Author: Troop Webmaster

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Retiring the flag

After having fun practicing fire building recently, the Troop put those skills to an important use last week: the retirement of several flags that had been entrusted to us after the end of their useful life.
The U.S. Flag code states that, “the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning“

The Scouts led four separate ceremonies, taking turns to play different roles and try different content. Always treating the flag and the proceedings with dignity.

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4 new Order of the Arrow members elected

via Scout A:

Last Monday, we had our Order of the Arrow (OA) election. , The OA is an honor society in the BSA that recognizes scouts who “best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives”.

In our OA election, we had our scouts vote on other scouts who were First Class and above on joining the Order of the Arrow

At least 50% of scouts must be present in order for the election to take place. After the introduction from our district representative for OA, the scouts were handed ballots to vote for the scouts they thought were worthy of receiving the opportunity of becoming Arrowmen.  However, they must not choose their friends, but choose those who are always helpful, kind to others, and generous in even the grim of situations.

Four Troop 260 Scouts were elected to join the OA and will be formerly inducted in the coming month.  Huge congratulations to all!

 

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Scouting is bouncing back in… Iraq!

Great news from the global scouting world: Scouting in Iraq is bouncing back strongly with 25,000 male and female members. Iraq originally joined World Scouting in 1914 – that’s only 4 years after BSA was founded in the USA!

[su_quote cite=”The New Arab” url=”https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/4/3/iraq-scouts-make-comeback-in-former-is-bastion-mosul”]But in 1999, the world scout body evicted the Iraqi chapter because it was allegedly being used by former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime for military training. But the Iraqi scouts kept operating. In 2017, they were readmitted into the international scouting world and have since grown to 25,000 members across the country.[/su_quote]

Play the short video below to learn a bit more

[twitter_video id=”982261277853605890″]

 

 

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Fire lighting challenge

The PLC planned a fireflghting skills development session for last week: two teams, the first to get the twine to burn through wins!

Photo gallery below, click for more

What did the Scouts learn? Lots!

  1. remember the Fireman Chit basics: water handy, shovel/fire tool, distance and safety
  2. make haste slowly – prepare your stages, especially the tinder and kindling
  3. trying to get natural tinder to take a spark (as opposed to a match and paper) is hard! Practice makes perfect.

I have a feeling that this will be an activity the PLC decides to repeat before too long 🙂

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BSA focus on female youth participation

Now that female youth are welcomed in Cubs and scouts is opening up to female youth too, it is great to see official BSA communications highlighting their participation.

The latest Scouting Wire has a feature story on female Cubs participating in the recent pinewood derby.

Here at Troop 260, our focus has long been on high adventure scouting for all the family. Watch this space for upcoming information on how we are moving early to formally extend our Troop to female youth.

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Get outside with 260 – it’s good for your brain!

A recent Scouting Wire article highlights research from Spain and the US that shows being outside in nature has a positive impact on kids’ brain development

[su_quote cite=”Scouting Wire”]The study from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has found that long-term exposure to green space during childhood is associated with structural changes to the brain that lead to improved memory and less distraction. Additionally, children who grew up in environments with more exposure to nature had more activity in the regions of their brain associated with learning and social skills[/su_quote]

Read the full article here.

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Microfiber detectives

We probably all have some outdoor clothes made with plastic microfiber – a fleece, some thermals, a hat?

This podcast from the BBC investigates the contribution of plastic textiles to the increasing levels of plastic waste in the environment. And potential ways forward.

A single domestic wash could shed 700 fibers

Podcast link

Spoiler alert: it’s a great excuse to stock up on some new Merino wool gear ?

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First (partly) online committee meeting

It can sometimes be hard to get out of the house to attend a Committee meeting. At Troop 260 we understand that, and are trialing ways that families and committee members can participate in our monthly meetings remotely.

Tonight was our first effort – and we managed to have a couple of people on throughout the whole meeting despite some flaky wifi. Partial success and something to build on for next month!

Scout presenting at committee meeting
Scout presenting at committee meeting
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Staying dry, whatever the weather

As a California Troop we are generally fortunate to not encounter the rain and snow on a regular basis. However, there are clearly times in the year when we do and anyone in the Troop (including participating family members) needs to Be Prepared for wet weather.

This short brochure from outdoor clothing company Marmot has some good insights into gear and sound advice on wet weather clothing and how to use it to best effect (the only advertising is background).

via Assistant Committee Chair, Mark Cahn