May Notes and Looking Forward to Summer 2009

Circus Update
Beth Still Has Tickets for the Circus this Weekend! Some have not claimed their tickets
If you ordered tickets, please contact Beth. Give her a call at 607-2650!Where: Augusta Civic CenterShows: 4/24 at 2pm and 7pm & 4/25 at 9:30, 2pm and 7pmWho: Open to Cubs, Siblings, Parents and interested friends (Parents must drive their own children to and attend the event with their children unless other adult supervision is set up in advance)When to Go: Dens can coordinate the best times to go that work for their dens. Cubs should wear their uniforms to the event.Thanks Beth for organizing this Go See It!

Pack Meeting & Crossover
Our next meeting will be the crossover ceremony as boys move up in Scouting. 6 PM at the American Legion this coming Tuesday.
Boys should be in uniform.
Relatives are welcome as the boys will be presented with all their final awards of this rank
Leaders, please send me your list by Sunday so I can pick up the supplies at the Scout shop on Monday.


What's Coming Next for Pack 603
May- Dens are encouraged to have one event each month but they can also have more. These can be meetings or go see its.
May- We were notified that pack 603 will be recognized with the Spirit of America Award for the work we are doing with the boys and for the work the boys are doing with the community. I will get you more details as we receive them. There will be a dinner sometime in May to receive this recognition.
May- Pre-camp meeting, new Cub Orientation. We will be having a kickball game for the boys and a Cub Camp signup night in May. We will also be doing a sign up for new boys and this will be a good way for them to move right into the Cub Scout program. Date and time to be announced. We will have paperwork for all of the upcoming summer activities at the meeting. Cub Camp information located here: http://www.pinetreebsa.org/campingprogram/cubscout/index.html
May 30- Mini Camp in Sabattus at Camp Gustin.
June 6- Sea Dogs Sleepover- $20 per person. Gates open at 4:30 PM and the game begins at 6 PM. Scouts sleep out on the field and watch a movie.
June- Dens are encouraged to meet for a gathering once this month.
July- 4th of July Parade. We will be meeting at the Shaw's parking lot. Boys should be in full uniform. More details coming.
July- Dens are encouraged to meet once during the month of July for a fun event.
August 3-7- Day Camp- - Camp Bomazeen in Belgrade: sign up information at http://www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CalendarDetail.asp?orgkey=1649&activitykey=559871
August 16-19- Webelos Resident Camp. Camp Hinds. Shawn and Chuck will be providing the leadership again for our webelos (boys currently Bears will be able to go)
August 22- Scout Night at the Sea Dogs. Tickets for the event are $6 for Adults and $3 for Youth (16 & Under). Each ticket includes:
• Admission to the August 22nd game – Sea Dogs vs. Bowie Baysox, Game Time 6:00PM



BSA Action Required: "THIS IS SCOUTING" - Volunteer Training Component

TO: Scout Executives, Regional Directors, Area Directors
FROM: Program Impact Department/Volunteer Development TeamSUBJECT: "THIS IS SCOUTING" - volunteer training component Read and pass along to council and district trainers, field staff, and pack trainer. Include announcement on council web sites
"This is Scouting" was added to the BSA's on-line Learning Center over the weekend. "This is Scouting" replaces New Leader Essentials as a required course for Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing volunteers to earn the "Trained" leader emblem. Councils should eliminate New Leader Essentials from all training calendars and add a link to http://mysouting.org/.While the primary delivery method for "This is Scouting" is on-line, a DVD . No. 36118, will be available after April 1, from Supply for areas where internet access is limited or where group presentation is desired.All Scouters are encouraged to create a MyScouting account and access this training through the MyScouting portal, as credit for this training will be recorded on their PAS record upon completion.Questions should be directed to Jamie Shearer http://us.mc396.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=jamie.shearer@scouting.orgProgram Impact Department or Joe Glasscock http://us.mc396.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=joe.glasscock@scouting.org
Team Leader, Volunteer Development.


Pack 603 in the News!
Check out the story in the Good News Gazette about our Cubs in action.
http://www.turnerpublishing.net/files/GNG.pdf

Greenhouse Tour

Eric Lombard (Webelos)- some of the plants are highly toxic. You shouldn't touch or eat a plant if you don't know what it is.

Hunter Ripley (Webelos)- it's really important to learn how things grow. It's a really great greenhouse. It's super warm and a nice change to see so many green, growing things.

Chris Colson (Wolf)- I liked the purple plant. It's the best. My plants will grow taller than me.

Eric Olney (webelos)- I'm planting watermellon and sun flower and tomato. I hope my watermellon is delicious.

The fieldtrip to the “Keep Growing” at CATC greenhouse went very. We had 13 scouts and their parents participating. The seeds that the boys planted will be nurtured at the facility until they are viable for planting outdoors this season. Along with the actual planting in earning their gardening badge the boys learned a lot about plant science and how it is a crucial part of their natural world.The “Keep growing “ Program offers educational filed trips to to students Pre-K –12th grade in the region. We have had a number of classrooms and organizations participating this year as we have partnered with a local expert, Fieldstone Gardens in Vassalboro. Keep Growing is also hoping to reach out to the Master Gardener’s program and Senior organizations in the region this next season. If your organization is interested in a plant based community service project or a educational visit to the CATC greenhouse please contact Rene Albison at CATC.....ralbison@augustaschools.org

Cub Scout Circus Trip

Welcome Welcome One and All!!

Bear Leader Beth Morgan has lined up a great event for Pack 603- a trip to the circus!

Where: Augusta Civic Center

Shows: 4/24 at 2pm and 7pm & 4/25 at 9:30, 2pm and 7pm

Who: Open to Cubs, Siblings, Parents and interested friends (Parents must drive their own children to and attend the event with their children unless other adult supervision is set up in advance)

Cost: $3 per youth and $6 per adult- Bring Your money to the den meetings this Tuesday. Beth has to turn all of the money at the end of next week.

When to Go: Dens can coordinate the best times to go that work for their dens. Cubs should wear their uniforms to the event.


Thanks Beth for organizing this Go See It and thanks again to Rene Albison for organizing the great trip to the greenhouse this week! Everyone had a great time!

End Of March Cub Notes

Greenhouse Tour- Tomorrow- Tuesday, March 30. Rene Albisson has graciously organized a neat tour for all of our Pack's Cub Scouts. Thanks Rene for doing that. Here is a note from her:
"In regards to the greenhouse fieldtrip: Have scouts meet in the back parking lot at CATC on Pierce Drive in Augusta at 6pm. The greenhouse will have the lights on so it will be very visible. All seeds and equipment will be free of charge. The perennials or vegetable seedlings could be transplanted at a later date for a community service project. I would love to get some newspaper publicity for our ”Keep Growing” Greenhouse program at CATC out of this so if anyone has a camera and contacts in the media. Please make it clear that parents must be with their child. There is a section in the wolf book that this planting will cover. No open toed shoes please!!!! It is fully heated so no jackets will be necessary. Have people leave them in their cars as their isn’t a place to put them.Thanks,Rene

March is our annual recharter month. That means it is time to pay our membership fees. Please bring $11 for each youth you are registering and $12 if you want them to have Boys' Life Magazine to the den meeting on Tuesday. This will cover your registration costs through next March. The leader fees are paid for by Pack 603. My goal is to turn in all of the paperwork next week so please bring registration fees on Tuesday. Thanks

April Meetings. April is our big wrap up month for the Scouting year. The pack meeting will be on the last Tuesday of the month due to school vacation week on the third Tuesday. We are looking for a good "Go See It" activity for the month. If you have any good ideas, please feel free. This can be for your den or for the pack as a whole. Sharing is good. At the April meeting, the Webelos will run the opening and the Bears will run the closing. The Wolves will provide refreshments and I am asking each den to run a song, skit, or game. Please let me know the awards I need to pick up by Sunday, April 26. The boys will be crossing over at this meeting into their new dens and new ranks.

Spring Signup. Our pack will have a pack meeting in May and one event as a pack in May, June, July and August. Some of the things we are looking at are day camp, webelos resident camp, fun pack weekends, Scout Night at the Sea Dogs, and more. We will be having a May sign up for boys who want to join Scouting and are looking forward to taking part in all of the great Scouting activities. I will get more detail as we get closer.

Camp Sign Up. We will have sign ups for all of the camps at our April and May pack meetings.

Religious Emblems. Please continue to work on the religious emblems. Our goal is to finish that program prior to the end of April so we can recognize the boys at the pack meeting.

Late March News Notes for Parents and Leaders

Dear Parents and Leaders:

As we move into warmer weather, I wanted to touch base on how things for Pack 603 will be working.

Keep the Outing in Scouting. I encourage our dens to do more outdoor meetings or activities as weather permits. Go see its, athletic events, etc. This is good for the boys after the long winter and active activities will keep the boys interested longer.

Chess. We did some of the requirements for the belt loop last night at the Pack meeting but I don't believe more than a few of the boys actually played a game or really learned the way the pieces move. I am going to be working with the Webelos again at this coming meeting. I am asking dens to find time to work on the requirements for the Chess belt loop with the boys before the April pack meeting so we can present those as well. They have to:
-Identify the chess pieces and set up a chess board for play.
-Demonstrate the moves of each chess piece to your den leader or adult partner.
-Play a game of chess.

Greenhouse Tour on Tuesday, March 30. Rene Albisson has graciously organized a neat tour for all of our Pack's Cub Scouts. Thanks Rene for doing that. Here is a note from her:

"In regards to the greenhouse fieldtrip: Have scouts meet in the back parking lot at CATC on Pierce Drive in Augusta at 6pm. The greenhouse will have the lights on so it will be very visible. All seeds and equipment will be free of charge. The perennials or vegetable seedlings could be transplanted at a later date for a community service project. I would love to get some newspaper publicity for our ”Keep Growing” Greenhouse program at CATC out of this so if anyone has a camera and contacts in the media. Please make it clear that parents must be with their child. There is a section in the wolf book that this planting will cover. No open toed shoes please!!!! It is fully heated so no jackets will be necessary. Have people leave them in their cars as their isn’t a place to put them.Thanks,Rene

Flow of Meetings. I want to see us get more organized with both our den meetings and Pack meetings. Here are some tips:
-Pre-Meeting Activity- Give the boys something to do
-Opening Ceremony
-Activity/recognitions
-Sharing (Give boys opportunity to share some interesting things related to the topic of the meeting)
-Game, Song, etc
-Closing

Contact with Absent Cubs. I would like to have each den contact boys who were not at the pack meeting to make sure they come on Tuesday. Let them know we miss them and let them know about the events going on and plans for summer camp. Let them know about recharter as well. Thanks.

Cub Camp. Everyone should have received information about Cub Scout camp in the mail. If you have not, please let me know and I will get it to you. Here is a link to the council's camp information website: http://www.pinetreebsa.org/campingprogram/cubscout/index.html

March is our annual recharter month. That means it is time to pay our membership fees. Please bring $11 for each youth you are registering and $12 if you want them to have Boys' Life Magazine to the den meeting on Tuesday. This will cover your registration costs through next March. The leader fees are paid for by Pack 603.

University of Scouting. University of Scouting Early Bird Discount Deadline is Friday, March 13th! Take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and save 20% on your registration fee for Pine Tree Council's University of Scouting. If you register on or before March 13th you'll save $5. After March 13th the cost will be $25. The fee covers materials, lunch, patch and your certificate. You can register on-line now, just go to http://www.pinetreebsa.org/ The University will be held on Saturday, March 21st, it is located in Kirk and Jalbert Halls at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Registration will begin at 7:45 am, the opening ceremony begins promptly at 8:30 am and the first period begins at 9:00 am. Checkout and closing will be held at 4 pm.Attire for the day, full field uniforms for registered uniformed Scouters, full uniform or dress casual for committee members and dress casual for civilians. This is a great program but not one the pack reimburses for leaders to attend.

Training. Downeast District is hosting a training on April 24 - 25 at the Beaver Lodge in Union. To sign up, contact Steve Saucier Ssaucier@bsamail.org or at the Council office. Pack 603 will reimburse any leader who attends this training.

Sign Up Before Camp. Know a Boy who could benefit from Cub Scouts and wants to go to camp but is not a member? He can join! Bring him to our meetings!

April & May Pack Meetings. The April Pack meeting will be our cross over pack meeting. Eric will be crossing into the troop and the other boys will be moving up in rank. I am asking each den to have a go see it event in April. Maybe a tour of a fire station or an outdoor activity, etc. Typically we do not meet in May but I am leaving that up to den leaders. I believe it would be good for us to meet as a pack in May either as a regular pack meeting or a special go see it. This will give an opportunity for the new ranks to meet. I am asking all dens to meet at least once in May and also have one go see it in May.

Mid-March News and Notes

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to share some Cub Scout notes.

Everyone should have received information about Cub Scout camp in the mail. If you have not, please let me know and I will get it to you.

The next meeting is our pack meeting. I am asking each den to be prepared to run a station. The meeting will be held Tuesday at 6 PM at the American Legion. The stations can be an activity or a game

If you have awards, I am going shopping on Monday so please let me know on Sunday!

March is our annual recharter month. That means it is time to pay our membership fees. Please bring $11 for each youth you are registering and $12 if you want them to have Boys' Life Magazine to the pack meeting. This will cover your registration costs through next March. The leader fees are paid for by Pack 603.

University of Scouting. University of Scouting Early Bird Discount Deadline is Friday, March 13th! Take advantage of the Early Bird Discount and save 20% on your registration fee for Pine Tree Council's University of Scouting. If you register on or before March 13th you'll save $5. After March 13th the cost will be $25. The fee covers materials, lunch, patch and your certificate. You can register on-line now, just go to www.pinetreebsa.org

The University will be held on Saturday, March 21st, it is located in Kirk and Jalbert Halls at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Registration will begin at 7:45 am, the opening ceremony begins promptly at 8:30 am and the first period begins at 9:00 am. Checkout and closing will be held at 4 pm.Attire for the day, full field uniforms for registered uniformed Scouters, full uniform or dress casual for committee members and dress casual for civilians.
Training. Downeast District is hosting a training on April 24 - 25 at the Beaver Lodge in Union. To sign up, contact Steve Saucier Ssaucier@bsamail.org or at the Council office.

Scouts in the News. Pack 603 was featured on the front page of the Good News Gazette! Check it out: http://www.turnerpublishing.net/files/GNG.pdf

Know a Boy who could benefit from Cub Scouts and wants to go to camp but is not a member? He can join! Bring him to our Pack meeting!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Blue and Gold Banquet fantastic!

Thanks for the Cake!

Cubmaster Chuck

Late February News for Pack 603

UNIVERSITY OF SCOUTING The classes at University of Scouting are designed to help develop a strong program. You can learn what happens at the Council and District levels to support your program. You might pick up some pointers on how to improve the unit administrative efficiency. You can share experiences on what makes a successful meeting. There are also many classes that will give you ideas to support the backbone of the program, that aspect that the Scouts love the most about Scouting - that is the OUTINGS! We all know that great outings are the key to keeping Scouts. There are many elements that make for a great outing; one of those is the food. Nothing tastes better than that first hot dog you burnt as a Tiger or the pineapple upside down cake out of the dutch oven. No matter if you're camping with the full Troop trailer or carrying all your food on a week long high adventure trip, you can always eat well. U of Scouting classes cover anything and everything you can think of as it relates to Scouts, outings and eating. Check out one of these classes - there is something for everyone! 1. Cub Grub / Cub Cooking - foil dinners to pie iron, learn the basics of cooking and fire building.2. Webelos Outdoor Cooking - hobo stoves, box ovens and other fun cooking techniques!3. Dutch Oven Basics - back by popular demand, what else is there to say, the food is great!4. Food Dehydration - learn about equipment and techniques for all types of camping and cooking.5. Patrol Cook Boxes - come see some examples, look for what would make a good box for your unit.6. Edible plants - we're not talking onions, potatoes and carrots. Learn how to identify edible plants and some practical applications. Join us for Pine Tree Council's University of Scouting!Where: Central Maine Community CollegeWhen: Saturday, March 21, 2009 For more information http://www.pinetreebsa.org/university/UoS2009Catalog%20REV%20E.pdf To register for classes http://www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CalendarDetail.asp?ActivityKey=527797&OrgKey=1649 Please forward this email to fellow Scouters, Committee Members, Scout parents and friends that might have an interest in this fun filled, knowledge sharing day.See you there. Thanks,Jim LesserAssistant Scoutmaster, Troop 93, Falmouth, MEMarketing Volunteer, U of Scouting – PTC

TRAILS END POPCORN RECALL Weaver Popcorn, parent company of Trails End, has issued a voluntary recall on Feb. 4 as follows:Weaver Popcorn Company Issues a Nationwide Precautionary Voluntary Recall of 9.5 oz. Trail's End Caramel Corn with Peanuts
As a result of the expansion of Peanut Corporation of Americas (PCA) Salmonella related recall to include all peanut ingredient products produced in their Blakely, Georgia facility since January 1, 2007, Weaver Popcorn Company has issued a precautionary voluntary recall for the following product:9.5 oz. Trails End Caramel Corn with Peanuts, with code date markings of 102861 109 JAN 19 08 through 102861 297 JUL 23 09.No other Trail's End or Weaver Popcorn Company products are part of this recall. Consumers with an unopened, sealed popcorn foil bag, with the above listed code dates, can arrange for a refund by calling 1-800-782-4255 (Monday through Friday from 8:00am 3:00pm EST) or by sending an email to ccp@trails-end.com

EARN YOUR WAY TO CAMP ­PTC Late Winter Popcorn Sale:Pine Tree Council has initiated a late winter popcorn sales event to help scouts earn their own way to camp. Details:· Any registered scout may participate.· Sale starts 2/16 and orders must be into the council office by 4/3.· Sale is take-order only. It is conducted individually by the scout and their family. It is not a troop or pack run sale. If you need order sheets, contact the council office (797-5252).· Each scout who sells popcorn will receive a commission of 35% of his total sale in the form of a voucher that can be used for any PTC-sponsored program: PTC Summer Camp, NOAC, 2010 National Jamboree, Philmont or Sea Base (Feb. 2010). It is not available for use to attend an out-of-council camp.· Popcorn is to be picked-up on April 25 at Barber Foods, 56 Milliken St. in Portland from 8 to 11am.· All money must be turned in by May 8 to the council office. Vouchers for camp will not be released until full payment is sent to the council office.For more info, contact Matt Randall at mrandall@bsamail.org or 797-5252 x21. Details can also be obtained off the Pine Tree Council website http://www.pinetreebsa.org

PORTLAND PIRATES SCOUT NIGHT February 28, 7pm vs. Harford. Tickets are $22 and include skating and a movie after the game. Call Ryan Delaney at 828-4665 x 309 to order tickets.

SCOUTING SKI DAYS Please contact Matt Mower (contact info is further below) for more info on these tickets. The first price is the Jr ticket and the second price is the adult ticket price: Shawnee Peak (yes, two dates!), March 1 ($24/$29)Mt Abram, March 8 ($22/$27) Senior District Executive Matt Mower at mmower@bsamail.org or 797-5252 ext 27

Looking for Scouting Info?
Visit the Pack 603 website: http://pack603augusta.blogspot.com/
-Local news, national scouting news, links galore, useful information, program helps, and more!