Our next two troop meetings (4/14 and 4/22) will be on Zoom.  Our 4/29 troop meeting will be LIVE at the church where we will be focusing on First Aid.  For scouts who have not yet earned it, Dr. Jason Sevald will be teaching part 1 of the First Aid Merit Badge.  Part 2 will be on the following Thursday 5/6- LIVE again at the church.  For scouts who are First Class and higher, and have previously earned the First Aid merit badge, Mrs. Reynolds and Mr. Nelson have set up an advanced First Aid class called "Stop the Bleed".  This is only open to 20 scouts (and a few adults if there are spots available).  You must register for the "Stop the Bleed" class on the troop website.   Troop Elections will be held on Thursday, May 13th.  Scouts that are considering running for a position must complete the Troop Elections form (which can be found under the Files tab of our website) and send it to their Scoutmaster for approval.

Tracking physical activity is required for the tenderfoot, second class, and first class ranks as well as the physical fitness merit badge.  This is one of the least favorite requirements for most scouts.  We have a pro tip to make this chore as fruitful as possible:  pull a blue card for the personal fitness merit badge NOW.  If you do this correctly, you can count the tracking you do for your rank advancements towards this eagle required merit badge.  Do it incorrectly, and you will be tracking twice.  Timing is key!  Scouts who have failed to follow this advice in the past have regretted it later.  Troop 13 is fortunate to have two personal fitness MB counselors within our troop: Mr. Taylor and Mr. Nelson.  Contact either one of these merit badge counselors or the advancement team for more details.  And happy tracking!

A reminder to new and old parents.  All camping must be registered AND paid through the website and not via check or through paypal directly. We apologize for any mixed messages you may have received on this issue.  When you don't pay through the website it creates significant problems for adult leadership, delays your registration, and just plain wastes time.  The troop pays for the website to avoid these issues. .   If you don't know how to pay through the website, there are instructions in the files section of the website or you can call Mrs. Bell and she will help you.  If there are problems with the website, we need to know so we can address the issue with the web host.  There are only two exceptions to this rule.  First, we will take payment directly for summer camps and high adventure when the camp allows this process to save parents from paying credit card processing fees.  Second, scouts who have earned money through fundraising can pay from their scout accounts.  Please note that scout accounts are for fundraising proceeds and camping refunds ONLY--this is not a private banking service.  If you want to pay via a scout account, you have to follow these procedures EVERY TIME: (1) email Mr. Taylor (troop treasurer) and cc Mrs. Bell to ask if there are sufficient funds in the scout account to pay for that campout--include the cost of the campout and the name of the campout in your email; (2) after Mr. Taylor agrees there are sufficient funds, then register for camping with a note that the money is to be paid from the scout account; (3) make sure Mr. Taylor's email response is copied to Mrs. Bell or is forwarded to Mrs. Bell.  If you accidentally pay the wrong way, make sure you forward a copy of your receipt to Mrs. Bell.   Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. 

Troop 13 will not be attending the WOW Campout due to lack of interest.  All paid camping fees will be refunded to scout accounts unless a refund check is requested from the troop treasurer. Patrols are encouraged to plan their own patrol Campouts for April.

Are you interested in summer camp?  Registration for Camp La No Che is going on now and we have had great luck getting scouting scouts all the classes they want.  If you have not yet sent your class selections to Mrs. Bell, please do so soon.  Registration for classes at Camp Rainey Mountain opens on  March 29.

Troop 13 will be attending summer camp at Camp La No Che June 27- July 3 and Camp Rainey Mountain July 11-17.  These are beautiful and highly regarded camps.  If you want to go to Rainey Mountain, you must have successfully completed a week of camp in the past or have prior Scoutmaster approval.  Registering for summer camp is a 3 step process.  First, research the camps and make your decision.  Google them and download and read the program guides for each camp--they are located in the files section of the website.  Second, pay your fees on our Troop 13 website in time for merit badge selection in March.  Just click on each summer camp on the website calendar to register and pay.  Third, send your merit badge selections to Mrs. Bell in a timely manner so you get the classes you want.   The best merit badge classes fill up fast so please don't delay.