If you have not sent in your RSVP, please send it to: rastranger {at} gmail(.)com as soon as possible, $4 per person or $15 per family. We want to see you there!

Where: Chanhassen Rec Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard, Chanhassen, MN 55317
When: 5:45 – 7:45 pm
RSVP: rastranger {at} gmail(.)com

Den Duties: Jr. Webelos please come early, at 5pm to help with set up.
Wolves and Bears please stay after to help clean up.

Also, to make our slide show the best ever, please e-mail only your 4 best pictures to : bill.heyman {at} gmail(.)com Blake Heyman is going to make the slideshow for us, but if you want your picture in please send it by Wednesday afternoon at the latest!

The blue and gold banquet is coming soon (Feb 6th.) and the planning committee is asking for some help on some items.

Since the Blue and Gold Banquet is a celebration for all cub scouts, the decorations will take on a cub scout feel. We need any props you have that would help make our celebration look cool. Suggestions on things like Camping or hiking Gear, sporting items, science, Pinewood Derby. Dig deep into your imagination and help us out. Please bring items that are sturdy and not extremely expensive or sentimental! The decoration committee would appreciate it if you could bring your items to either the next pack meeting next Monday or at the pinewood derby. Contacts are Melissa Aslin or m.aslin {at} comcast(.)net or Lynne Roubal lroubal {at} comcast(.)net.
In addition to these items we also want magazines you have that depict boyscout/cub scout activities. Magazines such as Boys life, Scouting Magazine, National Geographic, Hiking or Camping, or even cub scout catalogs you get in the mail. We will be destroying these mags, so do not steal your sons boys life if he is a collector of them like my child is!

Thank you so much for your help,

Renee Stranger

Pinewood Derby Car Cutting

On Saturday, January 9th, scouts from our pack can get their cars cut for $2 at the Eden Prairie Senior Center from 9 am – noon. The seniors cut the car with the boys and love to see new challenges! The Senior Center is located at 8950 Eden Prairie Road, not far from the intersection of Eden Prairie Road and Pioneer Trail. Please have a design in mind, preferably already sketched on your car.
For planning, please choose a time slot on the spreadsheet and return your request to Joe Thomas at jthomasfamily {at} comcast(.)net.

January Pack Meeting

Our January Pack meeting is on January 11th at Cedar Ridge, gathering activity at 6:45pm. We will be hosting a local ski jumper – just like you can see in the Winter Olympics!

January Parent/Leader Meeting

Our January Parent/Leader meeting is on January 15th at 7pm at the Nichols’ house. We will learn the basics of updating our Pack website from Bill Heyman as well as ensuring our next few scouting activities are ready to go.

Pinewood Derby

The Pinewood Derby weigh in is at Cedar Ridge on Friday January 22nd from 6:30 – 7:30pm and the Derby itself is on Sunday, January 24th beginning at 1pm sharp!

It is a busy and fun January! I look forward to seeing all of you there!

We’ll have a uniform inspection (get those shirts, etc. looking nice), a special speaker from the EP Art Center, an art show from our own cub scouts (den leaders: remember to have your dens bring next stuff to share!). Here are the den assignments for the meeting.

(1) Dragon Patrol: Uniform inspection
(2) Raven Patrol: gathering activity
(3) Cobra Patrol: Flag ceremony
(4) Den 6 Jr. Webelos: Jokes
(5) Bears: Skit
(6) Wolves: Song

Here are directions to the Art Center from Ann Rorem:

I think the easiest way to the art center from Cedar Ridge is for the families to take County 4 north to Valley View and turn right. They will stay on Valley View and cross Mitchell/Baker and take the first right after that interection into Equitable Drive. The art center is well marker and located at 7650 Equitable Drive. Some of the families may have to pack in the street out front. When they enter the building please have them turn left throught the door and down the hall. Thanks we don’t want to disturb the clay class in progress.

(2) Last night you should have received an envelope with a little cash in it for your scout. This is wreath sales money for the scout, calculated at 5% of each scout’s total sales of wreaths. (This was the “prize” for wreath-sales, as there was no separate prize structure for that.) Please tell the scouts that we appreciate their hard work in selling, and expect them to use this little cash wisely — for Christmas presents for others, for scouting or camping gear for themselves, for service projects for others, or something else you come up with for them. Prizes for popcorn sales will be handout out separately, likely at the December pack meeting.

(3) Pinewood Derby cars were available last night. Den leaders should have them if you didn’t get one. Parents and siblings, if you want to race you’ll have a chance… You can buy your own kit, or get one from the pack for $5.00. More info before too long about the Derby.

(4) All are welcome to a leaders meeting this Thursday night, Nov. 19, at Ann Rorem’s house (15546 Village Woods Drive) at 7:00. We’ll be done about 8:00 or very shortly after it, I promise.

Thanks for a fun night. Tell your scout that Bruce and I enjoyed the pies in the face!

Saturday, Nov. 14: Service Project at Simpson House Homeless Shelter, 1:00-2:30. More information and directions pasted below. It would be great if you could RSVP (today!) to nichols.jenni {at} gmail(.)com (though you can still come if you don’t).

Monday, Nov. 16: Pack Meeting at Cedar Ridge, 7:00 (6:45 gathering activity). We have a special guest (or 2!!!), pies in the face for Bruce and Joel, and plenty of other fun. There is a uniform inspection, so tell the boys to look sharp and get their badges on their shirts properly. There is info in your scout books if you need help getting your uniform together.

Please bring

(1) Something to dress up the leaders with (e.g., a shirt, hat, mask, feather boa, or something else funny and not gory/scary)! This will be fun!
(2) Your fundraising information, including money from sales of wreaths and popcorn, leftover popcorn product, and order forms. The note below is what I received from Ann Rorem, fund-raising chair extraordinaire!:

I would need to have the wreath totals on the provided sheet and that is where they let me know what popcorn prize is choosen by the scout. Just write it on the bottom of the sheet. Also would need the popcorn order form with their totals, please do not add the popcorn they have already given out in this total!! I wil return the forms when they pick up the popcorn. There has been concern about not knowing who to deliver to if they turn it in, I will be returning the form.

Oh — and if you sold any popcorn at all (I hope so!) see the note pasted below about special price tickets to an upcoming Vikings game.

Thanks! See you tonight!

Scouts, please join us this Monday Night at 6:30pm at Cedar Ridge for a Spin, Pop and Boom science performance by Mad Science!

Bring your friends with you and tell them how much fun you have in scouts!
Wear your uniform or pack 497 t-shirt and we will see you there!

AND — start thinking right now about how you are going to help the pack this year.
The saying goes, “The Cub Scout helps the Pack go, the Pack helps the Cub Scout grow.” The Pack is committed to helping ALL our scouts grow in important ways this year, but we have to have your help. We have a place for everyone, whether you can help a lot or only a little. And thanks to those already committed to serve in pack and den leadership!

See you Monday night at the Lake Riley at the Pack picnic! (Oh, and have your boys wear they BLUE t-shirts to the picnic if you can!)