January 4, 2022

Posted on by Troop 177

In this week’s newsletter

This Week’s Meeting

We hope you had a safe and happy winter break and are ready to get back to Scouting.

Due to a recent spike in Covid cases in our community and near freezing temperatures expected Tuesday night, we are going to be moving our meeting virtual this week. Check Scoutbook or the Troop Remind updates on Tuesday for the meeting link.

Thanks, and see you on Tuesday!

Cumberland Island Camping Trip

We will be making menus and duty rosters for the Cumberland Island trip at this week’s meeting. Adults going on the trip will also need to have an aside to discuss some of the logistics for the trip. If you’re signed up for Cumberland Island, please be sure to join us virtually.

Service Opportunities

MLK National Day of Service

For those not attending Cumberland Island, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance is participating in the MLK Day of Service on Monday January 17th. This would count as conservation service for those that need it.
Learn more and sign up at: https://www.wawa-online.org/post/registration-open-for-mlk-day-of-service

Camp Allatoona Fish Habitat Build

On January 22nd, there will be a fish habitat build at Camp Allatoona (where the troop has camped several times). The project involves placing donated Christmas trees while the water level is at winter lows. This is a great project for anyone needing to finish the project requirement for Fish and Wildlife management, as well as anyone needing conservation service hours, or any general community service hours. If you are interested contact Mr. Taylor to find out more.

Merit Badge Opportunities

No Troop Merit Badge Opportunities this month. If you would like to work on a Merit Badge, please contact Mr. Taylor to arrange to work on a Merit Badge independently.

Atlanta Area Council has announced all of the Merit Badge summits for 2022. The first one falls on February 5th, which also coincides with the Troop 77 & 177 advancement day. Many of the same Merit Badges offered by the council will be offered at the troop level. We encourage everyone in the troop to participate in advancement day.
To learn more about other Merit Badge Summits planned this year, visit: https://www.atlantabsa.org/MeritBadgeSummit

Northeast Georgia Council is holding their annual Advance-A-Rama January 29, 2022 at Shiloh High School, just up the road in Gwinnett County. For more information at to register visit: https://www.nega-bsa.org/swaar

Atlanta Area Council offers many merit badge offerings throughout the year.
More information about these and other Merit Badge programs at: https://www.atlantabsa.org/meritbadgedays

Chattahoochee Nature Center offers nature themed merit badge classes on the weekends in the Spring through Fall. There are no upcoming classes, but check back often for new offerings.
For more information and to register visit: https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/education/scouts/scouts-bsa/

Dunwoody Nature Center also offers a number of nature related Merit Badges. Upcoming classes include: Environmental Science January 15 & 16, and Bird Study February 19.
Learn more and register at: https://dunwoodynature.org/scout-merit-badges/

Daniel Boone Council headquartered in Asheville, NC has a rolling slate of virtual merit badge programs, with new merit badges offered every week. These are usually two sessions in the late afternoon or evening. There are quite a few popular merit badges including a large selection of Eagle Required. These usually fill up, but if you look at later weeks, there are plenty of seats still open.
Learn more and register at: https://www.danielboonecouncil.org/virtual

Merit Badge Process

For any Merit Badge that a Scout works on, the first step in the process is to have a discussion with the Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster and get a signed blue card. While Troop 177 has embraced digital blue cards, Scouts still need to have a discussion with one of the adult leaders in the troop and get either a physical or digital sign off before beginning wok on the Merit Badge. You are welcome to sign up for any of the Merit Badges offerings that are listed on the website, please remember to talk to Mr. Taylor or one of the ASMs to get approval for the merit badge before taking the class.

Troop Communication

Please be sure to join our Remind Classes to get notifications on all of the Troop 177 happenings. There is an app, but you can choose to get notifications via text messages or email.

Troop 177 Parents

Troop 177 Scouts