This Thursday is your last chance to sign up for the Winter Freeze Out, a true test of mettle for Scouts who want the challenge of staying warm outdoors during the height of Winter.
The Sign Up is here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094BAEAF28ABFF2-annual1.
If you are attending the Freeze Out, you must bring your packed gear on Thursday night for inspection. This will give you another week to be sure you have all the proper gear. The carpool will also be discussed, as well as potential group meals (the original plan is for individual meals, but that may change).
Trip & Event Payments
Troop Treasurer, Chuck Lloyd, has made paying for trips and events much easier by setting up a Venmo account for the troop. If paying for any scouting event, the Venmo account is @ReadingTroop702, and the first time you use it, you must verify Chuck's cell phone # (9766). We hope that this enables us to more thoroughly collect for trips and events ahead of time. This has been an issue on a few occasions this year, as several families have not paid for Turkey Jam or the early Fall Campout in the Town Woods. If you think you're on that list, this is a great time to test out Venmo! Thank you
Upcoming Winter Trips
After the Freeze Out, there are two more winter trips planned. February 28-March 1 will be the Ski Trip at Gunstock. The troop has indoor accommodations at a local youth center and entire families are welcome to attend, as there is plenty of room. This is always a popular trip, so be on the lookout for the Sign Up soon.
In late March (28th-29th), the troop will take a second trip to the AMC huts in New Hampshire. This time, we return to Zealand Falls, one of the AMC's most popular destinations. There are only 25 spots reserved for this trip, so be sure you don't miss the Sign Up and can make it to this one!
Winter Court of Honor, February 6th
We will hold the second of our three Courts of Honor on February 6th. This is a time to honor scout advancement, merit badge completions and acknowledge their ongoing hard work. Courts of Honor are also a family event, so we hope everyone can make it and stick around for snacks and socializing. The last date to complete merit badges and advancement will be January 23rd, so if your Scouts are close to finishing something, give them that extra boost to work hard on it over the next two weeks!
Watch for Sign-Ups for these:
Ski Trip - February 28 - March 1 (tentative dates)
Zealand Falls Hut Trip - March 28-29
Pasta Pigout @ Hidden Valley - April 10-12
Merit Badge University - April 18 and May 2 (sign up is closed)
Spring Bike Trip on Cape Cod - May TBD
Cooking Merit Badge Campout (Town Woods) - May or June TBD
Harbor Islands Trip - June TBD
Hidden Valley Scout Camp - July 5-11
Maine Adventure Trip - August 5-9 (tentative dates)
Please remember that we have a Troop meeting on Thursday night. There will also be a Committee Meeting on Monday, January 6th, at the church and a PLC meeting on Tuesday, January 7th.
The sign up for the Freeze Out the weekend of January 18-19 will be out shortly. Please reserve that weekend if you are interested in going. Thanks for your patience.
I've been taking inventory of leadership positions and coverage of merit badges, and there are a few places where we could use some help with Troop 702. If you are able and interested in assisting with one of the following Eagle-required merit badges, please let me know. These badges either have no coverage among active 702 adults or are under-coveraged (only counseled by one adult). Cooking is one where we have only one active adult, Aaren Lonks, but also have three 702 alumni leaders covering it. We could use another active adult based on high demand for this merit badge. Thank you for any places where you can volunteer! - Doug
Your scouts should also use this list as a place to reach out to counselors for their Eagel-required badges.
Camping - Could use additional coverage - Doug Rogers & Angelika Paul, plus Jerry Hegarty
Citizenship in the Community - OK - Steve Gousie, Angelika Paul, Jack O'Brien, plus Laurie Ward & Alex Gousie
Citizenship in the Nation - OK - Doug Rogers, Steve Gousie, Jack O'Brien, plus Laurie Ward & Alex Gousie
Citizenship in the World - OK - Doug Rogers, Angelika Paul, Jack O'Brien, plus Laurie Ward & Alex Gousie
Communication - OK - Doug Rogers, Steve Gousie, Oscar Avalos, Angelika Paul, plus Laurie Ward & Karen Sawyer
Cooking - Could use additional coverage - Angelika Paul & Aaren Lonks, plus Laurie Ward, Mike Caslinuovo & Nicole O'Neill
Cycling (alternative to Camping) - Could use additional coverage - only John Kastrinos
Emergency Preparedness - OK - Doug Rogers, Angelika Paul, Steve Gousie, Ian Nelson, plus Alex Gousie
Environmental Science - OK - John Kastrinos, Angelika Paul, Melissa Lonks
Family Life - Could use additional coverage - Steve Gousie & Oscar Avalos, plus Laurie Ward & Nicole O'Neill
First Aid - OK - Doug Rogers, Steve Gousie, John Kastrinos, plus Jerry Hegarty & Alex Gousie
Hiking (alternative to Camping) - Could use additional coverage - only Angelika Paul
Lifesaving (alternative to E-Prep) - no coverage!
Personal Fitness - OK - Doug Rogers, Angelika Paul, Oscar Avalos, plus Mike Casalinuovo
Personal Management - OK - Doug Rogers, Angelika Paul, Steve Gousie, plus Laurie Ward & Mike Casalinuovo
Sustainability (alternative to Enviro Sci) - OK - Patricia Lloyd & Angelika Paul
Swimming - OK - Steve Gousie & Karl Weld, plus Alex Gousie
There are also some additional Reading scout leaders listed in Scoutbook as available for certain merit badges: Chris Boran (covers all except Cycling, Lifesaving, Sustainability, Swimming); Dana Brickett (covers Camping, all 3 Citizenships, Cooking, Cycling, E-Prep, Family Life); and Ray Vaillancourt (covers E-Prep, First Aid).
We are winding down the Fall Season and moving into our Winter Program for the Scout Troop. The Patrol Leaders' Council has been working on our WInter and Spring calendar for trips, so please take a look at the dates below and mark your calendars! There are a lot of fun weekend trips planned.
This weekend, Saturday 12/21 and Sunday 12/22: Eagle Project
Jereme Citro, Life Scout, has had his Eagle Project approved by Council and is planning to do the work this weekend while his school is out of session. Jereme will be leading a project to rehab his school's athletic storage room, repainting it in the school colors, building new shelving and storage, and reorganizing the space. He will need your help! So please take an hour or two from your weekend, if your shopping is done(!), and lend a hand. For both days, the crew will work from 8 AM to 5 PM at the Medford Vocational Technical High School, 489 Winthrop Street in Medford. On Saturday, the crew will be emptying the storage room and repainting, so wear clothes appropriate for painting, as well as beginning to construct the shelves. On Sunday, they will be fininshing and hanging the shelves. Watch for eBlast updates in the event that Sunday's hours change. Remember, A Scout Is Helpful, and most ranks require service hours for advancement. Thank you for helping!
Calendar Dates to Know
There will be no troop meeting on December 26th, but there WILL be a meeting on January 2nd once Reading schools are back in session.
Watch for Sign-Ups for these:
Freeze Out - January 18-19
Ski Trip - February 28 - March 1 (tentative dates)
Zealand Falls Hut Trip - March 28-29
Pasta Pigout @ Hidden Valley - April 10-12
Merit Badge University - April 18 and May 2
Spring Bike Trip on Cape Cod - May TBD
Harbor Islands Trip - June TBD
Hidden Valley Scout Camp - July 5-11
Maine Adventure Trip - August 5-9 (tentative dates)
This is going to be a fun and informative month of troop meetings focusing on home repairs. A few of the requirements have some items to bring from home to repair. At this week's troop meeting, we will be sharpening/conditioning garden tools. Metal shovels, hoes, or garden shears are examples of items to find and bring one or two to the troop meeting for a little TLC.
Also required is a window screen with a hole in it to repair. Plan on bringing these items to the meeting this week and be prepared to complete the requirements we can during the troop meetings in December.
