From the south or west, drive through Peterborough on Rt. 202. From the Rt.202/ Rt. 136 intersection, take Rt. 136 heading toward Greenfield for 2.5 miles. Turn left onto Old Bennington Road (watch for Roundtable sign). LDS Meetinghouse is 1/4 mile in on the right (watch for a sign at the driveway). From the north coming from Rt. 202 through Bennington and Hancock, turn left onto Forest Road heading toward Greenfield State Park. Pass through the covered bridge and take your next right onto Old Bennington Road (watch for Roundtable sign). Meetinghouse will be on your left- watch for a sign at the driveway.
Tents for Haiti at Feb Roundtable 2/9
Troop 18 Scoutmaster Mark Hill is collecting usable old tents for Haiti.
We can drop off tents at Keene High School. Mark Hill is also happy to collect tents at the Feb. 9th Roundtable. If you do plan to bring tents to Roundtable, please send Mark a quick message by Feb. 8th letting him know how many you expect to have so that he can plan to drive a larger vehicle and/or trailer, if necessary. Mark's email is odietroop18sm@ne.rr.com.
District Anniversary Show
The Mt Monadnock District is hosting a Scout Show at the Keene Rec Center. See the flyer for more information. Register Now for your unit to participate and show your favorite skill.
100th Anniversary Feb 8
One week from today, Monday February 8th, is the official 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. Just think of all of the young people over 100 years who have grown into stronger leaders, have learned to make positive choices every day, and have become more actively participating citizens! Just think of all of the adults over 100 years who have volunteered countless hours of their time and given their hearts to these young people, to help guide them to become the best they can be. What an awesome organization we are a part of, helping individuals grow and contributing to a stronger country!
Please plan to wear your Scout uniform proudly throughout the day on Feb. 8th, and please encourage your Scouts to wear them to school. Imagine the conversations that will strike up as other adults notice the uniforms, ask us about Scouting, and remember the impact Scouting had on them, their children or their siblings. Students in uniform will have that same effect on the adults they encounter, and might prompt a classmate to consider joining or rejoining Scouting. I know this will be hard for older Scouts who might feel shy about showing their peers that they are Scouts, but if we build this up within our units the Scouts might be persuaded if they knew everyone else was going to wear their uniform, too. Let's try!
Scout Sunday, Feb. 7th, is a good day to encourage wearing uniforms to church. We'll also be celebrating with a big birthday cake at Roundtable on Tues. Feb. 9th. I hope we'll see you there!
Yours in Scouting,
Lauren Martin, District Commissioner
March Roundtable is 3/16 (one week later than usual)- Vote in Your Town on 3/9!
All Advancement - Internet Only
At the January Roundtable, District Advancement Chair Pete Bissell and Troop 18 Scoutmaster Mark Hill gave a presentation on Internet Advancement. As of January 1st 2010, Daniel Webster Council is now using internet advancement for 100% of advancement reporting for all program levels. This process will enable units to enter their own advancement records, print an advancement report, and obtain their current unit roster and unit history.
Click on the image for Internet Advancement below. This will only work with Internet Explorer. Each unit has a specific unit access code which will not change in subsequent years (this is not the same code you used to access internet rechartering). If you do not yet know your unit's special code for internet advancement, please contact Pete Bissell at 209-4209. The site will walk you through the process and you can save and exit at any time. The first time you use the system you will "register." Subsequent times you will "log in." If your advancement chair changes you should call council to ask them to reset your account to zero- then the new adv. chair will have to register as if it is the first time entering the system.
You will be given the option of loading council's roster or entering yours from your own software. Make the necessary advancement changes and double-check it before you submit. Once the report is submitted you cannot change it, though you can go back in to make a change if within 24 hours. (If you send a corrected copy online, print it out and write a note stating that this is the revised copy and has been entered online.) Print a hard copy of your final report and obtain the necessary signatures. Then you can either take the signed copy with you to the Scout store, or snail mail or fax the signed copy to the store if someone will be picking up or if you'd like your advancements shipped. Keep in mind that the store will charge a fee for pulling items off the shelf and another fee for shipping.
If you have questions with this process please feel free to consult Pete Bissell or your friendly unit commissioner. It's often a challenge to try something like this for the first time, but once we've all tried it we will probably all feel pleased to have greater personal control over recording advancements.
Thank you!
Yours in Scouting,
Lauren Martin, District Commissioner
District Dinner Nominations due April 1 to Chris Brown.
Date Changes - Family Hike
April 11, 1-4pm, Camp Wanocksett, Dublin, NH. Calendar item has information, District Yahoo Group and Roundtable has details.
Taxes
It may be possible for leaders to deduct milage to unit/district/council/national events provided they were not reimbursed for any of the trip (gas, food, etc.). This may be one of the non-receipt items if charitable donations are applied to your taxes. Consult a tax professional before taking milage because the circumstances change, but if you feel you can, milage is round trip from your residence to the event, so when using a site like MapQuest which shows direction and milage, remember to double the one way milage. So where were District sponsored activities? See the links below, and what an active year it has been:
Dates have been set for the 2010 Merit Badge College in Mason, NH. Dates are Feb 20, March 6, 20. As always, snow dates are the weekend following the date. Details and registration form to follow shortly after counselors are confirmed. Details have been released and are available HERE! Registration Deadline Is Jan 15. Some badges are limted and filling fast. Register early.Forestry Badge students must be dressed for outdoor conditions.
District Items to Remember
National Scout Jamboree
For those going to National Jamoree, the IEEE group is hosting the Electronics/Electricity/Computer merit badge.
Mt Monadnock District is now using Yahoo Groups, being monitored by our local district scouters. To join and ask questions, coordinate activities, and share successes, Subscribe Here and choose Join This Group!
