Fehler

Would arranging a scout trip to go and see the DC Boy Scout Memorial be a Youth Protection Violation?

One person's courtesy, in calling a person what they want to be called, is another persons PC.

Best are projects that can be done in one meeting. Boys at this age are not in favor of putting down a half-finished project and picking it up later. Unless the next meeting is the painting/staining part.

Napkin holders are pretty easy. Two cuts, four nails, and done. Birdhouses are popular, But with the amount of time better to have all the wood pre-cut and nail holes pre-drilled, otherwise the time spent pulling out the nails and re-nailing them is a pain. Always nails, never screws (except that one screw in the back to hang it.

We did belt-loop displays, with a wood picture frame of 1X2, and long rubberbands strung accross it with a staple gun. Finish with stain, put a bracket on the back to hang it on the wall and the boys were pulling off their belts to get their loops on it as the meeting ended.

I can find hundreds of these zones right here in America, from Ave Maria, FL to the local gated homeowners association.

There is pre-DVD release of movies for institutional viewings, such as college campuses, camps, and other group viewing locations. Big Hero 6 hit this marked on January 20th: http://colleges.swankmp.com/new-releases Swank licenses releases for Disney, Sony, MGM, etc. Other studios (Paramount, Fox, Dreamworks release through Criterion: http://www.criterionpicusa.com/release-schedule/coming-soon

I went to Three Harbors Council website (http://www.threeharborsscouting.org/) grabbed the Winter 2015 copy of their newsletter, just to get a feel about this council. And what did I see? On page one was the "Scout Executive's Minute" written by the "Scout Executive/CEO". CEO? Really? And he throws around titles like "Chief Uniformed Officer" and "Council Key 5" (its only Key 3 around here, who are the other two?). The article fills the page introducing the departing Council Commissioner, and in the continuation on Page 2 (you continue a page one article on page two?) finally introduces the guy taking over the job.

The piece just hit an off note for me. The article went off on the importance of the position, tossing around titles, the people doing the job were a footnote. It was not helped that the "Scout Executive/CEO" writing the piece had a big, color mugshot on the front page next to his name, but the guys being talked about were regulated to grainy camp snapshots (on page 2).

We have a public access TV station/studio nearby, and its a good tour. I find nowadays that newspaper offices get to be pretty boring, everything is on a computer desktop and there are no design/layouts or printing operations for the boys to see. I substitute libraries sometimes, if the boys get a chance to see what happens when they return a book into the slot (a partially mechanized sorter on a conveyor belt!).

A boy could always earn Aquanaut without being able to complete the swimming requirement, so long as they "did their best".

I just had a mom e-mail me to say they earned the Fun with the Family Award. I had never heard of this one. From a quick google, it looks like there are 5 different patches, each for a different aspect? This is a family of five (three Cub boys, two parents), and I really don't want to present them with 25 patches (costing the Pack $50). I sent her a message asking her what this award was, I'm happy getting them all one BSA Famil patch or pin each.

Aaand council just canceled Camp Cards this year. Too high printing cost/lack of decent local sponsors cited. Ah, well.

We did them in the Northern Star Council. $5 per card, and they came with a detachable/tear-off coupon for $4 off a large pizza at Papa Murphys and a detachable free 1/2 hour at a trampoline park, along with other deals (4 cents/gal off gas, 50% off premium oil change, 10% off Scout Shop camping equipment). Unit kept 50% ($2.50) of each card, to go to unit or back to the scout.

It was new for us last year. I liked that we could "check out" as many cards as we wanted, and then return as many unsold cards as necessary. Families that used the pizza stubs bought a bunch, since they were "making money" by ordering pizza. A couple units set up outside the participating vendors, and sold direct to their customers. It worked well, if I ignored exactly what the council did with their %50 of the card proceeds.

It's not about the rank achieved. It's about the story told.

I bought a PL Handbook for my son. It seems a waste for a position he is unlikely to hold for more than 6 months (our Troop doesn't keep anything but Merit Badge Pamphlets in its library).

Nothing wrong with the Reformed Druids of North America. Fun, good people, several of whom are also Christian and Scouters (myself among those ranks).

Belt loops are going away in May. Announce that this is a "transition period", and stop handing the old ones out. When the new ones roll out next September, announce an "award fee" to cover the new program (since every boy at every level will earn at least 7).

You can do the activity during the day, but cancel the overnight portion. Let it be known why, and have a district training calender on hand so the numerous complainers can get signed up for training next time.

Our Pack is back down to one BALOO, and he is the Webelos Den Leader leaving at the end of this year (he's also our only Rangemaster).

Maybe Lions is bad in the long run, not sure. But I get more new Kindergartners signing up then I get new 4th graders. And even if half those Lions skip the next year, someone from the other half will usually be my Tiger/Wolf Den leader (until they also burn out, but by then I have someone who joined during Wolf/Bear year to be Bear/Webelos Den Leader).

Our recharter packet has a form we can fill out when we do group YPT sessions. Just complete this form (if you have one) and submit it with the recharter packet.

Well, if you're good at puppet building, creating an "Ethan" puppet to match the new Cub Scout Program Mascot as a Howdy-Doody mannequin would be a neat start. Keep the skits short, and use it to hand out Advancements, so the kids can get a little interaction with it (and an incentive to earn an award). Involve the Webelos in the skits (maybe sound/light effects? scenery movers?), they like to start getting into the "backstage" stuff at this point.

Yes, the arrow points are going away.

Yes, definitely. My first "recruiting class" of Tigers started at 13, and now as they are entering Webelos 1, they are down to 6. Its been hard not having a class one level above them, to give them older Cubs to look up to.

All the old patches/awards are staying (except Leave No Trace, that already left, look at Outdoors Ethics). Those extra awards that require wolf/bear achievements or belt loops/pins will have their requirements rewritten prior to May 2015.

I see they took the "Cyber Chip" off of the Bobcat requirements since last time. But it's still a part of every rank requirement. Also, the names of each ranks's "Duty to God" adventure has been renamed (to include the phrase "Duty to God").

Yes, there is an agreement between our Council (Northern Star) and our School District (Minneapolis Public Schools, and some of the other larger school districts) in regards to sending recruiting flyers home with students. I'm guessing that agreement could go both ways.

If the partnering agreement between your council and the school district requires each other to forward official correspondence, and this flyer fits the bill, then good on the district for holding the council to their end. I'd be happy to forward school district information if only the school district would consistently distribute scouting information.