Good evening everyone and thanks for you patience with this week's update. Here, without further delay, is the News You Can Use:

News With Elevated Degree of Use:
(1) Tomorrow's Plan--Big Uniform Day
(2) Racquet's Edge
(3) Fleury Camp Out
(4) Summer Camp

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Tomorrow's Plan--Big Uniform Day
****************************************
Lots of stuff going on tomorrow.

(1) Pictures for anyone and everyone in a uniform. Make sure all of your patches are up-to-date and WEAR YOUR SASHES.

(2) The Webelos from packs 671 and 668 will be visiting. Whilst we are pulling you out for pictures you'll be doing a series of athletic and mind-bending games between patrols and with the Weebs.

(3) If you're not a Psychotic Monkey and haven't met with either me or Mr. Peterson, there is a chance you'll be having your advancement meeting, so make sure you come prepared.

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Racquet's Edge
******************
Next week we're having our meeting on Tuesday night at the Racquet's Edge from 6:00 - 8:00. We'll have two swimming lanes from 6 - 8 and the slide from 7 - 8. All boys who attend will need to have a special release form signed by their parents before they're allowed into the swimming area. I'd attach it here or give you a hyperlink but their web page is under construction and it's not available electronically. That means you'll need to get one at the meeting or you'll need to have one signed next Tuesday.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Other than requirements that say you must jump into water over your head to complete them, this is a great chance to wrap up 2nd Class, 1st Class, Swimming and Lifesaving requirements that might be lingering out there. Make a point of coming if this is going to help you out.

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Fleury Camp Out
********************
It's that time of year again. We go out into the back woods of Vermont and do......absolutely nothing. Well, that's not completely true. A couple of years ago Esteban put some snow down my back so I dragged him outside administered some swift snow justice to his bare feet and back. And we might have waylaid his older brother when he returned from one of his many notable weekend academic feats (I think that year he was competing for the Einstein Prize for Novel Approaches to Chicken Lip Preparation.)

Anyhoo, the weekend up at the Fleury camp is great for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, igloo building, or anything else you like (Magic playing, wood-stove lounging, SPL snowball fighting, napping.) This is a fun time where there is tons of potential to get stuff done but little pressure to do so.

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Summer Camp
******************
We sent out preliminary information about summer camp at the Court of Honor and encouraged y'all to sign up early. It's still early, so sign up now! We're going from July 29th through August 4th and it will be the Summer Camp to End All Summer Camps. Do *not* make the mistake of missing out on this opportunity. If you have any questions, you know where you can reach me.


See you tomorrow, folks, when we're all one day closer to seeing the Irish play the Tigers in the 2007 Sugar Bowl...

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

G'day, gentlepeople of 635. A short one for everybody this week.


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Things Ya Gotta Know
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(1) Meals on Wheels Service
(2) PLC on Tuesday
(3) Wednesday Meeting Plan
(4) Next Week's Meeting Plan
(5) Jonathan Spaeth--Rocking On Hard
(6) Christmas Tree Selling Schedule

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Meals on Wheels Service
******************************
Thanks to all of the kids and Mrs. Moldovan and Mrs. Sharp for helping out with the Meals on Wheels fundraising letter service project. We stuffed all of the letters and baked 100 desserts to distribute with the the MoW dinners. A job well done, boys.

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PLC on Tuesday
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Don't forget about the PLC on Tuesday at my house from 6:30 - 8:00. Patrol Leaders--make sure you bring your folders. Everyone should bring something on which and with which to write.

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Wednesday Meeting Plan
******************************
This week is the patrol event week for the troop. Here's a rundown of which patrols are doing what:

Psychotic Monkeys: Reviewing their orienteering and 2nd Class First Aid requirements at the normal time and place. Make sure you bring your books!

Dragons (led by Rick Turvey): Meeting at 5:55 for a 6:00 departure for Yankee Lanes. Bring your money for the lanes and the shoes.

Green Mountain Boys (led by Adam Watts): Meeting from 6:00-8:00 at EMS to watch the battle scenes from the Lord of the Rings.

Arctic Fox (led by Chris Tardie): Meeting at the regular time and place for some cool PS2 gaming.

If you have any questions about the activities, give a ring or drop an email to your patrol leader.

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Next Week's Meeting Plan
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The Webelos from Packs 671 and 668 are coming by to check us out. In addition to knocking their socks off we're going to take pics of all of the boys and registered adults (and any other adults who would like to be rock stars on the web.) Please make sure that (A) Your uniforms are up-to-date, (B) You're wearing your perfect sashes, and (C) You are, generally speaking, looking sharp.

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Jonathan S. -- Rocking On Hard
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It has come to my attention that Jonathan S. took it upon himself to call up WOKO and place an advertisement for our Christmas Tree sales that they played on the air. Now *that* is the kind of initiative that earns a person a shout out, an anti-claw and an award to be named later. Thanks for taking the initiative to do this cool thing that could really help the troop out.

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Christmas Tree Selling Schedule
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A couple of people have recently asked me to send around an updated Christmas Tree Selling Schedule, so I've attached one for your perusal. Remember--if you change shifts, please email (a) me, (b) Mrs. Fleury and (c) The person with whom you're switching so I can be sure everyone is on the same page.

That's a wrap, folks. See you on Wednesday.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

G'day, everyone,

The turnout for the Stuffing of the Envelopes is a lot lighter than in past years so we're going to do it at my house rather than in Williston. If you're interested in coming and haven't contacted me yet, please do so ASAP. Remember that it's from 9:00 - 5:00 and you can come for as little or as much as you like.

Have a nice weekend,

Sonnick

Good evening, post-poultry people of 635. With the noted exception of the few of you who sent taunting emails in the wake of a tough Irish loss, I hope you all had a nice week off. And to the taunters, I hope you had a nice week off though perhaps tempered by a splinter that was hard to get out and might have caused minor irritation and no health hazard.

A relatively short one this week, folks.

Non-Irish Topics for Tonight
(1) Scotticus Status Report
(2) This Week's Plan
(3) Service Project on Saturday
(4) Christmas Trees

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Scotticus Status Report
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He is done. At 9:00 pm Sunday night, just 3 hours before he turned into a Scouting Pumpkin, Scott Kelley wrapped up his last requirement and he can now submit his Eagle Application. He's not an Eagle Scout yet--he still has to go through his board of review--but this is the point where my hair loss slows back down. Congratulations, Scott.

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This Week's Plan
*********************
At this week's meeting we're going to be doing a number of fun and exciting things:

(1) Psychotic Monkeys will meet with Esteban and Elliot to work on their advancement.
(2) Non-Monkeys will do a number of things:
-- They will put together their advancement plan and as many of them as possible will meet with either Mr. Peterson or myself to make sure they're on track
-- They will meet as patrols to plan a patrol event for next week's meeting time.
-- They will not burn down the school
-- They will, perhaps, have their pictures taken
-- They will have a mega-inspection that includes their sashes. THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO WEAR YOUR SASHES.
-- They will pay a one-chicken-wing penalty to the presiding Scoutmaster for each merit badge that is missing, improperly sewed or dusty.

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Service Project on Saturday
*********************************
We will be doing a service project for Meals on Wheels on Saturday, December 2nd at AIDC (my place of employment) in Williston. We'll be doing the annual letter stuffing job for their fundraising letter and we need boys who are able to help out. The duration of the service project is 9:00 - 5:00 but you don't need to stay for the entire thing unless your name is Ross Kelley or John Lanz (or unless you'd like to work on Citizenship in the Community and have this count as your service requirement.) Please let me know if you're interested and plan on bringing $5 for lunch.

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Christmas Trees
********************
Thanks to everyone for their efforts in getting the Christmas Tree stand up and running this past weekend. Special thanks to Trogdor the Burninator for his work on our new sign as I hear it is verrry naaahhhce. Please remember to stick to the schedule and to inform both Mrs. Fleury and myself if you change shifts with someone so we can keep track of Those Who Might Need Smiting as the month progresses. And please don't need smiting by missing a shift. Though it's true I do enjoy the act of smiting in and of itself, I hate it when it has to be for something like missing a Christmas tree shift.

Questions, comments, worthwhile or otherwise? You know where you can reach me.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Good afternoon, folks,

A couple of quick things.

(1) Due to a scheduling problem with one of our tree suppliers, we will *not* be doing the Friday night unloading. It's going to be a Wednesday night unloading. Still at 6:00 and still at Essex Discount Beverage. If you can be there to help, that's great. If you were planning on Friday night as your 4th shift because you're not going to be able to make Saturday morning set up and you can't make it on Wednesday, let me know. Because this is so last-minute you will not get a Furrowed Brow of Doom and we'll work something out.

(2) A reminder that normal Christmas Tree set up is at 8:00 on Saturday morning. Be there or be in the receiving end of the aforementioned Furrowed Brow of Doom (unless you've already told us you aren't going to be there and have signed up for a 4th shift.)

As I will be in the Big Apple from tomorrow through Sunday I won't see any of you between now and the next meeting, God bless have a warm and happy Thanksgiving.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Good evening, everyone.

Good news! With a little massaging we were able to give everyone three shifts from their top 5. For those who noted they would need 4 because they would miss set up, we were able to do those as well.

Tomorrow night we can handle everyone else who needs a fourth shift.

***VERY IMPORTANT NOTE***: We are still short on a couple of shifts. These are noted by putting XXX in the "youths' names" column. If you happen to have a date on which there are more than three boys and you can manage moving into one of the XXX slots, your Scoutmaster would be very, very pleased.

***ADULT SCHEDULING NOTE***: It's late. I'm tired. I'll finish this tomorrow. But since the youth scheduling is pretty much wrapped up I can guarantee you that you will get dates that you indicaed would work for you. It will be finished by the meeting tomorrow.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Good evening, everyone. A lot of planning information follows, so please read this carefully.

Topics that Make the Troop Go 'round
(1) Potomoid the Great
(2) PLC Meeting on Tuesday
(3) Christmas Tree Meeting
(4) Event Sign Up
(5) Summer Camp 2007
(6) Buying Merit Badge Sashes
(7) Buying Class B Uniforms
(8) Attachments

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Potomoid the Great
***********************
Thanks to everyone who came to the Court of Honor last week to recognize the hard work of our boys. Special thanks to the Potomoid for running a tight program and getting us out of there ahead of time. I think it's all in the hair.

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PLC Meeting on Tuesday
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PLC at my place on Tuesday the 14th from 6:30 - 8:00. Bring something on which and with which to write and be on time. Or else.

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Christmas Tree Meeting
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This Wednesday's meeting is the Christmas Tree Sign Up. Please make sure you are there. It's one of two required events a year for the boys (the other being Scouting for Food) and we really need a parent for each boy as well.

At this meeting we will go through everything you need to know in order to have a successful shift selling Christmas trees. From the proper way to treat customers, to the procedures for opening and closing the shelter to handling the money.

+++ IMPORTANT NOTE+++ I am still trying to coax a couple of last tree selling schedules out of people so we will not send around the sign up list with empty slots until tomorrow night. I will email it at some point after the PLC and will have a copy of it available at the meeting. One reason for the delay is that, with a couple of notable exceptions, we have been able to schedule pretty good coverage for the dates and if we can manage to schedule three shifts for most everyone, that will be brilliant. Just trying to massage some information in order to get that done.

On that note, we have six big gaps in scheduling. On the Saturdays of the 2nd, 9th and 16th we need at least two more kids for both the 9-1 and the 5-8 shifts. Even if you've already turned in your schedule, if you can handle one of these shifts and are willing to do so, please email me as soon as possible. It would really help us out a lot.

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Event Sign Up
*****************
At the Court of Honor last week I passed around a schedule of events for the coming year so that everyone could review them at their leisure. I will have two spreadsheets at the Christmas Tree Sign Ups so that youth members can choose which events they'd like to organize and adults can sign up to supervise. Please come with an itch to help out with at least one event between now and next September.

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Summer Camp 2007
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It's never too early to think about Summer Camp for next year, so I passed out the sign up forms for this at the last meeting. We had a good turnout last year and I'd really like to see us top it next summer. If we can get enough older guys and adults to sign up, I have some ideas that will make this the best year we've ever had and given our history of winning the High Speed, Low Drag, Kevlar Coated, Ready to Romp Award, that's saying something. So scouts, please return these forms and adults, think about coming to help out, even if it's only for a couple of days (we'll be there from July 29 - August 4.)

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Buying Merit Badge Sashes
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All scouts who have merit badges should have a merit badge sash. After last week's Court of Honor, that's pretty much everybody except the Psychotic Monkeys (and even some of *them* need one.) Mrs. Furland has graciously offered to coordinate a mass purchase. Sashes come in 2 sizes: 30" for $5.15, and 36" for $5.75. Shipping will be about $2 a sash. If you're interested in combining your order with hers, please email her at karenbtv@yahoo.com and bring payment to Wednesday's meeting.

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Buying Class B Uniforms
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Fantastic Mrs. Furland is also heading up the re-ordering of our Class B uniforms. Because we're going to order a lot of shirts, we also have the opportunity to buy troop sweatshirts and hoodies which would come in really handy at summer camp and other chilly troop events. The cost of a sweatshirt is $15 and a hoody is $20. If you camp, seriously consider buying at least one of these two. It looks sharp when we're all dressed alike.

Please think this over and email both me and Mrs. Furland if you're interested. We won't put the order in immediately but we'd like to get a general idea of what we're working with on the sooner side if we can.

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Attachments
***************
I have attached four documents to this email. They are:

(0) 2006-2007 Schedule of Events
(1) Troop 635 Menu Planner
(2) Troop 635 Event Planner
(3) Summer Camp 2007 Information Sheet

The purposes of 1 and 4 are pretty self-explanatory. I've also attached numbers 2 and 3 so that adults who might be wary of signing up to help supervise an event can get a general feel for what they'll need to ensure the boys are doing. As I've said before, the adults shouldn't have to *do* anything, other than make sure the kids are doing what they're supposed to. Those sheets show you what the kids are supposed to be doing.

That's it for this week. I'll send around the Christmas Tree Schedule as much as it's been completed tomorrow. See you all on Wednesday.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Good evening, Gentlepeople of 635.

As we have a Court of Honor this week, this is a short one.

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Topics du Jour (de la Nuit?)
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(1) Voting Booth Take Down Tomorrow at 7:15
(2) PLC Postponement Postponed to Tuesday, November 14th
(3) Court of Honor
(4) Christmas Tree Meeting
(5) Congratulations

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Voting Booth Take Down Tomorrow at 7:15
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Thanks to the legions of you who showed up this evening for Voting Booth set up. Those of you who were not there this evening or who have signed up for tomorrow, please remember that take down is at 7:15. Depending upon voter turnout it could start slightly later but be at the school ready to work by 7:15.

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PLC Postponement Postponed to Tuesday, November 14th
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Members of the PLC--we had originally moved our monthly meeting to this Thursday but we're going to have to put it off until next Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00 at my house. Please make a note of it.

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Court of Honor
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This week we have our semi-annual court of honor. All of the boys who have earned ranks and merit badges will receive their awards at this court, so we encourage all families to come. We'll also be handing out the Christmas Tree selling schedule as much as it's been formed so that you can review your remaining choices and come to next week's meeting prepared to sign up for your final shift(s).

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Christmas Tree Meeting
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Remember--next week we have the annual Christmas Tree Meeting. This meeting is required for all scouts and one parent from each family. Please be on time as we have a lot to get through given that everyone will have some scheduling they need to do at the meeting.

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Congratulations
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Congratulations to the following boys for their rank advancement at last week's meeting:
Chris F. -- Life
Potomoid the Great -- Star
Nick B. -- First Class

Also, congratulations to Ross K., the Slayer of Beasts, for....well....slaying a beast. He bagged a 120 pound doe this past weekend on youth day using nothing but the power of his MIND.

See you all on Wednesday (just three days before Notre Dame crushes Air Force in Colorado Springs.)

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Let's get right to it.

*******************************************************
Topics Almost as Interesting as the Fact That
The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame Scored on
Every Drive when Their First Team
Offense Was on the Field Last Weekend
*******************************************************
(1) APL Election Result for GMB
(2) Christmas Tree Pre-Sign Ups Due
(3) Advancement Cutoff
(4) Court of Honor
(5) Christmas Tree Meeting
(6) Voting Booths
(7) PLC is Thursday, November 9th

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APL Election Result for GMB
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Congratulations to Tom P. for being elected Assistant Patrol Leader for the Green Mountain Boy Patrol. It was a tight election with things in a three-way tie after Wednesday's meeting. Thanks to all of the boys who stood for election.

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Christmas Tree Pre-Sign Ups Due
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A reminder that everyone's Christmas Tree Sales Pre Sign Up sheets are due at tonight's meeting. I've attached another one to this email in case you've misplaced yours.

Download it here

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Advancement Cutoff
***********************
Tonight's the night! If you have blue cards for merit badges, make sure you get them in. Otherwise, you'll be waiting until June to receive your awards.

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Court of Honor
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That leads me to remind everyone that we have our fall court of honor next week, being MC'd by Potomoid the Great. This is a family affair, so please bring everyone!

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Christmas Tree Meeting
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Add it to your schedule now! The Christmas Tree Meeting (required for all scouts and one adult from each family) is Wednesday, November 15th from 6:30 to 8:00. We'll review all of the procedures and sign up for 3rd and 4th Christmas Tree selling shifts at this meeting, so please come prepared.

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Voting Booths
*****************
A reminder that voting booth set up is at 6:00 next Monday and voting booth take down is at 7:15 next Tuesday. Both will last for half an hour to 45 minutes and because all of the booths will need to be up, we've asked *all* scouts to commit to helping on one night. Please confirm the night you can work with your patrol leader.

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PLC is Thursday, November 9th
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Due to voting, the PLC for November is not going to be Tuesday, November 7th. It will instead be on Thursday, November 9th. Still at 6:30 at my place.

That's it for now, folks. See you this evening.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick

Good evening all of you 635 crazies, it is my pleasure to harangue you once again. Why do I refer to you as crazies you ask? Because you haven't blocked my email address, that is why, and *certainly* that shows a certain lack of judgment on your part.

Regardless, here's the news of the week:

(1) Elections Results
(2) This Week's Plan
(3) Advancement Cutoff/Court of Honor
(4) Christmas Tree Information
(5) Leaf Raking
(6) A Piece of Advice
(7) Thanks and No Thanks
(8) Torment *HIM* for a Change

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Elections Results
*********************
Congratulations to the new patrol leaders of our three patrols:

Dragon: Rick T.
Arctic Fox: Chris T.
Green Mountain Boys: Adam W.

Congratulations too to Luke S. and THeff who have been appointed assistant patrol leaders for the Dragon and Arctic Fox patrols, respectively. The assistant for the Green Mountain Boys will be elected this week by the same method we used for the patrol leaders. Please let both Adam and me know before Wednesday's meeting if you would like to run.

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This Week's Plan
*********************
We are continuing on our mostly-partials pace for the majority of the troop. Those boys who are already First Class and who have no partials will continue taking the Chemistry merit badge with Dr. Bickford. Those under First Class will continue working on their particular rank advancement requirements.

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Advancement Cutoff/Court of Honor
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A reminder that the advancement cutoff for the upcoming Court of Honor is now Wednesday, November 1st for both merit badges and rank advancement. Don't wait until the last minute to arrange Scoutmaster Conferences or you'll be sorely disappointed if we can't squeeze you in!

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Christmas Tree Information
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At last week's meeting I handed out the Christmas Tree Sales pre-sign up sheet. Here's a quick reminder of how the Christmas tree selling process works for those who are new to our ranks or who live in a Sonnickian Haze of Muddledness.

(1) This is the only fundraiser of the year. We don't have you sell anything door-to-door, we don't have you panhandle at the local bus stops. It is *very* important that in order to do the stuff we do, that you be committed to making this work.

(2) Each boy is required to work three selling shifts. If he cannot make it to the set up that we have on Saturday, November 25th, he must sign up for four. We ask the parents of each boy to work two. For parents with more than one son in the troop, you still only have to do two shifts (lucky for you next year, Andy and Janet, eh?)

(3) All families submit the pre-sign-up document that I handed out at the meeting and attached again above. On that form you will put down your five preferred selling dates and times (more information on the dates/times are on the form.)

(4) You must submit this form to Mrs. Fleury by Wednesday, November 1st.

(5) In the order in which the forms were received, Mrs. Fleury will assign the first shift for each family.

(6) Once everyone has had their first shift scheduled, Mrs. Fleury will assign the second shift for each family, assuming there is a second shift available from the list of top 5 time slots requested (this, unless I'm mistaken, has not been a big problem in the past.)

(7) We will give out the schedule with everyone scheduled for two shifts at the Court of Honor on November 8th. You can then take it home, compare it to your calendar and come to the meeting on the 15th with an idea of which of the remaining shifts you can work.

(8) At the meeting on the 15th, everyone will get their remaining shifts.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
All parents and scouts should make sure to attend the Christmas Tree meeting on Wednesday, November 15th. It is vitally important that we wrap up the schedule at that meeting since it's the last one before the sales actually start.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If you have any comments or questions, please email me at this address.

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Leaf Raking
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A final reminder to the boys: if you'd like to make a little money raking the leaves for a nice lady in Westford, please let me know by Wednesday's meeting.

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A Piece of Advice
*********************
If you happen to find yourself in the position of being at bat in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 of the National League Pennant with the bases loaded, two outs and two strikes against you and the pitcher throws a strike, please, whatever you do, swing the bat. Because when you're paid millions of dollars a year to swing a bat at a ball and it's the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 of the National League Pennant with the bases loaded, two outs and two strikes against you and the pitcher throws a strike and you DON'T EVEN SWING THE BLOODY PIECE OF WOOD THAT IS THE ONLY LEGAL WAY TO PUT THE BALL INTO PLAY...welllllll...people might think things that are uncharitable about you. I think that's all we need to say about that.

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Thanks and No Thanks
***************************
The Fighting Irish had a brilliant comeback at the very end of the 4th quarter in Saturday's game against UCLA that I attribute entirely to Elliot's centered chi and enthusiasm in rooting for the squad. The next time you see E, please give him a pat on the back for helping the team out.

On the other hand, if you happen to run into John Lanz, please let him know that he's dead to me for the taunting voice mail he left me in spite of the Irish marching PROUDLY to VICTORY. Since he's dead to me, I won't be able to tell him myself.

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Torment *HIM* for a Change
********************************
I will not be at most of Wednesday's meeting because I will be giving Scoutmaster Conferences to the Webelos from Pack 635 who will be earning their Arrows of Light and crossing over in the spring. I'm leaving Mr. Pelchat in charge of y'all whilst I'm away. Please make sure you show him all of the respect and consideration you normally show for me <cough><cough>. Mr. Pelchat, I recommend you wear a face mask and carry something heavy. With spikes.

Your Scoutmaster,

Sonnick