Scouts attending 2012 Summer Camp and their Parents,
Mrs. Zalewski will be at the 3/15 Scout meeting to review pointers for signing up for your summer camp schedules during the scout meeting. For the scouts attending camp for the first time, she will hold a separate session for you and your parents, no need to attend this session. If you would like to look up the first year scout program at the camp website, go to http://www.ockanickon.org and select the link on the home page for the 2012 summer camp program information, then select the link for the Dan Beard program. This is the 1st year scout program you will take part of while at summer camp.
Mrs. Zalewski will review how to set up a schedule, look up the merit badges to take, look up the pre-reqs, merit badges you can take (some require you to be at a certain rank) and any other questions about the badges themselves and even summer camp. The goal is to make sure that each scout starting with their 2nd year of camp is taking 2-3 Eagle Badges until they can take no more. Following this plan will allow them to attain their ranks without having to wait on their Eagle merit badges. After scouts have selected their Eagle badges, it’s up to them on how they want to fill up the rest of their day at camp with badges.
Please mark your calendar if your scout is attending camp for the 2nd year and any others that are interested in learning how to help their scout fill out their schedules. I have emails to the camp as they have changed how they are supporting the Eagle badges and Shooting Sports badges and I need to make sure I have a grasp on it prior to helping the scouts with their schedules. For those that would like to check out what Ockanickon has posted already for the schedules, please to go their website: http://www.ockanickon.org and follow the links I have listed above.
Will also have the file of what badges the scouts have already attained and for those that are nearing the end of their Eagle Badges, will send an individual email to you and your parents on what you have left to take.
Just to let those of you who are new to the troop or are 2nd year campers know, Mrs. Zalewski has been helping the scouts with their schedules and organizing them for 6 or 7 years now (losing track). She has the final say on what they can or cannot take. Once we settle on a schedule, the scouts fill out their merit badge cards. Mrs. Zalewski will look at all the merit badge cards that are filled out to make sure they match up with the schedule I’m provided and if there are problems she will contact you.
Pre-reqs will be handled just like last year. Mrs. Zalewski will update the downloadable excel file that is on our troop website with the pre-reqs and it is up to the scout and their parents to make sure that all pre-reqs are completed prior to summer camp. There might be a few checkpoints by some of the adults in the troop to make sure scouts are on the right track. This is especially true for the scouts taking the Personal Fitness, Personal Management and Communications MBs, as there are a lot of pre-reqs for those badges.
Again, please mark your calendars for Thursday, 3/15.