Thank You Cards Complete Requirement 18e

We ended our Den Meeting by making Thank You/Christmas cards for wounded soldiers. We'll send the cards to the troops via the Salvation Army. I'm sure the cards will put a smile on the faces of some real American heroes!

ALSO, by writing these thank you cards, your Scout has completed requirement 18e! So you may sign as Akela on page 143.

Warning: The rest of this blog gets a bit technical. If you have questions refer to pages 24-25 and 180-181 of the Bear Handbook or call or e-mail Tim, Harlan, or Jennifer.

If your Scout has already finished his Bear Rank, or if you do not plan on using Achievement 18 to earn your Bear Rank, you may sign on page on page 143 as an elective. After finishing the Bear Rank, every extra requirement (not every Achievement, but every additional requirement with those Achievements) counts as an elective. Each ten electives earns your Scout an arrow point that may be sewn onto their uniform. Have fun working on the requirements and Achievements!

Christmas Break is a great time to knock out those Achievements!

Progress Toward Rank Ceremony

We awarded the boys their Progress Toward Rank badges and beads tonight! The goal is that each Scout will earn his Bear Rank by the end of January so that he can receive his Bear patch at the Blue and Gold Banquet in February! There is still plenty of time to complete the required 12 Achievements! Don't panic (yet)!

Remember, we completed Achievement 5, Sharing Your World With Wildlife, in its entirety by completing requirements 5a, 5b, 5c and 5e. So if your Scout met Myrtle the Turtle, he has completed Achievement 5. We also completed requirements 16b, and 16c at a Den Meeting. By completing 16a (which is simply practicing some exercises) your Scout can complete Achievement 16. In addition, we completed requirements 3f, 7a, 7b, and 7f in Den Meetings. The rest of those Achievements are easy to complete at home!

Your job as Akela is to sign off on each requirement and then once your Scout has finished an Achievement in its entirety to sign off again on the entire Achievement (this is the yellowish colored box with Cub Scout Leader Baloo next to it). Still have questions? Call or e-mail Tim or Harlan or Jennifer!

Mark Your Calendar: Polar Ice on Dec. 9!

We are going to earn our Ice Skating Belt Loops on Wednesday, December 9, at the Polar Ice in Gilbert!! This means we are canceling the December 7 Den Meeting. Instead, we will gather at Polar Ice on Wednesday, December 9.

WHERE is Polar Ice Gilbert?

Polar Ice Gilbert

2305 E. Knox Road

Gilbert, AZ 85296

The facility is just off Greenfield Road, between Ray Road and Warner Road.

WHAT will we do and WHEN will we do it?

Our evening will begin at 5:45pm.

We will receive a tour of the facility, including an up close look at the Zamboni and the enormous chillers. We will also get to see a short video about how they make the ice.

We will then be able to get our skates and hit the ice. We'll talk about safe ice skating tips/rules before we start skating. The evening will also include cookies and hot chocolate. We will probably start skating around 6:30 and you'll be able to skate as long as you like until the facility closes at 9:30. (Or, you can leave whenever you get tired!).

WHY would we do this?

Every Scout who joins us and tries to do their best out on the ice will earn their ice skating belt loop.

WHO is invited?

The entire family! The Den will cover the cost of each Scout, which includes skate rental, ice time, the tour, and cookies and hot chocolate. Each adult and child who wishes to skate and eat cookies and drink hot chocolate will have to pay $7.50 (that fee includes skate rental, ice time, and the cookies and cocoa). Adults and children who do not wish to eat or skate attend for free.

Please RSVP to Tim Keller (tkeller@ij.org) no later than Monday, December 7 with the total number of people who will need skates and snacks.

If you have any questions or need to get hold of me the night of the event, my cell phone number is 480-250-7149.

This should be fun!!!!!

Micah: Our Hero

I was asked at the last minute to find a boy to read a poem, "Our Parents Are Heroes," at tonight's Pack Meeting and Micah was brave enough to tackle the challenge. He and I worked on the poem a couple of times before he was called on to do his duty. And he did great! Three Cheers for Micah! And tons of Gobbles to our awesome Parent Heroes!!!

I Pledge Allegiance . . .

At the next Den Meeting, which is next Monday, Nov. 30, at 6:30 pm, each Scout will receive a special patch for participating in the Flag Ceremony at tonight's Pack Meeting.

Our Scouts received A LOT of compliments from our Pack Leadership about how well they performed the ceremony! One of the leaders said that it was the best flag ceremony all year long. Harlan and I are very proud of them. Because we did not get to do the flag closing ceremony, Phillip said that he would assign us the flag ceremony at another Pack Meeting. We'll get our chance!

INFO for NEXT DEN MEETING:

We will be awarding the Scouts' Progress Toward Rank Beads at the Nov. 30 Den Meeting. Harlan and I are working on putting together a fun and memorable "awards" ceremony.

We also hope to touch base with all of the parents for 5 or 10 minutes. This will be a great time to ask Harlan and I questions. During this time, we'll have our Scouts make a Christmas Card for soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And please help your Scout to remember to bring their Bear Handbook. We promise we will catch up on signing the books this time!

Cake Walk!

Tucker and Carson and Mr. Stork With Their WINNING Cake!

Daniel With His Camp Fire Cake

Send me a picture of your Scout with his cake and I'll add it to the blog!!!!

Salvation Army Food Bank

The Pack is trying to fill up the Chandler Salvation Army's Food Bank's shelves and will be collecting nonperishable food items at Monday's Pack Meeting.

Patches, Beads, and Cakes OH MY!

Okay, I have THREE (3) things to communicate in this post.

(1) PATCH: I have a special Flag Ceremony patch to award every one of our boys who attends the Pack Meeting this Monday, Nov. 23 at 7:00pm and participates in the Flag Ceremony. As most of you probably know, we practiced for this at our first den meeting in November. What do you do with the patch? That is up to you. Some parents buy the red vest pictured above and sew them to the vest. But you can make a shadow box, a patch flag, a patch quilt, basically anything except put the patch on your uniform. The patches will be awarded at the Nov. 30 Den Meeting.

(2) BEADS: We will be awarding Progress Toward Rank Beads along with the flag ceremony patch at the Monday, Nov. 30 Den Meeting (6:30pm). Jennifer Stork will be contacting every family the weekend before Nov. 30 to determine the appropriate numbers of beads. Here is how it works: your Scout will receive 1 (one) bead for every 3 (three) Acheivements he has completed. So, you might want to work on a couple of Achievements between now and then to maximize the number of beads. Hint: pp. 288-289 of the Bear Handbook has a really helpful guide to completing Achievements. I highly recommend using those pages to help. I know the book, along with its "requirements"; "acheivement"; and "electives" can be confusing, so don't hesititate to call or e-mail me or Harlan or Jennifer Stork with questions.

(3) CAKE: I e-mailed the "rules" for the Cake Walk at the upcoming Pack Meeting. If you did not receive that e-mail, feel free to respond to this blog post and I will send it to you.

See you all on Monday!

CSI: Cub Scout Introduction to Forensic Science

Mrs. Kimberly Fiorucci, Mesa PD's Chief DNA Criminologist, was called out to our Den Meeting this week to train us how to collect evidence at a crime scene. She taught us about DNA, how to test red fluids to see whether it is blood or spaghetti sauce, and how to use different types of light to look for body fluids on fabric. She also talked to us about crime prevention and how we can help law enforcement officers and be safe if we ever witness a crime.

Tonight, your Scout completed requirements 7a, 7b, and 7f of "Law Enforcement is a Tough Job." So sign off on those three and then complete 7c, 7d, and 7e (super easy to do, just read below). Once you've completed all of Achievement 7, we'll sign it off and your Scout will be one step close to that Bear Rank!

You can complete 7c, 7d, and 7e at home. They are all very simple. You simply have to check all your doors and windows to make sure they are secure, write down emergency numbers in your book (most of them will be 911, but in case you don't have it handy: the number for poison control is 1-800-222-1222), and making sure your Scout knows a few of your neighbors and then writing their contact information in the Bear Handbook.

PB&J Reminder

I should have sent this reminder earlier, but we are collecting Peanut Butter and Jelly at tonight's Den Meeting to help feed hungry kids over the Christmas break. Thanks so much for your service to our community!!

Service Projects: Feeding the Hungry

One of my favorite things that Jesus said was that He came not to be served, but to serve. Service is an important part of Scouting especially as our Scouts seek to "help others." Our community has two very important needs that will allow us to feed the hungry here in Chandler. We can meet one of those needs at the next Den Meeting and the other at the next Pack Meeting.

DEN MEETING SERVICE PROJECT: Please bring crackers, peanut butter, jelly, and juice boxes to the Nov. 16 Den Meeting. These items will help feed under-privileged children who otherwise will not get breakfast or lunch over the Christmas Break. Thank you to the Kempiaks for bringing this need to our attention.

PACK MEETING SERVICE PROJECT: The Chandler Salvation Army's Food Bank is really struggling this year. There are many families who are in desperate need. Our Scouts have a chance to make sure that families do not go hungry over the holidays. Please bring nonperishable food items to the Nov. 23 Pack Meeting to fill the Salvation Army's shelves.

Mark Your Calendars!!!

We have updated the Blog's "Upcoming Events" section and highly recommend you check it out and make sure that you've got the events that you wish to participate in written down in your calendar.

Here are some highlights of things you might want to know:

1. Saturday, Dec. 5 is the Chandler Holiday Parade (5:30pm) (In theory, the Pack is turning in paperwork so that the Scouts will be able to march in the parade).

2. Saturday, Jan. 23 is the Pinewood Derby (1:00pm to 5:30pm) (The Pack is trying to reserve a Ramada at Tumbleweed Park, so this location is subject to change).

3. Saturday, February 27 is the Blue & Gold Banquet (Special Advancement Ceremony where ranks will be awarded).

FYI: The Spring Camp Out is April 23-25. The location is going to be Camp Raymond, which is (as I understand it) between Flagstaff and Williams. It is supposed to be a magnificent location with a lot of amenities.

Nov. 23 Pack Meeting Is The Cake Walk!

(A Sampling of Harlan's Cake Baking Prowess)

There is a Cake Walk at the Nov. 23 Pack Meeting!! That means your family is supposed to bring a homemade cake! There are four themes to choose from when decorating your homemade cake: (1) Cub Scout; (2) Thanksgiving; (3) Outdoor/Camping; and (4) Heroes.

Every Scout that brings a cake will come home with a cake. If you are bringing a homemade cake, please arrive by 6:45 (or earlier) to register and get it set out for viewing so that it can be voted on. There will be a prize for the winner in each category. If your Scout has a sibling in another den, you may want to consider bringing one homemade cake instead of two, unless you want to go home with two cakes. Just a thought.

And in case you missed it, the cake has to be homemade. No store bought cakes allowed.

And yes, participation in this activity is optional. Except for Micah. Because we hear his Dad is a Cake Boss. Okay, it is optional for Micah, too. But only because I'm a nice guy.

Veteran's Day Parade!

We just learned that we can (and some of us will be) march in the Tempe Veteran's Day Parade!

Details:

Where: Meet at Gammage Auditorium (Look for the Tempe Elks Lodge Banner).
When: Meet between 9:00 - 9:15am on Wednesday, November 11.

Parade begins at 10:00am and ends at the Tempe Town Lake. Wear your uniform and look sharp. Harlan plans to be there.

And PLEASE let Harlan Stork know ASAP that you'll be attending!!!! E-mail Harlan at harlanstork1@yahoo.com!! We were asked to report scouts and den numbers to the Elks by tonight.

All apologies for the late notice.

What We Did/What's Coming Up

We had perfect attendance at tonight's Den Meeting! Parents, Harlan and I cannot express how much we appreciate your faithfulness and how much fun we are having getting to know your boys. We want Cub Scouts to be a high quality program that is worth your investment of time. Please feel free to share any thoughts, questions, comments, ideas, etc... to get the most out of our time together.

What we did tonight:

We worked on Achievement 16: Building Muscles and Requirements 16b and 16c. (For 16b, the boys did the One Person Push Over Line, the Seated Back-to-Back Push, the Foot Push, the One-Legged Hand Wrestle, the Stand Up Back-to-Back Push, and the Hand Wrestle). They did all of the races in 16c. If your Scout completes 16a at home (which is very easy because it is just stretching, and doing some exercises like push-ups and standing long jump, etc...) then he will have completed Achievement 16 in its entirety and can be used for the Bear Trail to earn his Bear Rank. If your Scout has already earned his Bear Rank (CONGRATS JUSTIN CANODE!), and if this wasn't one of the Achievements he completed on his Bear Trail, he may count it toward an Arrow Point.

What's coming up:

NO DEN MEETING on November 9. (For those with a Tiger Scout, there is a Tiger "Go See It" to the Mesa Police Station, but this Go See It is not for the Bear Scouts).

Crime Scene Investigation on November 16 at the Church. This will count toward Achievement 7: Law Enforcement is a Big Job.

PLEASE: If you took pictures tonight, please send them to tkeller@ij.org and I will post them on the blog--especially if you've got a picture of Harlan carrying me on his back!