December is one of those months that goes by in the blink of an eye!

The first Monday of every month is Merit Badge Monday and thanks to our great MB counselors, this month we had the choice of Citizenship of the World or Citizenship of the Community – both Eagle required!  A few of our Scouts have already earned those badges, so Mr. Marosy took them aside and had an Eagle’s Nest Roundtable to talk about their trail to Eagle, their project ideas and paperwork.  (Did you know, Mr. Marosy is an Eagle Scout?  So are a few of our ASMs, including Mr. Boyd and Mr. Lutz!)

Our December trip was a day trip to the Big Apple.  This trip was open to Scouts, families and friends.  We met at ICC, carpooled to Harrison and took the PATH into lower Manhattan.  When we got off the train we were in the Oculus, which is a pretty cool structure if you haven’t seen it.  We were able to talk with some Port Authority police officers, too.  Once we all arrived and after a quick pit stop we headed outside.

We toured the 9/11 Museum and Memorial which was very somber and impactful.  We spent a few hours there and then went over to the FDNY Ten House located across from the World Trade Center site.  We split up for lunch – some of us choosing Chinese, while others had to get some pizza!  Then, we walked through Zucotti Park – made famous by Occupy Wall Street, down to Wall Street and finished our trip at the National Museum of the American Indian.  By the time we were taking the PATH back to Harrison it was starting to flurry.  We had a great tour guide in Mr. Lutz, who makes that trek into lower Manhattan every day for work.

On December 9th a few of us volunteered at our Immaculate Conception Church (or chartering organization) to put up and break down chairs for their annual St Peter by the Sea Christmas concert.  It was a really great concert, you may want to check it out next year!

At our second meeting, a lot of the scouts were working on getting things signed off.  John S. showed Mr. Bozzi how he mastered a few knots.  Jack worked with Mr. Marosy to get a few rank requirements signed off.  Owen had his Scout Masters Conference and Board of Review.  Ian had his Board of Review, too.  Both passed and were able to move their name plates!  Congratulations to both!

We had a chance to help out one of our fellow Scouts, Zach M. as he embarked on his Eagle Scout project.  He had his first work day on the 15th where Scouts helped him sand, drill and paint signs.  Two additional work days followed – thanks to everyone who came out to support Zach and help him with his project.

Our final meeting of the month was spent caroling at Veteran’s Haven North in Glen Gardner.  This is an annual tradition where we spend time with the Veterans, then head back to the Round Valley United Methodist Church in Lebanon Borough where we caroled some more and then headed back to the church for a holiday pizza party.  For those who aren’t aware, the Methodist Church was our original chartering organization, so it’s nice to get back there when we can.