Boy Scout Troop 624

Since Snowzilla forced the cancellation of our regularly scheduled Winter Cabin Camping, the troop will go to Sinoquipe 15-17 April 2016. A fun cabin camp will be had by all. Leave the electronics at home. Bring your hiking boots, a change of clothes, jacket, hat and you Scout Handbooks for advancement activities. The lake will be thawed so throw in your fishing poles too for catch and release! Check the weather next week as we get closer to the date and for the appropriate clothing.

We need $20/Scout (adults are paid for by the troop) for food. Pay Sharon Cunningham at 12 April 2016 meeting or mail her a check.

We need a menu for Saturday b’fast, lunch and dinner. Mr. Knight suggests:

B’fast: juevos con chorizo, fruit and juice
Lunch: cold cut sandwiches, chips, bug juice – we will have three guests – Charlie Hummel and friend and Ranger Rhodes
Dinner: chili or stew and cobbler – we will have four guests – Mason-Dixon
Scout Executive and two committee members and Ranger Rhodes (Ranger Rhodes likes our cooking!)

From the shed we need the following but if we don’t have something let Mr. Knight know and he will buy it with the food on Friday:

Large orange water jugs
Bug juice
Garbage bags and TP
Cooking utensils
Cooking pans and pots
Dutch ovens
Coffee pots
Paper plates, plastic utensils, cups
Aluminum foil and paper towels
Salt/pepper

ARE YOU READY?
March 19th we will move over 3,200 Bags of Mulch!
We will meet at St. Ann’s at 0730 promptly. Please sign in when you arrive.
We will work until all the mulch is delivered and the parking lot at St. Ann’s is cleaned up.
Sign out when you leave.

To all who participated in selling mulch after Mass at St. Ann’s, you can expect to have 42 bags added to your sales total.

Parents, we need your help on Saturday to get the mulch delivered. Please try and bring your truck, SUV, minivan or car to help with the deliveries. We also need help in the yard to move mulch and load trucks.

Any questions, please contact Marty at mdmcgu@gmail.com

2014 mulch madness is underway!  Neighbors and friends love the high-quality hardwood mulch sold by Boy Scout Troop 624.  They also love having the mulch delivered to their homes by a team of scouts!  Tell everyone to get their mulch forms into Mr. McGuigan, mulchmaster supreme, by March 21.  Mulch day is March 29 — that’s when we need every member of the troop (and parents and friends!) to help us deliver all that mulch!

The mulch form (and prices and details for ordering may be found at the following link:   MULCH!!

Troop 624 will soon be going on our annual week-long troop camp to Sinoquipe Scout Reservation.  This is always a terrific event!  We will be leaving from the St. Ann parking lot early on Sunday, June 30, and will be returning on Saturday, July 6.

While at Sinoquipe, campers will have the opportunity to work on rank advancement as well as merit badges.  The available merit badges are in the Sinoquipe Merit Badge Schedule or in more detail in the Sinoquipe Leaders Guide.  If you have not given your desired merit badge schedule to Mr. Knight, please do so ASAP.

Every scout must have an annual physical before Sinoquipe.  Please use the BSA Scout Health Form.  Fill out the relevant pages and take the rest to your doctor.  The completed form should be given to Mary Green before our departure date, or given to her the morning of June 30.

Each scout must also have a completed Permission and Treatment form.  Please bring this form, along with any medications that need to be administered at camp, the morning of June 30.

Scouts must also read, sign, and return the Troop 624 Code of Conduct.  This ensures that scouts understand the behavioral expectations while we are at Sinoquipe.

Parents and scouts should spend some time reviewing the Sinoquipe Leaders Guide. Please pay particular attention to these pages:
pg. 17 – personal gear – what to bring
pg. 18 – what not to bring + no playing cards or cell phones
pg. 20 – medical form requirements – no form, no camping
pg. 27 – no hazing or initiation or bullying – also a T624 policy – violators will be sent home immediately
pg. 32 – 44 – Review MB difficulties
pg. 55 – 56 – Review MB prerequisites
pg. 45 – 46 – MB class schedule

The week at Sinoquipe is always a productive and fun experience for all Troop 624 scouts!  We are all looking forward to this wonderful event!

** update:  Mulch orders now due March 14 **

The annual mulch drive is underway!  The mulch drive is Troop 624’s biggest fundraiser.  Each scout is assigned a territory in the Arlington/Falls Church area in which to distribute fliers advertising bags of high-quality hardwood mulch.

If you are a scout in Troop 624 and are not sure about your territory, please let Scoutmaster Blincoe or Mr. McGuigan know!  This year, mulch orders are due by Thursday, March 14, and the mulch delivery day is Saturday, March 23.  Mulch delivery is a huge job — we need ALL the scouts and families to participate!  The funds from the mulch drive support our programming throughout the year and each individual scout gets “scout account” credits for his sales and for the hours he puts in delivering mulch.  Many scouts are able to pay for all their scout activities for the year from their mulch sales!  The mulch sold by Troop 624 is very high quality and we have many repeat customers.   For prices and more information, view or download the  2013 Troop 624 Mulch Order Form.

Mark your calendar for the Christmas Party and Court of Honor scheduled for December 11! Food, skits, songs, and lots of fun for all!  Families are invited!

We are having a Troop open house on Tuesday, December 4, in the St. Ann parish hall.  Invite any friends or neighbors who might be interested in joining the troop!  Click here for a brochure that you can print out and pass around to stir up interest!

Scouting for Food is an annual Boy Scout led food drive covering the entire Washington, DC metropolitan area. On November 3, Scouts distribute plastic bags to homes in Maryland and Virginia, and flyers at District of Columbia residences. Scouts then return a week later to homes to pick up the food. Since the program launched in 1987, Scouts have collected millions of pounds of non-perishable food items to provide for people in need.

Troop 624 will meet at 8 am at St. Ann’s on Saturday, November 3, for the initial bag distribution.  The following Saturday, November 10, we will meet at 8 am for the collection and sorting of the food.

During the months of July and August, because everyone is so busy with summer activities, troop meetings will be every OTHER week instead of every week.

We will NOT meet on July 10. We will meet on July 17, 31, August 14, and August 28.  Weekly meetings will resume after that.

Just a reminder, everyone going to Sinoquipe needs a BSA physical form signed by a doctor.   You also must print out, read, and sign the Troop 624 Code of Conduct before going to Sinoquipe.  All scouts must also have a Permission and Treatment form filled out and signed by a parent or guardian.