Troop 563 April 2003 Newsletter

Livingston, Montana    April 2003    Volume 6    Issue 3

Welcome New Scouts:
Our Troop has once again reached its all time membership high of 24 Scouts. Dustin and Benjamin joined our Troop in January from Troop 524. Recently, on March 20th, three Webelos bridged into the Troop. They are Ian, James, and Matthew. All five of these Scouts join Billy in the Raptors Patrol which had fizzled to only one member. Now with six members there is a great opportunity for patrol activities and earning the Baden Powell Award. Thanks to Joshua, Billy and Emmanuel for helping at the bridge ceremony. Best wishes to our newest Scouts on their trail to Eagle!

Court of Honor:
     The Winter / Spring Court of Honor has been rescheduled to Monday, April 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Grace United Methodist Church. All family members are invited as well as members of our Charter Organization. Please consider bringing snacks or beverages to help the Scouts celebrate their accomplishments.
     We had a Board of Review on Monday, March 24th. Nicholas was approved for his fourth Eagle Palm as he has earned 20 Merit Badges beyond those required for Eagle. He also continues to demonstrate leadership by helping our younger Scouts at every meeting and co-spearheading the Troop Junior Leadership Training Program. Additionally, Johnny, Micah and Michael have passed their Second Class Board of Reviews. Thank you to Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Szafranski, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Hughes for conducting the Board of Review.
     We also have 19 Merit Badges that have been earned in addition to new Troop 563 patches and Quality Unit patches for everyone. We will also have the annual Spirit Award to hand out by last year's recipient, Mr. Moody.

Summer Camp Plan:
To date, we do not have a Summer Camp plan for this year. Our Troop has been to K-M in 1997 and 1998, Buffalo Bill in 1999, Easton in 2000, Bear Lake in 2001 and Cowles in 2002. Where will we go in 2003? Who is going to take the kids there? Who will stay with them for the week? Come to the next Troop Committee Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 21st and lets get this hammered out. Reservations are going, going, gone for many great camps!

Venture Camp:
The Venture Crew is planning a high adventure trip to South Dakota this August. The dates are August 11 through 16. We will drive about eight hours to Custer State Park in the Black Hills and camp there for five nights. While there we will do two Spelunking Tours of Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. We will also hike Harney Peak which is the highest point East of France until you get to the Rocky Mountains. We will climb in the Needles and see Mt. Rushmore. This trip is only available for Scouts that are 16 years old or older. This is because the Spelunking Tours can not be attended by those under 16.

Monthly Merit Badge Themes:
We have done poorly this year at attempting to keep to our selected monthly Merit Badge Themes. We gave Truck Transportation a try but no Scouts wanted Blue Cards for it after two guest speakers. We went on a great tour of R-Y lumber for Woodwork and some Scouts finished one of three woodworking projects. We skipped Electronics, Pottery, Snow Sports and Metalwork. Five Scouts completed or nearly completed Citizenship in the World at the recent Merit Badge Day. Hopefully we will have more success with Camping Merit Badge in April.

Livingston, Montana April 2003 Volume 6 Issue 3
Welcome New Scouts: Our Troop has once again reached its all time membership high of 24 Scouts. Dustin and Benjamin joined our Troop in January from Troop 524. Recently, on March 20th, three Webelos bridged into the Troop. They are Ian, James, and Matthew. All five of these Scouts join Billy in the Raptors Patrol which had fizzled to only one member. Now with six members there is a great opportunity for patrol activities and earning the Baden Powell Award. Thanks to Joshua, Billy and Emmanuel for helping at the bridge ceremony. Best wishes to our newest Scouts on their trail to Eagle! Court of Honor: The Winter / Spring Court of Honor has been rescheduled to Monday, April 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Grace United Methodist Church. All family members are invited as well as members of our Charter Organization. Please consider bringing snacks or beverages to help the Scouts celebrate their accomplishments. We had a Board of Review on Monday, March 24th. Nicholas was approved for his fourth Eagle Palm as he has earned 20 Merit Badges beyond those required for Eagle. He also continues to demonstrate leadership by helping our younger Scouts at every meeting and co-spearheading the Troop Junior Leadership Training Program. Additionally, Johnny, Micah and Michael have passed their Second Class Board of Reviews. Thank you to Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Szafranski, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Hughes for conducting the Board of Review. We also have 19 Merit Badges that have been earned in addition to new Troop 563 patches and Quality Unit patches for everyone. We will also have the annual Spirit Award to hand out by last year's recipient, Mr. Moody.	Summer Camp Plan: To date, we do not have a Summer Camp plan for this year. Our Troop has been to K-M in 1997 and 1998, Buffalo Bill in 1999, Easton in 2000, Bear Lake in 2001 and Cowles in 2002. Where will we go in 2003? Who is going to take the kids there? Who will stay with them for the week? Come to the next Troop Committee Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 21st and lets get this hammered out. Reservations are going, going, gone for many great camps! Venture Camp: The Venture Crew is planning a high adventure trip to South Dakota this August. The dates are August 11 through 16. We will drive about eight hours to Custer State Park in the Black Hills and camp there for five nights. While there we will do two Spelunking Tours of Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. We will also hike Harney Peak which is the highest point East of France until you get to the Rocky Mountains. We will climb in the Needles and see Mt. Rushmore. This trip is only available for Scouts that are 16 years old or older. This is because the Spelunking Tours can not be attended by those under 16. Monthly Merit Badge Themes: We have done poorly this year at attempting to keep to our selected monthly Merit Badge Themes. We gave Truck Transportation a try but no Scouts wanted Blue Cards for it after two guest speakers. We went on a great tour of R-Y lumber for Woodwork and some Scouts finished one of three woodworking projects. We skipped Electronics, Pottery, Snow Sports and Metalwork. Five Scouts completed or nearly completed Citizenship in the World at the recent Merit Badge Day. Hopefully we will have more success with Camping Merit Badge in April.

Takachsin:
Takachsin is the Council's (statewide) leadership training course for Scouts. Our Troop sent Nicholas, Jay, Joshua and Danny during the summer of 2000. We are ready to send four more Scouts but we have not had any volunteers yet. Scouts need to be First Class Rank or above and 13 years old. Our eligible Scouts are: Tyler, Michael, Billy, Mark, Daniel, Jere, Matt, and Jerome. All Scouts benefit from this program and bring their new leadership skills back to their home troops. The program runs from July 12 - 19 at Camp Arcola near Anaconda. Between the Troop and District funds available for Park County Scouts, we can fully pay for four Scouts to attend this summer. The deadline for registration is April 15th. More information is available from the Scoutmaster.

Troop Campout Plan for March and April:
The Troop Campout Plans for March and April are identical. We will meet at the Lincoln School, B and Lewis, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. We will return to the Lincoln School at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Please be prompt when dropping off and picking up your son or make arrangements in advance. In March we will campout on the 29th to 30th at Pine Creek. In April we will campout on the 26th to 27th at Pine Creek. The campouts are focused on preparing for the Spring District Camporee that we are putting on this May. Scouts can also work on Rank or Merit Badge requirements as they desire.

Future Events Summary:

March
Metalwork Merit Badge Theme

29 - 30 Troop Campout at Pine Creek

31 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church, [end of 1st quarter incentive]

Future Events Summary (continued):

April
Camping Merit Badge Theme

3 District Roundtable Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in Bozeman

4 Green Bar Meeting 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. at SGMS room A-105

7 Court of Honor 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church. All family members please attend.

14 No Scout Meeting, Spring Break

21 Troop Committee Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church. Scouts have a guest speaker and should attend. $5 due

26 - 27 Troop Campout at Pine Creek

28 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church, $5 due

May
Pets Merit Badge Theme

1 District Roundtable Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in Bozeman

2 - 4 Spring District Camporee and O.A. Tap-out at Pine Creek

5 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church with Position of Responsibility elections

9 Green Bar Meeting 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. at SGMS room A-105

10 U.S.P.S. Food Drive Service Project

12 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church

17 Venture Scout Climbing Day

19 Troop Committee Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Grace Methodist Church. Scouts have a guest speaker and should attend

25 Mt. View Cemetery Flags, 1 p.m.

26 Sacajawea Park Flags, 6 a.m.

26 No Scout Meeting, Memorial Day

This newsletter is available on-line at http://www.livingston.k12.mt.us/users/sandrews/

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