infoscouter

My GS experience was so long ago, and my leader experience was so ill-prepared, that I couldn't remember all the details. Events from when I was 9 or 10 are getting a little fuzzy! (for that matter 40 isn't too distinct any more) But I was glad to see the GSUSA hasn't dropped the patrol system entirely. I got a lot out of being a patrol leader. What I don't remember is who ran the Court of Honor - is there an equivalent to an SPL?

>I wish the GS program had Patrol Leaders. The gold award has some mangement >in it and I see my daughter gain leadership skills and good old grit and >determination. But nothing like a boy led Troop would have. I wondered when reading this whether the Girl Scouts had eliminated patrols from the program, (I was a patrol leader in my Cadette Girl Scout troop in the late 60's), so I went and looked. The GSUSA web site still has references to patrols, patrol leaders and the patrol system. If your daughter's troop is not using the patrol system, it may be due to the fact that

Ah John, it's not so rare that she wanted to walk with you. Time with Dad is precious time for girls that age. When I was GS dads weren't encouraged to be involved, but I got lots of time in the woods with my father. It was at about that age that my dad taught me archery, still a life-long interest. They are experiences I still treasure. Thank you for taking time to help the girls - they got more out of than you may think.

Or could it be they're trying to sell them off before they introduce Venturing Switchbacks?

We generally recognize our 4th grade Webelos during our pack graduation ceremony with camping gear of some sort. In the past they're received flashlights, mess kits (we buy lexan dishes and dunk bags now, not metal sets), duffel bags, matching jacket (that year the den had lots of money in their account). I have heard of packs giving hiking staffs with medallions - the standard ones from ScoutStuff are really affordable.

For BSA's purposes, boys who have finished Kindergarten are considered to be in 1st grade (just as Tigers who have finished 1st grade are considered to be in 2nd grade, and automatically become Wolves on June 1). They are finished with Kindergarten - the school has promoted them to 1st grade, so we can consider them 1st graders. See - "The Cub Scout Cycle": http://www.directservicebsa.org/pdf/13-027.pdf

The short answer is yes. I have been simultaneously a Cub Scout leader, a member of the troop committee and a member of the District Committee. I had sons in both units and district level training responsibilities. In some units where multiple units are chartered by the same CO, it is very common to have some committee members in common.

As a Webelos Scout (notice - even when we're talking about one boy this word always has an s), your son can start wearing the tan shirt and olive green pants whenever you and he wish. This choice is the family's choice, based on personal preference, whether or not he still fits in his blue shirt, and family financial circumstances. Wearing the tan/green combination is not contingent on earning of any badge, attaining any age or any criteria other than the preference of the Scout and his family. Remember that he needs to continue to wear the blue Cub Scout belt with the green pants, since the S

Our 4th grade Webelos den used this program with no problems. The Scouts reacted well to the material, as did the parents. From what I remember this is very similar to other drug avoidance materials. It is a long time since my kids went through D.A.R.E., but the content is quite similar. I don't think you have to worry that this is too "advanced" for them. They know a lot more of this than you think they do.

P.R.A.Y., the organization that distributes many of the booklets and awards, has a sample presentation on their web site: www.praypub.org. It is intended for use as part of a religious service, but you may be able to adapt it or some of the language for your use. Click on "God and Country" in the left frame, and then on "Sample Award Presentation Ceremony". While you're there check out the Duty to God promotion materials. The presentation of an award to a Scout is a good time to educate parents and Scouts about the various religious awards and distribute the promotional brochures.

see: http://www.scouting.org/pubs/gss/index.html The second section discusses BSA liability insurance.

No, Tiger Cubs can't earn the World Conservation Award. While there have been other changes, this isn't one of them.

Have you obtained the BSA's new "Choose to Refuse" materials? There are booklets for the youth with activities and a leader's guide. http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/pdf/02-574.pdf http://usscouts.org/safety/Drugs.html You may be able to buy them at your Scout shop. Otherwise, the second link above includes a further link to order them.

I just looked this up for another list, so thought I'd post it here too: This is from the 2005 printing of the CS Leader Book (p. 24-6): Parts of a Pack Leaders' Meeting 1. Evaluating the previous month 2. Finalizing the current month 3. Planning ahead 4. Unit Leadership Enhancements 5. Social time and fellowship Part 1: Evaluating the Previous Month: - The pack committee chair calls the meeting to order - The Cubmaster reviews the previous month's den and pack meeting activities and asks for comments and suggestions. This evaluation will help with planning the upc

Look in the Cub Scout leader Book for guidance on running leader meetings. The current suggested structure is not a "committee meeting", but rather a meeting of all leaders in the pack, called the monthly leaders meeting. This involves committee members, den leaders, the Cubmaster and any interested parents. Generally, meetings have a loose structure, reviewing both program and support issues. For instance, our recent leader meeting covered the agenda of the Blue & Gold banquet; the upcoming pancake breakfast fundraiser; planning for summer camp; spring recruiting and our Centennial Q

While Randy's description of what his district does is very common, the system is designed with five separate position specific training sessions. -Tiger Leader -Cub Scout (Wolf & Bear) Den Leader -Webelos Den Leader -Cubmaster/Assistant Cubmaster -Committee Chair/Member If your district trains this way, then yes, you need to take position specific training for your current position, in order to be considered "trained". This becomes much more important with the new Centennial Quality Unit Award goals regarding training of 'direct contact' leaders - which includes den leaders

Parade organizers in our area don't want us to throw candy. They are concerned about spectators running into the street to retreive misthrown pieces, or to have a better chance of catching a piece. In a situation like this, a child may not watch closely to avoid the vehicle pulling the next float, and be in danger of being struck by a pickup truck, SUV or horses hooves. Most of our small community parades do not have barriers to keep spectators out of the street. We are allowed to *hand* candy to spectators.

Actually DELTA (and DELV the Cub Scout version) are pre-cursors to the "Ethics in Action" materials. In Cub Scouting, these used to appear in the Cub Scout Leader How To Book. The Cub Scout materials have been replaced by the "Character Connections" requirements incorporated into the ranks. I don't know how widely the Ethics in Action materials are/were used in Boy Scout troops. I do know our council (Northern Star) camps still use the material.

As the Pack Trainer, I have a special meeting for Bear parents moving into Webelos, where I start introducing some of the differences between Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. In the fall, we have a parent meeting with the parents of the 5th graders, where we go into more detail. We discuss patrols versus dens, individualized advancement, youth leadership, and roles for adults. I talk about backing off, and letting the boys adjust to Boy Scouting, and why it's important. I *strongly* encourage the Webelos leaders, assistants and even the parents to do the online Boy Scout Fast Start training, or

The Northern Star Council has a council Diversity committee, which provides guidance to our special needs and outreach populations. http://www.northernstarbsa.org/Resources/Diversity.asp There are two professionals who support our Special Needs units and Scouts. Sara Amberg is the Special Needs Director: samberg@northernstarbsa.org There are day camps and camporees provided for Special Needs Scouts, and support is provided for integrating special needs youth into mainstream units. Recently the council has been working with a group called Wilderness Inquiry, who have been pro

Day Camp is not a summer only experience. Our council runs both fall and winter day camps. See: http://www.northernstarbsa.org/Camping/FallFestival.asp. They get to do all sorts of fun things - river cruises, hay rides, caramel apple making, a hay maze. The Outdoor activity award requirements also include as an option, attending Resident camp. Our council includes these one-night experiences (sometimes called Mom & Me, or Lad & Dad or Family Camp) under the umbrella of Resident camp, even though they are run according to the Cub Scout Family Camping Standards. In our council atten

Our pack has Scout accounts for all levels. Our Webelos, if active fundraising participants, all cross over with money to take to the troops they join. One thing to make very clear, if accounts are new to your parents, that the money stays with the pack if a boy doesn't join the troop. This is money raised for Scouting, not cash they can walk away with. Currently, this is how money is allocated in our pack. The first $115 of profit raised by any Scout goes to the pack (approx $350 in sales). Anything over that, 50% goes to the pack, 35% to the Scout account, and 15% to an account for the

Congratulations on your great recruiting. Two big challenges are going to be communication and record keeping. In addition to the new den leaders, consider recruiting an experienced leader/parent to be a pack trainer. Delegate new parent relations to the pack trainer, and have that individual help with parent orientation, Fast start for new leaders, etc. What kind of record keeping system do you use? Are you all paper-based, or have you automated? If you're running on paper, consider going to Packmaster or ScoutTrack. Do you have a web site/an e-mail list/a pack newsletter?

This year's New Den Leader Kit includes a Tiger Advancement Helps sheet. I believe the BIN # is 13-101. Unfortunately, the online version of the new leader kit http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/13-134/index.html doesn't include this publication yet. The sheet specifically says that although the Den (D) and Go and See It (G) requirements are intended to be completed in the den setting, that boys who can not attend due to illness or conflicts, MAY complete those requirements with their parent. This info is also in the Tiger Cub Handbook and the Cub Scout Leader book, but it takes

The BSA handbooks are bound using a process called "perfect binding" - a misnomer if there ever was one. Good, old fashioned book binding consists of sewing the individual signatures (groups of pages) together. This is an expensive process, even if done with a machine. Perfect binding glues the signatures to the spine of the book cover. It is a less expensive process than sewing. As others have noted, abuse will make "perfect bound" books fall apart more easily. Libraries constantly battle this fact. We buy perfect bound books because we have no choice - paperbacks only come this wa