Putting in the Prep. time

Today (7/30) our troop did our swimming test(s) to prepare for our canoeing next week at ward camp. Us leaders, are only 24 years old, but even our energy can't keep up with our scouts...I didn't even swim & I was exhausted after the whole thing.

We had a great turn out with the exception of some very late comers and those who didn't make it all. This is because we were last minute in planning this swim test-next time, we'll be better at getting news out further in advance.

The boys were split into ability groups depending on what level test they could complete. There were the non-swimmers, those who cannot swim at 6 ft or float on their own. Then were the beginner swimmers-most of our boys fall into this category. They had to jump in feet first at 9 ft., level-off, swim 25 ft., turn sharply
& swim back-these boys can swim at 6 ft.

There were 5 scouts who attempted the Swimmers test, the highest level. This one is a difficult challenge & we only had 3 who could pass-Malakai Solovi, Logan Johnson & Landon Johnson. We have to give major props to Webber Ava & Lorenzo Va'afuti for getting half-way...maybe next time, we'll have more takers.

Swimmers test, you have to : Jump feet first, level-off, swim on the surface as fast as possible for 75 yards (the length of the competition pool is 25 yards, so they swam the row 3 times), turning sharply without support, backstroking 25 yards
& then floating for a total of 100 yards! This had to be done non-stop! no rest.

Why do scouts do this? Well, it's a BSA requirement but it also let's us leaders know where each scout is at with their abilities-this helps us properly supervise them. When swimming in natural waters, we can easily determine which boys need to stay close to shore and who can venture out a bit further. Now we can also assign buddies-each scout has a partner within their ability group to stick with at ALL times, in or out of the water. By the end of the year, we hope to have every scout from the non-swimmer group to a beginner swimmer.

All in all, it was a fun day with lunch to end it all. Thanks scouts!

Real Faces of Meth "New" Video - Burton Films

PREVENT crime!

Tonight we started the Crime Prevention merit badge. Of course, we have an edge on this topic because our scoutmaster is a cop. Soooo, out came the real footage of a drug house, footage from the Best of "Cops" & a video called "Faces of Meth."

We had a great discussion about drug, alcohol & kava use. The boys came up with a great question asking "Is Bula ok to drink?" For those of you who are not familiar, BULA is a new carbonated drink that has "ava" as an ingredient. Kava is a narcotic root & although does not give you the same effects as alcohol, it does alter your normal state of mind. This is a controversal topic, but our Bishop came in & gave us the simple answer of "NO. Which is important? Your covenant with your heavenly father or the worldly traditions of your culture?" This is something for our scouts to really think about. So thanks Bishop for the insight!

The scouts got a real kick out of watching the videos-we thought it would help bring to life the issues of our discussion. So below is a link of one of the videos they viewed- "faces of meth"

Here are ideas that our scouts came up with on how to prevent crime in their own neighborhoods:

• Go out & talk to your neighbors and make friends. This is a great way to notice strangers more easily in your neighborhood but also creates a sense of block unity. People are more likely to watch out for you & your home if you know each other.
• Support your Neighborhood Watch program.
• Even if you are not sure, but have a suspicion....call the police tipline if you have any worries about illegal activity going on in your neighborhood.
• Call 911 right away if you see a crime happening!

These may seem like simple methods, but unfortunately not very many people actually put these to action.

PARENTS: We have given scouts the assignment to bring in a news clip of a crime that has happened in their neighborhood or city. They will sit down seperately with their scout counselor to discuss this clip, how it effects their community and possible solutions. This is part of their badge requirements.

Parents, please take the time to sit down with your scout (maybe before church since we don't start til 3pm) and share with them your thoughts and ideas about this merit badge. Help your scout find a news clip. An involved parent will create an involved scout.

Rent Canoes!

We did some searching on google and came across this website for Troop 410 here in Utah. They have 9 boats & trailer available for rent at $100 per weekend. 5 canoes & 4 Kayaks I believe, but it also includes over 20 life vest jackets!

For a large city group such as us, this is a great find! Here is the link to their website :) http://www.troop410.com/

p.s Only available to BSA groups.

Rose Park Drill Team (California Girls).

Troop 124 Eagle Court of Honor - Candles Lighting

Eagle & Court of Honor Decor Ideas

We have been asked by many to share our ideas about organizing ceremonies for the scouts. For us it has been a big challenge, since we are very new to the scout program. So here are some ideas that we hope can be useful to our fellow first-timer scout leaders. Keep in mind that all of these are budget ideas and this all in an effort to share & spark new ideas. If you have any, pleae share! Best of luck!

venu: Our venue is always in our cultural hall at the chapel. It's easy to make the space smaller or open up the partitions to accomodate larger groups. I recommend making sure that the entrances are in the back (behind the seats) so late-comers are not distracting when bursting through that door. lol (talking from experience of my own). Of course FREE is always great, so if not a chapel then reserve the conference room at your local library or have it in somones backyard!

Decor: This is my favorite part of the event! The right decor sets the right tone for your ceremony...especially the tone of "preparation." How many times have we gone to events that were obviously thrown together last minute? that is a big no no, especially for a program that is dependent of monetary support from their community.

We did this for our ceremonies:

1. Take a table, throw a clean white bedsheet for a table cloth or grab a plastic one from the dollar store. Buy a few dollar photo frames & include recent pics of your troop or eagle. I had a poster with our upcoming events or updates set-up so parents know what's going on. I had this by the entrance.







2. For simple table decor, I bought scout scrapbook paper (comes with 100 pages) and placed centerpieces on top. You can also use appropriately designed wrapping paper cut out in a circle or perfect square-this will anchor your centerpiece. I did this for my cousins graduation sign-in table...cheap, yet affective :) see above photo.
   
   
   
3. I painted large rocks with the various scout laws...Honest, Clean, Trustworthy etc. and gathered some various size of pine cones from the local park.
   
   
   
4. I made an investment in buying simple round glass vases about a foot tall. I suggest the D.I or any local thrift store. I filled it halfway with small rocks & stuck an American Flag in the middle. The flag was large enough to wrap nicely around the vase-as if it were waving.
   
   
5. On top of your scrapbook paper, place your rock, vase & flag & set-up your pine cones to lean against it...make it look natural :) I did this on rectangle tables, so I had about 3 to 4 centerpieces stretching out.



6. I had extra vases with flags so I lined the whole edge of the stage with them giving it a uniform look. The flags I found at the D.I thrift store-I bought about 20. You can also buy these after the July 4th holiday on a great discount!



7. For our Eagle scouts, I downloaded a free program called dotomatics which allows you to take any photo and enlarge it...as in large enough to take up a whole wall. All you need is a printer, paper and tape. It will print off in sections (single sheet) and you just tape it together to form your image. I did this for our Eagles, taped it to a foam board & placed it on an easel on the stage.



8. If not, just go to your local Costco (must be a member) and order a poster size image-the quality is great & it's about $9 per poster print out. A great way to personalize a Eagle ceremony! I also used it for our youth conference , our team logos.-see above photo.
   
   
9. Award table: I went with the red, white & blue theme. Bought the $1 plastic table cloths in the 3 colors & simply laid them side by side-so it was one seamless tablecloth. I printed large colored images of either the merit badge or the scout logo on cardstock. Simply cut it out & tape to the front of the cloth. Or you can take a book (I used hymn books that were already there) Opened it so it would stand, then taped the cardstock paper logo (don't cut) to the cover-great substitute for an easel. Lay out your merit badges (I placed ours in envelopes & labeled with their name. It looked good without looking ghetto.



10. Lighting of the candles: You do this for Eagle ceremonies only. It's done at the beginning, but you have three large candles that represent the scout motto. You then have numerous candles (14 i think?) that are lit one by one with the flame taken from the larger candles. Each candle represents the scout laws, and each scout will light one. There's a video link on here with an example (this is not our troop).



11. We can't light candles in our chapel. So I bought tealight flameless candles from the dollar store (came in packs of 2). Also bought these candle holders that looked like rock. I re-used the rocks that I painted the scout laws on. Had one large candle that was melted in and placed a flameless light in it. When each scout went up to "light" a law, I just had them reach underneath the table, flick on the switch to their candle & place it in front of the large painted rocks. Safe and simple, and still looked authentic.
    see above photo.
    

Program - Just google "eagle ceremony program" and you'll find plenty of free templates and outlines of how ceremonies should go. We played it safe by doing all the traditional stuff such as lighting of the candles, pinning of the parents etc. but it's best to keep it short and sweet. Make sure the Eagle scouts speak, I had their parents read one or two of their letters of recommendation, and a guest speaker. Keep it under an hour (depending on how many are being recognized) and you should be good. Always provide refreshments, cause it's a chance for people to mingle & talk about the ceremony afterwards.

I suggest buying a stack of pre-printed programs from your local scout shop. It's good quality paper & has a colored image of the Eagle or scout logo. The stack should last you a few ceremonies.

Promoting: With any event, it's crucial to properly promote your upcoming event. I would say no more than 2 weeks in advance if it's a simple fundraiser, but 3 weeks in advance for anything larger. We want to make sure that people are not easily forgeting your event due to lapse of time. See above photo.

1. Make flyers, colored if possible. If not, just print if off on colored paper. Make weekly announcements at activities, church and on a bulletin board.



2. The internet is your friend! Put Facebook to use & invite people to your event. It's a great way to make mass announcements & reminders all in a few clicks! This gives people the chance to interact with your page as well (ask questions abou the event, volunteer etc.).



3. The day of (especially for a fundraiser) put time into signage. Take a few posters & print out reminders or arrows guiding them to your event. Post at all the high traffic areas...entrance, lobby, traffic lights etc.

Let's play Catch Up!

Our troop has done alot during the past few months, including getting our scouting program back up and rolling with a vengence! All of our bake sales have been successful, earning close to $1000 each time. We can only do this with the support of our ward & parents. Let me remind you that our troop has over 2o boys and so fundraising is a key element in our program or else we'd have no money to do anything! So let's catch up...

In Febuary we recognized & said farewell to our two oldest scouts who earned their Eagle-Beaumane Solovi & Tului Lee. It was packed! and the ceremony went on without a hitch!

In April & May we volunteered our time to clean-up our beautiful Rose Park community. We met with our councilman and other rose park residents to pick-up trash along the trail & re-paint bridges. In May, being the entertainer that we are-our troop preformed two haka's and a fire knife dance at the Boy Scouts of America 100th year celebration at the Southtowne Expo Center.

In June we went for an overnight camp at Antelope Island & all though the mosquitos were biting it was still fun. I think our boys can camp in a parking lot and still manage to have fun :)

We use to meet every wednesday night but due to a change in location we now meet the first and third wednesday of each month. If you'd like to join us, please send us an email at rptroop1609@gmail.com for more details.

Who we are...

We are scout troop 1609 from the Rose Park 15th Samoan ward in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are comprised of young men ranging from age 12 to 18 and share the common goals of having fun, creating unity, improving our community, the environment, our homes & ourselves. It is our ulitmate goal to achieve the high rank of Eagle.