Training - BALOO and IOLS
We will be having 2 training opportunities hosted by the district coming up for our adult leaders. For Cub Scouts, we will be hosting a BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) on Saturday, April 16th at Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church in Los Alamos (3900 Trinity Drive, Los Alamos). Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation is a one-day training event that introduces leaders and parents to the skills needed to plan and conduct pack outdoor activities, particularly pack camping. At any Cub Scout camping event there must be present one adult who has completed BALOO training. It is recommended that every pack have one or more adults BALOO trained. There is a $10.00 charge for this training. This fee is used to cover insurance, training materials, and ingredients for the lunch made and served during the training. Please register before Noon on Thursday, April 12th so that we can assure appropriate amount of participants to prevent cancellation of the event. For more information, please click the link below for the flyer. To register, please click on the calendar link on this newsletter or go to the Sangre de Cristo calendar from the Great Southwest Council Homepage.
For our Boy Scout Leaders, we will be holding an IOLS training at Gorham Scout Ranch on May 13th and 14th. This hands-on
program gives adult leaders the practical outdoor skills they need to lead Scouts in the outdoors and will give them knowledge and skills to help facilitate and teach rank advancement skills through First Class. This training is necessary for any adult leaders to be considered "Trained" along with completion of their Leader Specific Training.
|
|
 |
|
Upcoming Events
Life to Eagle Presentation
 This upcoming Tuesday, April 12th at Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church in Los Alamos, there will be a presentation open to Scout Leaders, Star and Life Scouts thinking about their Eagle Project, and their families with information about finding an appropriate Eagle Project and preparing the paperwork necessary to get the Eagle Project approved. This will also be a great opportunity for your lingering questions to get answered. The presentation will be given by Grant Wright, our district Advancement Chair, and will begin at 7pm (prior to the start of the district roundtable meeting). This meeting will also be available via Go To Meeting for those who cannot attend in person, and the connection information is available in the calendar link in this newsletter.
If you plan to be in attendance, please contact Rob Wright or Grant Wright so that enough handouts can be made up/sent out.
District Camporee
The District will be holding our Spring Camporee
April 22nd through the  24th at Orilla Verde Recreation Area near Taos (camping at the group camp site). We will be having rafting down the Rio Grande Gorge, fishing in the Gorge, a biking trip for scouts 14 and older, a conservation service project and fellowship. Your troop wont want to miss the fun. You can register your unit or son by clicking on the calendar link in this newsletter. The cost is $6 per scout. Units will be responsible for setting up their camp and providing their own meals and water.
Chama River Restoration Trip
Troop 98 in Taos conducts an annual conservation/rafting trip on Memorial Day Weekend and this year, they are opening it up to the district. Friday, May 27th, participants will meet in the evening to camp and conduct a 5 mile float down the Rio Chama to the restoration site to work on cottonwood planting and protection. Sunday the participants will float into the Upper Chama Canyon Wilderness and camp, and then complete the remainder of the raftng trip Monday and expect to be completed and home by 6pm.
The cost is $125 per participant and includes raft, gear rental, shuttle, camping fees and food. All participants must have passed their BSA Swim Test and have a completed BSA Medical Form, including Part C. A scout does not need to be accompanied by an adult or with their unit. All scouts in the district are welcome. Click the link in the calendar for more information and contact Steve Gates - District Commissioner and Trip Organizer if you have any questions or concerns. [email protected]
Los Alamos Pinewood Derby
The Los Alamos/White Rock area will be conducting an area-wide pinewood derby Saturday, April 30th at the central park in Los Alamos. This event is open to all scouts interested in participating. There will also be a small car show by some of the members of the Los Alamos Car Club displaying their own hot rods. Registration begins at 1 with races beginning at 1:30.
Los Alamos Scouting for Food
The Spring Food Drive in Los Alamos County is on Saturday May 14th (and NOT Mother's Day Weekend for the first time). As usual, the drive is jointly conducted by the BSA and the Letter Carriers for our local food bank and the St. Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen in Española to benefit needy families in our community. The LA Cares Food Bank needs to be re-supplied regularly, so your help is critically important.
Packs and Troops outside Los Alamos/White Rock are  encouraged to work with your sponsoring church or school to collect food for local food banks/food baskets. In Española, collections can be donated to the St. Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen, 405 Paseo de Oñate, Española by contacting Suzan at 505-753-3897.
Thank you and your scouts for participating in this essential, on-going community service project and I look forward to another successful drive,
Bill Blumenthal
|
|
|
|
Spring Recruiting
Lions Program
Great Southwest Council Vice President-Membership Karen Rutledge is pleased to announce that our Council has been approved to participate in the Lion Cub Pilot program.
Beginning in August, your Pack will have the option to recruit Kindergartners to participate as Lion Cubs with your Pack! Your Pack is encouraged to try out this program, but it is not required. Over the summer, the High Desert Scout Shop will begin to stock Lion Cub parent guides and participant activity books.
Over the next couple of months, the Council membership committee will be assembling training opportunities and support materials for your Pack.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this program, please email Kevin McClelland - [email protected]
Fired Up for Scouting
April 26th at the White Rock Fire Station and April 28th at the Los Alamos Fire Station (across from the golf course), we will be holding our Spring Fired Up For Scouting recruitment nights from 6:30-8pm. This will be a great opportunity for Pack Leaders to get a chance to meet new scouts and their families and get them to join their pack. There will be fun activities as well as a tour of the fire station (pending no emergencies from the fire department).
For units outside of the Los Alamos/White Rock area, your District Executive wants to help you promote your pack to new prospective scouts and their families. Between distributing flyers in schools, distributing promotional material in your communities and giving cub scout talks in student class rooms, we have the opportunity to make this spring a success for your pack. You should have heard/or will be hearing from Rob Wright soon to set up dates for open houses in your pack, however, you can get a head start by getting in touch with him today to help create a recruiting plan.
Be A Scout
Technology exists to make our lives easier, so why not let the internet help your unit recruit new scouts? If you are not familiar with Be A Scout, it is a website that helps new families interested in joining scouting the opportunity to find more information about when and where your troop meets and gives them the ability to contact your unit leaders for more information. As of currently, there are very few units in our district that take advantage of this opportunity.
If you are a unit leader that wants to help get more scouts to join your unit, then this is a great first step in meeting your goal. The Chief Seattle Council has created a fantastic tutorial to teach you how to set up your Be A Scout pin, and can be viewed by clicking the link below.
BE A SCOUT
HOW TO SET UP YOUR BE A SCOUT PIN
|
|
|
Cub Scout Day Camps
Santa Fe Day Camp
This is a reminder that all youth and adults who intend to participate in the Santa Fe Day Camp must be registered at the GSWC office by April 25. This is really early for the Santa Fe camp, but is required so that T-shirts can be ordered for the entire Council early enough to receive them by the first camp, which is in May. Include with each individual registration form the registration fee ($45 for Cubs, $0 for adults) and T-shirt cost ($5.50 for Cubs and adults, plus $1.00 per 'X' for extra large sizes). Please remind all adults that they must have completed the on-line Youth Protection Training to register for the camp.
So far in this note, I've addressed specifically adult volunteers who will participate with their unit, as opposed to adults who will be part of the Camp Staff, including those who are running stations and supervising activities. We need these people too. (We'll schedule additional training for staff closer to the camp dates, July 8-9.)
Your Pack Day Camp Coordinator should collect all registration forms and fees (including those for camp staff who are in your pack) and turn these in to the GSWC office by April 25. Please list Den Chiefs in the Adult section of the Pack Reservation form, and indicate that they are youth. Registrations with GSWC should not include health forms; these are to be turned in at the first day of camp. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch with Bob Horning - Day Camp Director.
Day Camp Flyer
Youth Registration Form
Adult Registration Form
Los Alamos Day Camp
Day Camp registrations should be in to your unit day camp coordinators by tomorrow, April 11th, so that the unit coordinators can begin to register the unit online using our new online registration. Unit Coordinators will need to have completed online registration by April 17th so that we can ensure t-shirts are ordered and available before the start of camp. Registration forms to be turned in to unit coordinators is provided below as well as a tutorial to online registration for unit coordinators. More information can also be found by going to the day camp website. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with Paul Rightley, Day Camp Director.
Day Camp Website
Youth Registration Form
Adult Registration Form
How to Register Online |
|
|
|
|
|
Friends of Scouting
We are currently behind in our district fundraising goal for our 2016 Friends of Scouting Campaign, but it is not too late to help make our Friends of Scouting campaign a success.
Your donations to Friends of Scouting help support scouts by providing and maintaining program supplies used in training, activities and merit badges, helps maintain our council camp, Gorham Scout Ranch, and helps provide "camperships" to send scouts from financially limited families to summer camp.
You can help make a difference by investing in scouting through our Friends of Scouting campaign. To make a contribution, you can contact your District Executive to make a pledge, call the Council Service Center and speak with our receptionist, or make a donation online by clicking the Donate button below.
We could not continue impacting the lives of youth without your support, and for that we thank you with our deepest appreciation.
|
|
|
|
Boy Scout and Cub Scout Camping
We still have availability for units to sign up to go to Gorham Scout Ranch this summer for Boy Scout and Cub Scout/Webelos Camp. If your unit has not yet planned to attend a summer camp, it is not too late to register for an amazing week with us at Gorham. You can learn how to register your unit online by clicking the following link:
How to Register Online
Summer Camp Staff
We are still hiring individuals to serve as summer camp staff. If you know of a scout or you yourself are looking for a fun job this summer, please feel free to send us an application so that we can set up an interview.
We are still looking to fill the following positions:
- Business Manager (21+)
- Camp Health Officer (21+)
- Store Manager (21+)
- Climbing Director (21+)
- Aquatics Director (21+)
- Nature Director (18+)
- Archery Director (18+)
- Assistant Cooks (18+)
- Dishwashers (16+)
- Merit Badge Staff (15+)
For more information, please contact Rob Wright - Gorham Camp Director or go to the link below for more information on registering for camp and staff information or to download a staff application.
Click For Gorham Scout Ranch Announcement
Staff Application
|
|
|
Popcorn 
Popcorn season is around the corner, and we have some information for you so that your unit can plan to have a successful popcorn sale this fall.
Why Sell Popcorn?
The popcorn sale is extremely important to funding your unit's Scouting program! The sale is equally important to our Council so that we can provide adequate funding and maintenance to Gorham Scout Ranch, get Campbell Scout Ranch up and running, provide service to units, develop new programs, and much more.
You Talked, We Listened!
The feedback received from the 2015 popcorn sale was instrumental in developing a sales program that is simpler for unit kernals, and provides the greatest level of funding possible back to units. Here are some of the changes for 2016:
- We will accept returns of unsold show & sell product
- Top commission available is 40%
- Packs will have the option to forego prizes in favor of additional commissions
- We will be returning to Keller Marketing for prizes as they were better quality and offered a greater selection
Commission
- 32% Base Commission
- 3% Attend Training
- 1% Early Commitment (by May 30, 2016)
- 2% No Prize Option
- 2% Exceed 2015 unit sales by 20%
- 40% Total Commission Possible
50% Commission on ALL ONLINE SALES!
More information is available by going to our 2016 Popcorn Page on our website.
|
|
|
Last year, our District earned Silver in our year end Journey to Excellence score, and we are in a great position to reach Gold this year! "Scouting's Journey to Excellence" is the BSA's council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is meant to encourage excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.
There are ways you can help our districts Journey to Excellence score as well as your units. Anytime your scout advances rank, completes an adventure or merit badge, your unit can update this information on Online Advancement. Everytime your scouts complete service hours or volunteer as a scout, those hours can be logged online using the Service Hours tool. If you are a leader or have a position in the unit, you can complete online trainings to become more effective and knowledgeable about the functions of your position.
What is Journey to Excellence
Online Advancement
Service Hours | How To
My.Scouting Online Training
|
|
|
|
|
|
