Sled Derby Information

Pack 857 Sled Derby

Sunday, Jan. 30th at Lion's Park Hill in Cary
-- Check-in/Inspection starts at 12:00
-- Design Contest 12:45
-- Races Start at 1:00

* If No Snow, Event will be held on Sunday, Feb 13th

Rules...
-- Only cardboard, duct tape, rope can be used to construct the sleds... decorations can include paint & marker
-- sled cannot be wrapped in plastic, shrink-wrapped or anything else
-- no wood glue, industrial adhesives, staples, nails, screws or wire are permitted
-- keep designs Scout-friendly
-- duct tape or wax can be used on the bottom of the sled

Racing...
-- must have at least 3 Scouts on the sled during the Den Race
-- participants must wear helmets - bike helmets are OK
-- costumes are encouraged
-- push starts allowed, no running starts
-- all sleds, parts & participants must cross the finish line
-- sleds will be run in heats of 2-3 sleds (depending on number of sleds) with heat winner advancing

Categories... (1x for Racing / 1x for Design)
-- Den Race (must have at least 3 scouts on the sled)
-- Single Scout / Family Division -- for sleds constructed at home: This division will include single Scout racers and family groups
-- Adult division -- for single sledders and groups of adults who are young at heart

Merry Cary Parade 12/5

Pack 857 will be participating in the Merry Cary Parade on Sunday, December 5th.

• Line-up will is from 12:00-12:45 on Wulff Street near the intersection of W. Main & Wulff in Cary. There will be limited parking at the Park District building - so plan ahead.
• P857 will be in Position #18 amongst the groups in the parade
• Scouts should dress warm! (hats, gloves, warm jacket)
• We will be walking (no trailer)
• We are allowed to throw candy to the spectators -- families should provide candy for their boy(s). The Pack will not provide candy.

See you there!

Next Pack Meeting 11/15 at 6:45pm

Next Pack Meeting is Monday, Nov 15th - NEW START TIME - 6:45

• * The new start time is so we can for sure be done by 8:00 (if not a smidge earlier - we try to have these meetings last 1 hour)
• this month, we will set the chairs up in a double horse-shoe... with parents and family sitting behind their Scouts
• if your Scout is misbehaving, I'd like you to take primary responsibility for correcting him (and hey - you'll be sitting right there)
• Tiger Dens - you're on point for setup & cleanup. We WILL set up chairs this time.. so be there at 6:30
• Wolf Den - Flag Ceremony

Popcorn Pickup Will Be Saturday Morning 11/13 - WE NEED VOLUNTEERS

• Missy or Deb will be sending out a more detailed email later this week about Popcorn Pickup (it will be Saturday morning)
• But WE NEED VOLUNTEERS Saturday morning to drive out to Woodstock and pick up the popcorn, then to sort it once it comes back to Cary.
• About 4-5 volunteers with minivans should be sufficient.
• If you are willing to volunteer, please email or call Missy Burns

Corn Maze - No Rain!

It was great seeing Pack 857 out at Richardson's Corn Maze yesterday... Thanks Mrs. Hare for organizing this great event - and for scheduling it on a DRY day!

Next Pack Meeting - MONDAY OCTOBER 18

1) Our Membership chair reports that FIFTEEN families have not yet paid their dues for the year (and only 2 have talked to her to make arrangements). Dues are now Over-Due ($50 or $56 for the year depending on whether you are going to get Boys Life Magazine). Please contact Chris Logan (clogan234@yahoo.com or 847-516-7845) if you need more information.

2) Popcorn Orders AND MONEY are due at the Pack Meeting. In past years, the Pack has spent a lot of time and effort chasing down "IOU's" for popcorn, so we will not order popcorn that's not paid in advance. Also - the Popcorn Team requests that you keep any cash you've received from the sales and write a personal check to Pack 857 for that amount because this makes the bank deposit much easier for them.

3) We're having a Halloween Party at the Pack Meeting - we'll do advancements and awards first, then a bunch of our great parents have volunteered to run different games and stations for the boys. I need your help maintaining a somewhat controlled level of chaos at this meeting - I've been getting a lot of feedback that "the parents need to be better behaved at the meetings" -- ex. not talking during advancements or announcements, and also being responsible for their boys if their behavior is out-of-hand. Again - I need your help!

The boys should wear their normal Scout uniforms to the meeting -- no costumes please.

4) I'd like to "raise the bar" with regard to our Pack Communications -- so during the Pack Meeting, I'd like to have a BRIEF parents meeting to discuss "our plan" for the year - and also to talk about how we can do a better job getting information into your hands. I've been creating newsletters for the pack meetings, but usually bring home more than get taken.... I also had a parent just tell me they didn't know we had a website (www.carypack857.com) -- we do! So I want to use this quick meeting to talk about how we can put the right information into your hands as parents.

5) The pack will be collecting donations for the "Presents for Pets" initiative (see attached flyer). The organization greatest needs are used towels and blankets, kitty litter, cat food, cleaning supplies and kongs for dogs. Any Scout who brings in a "Present for a Pet" will receive a special patch segment

Sorry for the lengthy email. See you next Monday!

Yours in Scouting,
Kyle

Bike Rodeo at Sept. Pack Meeting (9/27)

• Pack 857 will be hosting a "Bike Rodeo" on Monday, September 27th at 6:30 p.m. at Deer Path School for our Pack Meeting.
  
  * the meeting was pushed back 1 week due to the music program at Three Oaks school which many of our families wanted to attend

This is going to be a GREAT event - definitely consider inviting a friend to come check out what Cub Scouts is all about.

• Bring Bike Helmets!
• If it's convenient for your family to transport it to Deer Path School, bring your boy's bike (yes, I originally said "don't bring a bike")
• If your boy doesn't have a bike... or still has a bike with training wheels that he doesn't want the other boys to see, they can bring a scooter
• We will have some bikes and scooters to share
• If your family will ride bikes to Deer Path for the meeting (instead of driving), be sure you have lights on your bikes for the ride home (it will be dark at 7:30 when the meeting is over)

August Pack Meeting in the Books!

Wow - What a Great first Pack Meeting last night! I am so encouraged to see how many new Tiger Cubs we have joining the Pack - Welcome! We had several hand-outs at the meeting last night... These are all posted in the Documents section of the website...

• August 2010 Pack 857 Newsletter
• Cub Scout Fun Day / Extreme Pinewood Derby Flyer (9/12)
  Families are encouraged to attend this FREE event. You can also pre-register and race a Rocket-Powered Pinewood Derby Car!
• Aircamp Flyer (9/25)
  In order to accomodate our families' schedules, P857 families will be self-registering for this event onsite at AIRCAMP. Planned activities for Cub Scouts run from 9-5, so please plan to enjoy the day at AIRCAMP on your family's schedule.
• Family Talent Survey
  Please complete the Family Talent Survey and return it to one of the leaders.

Updated Parents Guide Posted

The Pack 857 Parents Guide has been updated - the new version is posted to the "Documents" section of the website.

Pack Calendar Showing Pacific Time...

Hi Pack 857 - quick note to let you know that the Pack Calendar on our website is currently showing all events in Pacific Time (this is a Google sites-wide issue that is under investigation) - so please check the time zones on all events shown here.

Welcome back Pack 857!

I hope you had a GREAT Summer... We'll be kicking off the 2010-2011 Cub Scouting year with our first Pack Meeting on Monday, 8/30 at 7:00 at Deer Path School (cafeteria)

If your boy(s) have friends who might want to check out what our Pack is going to be doing this year - this would be a GREAT meeting for them to attend.

New Scouts are ALWAYS Welcome in Pack 857

Can't wait to see you on 8/30!
- Kyle

A Camping We Will Go...

Here we are - the day before our annual Family Campout - and your Cubmaster is practically Giddy. There's nothing a Scout loves more than a good campout. Some of our (cough cough) newer leaders have been sending me weather reports this week -and it seems they might be a little worried. Never fear - we have a backup plan just in case!

Remember - this is Cub Scouts and we don't want to ruin anyones' Scouting experience at this stage with a miserable wet night of camping. There will be plenty of opportunities for these boys to have miserable wet nights of camping later in their Scouting careers.

So - If Mother Nature is not cooperating with our original schedule...
10 – 1 Setup personal camping gear, have lunch and activities
1:00 Hike
2:00 Fishing
3:30 Make Foil Pack Dinners
4:30 ROCKET LAUNCH
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Ceremony, then campfire, cobbler & s’mores
Sleep over Saturday night

We will go with "Plan B"
10 – 4:30 lunch and activities (time much more flexible)
4:30 ROCKET LAUNCH (if there's no lightning)
5:30 Dinner (no foil packs, just burgers & dogs on the grill)
7:00 Ceremony, then candle campfire, cobbler & (uncooked) s’mores
* all of Plan B would take place under the shelter at The Hollows group campsite

If there is significant weather (e.g. lightning) where even being under the shelter is not safe... or if anyone sees a guy with a beard building a boat because it's raining that hard (other than Mr. Leonard), we will obviously cancel the event

I can't wait to see you all Saturday!

Pack Meeting "Take Flight"

GREAT Pack Meeting tonight P-857....
-- Great Attendance! We had our entire Pack there minus just 2 boys
-- Great Behavior by the Scouts and siblings!
-- GREAT Program (Thanks Mr. Gonzalez!)
-- Great job Den Leaders dressing up so I wasn't the only one wearing a costume (oh wait... you didn't...)

Seriously though - GREAT Meeting tonight. Here are some pictures



As I mentioned at the end, we have lots of "needs" for volunteers with the Pack... including Pack Secretary, Camping (Day Camp, Family Camp, or Both) Chair, Newsletter Writers, Photographer. If you can make time for the boys in this capacity, please talk to Paul Neal or me. Who knows - maybe you can get inducted into the honorary order of the juvenile goat too (after all, it is all about the kids)

Yours in Scouting,
Kyle

Reminder... Pack Mtg Monday at 6:30 (Early Time)

Just a quick reminder that our Pack Meeting will start EARLY at 6:30 p.m. Monday night, March 15th. Mr. Gonzalez has an AWESOME program planned - Cubs.... prepare to TAKE FLIGHT!

2010 Blue & Gold Banquet Pictures

Pack 857 Leaders Needed

As Paul mentioned at the Blue & Gold banquet today, we're looking for parents to step up into the following leadership positions for the pack for 2010-2011...

• Assistant Cubmaster
• Pack Committee Secretary
• Summer Camp Coordinator
• Family Campout Chair
• Popcorn Kernal
• Pinewood Derby Chair
• Committee Members

If you have any questions about these positions, please talk with Kyle or Paul.

Congratulations Webelos 2's!

Pack 857 would like to congratulate our new Arrow of Light recipients. They will receive their Arrows at the Blue & Gold banquet on Sunday, February 28th - then most of them will be crossing over into Boy Scout Troops. Congratulations to Patrick, Chris, Joey K., Cole, Nathaniel, Trey, Joshua, Jack and Joey W on attaining Cub Scouting's highest rank: The Arrow of Light.

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