On March 8, Pack 1892 Bear Scout Constantine H. and his brother, Tiger Scout Nicholas H. visited Summit Ropes in Chantilly, Va (near Dulles airport) for an unforgettable afternoon of climbing. The two scouts had never attempted anything comparable to the course, but with the constant encouragement and personal support of the facility’s staff, the scouts overcame their initial fears and discovered that they really could do it!
When the five girls of troop 987 first met, they each decided that they needed to be the Senior Patrol Leader. (We put that decision off for a bit.) One thing they did agree on was that they all wanted to be the nation’s first female Eagle Scout. I carefully discussed the difficulties with such a task, but they were undaunted. I explained this was something that would require pure dedication and a lot of luck, but our boy troop’s philosophy has always been, “Scout led… no matter what”, so I did what any Scout leader would have done, and turned to the experts.
Five years ago, Jeffrey H., one of our Eagle Scouts, commented that it was impractical to make scouts wait for summer camp to take part in a program that could easily be completed at home. I told him if he saw a problem in the world, he should work to fix it. His answer was to create our New Scout Quest (NSQ) program, which he then led until his election to Senior Patrol Leader. The basis for his program was that if Scouts were busy at meetings and ranked up faster, then they would stay active in the program. He began creating and scheduling lessons based on a belief that if the Scouts knew what was planned, they would be more likely to attend the meetings and continue Scouting. The following year we had a 95% retention rate. He trained the instructors in this method, and when he turned 18 in October, we had a fully functional program for new Scouts.
So when the girls talked about their objectives, three of my Scouts came to mind immediately. We would need Jeffrey, of course, but we would also need the instructors, Alex G. and Bill G. who had spent the last 4 years leading and refining the course. All three were more than excited to help, although one had to join as an adult leader. They began preparations for this new program. The girls this year are an exciting and unique chance to show just how dynamic this program is. Three of the five have older brothers who are Eagle Scouts. One has an older brother who is a 13 year old Life Scout, and one will be the first Eagle Scout in her family! They have been watching their brothers have a great time at scouting and have waited for their chance to shine.
As they joined, they each received a Scout handbook. They worked for a couple of weeks to learn the requirements for Scout, and then met on February 1st to kick off Family Scouting and become the first girls to attend a Scoutmaster conference and receive the Scout rank. They attended their first camp out in February (these girls are tough!) and three of them (Annalise S., Abby E., and Katie H.) attained the rank of Tenderfoot a few days ago. The other two – Victoria S. and Sarah J. – will receive it next week at our next meeting.
As a Scoutmaster I have seen more than a hundred scouts attend our NSQ program. Almost all of them are 11. I have noticed that the girls are less distracted and learn the book skills a great deal faster than the boys. The boys are more adept at the physical skills such as fire building and orienteering. This is an observation that may help your program adapt to the different needs of a girls program. It is amazing to watch history be made with a group of girls who are so driven to be great Scouts.
Hey Cub Scouts (and Cub Scout parents) – have you ever wanted to meet a famous scientist? Do you want to find out what it’s really like to be an engineer? Do you have a science project that you want to share? Or do you like math games and puzzles? We have all that and more for Cub Scouts at STEM U!
Sign up right now for STEM U on June 15 at Microsoft Training Center in Reston!
And bring your mom, dad and the whole family because there will be great things for them to learn too!
Earlier this month Troop 248G took the Hornaday hike, one of the HOST trails through Washington, DC. Six Scouts and three adult leaders joined the hike that commenced at the Smithsonian Zoo at 8 am and wrapped up at the Smithsonian Castle around 1:30 pm. The hike was about 6.2 miles in total.
Four of the Scouts completed the entire hike and the associated eight Hornaday-specific trivia questions, and got their hike card stamped at the WWII memorial. Another of the Scouts got her hike card stamped at the WWII memorial and answered 6 of 8 trivia questions, which is the minimum threshold for earning the hike pin.
The Scouts met many people along the way, including a Canadian Scout from Quebec as well as several WWII and Korean War vets who were there for an honor flight visit.
The Hornaday Hike overlaps much of the hike trail with the Colin Livingstone HOST hike. However, the trivia questions to earn the pin are unique. The hike was a lot of fun but be aware that many of the hike notes or directions are cryptic and it took us some time to orient properly. Now that I know where certain items are or what hint a hike item refers to, I think the hike could be winnowed down to a solid 4.5 hours.
The local Venturing Officers Association (VOA) held a Court of Honor on Saturday, May 18. Congratulations to the 9 recipients of the Council’s Venturing Leadership Award!
Youth recipients were Thomas Howard (incoming VOA President), Johana Marroquin, Melissa Mader, and Elana Taylor.
Adult recipients were Pam Chu (incoming VOA Advisor), Katie Kahkonen, Stanley Kwok, Ken Barret, and Arrie Heck.
Kudos to the VOA officers hosting the event — it was a great turnout and fun to see so many familiar faces!
Scouts BSA Girl Troop 199
It’s one thing to hear about change, it’s another thing to be a Change Leader!! And we have such a group of Leaders – both Adult and Youth – in Aquia District.
With the recent change to Scouting BSA, Aquia District started its first Troop for girls on February 4, 2019 – officially, Troop 199G in Stafford County, VA. The Scouters who helped organize this pioneering effort include Scoutmaster – Sharon Patrick, Committee Chair – Amanda Tyler, and COR – Brian Freeman.
The Troop started with only five Scouts – these pioneers are: Rose Armstrong, Brenna Futrell, Sylvia Robles, Emily Surette, and Kaitlyn Tyler – and in just a few short months Troop 199G has grown over 100% to 13 Scouts (and counting) – Abby Deputy, Bella Hammond, Kate Marcinkevicius, Katie Ramos, Becca Reynolds, Marley Schneider, Micaela Walker, and Paige Walser. The Troop is led by Senior Patrol Leader, Rose Armstrong.
Getting off to a fast start, the Scouts enjoyed their first outdoor experience during a New Scout Campout on March 29-31, 2019 at Ferry Farms, Scouts worked on earning their Totin’ Chip and Fireman Chit and practiced basic knot-tying skills. A fun time and adventure was had by all, especially those Scouts who had never been camping before this event.
The Patrol Leader Council (PLC) planned the Troop’s next campout which was held April 26-28, 2019 in Devil’s Marbleyard in Natural Bridge, VA. Scouts rose to the challenge of their first 5-mile hike – socks, boots, backpacks, food and water all organized so the Scouts would Be Prepared – it’s not just a motto, it’s a way of life! Along the way, the Scouts worked on map and compass skills to meet BSA advancement and merit badge requirements.
Along with other normal Troop activities, the Scouts will be working with a Merit Badge Counselor on the Weather Merit Badge in May and participating in the 2019 Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria on May 25th, an annual service project that local Stafford and Fredericksburg Scouts participate in to honor Civil War soldiers who died so that our Nation could live. A lot of work by many Scouts’ hands and a very impressive sight, if you get a chance to visit at dusk when thousands of candles, each in its individually prepared paper sack, are all aglow among the headstones marking the graves of these heroes of yesteryear.
In June the Troop will continue with outdoor activities, including going to Lake Arrowhead in Luray, VA to have fun camping, hiking, working on Merit Badge requirements and just sitting around a campfire enjoying an early summer evening and each other’s company.
And it’s going to continue being a terrific summer with six Scouts from Troop 199G attending summer camp at Camp Enon in July. Summer camp adventures, fun and creating life-long memories are always extra special at Summer Camp.
Everything these Scouts do as a Troop is a first and especially in this very first year of existence! What a great adventure and what a great group of pioneers making Scouting even bigger and better than it ever was – reaching more Youth and more families than ever before in BSA history. The Scouts are excited to be part of the Scouting program and are looking forward to even more outings and activities as the year progresses.
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