Apple Valley, Minnesota

Scoutmaster's Update

February 22, 2008

To T. 293 Scouts and Parents:

1. Next Scout Meeting
The next regular Scout meeting is Monday night, February 25 at 7 p.m. at the Scout Church. This will be the first meeting with the Scouts just coming up from Packs 292 and 293 to join T. 293. The Roadrunner Patrol is in charge of the activity, skit and games. Concurrently, there will be a meeting for the parents of the new Scouts at the Church to introduce them to Boy Scouting and Troop 293.

A REMINDER: A deposit is due at this Monday night's meeting for all high adventures offered this summer. This is the last date for your commitment to the greatest parts of Scouting--adventure and the outdoors. Please see Mrs. Whelan to sign up for your choice(s) of high adventures. Please specify if you are using a check, cash or camp credits for your deposit. Dates again for this summer's adventures are: Wisconsin canoeing the Namakagon and St. Croix rivers, August 9-15 and Hiking Isle Royale in Lake Superior, July 26-August 2. The SeaBase contingent in August is full.

2. OA Election
The Scout meeting of March 3 will be the Order of the Arrow election for the Troop. Mr. Hatzenbuhler has indicated that there are 10 candidates from the Troop this year. In order to have an official election we need over 50% of our Troop in attendance. This is a very important election for the Troop. Those Scouts elected this year will be recognized at the all-camp campfire at Tomahawk on July 6.

3. March Troop Campout
The next Troop campout will be the weekend of March 14-16 at the Spring Lake Park Camp on the Rosemount/Hastings border. See signup form as an attachment to this update. The forms will be due at the March 3 meeting. This will be the last of the indoor campouts for the season. The April campout (April 18-20) will be outdoors at Nerstrand State Park near Northfield.

4. Youth Leader College
All Scouts of Troop 293 are invited to sign up for the Youth Leader College that is going to be held on April 12 at Maple Grove High School in Maple Grove. This is a council-wide training session for all members of the Troop PLC as well as any additional Scouts. It is run by the Order of the Arrow Scouts from the council. I strongly urge all PLC members and any other Scouts (particularly those who are going to be First Class shortly) and adults to attend. Sample classes include: Annual Program Planning (which we will be doing in the next 2 months), running a PLC meeting, Eagle Project and paperwork, camping ideas and suggestions, Troop discipline, conflict management, high adventure ideas, communications, etc. These are all good topics for the leadership of the Troop. Registration costs (which include lunch) are $12 and are paid by the Troop. Please sign up with Mr. Brunsvold by March 17. You will need to fill out a registration form on what classes you are interested in. There are four class sessions available. We will carpool that day to the event. Check-in on April 12 is 8 a.m. and the training is complete at 3:30 p.m.

5. Upcoming Events

February 25:	Regular Scout meeting at Scout Church.
March 3:	Order of the Arrow Troop elections for T. 293. The Viking Patrol in charge of the meeting.
March 10:	Regular Scout meeting. The Raccoon Patrol is in charge of the meeting.
March 14-16:	Monthly campout at Spring Lake Park in Rosemount/Hastings.
March 17:	Tomahawk night at the Scout Church. Sign up for merit badges, payments due.
March 24:	NO SCOUT MEETING. Spring break in ISD196.
March 31:	PLC meeting at 6:30 p.m. No regular meeting this evening.
April 18-20:	First outdoor campout of the season at Nerstrand State Park, Northfield.
June 1:	25th Anniversary of Troop 293!!!! The celebration will be held at the Rosemount United Methodist Church in the afternoon. More details to follow.
July 5-12:	TOMAHAWK!!!!! Fourth of July at home this year.

Late July-Early August: Two high adventures in addition to SeaBase for Troop 293!! Commitment and deposit for high adventures due Monday night, February 25!!!