Ethical Navigators Weekly Update – April 19
Summary:
- Update: We had a fun safety-oriented outing to the Clayton Fire Station on Saturday.
- Tentative plans in place for outings and add-ons from May through July.
- Our next General Meeting will be April 26 at 9:45 am.
- New: Our next Council Meeting will be May 17 at 9:30.
April 18: Fire Station
Eight families (including 12 Navigators) visited the Clayton Fire Station on Saturday. Firefighter Kyle showed us how to Stop, Drop, and Roll, and then he showed us the Fire Department’s ambulances and fire trucks. Finally, he showed us how the fire hose works.
After firefighter Kyle, we met a Police Officer, who taught us about safety and stranger danger and then showed us his police cruiser.
Some pictures are available on Facebook.
May 22-25: Camping/Civil War/Shut-Ins
We have selected Silver Mines Campground in Mark Twain National Forest for our May camping outing. This campsite is less than an hour drive from both Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and the Civil War battle site at Fort Davidson State Historic Site. We have a reservation for Memorial Day Weekend (May 22-25), and more details will come soon. Stuart Morse is also planning to organize higher-impact Senior Navigator activities.
May 31 Add-on
Family Float Trip/Paddle for a Cause on Sunday, May 31 at 1:30pm.
Join the Open Space Council for a fun-filled summertime float trip on the beautiful Courtois, Huzzah, and Meramec Rivers to raise funds for this year’s Operation Clean Stream! This family-friendly float trip is approximately 3 hours long. A delicious picnic dinner and outdoor games will follow the float.
Early bird registration is available until May 15, 2015 and tickets may be purchased for $55/adult and $15/youth (age 15 and under). Tickets purchased after May 15, 2015 are $60/person for adults and $20/youth (plus service fee if purchased online.)
Tickets may be purchased online. Tickets include paddles, canoes, life jackets, shuttle, and dinner. All money raised from this event will go to support Operation Clean Stream, an annual river cleanup and restoration event in the Meramec Watershed.
Reminder: An add-on is an event that some families in Navigators might attend, but not an event for which we are having a formal presence. If you know of other events that might be fun for Navigators, please let us know, and we will advertise them and add them to our calendar.
June 26-28: Camping/Caves/River
We will camp at Onandaga Cave State Park the weekend of June 26-28. This park will provide opportunities for spelunking, hiking, and playing in the Meramec River. Lance Finney is planning this weekend, and more details will come later.
July 5-11: Camp Quest
Camp Quest is a “place for fun, friends and freethought for kids ages 8 to 17. We provide a traditional sleepaway summer camp experience with a wide range of activities, including sports, crafts, games, swimming and campfires.” If you had experience with a sleep-away church camp and wish your children could have the same experience except replacing the religious message with “critical thinking, ethics, scientific inquiry, philosophy and comparative religion”, this is the place for you. Camp Quest is open for children ages 8-17.
Camp Quest Kansas City will be running July 5-11 at Knob Noster State Park, between Kansas City and Sedalia, Missouri. We do not expect this to be an official Ethical Navigators event, but we view this as a “Super Add-On.” At least one family in our chapter is considering participating, and at least one of our leaders is considering volunteering as a leader.
Camp Quest is only $380 for a full week of sleep-away camp (through May 1- the price rises to $430 after that). Let us know if you have any questions, and we will try to facilitate this as much as possible.
July 17-19: Camping/Float Trip
Our formal outing for July will be be another float-trip camping weekend at Meramec State Park, where we went in July 2014. We have campsites reserved for July 17-19 Tom Draney is planning this weekend.
General Meetings
April 26
Our next General Meeting will be April 26 at 9:45 am at the Ethical Society as part of a S.E.E.K. morning. We probably will discuss summer family camping.
Organization
May Council Meeting
Our next Council meeting is scheduled for 9:30 am on May 17 in the Nursery School Green Room. All are welcome to observe and comment.
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