02/28/23 Cubmaster Update

Good evening Pack 333 families. It's that time of year - preparing for Summer Camp. The Baltimore Area Council hosts Camp Linstead at the Howard County Fairgrounds, a Cub Scout Day Camp (https://camplinstead.com/registration/), this year 26 - 30 June 2023. Cubs entering 2nd grade through 5th grade this fall are eligible to participate for all 5 days; Tiger Cubs entering 1st grade are able to attend Wednesday and Thursday of the week with an adult partner with them in camp. This year's theme is Space which will be celebrated through out the stations and Dens. Siblings who are 4 years or older (and potty trained) can also participate as Tagalongs (and must be registered and accompanied by an adult). Anyone 14 or older who wishes to volunteer to help is also welcome. Registration is open through the first week of April 2023. Registration is online only this year and is on an individual basis following the link listed above and includes1 T-shirt (it is recommended for those participating more than 1 day to have more than 1 T-shirt). Cubs, adults, and Tagalongs must register to attend. Once registered online, you must complete the BSA medical forms and provide those to me BEFORE 5 April 2023 to ensure I can follow-up with any missing or incomplete information. All forms are required to be hardcopy (yes hardcopy - you are reading that right) and will be submitted for the Pack as one physical submission. I am currently serving as the Camp Coordinator in addition to Cubmaster duties and need to couple days to ensure we do not suffer any penalties for incomplete forms before the 9 April deadline.

There are volunteer requirements that assist in subsidizing the Camp (https://camplinstead.com/camp-information/volunteers/). It's a bit confusing of a read but in general, for every 4th Cub registered and for every 4th Cub of each Rank, we need an adult volunteer. This can be one or more adults as long as we have 1 adult for each of the 5 days for each group of 4 Cubs. For every 8 Cubs registered, we need a dedicated 5 day volunteer (I am currently filling the first slot for this as the Science Station Manager); if we register more than 15 Cubs, we will need another adult 5 day volunteer. There is training required for all volunteers (https://camplinstead.com/training/) which includes online zoom meeting training and in person training. If you are interested, please let me know. Once you have registered, please let me know so I can tally and keep track of registrations and volunteer requirements (I will set up excel on google docs). As always, any questions, comments, or suggestions are welcome.

Respectfully,

Tara Lydick, Cubmaster Pack 333

02/24/23 Blue & Gold

You are invited to Pack333's BlueGold Dinner on Friday, March 17, 2023, 7-9:30pm @ St. John's Episcopal Church (All Saints Hall), 9120 Frederick Road, Ellicott City MD 21042.

Dinner will be catered by Chipotle with vegatarian and non-vegatarian options. We welcome volunteers to bring potluck items, be it a crowd-pleaser, personal favorite, or cultural dish. Volunteer slots are also available for setup, food service, and breakdown/cleanup.

We have a fun-filled evening planned with dinner, entertainment, and the AOL bridging ceremony. Please RSVP and join us for a wonderful evening!

RSVP and Volunteer Sign-Up:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050E4FA5AA2CABFA7-20231

12/13/22 Cubmaster update

Good evening Pack 333 families. We are nearing the mid point of December, often a time of reflection as the days grow shorter and the nights colder. We have a few more activities this year into the start of next for our Cubs. The Tiger Den completed their Team Tiger Adventure last week. The Bear den is working on their Paws for Action Adventure tomorrow afternoon with a trip to the Ellicott City B&O Railroad Museum. The Wolf Den is touring downtown Sykesville tomorrow evening for a historical tour and discussion as part of their Council Fire Adventure. Our Lions Den is visiting the Sykesville Police Department this Sunday as part of their Animal Kingdom Adventure. Our Webelos and AOL Cubs continue to meet using dynamic scheduling for their Adventure goals. Thank you so much to the Den Leaders and Assistant Den Leaders for their hard work ensuring our Cubs have excellent Adventures.

Our December Pack meeting is this Thursday at 6:30pm at St. James. We will make kits for deployed service members as part of the USO Giveback (thank you so much to Ms. Mandy Sharp for coordinating this event), receive our Pinewood Derby cars, and participate in a $5 and under gift exchange. We will also discuss other upcoming activities and opportunities. I have not received interest in the Wreaths Across America event this weekend; Pack 333 is not signed up as a unit; however, if you are interested in participating please reach out to Howard Weiss "hweissbsa@gmail.com. For more information, visit the National Pike District page: https://scoutingevent.com/?OrgKey=BSA220&calendarID=396913

During January, we usually schedule our family faith based Duty to God Adventures for the Cubs. This Adventure allows the family to discuss their faith and help one another grow in those practices. Another voluntary activity for this year is are visits to different faith centers to explore other faiths and look at similarities and differences. There will be several opportunities to visit different faith communities over the course of the month; this is still is early planning stages with more details to come. In the past, we have also completed the Cyber Chip, but this Adventure has been replaced by the Protect Your Self Adventure, which also online and is family based. Your Den Leaders will send out additional information regarding these Adventures. Families complete these Adventure at home and let your Den leader know once the requirements are complete.

The Pinewood Derby is scheduled for 14 January 2023; several families have volunteered to assist Cubs in building their Pinewood Derby vehicles with a schedule is forthcoming. We are still looking for volunteers for the Derby day itself. Please reach out to me or any of the Pack Leadership for further details.

The Klondike Derby is scheduled for 28 January 2023. There are two trails available. Cub Scouts will learn about the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush while having fun and playing games! The Klondike Derby Cub Trail is an outdoor trail activity approximately 1.5 miles long and is intended for Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and Webelos. The Scout Trail is intended for Webelos, AOLs and Scouts below the rank of First Class. The Klondike Derby Scout Trail is a three mile hike with multiple stations designed to test Scout skills required for First Class. Scouts and Cubs Scouts are $15, BSA Registered Adults are Free. Patches and pre-paid meals are available, as well as overnight camping. Registration is open with more information on the registration page (https://scoutingevent.com/220-63532).

Cub Scout Day Camp at the Howard County Fairgrounds (Camp Linstead) registration opens 1 January 2023. Fees are not yet published. Volunteers are required to support the Cubs; discounts are available for the Cubs based on the volunteer hours contributed. For any Pack 333 member to register, we need a Camp Unit Coordinator. If ANYONE is interested, please reach out and let me know. More information can be found at https://camplinstead.com/registration/

With our Blue and Gold Dinner and Scout Sunday in February, we start moving towards Elective Adventures and make-up Required Adventures. These present opportunities for parents to lead an Adventure that could be a hobby, profession, or just fun. Please talk with your Den Leader for any interests.

With the Winter soon upon us, the light dwindling, and the coldness settling in, please take some time as a family and reflect on the magic and mysteries often found this time of year. I look forward to seeing you at the Pack meeting.

Respectfully,

Tara Lydick

Cubmaster Pack 333