*Our troop meeting tonight (1/28) is cancelled.

*BOARDS OF REVIEW WILL STILL BE HELD BUT IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION – MEET AT THE WINNETKA PARK DISTRICT COMMUNITY ROOM ON HIBBARD – SAME TIMES AS BEFORE.

*Anyone hoping to have a merit badge recognized at the next COH needs to have the blue card turned in today to Julie Erst at 983 Vine Street. Leave the card on the porch.

*Our Court of Honor will begin promptly at 7:30p next Tuesday, February 4 in the Greeley School Auditorium.  Scouts should be in the gym no later than 7:15pm.

*Senior elections for our new Junior Assistant Scoutmaster will now be held on Tuesday, February 11.  Please let me know if you are interested in filling the position.

*First Aid Merit Badge classes start February 11 at 6p in the NSCD cafeteria. Please sign up with Scott Foster sfoster1313@comcast.net .

*Citizenship Merit Badge classes start this Sunday afternoon. Contact Mark Filip for more information mark.filip@kirkland.com.

*Please bookmark and use the troop website at http://wt20.weebly.com/.  Most of your questions can be easily answered by looking at the information there.

*Congrats to our scouts who participated in Saturday’s Klondike Derby at Camp Crown in Wisconsin – Brinton Roberts, Matt Snell, Mark Snell, Brendan Bahan, Thomas Foster, Xavier Schario, Frank Ryan, Andrew Vagra, and Hale Thomas. GREAT JOB OF REPRESENTING TROOP 20!!!!

We have an opening for the scout/staff scuba class that starts Sunday. Please contact Tom Fritts immediately at tfritts@ameritech.net if you are interested.

*Don’t forget we have broomball on Sunday night 6-7:30p at the outdoor Pond on the Green next to the Winnetka Ice Arena.

*With New Trier having finals this week, we will move Senior Elections to the meeting on January 28.

*Boards of Review are Tuesday January 28. If you need a BOR , let Julie Erst know ASAP. Parents, we will need volunteers to sit on the boards that night. The 28th  is also the last day for blue cards to be turned in for recognition at the February Court of Honor.

*Our next committee meeting is Sunday January 26 at 7p. All adults are welcome.

*The Court of Honor is on February 4 at 7:45pm in Greeley Auditorium.

*First Aid merit badge classes begin Tuesday, February 11. More information to follow – HUGE thanks to Dr. Gene Chiao for leading this badge again.

*Charley and I heard from several scouts asking for more time on the ski trip. Please let him know by Thursday.

*All the freeze-out info is below. We need one more dad or we will have to cancel.

Freeze Out Information

Following are the attendees for the Freeze Out.
Reagan Lee
Thomas Foster (not camping - cooking only)
Sean Lawless
Daniel Grossman
Frank Ryan
Mark Vorwald
Matias Hernandez
Brinton Roberts

We only have one dad attending at this point.   We need 2.   The reason is for the mandated Boy Scout 2-deep leadership principal.   If we do not get another parent attending, we will need to cancel the Freeze out.   Please contact me ASAP if you are able to attend the freeze out.   

charley@madedrinks.com

The freeze out will start at 630 PM at Crow Island Woods.  Food will be provided by a group of Turtles that are doing cooking for their 1st class rank.

Quick Notes on Camping Out in Cold Weather

1.         During the day when outside doing activities, do not get sweaty.  When you slow down or stop, your slightly wet base layer will become uncomfortable and make you cold.

2.         Dress in layers that you can add or remove easily depending on conditions.

3.         When going to bed at night, remove all your clothing and put on something that you haven't worn before or that you just wear for sleeping.

4.         Usually you don't need to wear a lot of extra clothing when you go to bed.  Your sleeping bag will keep you warm.  Here are some other tricks to staying warm while sleeping:

·      If the temperature is really cold, add a liner to your sleeping bag to extend its temperature range by 5° or 10°.

·      Wear a clean pair(s) of socks to bed to keep your feet warm.

·      Wear a knitted hat on your head and put a pair of light gloves or glove liners on your hands.

·      If your feet get cold, consider putting a chemical hand warmer in each sock.  They typically last 12 hours and will not burn your skin.

5.         Do not think of your tent as a small hut that will be warmer than the outside.  The advantage of the tent is that it minimizes the wind.  The temperature inside the tent should be the same as the temperature outside the tent.  Give the tent plenty of ventilation.  Otherwise the moisture in your exhaled breath will freeze on the inside walls of the tent as hoarfrost.

6.         Turn your water bottle upside down at night.  Water freezes starting at the top.  When you turn your bottle back upright in the morning, the frozen part will be on the bottom, and you will still be able to take a drink and brush your teeth since the water near the cover will not be frozen.

Cold Weather Camping Tips

There are a handful of things you can bring or do to make a cold weather campout wonderfully fun without getting uncomfortably cold or wet.

•     Dress in layers so it will be easy to match your clothing to the weather, wind and temperature.  Your first layer should be a set of long woolen underwear.

•     Wool clothing is better than cotton since wool insulates even when wet.  And, leave your blue jeans at home; they provide no insulation at all when wet.

•     Dress loosely so there’s some air between the layers.  This means slightly larger outer pants and fleeces than you might ordinarily wear due to clothing that will be beneath.

•     Keeping your extremities warm and functioning is the key to happiness.  Wear a wool hat for your head and ears.  Bring a scarf or a balaclava to cover your face, and earmuffs or flaps for your ears.  Mittens are better at keeping your fingers warm than gloves.  Experienced winter campers own boots that are one to 1-1/2 sizes too large so they can wear boot liners, removable insoles or another pair of socks comfortably.

•     Bring extras—boots, socks, gloves, wool hat, pants, underwear, sleeping gear and so on.  There’s a good chance that your clothes will get wet.  You can stay warm if you can change into clean, dry clothing when the activity that made you sweat or got you wet is over.

•     Bring a tarp and a snow shovel.  If there’s a lot of snow, use the shovel to clear a spot for your tent.  Use the tarp as an extra moisture barrier between your tent floor and the frozen ground.

 

•     If your sleeping bag is not designed for cold weather (zero degrees Fahrenheit or colder), either get a warmer sleeping bag or use a liner.  A down sleeping bag will lose its insulating value when wet whereas a bag filled with synthetic insulation will do better.

 

•     Always change into completely clean, dry clothing before going to bed.  You will sleep warmly and comfortably all night long.

 

The mnemonic for surviving in cold weather is COLD.

 

•     C—wear Clean clothes

•     O—avoid Overheating

•     L--Layer your clothing

•     D—stay Dry.

Troop 20 will hold our first meeting of the new year tomorrow night at 7:45p in the gym at North Shore Country Day School. ASMs, we have several meetings before we start First Aid training on February 11 so please have activities planned for your patrol.

*Permission slips for this weekend’s freeze-out and engineering merit badge trip to Milwaukee are attached as are slips for the February 14-15 ski trip.  PERMISSION SLIPS AND FORMS ARE DUE AT TOMORROW’S MEETING. NO EXCEPTIONS. Details are below.

*We have rescheduled broomball for 6p this Sunday, January 19 at the Pond on the Green next to the Winnetka Ice Rink.

*Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout – Peter Schulz.

*Boards of Review will be held in two weeks on January 28 with our next Court of Honor on February 5 at Greeley School.  If you are advancing or turning in blue cards for merit badges, please plan accordingly.

*We will hold senior elections for a new Junior Assistant Scoutmaster next Tuesday, January 18. Please let me know if you are interested.

*One holdover from the tree lot is a youth XL North Face raincoat in blue camouflage. Please let me know if it is yours.

bob

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Troop 20,

Attached is the permission slip for the upcoming Engineering Merit Badge day at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee plus the Freeze Out to be held at Crow Island Woods.   

Instructions on how to cold-weather camp will be forthcoming.  

For the permission slip, you will need to check which part(s) of the event that you plan to participate.   Some may only do the museum, others are only attending the camping.   The only cost is $5 to the museum for entrance/Merit Badge materials and extra money for food to/from Milwaukee.   For campers, there is no cost, as the troop will cover the food/hot drinks.  

If there is severe weather forecasted, the Troop will cancel the freeze out portion.   

Permission slip is due January 14 at the regular meeting.   Do not bring money to the meeting as the $5 will be paid directly by the Scout to the museum.   The troop will bring blue cards.   

I will be at the Broomball this Friday night to answer any questions.     

Regards, Charley Snell.


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TROOP 20,

The Big Ski Trip is upon us.   Please note that the permission slips, YPTs, Consent forms are due by January 14!

Dates:  February 14 (Friday) through February 16 (Sunday)

Where:  Cascade Mountain near Wisconsin Dells.  Lodging at the Kalahari Resort.

Cost:  $50 per Scout; $25 per Dad.   See permission slip for further details on what is included/excluded in the Cost.

Mandatories:

• Permission Slip & Money due at 1/14/14 Scout Meeting or dropped off at Charley Snell's house at 545 Maple Street.   NO PDF's this time via email.
• Consent Form.   Due at 1/14/14 Scout Meeting or dropped off at Charley's Snell at 545 Maple Street.  No PDF's this time via email.
• For Dad's only:  up-to-date Youth Protection Training certificates.   Include with the permission slip, consent form.    
• We will need one Dad per 4 Scouts.   

For those Scouts & Families that did NOT actively participate in the 2012 Tree Lot, the cost is $250 per person.  See permission slip for details.   

This is a very difficult trip to plan, therefore there will be ZERO exceptions to the timing of the permission slips or the manner in which we request the forms.   

Thanks, this is going to be a wonderful ski & water trip!

Charley Snell, Camping Chair Troop 20

The next Board of Review is Tuesday, January 28.  Please let me know by Friday, January 24 if you will be needing a Board of Review and for which rank(s).  If a Scoutmaster Conference cannot be held by the 24th, let's discuss. 

As always, if your son is having a Board of Review, a parent is required to serve on the Board.  The only exception to this rule is uniformed, registered adult leaders. I will have a better feel for a start time for the 28th, as it depends on the number of Scouts needing a Board.  We generally start the Boards of Review at 7:15, however. 

ASMs, if a Scout is having a Scoutmaster Conference for Star or Life, please make sure he has FULLY completed the four and six month calendar requirements.  The District has been known to hold up Eagle applications for as little as a 10 day difference!

Also, the 28th is the LAST day to turn in blue cards for merit badges.  Any blue cards turned in after the 28th will be held over to May.  If you need assistance in completing a merit badge, please drop me a note.  You may also reference the merit badge counselor listing is on the Troop website. 

Thanks.

Please read this email thoroughly for specific notes about this.

I am making you aware of the annual Northwestern Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Service Fraternity merit badge day onJanuary 18.  There are a SMALL number of spots still available.  They are offering Emergency Preparedness and First Aid.  

The link to register for this is:
 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1idrGFG3iq7jU540eQUqfnh7qymYZIEqrUEPwU9znuJI/viewform

APO will be closing registration VERY SOON for this merit badge opportunity.  As usual, any fees, transportation, and chaperone requirements are the sole responsibility of the Scout family.  

NOTE (1):  THIS MERIT BADGE OPPORTUNITY IS THE SAME DAY AS THE FREEZE OUT CAMPOUT/ENGINEERING MERIT BADGE BOB VORWALD EMAILED YOU ABOUT EARLIER !!!!  

I just wanted to make everyone aware that there was an alternative advancement opportunity should you not be able to attend the camp out on the 18th or engineering merit badge.

NOTE (2):  The Troop offers First Aid in February and March (specific dates to be determined) prior to the regular Tuesday meetings (beginning around 6:30pm or so).  Dr. Chiao leads a multi-week course on the First Aid merit badge.  I have attended one day First Aid merit badges in the past and feel that the way Dr. Chiao presents the information to Troop 20 Scouts leads to better retention and later execution of this important material.  First Aid is a merit badge required for Eagle Scout, however, and if your Scout cannot commit to Dr. Chiao's course, he should give consideration to the 18th, if he is not going on the freeze out campout/engineering merit badge.

Due to the rain and cancellation of other groups, we need to call off our broomball outing at Pond on the Green tonight. We will try to reschedule something for another time this winter.

Tomorrow night, we have rented the Pond on the Green rink from 8-9:30p for broom ball.  The rink is next to the Winnetka Ice Rink on the south side.  No skates or uniforms are needed. Charley Snell and Scott Foster will be on hand to supervise. Warm drinks and snacks will be served.

I will admit to not considering rain an option when planning this early January event, but with all that’s being thrown at us this winter, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Happy New Year to all. Thanks again to all families in the troop for your participation in the tree lot. We had a great season and hopefully you had a great time. Thanks to the Turners for hosting a wonderful parent party.

*There is no scheduled troop meeting tomorrow night so nothing to cancel and no  snide comments about the scouts being afraid of a little cold.

*On Friday night, we have rented the Pond on the Green rink from 8-9:30p for broom ball.  The rink is next to the Winnetka Ice Rink on the south side.  No skates or uniforms are needed. Temps are supposed to be in the 30’s so shorts are optional. Charley Snell and Scott Foster will be on hand to supervise. Warm drinks and snacks will be served.

*Our next troop meeting is Tuesday, January 14 at 7:45pm at North Shore Country Day School.

*The freeze-out campout is coming up Saturday, January 18. Look for permission slips to go out – they will be due next Tuesday. The ski trip is February 14-15 – more info coming on that and because we are booking hotel rooms those slips will probably be due next week as well.