‘Friends of Shomer Shabbat Scouting’ is pleased to announce an opportunity for Jewish girls to participate in three amazing Girls-Only ScoutsBSA activities.

1.    Adirondack Mountains Canoe & Hike Trek:
      July 21–26, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

2.    Sea Kayaking Trek off the Coast of Maine:  
      July 28–August 2, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

3.    Girls-ONLY Week at a BSA Scout Camp:  
      August 4–9, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

Shabbat Home Hospitality will be available before and after each week   AND   we will coordinate transportation transitions from one activity to the next as well as airport pickups and drop-offs.

First Week:  
Adirondack Mountains Canoe/Hike Trek
   July 21–26, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

·     A Girls-Only Shomer Shabbat High Adventure, scaled to the new ScoutsBSA Girls program. Enjoy this pristine wilderness, up near the Canadian border. 
Come with your Troop, bring along a few friends, or come by yourself!  

·     While boys must be over 13 years old, and a 1^st Class Scout for such treks, as ScoutsBSA Girls’ Troops only began in February 2019, the requirements for girls have been relaxed a bit for this year. There is no rank requirement for girls, but they need to be 13 years old (or contact Dr. Spielman — see below), and be a BSA Swimmer. They also need to have some camping experience, and the stamina (or sheer will!) to paddle a canoe for a few hours per day. This is an amazing introduction to back-country, wilderness, Scouting!

·     Head out at around the same time as a Shomer Shabbat Boys Trek — but go in a different direction.

·     We supply some adult leadership, but the BSA supplies an experienced “Voyageur” — the name for their guide, harkening back to the fur-trading days in the 1700s and early 1800s when French Canadian “voyageurs” traveled these same waters. Adults, both male and female, are invited to join us!  Come and be a youth, again!

·     Paddle out of the Rollins Pond Canoe Base, Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation,between Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, 1-hour west of Lake Placid in the heart of the Adirondacks. Experience a combination of canoeing, wilderness camping, and day-hikes to climb to the summit of some of the Adirondack High Peaks.

·     Arrive Sunday, July 21 for check-in, and head out on the water Monday. Return to base-camp Friday and be able to get to Boston or the NY/NJ area for Shabbat.

Cost:  $460. If registered and paid by June 6
          For any questions, contact:
          Dr. Howard Spielman at: HASpielman1@gmail.com  or  781 439-5250.

Second Week:  Sea Kayaking Trek
   July 28–August 2, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

·     A Sea Kayaking Merit Badge is in the works by the BSA. Take a trek with those who are writing the book — the requirements and the Merit Badge Book!
You’ll most likely be among the first ever to earn this Merit Badge!

·     Learn to handle a Sea Kayak in the freshwater lake at BSA Camp William Hinds in Raymond, Maine. Then head out for a three-day saltwater trek at sea, camping on deserted islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

·     A Shomer Shabbat boys’ trek heads to one island and the girls’ trek to another. The next day, they switch islands.

·     Learn skills in camping, paddling, ocean travel safety — including understanding and harnessing the wind, tides, and weather.

·     While boys must be over 13 years old, and a 1^st Class Scout (which includes being a BSA swimmer), the requirements for girls have been relaxed a bit for this year. ScoutsBSA Girls have no rank requirement, but they do need to: be 12 years old and BSA Swimmer, have some camping experience, and have the stamina (or sheer will!) to paddle a sea kayak for a few hours per day.

·     BSA professional staff, and Sea Kayaking guides, licensed by the State of Maine, will lead this trek. But, we still need to supply some adult leadership. Thus, adults, both male and female, are invited to join us!  Come and be a youth, yet again!

·     This Trek leaves from the Boston area Sunday morning, July 28. Sunday and Monday will be instruction and training on the lake, with Tuesday through Thursday the trek on the ocean. Rosh Chodesh Av begins Thursday evening, and we will be off the water well before then. Thursday evening and Friday, back in camp, will have special activities (probably including rifle, and shotgun shooting).  With the Boston area just over 2-hours away, we can return on Friday afternoon forShabbat.

Cost:  $350. If registered and paid by June 6
          For any questions, contact:
          Dr. Howard Spielman at: HASpielman1@gmail.com  or  781 439-5250.

Third Week:  Girls-only at Forestburg Scout Reservation
   August 4–9, 2019  (Sun–Fri)

·     A ScoutsBSA Girls-ONLY Scout Camp — For all ScoutsBSA Girls.
Any girl, age 11–17 or having finished 5^th grade, is welcome to join.
There is no need to commit to be involved beyond this one exciting week of camp.
Thus, feel free to invite a friend who has never been involved with ScoutsBSA.

·     With a concern for issues in Tsniut we have arranged with the Monmouth Council to have a Girls-ONLY week at the Forestburg Scout Reservation. With girls now participating in ScoutsBSA, we know of no other Scout Council in America that is implementing a Girls-ONLY week of summer camp!

·     All program features available for boys in other weeks, will be available for girls in this week!

·     Girls may come with their own home Troop (with two-deep leadership, including at least one female adult), — OR — join a ‘provisional’ Shomer Shabbat Girls’ Troop, organized by Girls’ Troop 54, chartered to the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA.

·     This will be led by Mrs. Chana Weisenberg, the Girls’ Troop 54 Scoutmaster as well as Mr. Daniel Thumim, Girls’ Troop 54 (and Boys’ Troop 54) Assistant Scoutmaster (who has been to Forestburg for eight summers). Mrs. Weisenberg has also been running the Kosher Dining Program at Forestburg for a number of years now, so we know the food will be at the same superlative level of quality. Mrs. Pesha Tanny, from Montréal, Québec (who has been involved with Troop 54 for over 20 years and has two Eagle Scout sons) will also be a leader.

·     Come for great Scouting fun! New Scouts learn Scout skills to advance to First Class, and earn Merit Badges from 49 options in: Technology, Scoutcraft, Aquatics, Shooting Sports, Ecology/Conservation, High Adventure, and Handicraft.

·     The Technology Center has an array of high-end equipment, and talented Staff. Scouts gain access to experiences not readily available at home or school, and can earn a number of Merit Badges unavailable at most Scout camps—even an FCC Radio Operator license.

·     Let’s make this first-ever Girls-ONLY week of ScoutsBSA summer camp a truly trend-setting event!
(With enough girls registering, we might even make our own collectible “Girls-ONLY” Scout T-shirt and patch!)

·     Bring a friend — or, a whole bunch of friends!

Cost:  $525. If registered and paid by June 6     $595. If paid after June 6
          Note: Any adult joining us for these six days, may come for FREE!
          For any questions, contact:
          Dr. Howard Spielman at: HASpielman1@gmail.com  or  781 439-5250.

To Register for ANY activity, follow this one step:

Go to tinyurl.com/54GCamp and Register for the program(s) you want.

          We will be back in touch with you and help you the rest of the way!

          Don’t forget … too much fun is never enough!!— 
Dr. Howard A. Spielman 
Scoutmaster, Troop 54  &  Advisor, Venture Crew 54
     Spirit of Adventure Council, 
     Chartered to the Maimonides School, Brookline, MA and 
Contingent Coordinator, 
     The Shomer Shabbat Contingent to the National Scout Jamboree
     ’89, ’93, ’97, ’01, ’05, ’10, ’13, ’17
Phone: 781 439-5250 (Day and Evening)

SCOUTSBSA TROOPS 54 Invites Scouts from Across the Nation to participate in….

— Two Shomer Shabbat Troops: One for Boys and one for Girls —Since 1986

MAIMONIDES SCHOOL’S TROOP 54 — 2019 SUMMER PROGRAM

SIX Weeks of great Scouting activities!

BOYS sign up-at: tinyurl.com/T54Camp 

GIRLS sign-up at: tinyurl.com/54GCamp.

The cost of each program, and payment information, is on the transmittal slip at the end of this announcement.

BOYS AT FORESTBURG SCOUT RESERVATION: JULY 7–21, 2019 (Sun–Sun)

(See the GIRLS–ONLY program here in Week 5, and separate Boys & Girls opportunities in Weeks 3 & 4.) This spectacular 1,200 acre camp is just 10 miles south of Monticello, NY, and 10 miles north of I-84 at Port Jervis, NY, where NY/NJ/PA all meet. Operated by the BSA for over 60 years, for the past 12 years we have operated a Kosher Dining Program in the camp dining hall for two weeks each summer. (With a Girls-ONLY Kosher Week 5, this year!) We have our own

40’x 40’ Synagogue Tent for thrice-daily minyanim, and we have the whole camp to ourselves on Shabbat afternoon.

• Open to boys having completed 5th grade, or age 11 but not yet 18 years old. (No previous Scout experience required.)
• This program eliminates all barriers to entry, and allows full access to the spectacular Scouting experience, for Scouts whose observance of the Boy Scouts of America’s 12th point of the Scout Law …“A Scout is Reverent”… includes observing the four requirements of:
  1. Kashrut: Glatt kosher meals of the highest standard.
  2. Shabbat: The ruach of Shabbos fills the woods.
  3. Tefila: Three daily minyanim
  4. Limudei Kodesh: Opportunity for ongoing Torah study.
• Scouts may come for one or two weeks. Adults come to camp, for 6-days or more, for FREE!(Adults visiting for less time pay only $25/day for food.) Parents and Scout siblings are invited to come for Shabbat only $25/day.
• Over 50 Jewish Scouts are expected to participate. Scouts have come from more than 15 different Troops from MA to FL, as far west as CA, and from Montréal, Québec; Toronto, Ontario; and Jerusalem, Israel.
• Scouts and adults sleep on cots in a wall-tent with a wooden floor or two Scouts share a 4-person backpacking tent.
• The Kosher Dining Program (in Weeks 1 & 2) often fills half the dining hall and has separate facilities for storing, heating and serving our food. The two-story Dining Hall windows offer a glorious view of the swimming and boating lake; the stream to the camp’s other lake goes over a spectacular 90-foot waterfall.
• Our Synagogue Tent with an Aron Kodesh and two Sefrei Torah seats over 100 for davening.
• New Scouts learn Scout skills to advance to First Class, and earn Merit Badges from 49 different option in: Technology, Scoutcraft, Aquatics, Shooting Sports, Ecology/Conservation, High Adventure, and Handicraft.
• The Technology Center has an array of high-end equipment, and talented Staff, Scouts gain access to experiences not readily available at home or school, and can earn a number of Merit Badges unavailable at most Scout camps—even an FCC Radio Operator license.
• JULY 7–14, 2019 (Sun–Sun)The Boys’ ScoutsBSA Camp program — For boys age 11–17, or having finished 5th grade:Scouts can typically earn three to five different Merit Badges in a week at camp. Make progress and put some Merit Badges ‘in the bank’ to save for Star, Life, and Eagle — or even for Eagle Palms.
• Order of the Arrow — With National approval, our OA Ordeal & Induction, from Sat. night through Sun. July 13–14, serves qualified OA Candidates from across the U.S. For details, contact Dr. Stillman at: istillma@bidmc.harvard.edu
• JULY 14–21, 2019 (Sun–Sun)Continue the great Scouting fun and advancement in camp!Note: As sometimes occurs, this year the fast of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz is on our last Sunday in camp, July 21.As we have done before, we begin packing some things on Friday and have a lovely Shabbat in camp. Saturday night we have a big Melaveh Malkah with extra food and hydration, so we can easily move out of camp Sunday morning. Those who are not fasting, have breakfast in camp and prepare a ‘brown-bag’ lunch for their trip home.
• Adirondack Mountains Canoe & Hike Trek: JULY 21–26, 2019 (Sun–Fri)
  • For the 31st year in a row, Dr. Spielman’s Troop 54 is offering extra ‘High Adventure’ Scouting opportunities for older Scouts interested in rugged outdoor activities.
  • This year, we anticipate having a separate Girls Trek — heading out at the same time as the Boys Trek.We need to supply some adult leadership, but the BSA supplies an experienced “Voyageur” — the name for their guide, harkening back to the fur-trading days in the 1700s and early 1800s when French Canadian “voyageurs” traveled these same waters. Adults, both male and female, are invited to join us! Come and be a youth, again!
  • As always, Boys must be over 13 years old, and a 1st Class Scout.
  • As ScoutsBSA Girls’ Troops began in February 2019, the requirements for girls have been relaxed a bit for this year.There is no age or rank requirement for girls, but they need to be a BSA Swimmer and have the stamina (or sheer will!) to paddle a canoe for a few hours per day, This is an amazing introduction to back-country, wilderness, Scouting!
  • Paddle out of the Rollins Pond Canoe Base, Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation, between Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, 1-hour west of Lake Placid in the heart of the Adirondacks. Experience a combination of canoeing, wilderness camping, and day-hikes to climb to the summit of some of the Adirondack High Peaks.
  • We are teaming up with Scoutmaster Daniel Chazin of Troop 226, in Teaneck, NJ, for this High-Adventure Trek. (Over the years, he has led over 30 of these treks!) Arrive Sunday, July 21 for check-in, and head out on the water Monday.Return to base-camp Friday and be able to get to Boston or the NY/NJ area for Shabbat. For any questions, contact Dr. Spielman at: HASpielman1@gmail.com or 781 439-5250.
  • Sea Kayaking Trek: JULY 28–AUGUST 2, 2019 (Sun–Fri)
  • A Sea Kayaking Merit Badge will be introduced by the BSA. Take a trek with those who wrote the book — the requirements and the Merit Badge Book! You’ll most likely be among the first ever to earn this Merit Badge!
  • Learn to handle a Sea Kayak in the freshwater lake at Camp William Hinds in Raymond, Maine. Then head out for a three-day saltwater trek at sea, camping on deserted islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The boys’ trek heads to one island and the girls’ trek another, and then they will switch. Learn skills in camping, paddling, ocean travel safety — including understanding and harnessing the wind, tides, and weather.
  • Requirements: Boys must be over 13 years old, and a 1st Class Scout (which includes being a BSA swimmer).This year, ScoutsBSA Girls have no age or rank requirement, but they do need to be a BSA Swimmer and have the stamina (or sheer will!) to paddle a sea kayak for a few hours per day.
  • BSA professional staff, and Sea Kayaking guides, licensed by the State of Maine, will lead this trek. But, we still need to supply some adult leadership. Thus, adults, both male and female, are invited to join us! Come and be a youth, yet again!
  • This Trek leaves from the Boston area Sunday morning, July 28. Sunday and Monday will be instruction and training on the lake, with Tuesday through Thursday the trek on the ocean. Rosh Chodesh Av begins Thursday evening, and we will be off the water well before then. Thursday evening and Friday, back in camp, will have special activities (probably including rifle, shotgun, and possibly pistol shooting). With the Boston area just over 2-hours away, we can return on Friday afternoon for Shabbat. For any questions, contact Dr. Spielman at:HASpielman1@gmail.com or 781 439-5250.
  • GIRLS AT FORESTBURG SCOUT RESERVATION: AUGUST 4–9, 2019 (Sun–Fri)A ScoutsBSA Girls-ONLY Scout Camp — For all ScoutsBSA Girls, or any girl age 11–17, or having finished 5th grade:With a concern for issues in Tsniut we have arranged with the Monmouth Council to have a Girls-ONLY week at the Forestburg Scout Reservation. With girls now participating in ScoutsBSA, we know of no other Scout Council in America that is implementing a Girls-ONLY week of summer camp!
  • All of the program features described above for boys in Weeks 1 and 2, will be implemented for girls in Week 5, so check out what is written above!
  • This will be led by Mrs. Chana Weisenberg, our Troop 54 Girls Scoutmaster as well as Mr. Daniel Thumim, our Troop 54 Girls (and Boys) Assistant Scoutmaster (who has been to Forestburg for eight summers). Mrs. Weisenberg has been running the Kosher Dining Program at Forestburg for a number of years now, so we know the food will be at the same superlative level of quality.
  • Open to girls having completed 5th grade, or age 11 but not yet 18 years old. (No previous Scout experience required.)
  • Come for great Scouting fun! New Scouts learn Scout skills to advance to First Class, and earn Merit Badges from 49 options in: Technology, Scoutcraft, Aquatics, Shooting Sports, Ecology/Conservation, High Adventure, and Handicraft.
  • Let’s make this first-ever Girls-ONLY week of Scout summer camp a truly trend-setting event!(With enough girls registering, we might even make our own collectible “Girls-ONLY” Scout T-shirt and patch!)
  • Bring a friend! She does not have to commit to be involved beyond just this one exciting week of summer camp.
    Note: If you are participating in multiple weeks of these activities, once rosters are set, we will coordinate transportation/transitions from one activity to the next.
  • NYLT — BSA’s National Youth Leadership Training: JUNE 23–28, 2019 (Sun to Fri)
  • Chronologically, this special program is the FIRST of the summer season. It is listed at the end since it is for a very select population of youth — older Scouts who are ready to learn about “leadership.”Working with the National Capital Area Council, Troop 54 has arranged this so Scouts who observe Shabbat, Kashrut, and make time for Tefila, can participate in this exciting, action-packed program designed for youth to learn and practice the leadership skills that will help them succeed in Scouting and in life!The program will be run at the American Legion So. MD District Youth Camp, 9201 Surratts Rd, Cheltenham, MD 20623. For the Shabbat before and after this event we can arrange Shabbat Home Hospitality in Silver Spring, MD.What NYLT is (and is Not):NYLT is not like summer camp and is not designed for rank advancement or earning merit badges. NYLT is an intense and challenging hands-on leadership training program. It is essential that NYLT participants be physically, emotionally, and mentally prepared to handle the demands of this advanced training. In order to get the most benefit from this unique experience, participants must exhibit emotional maturity, a positive attitude, proficiency in basic camping and outdoor cooking, and have an ambition to serve in leadership roles.
• Be a member of a kosher patrol in this Conference following the National Training Syllabus for Junior Leaders.
• With a maximum of 64 participants in this NYLT conference, they ALWAYS max out. Sign up now to reserve your place. We will have only one, maybe two, patrols — that’s only 8–16 kosher-observant participants.
• We already anticipate Scouts coming from as far away as Texas and Massachusetts, as well as Maryland, so don’t let distance be a barrier!

Requirements:

Participants must:

• Be 14 years old by June 23, 2019 (or have completed 8th grade).Note: Limited space is reserved for 13-year-old participants. All 13-year-old participants must contact Mr. Michael Geller in advance.
• Be a 1st Class Scout by June 1, 2019 if registered in a Troop.
• By June 1, 2019, have experience serving in a youth leadership position.
• Complete their home Unit’s Introduction to Leadership Skills course.Note: This should be offered through a Scout’s home unit. Ask your Unit Leader how you can participate in this course, or contact Mr. Michael Geller.
• Have at least a week of summer Scout Camp experience and be comfortable camping and cooking outdoors.
• Have recommendation of both the Scoutmaster/Crew Advisor and the Troop/Crew Committee.
• Have a current BSA Health Form (Parts A, B, and C).
• Commit to attending the entire six-day course.
• Agree to the ‘Code of Conduct for Participants in a Kosher NYLT Patrol’.Note: For 2019, we are not able to offer a ‘Kosher NYLT Patrol’ to female participants. We anticipate doing so in the future, with an increasing number of qualified female candidates available to fill a patrol for such a program.
  IMPORTANT: THE MEDICAL FORMEvery youth or adult, participating in ANY of these activities, or visiting Forestburg Scout Reservation for more than 36-hours, MUST bring a completed BSA MEDICAL FORM (Part A, B, & C) signed by a medical doctor and, if under 18, by a parent/guardian. Go to: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_ABC.pdf type in this Fillable PDF, print out, & bring to doctor.OR … A. Just type ‘BSA Medical form’ in Google. B. Select ‘Annual Health & Medical Record’ and thenC. Click the “Download” button to the right of “Are You Going to Camp?
  To Register for ANY activity, follow these steps:
• To get into our database:
• Boys — Go to tinyurl.com/T54Camp and Register for the program(s) you want. Girls — Go to tinyurl.com/54GCamp and Register for the program(s) you want.
• To confirm your registration, fill in the form below and mail it with your check to: Mrs. Chana Weisenberg, Camp Registrar, 6 South Street, Brighton, MA 02135 See ‘Medical Form’ information above. Deadline for receipt is Sunday, June 2. Send to:Dr. Ely Stillman, 605 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brookline, MA 02445 or bring to the Scout Meeting on June 2. For Forestburg: After you register, and pay, you will get a Packet with information and a Personal Program Form that you must return by June 2, if not earlier. Each Scout selects their own schedule of Merit Badges or other Scouting activities for four daily Activity Periods for each week. Sign up early and don’t get locked out!Pre-Camp Meeting: Sunday evening, June 2, 2019 (For those in the MA/RI Area). Discuss travel arrangements, review personal and troop equipment, answer questions, and our famous ‘Experienced Uniform Sale’ where you buy used Scout uniforms for half-price.Court of Honor at 7:00, Pre-Camp Meeting at 7:45 in Maimonides School’s Saval Auditorium, for parents and Scouts.
• Register at: https://ShomerShabbatScouting.org/NYLT2019 and follow payment instructions there.
  Note: For Forestburg, meet deadlines for two additional time-sensitive documents.
  1. ‘Personal Program Form’ is due by June 2, if not earlier! Merit Badge sessions fill up!
  2. ‘Personal Health & Medical Record’ is due by June 2.

 Note: All adult volunteers, who stay in Forestburg for six days or more, come to camp for FREE. Otherwise, any adult can stay in camp for only $25/day for food.

For adults, no previous Scouting background is required! Join us!!!

Complete this form & send, with payment, to: Mrs. Chana Weisenberg, Camp Registrar, 6 South Street, Brighton, MA 02135 Make checks payable to: “Maimonides School Troop 54” Remember June 6, 2019: DEADLINE TO AVOID LATE FEES.

Stay tuned for details of this and other exciting events coheading your way.