Pack Meeting - December 8, 2011 at 7pm

What: December Pack Meeting
When: December 8, 2011 at 7pm to about 8pm
Where: Woodside Multi-Use Room
Who: All Pack 380 Scouts and Families Welcome!

Here's what we have planned for our Pack meeting. The focus will be on fun and games!

Opening Flag Ceremony [Wolf Cubs]

Announcements/Awards [Cubmaster]

Games, including one with a holiday theme [All Scouts]

Special Activity [Cubmaster]

Raffle [Webelos]

Closing Flag Ceremony [Tiger Cubs]

Hope to see you all at the meeting!

Sibley Park Hike

A terrific time was had by all! Highlights included a long steep climb (okay, maybe this part was not too kind to some of us), a rock maze where we found placed mementos, great views of Mt. Diablo and the San Francisco Bay, cows and frisbee-like cow pies, snacking at a picnic table, a salamander that the kids found and returned to its place in the bay leaf tree stand, geologic formations, geocaching (although we struck out on finding caches), Round Top (the highest point in the park at 1763 feet which we scaled), and a welcome cake pop treat at the end of the hike. It was a great day for hiking!

Pack Hike at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve

Interested in working off that Turkey Day feast?

Pack 380 has just the cure for you!

We have scheduled a pack hike at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve.

The plan is meet at a parking lot at the end of Old Tunnel Road on Sunday, November 27, at 1pm.

No worries; there probably won't be any volcanic activity.

The plan is to meet at the parking lot at the end of Old Tunnel Road.  To get to the parking lot:

Take Highway 24 toward Oakland from Concord.
Take the Fish Ranch Road exit just before the Caldecott Tunnel.
Take the exit to Fish Ranch Road and turn left onto Fish Ranch Road.
Take Fish Ranch Road a short distance and turn right onto Old Tunnel Road.
Take Old Tunnel Road where it ends at the parking lot where we plan on meeting.

See this link for a map for the park.

Hope to see you on Sunday!

Scouting for Food Week

We started the Scouting for Food week on a great note this past Saturday.  Under partly sunny skies, we gathered at Woodside Elementary for some donuts, bagels, juice and coffee before heading out to place door hangers in the neighborhood around the school.  Den Leader James Lang provided direction to the scouts, siblings and parents before sending them off to cover the area.

Scouting for Food 2011

Scouting for Food is almost upon us!

In a previous post about Pack 380's visit to the County's food bank this year, we wrote about how important Scouting for Food is for the food bank.  Last year, Scouting for Food turned in about 165,000 pounds of food.  Way to go scouts!

This year we will be meeting on Saturday, November 12, at Woodside Elementary at 9am to distribute door hangers in the neighborhood around Woodside  Elementary.  Based on past years' experience, we should be able to cover the area in about two hours depending on the turn out of scouts and families.  Please make sure that the scouts wear their uniforms.

We will follow this up on Saturday, November 19, to pick up any food left curbside.  Again, we will meet at Woodside Elementary at 9am to do this collection.

In addition, during the week of November 14, Pack 380 will lead a food drive at Woodside Elementary. We will place a food bin near the school office to collect food donations that will also be delivered as part of Scouting for Food.  We would like to get a few scouts on at least two or three days during the week of November 14 to staff the food bin after school to encourage food donations.

Pack Meeting Alert - Mark on Your Calendars November 10 at 7pm

What:  November Pack Meeting
When:  November 10, 2011 at 7pm to about 8pm
Where:  Woodside Multi-Use Room
Who:  All Pack 380 Scouts and Families Welcome!

We have a great time planned for the scouts at our November Pack meeting!

We are trying to line up a Boy Scout Troop to perhaps lead our scouts with some fun activities related to camping.

We'll hold our raffle drawing for some special prizes and recognize the scouts for their tremendous work in selling popcorn in October.

Also, we're looking forward to the Tiger Cubs and their skit/song held over from the last Pack meeting.

We look forward to a great turn out!

Good Turnout for October Pack Meeting!

We had a terrific turnout for the October Pack meeting.  Thanks to all the scouts and parents, grandparents and adult leaders for making it to the meeting.

The meeting started on a super note with the Wolf den leading the Pack with the opening flag ceremony and the pledge of allegiance.  Way to go Wolf Scouts!

We had a ton of awards that were handed out to returning scouts because we hadn't handed out any awards since the end of year advancement ceremonies at the end of the last school year.   In total, two Wolf Cubs and five Webelos were awarded for their achievements.  For the Webelos, the big achievement was their Webelo badges.  Way to go Webelos!

The other award was a special one for us.  It was the Summer Time Pack Award, which is awarded to packs that continue with activities throughout the summer.  On hand to award the award to Cubmaster Llata, was Unit Commissioner Bernie Zurlo.  This is a recent first time achievement for Pack 380.  Way to go Pack 380!

The boy scouts from Troop 370 and their leaders were on hand to lead our cub scouts through knot tying activities and a T-shirt game.  The boys had a great time!

The raffle was once again a hit as some delicious cookies were raffled off.

A couple of reminders to all Pack 380 families:

Fall Fest on October 21 at Woodside Elementary - Pack 380 has been assigned the 6pm to 7pm shift for the milk bottle toss game and the 6pm to 7pm shift for the bean bag toss game.  If you can help out, please show up at these booths at 6pm.

Popcorn Booth Sales on October 22 from 10am to 2pm at Safeway Store - Pack 380 will be at the Safeway store at Treat Boulevard and Clayton Road from 10am to 2pm to sell popcorn.  One incentive to help sell popcorn is that each scout will get one raffle ticket entered in his name for the November grand prize drawing for each hour worked.  Let's see if we can top the $850 in sales from two weeks ago!

Next Pack Meeting:  November 10, 2011 at 7pm

October Pack Meeting

Looking forward to seeing all Pack 380 scouts at our second pack meeting of the year!

Date/Time: October 13 (Thursday) at 7pm

Location: Woodside Elementary Multi-Use Room

     1.  Opening Flag Ceremony [Wolf Cubs]

     2.  Awards [Cubmaster]
             - Special Pack Award
             - Individual Awards

     3.  Popcorn Sale Update [Popcorn Colonel]
             - Next Booth Sale on October 22 (Saturday)

     4.  Skit [Tiger Cubs]

     5.  Scouting for Food [Cubmaster]

     6.  Troop 370 Activities
             - Knot Tying
             - Game

     7.  Raffle [Wolf and Bear Cubs]

     8.  Closing Flag Ceremony [Webelos]

Upcoming Webelo Activities

The following are upcoming activities for our Webelos:

October 8 - Shark fishing with Troop 370, leave at 6pm from the Salvation Army Church at 3950 Clayton Road [contact Russ Wortham at 689-2095]

October 17 - Earn Engineering Activity Pin with Troop 465, starts at 645pm at Concord United Methodist Church at 1645 West Street, Concord [RSVP with Mike Roark at 681-1192 or contact Den Leader Llata].

October 25 - Campfire n' Smores and flag retirement with Troop 364, starts at 7pm at Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church at 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton.

November 19-20 - Webelos Weekend with Troop 317 which be an overnight campout at Sugarloaf Open Space, 2161 Youngs Valley Rd in Walnut Creek; this will be a good one to attend since they will do activities for our scouts to earn Outdoorsman and Readyman activity pins.

Please contact Den Leader Llata if you are interested in attending any of these activities.  Some scouts have already signed up, but we can still add other Webelo scouts from our pack to the list.

2011 Popcorn Sales Update

We had our first day of booth sales at the Safeway store and sold over $865 worth of popcorn!  Way to go Pack 380 scouts!  I think this breaks our record for largest single day of sales!

All unsold Show N Sell product (this is the popcorn for booth sales) needs to be returned to the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council Office (800 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill) between October 10 & October 31.  However, at this rate maybe we'll have to ask for more popcorn to sell!  Every hour spent at booth sales means one raffle ticket for our grand prize drawing at a Pack meeting after popcorn sales are finished.

All Take Orders (these are the individual orders either on the form or in person) need to be submitted by October 31 in order for scouts to receive their prizes, including the Zyclone ring blaster for selling $600 in popcorn through individual sales.  Remember every $50 in individual sales also earns our scouts one raffle ticket for our grand prize drawing.

We'll probably need to collect the individual orders and have them into our Popcorn Colonel, Mr. Lang, by no later than October 28 (Friday) so he can get everything into the system.

Pack 380 Popcorn Sales - October 8 and 22 at Safeway Store, 10am to 2pm

We have our first day of popcorn sales this weekend at the Safeway Store at Treat and Denkinger.

Our time slot is from 10am to 2pm.  Please let your den leader know if you are able to pitch and help sell popcorn or encourage your family and friends to drop by to support your local scouts.

About 30 to 35 percent of the money earned from these sales goes directly to our pack.  Another part of this goes to the local scout council.  This money goes to support all of the many scouting activities.

We have a second date for selling popcorn at this same Safeway store on October 22 at the same 10am to 2pm time slot.

Thanks for your help and support!

Scout Day at the Food Bank

Pack 380 was represented by Scout Ryan from Den 5 and Scouts David and Ethan from Den 1 at Scout Day at the Food Bank.  The food bank that we visited was the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano located on Nelson Avenue in Concord which has been in operation since 1979.  This is the same food bank where what's collected during Scouting for Food is delivered.

Apparently, Scouting for Food was to be a national scouting one-time "good turn" in 1988.  Instead it turned into an annual event.  Last year, Scouting for Food turned in 165,000 pounds of food in one day.  The record for most food collected was 204,000 pounds in 2006.  This food helps the food bank make it through the holidays.  Last year, the food bank distributed 26,000 Thanksgiving baskets through various agencies.

We'll be placing door hangers on November 12 in the neighborhood around Woodside Elementary.  The following Saturday, November 19, will be the big day when we go around the neighborhood to collect food left out on doorsteps.

The food bank does the collecting of food but relies on other agencies to get the food distributed to needy families.  They sometimes have needy families that come to the food bank warehouse, but they are not able to distribute food directly.  They are starting a food card system of some kind to deal with this situation.

Other fun facts that we learned:

• The warehouse can have up to 1.5 million pounds of food at one time on-hand.
• They turn over the food five or six times in one year with this amount of food equal to the amount of food that can fill up about 70 train cars.
• The food bank serves about 132,000 people each month.  This is more than the population of Concord.
• The food bank also hands out toys, bicycles and other items for kids.
• One of their unusual donations was a very large shipment of M&M peanuts.
• Another memorable donation was a very large shipment of stuffed animals.
• They have been able to cut back on how much they spend on electricity by installing $700,000 of solar panels on their roof.
• They have very large drive-in refrigerators that they keep at about 40 degrees.  We got to walk into two of these.
• They also have a very large freezer that they keep at something like 7 degrees below zero.  We got to walk into this one too.

This Scout Day at the Food Bank was the first time for the event.  They had four stations for us:

1. A tour of the food bank
2. A station where we made a banner to advertise Scouting for Food (food pick-ups are scheduled for November 19)
3. A classroom session where we learned about the people that the food bank helps
4. A chance for us to pack boxes of plums that came from a farm

Hopefully, they'll have this event again and more of our pack will be able to visit again!

Cub Scout Shirt with Patches

The uniform pictured is my son's from the end of his Tiger Cub year which was the 2010-11 school year.  For all 2011-12 Wolf Cubs, your uniforms should essentially look like this one.  The right sleeve should have the American flag and a patch that says Den 5.  The left sleeve should have Pack 380 and the Silverado Council patch.  Above the left pocket should go the World Scout Crest emblem.  The uniform below shows the Bobcat badge (light blue) and Tiger Cub badge (orange) on the left pocket.  You get these patches as you earn them so initially you won't have any patches here.

For the Tiger Cubs this year, your uniforms will also not have the badges on the left pocket initially.  Everything else is the same as above except the den number.  The Tiger Cub den number is Den 4.

For the new Bear Cubs this year, your uniforms will also not have any badges on the left pocket initially.  Again, everything else is the same except the den number.  The Bear Cub den number is Den 2.

Webelo Shirt and Patches

This is what the Webelo uniform for Pack 380, Den 1 should look like.  The other items to have are a cap, belt, neckerchief and slide.  These items can all be purchased at the Boy Scout store in Pleasant Hill.

2011-12 Pack 380 Calendar

September 2011

9/7 Wednesday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

October 2011

Show and Sell Popcorn Sales Throughout October

10/8 Saturday @ 6pm – Troop 370 Shark Fishing invite to Webelos – Leave from Salvation Army Church, 3950 Clayton Road, Clayton

10/13 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

10/21 Friday @ TBD - Woodside Fall Fest Booth

10/25 Tuesday @ 7pm – Troop 364 Campfire n’ Smores invite to Webelos (includes flag retirement) – Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church at 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton

November 2011

11/10 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

11/12 Saturday @ 9am - Scouting for Food – drop off flyers

11/19 Saturday @ 9am - Scouting for Food – pick up food

December 2011

12/8 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

January 2012

1/5 Thursday @ TBD – Muir District International Scouting Fair (& Webelo Recruiting) – LDS Church on Denkinger Road in Concord

1/12 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

February 2012

2/10 Friday @ 6pm - Blue & Gold Dinner – Woodside MUR

March 2012

3/8 Thursday @ 7pm - Pinewood Derby Weigh-In – Woodside MUR

3/9 Friday @ 6pm - Pinewood Derby Race – Woodside MUR

April 2012

4/19 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

May 2012

5/10 Thursday @ 7pm - Pack Meeting – Woodside MUR

5/19 Saturday @ 10am - Cub Scout Olympics – Acalanes High School

June 2012

6/14 Thursday @ TBD - End of Year Advancement Ceremony

TBD – Pack Overnight Camp Out

More Information on Pack 380

Welcome Back Scouts!

We have a terrific year of cub scouting planned for the year!  We continue to offer opportunities for new families to join Pack 380.  The latest such opportunity was our first pack meeting of the year.

We had two new families join Pack 380 before the end of the meeting, with interest to join expressed by two or three other families.

We had many other families express interest during Woodside Information Day, but were not able to attend.  For these families, the following is the information covered at the September 7 Pack meeting:

Why Join Cub Scouts?

Your time is valuable.  Today’s families, more than ever, struggle to find time to spend together.  Cub Scouting helps to support your family by providing ready-made opportunities for you and your son to do things together.

·        Your son will get a sense of belonging as he builds his self-esteem and learns to get along with others.  Cub Scouting will teach values consistent with good citizenship, character development and physical fitness using fun and educational activities.

·         In a society where your son is taught that winning is everything, Cub Scouting teaches him to “do his best” and to be helpful to others.

      

      But most of all boys join Cub Scouting because it’s fun!

How Does Cub Scouting Work?

One unique thing about Cub Scouting is that you, as his family, join in on the program with your son, and you will help him along the way. Boys have a different handbook at each grade level, with suggested activities that are age-appropriate for their developmental level.  As your boy advances through these books by working on activities with you, he will earn badges and other recognition that he can wear on his uniform.

The Cub Scout program takes place at two levels.  Your son will be part of a den; a small group of boys in the same grade level that meet either monthly or more.  All dens, from grade 1 through 5, make up a pack.  Once a month, the dens, with their families, are together at the pack meeting, where boys are recognized for the badges they have earned and participate in a fun activity with boys from the various grade levels.

Each den has a leader (usually one of the parents) who helps coordinate the meetings.  Depending on your den, the parent-son teams may take turns running the activities and planning meetings with the den leader.  Depending on the den, the den may have monthly or bi-weekly or weekly meetings.

The following are the den/cub scout levels:

            Tiger Cub Scouts (grade 1)

            Wolf Cub Scouts (grade 2)

            Bear Cub Scouts (grade 3)

            Webelos Scouts I (grade 4)

            Webelos Scouts II (grade 5).

What Does the Pack Do?

The Cub Scout pack, which is made up of all the dens, meets monthly at the pack meetings, led by the Cubmaster.  The pack meeting could include games, skits, songs, presentations from Boy Scout troops, ceremonies and/or a presentation of badges earned during the month.  This is where families – not just parents, but siblings, too – can see the achievements of their Cub Scout.

The pack, including families, also participates in other special events throughout the year, including:

1. Pinewood Derby – You can build and race a model car.
2. Blue and Gold Banquet – It’s a Cub Scouting birthday party for all pack members and their families.
3. Camping – Overnight and day camp opportunities to  introduce your family to the camping experience.
4. Service Projects – You can participate in a food drive, help with Woodside’s Fall Fest or other community activities.
5. Field Trips and Special Outings – Great ways to learn more about the people and places in your community. 

How Much Does Cub Scouting Cost?

The annual pack dues are $80 for each Cub Scout (checks payable to Pack 380 accompanied with boy scout application).  This amount includes: BSA registration, Boys Life Magazine, Scout manuals, awards, trophies, advancement patches, pack materials, leader training costs and certain costs associated with special activities such as Pinewood Derby, Blue & Gold Banquet and Overnight Campout.

Your individual den may ask for a few dollars to cover den activity costs or ask for donations of materials or snack foods for the den meetings.

You will also be required to purchase a Cub Scout Uniform.

What is the Required Cub Scout Uniform?

The Required Cub Scout Uniform consists of:

1.     Cap

2.     Shirt

3.     Neckerchief & Slide

4.     Basic Pack Patches.

The cost for this is approximately $60.  Items such as vests, belts, pants and socks are optional.

Uniform items can be purchased at The Scout Store at 800 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill (674-8500).

Is There Any Fundraising Involved?

The Cub Scout Pack does participate in an annual Fall sale of Boy Scout Popcorn.  As a group the Cub Scouts sell popcorn at booths in various locations.  Also, Cub Scouts can sell popcorn to family and friends and earn prizes for their individual sales orders.  Each Cub Scout is not required to participate in individual popcorn sales.  However, this popcorn fundraiser is a way to help keep individual annual pack dues down and enable our pack to provide special activities for our Cub Scouts.

How Can You Help?

The most important help that you, as a parent, can give your boy is to work with him on his Cub Scouting activities and attend the monthly pack meetings with him so that you can celebrate his achievement!  Your role as a parent is the secret of success of the Cub Scouting program!

The den and the pack also rely on parent participation to run a successful program.  Cub Scouting operates through volunteer leadership.  Consider a role in helping our pack succeed by either helping as a den leader or co-leader or future cubmaster or on the pack committee (chairman, advancement chair, secretary, treasurer, trainer) that performs the administrative functions of the pack.  You’ll have a great time and training and supportive materials are available.

Have More Questions?

Contact our Cubmaster, Chris Llata, at (925) 348-3319 or arbornut@gmail.com or

contact Casey Emoto at (925) 689-8192 or emoto.family@gmail.com.

Also, check out the Pack 380 blog at www. concordpack380.blogspot.com!

Pack 380 Information Day - September 7 (Wednesday) at 7pm

Welcome back to returning families and also welcome to the potential new families!

There was good interest in our Pack at the Woodside Elementary Information Day yesterday.  In total there were 17 families who left us their contact information.  A big thanks goes out to Russ helping us cover the morning session!

If you're one of those families that left us your contact information, someone from the Pack will be following up with you next week.  If we aren't able to connect, you'll get another chance on September 7 to check us out and ask us any questions that you may have.  Below is the flyer that you probably picked up at Information Day.

Pack 380 Information Day
Date: September 7, 2011
Time: 7pm
Location: Woodside Multi-Use Room

We'll have some activities for the boys and have a short presentation for the parents.  We should be able to finish up by 8pm.  If you aren't able to make this time, we'll follow up with you after the meeting with any information out of the meeting.

Hope to see you on September 7!

Information Day!

August 25, 2011 is Information Day at Woodside Elementary and Pack 380 will be there!

Starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise:

• Tiger den performs encore "weeds" rap song for the pack.
• Ethan climbs a tree during pack campout.
• Webelo den and siblings go on bike ride.
• Pinewood derby car trophy winners.
• Pinewood derby car race finalists.
• Tiger den at advancement ceremonies.
• Boys sit down for foil meals at Camp Herms campout.
• Pack plants trees at Ellis Lake Park with Mayor Laura Hoffmeister.
• Webelo den get recognized for their achievements at advancement ceremonies.
• Langs' boys and tent at summer campout.
• Line-up of derby cars before the start of races.
• Cubmaster (aka our fearless leader) Chris Llata with balloon hat at Blackhawk races.
• Campfire singing at campout.
• Cars off to the races at derby race.
• Congratulatory cake for boys after advancement.
• Pack at summer campout with den leaders proudly fly Pack 380 flag.

2011 Family Flight Day

What: 5th Annual Cub Scout Family Flight Day

Where: Martinez Marina Waterfront Park on the field near the BBQ area and playground

When: August 13, 2011 from 10am to 2pm

Registration: The registration cost is $15 for the first child in each family for registrations through August 5, 2011 and an additional $5 for each child after that. After August 5, 2011 the registration goes up to $20 for the first family member.

What is included with registration?
Parents are free!  But as Joe Squeri says "they get to help their kids and carry stuff around for them."

Each registered child gets a kite to build and fly, a Styrofoam glider to build and fly, and a patch, and they get to join in the other activities: water bottle rocket launch, giant slingshot, paper airplanes, and “the amazing flying machine” (building a contraption out of popsicle sticks and flying it) and maybe some other stuff.

The kids get a participation card at the beginning, and after they hit all of the stations, they come back and get a patch.  Sounds like fun!!!

What else do I need to know?
Please bring snacks for yourselves and Pack 380 will provide drinks for the kids from our pack that attend the event.  Don't forget sunscreen, and maybe a sweatshirt in case it gets cool.

But what is the best part for Pack 380 cub scouts?
The best part is that Pack 380 is offering to reimburse each of its cub scout families for the registration cost of their Pack 380 cub scouts.  Just provide a copy of your registration form to Dorothy Emoto, our treasurer, at the event.

How do I register?
You can register or hand deliver the completed registration form to the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council office at 800 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.  Checks should be made payable to MDSC and put "Flight Day" in memo line on check.  So we're asking you to pay up front, but that we will reimburse you as described above when you show up at the event.

Please click on this link for more information about Family Flight Day and the registration form.  Below is what the registration form looks like.

Hope to see you all there!!

Jelly! Jelly! Jelly!

Our annual summer Pack campout was once again a smashing success with most of our Pack attending once again. We may be a small pack, but one that knows how to have a great time!

Thanks for all the kids who are scouts that make it possible for us to have these fun activities. Also, thanks to all the parents who attended and pitched in to help the scouts and siblings with everything from the pack activities to the meal preparation to the evening campfire program.

The Wolf Cubs and Webelos were able to complete several activities toward their advancement next year and also earn their geography, volleyball and frisbee golf (ultimate) belt loops - perhaps others too! We'll see at the next Pack meeting.

Other highlights included a deer sighting, our new Pack motto "Jelly! Jelly! Jelly! Oh, no, not that jelly!" courtesy of James (a future cub scout no doubt), the scavenger hunt (thanks, Tod), wiffle ball, and geocaching.

2011 Graduation Ceremonies - Congrats Cubs!

We had another tremendous graduation ceremony for our scouts. The weather was perfect due to the cooler than normal weather this spring/early summer. Here are the photos to prove it.

Pack 380 Graduation Ceremonies

The Pack 380 Campfire Graduation Ceremony is scheduled for June 8, Wednesday, at 6:45pm. The ceremony will be at Camp Romanoaks in Lafayette.

The ceremony will feature graduation ceremonies for the Tiger Cubs to the rank of Wolf Cub as well as a special presentation for the first year Webelos.

The Tiger Cubs and Webelos have been busy practicing skits for the event, but we'll have enough time for anyone else who wants to take a stab at a song, skit or joke on the outdoor stage next to the campfire.

We'll also have refreshments including a cake and drinks.

Directions:

Take Gregory Lane west from Contra Costa Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. Gregory Lane will become Grayson Road.
Where Grayson ends at Reliez Valley Road, turn left.
Look for the entrance gate on the right side of the road. Look for scouts at the gate.

Fun at the Blackhawk 500

Although we didn't come home with any trophies this year, Ryan, David and Ethan did Pack 380 proud at the Blackhawk 500. We learned that there is very little difference between 1st place and 15th place or even 22nd place. In the Webelos division, the overall winner had a cumulative time of 12.431 seconds for 4 heats. Ethan finished in 15th place and had a cumulative time of 13.059 seconds, just six tenths of a second behind over 4 heats, or in other words just 0.15 seconds slower per race. All three of our scouts had their cars clocked at a scaled speed of over 200 miles per hour. Now that's fast!

James, David's little brother and perhaps a future Pack 380 cub scout, entered a car in the open class for non-scouts. He had the fastest car of the four Pack 380 related cars, clocking an average scaled speed of over 210 miles per hour!

Here's a slide show from our day at the Blackhawk 500. Besides the races, there was a clown making balloon animals for the kids, a magic show, and of course all of the cars at the Blackhawk Museum. It was a great time!

On-line Arbor Day Photo

Looks like the photo that was in the paper is now included in the on-line article too, perhaps thanks to Leslye Asera of the City of Concord. Check it out at: http://www.contracostatimes.com/concord/ci_18042114

Blackhawk 500 Registration This Week

The Blackhawk 500 Mt. Diablo Silverado Pinewood Derby Championship is on Saturday, May 21 with doors open at 8:30am.

But the really important information for now is that registration for cars is going on this week. The registration is taking place at the Scouting office at 800 Ellinwood Way in Pleasant Hill. You can enter your car between 630pm and 800pm on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this week. We just returned from entering our cars this evening. It was very simple and easy to do. The best part was that the boys got their patches on the spot.

From the Blackhawk 500 Web Site: There will be racing, a design competition and great food. During the event the whole family can tour the Blackhawk Museum's magnificent auto collection and the fabulous exhibits. There will be tons of neat stuff to see and do! Wear your Scout uniform and get in free.

For more information see www.blackhawk500.org.

Arbor Day Tree Planting Slide Show

Thanks to Leslye Asera, Communications Relations Manager, with the City of Concord, here's a link to a slide show of our scouts planting trees.

Way to go, scouts!

Pack 380 Advancement Ceremonies

Please mark June 8 at 6:30pm on your calendars for our annual advancement ceremonies. Although the last details are being confirmed, we will have the ceremonies at Camp Romanoaks in Lafayette as we have the past couple of years.

We will have skits, refreshments and a campfire so please be sure to plan on attending to show support for the cub scouts who are advancing to their next rank.

Smoke Signals - May 2011 Edition

Here are the highlights in the May edition of Mt. Diablo Silverado Council newsletter, Smoke Signals:

Cub Scout Leaders: All Position-Specific training for adult leaders can be found at MyScouting.org.

L.E.A.D. JANUARY 2012 Why do Scout leaders and parents attend L.E.A.D.? We offer great classes! For example, Boy Management promotes the credo of “How leaders create an environment where boys become Scouts.” It is a successful approach to delivering a creative, engaging Scout program. Taught in four components, leaders learn practical methods to apply, and the theory of why the techniques work. Attendees learn ways to build character, develop teamwork, and teach skills more effectively. A full list of classes should be available in August. Sign up early to ensure you get the classes you want. Contact Craig Gridley, craigg510@aol.com.

Blackhawk 500 Mt. Diable Silverado Pinewood Derby Championship on Saturday, May 21 with doors open at 8:30am
Wear your full Scout uniform and get your whole family in the museum for free!
For more information see www.blackhawk500.org

Family Flight Day! Saturday, August 13, 2011, 10am – 2pm, Martinez Marina Waterfront Park
Come join us for the 5th Annual Cub Scout Family Flight Day! All Cub Scouts in the Council and their family and friends are invited. There will be kite fly- ing, glider racing, and many other fun events for the whole family!

For more information: Contact Joe Squeri at (925)674-6123 or muir@bsa-mdsc.org

Next Roundtable Meeting is on June 2, 2011. This meeting is on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the LDS Church, 1590 Denkinger Road, Concord. For more information, contact Cynthia Mallory at cyndim@cynergyfitness.net or 510-908-1677.

CUB SCOUT DAY CAMP Registration is now open for All-American SportsCubDayCamp! Registration ends May 31st. They are seeking volunteers: If you are interested, you will receive a $20 refund for each day you volunteer, so please register now and join us in creating lifetime memories for you and your Scout(s). They will hold interviews for Junior Helpers on May 23rd. Contact Jennifer Jarske for an appointment at 925-787-1490. Planning meetings will be held 5/23, 6/27 and 7/5 at 7 pm at the Council Service Center. If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Jin, Jennifer Jarske or Anissa Keeler at muirdaycamp@gmail.com.

Successful Tree Planting with The Mayor!

A short blurb about Pack 380 helping with the City of Concord's annual Arbor Day celebrations was in the May 12, 2011 edition of the Concord Transcript. The accompanying photo showed three of our scouts (David, Gavin and Ethan) working with Cubmaster Llata to plant trees at Ellis Lake Park. The on-line article shows the text but the photo is missing, but here is the link for those interested: http://www.contracostatimes.com/concord/ci_18042114

The following is a scanned image of the page in the Concord Transcript:



Also on hand were scouts Owen Lang and Ryan Emoto and their siblings.

Pack 380 in Concord Transcript

Look for some of our scouts to appear in this week's edition of the Concord Transcript!

The photos will be from last week's Arbor Day tree planting efforts at Ellis Lake Park.

May Pack Meeting - Recruiting

The following are the slides presented at today's Pack meeting.

2011 Arbor Day Tree Planting

The Arbor Day tree planting for the City of Concord was a success! On hand to help with the tree planting from Pack 380 were scouts Owen, Ryan, David, Gavin and Ethan.

Led by Cubmaster Chris Llata, the scouts with siblings planted eight trees at Ellis Lake Park.

On hand to congratulate the kids was Mayor Laura Hoffmeister.

Tiger Den Meetings in May 2011

The following are the dates and times for Tiger Den meetings at Woodside:

May 3, Tuesday, at 6pm in Classroom D5

May 17, Tuesday, at 6pm in Classroom D5

Arbor Day Tree Planting

Calling all Scouts in Pack 380!

We will have our annual tree planting in celebration of Arbor Day on May 5, 2011 (Thursday) at Ellis Lake Park in Concord at about 3 pm after school.

There will be free Arbor Day related materials for scouts!

The following are some pictures from last year's event at BoatWright Complex with then Mayor Bjerke and our scouts.



If there are any questions, please contact Cubmaster Llata at arbornut@gmail.com.

May 2011 Pack Meeting

The Pack 380 monthly meeting will be held on May 9 (Monday) at 7pm in the Woodside Elementary Multi-Use Room. The plan is to use this meeting to try to recruit new scouts for next year so please attend looking sharp in full uniform. Here's the flyer that will go to all Woodside families.

Smoke Signals - April 2011 Edition

Here are the highlights in the April edition of Mt. Diablo Silverado Council newsletter, Smoke Signals:

Cub Scout Leaders: All Position-Specific training for adult leaders can be found at MyScouting.org.

BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) Training which is required for Cub Leaders on Pack
overnighters; two opportunities for this training:
Saturday, April 30, Camp Fetterman, Brentwood. Contact Tom Santos, 925-672-5955, tomnets@pacbell.net.
Saturday, April 30, Camp Herms. Contact John McClintic, 925-930-7352, jmcclintic@bamlaw.com, Bill Phelon, 925-254-8338, rphelon@juno.com.

Our Pack for the new year will be down to only one adult with this training, Chris Llata, so we need to get other parents to take this training if we are going to do outdoor activities.

Blackhawk 500 Mt. Diable Silverado Pinewood Derby Championship on Saturday, May 21 with doors open at 8:30am
Wear your full Scout uniform and get your whole family in the museum for free!
For more information see www.blackhawk500.org

Roundtable Meeting is on May 5, 2011. This meeting is on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm at the LDS Church, 1590 Denkinger Road, Concord. For more information, contact Cynthia Mallory at cyndim@cynergyfitness.net or 510-908-1677.

Cub Scout Family Camp opportunities in May are the following: Spring Cub Family Camp on May 13 to 15, 2011 and Memorial Day Weekend Cub Family Camp on May 27 to 30, 2011.

Cub Scout Tiger Fun Day - May 7, 2011

This is for scouts who are currently in kindergarten through 4th grades and their families. This could be another opportunity to recruit new scouts for our Pack. For more information, please contact your den leaders.

April Den Meetings

April Den Meetings for Pack 380

April 12 (Tuesday) - Den 5 (Tiger Cubs) will meet in Room D-5 at Woodside Elementary at 6pm

April 21 (Thursday) - Den 1 (Webelo-1 Cubs) will meet in Room D-5 at Woodside Elementary at 6:30pm

2011 Cub Scout Summer Day Camp

Den Leader Llata attended the committee meeting for this summer's scout day camp. There are two ways to save money:

1. Sign up before the end of this month
2. Volunteer at the camp; the more days you can do the more you save

And you're in luck because they still need lots of volunteers!

Register on-line at: http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/muir/daycamp.php

Medical form needed for scouts attending are at: http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/resources/files/dcmed.pdf

For more information please contact the camp directors:

Tracy Jin: 925-984-9089
Jennifer Jarske: 925-787-1490
muirdaycamp@gmail.com

Important Pack 380 Dates - April through June 2011

April 6 - Pack Meeting with Bridging Ceremonies for Webelo 2s

May 4 - Pack meeting

June 2 or 3 - Graduation Ceremonies for Tigers and Webelo 1s

June 17 and 18 (tentative) - Pack summer campout at Camp Herms

July 11 through 15 - Cub Scout Summer Camp

Smoke Signals - March 2011 Edition

This is the newsletter of the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council.

Highlights of this edition include:

Muir District Fishing Derby is on April 2 at Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
Scouts can work on their fishing merit badge or fishing belt loop. Contact Stan Jungenberg at sjungenberg@spunkmeyer.com or Ben Soleimanieh at ben.soleimanieh@ratrucking.com

BALOO (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation) Training which is required for Cub Leaders on Pack
overnighters; two opportunities for this training:
Saturday, April 30, Camp Fetterman, Brentwood. Contact Tom Santos, 925-672-5955, tomnets@pacbell.net.
Saturday, April 30, Camp Herms. Contact John McClintic, 925-930-7352, jmcclintic@bamlaw.com, Bill Phelon, 925-254-8338, rphelon@juno.com.

Our Pack for the new year will be down to only one adult with this training: Chris Llata.

Blackhawk 500 Mt. Diable Silverado Pinewood Derby Championship on Saturday, May 21 with doors open at 8:30am
Wear your full Scout uniform and get your whole family in the museum for free!
For more information see www.blackhawk500.org

2011 Pinewood Derby Car Races

This year's races were held on March 9, 2011 with the event kicking off at about 630pm.  The evening started with cub scouts and families chowing down on pizza, assorted snacks and drinks.

After a few announcements by Silverado Council staff, we were ready for racing by 700pm after the voting for Best Looking Car was closed.  This year there were 15 cars entered in the Pack 380 Pinewood Derby Car races.