The preparations for the Court of Honor on February 6, 2020 are underway and you are invited!  The event will take place in the Large Hall at Saint Mary’s.  Dinner and the program will begin at 6:30 PM.  Scouts are asked to arrive between 5:45 and 6:00 PM (no later than 6:00 PM) to help with preparations and to get last minute instructions.  This will be an Eagle Court of Honor to recognize Ashby Norris.  Awards earned by all other scouts since the last Court of Honor also will be presented.

I ask each family to provide both Tara Spiegelman and me the number of guests your family will bring.  To help minimize double counting, please tell us the total number AND break down by scout; adults; and children (under 12).  Please respond by Thursday, January 16^th.  Please let me know if your family is unable to attend as well.

While the dinner is being provided by the hosting Eagle Scout family, the Norris family, the troop families are asked to provide a dessert item (cookies, brownies, etc.) and a 2-liter bottle of your favorite chilled soft drink (diet soda, regular soda, seltzer, water or juice . . .).

Please reach out to Tara if you have any questions.

We look forward to a great night recognizing our sons’ accomplishments!

The annual Winter Weekend is almost upon us. This year we will continue the HUT TRADITION and camp at the Lonesome Lake Hut located in the Mt Washington State Forest in NH.  No Tents needed! Bring snowshoes if you have them. The area views are SPECTACULAR!

All scouts will meet at 8:30 and depart from the Parish Center on Saturday February 22^nd at 9 am. Scouts will return from the event for pickup at the Parish Center at 1 pm on Sunday February 23^rd  All scouts should eat breakfast before they depart, as there will be no meal stop on the ride up north.

There is a $45 fee for this camping trip to pay for the cost of the luxurious hut accommodations.  Your permission slip and payment for this event is due at the beginning December 12^th Troop Meeting.  We need to enforce this deadline for this camping trip as the Troop will need to confirm numbers and make its payment in full the following week.

If your son attended Camp Resolute or the Maine High Adventure trip this past summer you do not need to complete a new medical form UNLESS something has changed in your son’s medical history.  For all others, the annual BSA medical form is attached and is required under BSA rules.  Unlike summer camp and high adventure forms, only a parent signature is required (we just need Parts A & B – Part C is for trips in excess of 72 hours).  Part A is an informed consent, release agreement, and authorization that must to be signed by every participant (or a parent and/or legal guardian for all youth under 18).  Part B is general information and a health history. 

Troop dues and medical forms are due no later than the December 5^th troop meeting.  The combined troop and re-charter dues have increased by $20 this year to $145 per scout ($125 for additional siblings).  This fee combines the Troop dues ($43); the annual BSA National Registration fee ($60); Boys’ Life ($12) and the Mayflower Council program activity fee ($30).  The increase is due to an $27 increase in annual BSA National Registration Fee that was announced last month.

Please drop off your check at the start of the troop meeting. If your son(s) can’t make the meeting but would like to continue in the troop, please mail the dues to the Troop Treasurer, Mr. Tony Bogner.  Please make all checks payable to Troop 4.  As a courtesy to the troop and to assist in our planning, if your son does not plan to continue in our program, please have him contact me to convey his decision.

We’re wrapping up our Christmas Wreath sales supporting our high adventure trips.  Before finalizing things, we wanted to reach out to everyone for any additional orders from our troop families.  Unlike our annual pancake fundraiser, scouts asked not to solicit sales of wreaths door to door.  Of course, if you, a friend, neighbor or family member would like to purchase a wreath, we would accommodate their request.  If anyone is interested in purchasing a wreath(s), please send a note to Mr. Comisky with size and quantity prior to tomorrow night’s meeting.  Wreaths come 22″ or 28″ inch and are $15 and $20, respectively.

Thank you to Adrian, Paul, James, Ashby, Andrew, Jason, Neil, Shane and WIlliam for taking orders for Christmas wreaths these past two weeks.  

Please let Mr. Comisky know if you can help with wreath distribution.  Distribution will take place at the Small Hall (our weekly meeting area) on Sunday, November 24^th between the hours of 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM. 

The November camping trip will take place Saturday November 16 and Sunday November 17 at the Troop Campsite in Milford.  We will meet at St. Mary’s parish center at 8:30 AM (depart by 9:00 AM) Saturday, November 16 and will return to the parish center for a 11:30 AM pickup (leave the campsite at 10:30 AM) on Sunday the 17^th. Scouts should bring their regular camping gear and bag lunch for Saturday. As always, scouts can come/leave early late, etc., if they have conflicts with sporting or other local events. We will need a few parents to drive to/from the event.

If your son plans to attend, please return the permission slip by the November 14^th troop meeting along with a check for $15 to cover the cost of the food for the weekend (dinner/breakfast). If your son can’t make the Nov 14^th troop meeting but wants to attend, please call or email Brian Weber before the 14^th so we can include him in planning for the event.