Cub Scout Pack 722

Our annual program planning meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 4, 7 pm at the Macdonald's house. Please RSVP to cubscouts (at) pack722wakefield.com if you are planning on attending.

Our Fall Registration night is schedule for Thursday, September 16.

Our April Pack Meeting will be held next Thursday, April 8, 6:30 pm at the Greenwood Union Church. At this meeting, five of our Scouts will receive the highest award in Cub Scouting, the Arrow of Light. Two special guests will be addressing our Pack, and leaders from the Boy Scouts will be there to welcome our Webelos into the Troop. There will also be refreshments after the ceremony. Please be prompt.

Because this is a special occasion, we are asking your cooperation in bringing your Scouts to the meeting in full uniforms: hat, neckerchief, and shirt. The Pack tee shirts are not appropriate for this occasion. If your Scout is missing any components of his uniform, please contact your Den Leader or respond to this email. Our Webelos have worked very hard for five years to achieve this award, and they are due the proper respect of the Pack. Thank you.

Also of note:

• The annual Spring Cleanup service project is this weekend, Saturday, April 10. This project is an important part of our Pack's community service component, and all Scouts are asked to attend. We will meet at the Greenwood Union Church at 9 am, pick up around the church and then move to the Greenwood School. Afterwards, we will return to the church for pizza. Please bring a plastic grocery bag or two, and gloves if you have them.

• The Camp Nihan overnight is comin up on April 24. We will have a signup sheet at the Pack Meeting. Once again, we're asking families to bring something to contribute to the dinner on Saturday night.

• Lastly, it's hard to believe but the Blue and Gold Banquet is coming up on May 13. For those new to the Pack, we celebrate the Scouting year with a potluck dinner and present the rank achievement awards. This year we will also be presenting the Pinewood Derby trophies at the Banquet. But the real highlight of this year's banquet will be the entertainment - which is so ridiculously awesome that we can barely keep the secret. You definitely will want to be there!

The long-awaited OverKnight at the Higgins Armory museum is coming fast! The trip is next weekend - Saturday, March 27; the program begins at 5:30 pm.

The Higgins Armory Museum is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, about an hour from Wakefield. Directions to the Armory can be found here

You should bring a sleeping bag, pillow, toothbrush, PJs, and a change of clothes for Sunday. Air mattresses are OK; tents are not.

Details of the program are below. For more information, including an overview of the museum's collection, you can visit their website. If you have any questions, please call Jeff Crump or your den leader.

• 5:30-6:00 p.m. Participants arrive and set-up sleeping gear in the Quest Gallery.

• 6:00-7:00 p.m. The group enjoys dinner, a Medieval-style banquet.

• 7:00-8:00 p.m. The evening formally begins with a presentation on the Arms and Armor of a Knight, including an extended hands-on section where participants can try on pieces of armor and equipment.

• 8:00-8:30 p.m. A guided tour of the collection follows.

• 8:30-9:30 p.m. Participants return to the classroom for a heraldry lesson and shield workshop.

• 9:30-10:00 p.m. Prior to lights-out, a bedtime snack will be served. Decaffeinated coffee and tea are available for adult guests.

• 10:00 p.m. Lights out.

• 6:15 a.m. Wake-up call.

• 6:30-7:00 a.m. Continental breakfast: assorted baked goods, cereal, yogurt, juice, milk, coffee and tea.

• 7:00-8:00 a.m. Participants return to the Great Hall for a Quest: a scavenger hunt for the "Elements of the Chivalric Code".

• 8:00-8:30 a.m. After successfully completing this Quest, a Knighting Ceremony will be conducted by the Nobles of the Realm (Group Leaders).

• 8:30-9:00 a.m. Visit to the Museum gift store.

• 9:00 a.m. Departure.

The Pinewood Derby is this weekend! The weigh-in is on Friday, March 5, from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Greenwood Union Church. We will have a work area set up where the cars can be adjusted for weight and have their wheels lubricated. Once the cars are checked-in, they stay at the church until Saturday.

The races are on Saturday, March 6th, according to the following schedule:

• Tigers: 9:30
• Wolves: 10:30
• Bears: 11:30
• Webelos 1: 12:30
• Webelos 2: 1:30

The winners of each den race will go to the District Finals in Concord on Saturday, March 20.

Our monthly Pack meeting will be held this Thursday, February 11, 6:30 pm at the Greenwood Union Church. It's Take-It-Apart Day!

The Scouts will be learning how things work by, well, taking them apart. First of all, you'll need something to take apart: small appliance, toaster, tool, anything that doesn't contain hazardous materials. Please no CRTs or anything containing coolants like dehumidifiers or air conditioners. If you don't have anything laying around, perhaps you can share with a friend. If you have anything extra, bring it along to share. We've already had a few things donated, too.

You will need to bring tools: screwdrivers, pliers, etc. Safety goggles are always a good thing. It's a good idea to label your tools with a piece of masking tape so you don't lose them. We discourage the use of hammers because of flying pieces and the general mayhem that hammers provoke.

We'll also have a "creation" table set up with glue guns for Scouts that want to re-assemble pieces into something creative. If you have a glue gun and would like to help out, please bring it (Hint, hint, moms!)

We will also need volunteers to help tote the trash away. If you have the capacity in your vehicle, please let James know.

In short, the goal of this activity is to walk through some "creative destruction" with your Scout to investigate what goes on in the inside. It's a lot of fun.

Finally, please remember that final payment for the Armory sleepover is due at this meeting. To fill the remaining few slots, we are opening up the registration to other siblings and even friends on a first come, first serve basis. See Jeff with your payment or to sign up.

Our January Pack Meeting will be held this Thursday, January 14th, 6:30 pm at the Greenwood Union Church. We have a busy meeting planned so please be prompt.

This month is the annual Pack 722 Olympics, and we will be recognizing Wolves, Bears and Webelos for their recent accomplishments. At the end of the meeting we will be distributing the pinewood derby cars along with a special item that we think the boys will like.

If your scout wants to attend the sleepover at the Higgins Armory, there are currently just 9 slots available. You can sign up at the Pack meeting. Payment is due no later than the Feburary Pack Meeting on 2/11.

Other important dates:

• Scout Day at the Boston Blazers is Saturday, January 30 at 1pm. Tickets are $10. Signup at the Pack Meeting.

• The Cub Scout Olympics will be held on Sunday, February 7, 12:30- 3 pm at the Minuteman Regional High School in Lexington. More information and directions will be available shortly. This event is always a lot of fun, and don't worry -- you'll be home in plenty of time for the Super Bowl.

• Our February Pack Meeting on 2/11 is the famous "Take it Apart Day". At this meeting the boys will disassemble whatever items you can bring in. If you're about to throw away something that's broken... don't! Save it for destruction at the hands of a Cub Scout! The only restrictions: no CRTs, no oil (drain it if necessary) or other hazardous materials. Examples of good items to bring are blenders, VCRs, computers, small engines, etc. This is a favorite event of the boys, so save your junk for the February meeting.

• The Pinewood Derby is the weekend of March 6-7. Look for a separate email with details.

Photos from the Tiger den visits to the Greenwood fire station and the Home Depot kids clinic have been posted to the gallery. Enjoy!

Photos from the campout at 40 Acres have been posted to the photo gallery. Click the link on the left to view them... there are a lot! What a great time we all had!

Two new photo albums have been added to our photo gallery with pictures from two October activities. We're still working on getting pictures from the 40 Acres campout up. Thanks for your patience.

Our annual Fall Registration night will be held on Thursday, September 17th, from 6:30 - 8 pm at the Greenwood Union Church. All are welcome! Bring your son, meet our leaders and learn about the fun things we have planned for the year. The registration fee is $45 ($40 for siblings). It's not strictly necessary for returning families to come to registration night, but we do encourage it.

One week later, on Thursday, September 24, we will have our first Pack meeting of the year, from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Greenwood Union Church.