We planned for November to be a month of service and it’s shaping up to be even bigger than expected!

• Gavin’s Eagle project workday is this Saturday at Equi-Kids in Virginia Beach. Please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for construction work and arrive no later than 10am. Work should complete no later than 4pm. Lunch will be provided.
• Our rebuild of the scout shed roof will take place this Sunday at noon. Again, please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for construction work. We expect to be done by 4pm. Please eat before you arrive.
• We are collecting food for the church’s food pantry. Scouts were sent home with a stack of flyers to distribute in their neighborhood. All food items need to be collected by Friday, November 21st so that we can get them to the church the following day. If you need to print more flyers or send it electronically, the PDF design is here: https://www.troop5norfolk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/FoodPantry-Nov2025.pdf

Unfortunately, we did not register in time for Zomboree this year. Instead, we are planning to attend Scout Night at the Norfolk Admirals that same Saturday evening of December 6th. Look for more details to come soon.

Winter camp merit badge offerings were emailed to those scouts attending the event. Please look through them and send requests to Kristina by December 9th. The guide is online here: https://pipsicobsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/WinterCampMBG-26.pdf

Finally, a reminder for those seeking to complete merit badges individually (outside of council and camp events) that you must get permission from a scoutmaster before officially working on the badge and they will help get you connected with a merit badge counselor. It’s easy to do, just ask.

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to some manual labor this weekend!

Scott

Thank you to those scouts and leaders who camped this past weekend with our troop and Pack 191. It was a fun time and I know the pack kids and parents really enjoyed having us there with them.

All popcorn sales are due to Shayna by end of the day this Sunday, October 26th. After that, we cannot guarantee fulfillment of popcorn sales as inventory for some flavors may sell out. Please plan accordingly and sell, sell, sell this weekend! We are currently about 3/4 of the way to our goal. We have show and sales happening this weekend and could use another scout to help man the booth from 8-9am on Sunday. Please contact Teasa if you can fill this shift.

Yours in scouting,
Scott

We will gather at the church at 6:15pm this Friday and depart around 6:30pm to First Landing State Park for our weekend campout. We’ve got some fun activities planned with Pack 191 for Saturday and will be testing our cooking skills through various methods as well. It should be a lot of fun. Get your campfire songs and skits ready!

Popcorn fundraising sales continue, but product becomes more limited after October 28th. Please be sure to submit all current orders to Shayna no later than October 28th, and contact her with any questions.

Ahead of our shed roof repair service day in November, we are checking around if anyone has any of the following materials or knows anyone who does. Please let Scott or Andy know if you do.

5 sheets of plywood
8 2x4x12 or 2x6x12 for rafters
1 role of roofing felt
1 tube of sealer
Roof nails
1 box framing nails
1 box contractor-grade trash bags
5 bundles of shingles
12 tie downs (to hold roof down in high winds)
1 can of wasp spray

Thanks everyone,
Scott

Eli C’s Eagle project workday is this Saturday, 8:30am – 10:30am at the Virginia Zoo. All scouts, adults, and other volunteers are welcome. Your volunteering includes complimentary admission to the zoo that day after the build is done!

Popcorn Show & Sales continue this weekend. Please be sure to arrive on time for your scheduled shifts. We have some shifts still available if you want to pick up another. Please contact Shayna with any requested scheduling changes.

Scouts attending this month’s campout at First Landing should bring $20 to the next meeting to go towards patrol groceries. We will be meal planning and preparing for activities with Cub Scout Pack 191 at the campout.

A repeat announcement from last week that the church’s food pantry is in need of more plastic shopping bags to support their mission as they are currently running low. If you have shopping bags from prior trips to the grocery store that you can donate to the church, please bring those to a future meeting.

Thanks everyone,
Scott

Eli C. is hosting a workday for his eagle project at the Virginia Zoo on Saturday, October 11th from 8:30 until 10:30am. All help is welcome and appreciated. The project is a construction of “bug hotel” structures. Scouts should bring gloves and water bottles with them to stay hydrated. Food and refreshments will be provided and afterwards scouts will have the opportunity to walk around the zoo for no charge. He thanks you in advance for your help.

Congratulations to Chase and Michael who completed their Life rank boards of review tonight. Next step… Eagle!

Speaking of advancement to Eagle, Gavin plans to host a work day for this project on Saturday, November 8th. There may also be a work day hosted prior to that day to do pre-fabrication work. Stay tuned for details on times and location.

We will be rescheduling our repair of the shed roof to Sunday, November 9th or the following weekend (weather permitting). We are seeking donations of plywood, 2x4s, and shingles to support this project. If you know of anyone that may be able to donate any of these materials, please let me know.

The church’s food pantry is in need of more plastic shopping bags to support their mission as they are currently running low. If you have shopping bags from prior trips to the grocery store that you can donate to the church, please bring those to a future meeting.

Parents, I encourage you to let your scouts help manage their advancement and communication within Scoutbook. You can give them access to view their electronic advancement record and receive these emails by following the instructions near the bottom of this webpage: https://help.scoutbook.scouting.org/knowledge-base/scoutbook-tutorial-for-parents/

Thanks everyone!

Scott

For those camping this weekend, we will depart the church at 6am sharp on Saturday morning to ensure we are at Pipsico in time for check-in and safety briefing. Cold breakfast of pop tarts and cereal bars will be provided for scouts by the patrol. Looking forward to some fun at Guns ‘n’ Grillin’!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 8th when we plan to repair the shed roof at the church for our November service project (weather permitting). Scouts, leaders, parents, and other adults and volunteers are all welcome to come help. Also stay tuned for news on Gavin’s Eagle Project work date.

Start spreading the news about our open house on December 16th! All prospective scouts (and their parents/guardians) are encouraged to attend.

And finally a reminder that we’re right in the heart of popcorn fundraising season. Keep selling and we’ll check in again next week on our progress towards our fundraising goal.

Thanks,
Scott

Bummer we couldn’t meet tonight but better safe than sorry with the severe weather. We do have a couple deadlines this week that I want to reiterate to everyone:

• Popcorn orders are due to Shayna tonight so that she can order with the council tomorrow and fulfill by October. If you miss this date, the next (and last) opportunity is at the end of October (with fulfillment in November). Don’t keep your customers waiting; get their orders submitted to Shayna now!
• Winter camp registration opens on Saturday and is expected to fill up almost immediately. Please RSVP to Kristina no later than this Friday by email or through this web form: https://forms.gle/7T2s6TtUpeLwbTpP7

Thanks everyone. We’ll see you next Tuesday when it should be safer and drier.

Scott

Due to the severe weather and flash flood warning, we have cancelled tonight’s meeting. The troop committee will still meet via Zoom at 7:00pm; see email for joining details. Teasa will be working to reschedule boards of review for those scouts scheduled to have them tonight. Stay dry!

Congratulations to Michael who was elected as our newest Senior Patrol Leader last Tuesday. He and the PLC have some good plans laid out for the next six months that we’re excited to see take shape.

Tonight we learned about ammunition and targets in continued preparation for our attendance at the council’s Guns ‘n’ Grillin’ weekend at the end of the month. If anyone has not RSVP’d for this campout September 26-28 and would like to go, please contact Kristina as soon as possible so she can add you to our registration.

We have been invited to a flag retirement ceremony on the Willoughby beach by our COR Cindy for the evening of September 20th. Exact address and time will be communicated soon.

Finally, a reminder to get out and sell some popcorn! Every dollar you collect gives our troop the ability to do fun activities and outings throughout the year and also helps cover your dues and event fees. The more you sell now, the less you pay later 🙂 If you have orders that you need fulfilled, please contact Shayna to arrange for pickup.

Thank you!
Scott