St. Peter’s Boy Scout Troop 380 on Capitol Hill
(Updated 03/04/2013)

WHO CAN JOIN:
If your son is between the ages of 11 to17, or is at least 10 and has completed the fifth grade, or has earned the Cub Scout Arrow of Light Award, St. Peter’s Boy Scout Troop 380 is a great place to experience outdoor adventure, learn to rely on teamwork, build character and endurance and have fun doing it!  After they’ve been given the proper guidance from those with experience and know-how, the boys take their own lead, go places they’ve never gone, see things they’ve never seen, learn life-long and life-saving skills and build friendships to last a lifetime.  In just the past year, our scouts have gone hiking, camping, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, fishing, water and snow skiing, shooting, and flying in a light aircraft.  They have met with Congressmen, marched in a national parade, and the Hill Rag has included articles on their service to our community on a number of occasions.

ABOUT TROOP 380:
The Troop currently has approx. 18 members.  Several boys recently moved up to our Troop from their Cub Scout Troop and over the past year we have also had some boys join with no previous scouting experience.  All of them are enjoying the Troop’s activities and have been advancing in the Troop.  We recently worked together on the “Aviation” merit badge and many boys experienced flight in a Cessna airplane!  We are currently working on the “Wilderness Survival” and “First Aid” merit badges as a Troop.  Our next outing weekend will be November 3rd where we will drop off our “Scouting for Food” bags, go to either Greenbelt Park or Bull Run Park for an afternoon of shotgun shooting and an evening of camping.  We will pick up the “Scouting for Food” bags Saturday, November 10th.

In addition to our newer members, we have three young men who are nearing the “Eagle” rank, a culmination of many years of work and personal advancement.  John Tanner passed his Eagle Board of Review on October 25th and both Patrick Merkle and Drew Rivera have their Boards of Review coming up.

The Troop meets in the basement hall of St. Peter’s Church at 313 2nd Street every Wednesday evening.  Meetings start promptly at 7:30 pm and finish at 8:45pm.  A typical meeting might include working on a merit badge, planning a campout (we have a monthly camping trip), listen to a speaker or work on advancements.  All Scouts should try to attend the Troop Meetings but parents are not expected or required to attend – except for two ‘All Hands’ meetings each year.  The boys should attend in their ‘Class A’ uniform  (tan uniform shirt with patches sewn on and either green uniform pants or shorts).  Class A uniforms are also worn on at Troop functions like service projects and at the 2 Courts of Honor held each year.  There is also a Class B Troop T-shirt which is worn on camping trips.

DUES:
The Troop collects annual dues at the beginning of each scouting year (September).  For 2012-13, the dues are $85.00 which includes a Class B T-shirt, a monthly scouting magazine, Boys Life, and all the badges a Scout earns.

For further information or if you have questions, please contact any of the following:

Patrick Merkle – Scoutmaster             PGMerkle@aol.com or 202 255 7470
Patrick Hickey – Co-Committee Chair      DCTroid@gmail.com or 202 730 5838
Helen Haislmaier – Co-Committee Chair    Helenh@mit.edu or 202 744 5835