Winter Break Announcements

During the winter we will be meeting occasionally, discussing events and things we can do as a club. The club will be meeting next Thursday, Dec 17, 2015. I hope to see all of you there!

We've got to discuss:
Our attendance to the New Year's Event on Jan 1, 2016
T-shirts
School wide Geocaching event

DONT FORGET TO BRING SWAG ;) 

A Geocache in the Czech Republic!

Updates on Last Meeting

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving break! Tell me about it in the comments below. Did anyone do any geocaching?

Here are the updates from the meeting:

GEOCACHING MEETING_ NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Snacks??

-volunteer list will be created for people to bring snacks for meetings

Geocaching/scavenger hunt for the school

multi-cache style

library

stairwells

office

certain classrooms

ask teachers if they’re ok with their classroom being used:

Mr.Lamb, Mrs. Cooley, Administration(office), Mr. Crimando, Ms. Michaels,

Mr. Henry/Cleveland/Zogas, Ms. Muto, Mr. Pata, Mrs. Lee, Mr. Kosmos, Mrs. Alice, Ms. Sturgeon, Ms. Steimer, Mrs. Starinsky, Mrs. Romans

Mr. Byrne/Young/Degnore, Ms. Montgomery, Mrs. Weisbrough,

and anyone else you can think of

lunch room/square

posters and instagram for clues/hints

announcement clues

Prizes

1st, 2nd, 3rd: $25, 15, 10 north store coupons

each cache has a log book and everyone will be put into a raffle for the prize

GROUP SWAG

everyone bring swag for the group swag bag next meeting: it's ok if you have your own

swag but bring a little for the group. In case we go geocaching and you forget your swag.

T-Shirts??? Possibly called G-Shirts???

camo style?? black and green???

Belle Isle Trip Tomorrow!

We've got our Belle Isle trip tomorrow! It is going to rock. Our plan is to find 8 caches while on the island varying from letterboxes to mystery caches. Here is the link for the list: The Plan. 

What to do from now:
- Meet at GPN at 2:30 to get in our carpools to go there. 
- Bring SWAG! 
- Dress warmly! 
- Pack a Dinner or Snack!

It will last from 2:30-5:30 when we arrive back at the school. 

Other Related News:

Geocaching Events: (The event code is a link)
GC64P27 Roseville Winter M&G 2015 (End of the World +3) 
Date: 12/22/15 
If you want to sit down with some geocachers and talk geocaching, go to this event. Not only do events count as finds, but there will be trackables there as well! 

GC64P2B HNY16 - 7th Annual New Years Day M&G
Date: 1/1/16
This is a bigger event. It is a sit down at a banquet hall. After filling up there will be HNY16 caches hidden around the area. Try to see if you can get a FTF (First to Find)!

Trackables- A Trackable is a sort of physical geocaching "game piece." You will often find them in geocaches or see them at geocaching gatherings. Each Trackable is etched with a unique code that can be used to log its movements on Geocaching.com as it travels in the real world. Some of these items have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles thanks to geocachers who move them from cache to cache!

FTF- An honor among geocachers. It symbolizes great skills in the geocaching world. 

If you ever have a question about gecaching, or would like to find answers to questions you didn't even know you had, check out this link: https://www.geocaching.com/guide/

Belle Isle Field Trip

The GPNGC is having their first Geocaching Outing! 

We are having a field trip to Belle Isle Park to do some amazing geocaching. 

Date: November 8th, 2015
Time: 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm 
The GeoPlan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/152e_rWSY3QIZkfJ1KJ4COmrZdeThhLpc4UPCwuypUKo/edit?usp=sharing

Students will be carpooling together to get the park, and remember that park admission is 
$9 if you don't have a Recreation Passport on your car. 

What you need to do: 
Go to the Library on Monday to pick up the permission slip from Mrs. Ross and return it to Mr. Pata (SCI 106) by Thursday. If you do not have the form turned in by then, you will not be able to attend the trip. 

ADDITIONAL INFO: There will be no meeting this THURSDAY! Feel free to contact me with any questions about the trip, or find me in the hallways!

Amazing Geocaching Event!

A Geocaching Event is when geocachers meet up to either talk about geocaching, or to do some geocaching as a group. I have just stumbled on a Halloween Gecache event that would be really cool to attend. Here is the information:

HH-15 Haunt in Halmich 4   (GC63VBB)

When: October 30, 2015

Where: N 42° 31.292 W 083° 04.556 (a.k.a. Halmich Park, Warren, Mi.)

This location is a 20 minute drive from Grosse Pointe North. We could either meet there, or we could do carpools. If we do carpools we will need to fill out permission slips for drivers. 

 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 30TH!

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Devil's Night is a name associated with October 30, the night before Halloween. It is related to the "Mischief night" practiced in other parts of the United States and the world, but is chiefly associated with the serious vandalism and arson seen in Detroit, Michigan from the 1970s to the 1990s, finally prompting the "Angels' Night" community response. (wikipedia.org)

---

 

We will be meeting at Halmich Park in Warren, MI for a spooky night time event!

The schedule for this event is as follows:

6:30 PM - Arrive at Halmich Park and go to the posted coordinates 

6:30 - 7:30 PM - Meet and Greet with other cachers who are attending the event. I assume cachers will show up early (they always do) so I suggest doing the other Halmich Park caches during this time.

This time will aslo be used for loading GPS units / smart phones - if you can help please shoot me a message!

7:30 - 9:00ish PM - Search for the Halloween themed caches hid by Team-Gates & myself (I suggest leaving for the caches as soon as your GPS is loaded to avoid congestion at each stop. All event attendees will be able to claim FTF on all of the caches)

9:00 PM - Enjoy doughnuts and cold cider back @ Halmich Park as cachers are returned to their vehicles.

R.S.V.P. if you have interest in coming! It is fast approaching, so lets get this organized. 

Detailed Instructions for How to Make your Pumpkin cache

I've created a step-by-step guide on how to hide your pumpkin geocache! Don't forget that I am selling them in the Library during Early Lunch. I can also get one to you however it it convenient. Just contact me.

Click here for the document!!!!! ((!))

Also, I've created a Remind. Text 81010 @gpng to get texts from me. :) 

Let the search be ever in your favor, 
Eve, Leader

Come Pick up Your Pumpkins!

How to pick up your Pumpkins:

During Lunch from Tuesday Oct. 20- Thursday Oct. 22, I will be in our normal room with mini pumpkins for your Halloween geocache. When you arrive, I will tell you how to put it together. The cost of the pumpkin is $1. While you are there, I will make sure you are able to hide your pumpkin near you house. 

How to Hide a Geocache:
Location-
Pick a location that will make it comfortable for the geocacher to find it. Don't hide it on your porch, because who would like to go to a stranger's porch looking for a geocache? Some suggestions are:

• A light-pole
• A mailbox
• A stop sign

Pick a location like the ones above on the property of your house. Pick something unique and fun. But remember, your container is a pumpkin, don't put it in an extremely odd place for a pumpkin. Muggles would then pick up the pumpkin and ruin your cache. 

Container-

It will be easy to put together. How-to-Guide:

1. Carve the pumpkin
2. Put a Film or Pill Bottle inside the pumpkin with a Logbook inside. 

Easy! 

Gather the Waypoint-

You will need to get the coordinates of the location of your geocache in order to post in onto the website. In order to do this, 

Once you arrive at the location of your hide, it is critical to obtain accurate GPS coordinates. This is the very heart of the activity, after all. Be aware that during bad weather, the accuracy of the GPS unit may be poor.

Some GPS units have the ability to take an average set of coordinates. If your device cannot, it is best to mark a waypoint, walk away from the location, then return and mark another waypoint. Continue marking waypoints at the location, around 7 - 10 times, and then select the best waypoint. Learn How to Average a Waypoint.

Once you have your waypoint, write it in permanent marker on the bottom of the container and in the logbook. Make sure you have a copy to bring back with you. Write a few notes in the logbook if you like, place it in a zippered plastic bag for extra protection, and place it in the cache container.

Post Online-

Take time to review the Geocache Listing Guidelines again. After placing your cache, does it still meet all requirements for placement? If so, fill out the online form, paying careful attention to the helpful notes provided. Write a description that attracts geocachers to your location, including images of interest.

Add descriptive attributes so that others can make a quick assessment of your cache. For example, is this area dog-friendly? Is the hike over an hour long? Is the area accessible in a wheelchair? Is a boat required?

Double-check the accuracy and the format of your work and make any needed edits. After a review, your cache will be published for the general public.

If you have any questions, or need help, Text me at 810 620-2066, or email me at eve.feldman26@gmail.com

-Eve

Official Positions Decided in First Meetings.

Say hello to the Officals of the GPNGC!

Leader: Eve Feldman
Secretary: Patrick Bernas, and Shannon Gabriel
Manager: Grace Guthrie, and Bianca Jason
Official Tracker: LaSean Patton

Thank you to everyone who came today. We might have another meeting during lunch to distribute pumpkins and such.

Pumpkins: We plan to hide geocaches in plastic pumpkins for the Halloween and Thanksgiving season. Such as these:

If you are willing to provide one for yourself, that would be amazing. The GPNGC club does not bring in any revenue, so we might not be able to provide a pumpkin. Discuss this in the comments below please!

OCT. 15TH FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING

We are having a meeting on Thursday Oct. 15th right after school in the Library. I look forward to seeing everyone there! Comment on this post if you can come. 
 Make sure you've got these covered!
Reminder for next meeting:

• Bring in SWAG
• Bring in sealed containers
• Perhaps sign up for the geocaching website
• LaSean is bringing snacks next week
• Bring FRIENDS! :) 

No need to ride your bike to school, we are having a meeting not a field trip.

Don't forget to think of a explanation if you would like to be an official. 

Cannot wait!!

-Eve, Leader. 

Catch up on the Informational Meeting!

We had a great turn out at our informational meeting. Thank you to all who came! Encourage your friends to join us as well. We will be meeting in the library, inside the classroom at the end of the reference center.

Here is a link to the information we covered during at the first meeting, feel free to ask me questions by commenting on this post. Soon we will have another meeting, I will post that to this blog and send out an email to all the students signed up.

Informational Handout Link

Reminder for next meeting:

• Bring in SWAG
• Bring in sealed containers
• Perhaps sign up for the geocaching website
• LaSean is bringing snacks next week
• Bring FRIENDS! :) 

Also, you may need to bring a bike to school that day in case we decide to go geocaching. :) More information coming soon!

GPNGC's First Informational Meeting

GPNGC will have it's first informational meeting of the 2015-16 school year on Thursday, October, 8th. 
It will be held right after school. During this meeting we will cover how the club is going to run, when it is going to meet, and the positions of leadership within the club. I hope to see everyone interested in geocaching coming to this meeting. Bring your friends as well!

If you are unable to make it to this meeting, check back on this website for the information for the next meeting and come to that. We will get you caught up on what you missed.

GPNGC Introduction

Introducing: Grosse Pointe North Geocaching Club

Congratulations! Weather you've found the blog intentionally or not. Feel free to write something in the "LogBook" or not. Have you heard of geocaching? Most people haven't. That's because even though gecachers are happy to explain what they are doing if you spot them doing their thing, they are still very stealthy. So, you may not have even noticed. Geocaching is a hobby for those who love adventure and are great at sneaking around right under people's noses. We welcome everyone to join the club to make friends and have fun geocaching. This NEW club wants to grow and grow, so add your friends and spread the word, even if they don't know what geocaching is. 

Everything you need to know about Geocaching and GPNG

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. In the GPNG, we will cover the rules, steps, and tips of how to geocache.

All you need to geocache is:

• A Geocaching GPS -or- a GPS-enabled mobile phone with the geocaching app.
• A basic membership to the official geocaching website (www.geocaching.com).

The geocaching app and membership can be free, so there is no real charge for these necessities. If you do not have a Geocaching GPS or Mobile phone capable of the GPS, no worries! The group will be sure to have one. The leader has a GPS for the club to use.

Yearly Schedule of the GPNG

The GPNG will not meet all year since geocaching is difficult and unenjoyable in the winter time when the caches are covered by snow. Although, it is not impossible to find caches in the wintertime. GPNG will meet in the fall and spring. The group meet on Thursdays after school almost weekly. Some weeks there will not be meetings due to scheduling conflicts.

There are two types of Meetings for the GPNG:

1. Planning Meeting (PM): When the group comes together at North to plan for the next Field Trip. This is when the caches that the group wants to find will be decided. Notes will be taken, a route of action will be chosen, and a meeting place will be picked.
2. Field Trip: The group will meet at the meeting spot that was decided the week before, with the advisor or another pointed supervisor (could be a parent). Then the geocaching adventure of finding the caches will take place. It is hopeful that the group will find each geocache, but it is possible that some may be misplaced or missing.

More info can be found at : www.geocaching.com