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Vol. 16, No. 4 June 2011
THE NEWS AT TWELVE
TROOP 12 - ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL
CHURCH OF LIVINGSTON
http://www.troop12livingstonnj.org "All the News that Fits"
2011-12 CALENDAR OF
ACTIVITIES
The following is the calendar of future events in which members of Troop
12 will participate during the 2010/11 season: 9/8/11:
First Troop Meeting 9/09 – 9/11:
OA weekend for members and candidates 9/11:
9-11 Ceremony Color Guard 9/15: Brendon Hickey Eagle
Court of Honor 9/16 - 9/18:
West Point Camping Trip 9/24: Service Project: VFW and
St. Peter’s 10/6: Fall Awards Ceremony 10/14-16:
District Camporee 10/20:
Popcorn money due 11/4 - 11/6
River Bend campout 11/12:
Popcorn pick up 11/13:
Veterans Day Service 12/10:
Shotgun at Thunder Mountain 2/4: Klondike Derby 2/5:
Scout Sunday 2/10 - 2/12: Winter Cabin Camping 2/16:
Annual Awards Dinner 3/9 – 3/11: Troop Campout & Junior Leader Training 3/17: Inglemoor Service Project 3/31:
Scouting for food Collection 4/13 – 4/15: Boston Freedom Trail 4/28– 4/29: Parade Letter Distribution Service Project 5/12: Canoe Brook Cleanup
Project 5/19 – 5/20: Round Valley Backpacking 5/26:
Flag Planting Service Project 5/28:
Memorial Day Parade 6/3 – 6/5: Hickory
Run Campout (Rafting & Mt. Biking) 6/7:
Spring Awards Ceremony 6/8 – 6/10:
White Water Rafting 6/14:
Family Picnic 6/28: Clean up troop gear Patrol
Leaders’Council (PLC) meetings are held on the first Monday of each month Troop
Committee Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of each month. Board
of Reviews are held on the first Thursday of each month.
We publish this calendar of events to give your son ample opportunity to
get the most out of the Scouting program this season. This calendar was
developed to give each Scout a chance to develop his skill and confidence in the
outdoors along with opportunities to serve as a leader and, of course, just have
fun. The adult leaders are committed to attend these outings but we need the
boys to participate on a regular basis. Please post the schedule in a prominent
location in order to avoid conflicts between your boy's Scouting events and your
family's activities. The Troop Committee and Junior Leaders decided on these
activities and dates at the planning meeting in July. Dates are subject to
change depending upon reservation availability.
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Troop 12 will start off the year with our first meeting of the new
scouting season on September 8th.
On September 11, the troop will provide a color guard for the town’s
9-11 ceremony at the oval (by the gazebo).
This year will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 so we hope
that many of the scouts and their families will join us at this event.
Brendon Hickey’s Eagle Court of Honor will take place on September 15.
All scouts and parents are invited to join us as we honor and celebrate
Brendon’s achievements.
West Point is the destination for the first campout of the season
(September 16-18). The Troop will
tour the military academy as well as attend a football game. SEPTEMBER
SERVICE PROJECTS
Get ready to get dirty! On September 24, the Troop will perform two
service projects for St. Peter’s Church and the VFW. On that day, we will be
cleaning up the grounds of both the church and VFW hall.
St. Peter’s Church is the sponsoring organization for our troop and
provides us our much needed meeting room as well as storage space for our
equipment. By doing the yard work and cleaning, the Troop can let the St.
Peter’s Parish know just how much we appreciate their support!
The VFW has been long time supporters and champions of Troop 12 so we can
demonstrate our thanks with the cleanup as well.
Wear work clothes, bring gloves and a garden tool (rakes, pruning shears,
shovel) and join us on the 24th.
POPCORN
NEWS
It’s popcorn time! Popcorn
is the only fundraiser for Troop 12. Proceeds from the popcorn sales help to pay
for the fabulous troop activities/trips and limits the out of pocket expenses.
This year, our popcorn season begins on September 8 and concludes on
October 20 when all paperwork and money are due.
We urge all scouts and parents to participate in this critical
fundraiser. The popcorn is
excellent and if you are like this scoutmaster and you can’t eat it, popcorn
makes a great gift or military donation! FALL
AWARDS CEREMONY
Mark your calendar! October 6 is the date for our Fall Awards
Ceremony. We will recognize the
achievements earned by our scouts at Camp Yawgoog and over the summer. The
scouts have worked hard so all scouts as well as least one parent should attend
this very special celebration.
SUMMER
CAMP AT YAWGOOG Boo!
Did you see a ghost in the Dining Hall? Was that a Werewolf at The Waterfront?
Some strange and scary things were a-foot at Camp Yawgoog. But that’s no
reason to be running scared! It was Halloween in July during Halloween Week at
Camp Three Point at Camp Yawgoog. Breaking
our weather tradition of rain, Troop 12’s arrival at Camp Yawgoog was met with
sunny skies!
On Sunday evening, 42 Scouts of Troop 12 set up camp in the Sleepy Hollow
campsite, the troop’s “home away for home” for the past nine years.
Evening activities
A typical morning in camp begins around 6:15 AM. The scouts wake to start
the day. The first order of business is to prepare the campsite for the day. Sam
Yang, Mikey Thompson, Dustin Cece, Timmy Xu, Chris Kui, Maurice Wong, and
Aria Soltani led the troop in the activities. Tent flaps were rolled, water
jugs filled, fire buckets topped off, fire pit prepared, campsite patrolled,
tents swept, and flag ceremony completed. And all of this is done prior to
breakfast!
Troop 12 did such an outstanding job at preparing the campsite that we
achieved a FIRST class inspection from camp officials every day.
The Scouts also were awarded the coveted Danny staff. The Danny staff is
award to the Troop that maintains an exemplary campsite.
The Danny staff is awarded to one troop each day and then passed onto the
next award winning troop. It is
tradition that each troop adds a decoration or memento to the staff. Keeping
with the spirit, our scouts added a Troop 12 neckerchief to the Danny staff.
On Monday morning, the troop gathered for their official camp portrait
and then on to the waterfront for orientation and swim tests. Successful completion of the swim tests not only allowed
scouts and leaders to fully participate in waterfront activities but the test
will also cover the swim test requirements Waterfront
activities are always popular with the Troop. A number of Scouts including James
Boffa, Elliot Cha, Dan Fernandes, Clement Lai, Jack Sweeny, James McGovern, Sam
Thor, Chris Yap and Conrad Kurowski were “regulars” at the waterfront working on swimming,
rowing, canoeing or lifesaving merit badges. The
challenge center was another popular camp location. The challenge center is a
climbing course that includes a zip line. Several of the older scouts including Kaleb
Alekel, Justin Yu, Dan Collins, Aria Soltani, Matt Scavetta, Mikey Thompson,
Chris Kui and Menglong Guo worked on their climbing merit badge. (There was an age
restriction for this merit badge, much to the dismay of some of the younger
scouts). Even Mr. Brandt was seen zipping through the trees. A number of
Troop 12 scouts also attended classes at the Nature Center. Jeffery Lee, Robbie
Brandt, Sahil Rodricks, Eliot Cha, Jonathan Kui, Dan Lai, Patrick Chen, Hoi Him
Kwan, and Nicholas McCaffery were
some of the scouts that worked on a wide range of nature related merit badges
including weather, mammal study and reptile and amphibian study. While the
waterfront, challenge course and the nature center were popular destinations,
THE most favorite to drop by was the Trading Post (fondly referred to as the “TP”).
Virtually every scout and adult leader spent time at the TP. Whether a scout enjoyed a snack while working on merit badge
homework; kicked back and relaxed with his friends or purchased one of the many
Yawgoog souvenirs (sweatshirts and scout knives were especially popular), the TP
was the social hub of the camp. (And
the adult leader who served as banker was just about the most popular person in
camp.)
In camp, meal times are not just an activity but rather an event.
In the dining hall, scouts are encouraged, actually expected to
demonstrate their scout spirit! Troop
12 clearly took the lead with songs and cheers. Leaders from other troops
commented that they wished that their own scouts had as much scout spirit as our
boys! Some of our first time campers including Matt
Cha and Brian Collins quickly
learned that no one was immune from being called on to lead the cheer and they
jumped right in with enthusiasm. However, Jack
Farrell’s rendition of the Three Point cheer was the most memorable.
Monday afternoon marked the opening of the Camp Yawgoog program centers
and the start of the merit badge classes. Merit badge classes are offered from
Monday-Friday. Class lengths vary
depending upon individual badge requirements and the number of pre-requisites
the scout completed prior to camp. Troop
12 scouts earned a total of 141 merit
badges at Yawgoog. The most popular
merit badges this year (it varies from year to year) was fingerprinting and
camping. The boys were interested in a variety of different merit badges. Badges earned included: climbing, leatherwork, medicine,
weather, mammal study, woodcarving, swimming, shotgun shooting and wilderness
survival. The boys enjoyed working
on the merit badges and learned some great skills and interesting facts along
the way. While
in camp, a number of our scouts worked towards earning their world conservation
award (often called the panda award). As
part of the award, the scouts have to earn the following merit badges:
citizenship in the world, environmental science and soil and water
conservation or fish and wildlife management.
Halloween was the theme for the camp week.
During the week, various competitions are held as each campsite work to
earn top honors. For the costume
competition, Aaron Brummer designed
the Troop 12 costume. In keeping
with the “spirit” of the theme, Aaron created a ghost with a pumpkin head
ensemble. Although Aaron’s entry
was a strong one, competition was fierce. While Aaron didn’t place in the
contest, he won the applause of the entire Troop for a great effort. The
dessert baking contest is always another troop favorite.
This year, Sam Yang served as the head chef as Sam, Dan Lai, Timmy Xu, Maurice Wong along with the assistance of Matt
Sarett created this year’s entry. Nicknamed
“Ichabod Crane,” the cake featured a rather gruesome and eerie pumpkin head.
The cake was displayed on top of a Halloween theme tablecloth with candy
pumpkins and candy corn scattered around the pumpkin to add a special effect. I am delighted to report that Troop 12 won first place in the
competition! The
Yawgoog road race is another camp wide competition. Runners from each camp site are invited to compete.
This year, Matt Scavetta led the charge for Troop 12.
Matt did a great job and came in fourth place overall, nice job! At
the rifle range, Patrick Chen proved
to be a most excellent marksman. Because
of his superior shooting skills, Patrick earned the Winchester/National Rifle
Association award. Using a 4
position rifle, Patrick qualified as a sharpshooter!
Birthday celebrations were also on the agenda during our week at Yawgoog.
In two separate gatherings, the Troop celebrated the birthdays of Aaron
Brummer and our own, Mr. Brady! You haven’t had a true birthday celebration until you have
had the entire troop sing their rendition of the birthday song.
Best wishes to both the birthday guys! This
year, the tough guy award goes to Nicholas
McCaffery. While working on his
woodcarving merit badge, Nicholas had a close encounter with his Boy Scout knife
resulting in six stitches to his finger. Thanks
to the excellent care by Mr. Brady, Mrs.
Thor, Mr. Alekel and Mr. Brandt, Nicholas received the medical attention
that he needed and returned back to camp to finish out the week. Being the tough
guy that he is, Nicholas joined in all of the camp activities (but took a
partial on woodcarving). A
special note to parents: this kind
of medical emergency highlights the importance of having current medical forms.
Because all of the medical information including insurance details was
readily available, Nicholas was able to quickly and easily receive medical
attention. Kudos to the Troop Committee and the parents for maintaining
updated files. At
Camp Yawgoog, it isn’t just the scouts that learn. Summer camp is also a great place for adults to attend
training classes and further develop their scout skills. Through the years, many members of the Troop Committee have
taken advantage of the wide variety of training available to Scout Leaders.
This year, Mr. Brandt participated in several courses and has returned as a
fully trained Scoutmaster. A
Troop 12 camping trip is not complete without our traditional campfire.
Although the scouts are treated to a Yawgoog wide campfire in the
amphitheatre hosted by the Yawgoog staff, Troop 12 also likes to have one of
their own as well. This year, Maurice Wong, Robbie Brandt and Matt Sarett organized the evening of skits and songs. The boys found
planning to be a bit of challenge. Because
there was an Eagle Court of Honor at the nearby Dining Hall, the Troop was asked
to conduct a quiet campfire. With our troop’s legendary scout spirit, that was
a tall order, but the scouts pulled it off. Saturday
morning was a day of leisure for most of the scouts as blue cards (merit badge
cards) are gathered and the boys enjoy a final visit (or two) to the trading
post. Special thanks to Brendan
Hickey and Peter Keene for coordinating the collection of blue cards. However,
the afternoon was filled with the excitement of the swim carnival. Many members
of our troop participated in the competition including Kaleb Alekel, Jack Collins, Kevin Fong, Max Brustein, Dan Collins and
Mikey Thompson.
In the Scoutmaster splash, Mr.
Brandt demonstrated his best belly flop dubbed the “Sleepy Hollow
splash.” Troop 12 tied for first
place but ultimately we had to settle for second place when we lost in the water
limbo tie breaker. During
the week, one of most popular in-camp activities was chess. Many scouts enjoyed
friendly competition. While there were some great games, Max Brustein and Menglong Guo
proved to be the tough challengers to beat. If
we gave an award for the most imaginative uniform, Sahil Rodricks would be a strong contender.
Sahil’s colorful sock combinations were the most memorable of the
campsite (and hard to miss!) One of the
traditions of camp is for the troop to vote for the camper that had most
improved his skills during summer camp. The
troop also casts a vote for the “honor” camper.
This is a scout that consistently demonstrated scout spirit, participated
in troop activities; coached younger scouts and in general helped out whenever
he can. Elected solely by the scouts, this year’s winners were Hoi
Kwan for most improved scout and Nicholas
Couper for honor scout. Congratulations to Hoi, Nicholas and all of the
scouts in Troop 12 for a job well done! Special
thanks to all of the adult leaders that assisted this week.
We simply couldn’t do it without you! WHAT IS IN A
NAME?
We have a new district and a new district name. Over the summer, the
Northern New Jersey Council announced the creation of new districts within the
council. In an effort to provide
improved scouting support, all of the districts including Orange Mountain have
merged into three larger districts. Our
new district is Lenape Trail and it encompasses virtually all of the Essex County
troops. Best wishes to the new district and we look forward to exciting new
activities!
A SCOUT’S CLOSET
As we kick off a new season of camping, it is important to take time to
check out the scout’s closet to ensure that all of their clothing is ready to
go. Make sure that his uniform, rain gear and hiking boots still fit and are in
good condition. As your scout outgrows his scout pants, rain gear or troop
shirts, please consider passing it on to a younger scout or donating to the
Troop 12 scout closet. IT’S
WHATS UNDERNEATH THAT COUNTS
With cold camping approaching, it is imperative that each scout dresses
in layers to keep warm. A key
component to dressing properly is long underwear.
However, there are many types of long underwear to choose from and some
are better than others.
Long underwear made of polypropylene or one of the other new synthetic
fibers is the best choice. These new type of fabrics help to wick away moisture from the
body and a dry body will stay warmer. This
is the same type of long underwear used by winter athletes. Most sporting goods
and camping stores carry a full line. Be sure to select long underwear that fits snugly but not
tightly so your scout will wear it and follow all washing instructions closely. BLUE
CARDS 101
Merit badges are an integral part of the scouting experience.
For the new scout or the interested parent, here are some tips to take
the mystery out of the blue card (merit badge) process.
·
Select a merit badge to work on and obtain a signed
blue card from Mr.Brandt. The blue
card is a three part form. Keep all parts of the form intact. ·
Find a merit badge advisor.
A listing of merit badge advisors is posted on the Troop 12 bulletin
board. If a merit badge is not listed there, ask Mr. Brandt to help identify one
for you. ·
Fill out all of your information (name, address,
council name, merit badge name) in INK. The
merit badge counselor can complete their information. ·
Contact your merit badge advisor. Each merit badge
advisor will work differently. Some
advisors will want to meet with you prior to review the requirements; others may
want to meet on a periodic basis. Discuss
and agree how you and the merit badge advisor will work together. ·
Remember that scouting is based on the buddy system.
Find a fellow scout to work on the badge with you or plan to bring along
a buddy or parent to your merit badge meetings. ·
Upon completion of the merit badge, the counselor will
keep the “Counselor” portion of the blue card.
Double check to make sure that the counselor has signed the card.
(Adults make mistakes too.) ·
Hand in the remaining two part blue card to Mrs. Brandt or Mr. Pondiscio.
NASA, LEGOS AND THE BOY SCOUTS?
Did you know that NASA, LEGOS Education foundation along with a host of
other organizations The
Robotics merit badge is part of the BSA’s new curriculum emphasis on STEM:
science, technology, engineering, and math. The BSA focus on STEM takes a fun,
adventurous approach to helping Scouts develop critical skills that are relevant
and needed in today’s competitive world. The new merit badge is one of 31
STEM-related merit badges that Scouts can earn. This
merit badge involved approximately 14 months of development and input from more
than 150 youth members, leaders, and industry professionals from across the
nation. Earning the Robotics merit badge requires a Scout to understand how
robots move (actuators), how they sense the environment (sensors), and how they
understand what to do (programming). Scouts will design a robot and demonstrate
how it works. The BSA anticipates more than 10,000 Robotics merit badges will be
earned in its first year. The BSA developed the Robotics merit badge because of the wide-reaching impact of robotics and the role STEM will continue to play in young people’s lives moving forward. Robots are used in almost every field—in medicine and manufacturing, law enforcement and search and rescue, and space and underwater exploration. They appear regularly in daily life, be it vacuuming, mowing the lawn, and/or cleaning the pool. Even some video game controllers are considered robots.
SCOUTS ADVANCE IN RANK
The following Scouts recently passed a Board of Review and advanced in
rank: Tenderfoot ·
Hoi
Kwan ·
Matt
Sarett ·
Jack
Sweeny Second
Class ·
Eliot
Cha ·
Matt
Cha ·
Menglong
Guo First
Class ·
Sahil
Rodricks Star ·
Aaron
Brummer ·
Max
Brustein ·
Daniel
Fernandes ·
Jonathan
Kui ·
Jeffrey
Lee ·
Nicholas
McCaffery Life ·
Chris
Kui TROOP
COMMITTEE
Scoutmaster: Wayne Brandt 992-2788 Committee
Chairman: Bill
Brady 973 740 1571 Historians: Matt
& Jeannie Couper Assistant
Scoutmaster (Troop Guide Coordinator): Andy
Keene Assistant
Scoutmasters: John
Anderson Geoff Barnard Dick
Barnard
Treasurer: Janice
Lyons Advancement
Committee: Phil
Pondiscio (Chair) Cindy
Cohrs-Brandt Camping
/ Activities Chairperson: Rich
Waxman Quartermaster
Adviser: Ian
Stocks Service
Projects Chairpersons: Gail Stocks Bernice
Thor Publicity
Chairpersons: Mike
& Diane Sikora Transportation
Chairpersons: Lisa
Barnard Colleen
Pisciotti Eagle
Coordinator: Marshall
Sayre Web
Page Coordinator: Don
Lane Den
Chief Coordinator: Pak
Lew Scout
Accounts Coordinator: Kristen
Barnard Popcorn
Sales: Suzanne
Klar Pak
Lew Members
of the Committee: Dale
Dickinson Jack
Hickey Vince
Kulik Phil
Pisciotti |
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