.
If you have already started working on any of the badges, you may continue under the old requirements. Otherwise, you must complete the badge using the new requirements.
See the full list here:
https://www.scouting.org/
The February Campout has been rescheduled to the 28- march 1st.
We had on the Troop calendar for the February campout at Camp Turrell. It is a cabin with
bunk beds, electricity, a fireplace and a wood stove. with the bunk beds it might be more comfy than at snow tubing.
Attached please find the permission slip to fill out and bring to a meeting
with payment of $20.
campout PERMISSION
I was unable to get the images from snowtubing before so here are some now.
please take a moment to appreciate these beautiful faces.
Hope everyone is feeling better
We are very sorry to anyone who wasn’t feeling well last week and we had no meeting. S
tay well so we don’t have to cancel this meeting.
1/23/20: Meeting: We will be continuing COPE. We will work on team building activities to build our teams. Scouts should have completed the prerequisites given to us by Mr. Vitas and should also bring scout handbooks to get any requirements signed off on.
To find information on the merit badge college Click here to download the 2020 Merit Badge College Catalog today!
To any and all scouts with handbooks (everyone) be sure to bring them to the meetings to get requirements signed off on.
To any and all scouts, If you have an idea for a meeting or a camping place or any other ideas for the troop feel free to talk to your patrol leaders of senior patrol leaders.
For those of you with phones and who want updates then download the Team A
pp by going to the app store and downloading Team App.
11/23/20
11/23/20: Meeting: We will be continuing COPE. We will work on team building activities to build our teams. Scouts should have completed the prerequisites given to us by Mr. Vitas and should also bring scout handbooks to get any requirements signed off on.
To any and all scouts with handbooks (everyone) be sure to bring them to the meetings to get requirements signed off on.
To any and all scouts, If you have an idea for a meeting or a camping place or any other ideas for the troop feel free to talk to your patrol leaders of senior patrol leaders.
For those of you with phones and who want updates then download the Team App by going to the app store and downloading Team App.
1/16/20
1/16/20: Meeting: this week we will be continuing COPE. Teams will build towers made of spaghetti and other materials. Then we will use techniques tho build towers of newspaper.
1/17-19/20: Snowtubing: From the 17th to the 19th, we will be doing a winter Scouting event. Scouts will be in a condo in the poconos where we will enjoy all the luxuries of home, except a bed, were sleeping on the floor. We will be going snow tubing, hanging out and swimming. Scouts should bring snow pants, big jackets, bathing suits and towels, etc. Scouts must also bring their own towels for showering and for the pool.
To any and all scouts with handbooks (everyone) be sure to bring them to the meetings to get requirements signed off on.
To any and all scouts, If you have an idea for a meeting or a camping place or any other ideas for the troop feel free to talk to your patrol leaders of senior patrol leaders.
For those of you with phones and who want updates then download the Team App by going to the app store and downloading Team App.
1/9/2020
Happy new year everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and stayed up to ring in the New Year.
1/9/2020: Meeting: this meeting will be on low cope and team building activities. Scouts will learn to work together better with each other. Please wear your Class A and bring your Scout Handbook.
1/17-19/2020: SNOWTUBING: from the 17th to the 19th, we will be doing a winter Scouting event. Scouts will be in a condo in the poconos where we will enjoy all the luxuries of home, except a bed, were sleeping on the floor. We will be going snow tubing, hanging out and swimming. Scouts should bring snow pants, big jackets, bathing suits and towels, etc. The cost is $80 per person and that includes $20 for food, $50 for 4 hours of snow tubing, $10 for candy at country kettle. Payment is due by the 9th. Scouts must also bring their own towels for showering and for the pool.
To any and all scouts, If you have an idea for a meeting or a camping place or any other ideas for the troop feel free to talk to your patrol leaders of senior patrol leaders.
For those of you with phones and who want updates then download the Team App by going to the app store and downloading Team App.
12/12/19
Previously Me (being Ryan), Ray (Kristans grendfather Ray), Mr. Fedina, Mr. Kendall, Christopher, Anthony, Kristan, and Lucas, participated in wrethsacross america, an event to honor fallen soldiers. Remember to always pay respects to veterans and the fallen.
12/12/19: Meeting: Trail Cooking by Christopher Kendall. in this meeting scouts will be discussing how to drink water properly, and how to cook out on the trail. we will be cooking the lovely four course meal of Instant Ramen, Instant Oatmeal, Instant Chicken and Dumplings, and Water. have fun learning.
12/12/19: PLC Meeting. PLC Members should arrive at 6pm with five copies of their January meeting plans which should include budget, equipment, and material requests. I suggest we each start a notebook to keep all of our PLC stuff in one place. Ideas are needed for February – June monthly meeting themes.
12/13/19: Lock In: We will be spending time up all night having fun and eating not very healthy food, perhaps we will cook food using skills learned in the previous meetings, but i doubt this. . This will be inside so at least wear pants
11/28/19
11/2
8/19: No Meeting: Thanksgiving. Enjoy spending time with your families, turkey, and thankfulness.
Every year Troop 169 tries to spread some holiday cheer to local families. This year we are adopting four children from The Boys & Girls Club Giving Tree. If you would like to participate please visit our SIGN UP GENIUS for more information.
December: These meetings will be about cooking, weather it is trail cooking, or in the kitchen. So be prepared to get cooking.
12/5/19: TACO COOK OFF OF THE CENTURY(not actutally of the century, more like of the day). Scouts will be split into 2 teams (Patrol v. Patrol) but because of our personalities it will probably be as intense as Master Chef or, if you wish, you may speak in a British accent like The Great British Bake off for extra points for your team. Scouts should not bother wearing Class A, and and should wear Class B (but if you insist on cooking in a uniform, but to each his own).
12/6-8/19: Camping: We will be camping at Camp Alpine. As we learned, it gets cold so dress warm.
12/12/19: PLC Meeting. PLC Members should arrive at 6pm with five copies of their January meeting plans which should include budget, equipment, and material requests. I suggest we each start a notebook to keep all of our PLC stuff in one place. Ideas are needed for February – June monthly meeting themes.
12/13/19: Lock In: We will be spending time up all night having fun and eating not very healthy food. This will be inside so at least wear pants
11/21/19
11/21/19: Meeting: We will be discussing winter camping and ways to stay warm which, if this weekend was any indicator, we will need. Scouts should bring their handbooks and wear uniform.
11/28/19: Thanksgiving: There will be no Meeting so you can spend some time with your families. Scouts do not need to bring handbooks or full Class A.
12/6-8/19: Camping: We will be camping at Camp Alpine. As we learned this weekend, it gets cold so dress warm.
12/13/19: Lock In: We will be spending time up all night having fun and eating not very healthy food. This will be inside so at least wear pants.
This week:11/14/19
This week:11/14/19:Meeting: this weeks meeting will be about leave no trace, finding a good site, fixing and maintain tents, and my personal favorite idea trying to set up tents BLINDFOLDED.
Also this week:11/15-17/19:Cold Weather Camping: We will be camping at the D&H 3 cabin site. It WILL be cold, not might, not kinda cool, it IS GOING TO BE VERY COLD. Scouts must dress appropirately for the cold using what you learned fron Mr. Ruiz last week. we will be having our own Scout Thanksgiving on this campout as well.
In 2 weeks: Thanksgiving: There will be no meeting that day so you can spend time with your family.
This Week:11/7/19
This Week:11/7/19:Meeting: Scouts should come in full uniform and bring handbooks so they can have requirments signed of on.
Next week:11/15-17/19:CAMPING: we will be at the D&H 3 cabin site. IT WILL BE COLD SO YOU MUST DRESS APPROPRIATELY OR YOU WILL BE COLD(obviously). the cabins have wood burning stoves for heat but they produce lots of smoke. SO DRESS APPROPRITELY. Cost is $20.
In 3 Weeks:11/28/19:Thanksgiving: Enjoy the day because the monent its over its nonstop Christmas music.
This Week
This Thursday: 10/31/19:Halloween: NO MEETING: Have fun dressing up for halloween.
This Week on Tuesdsay: 10/29/19: Trunk Or Treat at Texas Roadhouse: This event goes from 4pm-7pm but scouts can show up early if they wish to decorate the car. Scouts should be in either class A uniform, of Halloween costumes. If you purchase decorations for the car then be sure to save your recipts so you can be reimbursed. It has been asked that we could have at least 2 scouts in each time slot. . Here is the link to sign up so we know who is coming. Scouts who are there will be allowed to participate in Trunk of treating.
Next Week:11/7/19:Meeting: Scouts should arrive in full uniform and bring their hand book.
Next Month:11/15-17: Camping trip: We will be camping at D&H. be properly prepared for cold weather as winter is approaching.
