Dear Scouts and Parents – especially those interested in attending the May 18 and 19 canoe outing,

Troop 8 will be holding swim tests at the YMCA on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, May, 12, both dates from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m. Passing the annual test, a rudimentary assessment of basic swimming and floating skills, is mandatory for anyone – adult leaders included – who wishes to participate in BSA water outings, including the upcoming canoe outing in May. The only exceptions will be for scouts who earned the swimming merit badge last June at Goshen or anyone who attended High Adventure and passed the test after May 19, 2023. All scouts and leaders who took the swim test at the Y last year (in early May) must take the test again.

Congratulations to our newly elected SPL (Seb Fries), ASPL (Calder Wilcox), Patrol Leaders (Tyler Rand - Bears, Atharva Bengeri - Eagles, Charlie Tuesca - Spartans, Reuben Cummings - Stags), and Assistant Patrol Leaders (Gordon Jones - Bears, Oliver Pruessner - Eagles, Oliver Toussaint - Spartans, Noah Cristinzio - Stags).

Message from SM Renfrew:
Dear Campers! Looking forward to seeing Scouts this weekend with us in Thurmont.

Reminder that we will meet at the WCCC Saturday morning at 8am to pack out.

Scouts working on this merit badge will meet Monday (April 22) at 7pm. Please be prepared to discuss the importance of personal fitness and how it relates to the Scout Oath and Law (Requirement 4).

BT8 Summer Campers - please complete ASAP the Summer Camp questionnaire Google Form that was sent out via email earlier this week.

This is critical to ensure that we can finalize our registration and register Scouts for the Merit Badges they need. For first time campers completing the Trail to First Class program, they will also complete three merit badges (Leatherwork, Space Exploration, and Mammal Study) during that four day program, and have all day Friday free to explore other Camp offerings.

All Scouts working on this merit badge should bring their fitness training log for review. It is essential that Scouts keep this log up to date in order to complete the merit badge.