Scouts

Scouting America welcomes boys and girls who work together developing skills, values, and confidence through outdoor activities and community service. This year there are 26 boys and 7 girls in our Scout Troop 201; our Scoutmaster corp includes 11 men and five women. This year we welcomed five new young Scouts, and said farewell to five Scouts who have turned 18 years old. This year our Cub Scout Pack has 17 girls and boys aged kindergarten through fifth grade.
Community service is an integral part of Scouting, and Troop 201 Scouts have worked at Church Clean-Up Day,  Wesley Church Mochitsuki set-up and clean-up,  canned food and used clothing collection for Compassion Ministry, and on troop meeting nights they have set up tables and chairs in the Fellowship Hall for numerous church programs and funeral receptions.
This year six Troop 201 Scouts earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Scouting. A substantial Eagle rank requirement is the completion of the Eagle Scout service project which benefits a non-profit organization. Five of our new Eagle Scouts completed projects benefiting Wesley Church, including projects at the Mineta house parsonage.
Troop Scouts meet Friday evenings twice/month all year, and for weekend hikes and campouts every month. And yearly, together with scouts from all over Santa Clara County, Troop 201 Scouts attend their annual summer camp where they hike, camp, swim, and earn merit badges including First Aid, Orienteering, and Citizenship in the Community among other outdoor and leadership activities.
Cubmaster Tina Urata has organized Cub Scout Pack 201 families in activities including camp cooking, knot-tying, tent set-up, first aid, and their popular Pinewood Derby. Cub meetings are two evenings/month on the same Fridays that our Scout Troop meets, which is good for families who have children in both age groups. In addition to Friday meetings during the school year, Cubs meet in the summer for a Cub and parent hike and campout.
This year, starting last April, Cub Scout Pack 611, sponsored by the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, has been meeting at our church buildings while the Betsuin Dharma School building, their regular meeting place, is rebuilt. Friday evenings at our church is a happy, noisy place with young voices all over our church buildings!
Our Cub Scout Pack 201 and Scout Troop 201 thank Wesley Church for sharing the Fellowship Hall and classrooms, and look forward to another year of growing in character, learning new skills, and service to others.

Every year, Troop 201 Scouts and Troop 611 Scouts from the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin together observe Memorial Day by placing American flags at veterans’ graves and participating in the interfaith service at Oak Hill Memorial Park.

A backpack hike, carrying everything each needs for a campout. Outdoor activities are where Scouts practice teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness.

Every year Troop 201 Scouts work at Mochitsuki, setting up all the drying and cutting tables, and at clean-up where they sweep, mop, and form a hand-to-hand line to stack all the drying boxes and trays on the upstairs landing in the Fellowship Hall.

A refreshing stop at the springs in Uvas Canyon County Park.

Learning about wildlife from a park ranger.

At campouts, each patrol plans its menu and shares cooking chores at camp propane stoves or dutch ovens over charcoal. They use the scout “3-bucket method” to wash their own pots, water bottles, and mess kits to try to minimize waste. At campout end, after packing up tents, they police the grounds to leave it cleaner than they found it,