May 25, 2021

Posted on by Troop 177

In this week’s newsletter

Court of Honor

We had a great Court of Honor last week, and recognized nearly every Scout for Rank Advancement, Merit Badges, training and other awards. You should all be quite proud of these achievements, especially given the difficult circumstances we’ve faced this year. I expect with the summer ahead our fall Court of Honor will be even more impressive.

This Week’s Meeting

This is our last meeting before summer! yay! To end the school year, we’re going to be painting the cornhole set we made a few weeks ago, so we can get them done. You don’t have to wear class A, but instead something you’re ok with getting a little bit of paint on. I’m also going to be asking about what people want to do over the summer for activities, so get some ideas ready and I’ll put together a schedule for the summer. See you on Tuesday. — Leigh S. (SPL)

Summer Activities

While Scouting is a year-round program, summer poses challenges as vacations, swim team, and other camps make it difficult to meet every Tuesday evening. As such, we typically take a break from regular meetings and plan several informal activities. In the past we have gone bowling, gone on hikes in town, launched bottle rockets, gone fishing, played frisbee golf, etc. We have some similar activities planned for this summer, including a potential backpacking trip and at least one other camping trip before summer camp. As Leigh mentioned above, we will be planning activities and setting dates for these events at this week’s meeting. We will have more details on these events for next week’s newsletter.

Local High Adventure

MR. COLE NEEDS SOME HELP ON HIS WOOD BADGE PROJECTS

I successfully completed the coursework for Wood Badge, which is the top tier of Adult training in Scouting.  After completing the course work, we have various additional activities to complete, and I am going to need some help from Scouts and Leaders to get one of them done.

I need both Scout and Leader help with my goal of taking a crew of co-ed Scouts (we will be doing this through the Venture Crew made up of Scouts from Troop 77, Troop 177 and Venture Crew 77) on a Local High Adventure Trip that will simulate the backpacking adventure of attending Philmont (without it taking 14 days, traveling to New Mexico and costing nearly $2,500 like Philmont does).  The trip will be over the long Columbus Day weekend leaving the evening of Wednesday 10/6/2021 after school and returning Monday 10/11/2021.  I am looking for three sets of volunteers:

(1) approximately 8-10 Scouts (14+ or have completed the 8th grade) both girls and boys to go on the actual hike itself,

(2) approximately 5 Older Scouts, preferably with Philmont experience, to meet us on the trail for one day (likely either Saturday or Sunday) and host a Philmont-like Program Activity (and then those Scouts can hike before and after that day in the same area), and

(3) Adult Leaders to (a) go with me and the High Adventure group (including at least one female leader) on the hike, and (b) at least two leaders to hike with and assist the Program group.

If you are interested in getting involved in this project, then please send me an email at ctcole0308@gmail.com with what part you are interested in doing, and if you are looking to be in our hiking crew, a couple of paragraphs as to why you think you would be a good candidate for this trip, especially if you are someone that would like to attend Philmont someday but do not currently have the means or opportunity to do so.

Thanks.

Mr. Cole
High Adventure Coordinator – Troop 77, Troop 177 and Venture Crew 77
(and still Scoutmaster of Troop 77!)

Summer Camp

If you have not already registered for camp but would still like to attend, please let Mr. Taylor know. We can register additional Scouts for camp until June, as long as there are still spaces available. More information can be found on our Summer Camp Information page.

Merit Badge Opportunities

Construction Merit Badge Day
Atlanta Area Council is holding a construction Merit Badge Day on May 15 for Scouts 16 or older. Merit Badges Offered include: Drafting, Electricity, Landscape Architecture, Surveying, and Welding. Note that while the dates on the info page are for 2020, registration is open for the 2021 Construction MB Day.
More information and registration at: https://www.atlantabsa.org/cmb

Atlanta Area Council Merit Badge Days
The Atlanta Area Council offers several Merit Badge days dedicated to specific Merit Badges. Upcoming Merit Badge offerings include Aviation and Railroading.
More information at: https://www.atlantabsa.org/meritbadgedays

STEM Academy
Georgia Tech is offering an on-line STEM ACADEMY June 6-11. This program for 8th graders and older, gives Scouts the opportunity to earn STEM-related merit badges and explore STEM related professions. Registration is $100 and needs to be completed before May 14.
https://www.atlantabsa.org/stem-academy

Northeast Georgia Council Pathfinders
Scoutland is a Northeast Georgia Council Scout Camp on the shores of Lake Lanier. This summer they are offering two weeks of merit badge classes, where you can work on, and in most cases complete, one merit badge per day. There are still a lot of openings for most merit badges. This a great opportunity to work through several merit badges this summer.
More information and registration at: https://www.nega-bsa.org/Pathfinders

Daniel Boone Council Virtual Merit Badge Classes
Every week Daniel Boone Council in North Carolina is offering several virtual Merit Badge classes via Zoom. Most classes are $10 and are two evenings per week, after school hours.
More information and registration at: https://www.danielboonecouncil.org/virtual