One of our newest Scouts, Adam, is having his Blue and Gold Cross over ceremony on the 27th. Let’s support our new Scout family member by having as much participation as possible to welcome him to the Troop. It is Wednesday the 27th at 530pm at West Elementary School located at 25 N 20th St, Colorado Springs, CO 80904. Please come a few minutes early and in Class A’s looking sharp. We will welcome Adam and provide him with his neckerchief. Please sign up if you are able to make it! Its will only last one hour.
Troop! Great News. Blake McTee has convinced the Monarch Mountain Lodge to let us stay there overnight on Saturday for $20 each….which includes breakfast the next morning. So, if you do want to say overnight then that is an option! It’s 5 minutes from the slopes. Right now, we have 3 scouts signed up for a day trip. All these scouts already have the Snow Sport Merit Badge so the trip (at this point) will be more for fun….the merit badge is still an option though. Please sign up if you want to go for the day trip or overnighter!
The link is under “Activity Sign Up” at the top of the website.
The Troop decided they want to go skiing this weekend since the Air Force Academy postponed the Freez-O-Ree. This is a last minute planning decision so we are looking at two options…One is a day trip to Monarch on Saturday, the 23rd. The other is a one night overnighter where we depart and Ski Saturday and return Sunday evening. Please sign up on what you would prefer to do and we will make a final decision prior to going. For this trip we will offer the Snow Sports Merit badge for those that would like to Ski or Snowboard. To earn the merit badge, you must already be a little proficient to complete the ski/snowboard tasks. For those that just want to ski/snowboard for fun, then that is fine too. If you have never skied or snowboarded then its best to have an adult dedicated to hang with those scouts because they require constant supervision.
Here are some prices to consider for the trip if you do not have your own ski gear or have a season lift ticket:
If you get the tickets at the above link a one day ticket for an Adult is $74, a teen (13-17) is $49, and a junior (7-12) is $32. Please buy your tickets in advacne online.
If we do have an overnight option then there will be a cost for lodging as well.
Please pack clothing for skiing, pack some snack and have some spending money for meals. Lunch if we do a one day trip. Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch if we do the overnighter.
Please sign up as soon as you can so we can plan! We will update everyone as we go.
Please sign up at the below link as soon as possible!
Parents, please come to tonights meeting if your scout is going to Sea Base this summer. We want to make sure we have everyone’s input in making travel plans!
The Air Force Academy has postponed the Free-O-Ree. This is the message on the Pikes Peak Council Web Site, “THE FREEZOREE WILL BE CHANGING CHANGING IT’S DATE TO ETHER MARCH 15-17 OR APRIL 12-14. THE REASON FOR THE CHANGE IS BECAUSE THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY WILL BE UNAVAILABLE ON THE ORIGINAL DATE.”
Tomorrow, pending no cancellation from School, we will decide an alternate Course of Action for this weekend. The easiest switch might be to do our ski trip this weekend and the Free-O-Ree next month. Please come to the meeting with some ideas.
We are definitely doing the Freez-O-Ree when it comes up! Check out the work Mr. Petree did to complete the scouts sled design!
Troop our next Court of Honor will be the Chili cook off! The scouts (under the guidance of their parents) make chil to share with the troop and everyone gets to vote on which one is the best. Feel free to be creative! The winner get an Amazon gift card, 2nd place gets a pat on the back, 3rd place get’s a “better luck next year” and everyone gets a full belly and a good time!
For our newer scouts. The COH is a quarterly event where scouts receive any new merit badges and awards that they earned over the past 3 months. There is a slide show created by the troop scribe to reflect on the cool stuff we did the over the last quarter too! This is also a chance for the Committee Chair and the Scoutmaster to update everyone on the lastest and greatest information. The Treasurer updates parents on the status of the scout accont (bring checkbook because scout goign to camp and other things might owe some money) and there will be a few other things. This is for the whole family!
The COH is February 26th. Arrive at 530pm for set up. The COH officially starts at 6pm. We normally finish before 8pm. I’m thinking we will have about 40-50 people there.
Please sign up for items to bring:
8 slots of Chili minimum (more scouts can bring chili if they want)
4 slots for a dozen rolls
2 slots for crackers
2 slots for salad
2 slots for shredded cheese
4 slots for a dessert
1 slot for sour cream
2 slots for a bag of tortilla chips
Please sign up for the item you will bring at the below sign up genius link!
Folks, the Sea Base meeting will be next Tuesday! Sorry for the “Happy Accident”. The rest of the stuff is tonight….sled building, First Aide MB, and Committee Meeting.
There’s a lot going on tomorrow. Some scouts will work on the First Aid Merit Badge and the others will start sled construction for the Free-o-ree. Adults please bring tool and material that you are willing to use and contribute to the sled!
Sea Base Parent will discuss logistic of the trip in August so if your scout is going to Sea Base then please plan on attending this meeting (at least one parent).
There will also be a committee meeting. All are welcome to attend!
We are going to have a busy night on Tuesday. We are going to spend about 10 min finishing up the Snowshoe merit badge. We are going to start the First Aide Merit Badge and we are going to plan out our sled for the next campout…The Free-o-ree!!!!
The Freez-O-Ree is an annual campout that is held on the Air Force Academy and run by the Cadets. They do all sorts of fun activities over the weekend. This is one of the scout’s favorite annual campouts! We will have to build a sled to push gear around on which will start on Tuesday! The Cadets put on a great time! The cost is $20 per scout for the weekend for the Freez-O-Ree. Please sign up on the link below if you are able to go!
Tuesday’s night meeting will be Game night at Battlefield Colorado located at 120 W. Costilla St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (Downtown Colorado Springs). Its a pretty big lot. Please arrive about 15 min early (545pm) so we can get our safety brief knocked out and get going. Our troop did this about a year ago and everyone agreed it was the funnest Game night we’ve probably ever had. The cost is about $26 per person for a 90 minute session. The troop Debit card can pay so scouts and parents can reimburse the Troop (Unless the Treasurer says we can’t 🙂 If you plan to pay with a card then you’ll have to pay Battlefied Colorado Directly.
Here is the information that we all need to play. Please fill out the waivers below before the event. There are computers there to do it but it will take more time.
From Battlefield Colorado:
Player Information, Please Read Carefully! Waivers
All participants must sign a waiver. Minors will need their own parent to complete and sign the waiver. Your check-in process will go much faster and easier if the waivers are completed online prior to the event.
2. Or, visit BattlefieldColorado.com and click on the Waivers Menu at the top of the page. You can then enter the following group number: Group #: 49249
If you or your child have visited before, you should already have a login to our Digital Waiver System, and can quickly login and sign the waiver for this event.
What to Wear: Fully closed shoes are required. We play in a urban area with asphalt, gravel, buildings, uneven terrain, etc. At some point, most people will kneel, sit or lie on the ground, so please wear appropriate clothing.
Winter Play: Please bring gloves and clothing layers as you would for any outdoor winter sport.
Summer Play: No sandals, flip flops, clogs, or other open shoes are permitted. We highly recommend long pants.
Arrival Time: In order not to miss any play time, please arrive at least 15-20 minutes before your start time in order to park and check in. If you are interested in weapon upgrades, they are very popular and regularly sell out, so you might want to arrive 30 minutes in advance for the best selection.
Directions: Please check our website at the link below for directions: Directions to the Battlefield!ParkingFree parking is available. Please check our website at the link above for parking details.
We look forward to seeing you on the Battlefield. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Folks here are the two menus that each patrol plans using for this weekend. Mark is buying for one patrol and Malcom for the other. Due to the Thursday meeting short notice for those needing to purchase food our departure could be delayed just a tad to get the Patrol “Grub Chiefs” a chance to purchase the food after school and arrive at the church.
We will meet at the church at 530pm (or as close as you can get to that). We will depart to Camp Shady Brook YMCA camp as soon as we are packed up and ready.
Tonight’s meeting is only for the Scouts going on this weekend’s campout.
Here are some updates to our campout this weekend. We are going to have a cabin at Shady Brook YMCA in Deckers. The cabin will be heated and we will base our activities out there. If the snow is lacking at the Camp, then we have the option to drive to snowy trails to snowshoe then come back to camp to cook, sleep, MB and rank advancement activities.
For tonight, please bring as much as your packing list as possible. Due to the outside temperature forecast, its very important that we all share good and bad ideas to ensure we are able to accomplish our snowshoeing hikes in a fun and safe manner.
In addition to the packing list the scouts camp up with, please use this resource that Mr. McGuire picked up from REI.
The food menu needs to be refined and a couple scouts chosen to be the Grub Chief (Scout in charge of buying the food and supervising the cooking). The lunch time meal on Saturday should be a backpacking meal that we can make on the snowshoe hike. On Friday, make sure the scouts bring their own dinner….Subway Sandwich or something to that affect.
Tonight’s meeting will be at 7pm. Please indicate if you need the troop to provide snowshoes. We have limited quantities. As a back up, the Air Force Academy rents them for $9 a pair.
Schools are closed and roads are icy. Historically, we follow the D11 for snow day guidance. Since this weekend’s campout is an important one, we need to have another preparation meeting so we are rescheduling tonight’s meeting to Thursday at 7pm. Please bring in your packing list gear. We are still planning on camping but know that we will make sure the event is safe for everyone so no need to cancel your participation because of the weather. Right now we have 6 adults attending and 7 scouts so we have plenty of scouts to “supervise” the adults 🙂
I will submit a follow up planning post prior to Thursday’s meeting.
Above is a pic of the packing list that the scouts came up with last meeting. Please bring in your packing list gear, the best that you can so we can discuss ideas. We will also need to solidify the meal plan and determine who is going to be the Grub Chief for this outing. For those that need to complete the Snow Sports Merit Badge, please download and print off the worksheet. Fill out what you can and we will discuss on the outing.
Scouts should also be ready to accomplish any rank advancements that you needs. So please bring a personal list of items so we can knock out a few requirements here and there.
We will be going to Mueller State Park. We will meet at the church on Friday the 25th at 530pm and we will return on Sunday the 27th no later than 10am. We will text/call parents when we are on our way back to pass on a more precise time.
The next payment for summer camp will be due Tuesday the 22nd. The monthly minimum payment is $68.80. Of course you can pay more if you wish. You can also let me know if you wish it to come out of your scout’s account. Pam and I will not be at the meeting. Please give your check to Lisa that night.
Folks, we are going to start out camp out prep for this months snowshoe campout. Since its in pretty extreme cold, we are going to prepare over two meetings. Tomorrow’s meeting will focus on getting the right packing list and designating activities, routes, etc. Plan on bringing in your gear on the 22nd to discuss it and ensure its adequate to keep you warm!! Let’s also determine who needs to borrow some some snowshoes and who has their own to bring.
This is the sign up for the Snowshoe Camp out that we put on the calendar a while ago. We don’t have an exact location (But I’m thinking Mueller State Park is the best option) yet but let’s get an idea of how many scouts will go! We will plan this campout over the next few meetings. I am able to get some snowshoes for the campout or you may use your own. We also could make this a one nighter if we feel its too cold or there is not enough snow!
Please sign up so we can determine interest in advance or if we need to modify this to another type of campout.
Welcome to the website of Boy Scout Troop 287 at Wilson United Methodist Church, located on the northwest side of Colorado Springs, CO, in school districts 11 and 20. We are in the BSA Pikes Peak Council, Frontier District.
To the left, you can view our news and events. Below you can browse information about our troop, subscribe to our blog by email, download documents, and access useful links.
