May 17-19 - Spring Pack Camp Out

Dear Tiger Cub Akelas:

Our final Pack event for the school-year will be the Spring Pack Camp Out from Friday, May 17, to Sunday, May 19.  We will be camping out again at the Sycamore Springs Park, located at 717 West Tunnel Hill Road in English, IN.

Alex Kuprion, our Cubmaster, will be heading down Friday after school to set up our campsite.  You may camp out Friday night, Saturday night, or both nights.  I will be camping with my three scouts on Saturday night.  If you're planning on going, please let me know, so I can get a rough idea of how many scouts will be camping.

You will need to provide your own tent and sleeping supplies, along with your own food and drinks (and anything you might need to prepare your food).  There will be a campfire in the evening.  Here's a list of some other things you might not want to forget:

• Scout uniform shirt (we will have a flag retirement ceremony after sundown)
• Camp chairs
• Flashlights
• Extra clothes
• Towels (where there is water, there will be wet Scouts)
• Outdoor games/activities/sporting equipment
• Leave the electronics at home (or in the car)!

There is no charge for camping, and firewood will be provided.

You will be able to park and unpack your car at the campsite, so speaking from experience, it is much better to have too much than not enough!

Finally, the Boy Scouts of America have a few rules that we must always enforce on any overnight Scout event:

• No alcohol or tobacco products are allowed.  If you must use tobacco, please do so out of site of any kids other than your own.
• No youth is permitted to sleep in the tent of an adult other than his or her own parent or guardian.
• One-on-one contact between adults and Scouts is prohibited.  There must be at least two adults present when you are with any child other than your own.
• For more information on Safe Scouting, please follow this link: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS.aspx

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  I hope to see you all there!

May 15 - Crossover Ceremony

Dear Tiger Cub Akelas,

On Wednesday, May 17, we will hold our Annual Pack 327 Crossover Ceremony for all the boys advancing to the next rank.  The ceremony will be held at 7:00 PM in the St. Albert Courtyard, between the church and school, near the flagpole.  This is our final Pack meeting for the 2012-2013 school year.

All of the boys in our den have received their Tiger Badge and are eligible to advance to in rank to Wolf.  Hopefully, all of our scouts will be continuing on, but if you do not plan on participating in Cub Scouts next year, or if you will not be able to attend the ceremony, please let me know ASAP.

If your Scout will be continuing on and you will be participating in the ceremony, here a few things you need to know:

• An important part of the ceremony is the changing of the neckerchiefs.  During the ceremony, you, as your scout's adult partner, will remove his orange Tiger neckerchief and replace it with the yellow Wolf neckerchief.  You can purchase a new yellow Wolf neckerchief and slide at the Scout Shops.  Please do so before the ceremony on Tuesday!  If you will not be able to make it to the Scout Shops before next Wednesday, please let me know.  I will be going to the store and can pick one up for you, but you will have to reimburse the Pack for the cost.  It is preferable if you just buy your own.  While you're at the store, you may want to also pick up a Wolf Handbook.
• We will be serving cake at the end of the ceremony.  Please bring a 2 liter drink to share.
• If you have any camp cards or money to be turned in, this is your last chance to do so.  Please bring them with you.

I have truly enjoyed working with all of the boys this year in the Tiger Den.  It was a pleasure getting to know each of you and your families.  We have a great group of boys, and I'm looking forward to sharing many more wonderful scouting experiences with you all in the years to come!

See you all on Wednesday!