In this week’s newsletter
Meeting This Week
This week we will be cleaning and organizing the troop trailer and wrapping up the fire m’n chit and totin chip requirements. Please wear clothes that can get dirty, so class b’s. See you all soon!
April Camping Trip — Camporee
April 22 – 23, 2023
About the Campout
For our April campout we will be camping at Standing Indian, a beautiful area, bordering a lot of scenic trails and the Appalacian Trail. We will have two different groups on the campout.
- Basecamp: This group is for our newest First Year Scouts (i.e., rising 6th graders) and most of our Second Year Scouts (i.e., rising 7th graders) plus any other older Scouts interested in this program. The First Year Scouts will work on basic camping and scout skills, rank advancement, etc. and will sleep in tents. For any other Scouts in this group, you will work on basic survival skills, including building shelters, advancement, and assisting in teaching First Year Scouts. This group will have the option of sleeping under the shelter they build or in their tent (all Scouts in this group will put up a tent regardless of whether they sleep in it or not).
- Survivalists: For Scouts First Class and above (including 2nd Year Scouts) OR Tenderfoot or Second Class Scouts that are rising 8th graders who obtain permission from Mr. Cole (ctcole0308@gmail.com). This group will stay away camp along the trail, working on various survival skills, including building their own shelters that they will sleep under. These Scouts do not need to bring a tent for Saturday night. Depending on adult support, Scouts in the Survivalist group will have the opportunity to work on the Wilderness Survival merit badge. If you do not have Wilderness Survival Merit Badge, then sign-up for it when you register for the campout, and we hope to have breakout sessions at upcoming meetings to assist you in completing this merit badge.
Notes:
- Parents: we will need a lot of adult participation to transport Scouts and have solid coverage for these various groups and crews. Come join us and have a great time with us at Standing Indian! If we don’t have enough adult coverage the campout location will change to one closer to Atlanta and the program may be reduced or changed.
- All Scouts will utilize tarps and rope in the construction of their shelters.
- Food/Cooking: Based on the number of Scouts that sign-up for each group, etc., the Senior Patrol Leader and Adults will coordinate meal planning activities. We will continue to use patrol-method food preparation, but your patrol will be created specifically for this trip so we ask everyone to remain open and flexible as we start the sign-up and work our way through this process.
For more information and to register visit: https://sites.google.com/troop77bsa.com/scout-parent/campingoutings/april-survivalist?authuser=0
Summer Camp
Summer Camp is the week of June 18-24 at Camp Sequoyah in Delta, Alabama. Troop 177 has already registered for camp, but we can continue to register Scouts until about two weeks before camp, or the week we are going sells out. If you would like to go, but haven’t registered yet, please let Mr. Taylor know as soon as possible.
Check out the Summer Camp webpage for imporatant dates and news regarding camp!
Merit Badge Opportunities
Atlanta Area Council has already announced all of the Merit Badge summits for next year. The next Merit Badge Summit will be April 29, 2023.
To learn more about this and other Merit Badge Summits, visit: https://www.atlantabsa.org/MeritBadgeSummit
In addition to the Merit Badge Summits Atlanta Area Council offers many merit badge days throughout the year. Upcoming Merit Badge opportunities include Engineering and Soil & Water Conservation on March 25th, the Construction Merit Badge Day on April 22nd, Metal Work on April 29th, and Aviation with workshops every month this 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 throughout the year. Upcoming classes include Nature Study April 23 and Environmental Science April 30.
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: Nature Study April 8.
Learn more and register at: https://dunwoodynature.org/scout-merit-badges/
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
- https://www.remind.com/join/troop177p
- Or text @troop177p to the number 81010
Troop 177 Scouts
- https://www.remind.com/join/troop177s
- or text @troop177s to the number 81010