Cubmaster Minute

A campfire is a remarkable thing. It can be bright enough to light the path back to our tent, and it can be small enough to just barely see. Why is this? It’s because of the fuel that we put into the fire – the logs, the kindling, and the oxygen. Sometimes we Cubs are like the campfire. How strong we are is dependent upon the fuel we receive from our leaders and our parents. The better the fuel, the stronger our personal “campfire’ will be. I encourage you to always challenge your den leaders and your parents to give you the best fuel, or the best program, they can give you.

"Don’t Fight Your Pack"

An excerpt from: “The Book of Camp-Lore and Wood Craft” originally written by Dan Beard in 1920.

When we speak of ‘fighting the pack’, we mean fighting the load; that does not mean getting one’s load up against a tree and punching it with one’s fists or ‘kicking the stuffings out of it’, but it means complaining and fretting because the load is uncomfortable.…the mind has as much to do with carrying the load as the muscles. If the mind gives up you will fall helpless under a small load; if the mind is strong you will stagger along under a very heavy one.

When I asked a friend, who bears the scars of the pack straps on his body, how he managed to endure the torture of such a load, he replied with a grin that as soon as he found that to ‘fight his pack’ meant to perish – meant death!-he made up his mind to forget the blamed thing and so when the pack wearied him and the straps rubbed the skin off his body, he forced himself to think of the good dinners he had had at the Camp-fire Club of America, yum! yum! Also, of all the jolly stories told by the toastmaster and of the fun he had had at some other entertainments. Often while thinking of these things he caught himself laughing out loud as he trudged along the lone trail, FORGETTING the hateful pack on his back. ‘In this way’, said he, with a winning smile upon his manly and weather-beaten face, ‘I learned how not to fight the pack but to FORGET IT! Then he braced himself up, looked at the snow-capped mountain range ahead, hummed a little cowboy song and trudged on over the frozen snow at a scout’s pace.

Now that you know what a pack is, and what ‘fighting the pack’ means, remember that if one’s studies at school are hard, that is one’s pack. If the work one is doing is very hard, difficult, or tiresome, that is one’s pack. If one’s parents are worried and forget themselves in their worry and speak sharply, that is one’s pack. Don’t fight your pack; remember that you are a woodcrafter; straighten your shoulders, put on your scout smile and hit the trail like a man!

If you find you are tempted to break the Scout Law, that you are at times tempted to forget the Scout Oath, that because your camp mates use language unfit for a woodcrafter or a scout, and you are tempted to do the same, if your playmates play craps and smoke cigarettes, and laugh at you because you refuse to do so, so that you are tempted to join them, these temptations form your pack; don’t give in and fall under your load and whimper like a ‘sissy’ or a ‘mollycoddle’, but straighten up, look the world straight in the eye, and hit the trail like a man!

Some of us are carrying portage packs which we can dump off our shoulders at the end of the ‘carry’, some of us are carrying hiking packs which we must carry through life and can never dump from our shoulders until we cross the Grand Portage from which no voyagers ever return. All our packs vary in weight, but none of them is easy to carry if we fret and fume and complain under the load."

What great words of wisdom, that we can all learn from as we carry our "packs" on hikes and through life.

Monthly Theme: Cub Scout Pockets

What can possibly be in a Cub Scout's pocket? What is in a boy's pocket can tell a lot about who he is and what he likes.The boys can share and show off their collections and maybe even start a new one! Put some marbles in the boy's pockets and teach him how to play the game of marbles. Pick an interest of the boys and go on a field trip to explore and learn about it. Maybe a trip to a rock quarry in search of fossils, or a nature hike around the den meeting site to pick up items. This is also a great month to educate the boys on what can go on their uniform and then make some goals to accomplish their rank advancement, special awards, belt loops and pins, and involvement in camps and council events. This might be a good month to work on the Collecting or Marbles belt loopand pin.

Some of the purposes of Cub Scouting developed through this month’s theme are:

Family Understanding, Cub Scouts and their family members share memories through their collections.
Personal Achievement, Boys take pride in their new interests and collections.
Fun and Adventure, Starting a new hobby is an adventure that can lead to hours of FUN

The core value highlighted this month is:
Honesty: While enjoying and sharing their hobby of collecting, the boys will learn the importance of being trustworthy and loyal.
Cooperation: Cub Scouts will find that when they work together with their buddies, they will have lots of new ideas and collectibles to add to their pockets.
Resourcefulness: Cub Scouts have the opportunity to be creative with the treasures found in their pockets.

School Redistricting

At their August 26 meeting, the Board of Education adopted modified Option 2B. The new attendance area will go into effect for the 2010-2011 school year.

View the Option 2B feeder pattern and maps for elementary, middle and high schools.

In the near future, the FCPS will post a Frequently Asked Questions section on their web page to address transportation, phased enrollment and other logistics resulting from the boundary changes. Schools will also receive maps and other helpful information to assist you. In the meantime, you may email OHSredistricting@fcps.org.

These FCPS regulations provide guidance on many of the questions you may have:
http://apps.fcps.org/dept/legal/200.pdf
http://apps.fcps.org/dept/legal/100-02.pdf

Study Area:
As is typical with the opening of a new high school, the study area for this redistricting was large; it encompasses portions of or entire attendance areas for four existing high school "feeders." All of the following schools were impacted by the redistricting.

Linganore HS
Urbana HS
Governor TJ HS
Walkersville HS

Oakdale MS
New Market MS
Governor TJ MS
Walkersville MS
Urbana MS
Windsor Knolls MS

Centerville ES
Deer Crossing ES
Green Valley ES
Kemptown ES
New Market ES
Spring Ridge ES
Oakdale ES
Twin Ridge ES
Liberty ES
Urbana ES
Walkersville ES

(VIDEO) Cub World

Hey all!

Here is the video that the cub world staff made of our time there. If you keep an eye out at the 2:27 mark you can see all of us!

CubWorld 2009 Session 7 from NCAC BSA on Vimeo.

Cubmaster Minute

We are America today!

As we look down the road Americans have traveled, we see that many of their dreams have come true. We see the towns they have built, the bridges they have crossed, the mountains they have climbed. We feel the hardships they endured. We see places where they hammered off the rough edges of their dreams so we would have a better life today.

The pioneers worked out a way of life, a life of personal freedom that held hope for tomorrow. They made history yesterday – but it is up to us to make it today. This is our land. Here, men and women of the past lived and worked and died serving great ideals. These ideals were freedom and justice.

None of us can fail to carry his part of this great dream to his children and to his children’s children. Our land is rich in material goods, but also in history – in living legends of the people who left their mark on America. Our own past speaks to us and as we listen we hear the voice of the past saying, “Hear me now. Courage, endurance and faith built America, and what was built was good. If you build the same way, the future will also be good.”

Monthly Theme: Fun in the Sun

Let's go outside and have some fun in the sun!!! It is a great time for a pack to have a picnic at the park, or travel to a historic place. The Cub Scouts and their families will get to know the new families and welcome them to the pack. Everyone will enjoy great picnic food, fun games, and wonderful fellowship.

Some of the purposes of Cub Scouting developed through this month’s theme are:
Sportsmanship & Fitness, Cub Scouts will develop good sportsmanship while participating in outdoorgames.
Fun and Adventure, Cub Scouts will have fun being out doors and learning how early American's lived.
Family Understanding, Cub Scouts and their families will spend a fun-filled day out with everyone else.

The core value highlighted this month is:
Respect. Boys learn to respect nature as they learn how to take care of it.
Health and Fitness. Spending time outdoors is important to physical and mental well-being. Cub Scouts learn that playing games and being active is a fun way to be fit.

Mount Vernon

On August 1, 2009 we traveled to Mount Vernon home of George Washington our Country's first President.

We infact were the first to arrive at the gate at a bright and early 7:30 AM.

We arrived that early so that we could participate in a flag raising before the house opened to the public.

Chase Tracy (Glunt) was to be our flag raiser as the other boys formed a semi-circle around the pole and we prepared to raise the colors.

Then it was back outside the gate to await the official openning.

Since almost all of us had tickets already, we headed directly to the mansion to grab a tour of the home before heading over to Washington's grave where we were able to participate in a wreath laying in his tomb.

First our two scouts led all those present in the Pledge of Alliegance

Then they prepared to place the wreath in Washington's tomb.

After that Mr. Marron read Washington's Prayer to all present.

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have the United states in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for brethren who have served in the field; and finally that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

Then we walked down to the Slave's Memorial in dedication to all those slaves who served Washington and were buried on his property in this location.

After that it was off to the farm where everyone present was able to witness Mr. Marron slipping down the hill and falling flat on his bottom.

Too bad no one got that on tape.

We ate lunch and then split up to go our own way and find out what Mount Vernon held in store for us all. What a day, we hope to do it again real soon as ther is so much to see that you need a few days to cover it all.

Our Navy Yard Trip

As one of our Summertime activities we took a trip to the Washington Navy Yard to visit the Navy Museum on July 18.

This was our first view as we entered the museum.

To the left was a fullsize display of Old Ironsides.

The museum was filled with hand built models of every type of ship that served in the US Navy.

As well as guns from the war ships.

The boys especially loved climbing on and manning the guns.

Out side on the dock was the Display Ship Barry which you could also walk through.

Finally we took a break and posed for this picture before walking back to the metro station and returning home.

Our next trip? Mount Vernon home of our country's first President, George Washington.

Day Camp Thoughts

I wasn't able to attend day camp this year, but from what I hear a lot of fun was had by all.

Shaun KewalRamani (Wolf) had this to say:

My favorite thing about cub scout camp was the loud mouth award. We didn’t win, but I have a feeling that we were the loudest little group. We sang “Cub scouts wear no socks”, “I don’t know, but I’ve been told that the scouts of unit A are really bold”, and “Bug Juice.” We called ourselves American Thunder. I am a new wolf scout, and next year I will be back and louder.

Way to go Shaun!

And of course...a pic!