Pack 112 First Meeting of the School Year

Calling all scouts! our first meeting of the 2008-2009 will be at 6:00pm, Monday, August 18, 2008 at the Lincoln School Cafeteria. I am looking forward to see all of our returning scouts again. We have a basic year calendar planned out and will fine tune it each month at a monthly Parent Committee meeting. I would all parents to be involved in our Pack planning this year. We will all have more fun if everyone gives a little input into what they would like the Pack to do.

Remember Cub Scouts is a family program. Your son will progress faster if you participate in den meetings and planning sessions. It is sometimes difficult to wrangle 6 - 11 year old boys together in one room and the more leaders we have the better.

I would like to schedule some field trips this year so if you have access to anything that you think may interest our cubs please let me know. It doesn't take much to have a fun outing and we can do outings as dens or the Pack so size is not an issue.


Looking forward to another great year.

Cubmaster Wally Nishimoto

Calendar updated

I have updated the Pack Calendar with meeting dates and some important dates such as the Derby. Please review the calendar and begin planning the scouting year. We will be adding some additional days for field trips and campouts. please check back often.

Pack 112 Gathering

Pack 112 will have a summer Cub Gathering at Round Table on Howard Rd. Madera. We will meet at 6:00pm on Monday July 21, 2008. We will have pizza and make plans for our 2008-2009 season.

Camp Aroli - Cub Scout Day Camp Starts Monday June 23

Remember Camp Aroli Cub Scout Day camp starts Monday June 23 at Town & Country Park. Registration starts at 7:30am. If you have not yet registered Forms are available at the registration table Monday. The camp is Monday - Friday 8:00 - 3:30pm. There a couple of special activity days so check the schedule issued to you at registration.

Remember to wear sunscreen, bug repellent, and a hat. Camp T-shirts will be issued at check in so you do not have to wear your uniform to the camp.

Cub Scout Day Camp is a great way to get a jump start on your requirements for your badge next year.

If you have not pre-registered the camp fees are $60.00. Hope to see all of our cubs there.

Good luck to our new Boy Scouts

Thank you to all who attended the end of the year advancement and crossing ceremony. The large attendance made it a very special evening for our new Boy Scouts, Raymond Ayala, Andrew Ayala, Ethan King, and Tommy Nishimoto. They worked hard through the past two years and all achieved their Arrow of Light award. We are very proud of them.

Thank you to the Boy Scouts of Troop 116, Scoutmaster Jerry Magnuson, and Assistant Scoutmaster Richard Schnieder for participating in the crossover ceremony and welcoming our scouts into your troop. We know you will guide them to be good scouts and keep them on the Eagle trail.

Congratulations to Elijah King for earning his Bear Badge and to Brady Cole and Mathew Dowty for earning their Tiger and Bobcat Badges. For those cubs who have not finished their badge requirements you may keep on working on them up to the new school year. Have your parents sign off any achievements you complete.

It has been a wonderful year and a pleasure to be the Cubmaster for all our dens. I look forward to seeing you all again when the school year begins in August. Our first regular meeting will be Monday, August 18th at 6:00pm.

Pack 112 Graduation & Awards

Come and help us celebrate the end of another year by advancing our cubs to their next rank and issuing awards earned thru the year.

Monday June 9th at 6:00 at the Licoln School Cafeteria.

All Pack Cubs - Work on your Cub Promise, Motto and Laws of the Pack

We are quizing the Cubs of our pack on the Cub Scout Promise, The Cub Scout motto, and the Laws of the Pack. It is mandatory for all of our cubs to have this memorized. We will ask the cubs to recite them together and then ask what they mean to them.

At the next meeting we need input from the parents on what day would be best for a Parent Committee meeting. Thank You

WeBeLo IIs getting ready for Scouting

Our WeBeLo II den visited Troop 116 during our last meeting. They were greeted and welcomed to join the scouts at Troop 116.

The Cub Scouting program prepares all of our cubs for Boy Scouts. Cubs are introduced to scouting values and basic skills. We are proud that all four of our WeBeLo IIs are planning on continuing into Boy Scouts and work towards earning their Eagle Scout Award.

All four of our WeBelo IIs are on track for earning their Arrow of Light award. This award is the only award in Cub Scouts that can be displayed on your Boy Scout Uniform. We should be Proud of our Scouts and wish them well in their scouting futures.

Rockets AWAY!!!!!!

We were able to launch our rockets and learn about the science of Rockets. We launched our 14 rockets into what we thought was a light breeze. We recovered almost all of rockets. Who knew that the winds at altitude were so different from ground level. Discuss with your Cub what they learned from the rocket launch and how they feel about making something that wasd able to fly so high. We estimate the rockets went 800 - 1500 feet in the sky. Thank you to the parents and leaders who helped prep the rockets and help look for our rockets.

Launch Date set for Monday - April 21

We are launching our rockets on Monday! April 21, 2008

Please bring your rocket ready to launch to the meeting. We will not be doing any rocket building at the launch pad. We will only be loading engines and installing igniters. We will need parents to help for the launch and recovery.

If you need help for contruction please contact a fellow scouting parent or leave a comment below. We will try to get you help but there are no guarantees.

The Weather forcast calls for breezy conditions during the weekend but bright, Suny and calm on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Train Trip Information and Itinerary

Date: Saturday April 26, 2008
Depart 7:00am Return 7:00pm
Meet at Amtrak Platform at 6:30am

As per Boy Scout of America regulations there is to be no smoking during the trip with exposure to the cub scouts. There is also no consumption of alcoholic beverages allowed during a Boy Scout of America outing.

All cubs and leaders are to wear their official Scout Uniform Shirt. Please remember we are scouts and representing all Cub Scouts and Madera.

The train will leave from the Amtrak platform on Avenue 15 1/2 and Road 29. For the safety of your vehicles it is recommended that you do not leave your vehicle unattended at the station. The train platform is an unmanned platform and it would be unwise to leave it the for an entire day while we are gone. We will be taking the train from Madera to Stockton where we will change to an Amtrak run bus and complete the trip to Sacramento. Once in Sacramento we will walk to Old Town Sacramento and visit the train museum. Also in Old Town Sacramento are the Old School House Museum, The California Military History Museum, And the California Gold Rush Museum. Each Museum has a different entry fee from $5.00 to $3.00. We will have some free time to tour Old Town Sacramento and then meet up at about 3:30 to return to the Train Station for our 4:25 departure and return home.

Full Printable Info and Itinerary Available here

Please view and print the Permission Form for the Train Trip Here

Grizzles Campout Taken Off Activity Calendar

Due to a lack of attendance at the Parent Committee meeting we will not be attending the Scout Night at Grizzlies Stadium. I am unable to attend that evening and can not commit to proper supervision of a pack outing to the Grizzlies stadium. To attend the Scout night as a Pack we will need at least 2 trained leaders and parents of bear, wolf and tiger cubs to attend the event. Scouts in uniform can still participate in the event on their own with parents tickets are available from the grizzlies ticket office thru the group sales office. Please respond in the post section if you are able to attend or are planning on attending on your own.

Madera's Blue Man to Visit Pack!

Paul Karason, "The Blue Man of Madera" will be visting Pack 112 on Monday April 14th. Mr. Karason has become famous recently for moving to Madera in looking for a friendlier place to live. Mr. Karason wished to look for a friendlier town because he has some how turned blue and no longer felt comfortable in his old town. Mr. Karason says he is happy with his new home in Madera. He will speak to us about what happened to him and why he is blue. Have a few questions for Mr. Karasaon and welcome him to Madera.

After our talk with Mr. Karason we will check our rockets to make sure they are flight worthy and talk about Rocket Science and Rocket Safety.

We will also have permission slips for the train trip that need to be signed and turned in.

3. 2. 1. Lift Off. . .

At our last meeting on Monday April 7th Estes Model rockets were handed out to our Cubs. All Cubs and Webelos are to build the rocket at home with their parents. The instructions are included in the kit. If you need a new instruction sheet here is an online Link. Once finished please put your cubs name on the rocket. You may decorate the rocket but please keep in mind weight and anything attached will effect the flight characteristics of the rocket. Rocket Safety Rules are available HERE Online.

I have 1 (one) rocket engine per cub for launch day. Plus a few backups in case of failures. You may purchase additional rockets on your own. However we may not be able to do multiple launches for a cub it will depend on time constaints.

We will do a rocket inspection at our meeting on April 14th to make sure all rockets are ready to fly. We may be launching at our meeting on April 21st, it will depend on logistics and weather.

If your cub was not at the meeting on the 7th I will have additional rockets at our April 14th meeting. This project was paid by our fundraisng efforts last fall. Thank you to all who raised money through Popcorn sales.

Pack Committee Meeting Scheduled

I have put a Pack Committee Meeting on the Calendar. We will meet at 6:00pm on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at the Lincoln School Cafeteria. This meeting is open to all parents of our cubs. We will be discussing the rest of the year and prepare for the Train trip on April 26. We need to begin our preparation for a crossover ceremony for our Webelo II scouts as they transfer over to the Boy Scouts. This should be a meaningful ceremony attended by all of their family and fellow cub scouts to send them off.

Recuiting Night at Lincoln School - Thursday, March 27

Kevin Friedrich our district representative is hosting a new cub recruitment night at Lincoln School. He would like our leaders and cubs to help support the evening. He has spoken to some of the classes at Lincoln and distributed flyers for the event.

If this night is successful we could look forward to new cubs coming into our pack prior to the summer break so we can have a full pack for the beginning of the school year next season. I will be out of town so need volunteers to step up and help for this evening.

Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 7:00 pm. Please leave a comment on this post if you can attend and I will forward the information to Kevin.

Amtrak Train Trip - April 26th

The Train trip is on and Confirmed - We need money and names of all passengers turned into Mrs. Dowty, ASAP. We need to pay for the tickets during the first week of April. There will be a permission slip and parental information sheet to be filled out by all trip participants. Just a reminder that we need to pay in cash and the tickets are $12 per person round-trip.

We have the following families and number going on the trip, Nishimoto - 6, TheLanders- 4, Ninos- 5-,Rodriguez-3, Arredondo/ Ochoa- 2, Coles- 2, Ivory- 2, Patterson/King- 4, Gamiz- 3, ayala- 6, Dowty- 6, Carrillo- 4, Solorio- 5. We have reserved a total of 60 seats, so there are a few additional seats available so please contact myself or Mrs Dowty if you are not on the list. Also, there are no refunds.

You may ask questions in the comments section.

Thank You.

Cubmaster Nishimoto

No Pack meetings During Easter Break

Due to the school being closed we will not be meeting during Spring Break. So there is no meeting on March 17 nor March 24th. We will resume regular meetings on March 31.

Welcome to the Pack 112 Blog

I have been trying to come up with a way to communicate more effectively with everyone in the Pack. Hopefully this will help me meet that goal. If you have any suggestions please let me know. If you respond to this blog using the online feature please be aware that this is the internet and any information will be out on the web. Hopefully I will be able to keep this updated and let everyone know what is going on from week to week.

Thank You,

Cubmaster, Wally Nishimoto