Hello Pack 29 Families!
As promised in our inaugural newsletter, I’m still refining the format and content. For this month’s issue, we’re decided to start publishing it to the website and make a few formatting changes. We’re also going to start highlighting the dens’ work each month.
Cubmaster Notes
I want to start this newsletter by welcoming five new scouts to the pack this month! I had the pleasure of meeting all of the scouts and their families at our September pack meeting, and I’m excited for them to become part of our community!
We had a great start to the year for the pack! We met a lot of new families and saw some familiar faces for the first time in awhile at our September pack meeting. I want to thank all of the parents who stepped up to help out throughout the day. I also want to extend a special Thank You to the Forks Township Fire Department for offering to bring an engine to the meeting on a whim. Not only were they kind enough to extend that offer to us, but they also did an impromptu lesson on fire safety and let the scouts spray the hose. That was the first time we got to experience that in my four years with the pack, so that was awesome.
October is shaping up to be a fun and busy month for the pack. I’m looking forward to hosting Troops 29 and 2019 this weekend for our annual Scouts Skills Day. Our Pack 29 scouts are going to learn a lot of fun things and and get some face-to-face time with scouts who grew up in the pack. Let’s encourage our scouts to ask questions about the troop and some of the fun things that the troop does throughout the year.
September Den Activities
Lions & Tigers
The Lions & Tigers created den doodles to help them keep track of their achievements this year. They also started working on their Bobcat adventure by learning some Scouting fundamentals like the Scout Law, Scout Oath, and Scout Handshake.
Wolves
The Wolves worked on their Running with the Pack adventure. They learned the importance of warming up before exercising and then had a pick-up game of soccer.
Webelos
The Webelos learned how to yo-yo! They worked on their Yo-Yo adventure, which required them to learn about using a yo-yo safely, finding the correct string length, and demonstrate a few basic tricks.
AOLs
AOLs worked on meal planning for a meal for their Personal Fitness adventure. At a future meeting, they’ll prepare and cook the meal over a fire or camp stove.
October Pack Updates
Scout Night at the Phantoms Game
Join Pack 29 and other scouts from around the Lehigh Valley on 11/15 for Scout Night with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. This is one of my favorite events of the year, and the kids always have a blast, so if you are available and have the means, I highly suggest going!
The deadline to RSVP and submit payment for tickets is today, 10/1. Here is a link to the Sign-Up Genius page. Please contact Jen Schleig if you have any questions. Her contact info is on Sign-Up Genius.
Fundraising
Every year, we strive to provide 2-3 formal fundraising opportunities for our scouts. These fundraisers are great ways for our scouts to earn money for their Scout Accounts, which can be used to pay for camp fees, membership dues, and scout-related supplies.
We kicked off our Fall fundraisers at our September pack meeting, where we handed out forms for popcorn and meat sticks. If you didn’t receive the forms, please contact our Fundraising Chair, Jen Schleig.
Popcorn
Popcorn sales will run through October, and forms will be due at our Halloween Party on 10/26. Families can take orders online or with the traditional paper form. Online ordering is a great way to extend your reach to friends and family who live outside the area. Parents/guardians can create an online account with our popcorn vendor, Trail’s End, that will be tied to the scout’s membership number, and then you will be given a shareable link. You can reach out to Jen Schleig or Mike Ehret if you have any questions or issues with creating an online account.
Meat Sticks
We use meat sticks as a great year-round fundraiser, and we will have several opportunities to sell meat sticks throughout the year. We will also be collecting the order forms at the Halloween party to make sure you get your orders before the holidays.
In addition to the paper order form, we also have several Show & Sell events in October and November. Show & Sell events are days when we will set up a table at Tractor Supply in Nazareth from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM and sell meat sticks to customers. We are currently scheduled to host these events every Saturday from 10/18 – 11/22. Each Saturday consists of two 2-hour shifts (10-12 and 12-2), and we staff each shift with two families (one scout and one parent/guardian per family). The scouts’ job is to talk to the customers about the meat sticks, collect the money, and tally up the sales during their shift. The parents/guardians will make sure the money is counted correctly and the tallies are accurate(ish). We encourage the older scouts to take on more of the responsibility of selling, collecting money, and keeping track of sales, while the adults are there to provide guidance. Conversely, we ask the adults to take more of a lead with the younger scouts.
Speaking from past experience, these are a great investment of your time if you can spare it. Not only are the scouts earning money for their Scout accounts, but they are also building important interpersonal skills. They also receive a lot of encouragement from adults who recognize the importance of Scouting.
Here is a link to the Sign-Up Genius page. My recommendation is to pick one shift for now so that every family has an opportunity to participate. If we don’t fill them up, then feel free to sign up for more shifts.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 10/5/2025, 2:00 PM-5:00 PM – Scout Skills Day, Arndt’s Lutheran Church
- This is our annual Scout Skills Day, where scouts from Troops 29 and 2019 join the pack to teach our scouts about basic scouting skills.
- Skills for this year include:
- Practicing the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout Salute, and Scout Handshake
- Flag Raising & Lowering
- Fire Building and Cooking Over Fire
- Setting Up a Tent
- Knot Tying
- First Aid
- Water Rescue
- Your scouts have an opportunity to complete a few adventures and earn some belt loops, so I encourage everyone to attend if you’re able!
- This is also another recruiting event for the pack, so it’s a great opportunity to bring a friend who might be interested in Scouting!
Sunday, 10/19/2025, 2:00 PM-5:00 PM – Den Meetings
- Your den leaders will be sending out more details individually, so be on the lookout for that.
Sunday, 10/19/2025, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM – Committee Meeting, Google Meet
- Formal agenda TBD, but the primary topic will be planning for the October Halloween Party.
Friday, 10/24/2025, 6:00 PM-7:00 PM – Forks Township Community Trunk or Treat
- This isn’t a formal pack event and is open to anyone who wants to participate. We’re just doing it for fun and to promote Pack 29 in the community!
- Our Recruiting Chair, Emily D’Huyvetters, has signed us up to participate in Forks Township’s annual Trunk-or-Treat event. We’ll decorate her car beforehand and then all head to the Community Center to hand out candy from 6:00-7:00 PM!
- We are still planning the details, but I’ll send some more information and a link to sign up in the coming days.
Sunday, 10/26/2025, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM – Pack Halloween Party, Arndt’s Lutheran Church
- This is our annual Halloween Party and Trunk-or-Treat event. Details are TBD, but we will definitely do our annual donut-on-a-string eating contest, our den leader TP Mummy Race, and of course, our Trunk-or-Treat in the parking lot!
- Scouts and parents are encouraged to come in their Halloween costumes!
- If you have any suggestions for games or activities that we can do until it gets dark, let me know!
- This is also the day when we popcorn order forms are due.
- More info and a Sign-Up Genius link to come later.
Scouting for Food Flyer Distribution – Early November
- Our Scouting for Food flyer distribution dates for 2025 are 11/1, 11/2, and 11/5.
- More info to come later in the month.
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