McScout Night Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who turned out last week for our McScout Night fundraiser. We had a great turn out. Special thanks to Rich Hoey for setting up the event, and to the parents and leaders that helped work at the fundraiser.

Aquanauts!

Last week, scouts learned about water safety, the buddy system, different swim strokes. Check out photos of scouts earning their Aquanaut activity badges and Swimming belt loops.

McScout Night - Oct 6

Come support you Copper Canyon Cub Scouts!

Bring the family and support the Cub Scouts (Pack 618) at

McScout Night and enjoy one of the "Happiest Meals" ever.

Thursday, October 6th

4:30pm - 7:30pm

McDonald's at Bell and Tatum

4830 East Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Don't miss the chance to put your Den Leaders to work!

A portion of sales from McScout Night will be donated to BSA Pack 618

The Paradise Valley Unified School District neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity represented in this document.

Summer Fun!

We hope you had a great summer and look forward to seeing you at our Pack meeting this Thursday at 7:00pm in the Copper Canyon multipurpose room.

Our scouts were busy this summer.  Check out some of our photo albums

If you would like to share any photos of your summertime fun, add it to our album by attaching them to an email and send it to: azpack618.pictures.3238@sfly.com

R - C

Summer Kickball

Camp Kaibab

National Unity Flag and 9/11 Tribute - Sep 15th

The Wolf Den will be participating in an exciting event as part of obtaining their Wolf Badges.

A couple of weeks ago, Rich Hoey met the designer of the National Unity Flag (Randy Cooney) while attending a Real Estate Broker class. As it turns out, the National Unity Flag will be on display at the Scottsdale Center of Performing Arts Atrium and he arranged a time for our Pack 618 Scouts to meet the designer in person.

Randy Cooney has agreed to do a special presentation for the Scouts and Families of Pack 618 which will be a great teaching moment. There is a also a 9/11 exhibit displaying a Memorial Wall with 2,996 full-color memorial cards with biographical information and a photograph of each of the fallen victims all of which is free and open to the public.

Event Information:
National Unity Flag and Randy Cooney Information
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Atrium
7380 E. Second Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 6:30pm.
Please note, the exhibits close at 7:30pm. So if you want to view the other items, you might want to get there early.

Any Scout attending should be in their Class A uniform as they will be representing Pack 618.

For more information:
Program Flyer
Link to event
Finally, there is another event (free to the public) going on at the same time called Constitution Commemoration. So plan accordingly.

Please contact your den leader if you have any questions.

Welcome Back to Scouting Kickball Tournament - Sep 9th

Join us for our Welcome Back to Scouting Kickball Tournament on September 9. This is an optional event, and entire families are welcome to attend.

We'll start with Tigers v. Wolves @ 6:30 PM at Casey at the Bat at 40th St & Union Hills. Parents and siblings play on your scout's team.

The cost is $5 per person, and includes hot dog or pizza slice, chips, and a drink. Be sure to wear your yellow pack T-shirts for this event. See the flyer for full details.

If you're interested in attending, please RSVP by September 8 at the following link: http://www.mysignup.com/618kickball. Just click on any available "We'll be there!" button.

Camp Kaibab - CUBS IN SPACE

Camp Kaibab is a mix between day camp and summer camp being held at Camp Raymond near Williams, AZ in September. It is a good opportunity for fun, with a space theme that includes a rocket launch. Click the following link for details: http://campkaibab.com/

Join Scouting Night - Aug 25th

On August 25th, at 6:45 PM in the Copper Canyon Multipurpose Room, we will have our annual Join Scouting Night to recruit new scouts for a pack. Any boy grade 1 through 5 is welcome.

Cub Scouting combines fun with educational activities and lifelong values. It also helps parents to help their boys strengthen character, develop good citizenship, and enhance both physical and mental fitness.

You do not need to attend this event unless you have a son that is considering joining scouts for the first time -- if you're continuing from last year, just wait to hear from your den leader about the first den meeting, likely in September.

Memorial Day Flag Placement

Hello Pack 618!

Congratulations to all of the scouts for advancing to their next rank.
I hope you all enjoyed the graduation on Saturday. We'll be updating
ScoutTrack soon with new rank information so that it will be available
over the summer for updates.

As I mentioned, this coming weekend we'll be assisting with flag
placement at the Veteran's cemetery for the Memorial Day weekend.
Every year, the National Memorial Cemetery has volunteer
organizations, including cub scouts, place small American flags on the
graves of the veterans interred there. Flag placement is voluntary,
and takes place this Saturday, May 28, at 7:00 AM. Parking can be
difficult, so I recommend arriving early if you want to help, and
please wear your full class-A uniforms. It is a fantastic experience
-- it is the last resting place for over 50,000 of America's heroes,
and we post a flag at each grave in less than an hour. There are
donuts available afterward for the kids. Look for us before placement
starts on the south side of the visitor center.

If you can't make it on Saturday, assistance is also welcomed on
Tuesday when the flags are removed.

The cemetery is located on Pinnacle Peak road, just east of Cave Creek
Road: http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/nmca.asp
--
Regards,
Paul Kaiser

Cub Scout Day Camp 2011

Grand Canyon Council presents…

Starbase Pueblo!!

Cub Scout Day Camp 2011

The Grand Canyon Council's Heard Scout Pueblo hosts this three-day camp experience, is packed with fun space-themed activities including:

Archery

BB Guns

Adventure

Crafts

Swimming

Games & Sports

Webelos Scientist Pin

Decorate your den’s site

Spaces are still available... Click here for more information

Scout night with the AZ Rattlers - Exciting Arena Football May 28!

Scout Night with the Rattlers! Saturday May 28th, 7:00PM at the US Airways Center Half the field… twice the Fun!  Arizona Rattlers Football is the most exciting sports value in town!  It's high scoring, hard hitting and non-stop action.  Join some of the AFL's wildest fans at U.S. Airways Center (a.k.a. the Snake Pit). It's our AZ Rattlers vs. the Cleveland Gladiators  Click here for all the details and order information  Questions?  Call Dan Berman at 602-680-5550 ext. 1 or email him at Dan@GroupTicketsAmerica.com ***$2.00 of each ticket goes to fund local Scouting programs

Pack Events for May

Hello Pack 618!

As the school year winds down, so does our scouting year. However, we still have a few things happening this month:

Family Camping: May 13 - 15, and there are still a few spots left. If you want to go, sign up here: http://www.mysignup.com/618FamilyCamping

Graduation Pack Meeting: Our May (graduation) pack meeting will be held on Saturday, May 21, 6:00 PM at Desert Horizon Park (aka "Police Park"). We'll have one last test for the boys before they advance to their next rank. Hope you all can make it.

Memorial Day Flag Placement: As in past years, you can volunteer to help place flags on the graves of our veterans to celebrate Memorial Day weekend. This is typically held on Saturday morning, which would be May 28; still confirming the details for this one, and will share them when I have them. It's a great experience if you can make it.

Personally, I've had a great year of scouting, and I hope all of you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Keep an eye on your email for a few summer events that the pack will be planning, and have a safe and
restful summer.

--
Regards,
Paul Kaiser
Cubmaster Pack 618

McScout Night - May 5

Come support you Copper Canyon Cub Scouts!

Bring the family and support the Cub Scouts (Pack 618) at

McScout Night and enjoy one of the "Happiest Meals" ever.

Thursday, May 5th

4:30pm - 7:30pm

McDonald's at Bell and Tatum

4830 East Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Don't miss the chance to put your Den Leaders to work!

A portion of sales from McScout Night will be donated to BSA Pack 618

The Paradise Valley Unified School District neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity represented in this document.

Cross Over 2011

Congratulations to our Webelo II boys who recently crossed over to Boy Scouts. Check out this photo album with highlights of the evening.

Family Camping Spots Still Available

There are still three camping spots left for the weekend of May 13 through 15 at O'Leary Campground. Use the link below to sign up if you're interested:

http://www.mysignup.com/618familycamping

Yard Sale Nets $531.80 for Pack

Thanks for everyone's great donations to Saturday's yard sale. The Bears netted $531.80 for Pack 618, and the boys earned their Sales arrow point.

Family Camping 2011 - May 13-15

Our 2011 Family Camping trip is scheduled for the weekend of May 13 - 15.

 

Family camping is an outdoor experience that involves Cub Scouting program elements in overnight settings with two or more family members, including at least one BSA member of that family. Parents are responsible for the supervision of their children, and Youth Protection guidelines apply.

 

This year, we will be staying at the O'Leary Group Campground northeast of Flagstaff, very close to Sunset Crater National Monument. Thanks to Dave Cramer for handling the reservations again this year. There are 18 campsites available - to cover expenses we ask that each campsite make a $15 donation to the pack. If you are interested in attending with your scout and any other family members, sign up to reserve your space:

 

http://www.mysignup.com/618familycamping

Space is running out at R - C Summer Camp

If you have not already received confirmation of your R - C summer camp registration, please be aware that sessions 1, 2 and 3 are full. There is still availability at this time for session 4, and for family camp. Click here for more information.

Pinewood Derby Open Garage Today!

This is a reminder that we're having an open garage today (Saturday, March 5) at the Kuiper Residence, from 10 AM to 4 PM. All scouts from the pack are welcome at any time during the open garage.

The purpose of this open garage is to perform basic work on your pinewood derby cars, such as simple cuts and reaching weight. We'll have band saw, belt sander and drill press available, as well as lots of advice. Please work with your scout to have a plan in mind before you arrive, to expedite the work. Remember to bring your your scout and his derby car kit. Also bring any additional materials that you might need to work with like weights, glue, putty, etc. -- these are not provided by the pack or the Kuiper family. Address of the Kuiper Estate is 17848 N 52nd Place, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Remember that car qualifications are Wednesday, March 9, 6 PM to 8 PM, and Friday, March 11, 7 PM to 8 PM. Derby Rules are available by clicking here.

Blue & Gold Thanks

I hope you all had as much fun last night at Blue & Gold as I did! Those were some great cakes. I'm incredibly proud to see how hard our boys have worked to earn their ranks.

 

All credit for the hard work that made last night such a success goes to Dona Whitney and her volunteer committee: Cristina Carlson, Blake Kite and the whole Kite family, Chetan & Veena Nayak, and Kelly Meyer. Also special thanks to Ed Junod for his hard work on the rocket-based award delivery system, to Amanda Cramer for managing the broad spectrum of awards and badges earned, to Scott Wiegand & Eric Szeto for the slide show, Melissa Wiegand for early setup help, to the Scorpion Patrol for showing up early to help out, to the Boy Scout volunteers from Troop 818 for all of their help, and to the Color Guard from the Veterans Pride Battalion of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

 

And as always, we couldn't make any of this happen without our volunteer leaders, and our parents.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to derby racing in 2 weeks!

 

Paul

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Our scouts have been busy over the past few months. Check out our Shutterfly web site at http://azpack618.shutterfly.com. We also have albums highlighted on the right-side of our web site.

If you have any photos you would like to have posted, contact Scott Wiegand or your den leader.

Pinewood Derby Date Changes

The date for our Pinewood Derby has changed to March 12, 2011. Paul sent an email to the pack with details about the change. Click here for a copy of the email.

See below for a link to the official rule and please do not hesitate to ask questions of your den leader, or to contact Paul directly.

Pack 618 Pinewood Derby Rules

We are also moving the dates for construction and qualification back one week.

Date	Time	Description
3/5/2011	TBA	Derby Car Building at the Kuiper Estate
3/9/2011	6:00PM - 8:00PM	Derby Car Qualification at the Kuiper Estate
3/11/2011	7:00PM - 8:00PM	Derby Car Qualification at the Kuiper Estate
3/12/2011	1:00PM	Pack 618 Pinewood Derby at Copper Canyon
3/19/2011	7:00AM	Four Peaks District Pinewood Derby

To find the Kuiper Estate:
17848 N 52nd Place
Click here for a map.

Blue and Gold - February 26

On Saturday, February 26, at 6:00 PM in the Copper Canyon multipurpose room, we will hold our annual Blue & Gold Banquet, a cub scout tradition since the 1930s. For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, February is the month in which we celebrate the birthday of scouting, and the means by which we celebrate is the Blue & Gold Banquet. This year, we've chosen a military theme to honor America's service men and women. As the name implies, we'll be having dinner at this banquet -- pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches, with macaroni & cheese, coleslaw, and drinks. There will also be vegetarian options as needed.

Cakes

As is tradition, part of this birthday celebration involves cake! Each scout is being asked to bake (or at least decorate) a cake, with parents' help of course. These cakes will be auctioned off during our banquet. If your talents do not include baking, buy a plain cake and help your scout to decorate it. If you haven't experienced this before, check online for ideas (like this) -- we've had some amazing cakes over the years, including a fire-breathing dragon, and a smoking volcano that my family took home last year. Remember our military theme, and have fun with this! The cakes will be auctioned using bid sheets setup next to each cake. While bidding is open, anyone may write down a higher bid than previous on any cake. All cakes start at $5, and bidding should progress in one dollar increments. As in past years, kids will be frantic to bid -- please have a limit in mind and advise your children about appropriate amounts (Paul took home $75 in cake last year...).

FOR SAFETY REASONS, PLEASE DO NOT USE NUTS IN OR ON YOUR CAKES.

Entertainment

We will have special guests to conduct our flag ceremony, the Color Guard from the Veterans Pride Battalion of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corp. In addition, the Tiger den is preparing a skit, and we've also heard rumors that the pack committee members might have something in mind... There will be no Chinese Auction or other raffle this year as you might have experienced in the past.

Honor Wall

In honor of our military, please bring pictures of any veterans or active service men or women in your family, that we can include in our honor wall that will be displayed during the banquet. If you have any military memorabilia that you're willing to share for display at this event, please contact our Volunteer Committee Chairperson, Dona Whitney.

Attendance

As with every pack meeting, entire families are welcome. This is a particularly special occasion, so please feel free to invite grandparents, aunts & uncles, and any friends and family members who'd like to see how scouting serves our sons. Your den leaders may have already asked for a headcount for pre-pay by February 18; kids under 16 eat free, and 16 and over are $10 each. Adult price at the door will be $12.

This is a great cub scout tradition that many of our pack's leaders recall from our own days as scouts. We hope you all can make it.

Scouting for Food Update

We just received an update from district about the success of Scouting for Food this year. The Four Peaks district collected 6380 lbs of food and $20 for Paradise Valley Emergency Food Bank and approximately 200 lbs for St. Mary’s.  This year, we had 9 units participating which is nearly double the number of last year.

Way to go scouts!

The results are in...

Scouting for Food was an amazing success. Our scouts collected food door-to-door in the 60th and Bell area. We collected over 2500 lbs of food for the Paradise Valley Emergency Food Bank and St. Mary’s. Thank you to everyone who helped coordinate the effort and especially to the scouts who gave up their Saturday to do their daily good turn.

Rocket Lauch is a Go for 1/22!

As of now, we are a GO for launch at Coyote Basin Park at noon!
 
Watch this web site for updates in the event of inclement weather.
 
As always, this is an event for the whole family. The pack will provide lunch (thanks to volunteers Ami Johanson & Dona Whitney) that includes subs, chips, water, lemonade, and dessert. If you want anything different for lunch for your family, please bring it. Also, please bring something to sit on, like chairs or blankets. We'll have a flag ceremony at noon, with lunch immediately following, and the Tigers eating first.

As soon as they are done with lunch, the Tigers can line up for rocket inspection and launch. We will continue to lunch & launch by den, from youngest to oldest. Once all scouts have had a chance to launch, any parents or siblings that have their own rockets to launch may do so, followed by any scouts that want to launch a second (or third, fourth, fifth...) time. The pack will provide each scout with one engine for their first launch; for additional launches, or to launch parents' and siblings' rockets, please provide your own engines (the pack may have extras, but there is no guarantee).

For scouts that have a long wait to launch, or between launches, we will be simultaneously holding a kickball game, with an opportunity for scouts to earn their kickball belt loop if they have not already done so.

Coyote Basin Park is located at 2730 E Beardsley Road, between Beardsley Road and the Loop 101, just east of Costco at 26th St. Click Here for a Map.

Please Note: Westbound Loop 101 will be closed this weekend from Tatum Blvd to 19th Avenue, so if you were planning to take the Loop 101 west and exit at Cave Creek (or anywhere west of Tatum), you'll need to come up with an alternate route.

The Rocket Launch is Almost Here! -- 1/22

We hope everyone had a pleasant and safe holiday season. Our next pack meeting is scheduled for noon Saturday, January 22, at Coyote Basin Park. This will be our annual Pack 618 Rocket Launch. We'll start with lunch, and then have our first launch as soon as the Tigers are ready.

UPDATE:

The rocket launch is almost here, and we're still in need of a few parent volunteers to serve as rocket inspectors. The job of an inspector is to ensure that a rocket is safe to launch, and we will have training for new inspectors. If you can help out, please sign up here: http://www.mysignup.com/618rocketlaunch

Webelos II Campout

The Webelos II patrol went camping with the Boy Scouts last month. Everyone had a great time! They even beat the older boys in some of the competitions.

Check out the photo album!