E-Newsletter Issue 3 April
| Training News | |
| Online Leadership Training |
Outdoor Leader Training |
|
Did you know that you don't
even have to leave your house to
get some training? That's right! Some training
courses are now
offered online through the BSA National Online Learning Center.
Youth
Protection, Safety Afloat, Safe Swim Defense, Cub Scout Leader Fast
Start,
Venture Advisor Fast Start, Boy Scout Leader Fast Start, and Troop
Committee
Challenge are all offered online as well as some other training
materials and
multimedia. |
Attention Boy Scout and Webelos Leaders! The Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills Training will be available the weekend of April 13th-15th at Camp Kirby, Upper Black Eddy, PA. Join in a fun-filled program of hands-on outdoor skills training designed to help you master the basic camp skills required for Tenderfoot to First Class. This training will help you deliver the promise of Scouting to yourself and the youth you serve. Attendees will also work with other Scouters, meet new friends and reinforce skill techniques with fellow leaders. This is a required training to obtain TRAINED status for Boy Scout Troop leaders with direct contact with Scouts, including Scoutmasters, Assistant Scoutmasters and those registered leaders who work with scouts. Den Chief training is also available
to all Boy Scouts that currently are or wish to be Den Chiefs. This training
starts at 9:30 am Saturday April 14th at Click Here for the Registration Form Click Here for the Information and Registration Form for Den Chief Training |
| Playwicki and Tohpendel
Districts Join Forces for 2007 Camporee |
|
Playwicki
and
Tohpendel Districts Join Forces for 2007 Camporee The 2007 Playwicki and
Tohpendel Joint Camporee is scheduled
for April 27th, 28th and
29th at Tyler State
Park in Newtown. This
year’s theme is “Outdoor
Sports” and will feature BB guns,
archery, fishing, sling shots and pellet guns. Don’t worry
moms --all these
shooting sports activities will
be conducted and supervised by the Sportsman Alliance from Ohio, a
community
service organization that runs these activities for Scouts around the
nation. Saturday
night features a combined campfire and OA Tap Out. Click here for the Tohpendel Form Click Here for the Playwicki Form Also, there's still time to sign-up to help so if you have any good ideas,
contact
Dawn Macomber at BDMac1@aol.com
or Tom Leitz at tleitz@bsamail.org |
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Pennsbury District | |
| Covering: |
| District Chairman: |
| District Commissioner: |
| District
Executive: Sam Griga
215-358-7205 sgriga@bsamail.org |
| Round Table is held the second Thursday of each month at 7:30pm at Christ United Methodist Church. |
| Upcoming Events |
|
First Aid O Ree We are holding our 2007 First Aid O Ree at Truman High School on Wednesday March 28th at 6:30 PM. The cost of the event will be $4. Over 200 scouts, leaders, and parents make this one of the most well attended events of the year. Norbert Sonnie of Pack and Troop 168 has only been chairing this event for the second time, but he does a top notch job. The members of Crew 102 always lend a hand with running the Webelos portion of the event. Thanks again for everyone who helps make this event great. |
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District Dinner |
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Spring Camporee We have a very exciting location for this year’s Spring Camporee, it is going to be at the Bucks County Technical High School is Levittown. The Camporee is planned for April 27-29th. We are planning on having presentations by the Tech School and local businesses. The cost for event is $5 per person. This is an opportunity for al scouts to see different careers that they would have the opportunity to see. There will also be a cooking contest and the OA Tap out will happen just like last year. If you have any question about the event, please contact Bruce Bintliff at 215-260-0586. |
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Playwicki District | |
| Covering: Portions of Council Rock, Morrisville, Neshaminy, and Pennsbury School District |
| District Chairman: Bob Ansel r.ansel@verizon.net |
| District Commissioner: Russ Kantner rkantner@aol.com |
| District Executive: Sandi Leonard saleonar@bsamail.org 215-348-7205 ext. 109 |
 Playwicki Round Tables are held the Second Wednesday of every month at Community Crossing Church in Newtown at 7:30pm. All
Packs and Troops should send one or more representatives to every Round
Table to get up-to-date information and have some fun in breakout
sessions discussing current issues and ideas. Meet other leaders
that may be dealing with the same issues you are and find out how to
stengthen your pack or troop or share your success stories and teach
new leaders how to be successful! The next Round Table is April
11, 2007, 7:30pm at Community Crossing Church. We'll see you
there! |
| News and Upcoming Events |
Pinewood Derby  Wow! What an event! And what spectacular cars! The Playwicki Pinewood Derby was held March 25th at Oxford Valley Mall and Cub Scouts from Tiger to Webelos participated. Every Cub that came was a winner and they all showed great cub scout spirit by doing thier best! |
| District Dinner On April 13th, 2007 Playwicki will have it's annual District Dinner at Hilltop Athletic Association. Everyone is welcome! We are honoring many great Playwicki Leaders; come out to support them! The deadline to sign-up is April 8, 2007 so hurry up to reserve your spot! Click here for the Dinner Registration Form Click here to have an Ad in the Dinner Booklet |
| Playwicki Annual Meeting Notice
and Call for Nominations Dear Fellow Playwicki Scouters: The Playwicki Nominating Committee is asking all Playwicki District Scouters to submit to them the names of persons for consideration for the following positions: Playwicki District Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, District Commissioner and District Members-at-Large for the 2007-2008 scouting year. Members at Large are the voting body of the district along with the Chartered Organizational Representatives. Members at Large are also the primary source of volunteers for service as chairpersons or member of one of the operating committees in the district. District operating committee include: camping, advancement, activities, training, finance and membership and are appointed by the incoming District Chairperson. The 2007 members of the Playwicki Nominating Committee are as follows: Bill Pfundt– Playwicki Nominating Committee Chair Bill Thompson – Playwicki District Representative Lew Mohr – Playwicki District Representative We ask that you please submit in writing the name, qualifications and contact information of the person you are suggesting by April 11, 2007, to the following address: Bucks County Council, B.S.A. Playwicki District Nominating Committee One Scout Way Doylestown, PA 18901 From this suggestion, the Nominating Committee will form the slate which will be voted on at the District Annual Meeting District held 8PM, Wednesday, May 2, 2007, at God’s Love Lutheran Church, 791 Newtown Yardley Road, Newtown, PA 18940. Meetings are held in the portable buildings at the back of the parking lot. Eligible voters include all Playwicki District CORs and current members at large. A majority of these eligible voters present at the meeting will approve or reject the Nominating Committee’s slate of Members-at-Large and District Officers. The nominated District Commissioner is to be an elected Member-at-Large, but is not specifically voted for at the Annual Meeting. His/her name is offered for appointment and approval to the Council Executive Board through the report of the District Nominating Committee and with the concurrence of the Council Scout Executive. Units CORs are encouraged to attend and exercise their right to vote. The elections process should take less than fifteen minutes. CORs may leave after the vote, but are invited to stay for the remainder of the meeting and become an active, participating member of one of the District’s committees. District CORs are also voting members of the council and are encouraged to attend and vote at the Bucks County Council Annual Meeting to be held on Monday, May 14, 2007, 5:30 PM to 5:55 PM (location in the Doylestown area to be announced). We look forward to receiving your suggestions and electing many new scouters that will continue Playwicki’s tradition of providing an excellent scouting program for our youth. Sincerely, Bill Pfundt Playwicki Nominating Committee Chair |
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Lenape District | |
| Covering: Centenial, Central Bucks, and New Hope School Districts |
| Steve Prusienski District Chairman Stephen.Prusienski@wakefern.com |
| Pat Wax District Commissioner patcommish@verizon.net |
| Bob Baird District Executive 215-348-7205 ext.106 bbaird@bsamail.org |
| Lenape District ROUNDTABLE - Roundtable is a monthly meeting open to all district troop, pack, and crew leaders. Roundtable embraces fellowship, district communications, and training, as well as an exchange of ideas where informative learning is fostered. Meetings are held the 2nd Thursday of the month from September through May, at 7:30 pm at the Neshaminy-Warwick Church on Meetinghouse Road in Warminster. |
| News and Upcoming Events |
|
The Lenape Goldrush
|
|
Pinewood Derby Saturday April 14, 2007. Butler Elementary School, 200 Brittany Drive, Chalfont is the location of this year’s Pinewood Derby. Registration starts at 8:30 am, racing starts at 9am. Cub Scouts build their own race car within certain specifications and the top three finishers in each rank (Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos 1 and Webelos 2) from their Pack’s Pinewood Derby race are eligible to compete in this district final race event. Parents, leaders, friends, and of course Cub Scouts are all invited to attend. |
| Spring
Camporee |
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Tohpendel District | |
| Covering: Palisades, Pennridge, and Quakertown School Districts |
| District Chairman: Matt Zrada matt_zrada@merk.com 215-652-6566 |
| District Commissioner: Gary Price gkpscout@entermail.net |
| District Executive: Tom Leitz tleitz@bsamail.org 215-348-7205 ext. 101 |
| Round Table is held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm at St. Matthews Kellers Church (Ridge Road & Kellers Church Road, Perkasie) 3668 Ridge Road Perkasie, PA 18944 |
|
For the Boys For anyone ever involved with Scouting the stories of how the movement changes people’s lives can come easily. So it goes without saying that spreading our values are program are a necessary part of our commitment to the youth of this county and the communities we call home. The Tohpendel District challenges you to spread that message to one youth or adult a month. It’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things and it can be fun too! Let’s build a better District one youth at a time. Congratulations to all the hard working Scouts this month for making the rank and earning those hard to come by belt loops, merit badges, and other awards. We salute you all for your hard work. Special congratulations to those boys who completed their Eagle Projects! |
|
Knights of the
Roundtable In the olden days knights of Camelot would sit about a roundtable telling stories, solving problems, and exchanging new ideas. Believe it or not, not a lot has really changes since than either. Every unit is encouraged to attend roundtable and show the spirit of their unit. More importantly, vital information is being handed out, training takes place and there’s fun too. Roundtables are held at St Matthews Kellers Church, 3668 Ridge Road Perkasie at 7:30pm the second Tuesday of each month. For more information contact Tom Leitz, Matt Zrada, or Gary Price. |
| WE Want You The Tohpendel District is looking for a few good volunteers. We have positions open as unit commissioners. Unit commissioners are the direct line of communication between units and the district and help with providing critical unit needs such as rechartering information and aid in times of need. If you know of any one that is willing to take on this important task please contact Tom, Matt, or Gary. Let’s build the best district we can, one unit at a time. |
| News and Upcoming Events |
|
Pinewood Derby Drivers, start your engines! Although these weren’t the exact words, what better way to kick off the Tohpendel District 2007 Pinewood Derby? On Friday March 16th, while many people sat home watching the weather take a turn for the worst, I'm sure everyone was asking whether we were going to race on Saturday morning. However, the fearless and dedicated leaders from Pack 79 were at St. Isadore's parish hall setting up the track for the District Pinewood Derby. The weather broke around midnight and the road crews kept up the plowing work and, fortunately, we were able to have the race on Saturday. Over 100 boys from 12 local area packs attended the Race. Prizes were given out to the top three racers in each rank category and to the Top 3 racers overall. The winners from this year’s race are as follows: Tigers Nathan Richard Pack 1 Jermey Pruss Pack 199 Jayson Nicholas Pack 81 Wolves Daulton Moyer Pack 185 Nicholas Hamrick Pack 185 Chad Schaeffer Pack 196 Bears Timothy Pruss Pack 199 Sam Oswald Pack 199 Garhett Moore Pack 199 Webelos 1 Andrew Barnish Pack 199 Kolby Kramer Pack 196 Ben Sherman Pack 1 Webelos 2 Casey Rowedder Pack 55 Jeff Henderson Pack 189 Jacob Wilmore Pack 189 Overall Winners 1st Place Andrew Barnish Pack 199 2nd Place Nathan Richard Pack 1 3rd Place Timothy Pruss Pack 199 Congratulations go out to all participants and a BIG than you goes out to the leaders of Pack 79 for all of their hard work. |
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Combined Tohpendel and Playwicki District Camporee April 27-29 will be this year’s spring camporee held at Tyler state park. The US sportsman’s alliance will be helping us to provide program. Some program may include archery, B.B Guns, Fishing, Bird Dog Demonstrations, and others). |
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| Do you know what Exploring is? Exploring is an exciting, work-site based program for teenagers (boys and girls) age 14 to 20. Have you always wanted to ride an ambulance on an emergency call? Extinguish real fires? Practice responding to a terrorist alert? Learn about Italian culture? See the inside of a beating heart? Bucks County has a number of posts that do those activities and much, much more! Email Bill Carter at bicarter@bsamail.org to find out more! |
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Career Days | |
| This
Fall, Central Bucks and Palisades School Districts had their
Career Days. These awesome events lasted all morning and
enabled
middle school students to learn about a variety of careers by talking
to actual working professionals. Many of our speakers came
from
Scouters in Bucks County, and, according to the schools' students and
principals, this year's experience was stellar! If you want to be a Career Speaker for our Spring Career Days, which will be held in Lower Bucks at Poquessing Middle School, Franklin Roosevelt Middle School, and Tawanka Learning Center, email Bill Carter at bicarter@bsamail.org. |
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Cub Scout
Resident Camp Kirby |
|
| Boys
who go to Council-sponsored summer camps are more likely to stay in
Scouting. For many of them, that’s why
they joined Scouts. Camp Kirby offers a
variety of camping experiences.
Mini-camp is designed for first-time campers or parents who want to
come, but can only stay one or two nights.
Three-day camp is our traditional camp and Webelos Extended is a full
week of more challenges for boys finishing Bears or Webelos
I. Boys can come with their Pack or Den, just
their parent, or by themselves as a Provisional Camper.
Come join us this summer for a Jungle Safari! The pool is a favorite spot for all our campers. Our certified Aquatics Director and Lifeguards provide a fun place to relax, receive instructions in swimming and water safety, and complete Aquanaut for Webelos. Certified archery and BB instructors run shooting sports. Everyone has the opportunity to try archery. Those staying three days or longer also learn BB shooting. Weeklong Webelos get the opportunity to use wrist rockets (slingshots) as well. Ecology provides a fun time with science and nature. In Outdoor Skills, everyone plays theme-related and water games. Those staying three days or more also learn Scout skills such as cooking, knot-tying, first aid, and/or compass skills. The program is rounded-out with a project at crafts. Campfires and water slide keep the fun going in the evenings. Meals are served in our air-conditioned dining hall. Campers stay on cots in large 7-person tents. Leaders have the option of bringing their own smaller tents if desired. Flush toilets and showers are available. Portable toilets are also located in other convenient locations. Make sure you have the updated forms to sign-up!2007 Pack Registration Application 2007 Youth Registration Application 2007 Adult Registration Application Come join the fun this summer! Get your application in now to reserve your first choice of session. If you have any questions, contact Viviane Hopper, Camp Registrar at vhopper@bsamail.org |
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2007 Cub Scout Summer Day Camp |  |
| Take Cubs on a Magical Mystery
Tour to Ancient Egypt! Walking like an Egyptian
will be a snap for all the Cub Scouts who attend the 2007 Bucks County
Council, Cub Scout Summer Day Camp. This year’s theme is
“Ancient Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs." Campers will make their
own papyrus (paper) and write secret messages in hieroglyphics (picture
writing). Small groups of same age cubs will rotate through a series of
activities from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM learning ancient crafts and
searching for lost treasures. The Upper Bucks session
will take place at The two Central Bucks
sessions will take place at The Lower Bucks session
will take place from July 23rd through July 27th,
2007, at a location to be determined. Early registration
(before May 1st) is $110.00 and late
registration (on and after May 1st ) is $125.00.
A camper T-shirts is included in the fee. Registration is on a first
come first serve basis. Applications and forms are available at these links: 2007 Day Camp Camper Registration Form 2007 Volunteer Registration Form For more information,
contact Sam Griga at the Scout Service Center,
215-348-7206, ext. 103. |
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Boy Scout Camp Ockanickon | |
| 2006
will be a summer that stands out in history at
Ockanickon Scout Reservation. Our
staff
excelled and created one of the best camping experiences for many youth. We also broke record
numbers this year as we
came to the aid of our fellow scouters that had to leave Treasure
Island after
the floods. We were
able to offer the
Ockanickon experience to many of the units that were scheduled to
attend
Treasure Island. This
year also saw
some changes to our merit badge and activity schedule.
Our staff started to do a mock accident for
the emergency preparedness merit badge which gave the kids a closer
look at the
kind of accidents that could really happen and the work that goes into
treating
such injuries. Our
Dan Beard program
continued to grow in size as more leaders and first year scouts
realized the
benefits of that first experience.
I am
sure that if you talk to any youth that participated in the Dan Beard
program
this year, they will tell you about the Dan Beard songs and foil packs. With an experience like
this, who wouldn’t
want to come back to Ockanickon? We
currently only have a few spots left open for this summer, so be sure
that if
you want to attend Ockanickon in the summer of 2007 you get your
reservations
in soon.
Call Bill Mischke at 215.297.5290 x-30 to reserve your spot for the 2008 summer season. If you were unable to join us during the summer there is still time. Ockanickon rents camp sites and cabins all winter. If you would like to reserve a space please contact the Bucks County Council at 215-348-7205 and ask for the weekend camping coordinator. Please keep an eye on the Ockanickon website to find out about many up and coming programs. www.ockanickon.org |
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| Lodge Banquet The Fellowship Bonanza was attended by over 100 arrowmen and their families who enjoyed a fine meal and entertainment courtesy of the chapter video contest. Lenape won the contest with a creative take on both patches and John Shaffer’s love of them. Additionally, the lodge annual awards were present and the results were as follows: 2006 Youth of the Year: Chris
Crose |
| 2007 NE-2A Section Conclave Ajapeu is actively looking for more staff to help run this year’s section Conclave. Please refer interested Scouts and Scouters to the Conclave Staff Webpage to sign-up. Ajapeu is also looking for freebies to add to the Conclave Delegate Gift Bags. If there are 400 of something you’d like to give out, whether they are bags of instant crouton mix or golf pencils with your company’s name on them, please direct him or her to contact the Conclave Advisor Tony Cistone. |
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March 29th Lodge Executive Board Meeting The meeting will be at the Council Service center starting at 7:30 PM and all members are invited to attend. |
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A Scouter participating in Wood Badge has the opportunity to: The Wood Badge Experience: The practical part is a two-weekend experience to demonstrate as practically as possible the aims and methods of Scouting. The course is a multifaceted presentation of leadership skills, organizational tools, and participatory activities based on the best Scouting traditions and the latest in team development theory. In addition, participants will enjoy the fellowship of learning along side many other Scouters, and along the way will have a great deal of fun. The application part of Wood Badge is a period of up to 18-month during which the participants practice and demonstrate a working knowledge of the leadership principles presented during the course. This is accomplished by the use of the Wood Badge "ticket", which represents the participant's commitment to complete a set of personal goals related to their Scouting position. These goals will significantly strengthen the program in which the participant is involved. Throughout the period of application, each participant is assigned a counselor who serves as a resource, an evaluator and a Scouting friend. When the counselor and the participant determine that the new skills are understood and can be applied to their Scouting position, a recommendation is made for the Wood Badge to be awarded. Qualifications:Each Scouter must:
Wood Badge for the 21st Century is for all adult leaders in the Boy Scouts of America.
Course Limit:
Course Dates:
Two weekends in camp. Two Patrol Meetings between weekends. Cost: $225.00 Medical Examination: Course Director: |
| Editorial Staff |
|
Sandi Leonard, Staff Production Manager Laura Fezzuoglio, Volunteer Editor Rick Hasney, Volunteer Layout Editor Special Thanks to: Laura Fezzuoglio for editing articles, Rick Hasney for html and design help, Al Folsoms for website fixes, Chris Finnegan for the Woodbadge article and material, Terry Robinson for the OA information, Ron Shuck for the Philmont article, and everyone else who helped out! Thanks for reading our electronic
newsletter! If you would
like to join our Editing Team (it's fun!) or have pictures or articles
to share, email Sandi Leonard at: saleonar@bsamail.org
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