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All Summer Camp fees must be paid in the next week or two. If you have any questions about how much your family owes please let me know. Every person, adult and Scout, must have a current BSA medical form turned in before we leave for camp. This form must be signed by your family physician. Sections A, B, and C must be completed and returned to me before camp. The form is good for one year, so if you turned in a form for Summer Camp last year then you must turn in an updated medical form. The BSA Medical form is below in case anyone needs a copy. We will be departing for camp on Sunday, June 24th from the Mercy North parking lot behind Quik Trip. We'll meet at 12:30 with the intention of leaving at 1:00. We are able to check into camp after 12:00 and we want to get there as early as possible so we can get our campsite setup and ready. We'll be loading the trailer with as much gear as possible since we'll have our trailer in our campsite, but given the size of our group this year we will need to have a large amount of gear hauled up in personal vehicles. Once at camp, we'll use one of the hay racks to haul our remaining gear back to camp. We'll be leaving camp on Saturday, June 30th. Unlike most of our other camp outs, you will not need to return to Ankeny with the group if you do not wish. Everyone is responsible for either picking up your son and his gear, or making arrangements for someone to bring him home. We will be hauling the trailer and gear back to Ankeny if you need your gear brought back to Ankeny. We've done this in years past since it simplifies the return trip home and allows the boys to go straight home if they want. We'll probably leave camp around 8:00 am, but additional information will follow once the full departure schedule is determined. If needed, your son can be signed out of camp early, but I'll need to have that information before camp. Anyone leaving camp early will need to notify me ahead of time and officially sign out in the camp office. I will have early departure forms with me at camp. Family night is Thursday, June 28th. This is the evening that families are invited to come up to camp for dinner and a couple of camp wide ceremonies. This year there will be dinner served in the dining hall, but as in years past we are suggesting that you bring your son's favorite food up for dinner on that evening. Pizza, fried chicken, and sub sandwiches are always common favorites. If you choose to take advantage of the dining hall option, the cost is $6 per person and you'll want to make those arrangements before going to camp. The Council office will be able to assist you with making those arrangements. The schedule for Thursday evening is: 5:00 - 6:30 pm - Dinner 6:45 - Flag ceremony 7:00 - Open areas 8:30 - Campfire The campfire is normally an entertainment type of event with songs and skits. After the campfire is the Order of the Arrow Call Out ceremony. This is one of the best ceremonies that you'll see in Scouting. This is where the older Scouts that have been nominated for entry into the Order of the Arrow are "Called Out", which basically means that they will begin their OA experience. It is a Native American Indian ceremony that is very exciting for the boys and very interesting for the families. I strongly encourage everyone to attend this activity. Please keep in mind that no vehicles are allowed in camp, so you will be walking everywhere you go. They boys are normally very excited to show you around, so please wear comfortable walking shoes and come prepared to walk around quite a bit. If you are interested, a photo order form for formal Summer Camp pictures is below. These pictures are taken on the first day of Camp while the boys are still wearing their Class A uniforms (and are still clean). If you are interested in pictures, then please fill out the form and bring it and a check when we leave for camp. We will collect photo forms and checks right before we leave for camp. I've received numerous questions about gear to being to camp. A word document with a suggested gear list for summer camp is below, so please take an opportunity to review this. As always, if there are any questions or concerns please feel free to let me know. There are a few things that I want to take an opportunity to cover in this message.
As with any type of long duration activity away from home, homesickness is always a risk. We always have some homesick boys while at camp, but there are a couple of things that you can do to help with this. Encourage your boys to enjoy their week at camp and to take full advantage of the opportunities that they will find there. Speak to them about the experience and remind him that you'll be seeing him on Thursday evening at family night. Cell phones are prohibited at camp for Scouts, and the office will not allow calls to be made by the boys, so please do not tell your son to call you during the week. The adults at camp will have their phones, but the boys will not be allowed to use them to call home except in the case of emergency. We've found that once a boy talks to his parents while homesick, it's unlikely that they'll finish their week at camp. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy please let me know. One of the best ways to help your son at camp is to send them a letter (yes, simple, old fashioned pen & paper letter). Letters will be collected at the office each day by myself or one of the other leaders and then distributed to the boys. It takes a couple of days for letters to make it there, so please feel free to send one before your son leaves for camp. It can be a huge deal for the boys to a simple letter or postcard at camp so please take advantage of this opportunity. The letters should be addressed as follows: Name of Scout Troop 188 Camp Mitigwa 1820 Magnolia Dr. Woodward IA 50276 If there are any questions or concerns please feel free to let me know. Summer camp is a big deal for the boys, and a new experience for many of you. We want to make this the best possible experience we can, so please let us know if you need anything. There are no stupid questions, so please feel free to ask about anything that you're unclear on. We currently have 38 boys signed up for Summer Camp, but I've spoken with a couple more families about camp but have not yet gotten merit badge choices or payment from those people. There is still time to sign up for Summer Camp, but we're getting close to the cutoff, so if you want to sign up, or believe that your son should be on this list, then please let me know ASAP. A document with the merit badges that each boy is registered for is below. If there are any concerns about merit badges then please let me know. 
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Photo from alastc
