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Scoutmaster Moment This weekend the troop campout held at Prince William Forest.  The weather was yet another hot weekend in the DC area, but the campsite was well shaded and afforded a great opportunity to work on orienteering with the linked 893 boys troop.  Mr. Morley arranged for a great guest speaker from the Quantico Orienteering Club to come in and work through the orienteering course and how to “read” terrain and maps well.  Thank you to Mr. Morley and his guest Mr. John Organek for having us participate!  Another big shout out to the many adult leaders who stepped [...]

Scoutmaster Moment This week we discussed plans and activities for the early Fall.  Importantly we have two campouts on the calendar that will need a bit of planning for, and some activities that should be fun to participate in and even learn from.  Elections and CoH dates were discussed, it is getting time to think about what roles you would like to hold over the next cycle and what the next six months in the troop will look like, we’ve come a far way in the past 6 months and continue to learn.   Camp is what the boy looks [...]

Scoutmaster Moment This week the troop had an outing to Splashdown Water park.  A day filled with sun and swimming, perhaps a bit too much sun for some and “too much” doesn’t apply to swimming fun. Another troop member (and a leader) made it to World Jamboree this week too - truly a phenomenal experience to see over 40,000 scouts from over 150 countries all gathered in one place for fun, adventure, and fellowship.   The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it  – Woodrow Wilson   This week - 8/6 - Troop Meeting (7-8:30pm)  Uniform: Class A [...]

Scoutmaster Moment   This week our troop was scattered to various summer activities. Interestingly, all to Scout related activities!.  Our meeting was a small group enjoying some fellowship with games.  The girls at Philmont with the 893 Crew returned to base camp after their trek, and one scout attended World Scouting Jamboree (WSJ) in West Virginia with her family.  This is the 24th WSJ, and was last hosted by the US in 1967.  They are held every 4 years, 2023 will be held in South Korea.  You can see many of the activities at this year’s “Jambo” online at https://www.2019wsj.org/new-world-news/.  As [...]

Scoutmaster Moment This week marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and the famous step made by Neil Armstrong (and Buzz Aldrin), a challenge issued by President John F. Kennedy in his famous “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech only 7 years before. The cost in time and treasure was immense, but the raw science gleaned from the Space Program then and since has brought us super computers, weather satellites, GPS, ball point pens, the environmental movement, navigation, medical advances, and so much more.  A dream presented as a challenge to a nation [...]

Scoutmaster Moment Summer, that time full of sun, pool, trips, and relaxing has come in full.  We have members of 893GT hiking Philmont, many others traveling with family.  This month our meetings will be a little smaller as we miss those who are elsewhere. With a troop our size, this can be an added challenge with meetings, but we are rising up to meet it!  This week we had many items signed off in handbooks, ranked up two Scouts. This week also marked the start of a new 893 fundraiser. There are many things the troop has discussed as activities, [...]

Scoutmaster Moment This week the troop embarked upon the Astronomy Merit Badge, with many thanks to ASM Adam Weisz for showing the way and his tools. The weather was stormy and therefore the stars were blocked from our view, but they’ll return.  A star watching evening will be planned for later this Fall when the skies are usually a bit more helpful (darker earlier, and clearer with the cool weather).  The heavens have captured humanity’s imagination for centuries with some cultures having origin stories that involve the stars, to physicists challenging status quo based upon their observations of celestial bodies, to geopolitics [...]

Scoutmaster Minute This week was the troop’s first time at summer camp, a week of many Firsts.  The first time Goshen Scout Reservation has hosted girls as troops and as members of cub scout packs.  Troop 893 was the first Girl Troop at Olmsted perform a flag ceremony with some help from other female staffers, and performed well after taking time out of free time to practice using three flag poles raising three of the flags representing our Council.  In 1 week, the 4 girls completed 19 merit badges (10 different) and were one of 4 different troops to have [...]

Scoutmaster Minute Summer camp is here! This is short as we’re at camp.   Today the troop boarded a bus and arrived at Goshen Scout Reservation. This is the first week of camp, and this is the first year girls are able to participate. So far we see other girl troops here and look forward to interacting with them.   Next month - 7/2 - Troop Meeting(7-8:30pm)    Uniform: Class A (tan shirt) Location: CUMC   Merit Badge prep (Astronomy or Orienteering) - Caitlin & Jayna   893 Summer Climbing Program   Uniform - Class B Since we have trained climbing [...]