Great Month of October and November
Happy Holidays Pack 442!!! We have had a very busy first half of the scouting year and hope you are all are having a great time with your friends and family this holiday season. Looking back at all we accomplished this year so far and I couldn't be more proud of all the hard work you all have put in to make our activities a success! I can't tell if I had more fun at our Fall Family Campout campfire, seeing all the great sportsmanship at our Raingutter Regatta, or wrapping presents with all of you at Brown Santa. Please be safe during your time off from school and come back in 2025 fully energized for everything we have planned over the next few months. Pinewood Derby, Blue & Gold, and much more to come!!!!!
Volunteers:
We continue to seek parent volunteers to help us throughout the year, with AOL scouts on the brink of crossing over in February, we are needing to fulfill critical positions in the pack. The most critical are bolded red (most critical by February) and blue bolded below, although any help on these roles below are appreciated.
The best way to find an opportunity is to fill out the Family Talent Survey, and then respond to any opportunities that are presented. We have tasks from big to small, but all are a tremendous help to making our pack successful every year. For more information about the positions you can see the Pack Position Manual.
Adult Leadership (Application Needed) | Parent Volunteer (No Application Needed) |
Treasurer | Racetime Commissioner (Raingutter Regatta & Pinewood Derby) - Training at this years Derby! |
Assistant Treasurer | Rocket Day Coordinator |
Advancement Chair | Blue & Gold Planner |
Membership Chair | Pack Crossover Planner |
Lion Assistant Den Leader | Service & Conservation Project Coordinator |
Tiger Assistant Den Leader | Shooting Sports Rangemasters - Training Required |
Pack Trainer | Campout Activities |
Secretary | |
Assistant Cubmaster |
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Bee Cave District Rocket Day - POSTPONED, DATE TBD @ Lake Hills Church, 11431 Bee Cave Rd
Rocket Day is a district opportunity for Packs to bring their Cubs to shoot off rockets. These are chemical engine-powered rockets, typically sold in kits from a company called Estes. They will fly to a height of several hundred feet, and higher depending on how powerful of an engine you use and whether you ever want to see the rocket again.
What to do:
● Pick up a rocket, if you have not gotten one yet from the front porch of Josh & Shea Sawyer's House.
● Show up with a finished rocket. We cannot build them or complete them on-site.
● Wear good shoes. A good part of the fun is running around chasing rockets as they come back down (on parachutes)
● Uniform is a Class-B
● Bring your own water bottle!
Weather?
The biggest concern is not rain, but high winds and dry conditions. Gusts over 20 MPH are officially
too strong according to the National Association of Rocketry, but even 15 MPH can be problematic. If Travis County is still in a burn ban the District will push to a later date.
Please RSVP through Scoutbook.
Pack Parent Meeting - Monday, January 13th 6:30am - 8:00pm @ Lakeway Church Rm 208 (Building B)
All parents are welcome to join us for our monthly Pack Committee Meeting, where we will discuss and plan out details for any of the upcoming pack events and activities. This is the last one before the Fall Family Campout, so we'll have a lot to discuss.
Please RSVP through Scoutbook.
Pinewood Derby - Saturday, January 18th 2:00 - 5:00pm @ Lakeway Church Fellowship Hall-Building B
Each scout will receive a car kit to build and decorate. Then, we are off to the races! Join us for a fun day of racing and laughter! Pick up a car on the porch of Josh & Shea Sawyer's House. Grab a car for siblings as they are able to race as well!
WEIGH IN is Friday, January 17th from 4:00pm-8:00pm at Lakeway Church Fellowship Hall-Building B.
Race Schedule
Lions @ 2:00 pm
Tigers @ 2:30 pm
*Siblings and Make-Up Racers @ 2:45 pm
Wolves @ 3:00 pm
Bears @ 3:30 pm
Webelos @ 4:00 pm
AOL @ 4:30 pm
Finals Race @ 5:00 pm (1st place cars from each Rank will race for the Grand Finale)
If you a conflict with your Den assigned times, we offer a make-up time at 2:45. If you can't make that, let us know and we'll work to fit you in.
Please RSVP through Scoutbook.
Pack Parent Meeting - Monday, February 3rd 6:30am - 8:00pm @ Lakeway Church Rm 208 (Building B)
All parents are welcome to join us for our monthly Pack Committee Meeting, where we will discuss and plan out details for any of the upcoming pack events and activities. This is the last one before the Fall Family Campout, so we'll have a lot to discuss.
Please RSVP through Scoutbook.
Blue & Gold Banquet & Arrow of Light Ceremony - Saturday, February 8th 4:00 - 6:00pm @ Rough Hollow HOA Pavilion (903 Highlands Blvd, Austin, TX 78738)
Join us in celebrating the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, which was founded in 1910. Pack 442 celebrates our scouts, its leaders in a special celebration and banquet.
Prior to the banquet, we hold our Arrow of Light Ceremony, where our AOL Scouts receive their Arrow of Light Award, the final rank in Cub Scouts, and crossover into the Scouts BSA. A ceremony will be completed by Troop 52 out of Lakeway. If you would like to attend this ceremony , we ask that all scouts be able to sit through the ceremony, being quiet and respectful so that our AOL scouts can receive this special recognition.
Please RSVP through the Scoutbook.
Upcoming Den Meetings
January 12th Tiger Den Meeting
January 12th Lion Den Meeting
January 12th Webelos Den Meeting
January 19th Bear Den Meeting
January 26th Arrow of Light Den Meeting
(LOOKING AHEAD) Pack Overnight - Saturday, April 12-13th 5:00pm - 10:00am @ NASA Houston
We have secured our date at NASA. We can have 55 scouts and 55 adults attend. We will give first priority to Scouts & an accompanying parent. We will log desire to have additional family attend and we will assign spots on a random draw in advance of the event (if needed). We ask that you register your scout(s) and parent, and let us know what other family you would like to attend.
Please Register for the Pack Overnight at NASA through the registration survey. Payment needs to be made before the registration is final.
Please RSVP through Scoutbook. The last day to register is February 28th.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Swimming Adventure:
Does your school attend swim lessons or participate in the swim team? If so, they automatically qualify for the swimming adventure in their rank. Please let your Den Leader know if your scout qualifies under these circumstances so we can get him marked off in Scoutbook!
Marking Advancements for Completion at Home:
There may be times you have to miss a meeting or event and need to complete an advancement at home. If you work on any advancement at home, you can log into Scoutbook and mark the advancement as complete for your Den Leader to approve. Below is a guide on how to do that.
If you are enrolled in a swimming program outside of scouts, please let your Den Leader know, as you automatically qualify for the swimming adventure for each rank. Your Den Leader can help you mark it off for completion so your scout can receive the adventure.
Google Photos
We have a shared google photos account, where you can upload and share photos from events and activities. These photos are not public, and the sharing is meant to provide photos and memories to everyone in the pack. If we use a photo for our publications as well as slideshows during events.
If you have any photos from the weekend you can upload them to Google Photos. Instructions on how to do so is available in the Pack Parent Communication Channel on Slack.
We will ensure that all scouts in the photo have a photo waiver on record if anything is published to the public. If you have not filled out a Photo Media Release, please consider doing so.
Social Media
We have social media accounts that you can be active with. Below are the options we currently have for you and your family.
Facebook Group – Private Group you can follow. Consider posting yourself on our events.
Facebook Page – A public group we use to advertise about what we are doing. You can follow this page and receive updates.
Pack Calendar and Activities
Pack 442 2024-2025 Calendar: Catch a sneak peek at our Website Calendar for the next scout year. There may be slight changes as we enter the year, but we’ll do our best to stick with this as closely as possible. PDF version for your frig is located HERE!
Den Calendars will be provided as the scouting year starts, and all of the events are/will be loaded into the Scoutbook calendars for each den. All calendar communication will officially come through Scoutbook, so ensure you are connected to your scout. We will go over this at the August Pack Meeting for anyone who is not. Below is a glimpse at what the calendars could look like. Den meeting dates will be set by your Den Leaders in the coming weeks.
Medical Forms for any Overnight activity:
Scouting America requires that we collect medical forms for any scout (and all family members attending with them) attending an event in which there is an overnight component. These forms are used in case of an emergency and kept with the Pack Committee Chair or Cubmaster at all scouting overnight events.
Please fill out the Medical Forms and submit them to Josh Sawyer via email or by hand for them to be recorded with our records. These need to be filled out every year, so make sure you are up to date.
Check our Pack Registration Log to see your status on medical forms. Click Here.
Linking Scoutbook Calendars to your devices:
You can use the links below as shared calendars in your email accounts and devices to directly link the calendars we maintain on Scoutbook with your calendar. As updates come in you get the updates on your devices.
Pack Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434
Lion Den Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/302256
Tiger Den Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/290926
Wolf Den Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/239169
Bear Den Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/253452
Webelos Den Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/240721
AOL Calendar - https://api.scouting.org/advancements/events/calendar/41434/238543
CLOSING:
I can't wait to get right into Pinewood Derby so be sure to start working on your cars if you haven't already. With all the events coming up, please take a moment to RSVP (Scoutbook-Registered Scouts) so we can plan accordingly. If you have any questions on car building or preparing for upcoming events, don't hesitate to reach out!
See you at the Pinewood Derby Weigh-in!
YIS,
Bryan Weatherford
Pack 442 - Cubmaster
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