Your Photos -- We Need Them!

I've seen you at our events... snapping away on your cameras and smart phones.  I know you have those pictures -- and now, we need you to share them with us!  

Every year we make a slide show for our Blue & Gold banquet but without YOUR pictures of YOUR SON, we may not have those awesome moments to include!  

Did ya snap a selfie at a den meeting or one of our fun events?  SEND IT TO US!

Photo Source

So SHARE SHARE SHARE you pictures with us please!

We actually HAVE a Pack 1910 DropBox where you can upload your images RIGHT FROM YOUR SMARTPHONE!  E-mail April for an invitation to our Pack's shared folder and start uploading immediately!

Cubanopolis

January's Pack meeting is one you will NOT want to miss!  This will be our annual Cubanopolis!

Just what is an Cubanopolis?  I'm glad you asked!  A Cubanapolis is a fun family event where the boys, prior to race day and with their parent’s assistance, make a cardboard race car that they can wear and run with.

The emphasis on this event is family fun and participation, so no trophies are awarded; instead the Scouts will race for some fun prizes and candy!  

We will, however, have some type of award for various categories for the construction and design of their cars so be creative!

Please make arrangements to pick up your cardboard box from April. YOU NEED THIS in order to make your car!

Car Making Rules:

• Body of car must be constructed of cardboard. Tape, tinfoil, paint, construction paper, stickers and paper plates can also be used for decoration.
• Use the box provided by the Pack.  It should fit around your son without being either too snug or too loose.
• No metal or glass materials may be used.
• No items can be hanging or dragging behind a car
• For safety reasons, cars should not have a ‘windshield’

Race Procedures:

• Each race will consist of 4 laps
• Each racer will need an adult present to be their pit crew

Each racer should bring 4 things with them on race day

1. Goggles or glasses or a swimming mask
2. A small towel or washcloth
3. A helmet (bike or ski helmet)
4. Gym-appropriate LACE up tennis shoes WITH socks.

Reminders will be sent out closer to race day. A couple of extras will be available, but certainly not enough for everyone. We will cover more of what the race entails the night of the race.  It is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

For our annual Cubanopolis to be a success, we want to remind our scouts that what is important is that they do their best, play by the rules, show good sportsmanship, and have fun.

Preparation

The Cub will decorate the box to look like a race car (or a space ship, garbage truck, or any vehicle he wants. Construction paper, paint, tape, aluminum foil and markers are all great things to have on hand to spur creativity. Colored paper plates make great wheels. Be sure no dangerous materials (such as glass or metal) are used.

And as always, remind the boys that what is important is that they do their best, play by the rules, show good sportsmanship, and have fun.

There are all KINDS of samples all over the internet, but I've included a couple I found as well just for inspiration.  I can't wait to see the creative minds at work in our Pack!

Cub-O

Save the date and make plans to join us January 3 from 10am to 4pm at Cub-O, the annual Cub Scout orienteering event held at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch.

Cub-O is the most poplar orienteering event in North America. A fun day of hiking and friendly competition for Cub Scouts, parents, and leaders. Orienteering, the use of map and compass, to find locations and plan a journey, has been a vital skill for humans for thousands of years. Thousands of people participate in the sport each year in local clubs and competitions. Longhorn Council has two events annually for orienteering. One is for Cub Scouts (Cub O), and one is held for Boy Scouts.

Lunch is included. Each team of 3-6 Cubs gets a Cub-O map half an hour before the race starts. Your goal is to hike in the woods and find as many of the 40 orange and white orienteering flags as you can. 

Plan your strategy to score the maximum point total possible in 2 hours! 

Map training sessions for Cub Scouts and parents are held all morning.

Lunch will be served in the dining hall. Meal times are assigned to minimize the length of serving lines. Units may choose to do Pack Family Camping on Friday and/or Saturday night. The Pack is not coordinating this campout, but any family desiring to camp either night, please see April for more information.

Scores will be available by Saturday night. After the event, each team's competition race maps will be available to pick up at the District Roundtable meetings in January or February. 

This is a rain or shine event: extreme inclement weather (ice or snow) may cause a one week postponement. Weather announcements will be made on the Longhorn Council Website and on our blog as well.

Sound like something you want to do?  Well, print out this registration form and get it to April by Monday, December 29 with payment.  Two adults are required to register per team.  Teams will be assigned based upon the number of cubs registered in our Pack.  We will do our best to keep dens intact and to have our Webelos I & II combined.  

From the registration form:  

Cub-O is an orienteering event designed for everyone to enjoy: dens that compete hard, dens that want an easy hike in the woods, and dens that want to teach their boys more about problem solving and map reading. All Tigers, Cub Scouts, Webelos, leaders, and parents are invited. Separate awards for each age group. CUB-O is the most popular Orienteering event in the USA! Over 1000 Cub Scouts, leaders, and parents participated in CUB-O every year since 1999!

It’s fast, exciting, and FUN. And it’s all Cub Scouts. The locations of 40-50 orange and white orienteering flags are marked on the map and you and your team will go hiking in the woods to find them – or most of them! Each flag has a hole punch that you use to mark your scorecard. Flags are worth 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 points, depending on how hard they are to find. Your Den team will get a Cub-O competition map 20 minutes before the race starts. Then you plan a hiking strategy to find the most flags and score the most points in just 2 hours! You’ll stay warm ‘cause you’ll stay moving!

Cub-O is a team event for teams (Dens) of 3-6 Cub Scouts and at least 2 adults. Each team must have at least two adults registered for Cub-O. Be sure to dress warmly in layers and bring lots of water! Bring a compass and a watch so you’ll finish on time. All registered participants will get a Cub-O patch, our latest 5-color competition map, lunch and a great day of orienteering.

Additional attendees (attending, assisting, or camping, but not competing) can pay $6 for lunch and liability insurance only but must register and be prepaid. 

End of Year Wrap-Up

Thanks to everyone for joining us at the Pack 1910 Christmas Party!  We had a great time and it was a fun event to round out our scouting year.  If you captured any photos worth sharing, please e-mail them to April so that she can include them in our slide show that will be played at the Blue & Gold Banquet in February!

  

If you were at the Christmas Party but forgot to pick up your box for the January Cubanopolis, please be sure to make contact with April and pick that up ASAP!  We want everyone to have enough time to work on their cars!

There will be a separate blog entry for our Cubanopolis which will have information to answer all your questions on who, where, when, what, why and how!  Stay tuned for all the information on January's race!

Speaking of RACES.... don't forget all of the fun we have in store for the new year at the annual Pinewood Derby held in March!  Cars will be distributed at the January Pack meeting so you definitely don't want to miss that!  And, speaking of the Pinewood Derby, we need a couple of volunteers to help coordinate the event.  If you're interested, please let us know.  Without your help -- it can't happen!

All members should have submitted their registration dues for the new year by now AND paid ALL popcorn balances.  If you haven't, please take care of that IMMEDIATELY.  We need to close out the 2014 books.  If you haven't done so, you will likely need to resubmit an application because your scout's name will have been removed from the membership roster audit (called "Recharter") which is being turned in today.  These are the dues that pay for the boy's awards, books, pins, patches and more.  New Scouts that paid their $100 when they joined are covered through December 2015 (until the next recharter) so we are not talking to you.  This is just for transfers or current members.  Thank you to everyone who has taken care of this already!  Lots to remember this time of year and lots of deadlines so thank you for making my job easier.

Also, we HAVE to mention Cub-O.  Cub-O is January 3 and information regarding that was distributed at the December Pack Meeting.  Another blog entry dedicated to Cub-O will be published today.  If you can't wait, you may download your registration form here and turn it into APRIL no later than Monday, December 29.

Lastly, we want to wish you and yours a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We know that children are involved in a lot of activities and there is always something demanding our time and attention... so we thank YOU for the gift of your involvement... for the gift of time with your sons.  Our Pack 1910 boys are very special gifts to all of us so thank YOU for the gift of their membership in the Boy Scouts of America.  We are all leaders because we believe in all that Scouts has to offer young men... and thank you for believing in us to help lead them.

December Core Value - Respect

The Core Value for the month of December is RESPECT.

Respect is showing regard for the worth of someone or something.  Through interacting with pack families, Cub Scouts will develop appreciation and respect for different families and traditions. Through pack service projects, they will learn to treat the environment with care and respect. 

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Volunteer Opportunities Available Now

As our Webelos II begin their transition into the Boy Scouts, we are needing to fill three very critical positions in our Cub Scout Pack.  First and foremost...

Awards Chair -- This person is responsible for working behind the scenes.  You run a report from our ScoutTrack software at the end of each month, take that list to the Scout Shop and purchase the awards.  Coordinate with the Cubmaster on how they are to be presented and help package them accordingly.  

This position NEEDS TO BE FILLED IMMEDIATELY.  

Our current Awards Chair needs a couple of rotations to train her replacement on how to read and run the reports. Her son is a Webelos II and THEY LEAVE in FEBRUARY.  Without her, recognition of advancement comes to a screeching halt.  

Stated differently, we don't want to and shouldn't let our current leadership wear all the hats in our Pack!  

We know there is someone out there waiting to help fill a void -- and THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE!   We need you!  

Another couple of volunteer roles that will be coming up as well are those of:  

Cubmaster -- Have a calling to work with our youth and want to help bring the program to life?  This is the job for you!  Our Cubmaster is the face of our pack!  

and 

Assistant Cubmaster -- This lucky leader fills in for the Cubmaster when s/he is unavailable.  

PLEASE SEE OUR LEADER PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER WAY YOU CAN HELP FILL THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF OUR PACK.

Flag Retirement

Photo by Tonya Polodoroff

Thank you to all who braved the chill to come out to our very special flag retirement ceremony and campfire Pack meeting at Bear Creek Park last month.  Each in attendance will receive a special segment for your brag vest!  I love that everyone got to be a part of something very special.

Thank you to the DeLeon family for coordinating the hot chocolate and snacks after the ceremony.  

Photo Source

Thank you to Mr. Harmon for keeping the fire going and to all our families for participating!  Thank you for the donations to the food pantry.