December 2nd & 9th: NOVA Out of this World
We're leaving Earth for two nights in December and going Out of This World! In this multi-part STEM program, Astro-Cubs will be learning about NASA, its Mars 2020 mission and Perseverance Rover, planets and constellations. We will be putting what we've learned to the test with two STEM craft projects: build your own Mars rover and pipecleaner constellations.
Out of This World is the Cub Scout Nova Award for space exploration science. This STEM program incorporates learning with cool activities and exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics for Cub Scouts. To earn this award, Cub Scouts explore topics such as planets, space, space exploration, or astronomy. They must also complete one of their adventures related to astronomy, health, or design or they must do a related investigation.
While this award can only be earned by Wolves, Bears or Webelos, Lions and Tigers are encouraged to participate in both nights.
December 2: NASA Guest Speaker, Andy Sokol
- Date: December 2, 2020
- Time: 6:00 p.m. (Note earlier time)
- Zoom link to be emailed
Mr. Andy is a Vehicle Systems engineer with NASA's Launch Services Program. Among other topics, Mr. Andy’s presentation will include discussions on NASA, the Mars 2020 mission that recently launched (and will be landing on Mars in February 2021) and the Perseverance Rover.
December 9: Pack Meeting & Out of This World STEM Projects
- Date: December 9, 2020
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Zoom link to be emailed
Following our Opening Ceremony and Cubmaster's Minute, we will conduct our second NOVA Out of this World presentation. Here, we will reach for the stars as we learn about five main constellations, recreating them in pipecleaner form. For the second STEM project of the night, scouts will build and run their own Mars rover.
Craft materials for both the build your own Mars rover and pipecleaner constellations will be delivered to Scouts' doorsteps by December 5th.
Contact the Cubmaster to add a sibling to the delivery list.
November Hike: Sibley Volcanic Trail
- Date: November - on your own!
- Time: Do as a den or family.
- Trail: Round Top, Volcanic and Skyline Trail Loop
- Location: Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
- Meeting Point: Sibley Main Staging Parking Lot
- Who can come: Everyone!
- RSVP: Do as a den or family.
- FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED. HIKERS NEED TO STAY IN THEIR FAMILY POD WHEN HIKING.
- This hike fulfills the Geology Hike requirement for those working on SuperNova.
- AllTrails Map
- EBRPD Map
November's pack hike of the month will be the Sibley Volcanic Trail, located in the Oakland Hills. Since this area has a small parking lot and given the large turn out we had last month, we'd like to conduct this hike on a smaller level. So, get outdoors as a family or with your den to do this hike. Burn off some of the that Thanksgiving turkey on this cool hike! Send a photo of your scout at the Trailhead and we'll send he or she their patch (note this is not a TrailTrekker or Highlander patch hike) in the next pack delivery.
The Volcanic Trail was once a quarry haul road. This contains most of the stops on a self-guided volcanic tour. The hike is about 3.5 miles long. Did you know we have a volcano in our backyard at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve? Originally called Round Top Park, Sibley shares with Temescal and Tilden the distinction of being one of the East Bay Regional Park District's original parks. The preserve was later named in honor of Robert Sibley, who helped found the District and served for 10 years on its board of directors.
What to Bring:
- Facecovering
- Plenty of water and snacks
- Layers of clothing appropriate for the weather
- Binoculars, camera (optional)
October Hike: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
- Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020
- Time: 2:00 p.m.
- Location: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
- Meeting Point: Parking lot at the end of Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA
- Attire: Class B
- Who can come: Everyone!
- RSVP: Evite
- FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED. HIKERS NEED TO STAY IN THEIR FAMILY POD WHEN HIKING.
- This is a TrailTrekker Patch Hike.
- Trail Map
Directions: From Highway 680: Take the Crow Canyon Road exit. Drive west on Crow Canyon for about 1 mile, then turn right (north) onto Bollinger Canyon Road. Continue about 4.5 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road. Alternatively, drive west on Bollinger until it ends at the park. It is about 10 miles from school on Bollinger Canyon Road. Meet at the parking lot at the end of the road inside the park.
Trail: Bollinger Creek Loop trail. It is a very nice nearly flat 1.5 Mile trail. It should take less than 1 hour to complete. Is is an easy hike for our younger scouts.
What to Bring:
- Facecovering
- Plenty of water and snacks
- Layers of clothing appropriate for the weather
- Binoculars, camera (optional)
Overview:
Las Trampas (Spanish for the traps) has two distinct areas, each with its own personality. Rocky Ridge, on the west side of the valley, is known for views in all directions, unusual rocks and green rolling hills lightly forested with California bays, oaks and maples. The wildflower display on the hills just off the ridgeline is an east bay favorite. The Las Trampas Ridge, to the east, is quite different, featuring a plant community dominated by chamise with other chaparral plants such as manzanitas and coyote brush.
2020 Popcorn Fundraiser is on!
Why do we do this?
This is a key fundraiser for our pack and council, the Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC).
73% of all popcorn funds will go to support scouting locally - proceeds are shared between GGAC, our local district – “Meridian District” and our Pack. GGAC and Meridian District use these funds to support activities such as Webeloree, Summer Day Camp, insurance, training and much more and keep participation costs low. Our fundraising effort helps to make Scouting a great experience for our scouts. Here is a sampling of the Pack 1776 activities supported by your fund-raising efforts and participation:
- Halloween Party
- Pinewood Derby Equipment, Awards and Facilities Rental
- Pack Camp Outs, craft and skill station supplies, food
- Blue & Gold Celebration entertainment and dessert
- End of the Year Graduation
Benefits to Your Scout:
- Teaches Scouts the value & process of setting and working toward goals
- Gives Scouts a strong sense of accomplishment through recognition
- Enhances communication, leadership skills and confidence in your Scout
- Scouts can earn a participation patch and rewards
- Scouts can earn their way to a Pack adventures.
Donations to the pack are preferred!
If friends and family are not interested in purchasing popcorn, perhaps they would be willing to make a donation to the pack. They can do so by submitting cash or check to you or donating directly using a credit card on our pack payment portal. Make sure you email us to let us know a donation is coming as we are unable to track donations.
What is our goal?
Our goal is for every scout to sell $200.
Each Scout should strive to achieve $200 in sales
- $100 from sales made to family & friends
- $100 from sales made to neighbors and parents co-workers
Prizes and Rewards:
- Each scout will earn a patch for making a sale or obtaining a donation.
- Based on their total sales, scouts will select the prize or prizes from Trails End they'd like and enter the codes on their order form before returning it on 10/20
- The top earner (sales of popcorn + donations) wins the Grand Prize - a Nintendo Switch Lite! For the purposes of pack awards (not through Trailsend) families with more than one scout can combine their sales & donations
How to Sell:
This year everyone needs to download the Trails End App or make a sales page on Trailsend.com as:
- All sales will be online
- Tracking Inventory will be online
- Credit Card sales willbe online.
- Door to Door / Sales to families can be made through the APP.
You may download the App on your on. If doing so, select "Meridian" for the district and "Pack 1776" for the unit. The Pack will send one family member an invitation to set up an account with the Trails End App that is linked to Pack 1776. You can also text APP to 62771 for a link to download the app.
Unfortunately, we can only send one invitation out per scout, so Mom and Dad, one of you will get the invitation and have to set up the account and give that log in information to the other parent.
Selling Online
Online Direct
- Scouts can ask family and friends far away to support them by purchasing popcorn through the Trails End site online. You will receive an email from the Pack via Trails End with the subject line “Welcome to the NEW Trails End. Sign-in & raise money now!”. Follow the steps with your scout to set up your scout’s account. The new Trails End site allows you and your scout to customize his or her ‘page’ and from there you can send invites to your family and friends.
- Scouts can record an Online Direct sale in the Trail’s End App while selling door-to-door or over the phone. This allows the scout to initiate the order and send a link to customers to enter credit card info to complete the transaction.
Marketing Your Scout
October 31st: Halloween Event
- Date and Time: Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 1 pm to 3 pm (Setup begins at 12:00.)
- Location: Outdoors @ Coyote Creek Elementary School Parking Lot and Blacktop. 8700 North Gale Ridge Road, San Ramon, CA
- Cost: Free admission! The entire scouting family is welcome!
- Attire: Costumes!! Facecoverings - in addition to any costume type masks must be worn.
- Signup: YOU MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE on the SignUp Genius Link emailed to all members.
- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. Sign up here.
Beware of ghosts and goblins! Come for an afternoon of games, fun, and mayhem! This is a socially distanced outdoor event where small groups of participants (14 persons or less) shall rotate through stations to ensure they are apart from one another. Candy/trinkets will only be distributed at certain spots, in a method where they are placed on a table / ground for individual pick up or run through a “candy chute” to minimize contact. Only pack provided candy will be distributed. Registered participants get a special Trunk or Treat 2020 patch and Halloween Candy tote preloaded with some candy! The key to this event is not to have groups intermingle or get bigger than their allotment. Registered participants will receive an email with their group number before the event. Participants need to stay in that group the entire time. While parents or a Lion or Tiger may accompany their scouts, we encourage them and all other adults to stand away from the groups and observe from a distance. We do not want the groups to get bigger by having parents enter an area when they are there.
- Parents arrive at 1 pm and park in the Kids Country side parking lot or street.
- Leave an empty parking space in between cars.
- Parents & kids stay in their cars until it is time to start the event.
- Children must stay with their parents until we are ready to begin.
- The Cubmaster will announce such with megaphone, calling for those in a particular group to assemble.
- That group will be sent to their first station.
- Successive groups will be sent to other stations in numerical order.
- No group will be sent to the same station at the same time.
Our event is called "Trunk or Treat," but that's in name only! Quite frankly, it's because the patch looks cool.
Parents can choose to decorate their car and park it in the Decorated Vehicle Section in the parking lot on the Kindergarten side of the school. Tell us in advance if you are bringing a decorated vehicle as we are limiting it to 30 vehicles to ensure an empty parking space exists between cars.
- Participants will walk down the middle of the parking lot to observe the decorated cars.
- Parents shall not pass out items to passers-by.
- Participants shall not go up to a decorated car.
- In intervals, there will be a candy/trinket slide or pick up area set up by the pack where kids can obtain a treat. Decorated cars are eligible to win one of many trophies, as judged by the scouts.
- Kids may cycle through the trunk or treat area twice if time permits. Everyone will walk in a one-way direction, spread out at least 6’ apart. Towards the last cycle, they will tell a staffer their choices for the trophies.
- A photo backdrop will be nearby so you can take a photo!
A carnival area will be set up in various locations of the school, including the blacktop. These stations will be well spread apart to ensure the groups remain apart. The events are designed so that they do not involve running, eating, drinking or removal of a face-covering. While some events will require the use of hand-held materials, these will be disinfected with soapy water before the next participant handles it. Participants must stay with their group and move from station to station as a group, when instructed. This will probably be every 10-15 minutes. Each station will have a candy/treat pick up area or slide.
Facecoverings - in addition to any costume type masks - must be worn. The small groups and cycling them through various activities will allow us to regulate attendance at any one location. Socially distanced games are:
- Spray Away - Children try to “spray away” golf balls from golf tee’s using a squirt gun. 4 stations of 6 tees/golf balls and spread them out so the kids aren’t near one another. Squirt guns will be washed and refilled in soapy water between kids.
- Photo Back Drop Station & Lollipop Tree / Pull: pull a lollipop out to see if the end is colored. If it is, you may select a prize. Either way, you keep the lollipop! A photo backdrop will be nearby by so you can take a photo!
- Balloon Darts: Balloons inflated ahead of time with a pump will be affixed to pegboard. 3 stations. Use darts to pop two balloons. Darts will be washed in soapy water between kids.
- Giant Soap Bubbles: 7 soapy water basins. Each participant handles their own wand. Wands are washed with soapy water between participants.
- The Grave Keeper: The Grave Keeper has to keep a watchful eye on the graves in this spooky Halloween game. Zombies are usually pretty active on Halloween night; the grave keeper better be on their toes! The grave keeper will have everyone collapse and fall to the ground. The grave keeper keeps an eye on the dead to see if any of them move. If the grave keeper sees someone move, they are out of the game. If the grave keeper has his back turned then the dead can move and try to stand all the way up without getting caught.
- Monster Freeze Dance: Put on some Halloween tunes and have the kids boogie until the music stops when they have to freeze. Children are eliminated for not freezing and the last monster standing is the winner.
- Pumpkin Walk: musical chairs type activity - minus the chairs and running - where kids march on numbered pumpkins. When the music stops, a number is pulled out of a hat. Children are eliminated for standing on a pumpkin that has that number called.
Face coverings are required for all attendees
Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times. While we will have hand sanitizer, please also bring your own.
All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:
- Be made with at least two layers of breathable material
- Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the person to remain hands-free
- Shall not contain a valve which allows air to be exhaled from the mask.
- Open-chin triangle bandanas are not acceptable face coverings.
The use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.
Do NOT attend the event if you or a family member have experienced these symptoms in the 14 days leading up to the event:
- In contact with someone known or suspected to have COVID or the below symptoms.
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
September 20th: Bike Hike
Date/Time: Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: Start at PG&E Parking lot (North) (3400 Crow Canyon Rd; San Ramon, CA 94583) and cycle down to the intersection of San Ramon Valley Boulevard. Turn around and come back. Full route here.
Distance: 3 miles one way - approx. 6 miles total
Time: Allow 60-70 mins
Attire: Class B uniform
Contact: Hiking Chair Deva Sundararajan
RSVP: via Evite
Trail: This will be a socially distanced ride where families will ride as their own unit/bubble down the Iron Horse Trail between Crow Canyon, San Ramon and San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Danville and back for a total of about 6 miles.
- Face coverings are required to be worn when within 6 feet of non-family members.
- Riders must do their best to keep away from persons who are not in their famliy bubble.
Each registered rider (scouts and siblings) will receive a biking patch.
What to bring:
- Bike - in good working condition.
- Helmets
- Mask/Facecovering
- Waterbottle
Informational Open House: August 19th
COVID hasn't slowed down Pack 1776! You are invited to a Zoom meeting to learn about Cub Scouting and our pack. We have many things planned for this year as we celebrate the 20th year of Pack 1776.
- Date: August 19, 2020
- Time: 7:00 PM
- Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
October Pack Meeting: Into the Woods
- DATE: October 7, 2020
- TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- LOCATION: ZOOM Video Conference
- UNIFORM: Class A
Following our Opening Ceremony hosted by the Webelos I den, we will visit with Chelsea Yanez, an Interpretive Ranger from the Sequoia National Park.
Here we will learn about different types of trees, including the Giant Sequoias, living within their park.
Following the presentation, time permitting, we will plant our own trees from seed, using materials provided in a craft kit, delivered to you in advance.
Components of this presentation will meet requirements in several badges, including Webelos "Into the Woods," Wolf "Grow Something" and Bear "Fur, Feather and Ferns."
September Pack Meeting: Hometown Heroes
- DATE: September 9, 2020
- TIME: 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- LOCATION: ZOOM Video Conference
- UNIFORM: Class A
Join us for our first pack meeting of the new Scouting year! Following our Opening Ceremony hosted by the Webelos IIs and Scout Law Lantern Ceremony conducted by our Bears, we will visit with firefighters. If time permits we will build our own superhero together! Craft kits will be passed out in advance of the meeting to all registered scouts. Instructions will be emailed out if we do not have time to complete the craft during our meeting.
Join Pack 1776!
Pack 1776 celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! Come be a part of the fun. Registration is open. Click here to learn more:
What Pack activities will we be doing in light of COVID-19?
Pack 1776 hasn’t slowed down due to COVID-19. While it did reduce our ability to meet in person, we quickly shifted to virtual pack and den meetings via Zoom where we played games, learned new things, performed songs & skits, and even did crafts using materials delivered by the pack. We’ve heard from our parents and scouts alike that they had fun. While our kids were able to see their friends during School Google Meets sessions with their teachers while school was in session, this opportunity was dramatically reduced for many during the summer. Even then, they did not have much of a chance to chat or do things other than school work. The pack’s virtual den and pack meetings gave the kids a chance to see and socialize with their friends.
While our pack will continue to hold virtual pack meetings until it is safer to meet in person, indoors, we also plan to conduct social distanced/time-slotted outdoor events. This includes Rocket Day, hikes in local parks, a Bike Hike down the Iron Horse Trail, Halloween Trunk or Treat, Hoot Owl program and perhaps a “raingutter regatta.” While we hope the rollout of a vaccine may allow us to conduct our famous Pinewood Derby inside the Coyote Creek MPR come January 2021, we are already making back up plans to hold it outdoors, with it being simulcasted on Zoom. Given dens are smaller, the leader and parents may elect to conduct socially distanced meetings in person.
Continuing on with Virtual Pack Meetings allows parents and their Scout to participate in Cub Scouting even if they are not comfortable attending these socially distanced outdoor events. Pack Meetings will host speakers, crafts, games, our NOVA Stem program, and other fun things. For instance, take a look at what we are planning for the first half of our scouting year:
- September Virtual Pack Meeting: Hometown Heroes. Talk to a Fire Fighter and build your own superhero craft.
- October Virtual Pack Meeting: Into the Woods. Hear from a ranger or naturalist about California's big trees and plant one of your own from seed.
- November Virtual Pack Meeting: Our Nation's Veterans. Set on Veteran's Day, learn about our Flag from Veterans including a retired Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot.
- December Virtual Pack Meeting: NOVA Out of this World. Cub Scout's STEM program where we will explore space related themes and experiments.
- January Virtual Pack Meeting: Game Night! Back by popular demand, its Pack 1776 Bingo Night.
Other things in the works: Pack 1776's Minecraft type server, Into the Wild virtual pack meeting, 3D printing (for older scouts) and more.
Does an hour off sound good to you?
Most our Virtual Pack Meetings this year will be held from 6:30 pm to 7:30 p.m. We may go a half hour longer if the program that night warrants it. While we’d love for you to be beside your child during the Pack Meeting, we won’t hold it against you if you decide to take that time to head to the other side of the house for some peace and quiet!
How to register.
Click here for more information on the registration process, fee and what's included. Our pack registration fee includes our commemorative 20th anniversary t-shirt and "buff" style mask!
