A reminder that the PLC decided that there will be no Troop Meeting next week because it is Halloween.

This Sunday, October 30 is the Court of Honor.  Set up will begin at 6:30 in the Sanctuary of the church.  The Court of Honor begins at 7:00.  We have a few rank patches to hand out and a bunch of merit badges, most of which were earned at Summer Camp.  Don't forget to pick up your Scouting For Food bags to put out the weekend of Nov 5. 

The Ballston Spa Rotary is looking for help to unload the delivery of tree’s on Nov 22nd at 10AM.  In the past we had the help of recent HS grads (this is a school day) who may have been home from college.  This will take place at Curtis Lumber and a pizza lunch is provided. Anyone having any questions can contact Mr. Hosek. 

If you cannot be at the Court of Honor to pick up bags for Scouting For Food, please email me [email protected] and I will make arrangements to get some to you.  It is very important that we get as many bags out into the village as we can to have our best chance to fill the shelves of the food pantry.  Remember where you put them because you will need to go back on the 12th to pick them up.  A couple of things to keep in mind.....
*be safe: keep an eye out for cars, wear your seatbelt, be aware of what is going on around you, don't run
*be respectful: don't walk through anyone's yard, use the driveway or walkway, no yelling or screaming, don't make a mess
*do not hang bags on or put in mailboxes
*be polite: explain what you are doing and why, do not leave a bag if they ask you not to, say thank you even if they don't donate make a donation
*keep track of how much time you spend both putting out bags and picking them up.  Keep a count of how many bags you take to the food pantry too.

Congratulations to the "Andrews" for recently completing Boards of Review
Andrew P.  2nd Class
Andrew E.  2nd Class
Andrew H.  1st Class
Andrew R.   Life

Congratulations also to Matty H., Vinny S., and Jake T. who earned their Scout Rank!  Great job!!

Hi Everyone!

A couple of quick reminders----
****There will be a troop committee meeting tonight at 7:00.  Everyone is welcome.
****Popcorn Forms and popcorn money is due to Mr. Sanders at the next troop meeting.
****If any scouts have free time this weekend, the Ballston Spa Elks Club is looking for Scouts from the Troop to participate in a flag ceremony on Sunday Oct. 23 at the Saratoga National Cemetery.   You should arrive by 10:30 in your class A uniform.  It should only take about an hour and will count for community service.  Contact Mr Roby if you have any questions.
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Coming up on the weekends of Nov. 5th and 12th is our annual Scouting For Food drive.  We collect food for the food pantry at the United Methodist Church.  You can read more about the food pantry at this link www.ballstonspaumchurch.org/food-pantry.html

This time of year is difficult for families in need.  Along with the holidays, the cold weather brings the extra expense of needing warmer clothes and heat for homes.  Often times buying food is the only thing they can cut back on.  It is shocking how many families the food pantry at this church serves and it isn't very difficult for us to help out.  If we all just spend a few hours we can help so many people. 

The first weekend (Nov 5) you take the scouting for food bags and hang them on the door knobs in your neighborhood. You can go to other neighborhoods as well if there isn't a scout already putting bags out.  We will have slips of paper printed out that tells what the bags are for and what kinds of things are most helpful.  Some people leave a bag or two, some leave nothing, but thats ok, every little bit helps.  On Saturday, Nov. 12, go back through anyplace you left a bag and pick up any that are left out.  When you have them all bring them to the food pantry during the collection hours (I will let you know what times the food pantry will be open later) and there will be someone there to collect your bags.  Make sure you keep track of how much time you spend putting the bags out and collecting them because it counts for community service hours.  Keep track of how many bags you collect so we will have an idea of what we collected. I'll post some safety reminders next week.

We usually distribute bags at the last scout meeting before we put them out.  We don't have a meeting on Oct 31 so we will have bags ready to had out at the Court of Honor on the 30th.  If you don't get them at the court of honor I will arrange to meet you someplace to get them.

Scouting For Food is one of the most important service projects that we do.  The church relies on us, the food pantry counts on us and our community needs us.

You can read more about Scouting for Food here
scoutingwire.org/scouting-for-foods-legacy-of-service/
www.trcscouting.org/News/2016SFF

Hope everyone had a good Columbus Day!
I have a couple reminders, a couple new things and a couple things going on around us to tell you about.
    
****This Friday, Oct 14, from 5-7 is the next Popcorn Show and Sell at the Stewarts shop on the corner of Rt 67 and Eastline Rd.  Popcorn forms and money is due to Mr Sanders by Monday Oct. 24.
****If you still need to pay dues you can get them to Mr Brogan at Monday's troop meeting.
****There is a troop committee meeting Tuesday, Oct 18 at 7:00 in the large classroom at the church.  Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.
****Our first Court of Honor will be Sunday, Oct. 30 in the sanctuary at the church.  Set up will begin at 6:00 with the Court of Honor beginning at 7:00.  We have tons of merit badges from summer camp just waiting to be sewed onto a sash!!
       NEW STUFF
****Sunday, Oct. 16    (It was originally announced as Saturday, Oct 15)  There will be an orienteering course at Boyhaven for scouts who need it for advancement or who wish to sharpen their skills.  For crossovers, this course will cover First Class requirement 4a on pg 445 in the 13th edition of the Scout Handbook.  For older scouts, this course will meet First Class requirement 2 on page 436 of the 12th edition of the Scout Handbook.  Meet at 1:00 at the Campmaster cabin.  This will be a rain or shine event.  Bring your compass and handbook!
****Monday, Oct 17  Anyone needing to finish requirements for the Scout badge are encouraged to come to the church at 6:00 before the Troop meeting to work on requirements.
     Other Stuff
The Saratoga District Winter Swim Program will be held on Sundays starting Jan.8 and going through Mar 19 from 10-11am at the YMCA on West Ave in Saratoga.  Classes are free for members of the YMCA and if you are not a member they are only $3 per class.  These classes are to work on the Swimming and Lifesaving Merit Badges including completions of partials earned at summer camp and for sign offs of the Second and First Class swimming requirements.  Registration starts Nov. 1 and class size is limited.  Everyone MUST pre register.  Registration is expected to be done by the individual scout (not parents or Scoutmaster).  To register contact Jay Weigel at 383-5758 or [email protected].  Adults and Scouts with swimming skills and who are willing to help, please call Jay.

An Ad Altare Dei program is being organized at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Clifton Park.  The Ad Altare Dei program is the religious program for Roman Catholic Scouts that has been endorsed by the BSA.  The program kick-off meeting will be held Thursday, Oct 20 at 7:15pm at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church at 569 Clifton Park Center Rd. in Clifton Park.  Parents will be expected to stay for this meeting.  Any youth of the Roman Catholic Faith who is registered with the Troop and has been active for 6 months can join.  The program is designed for youth 13-14 years old and have ideally completed 6th grade, but older youth may also participate.  Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 7:15-8:15pm (10/20, 11/3, 11/17, 12/1, 12/15, 1/5, 1/19, 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, 3/30)  Attendance is expected at each meeting unless the scout is ill.  Participants should wear Class A uniforms.  For more information contact Greg Szczesny at [email protected].  For more information about the Ad Altare Dei program please visit the following website www.nccs-bsa.org/index.php/religious-emblems/ad-altare-dei.  You can visit the following site for more information about the BSA recognized religious programs www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Awards/ReligiousAwards.aspx
     
Have a great week!