Greetings and welcome to the Cub Scout Pack 25's official homepage.

On behalf of the Committee, Leaders, Scouts and their families, welcome to the web site of Cub Scout Pack 25 Northborough, Massachusetts.

We hope this site shows how our Scouts participate in many fun filled character developing activities which reinforces Cub Scouting’s Core Values.

Each boy completes specific program achievements and elective activities as he works through the various levels of Cub Scouting. His accomplishments are recognized with the presentation badges, belt loops, and pins.

At all times, the Cub Scout Motto “Do Your Best” is encouraged. Through volunteer leadership, the parents, leaders, and organizations work together to achieve the Purposes of Cub Scouting. We thank them all.

March 2008
Pack 25 Newsletter

Blue & Gold Banquet - Saturday, March 15  6:00 P.M. Nobscot White Lodge

Theme:   Magic
The big event is almost here!  There will be food, awards, magic tricks, and the Webelos-2 Cross Over ceremony to Boy Scouts this year.

Cub Scouts:  Please wear your uniform and be ready to perform your magic trick.

Families:  Please bring a potluck dish (appetizer, main dish, side dish, but NOT dessert).

Den Leaders:  Please arrive early (5:45) with your den’s Top Hat centerpieces and placemats.

Note the Pack is providing paper supplies, coffee, hot chocolate, bug juice, and the Cub Scout birthday cake :-). Thank You Colleen Ahlquist for organizing this year’s banquet!  Thank You everyone for helping to clean up at the end.

Directions:

Take Rte 20 East past the Wayside Inn, through the blinking light, past the Sudbury Plaza
Turn Right on Nobscot Rd. (before the RR tracks and Sudbury Farms) for 1.5 mi. to
Turn Right into Nobscot Boy Scout Reservation.
Bear Right, and park in the first or second parking lot.
Walk straight into camp, past McGee lodge, up the hill to the left to White Lodge.

Den Leader’s to do list:  If any of your scouts have earned advancements, please contact Pete Tobin (393-2836) or pjtobin62@aol.com  by Sunday, 12/2 in order to distribute them this month.

Pinewood Derby Results

2008 Pinewood Derby
Rules and Details here

Scout Outdoor Activity Award

Tiger Cubs, Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts have the opportunity to earn the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award. Boys may earn the award in each of the program years as long as the requirements are completed each year. The first time the award is earned, the boy will receive the pocket flap award, which is to be worn on the right pocket flap of the uniform shirt. Each successive time the award is earned, a wolf track pin may be added to the flap. Leaders should encourage boys t o build on skills and experiences from previous years when working on the award for a successive year.

Check out the requirements here.

Town Cleanup:  April 26

Note:  you can get your assignment Saturday morning, but then do the clean-up any time over the weekend.  The DPW picks up the garbage bags along the road on Monday morning.

Den Assignments  

Everybody gets to help make the Pack Meetings to run well.

Note that everyone should cleanup their own area after every meeting, and push their chairs in.  The Cleanup den takes care of the common areas.

March Preview

This spring Pack 25 will hold their first ever (or at least in recent memory) Rocket Derby!  Pick up your Rocket kit at the Blue & Gold Banquet.  (Sibling kits will also be available for $5.)  The rockets are powered by twisted rubber bands, and they fly along a horizontal string.  It should be a bigger building project than the Rain Gutter Regatta Boats, but less involved than the Pinewood Derby.  Similar to the Rain Gutter Regatta, we will do single elimination den races, and those winners will compete with each other.  There will NOT be static judging (for most colorful, etc.)  Winners get a ribbon, and bragging rights ;-).

Broad Meadow Brook Audubon Sleepover
April 18

Come join us and a Mass Audubon naturalist on Friday, April 18 while we explore the trails of nearby Broad Meadow Brook Reservation in Worcester.  There are workshops before our night hike, and then on our hike, we may find the nocturnal animals we have learned about.  Afterwards we return to the nature center for more activities and to sleep indoors.  The cost is $20 a person (the extra $5 is for the bedtime snack and breakfast we bring ourselves).  They will take 20 up to a maximum of 40 people Check it out at http://www.massaudubon.org/PDF/sanctuaries/broadmeadow/bmbscouts_overnights.pdf .

Download the sign-up flyer:

Thank You Dan Clark for organizing this!

Youth Protection Training Every Adult Cub Scout volunteer is required to take Youth Protection Training once every three years.  It is recommended we take it every two years.  Camp Councilors need to renew it every year.  Since most Council camp opportunities need volunteers, they let your son go free if you sign up to help!  They provide the camp training.  You’ll save time if you take the Youth Protection Training in advance.  Conveniently, it’s now available on line, and easy to find at http://olc.scouting.org, or, if you look around a little, www.ktc-org.  It takes less than an hour, and they send you a new card in the mail.  Conveniently, Fast Start and other useful training is also available at the same web site.

New Space Patch

There’s a cool new space patch your boys can earn.  Check it out at www.charlesinspace.com.  In fact, there are a lot of extra patches they can earn.  I’ll attach a description of the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award.  The Leave No Trace and World Conservation awards are in your son’s handbook.  There’s also a Citizenship ribbon, and a Recruit-a-friend patch, and of course the Sports and Academic Belt Loops and pins.  If you’re interested, you can find more on the Boy Scout website www.scouting.org or the Knox Trail website www.ktc-bsa.org.

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Cub Scout Religious Rewards

Duty to God is a fundamental principle of Scouting.  All are encouraged to be faithful in the practice of their religion. Virtually every organized religion sponsors awards for Cub Scouts.  You can find out about your own religion’s awards from your local religious leaders.  Some of them are also listed on the BSA website.  When the awards are inexpensive, the Pack will pay for them.  When they are not, the Pack will pay part and we ask the families to help defray the rest of the cost of the books and supplies. Roman Catholic Cub Scouts can earn either the Light of Christ (Tigers, Wolves), or the Parvuli Dei (Bears, Webelos).  For both awards, the scout completes a workbook and activities with his family, which strengthens their practice of the faith.  As a final step in both awards, the Scout will meet with either Father Gemme, or Father Houston.  Presentations of these awards are made in the parish.  If you are interested in achieving this distinction, please contact Steve Wall at (508) 393-3042 or scw2205@aol.com. Steve is coordinating this for our Pack

Major Awards

This time of year, all the boys are finishing up their Cub Scout badges:  the Webelos finish the Webelos badge, the Bears finish the Bear badge, the Wolves finish the Wolf badge, and the Tigers finish their Tiger badge.  Knox Trail Council keeps track of which boys have earned these, so there is extra paper work to get them.  Please give Pete Tobin at least 2 weeks notice before your boys hope to receive them.  Typically, the Tigers receive theirs at the Tiger Graduation, and the Bears receive theirs at the Buffalo Blood Ceremony.  The Webelos and Wolves may get theirs when they have finished, in April, May, or June.  Keep in mind, you can’t earn Wolf/Bear arrow points until after you earn the corresponding badge, and after June, you are at the next level, and will start working on the next level’s badge.  (So finishing early usually means earning more arrow points.)  You are encouraged to finish your age level badge first.  But don’t forget your boys can also earn the Conservation Award, Leave No Trace Award, Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award, your church’s Youth Award, Sports and Academic Belt Loops and Pins, as well as others.  The requirements are often in your son’s handbook, or if not, available in the Scout Shop or on line.

Pack Committee Meetings

The Pack Committee Meets about once a month to make sure that the Pack activities are going smoothly.  All parents are welcome!  We meet again (always at 7:30 P.M. at the Fire Station) on January 6 and February 10.  We’ll pick the dates for future meetings that night, as well as map our spring program.   Come join us and influence the direction of the pack.

Dates to remember

Volunteer Opportunities:  Cub Scouts is a values based, volunteer run organization.  You can make sure your son has a good experience by volunteering!  Besides helping in your den, these Pack positions are open:  Adult Training Coordinator, Publicity Coordinator (get us in the newspaper.  We also need a Pack Committee Chair (to do behind-the-scenes Pack organization).  To volunteer or find out more, contact Dave Covino at (393-5642) or dcovino@jfwhiteproperties.com

For more information, email Pack 25.