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Home | Newsletter
Shark Patrol
James
Since the last Court of Honor, the Shark Patrol has been busy.
We have gone on many outings including the Webelos outing at Del
Valle in October. It gave us the opportunity to accomplish many
of the scout requirements. The members of the Sharks are steadily
progressing in rank with their newly acquired skills. At the weekly
troop meetings, we have also been able to focus on some of the
activities needed to meet rank requirements. I would like to congratulate
two scouts on earning their Tenderfoot rank- Alex and A.J. They
have learned a lot and worked hard to get their Tenderfoot. They
will now get to proudly wear our unique neckerchief. For everybody
who is still trying to get his Tenderfoot make sure you bring
your book so you can get stuff signed off. I’m looking forward
to the rest of the year as your patrol leader and hope that I
can help you get rank. If you want to get things signed off you
can call me at (408) 735-7370 and I will help you as best as I
can.
Falcon Patrol
Derek
The falcon patrol is doing remarkably well. The patrol is currently
trying to help the younger scouts gain rank. The patrol is now
mostly leadership and should run smoothly. Getting the rest of
the scouts in the falcon
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patrol should not pose as a serious problem, in
fact it should happen quickly. The patrol should pick up a lot
of speed at this point and get to the point of were we can just
have fun and work on most of the ranks during the outings. The
more Falcons that can go on the outings the faster they can get
their ranks. The outings become almost crucial for getting to
second and first class. I hope the patrol can get to that point
soon. Certain scouts have worked very hard and are now at that
point the others just need a little more. They only need a little
motivation, which the leadership should be able to give.
OA Update
Bryant
A lot of you in the troop don’t know what OA
is-or what it stands for. Now I could tell you what it stands
for and what we in OA do-but that’s just not the same as
experiencing it yourself. Until you join, you’ll never really
know if it’s the Orangutan Amphora. So you ask, how do you
get to join the OA? Well, you have to be 1st Class, and the troop
votes you into OA. That’s great, you say, but why would I
want to join it? Let me just say this- OA is like an elite society
within the Boy Scouts where you have a lot of fun and help people.
If you REALLY want to find out more- talk to Brian Thurgate, David
Ho, or James Enomoto. Just kidding- as I am the OA rep, you should
probably talk to me. OA helps with the Camporee every year, and
they have fellowships, conclave meetings, and huge gatherings.
If this goes beyond your understanding, then join OA-you’ll
have fun, make new friends, and help people; a win-win-win situation.
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A Scout is Loyal
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November 6, 2001 |
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Jamboree Touring
Brian
7/16-23/01
Touring before the jamboree was an interesting experience. We visited
sites all the way from Boston to Virginia. We went to places like
the Liberty Bell, the USS Constitution, George Washington’s
house, Williamsburg, the Capitol, the Plymouth Plantation, just
to name a few. We arrived in Boston fairly late and didn’t
get to our hotel until 12:30 in the morning. Although it sounds
fairly late, it was about the average time we’d arrive at our
hotels. Most of us didn’t get to sleep on most nights until
about 3:00 am. We then would wake up at around 6:30 to go eat breakfast,
load the buses and go touring the day’s historical sites. The
historical sites were, for the most part, very remarkable, although
we could have used a little bit more time at some of them. We spent
many a boring hour riding the bus from historical site to historical
site, although in defense of the bus ride we did watch some movies.
On average we saw . . . well it’s hard to do an average because
it varied greatly depending on how you count the sites and the day.
My favorite part of the touring was when we visited the Plymouth
plantation. I liked it for a couple of reasons. One of the main
reasons was that one of the people who lived in the town was my
(many greats) grandfather, a blacksmith for the town. Although he
wasn’t there it was still neat visiting for that reason. Another
was because I got to go around with people outside of my patrol
(I wasn’t supposed to but oops) something that always improved
the experience for me; I was after all the patrol leader. Seeing
all the historical
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sites was cool, but the ones with people acting
like the people who lived at them during their hey-day made it a
lot cooler. The trip was nearly perfectly timed for me for it was
right after eight grade American history where we learnt about many
of the sites we visited. Not all of the places we went were historical
sites; we also went to Busch Gardens, for those of you who don’t
know your east-coast attractions (like me:) Busch Gardens is a theme
park. I didn’t enjoy it a lot for 2 reasons, the first is that
I don’t like roller coasters a lot, and the second is slightly
more complex. Well not really, the second is that we had to go around
as a patrol and I was in charge, and a couple people in my patrol
(I won’t name them) were very annoying, they wouldn’t
listen and kept wandering off, (sort of like some people here the
leadership knowsJ). We toured many historical sites, and if you
want to here specifics you can ask one of us who went to the totally,
completely, absolutely fun Jamboree, but not wanting to take up
to much space I won’t go into the details in this paper.
A Week in Virginia
Bryant and James
7/23-8/1/01
What a week in July! From shotguns to scuba gear, lightening to
fireworks, almost everything imaginable happened at the Jamboree.
Everyone was there: Yoda, desert animals, Marvel superheroes, Napster,
and the president (he was SUPPOSED to be there). This is a brief
description of what two attendees at the National Jamboree 2001
experienced: fun, fun, fun! Need more details? Fine, we’ll
go into more depth about what
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November 6, 2001
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happened.
When the bus pulled up to a stop in front of a desolate patch of
not-so-green grass, we were awed. Not by the incredible heat, withered
grass, or innumerable bugs; it was because of all the things surrounding
that space: endless rows of people, tents, and equipment. More than
40,000 people were at the Jamboree, and it was amazing how big the
whole place was. There were so many things to do that nobody could
do all of them. We fired shotguns at clay pigeons, rappelled down
tall towers, scuba dived in a three-foot pool, climbed over and
under wooden obstacles, nearly got drowned in toilet paper (ask
someone about it), had exchanges with other scouts (*cough*PATCHES*cough*),
fired bow and arrows, and got (NOT STOLE) lots of free stuff. Oh,
and almost froze to death in the cold showers. So many things happened,
it would take a huge book to explain all our experiences, especially
the strange ones, including an all day thunderstorm in which scouts
were struck by lightening, and our gateway (towers acting as entrance
to our camp) flattening the tent right next to one of our writers.
Even our departure from the Jamboree wasn’t normal: it was
as exciting as everything that happened at the Jamboree. Because
there was a problem on the plane so we had to schedule three different
flights to get back home. One group had to go to an airport in North
Carolina. Another one of our groups had to catch a flight out of
the Dulles airport in Washington D.C. Our last group stayed at the
airport in Baltimore and arrived back home first. From beginning
to end the Jamboree was non-stop fun and learning experiences. We
hope that next time more scouts from troop 463 can enjoy the ride.
If you want to know more about the Jamboree talk to Eric Garcia.
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Summer Camp
8/5-11/01
David
The camp, Marin Sierra, was one of the best camps
yet. During that exciting week of summer camp, everyone had a
tremendous amount of fun with the patrol, the troop, and with
the other scouts there.
Some important facts: First, the food was actually edible! Second,
the lake was actually warm! And third, the counselors were very
fun to be around. This made camp Marin Sierra very fun!!! The
only really bad thing was that the tents were not very stable
and took a lot of maintenance. That got frustrating.
The camp, Camp Marin-Sierra, had a great variety of both challenging
and fun merit badges in many different sections. At the waterfront,
my personal favorite area, there were exciting merit badges like:
swimming, sailing, lifesaving, and canoeing. The other areas of
camp were: nature, handicraft, scoutcraft, and the three shooting
ranges. On the shooting ranges, a lot of the Falcon patrol worked
on the rifle merit badge. That was probably the most popular merit
badge. There was also orienteering, wilderness survival, a lot
of nature merit badges, and emergency preparedness, to name few.
Finally, for all of the younger scouts, there was a course on
the trail to first class to help them along their ranks.
What really made the camp fun was the competition the camp put
up for the troops. For example, some of us did the mile swim and
snorkeling at the waterfront. Also, the iron man was a competition
of physical strength between all of the patrols. Each patrol chose
three representatives. Each person did one of the three legs of
the race. The swimmer (Simon Iacob) and the rower (Brian Thurgate)
went out to a buoy in the lake, and the runner (David Ho) ran
around the lake. Another
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November 6, 2001
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afternoon competition was what they called ‘Boom
Town,’ which included many different competitions. The Sharks
patrol won two of these competitions: the misery whip, and the
fire bucket brigade. There was a saw game, in which Falcons got
second place, there was a canoe race, a water bucket relay, and
one or two other thrilling activities. At the end of the week,
the counselors put on some great skits for the troops. They sang
some songs and all the troops also did small skits of there own
for further entertainment.
Finally, for a service project, our troop participated in helping
clear the area to make a new perimeter trail around the lake.
In conclusion, this year summer camp was very fun and exciting
for everyone. I would love to go back there again especially if
we don’t get the furthest camp from the campfire and dining
hall. That camp had probably the warmest lake yet!!! But we will
most likely go on and try new camps.
Lost Coast
9/1-3/01
David
We went to the Lost Coast on Labor Day weekend,
for 3 days and 2 nights, car camping. It was ultra-fun, just like
I said on the flyer, although it did take 5 hours to get there,
during which I did a little world history homework. When we got
there, we did a good turn by helping the previous campers get
out of the campsite. The campsite wasn’t actually on the
beach, but it was pretty, surrounded by trees. The weather was
nice; a bit hot, but it was perfect when we were in the shade
or on the beach. The first day, we went out and hiked a bit, took
a look at the insane view from atop a cliff, and then we hiked
back to cook little scouts –
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whoops I mean dinner. The next day, we all went
out to the beach and hiked along it. The sand was black, and it
was nice and warm, while the water was nice and icily freezing.
We didn’t go swimming but we kinda just got our feet (knees,
legs, chest, arms, etc.) wet. The waves were awesome. We ate lunch
at this big rock and later played football on the beach. On the
trip back, I finally finished my world history homework.
Webelos Outing
10/20-21/01
Bryant
Swarms of gnats. Large (structural integrity questionable)
tower. Fire. Food. Boat. Little kids. What do all these things
to do with each other, besides all containing vowels? Well, they
were all present and accounted for at the Webelos Outing on October
20-21, a fun outing and reasonably well-controlled outing despite
only four Leadership scouts at the outing. (There were six, but
one arrived late and another magically disappeared) While most
of the troop toiled over a high tower made of poles and rope for
over five hours without a break (at least SOME of us did), the
Webelos got to know how much fun our troop was by fishing and
taking long boat rides. After everyone took a climb up the extremely
sturdy tower, it was free time! People scampered around trees,
played with cattails, and took long boat rides involving cows,
fishermen, submarines, and circles. (For more details, contact
the all mighty scribe Eric Garcia) The day was closed out with
a large pot of spaghetti, some fire, skits, and a whole lot of
mayhem. What really matters, however, is that the Webelos had
a fun time; they got acquainted with the fine young men who will
hopefully become their fellow scouts in the future.
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November 6, 2001
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Webelos Thunderbolts
Webelos
Wow’ What a storm! Thunderbolts everywhere! Well this article
falls on the heels of the highlight of the month for us - a camp
out with the Boy Scouts of Troop 463. We camped at a great spot
on the shore of Lake Del Valle. Our gear was carried across the
lake on an eight-seater patio boat, but we hiked to the site,
along side the lake, and the view was beautiful. While camping
we watched Troop 463 construct a tower made of poles and lashings.
It had a platform on top and Old Glory was hoisted up to the top.
We each were allowed to climb up and look around from a height
of approximately 15 feet! The days were filled with exploring,
fishing, and boat rides. In the night we talked by the campfire,
performed our skit for Troop 463, enjoyed their skit, and read
comic books. We also played Uno, by flashlight, in our tent.
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HIGH ADVENTURE - HAWAII
Kim
The High Adventure guys are getting ready to plan
their next High Adventure Excursion. This time they will be going
to Hawaii! The dates blocked out for this trip are June 22 - July
10. The trip will be 14 - 16 days long. We are in the early planning
stages and trying to gather all of our ideas to research. So far
we know we want to go to Kauai and backpack, scuba dive, snorkel
and kayak. Each scout interested in going on the trip is being
asked to put forward his ideas. We may add in a visit to the Big
Island if there is time. We have our first fundraiser schedule
although sign ups have been extremely SLOW (hint. hint..). The
first payment will be made in early December. The trip budget
will fall between $900.00 and $1200.00, and will be set once all
of the ideas have been researched.
If you are a First Class Scout, an active participant in troop
activities, eager to do adventurous activities, willing to be
a team player, and have a lot of FUN, you could be a member of
this year Adventure Trip.
For more information, questions AND to RSVP you must call or email
Mrs. Thurgate by Nov 27. We will also need 4 adults on this trip
- so Adults please think about the trip and talk to me!
We will have 1 meeting a month and have 2 conditioning trips to
get ready. Participation in these activities is required. Your
assistance in any fundraisers is also highly encouraged.
I hope to hear from all of you considering this trip soon. So
far I have David Ho, Bryant Look, Brian Thurgate, James Enomoto
and Eric Garcia confirmed. The rest of you need to call me! So
far we only have Mr. Thurgate confirmed for adults.
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A Scout is Kind
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November 6, 2001 |
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Attendance
Tim
What do you want to get out of Scouting? This is the question each
of you should ask yourselves. It can be answered many different
ways and on many levels. But no matter what the answer or why you
are in Scouting, it will not be achieved without good attendance.
Below are some reasons it is important to attend the troop meetings.
1. To prepare for outings. Outings are fun, exciting, and a chance
to get away and do something different. But outings do require some
preparation – planning, menus, equipment, organizing who is
doing what, and so on. You will not know what is going on with the
outings or anything else if you miss the announcements and flyers
at the troop meetings.
2. Get acquainted with other members of the troop. Things are more
fun with people you know. Troop meetings and outings will be more
fun and meaningful if you have connected with other scouts. But
this will not happen if you are not there regularly. Conversely,
being an outsider is a drag and you will be a stranger if you only
show up occasionally.
3. Learn new skills. One of the goals at troop meetings is to teach
the skills needed to safely enjoy the outdoors. However, much of
what is learned is useful for much more than just outings. While
learning can take effort and be challenging, it can also be very
rewarding.
4. Advance in scouting. Certainly missing the
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learning needed to pass requirements, as well as the
opportunities is going to make achieving rank more difficult and
take longer. But this also applies to advancing to the leadership
of the troop. Clearly, the growth needed to become a leader will
happen more slowly or not at all without regular attendance.
5. Help the troop. I am sure you all want to be part of a great
troop with fun and interesting meetings. But how is this going to
happen if at any given meeting only half the scouts are there? It
takes everyone to make it work.
The above list applies to outings as well. Many of
the skills can only be taught and the corresponding requirements
passed on outings. And outings are where many of the others are
put into practice and so become meaningful and more fully learned.
Besides outings are fun!
Scouting really asks for very little of your time - less than one
and a half hours per week for the troop meeting (most extracurricular
activities demand more than that each day), plus an opportunity
to get out and have fun once a month.
The older scouts give much more time. They meet before and after
each troop meeting to make final preparations and to discuss what
worked and what didn’t and to ensure everyone knows what they
need to do for the next meeting. They meet once a month to plan
the month’s troop meeting and participate in a leadership outing
once a year to plan the next year’s outings. They also spend
time at home preparing for the meetings - acquiring materials, organizing
the activities, and planning the lessons and presentations. Our
troop is fortunate in having senior scouts who are committed to
providing a superior scouting program and conscientious in carrying
it out. But it is demoralizing when the other scouts do not care
enough to show up.
Below is the attendance record for this year. As can be seen, the
senior scouts are there most of the time. Part of the reason for
this is by time they have gotten that far, they recognize the importance
of attendance. Part of the reason is that scouts that have poor
attendance do not get enough out of scouting to stick with it. And
part of the reason is the senior scouts rising to the
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November 6, 2001
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greater responsibility of running the troop. It should
also be noted that the scouts advancing in rank at the Court of
Honor also have been regularly attending the troop meetings and
have attended at least one of the two outings. Lets see a lot more
attendance and less crosses next time.
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