Scout Pack Update

Hello Scouts and Families of Pack 998,

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's and is ready for the rest of the school and scouting year. 

Since our last pack meeting in November, I think our dens have had a lot of activities going on.  Both our Bear and Tiger dens had the opportunity to visit the Chesterton Police Station and took this as a chance to inundate the officers with all their burning questions about law enforcement.  Our Wolves are working towards their badges and have built birdhouses and worked on their personal responsibility requirements.  The WeBeLos drew up a den constitution and made it official by signing it with homemade quill pens.   

While your Den leaders keep you updated on your den activities, here is the information on some upcoming Pack Meetings.

Pack 998 Movie Night – Thursday, January 19.  6:00PM in the St. Pat’s Art Room

Next Thursday we will have our annual Movie Night and get together and watch “Despicable Me”, along with popcorn and drinks.  We will start our meeting at 6:00 PM.

Note that this year's Movie Night is in the Art Room, not the Chandelier Room.  Because of this slightly cozier space, we are asking that no one brings blankets or sleeping bags.  Please feel free to have the Scouts and siblings bring a pillow, but no blankets or sleeping bags.

Pack 998 Blue and Gold Dinner – Saturday, February 11^th. 5:00PM in the Classic Gym.

Our annual Blue and Gold Dinner will be on Saturady February 11th, at 5:00PM.  If you are interested, scouts and families can attend the 4:00PM mass on Saturday prior to the dinner.  More information on the Blue and Gold dinner will come out shortly, but it should be an enjoyable night with fun, socializing, and awards.  Rumor has it that each den will be performing skits to show of their comedic talents and maybe even entertain the guests.

Pack 998 Pine Wood Derby – Sunday March 18^th in the Field House Gym.

I handed out many Pine Wood Derby car kits at the Christmas parade after-party, but if you did not receive a kit, I will be bringing them to the upcoming den meetings as well.  In addition to the official Cub Scout race, we usually run a non-sanctioned race for Cub Scout age and younger siblings.  

As we did last year, we will set up the track a week or so before and allow scouts to test run their cars, ensuring that there are no major steering or design issues.  I hope to send out the official rules and some new information about the race next week.

 I look forward to seeing everyone next week!

-Tom

2011 Pinewood Derby Race Results

(Results and some thoughts from Jeff Herr...)

What a great time!  With the music, the announcing and the excitement and the anticipation in the air, it could have been the Indy 500!!

It amazes me every year...  When you look at the time difference between the racers, I think every one of our scouts deserves a trophy.  

Consider this...  There was only one TENTH of a second between the 1st and 7th place finisher, and only two tenths of a second between 1st and 14th place...  Less than three hundredths of a second separated 1st and 3rd.

When my children asked if I thought they would win the race, I was honest with them...  
"I doubt it.  You've got a great car, but so does everyone else.  We did our best and had a great time doing it.  You've already won!"  If your child left the Derby feeling like anything less than a winner, remind them of how much they learned, the time spent with their akela, spending time being creative...  There's so much that comes from the Pinewood Derby that the race day is almost unimportant!

CONGRATULATIONS to all our winners!  Here's the results of the race day competition:

• By Time
• By Time, including details
• By Racer Name 
• By Den

Pinewood Derby Rules for 2011 Race

If you are looking for the official rules for the Pinewood Derby race, you can find them here.

2010 Pinewood Derby - Just a memory now...

Are you looking for pics?  Click Here...

Some quick statistics:

• The amount of time separating the 1st place finisher from the 10th place finisher was roughly an EIGHTH of a second.  Yikes!
• Our "block-o-wood with wheels and some putty" came in around 4.0 seconds.  The fastest heat of any one car shaved off less than a second from that time.

I like to explain to my kids that the times are all so close and with all the good times they had, every one of the boys is a winner!

Here's the details:

• Avg time: Scouts by Place based on average time
• Details: Scouts by Place with heat details
• Den: Finish order by Den
• Lanes: Fastest single heat and Lane Speed averages

I am always amazed at what a good time the Pinewood Derby is every year.  The positive energy in the race arena is so good to see, and all the scouts are so well behaved for the race...  But I know, kids want to win, too!  For them, winning is still an important part of this day, even if as adults, we know that's just a nice byproduct of time spent together, teaching, talking, learning, growing.

Den meeting cancelled for 10-Feb

Looking at the forecast, unfavorable conditions are predicted through tomorrow morning.  Although I'm sure this will result in clear skies and save travelling by tomorrow night, I'm going to go ahead and cancel tomorrow's Den meeting.

Our next meeting in two weeks will be a Go-See-It at the fire station, arranged by Tom Moran. Stay tuned for details about the trip, as well as the Blue and Gold banquet.