Summer Camp

Every summer, Troop 216 travels to Raven Knob Scout Reservation in Mt. Airy, North Carolina for a week of summer camp.  In 2011, we will be at Raven Knob June 26th through July 2nd.

Summer camp is a week of fun and adventure.  Raven Knob is located in the mountains of North Carolina in a beautiful wooded stretch of land. There are dozens of campsites scattered throughout the reservation. Raven Knob has miles of trails to hike and a nice big lake where scouts can swim, fish and go canoeing. Summer camp is also a great place to earn requirements towards rank advancements and merit badges.

For scouts that can’t make the annual troop trip to Raven Knob, there are other opportunities to attend summer camp. Other Troops from the area are heading to Raven Knob on different weeks. There are also Troops heading to other Boy Scout camps during the summer. For example, Troop 212 will be attending summer camp at Camp Durant and Camp Goshen this summer.  In the past several Troop 216 Scouts have accompanied Troop 212 since their 2nd camping week usually lines up with a “year round school” break.  If you are interested in one of these alternatives, please contact Mr. DeContreras as soon as possible.

Summer Camp 2006 Summary

Summer Camp 2007 Summary

Summer Camp 2008 Summary

Camp Raven Knob and Troop 216 Summer Camp Requirements

       BSA Medical Form - 

• Medical Record Part A and C:  to be completed annually by all participants (scouts and adults).  

• Medical Record Part B:  is required with Part A and C by all participants (scouts and adults) attending high adventure scouting activities and/or summer camp.  

• Part A,B, and C Medical Record forms:  http://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/whole.pdf

        Uniforms - all Scouts are required to wear Class A uniforms for breakfast, supper and camp fires. Scouts should have a hanger to keep their shirts fresh all week.  Monday is Troop T-shirt day.  The Scout shirt with bright blue shorts just does not look good.  Please do your best to have your Scout bring tan, green or denim shorts and pants.  List of items to bring to Camp Raven Knob.

    Cell Phones, Radios, CD Players and Electronic Games - should be left at home.  Pay phones are available in camp and adult leaders will have cell phones for emergencies.  Two-way communications radios are allowed.  Radios that receive ONLY US Weather Service broadcasts are allowed.  No exceptions please.

    Snacks - these should be kept to a minimum as they attract “critters of the woods”.  Any snacks brought must be locked in the Scouts’ footlocker.  The standard black plastic footlockers we use have ventilation holes in them that should be duct taped closed.  The camp operates a trading post where snacks can be purchased.  Bring $$.  (suggest $5 per day)

          Merit Badge Books - Scouts should have the merit badge books for the courses they are signed up for prior to summer camp.  Contact the Troop Librarian to borrow books from the Troop library.

 ·         Merit Badge Sessions - Scouts are expected to attend their merit badge sessions on time and work toward completion of the merit badges while at camp.  History shows that many Scouts do not work on their partials after returning from camp.  Parents should encourage their Scouts to complete the merit badges at camp or shortly thereafter.  Prerequisites are listed in the Leaders Guide.  Please encourage your Scout to complete prerequisites prior to attending camp.

          Raven Knob Activities - we will be attending all the Raven Knob Activities (camp fires, etc.) as a Troop.  Each Scout will be expected to participate with the Troop in these activities.  For most of these activities, the Scout will be required to wear his Class A uniform.  As you may imagine uniforms get soiled by mid week and Scouts default to class A shirt and what ever shorts they have that are dry.  The Scout shirt with bright blue shorts just does not look good.  Please do your best to have your Scout bring tan, green or denim shorts and pants.

·       Service Project - we will be working on a Troop service project again this year.  We will find out what is available when we arrive.  Scouts should consider bringing gloves to save their hands.

       Wednesday Night Family Night - In the past, several parents have chosen to join the Scouts for dinner and campfire.  For the new Scouts - please consider how you feel your son will handle being away for a week.  It might be better to wait to see him on Saturday morning if he is one that will ask to return with you on Wednesday night.  The Troop leadership discourages parents from coming to visit on Wednesday.  We have never had a homesick Scout quit the program early and we believe that keeping the parents away has gone a long way toward helping us help the Scouts complete the program.      

If you wish to participate please let Mr. De Contreras know beforehand.

       Medication and Special Medical Needs – Discuss all medication and medical needs with Rick Myers.  Don’t be bashful, last year 25% of the Scouts needed assistance with medication.  New BSA policy effective July 2007 states that all medication must be kept under lock and key and some narcotic medication must be stored in the camp health lodge under the supervision on qualified medical personnel.  VERY IMPORTANT:  all medication must be placed in a separate plastic baggie – one baggie per dosage.  Each baggie must be labeled as to dosage date and time.  Place each of the dosage baggie’s in one large baggie clearly labeled with the Scouts name and the daily dosage requirements.

       Emergency/Hospital Care – The Mt. Airy hospital requires Scout social security number, parent social security number, and a copy of the family’s/Scout’s insurance card.  Sadly, without this information they will not treat a Scout.  This was a new requirement in 2007.  The way we maintained security for this information last year was by having the parent place this information in a sealed envelope with the Scouts name on the outside.  We keep the envelopes sealed and only open the envelope if it is needed at the hospital.  We will use the same procedure this year.  Please prepare your envelope and turn it in to Chuck Gay as soon as possible.  This is VERY IMPORTANT.

          Homesickness - Every Scout handles being away from their homes for a week differently.  We will watch for the signs of homesickness and work with the Scout to develop ways of handling it.  This might be as easy as making sure that he is kept active in something during all the daytime hours.  Homesickness tends to happen at night and the Scouts tend to get better during the day.  We are happy to work with your Scout to get past the fear if you will work with us to get him past Wednesday.  After Wednesday it’s down hill and most of the homesickness fades away.  We will make every effort to discourage your Scout from calling home.  If for some reason you get a call from us, we encourage you to support us in keeping your Scout at camp.  You should ask him to try it one more day.  Since our experience is that mom has a harder time holding the line, we suggest that dad talk to the Scout should the call come.

      ·Phone calls home - The rule is that every Scout (young or old) must ask permission before being allowed to make a phone call home.  This is part of our homesickness control program.
      

         Contacting the Scouts - several different ways are available for contacting the Scouts during the week.  Postal Mail and E-mail are excellent ways of letting the Scouts know that you are thinking of them.  The Scouts enjoy the “mail call” when items are delivered daily.  Do not send postal mail after Wednesday - it more than likely will not get from Cary/Apex to Mount Airy in time.  Some parents sent postal mail the week before camp so the Scout has mail the first day in camp.

          Postal Mail     Scout Name
                              Troop 216
                              Camp Raven Knob
                              266 Raven Knob Road
                              Mount Airy, NC  27030 

         E-mail             E-mail can be delivered to the Scouts from the Raven Knob website

      www.ravenknob.com
Click on “This Summer”
Click on “Week Two – June 26 to July 2”
Click on “Send Scout a Message”

      Enter Troop number 216, Scout name and the message in the form provided

        Telephone      (336) 352-4307 staffed from 8:00am to 10:00pm (with the exception                                                of meal times

    Troop Leaders     refer to summer camp emails for cell phone numbers  

        Other Information – if you have a question that has not been answered in this letter, consider downloading the “Raven Knob Scout Reservation Leaders Guide to Summer Camp” from www.ravenknob.com.  Direct any other questions to Bob De Contreras or Chuck Gay, the primary summer camp adult leaders.