January 20, 2025 Newsletter

Key Takeaways from this Newsletter

- Next Troop Meeting – Jan 20 – School Hall
- Parent Meeting Summary
- Sock Drive This Weekend!!
- 10 Mile Hike at Palos Forest Preserve – Jan 25
- Eagle Court of Honor – Sun, Feb 2 – 2:00 – Gym

Hi everyone,

- Next Troop Meeting – Monday, January 20 – School Hall 7:00-9:00 PM
We will be preparing for the 10-mile hike on Saturday, January 25 in the Palos Forest Preserves and sorting the proceeds of the Sock Drive.

If you helped with the Sock Drive over the weekend – Class B uniform. Class A uniform if you didn’t help.  

- Parent Meeting Wrap-Up
Thank you to the parents who came out for the parent meeting last Monday. We hope you found it helpful as the new Scout year starts up. As you heard at the meeting, we are revving up the Troop’s outdoor activities with more hiking and camping and making a push with each Scout to show some solid rank advancement in the next few months.

In the next few months, we have two ten-mile hikes, a weekend cabin camp-out, a backpacking weekend, and tent camping at Warren Dunes lined up for January through May. In June we will be heading out for a 5-day canoe trip on the White River in Michigan.

We also announced that we will be offering the Catholic Scout religious award – Ad Altare Dei - “I will go to the altar of God” – beginning in February. Scouts who have completed sixth grade are eligible to work on the award. There is a cost of $40 for working on the award which includes the Ad Altare Dei ribbon and medal and the workbook for the award.

- Sock Drive – January 18-19
Our annual Sock Drive will be held over the January 18-19 weekend after all the Masses at St. Juliana. At our meeting last Monday, we signed up many Scouts, leaders, and parents, but we need EVERYONE to pitch in. The chart below shows the coverage and who hasn’t signed up. Please let me know if you haven’t signed up and want to help.  Thank you.

Every Scout and Leader should be in their Class A uniform for the Sock Drive.

Sock Drive 2025 Weekend Coverage

Sat - 5:00 pm	Scouts	Adults	Not Signed Up
	Louie Perez	Mr. Petrash
	Owen Pilgrim	Mr. Pilgrim	Matteo Barone
	Avery Butzen		Pauly Barone
			Charlie Keeble
Sun - 7:30 am	Tom Swenson	Mr. Mandelin	Joe Petrash
	Nathaniel Mandelin		Jonah Ramirez
			Brian Simpson
Sun - 9:30 am	Jimmy Lagoni	Mr. Reese	Dylan Toader
	Aiden Castro	Mrs. Lagoni	Paddy Trainor
	Robert Keller
	Bill Keeble	Mr. Adams
	Paul Adams	Mr. Pelrine
	Matthew Samaritano
	Jack Samaritano
	James Wasserman

- Palos Forest Preserve Hike – Saturday, January 25 – Mark Your Calendar!
Troop 965 will begin working on the Hiking Merit Badge and Fort Dearborn Trails Medal with a 10-mile hike on Saturday, January 25th. We will hike on the Palos Trail System and the I&M Canal Trail near Willow Springs, Illinois. The hike will begin at Pulaski Woods, and end at the I&M Trail parking lot at Willow Springs Road north of Archer Ave. Using orienteering skills, the Scouts will direct us to specific sites including the site of the first Argonne National Lab, buried nuclear waste, Maple Lake, a haunted cemetery, and the historic I&M Canal.

Each hiker must carry their own day pack, bring at least three liters of water to drink along the trail, and wear hiking boots. Hikers should also bring lunch, snacks for the trail, rain gear, compass, and dress appropriately in layers for the weather.

Parents are welcome to join us on the hike. Bring the signed permission slip (available in the Resource Center) to the January 20th meeting so that we know how many Scouts plan to hike.

We will meet at the St. Juliana Office at 9:00 AM on January 25th and return before 5:00 PM.

- Upcoming Dates

• Sat-Sun, January 18-19 – Sock Drive at all Masses
• Sat, January 25 – 10-Mile Hike – Palos Forest Preserves
• Sun, February 2 - Eagle Court of Honor – 2:00 PM
• Sun, February 9 – Scout Mass – 9:30 AM
• Sat, February 15 – 10-Mile Hike
• Fri-Sun – March 7-9 – Cabin Camping at BSA Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta – Burlington, WI
• Fri-Sun – April 25-27 – Backpacking Weekend – Ice Age Trail
• Fri-Sun – May 16-18 – Tent Camping at Warren Dunes
• Mon-Fri – June 16-20 – White River Canoe Trip
• Sun- Sat, July 13-19 – Summer Camp

See you next Monday!

Mr. Pelrine
Scoutmaster, Troop 965