Goose Creek District Newsletter November 2020 Volume 12, Issue 4 from The Scoutmaster Minute blog, Special Interest: http://thescoutmasterminute.net/2015/08/26/knowledge-to-action/ District Knowledge to Action • Goose Creek Day Camp 2021 – pg 2 There are those times as a Scoutmaster that leave you inspired. The other night I had one of those moments as I began to share my Scoutmaster minute with the Troop. Like Advancement most Troops, we have young men that make up the membership of the unit. Ranging • BSA Distinguished from 10 1/2 to 17 these young men tend to be exactly what we want them to be… boys. Conservation Service Award – pg 7 We all know that at times boys do not always think before they act and they certainly • Camp Snyder Merit Badge allow emotion to overrule logic. And so it is when working with boys. As much as I hate Week – pg 8 the saying “boys will be boys”... boys will be boys. There is nothing at all wrong with that, as long as Adults are Adults and work to being good teachers, coaches and Council/National mentors to the boys. • Eagle Scouts & College – pgs 11-12 So the Scoutmaster minute this week was addressing some issues that came up, New High Adventure Base Portal nothing earth shattering, but boys heading down a trail that would not lead them to – pg 11 positive outcomes. Heading them off now will save lots of grief later. It comes down to, like most things in Scouting and life, living the Oath and Law. Training • Virtual PowWow 2020 – pg 16 And so I explained to the Troop that we make a promise to live the Scout Law in our daily lives. Yes, they know that. So I asked the question, “what is the Scout Law?” The Assistant Senior Patrol Leader spoke up with, “A Scout is…” I cut him off.. yes.. yes.. we all know the 16 words that make up the Scout law.. but what is the Law? Really, it’s T just a bunch of words that we commit to memory and rattle off each meeting.. but why do we need a Scout law and why bother saying it? A young Scout chimed in, “It is how Quick Calendar: we should live”. Yes, I said.. but what are those twelve words that make up the law? • Nov 11 – Roundtable They are values that we should be living every day. So what are values I asked? One • Nov 18 – Annual Business of the Scouts from the new Scout Patrol spoke up. He said that Values are things that Meeting you think are precious. • Nov 30 – Final Date for Recharter Turn in PERFECT. • Dec 9 – Roundtable We do hold those things as precious that we believe in and act upon. We protect and • Jan13 - Roundtable maintain things that are precious to us. Our families, our nice car, our collections, and our relationships. We value all of those things and we live good values that we have been taught. So now we need to take our knowledge, those things that we know like the Scout Oath and Law and translate those values in action. We will do that when we determine that the values found in the Scout law are precious. We will be more friendly, we will be more trustworthy by giving those that are around us a reason to trust us. We will be more obedient and cheerful because we know that those values make a difference in the lives of those that we make contact with every day. The Scout Law is something that is precious to us. It drives us to turn that knowledge Newsletter Key: into action. When we do that we will change our attitudes and truly begin to view one Cub Scout Interest another as precious. That will compel us to serve them from the heart, not the head. When things start needing redirection and attitudes need to be checked, coming back to Boy Scout / the Scout Law is always a great idea. Who knows, you may even hear from the one Venturing Interest that you least expect a gem that places it all in perspective. That discussion has the power to change the lives of members of our Troop. In turn, we can make a big For Everyone difference everywhere. Turn that knowledge into Action! New Article Editor Note: Please note that this article was written in 2015, prior to BSA’s inclusion of young ladies to the program. November 2020 Page 2 District News District Website: www.NCACBSA.org/GooseCreek Goose Creek Day Camp and Twilight Camp Goose Creek Day and Twilight Camp have been officially scheduled, so plan accordingly! Camp 2021 will be held once again at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds, from June 28-July 2 (Day Camp) and June 28-July 1 (Twilight Camp). Watch for updates as we move closer to the season! Contact Shannon Klee at [email protected] with questions. Troop 997 Webelos Arrow of Light Invitational Troop 997 is hosting their annual Webelos Arrow of Light Invitational event at Willowsford Farm and Conservancy near Aldie, Virginia on Saturday November 14. Please come join them to meet scouts from their troop and to participate in fun activities intended to introduce your Webelos scouts to Boy Scouting. During this event, each of the patrols from Troop 997 will teach a few scouting skills in a series of hands-on demonstrations that includes: first aid, knot tying, map reading / navigation with a compass, and fire starting / safety. This event is open to all Webelos scouts and their families. Where: Willowsford Hidden Meadow Group Campground - Near 41149 Shasta Daisy Court, Stone Ridge, VA 20105 (coordinates 38.898712”N, -77.581010”W). Please pass through the gate to enter the camping area and park along the side of the path. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow Boy Scouts and adult scouters to ask questions about joining Troop 997, a youth-led troop with an outdoor focus. They regularly meet on Thursday evenings at St Theresa Catholic Church from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on the first three Thursdays of the every month. Please send Scoutmaster Terry Kolb ([email protected]) an RSVP if you plan on attending and include a list of visiting scouts, Pack number, and contact information. Please note: Wearing of masks will be strictly enforced when social distancing within 6 feet cannot be maintained or within confined spaces. Anyone who refuses to wear a mask will not be allowed to participate. Bottom line: If you don’t feel well, stay home, and seek medical attention. Symptoms to watch for include coughing, sneezing, fever, chills, muscle aches, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, or new loss of smell. If you have any of these symptoms please stay home and seek medical advice from your healthcare provider.. Goose Creek Uniform Closet Goose Creek now has a Uniform Closet! We held a Uniform Drive in June, and were able to acquire a bin full of Pack uniform pieces, as well as a loaded bin of Troop pieces! Many thanks to all of the units and families that made donations that week. Your donations are very much appreciated. We now have a functioning closet, so please reach out to Shannon Klee at [email protected] if you know of a Scout or adult leader that needs some help with their uniform, or if you would like to donate to the closet. November 2020 Page 3 Troop 1550 in Leesburg earns the Boy Scouts of America Historic Trails Award October 9-11, 2020 Troop 1550 camped at McCoys Ferry Campground (a National Park Campground) that’s located along the C & O Canal. They volunteered with the C & O Canal Trust for their annual C & O Canal Trust Pride (in our trail) Day scraping peeling paint off & painting picnic tables, scraping off chipping paint & rust and spray-painting grills, repairing signs & painting fences/guard rails as well as picking up trash on the trail & in the towpath itself. They filled several bags of trash. Rod Newton, Program & Volunteer Coordinator for the C & O Canal Trust, led a discussion on the history of the C & O Canal & the C & O Canal Trust & answered questions from scouts & leaders. November 2020 Page 4 Stars for Our Veterans Post 2001 has partnered with the national Stars for Our Troops organization to send stars from retired American flags to veterans as a remembrance for their service. Cub Scout Pack 1500, which is sponsored by Post 2001, volunteered to help with the project. Each Cub Scout was given one of the flags that have been sent to the Post for retirement. The Cubs and their families assembled in the Brambleton Middle School to cut the stars from the flags. By the end of the evening 3000 presentation packets were prepared. One grandfather, who helped cut out the stars, was presented one of the packets by his grandson in remembrance for his service on the USS Coral Sea off the coast of Vietnam. We are so proud to honor those who have risked their lives for our safety and show our appreciation through this gesture. YPT Training As we are approaching the time for recharter of all of the units in Goose Creek District, the number of adult volunteers with expired and soon to expire YTP has gone up to almost 23%. The revised YPT program that was instituted two years ago is now having an echo effect, but we all need to check the status and take the training as is required for rechartering.