mschwartz

I'm in the "voracious readers" category - helps that I'm on the train for the better part of an hour twice a day! My husband has been known to accuse me of reading anything that will hold still long enough to be read, and he's probably right. Favorites are SF/fantasy and mysteries; also read "The Survival of the Bark Canoe" (John McPhee) while on vacation (that's a fabulous book, highly recommend it! In fact, anything by McPhee is great.).

"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle

"Swallows and Amazons" by Arthur Ransome

"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke

Just about anything by Robert Heinlein, such as "Stranger in a Strange Land" or "Starship Troopers"

The "Mars" books by Edgar Rice Burroughs ("Tarzan" books too)

I'm sure there's lots more. Those are the ones that come to mind first (other than the ones already mentioned).

And of course we bought the Tiger books last May (since we get a lot of Tigers signing up at our June roundup). That would explain it!

Thanks.

Ours has always been fairly low-key, but quite well received (even a little emotional on occasion). The Webelos II is called up, he meets his parent(s)on one side of our little bridge (which has the AoL candleholder in front of it) and gives his mom a rose. One of the parents then takes off his Cub Scout neckerchief and slide. The boy then walks over the bridge, and is met on the other side by one of the Boy Scouts from our local troop, who puts on his Boy Scout neckerchief and slide. He is then congratulated by the Scoutmaster and the assembled Boy Scouts, to much applause.

The emotion comes in when (as in this year's crossover) it's the Cub's older brother welcoming him into Boy Scouts. Caught me by surprise (these were my two boys after all) but there were some sniffles and a big "AAAWWWWW!!!!" from the audience when it was announced that it was his brother putting on the neckerchief.

When entering the Tiger Badge advancements into PackMaster the other day, it informed me that the boys had not yet completed their Bobcat badge. Now, from my days as a Tiger leader (and we doublechecked in the books that this year's Tigers are using) I recall that they finished up the Tiger badge and then the book said "Now you are ready to move on and earn your Bobcat badge." And that was the first thing they did as Wolf Cubs (if they hadn't done it over the summer or some such).

Checked the Virtual Cub Scout Leader's Handbook, and it also shows Bobcat preceding Tiger.

When did this happen? The software and the online information (including the nice new National website) says one, the book (and my memory!) says the other.

We can deal with the change, just curious as to when it happened!

Absolutely, with the caveats listed so clearly above. For the past year I have been the "data" person (committee member) for both the Pack and the Troop (made it very easy when crossover time came - I graduated the Webelos II from one database and imported them into the other one!). Why am I doing this? Because I have one son in each unit. But that will be over at the end of this year, as #2 has just crossed over to Boy Scouts, and I am in the process of training my Pack replacement.

Our council has "Merit Badge University". Two Saturdays in April, this year three weeks apart (most years four weeks apart). Boys can sign up for three merit badges (with limited registration for everything so the counselors are not overwhelmed). They meet for an hour each session, do some things, get a list of "homework" to do by the next session. Some of the homework can be emailed in ahead of time (for instance, for the Computer merit badge); some has to be brought in (models of a nuclear reactor for the Nuclear Science badge). They do more work at the second meeting and either complete the merit badge or get a partial and have to finish up on their own. No Eagle-required badges are presented at these sessions, but it's been a good way for the younger scouts especially to get a few merit badges done in a reasonably controlled fashion.

We got our pack hats from classb.com. We buy in bulk so as to get a good price, then the pack sells them to the scouts (and adults) for $5 (we take a bit of a loss on it). Not to be an advertisement for them, but we've been very happy with everything we've gotten from that organization. T-shirts, adult polo shirts, hats, and custom patches

Our pack meetings are on the second Monday of the month (except for December, January, and February - those are the Holiday Party, Pinewood Derby, and Blue & Gold, all of which are held on the weekends). Pack meetings start out with a flag ceremony, then announcements, then awards, then a song or skit, then what we call "Entertainment" which could be almost anything. This year, for instance, we have had a demonstration from one of the local judo schools; a presentation by a scout's uncle who has spent a lot of time in Iraq doing positive things (i.e., rebuilding, helping people, etc.); a yo-yo person; a presentation by the Museum of Science; and a magician. We get very good attendance at the Pack meetings because we make the extra effort (and go to the extra expense) of having that FUN in there. The whole thing lasts about an hour and a half, so is very survivable even by the Tigers.

This is new to me too - but it sounds great! I've passed the information on to both the troop and pack committees - we'll see what comes of it.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/03/20/searchers_missing_scout_might_be_found/

I've been following this story - 12 year old Boy Scout goes missing Saturday in the North Carolina mountains after apparently wandering away from the campsite. But it looks like they've found him. Good news!

I deal with a troop and a pack. I've only done the online advancement for the troop, but I know it can be done for the pack as well - the only thing stopping me is a lack of required data for PackMaster (it wants DOB for adult leaders and I haven't gotten all those yet). I would expect that it could be done for a crew also - check with council to be sure. I have a different access code for each, which I had to get from council.

It was very easy to fix the messed up rank information. Unfortunately I discovered that while I could see other info (address, DOB, etc.) I couldn't get at it to fix it. On the plus side, our district rep is very responsive via email so I was able to send him the correct information without physically going to the office (which would take me close to an hour also).

Hope that helps!

M

I've used PackMaster for six years and TroopMaster for one. I've done online advancement (and online rechartering for the Troop, just last week). While both programs have a field for SS#, it isn't one of the required fields, and I haven't filled it in for any of the boys. That hasn't caused any problems so far with either the internet advancement or with rechartering.

Interestingly, the council database was missing rank advancement dates for many of our scouts from the troop, and I was able to fill in the missing information and generate an advancement report to fix those problems. So from that perspective, this is a Good Thing as it eliminates the person at council having to type in all the information (or not type it in as the case may be). I've also discovered two errors in scout DOB in the council's database, which I will fix today.

I took my Webelos I den on the Freedom Trail the day after Thanksgiving last year. We met up at the beginning, on Boston Common near the Park Street T station (Red and Green lines) and proceeded from there.

How long does it take? However long you want to spend! One of the first stops is the State House - if you go with a guided tour, you'll be in there for a couple of hours. If you just wander around, you might leave in 15 minutes. There are a number of other stops along the way that cost $$ to go in (for instance, we did go into the Paul Revere House, which was quite interesting, but passed on the Old South Church). There is a fairly large gap between the bulk of the trail and the USS Constitution, but it's worth the extra hike.

Rather than hiking back into Boston, we went from the Constitution to the Bunker Hill memorial (the boys had a great time climbing to the top) and then walked over to the Community College T station (Orange line). We were out the better part of the day! Lots of opportunities to stop for lunch along the way if you don't want to pack your own.

I recommend http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/ for more information - they have a virtual tour and lots of good stuff.

Freedom Trail patches or medals can be purchased from http://www.bsaboston.org - go to the online store and click on "Freedom Trail". We got the patches and the boys put them on their red brag vests. To qualify, you basically have to go the entire route (about 2.5 miles).

Enjoy!

Marietta

We've had the same discussion. While the BSA official website doesn't seem to address the question, we did come up with the following:

USScouter (usually a pretty good source of correct policy) says this:

Note: There is NO DEADLINE for earning Merit Badges, except the Scout's 18th Birthday. Once a Scout has started working on a Merit Badge (i.e. obtained a signed "Blue Card" Application for Merit Badge from his Scoutmaster, had an initial discussion with a merit badge Counselor, and started working on the requirements), he may continue using those requirements until he completes the badge or turns 18.

THERE IS NO ONE YEAR LIMIT ON SO-CALLED "PARTIALS".

In contrast to the rule for rank advancements, which imposes a specific deadline for using the old requirements, The rule for Merit Badges is as follows:

If the requirements change while a Scout is working on the badge, he may continue to use the OLD requirements until he completes the work, or he may use the new requirements if he wishes. It is HIS choice, and his alone.

If a Merit Badge is discontinued, Scouts working on the badge when it is removed from the Boy Scout Requirements booklet may continue to work toward completing the badge, and get credit for earning the badge, until they turn 18. However, it may not be possible to obtain an actual merit badge patch, once the local council's supply is exhausted.

If a discontinued Merit Badge is replaced with one or more other Merit Badges covering the same or similar topics (such as Rifle and Shotgun Shooting MB which was replaced by Rifle Shooting MB and Shotgun Shooting MB), a Scout that has earned the discontinued badge may also earn the new badge or badges. If the badge is simply renamed (such as Firemanship MB which was changed to Fire Safety MB), Scouts may NOT earn the badge again. If the badge number in BSA's numbering system is the same before and after the change, it is a renaming. If a new number is assigned, it is a replacement.

And meritbadge.net had this:

I just attended a Council Advancement Training Course.

THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT ON COMPLETING A BADGE AS LONG AS IT IS

COMPLETED BEFORE THE 18th BIRTHDAY.

We were also told that if a boy starts the badge on one

requirement book and after he starts the badge the

requirements change he can chose to complete the original

requirements of use the new requirements. He can not mix the

two.

To be absolutely certain, you might call your district representative and see what they have to say (it's lunchtime in my time zone so they didn't answer the phone).

Hope that helps!

YIS

Marietta

I've used PackMaster for tracking all manner of things for our Pack for about 4 years now. And I just took on Troopmaster for the local Boy Scout Troop. Both are very powerful tools and not difficult to learn. I would definitely recommend them.

We have gotten pack T-shirts, leader polo shirts, and pack ballcaps from classb.com and are 100% happy with them. They are extremely easy to work with, you preview the design, and the shirts and hats are good quality. I'd recommend them w/o hesitation.

We have about 90 boys in the Pack. All Pack meetings follow the same general format:

1. Opening ceremony (we parade in all the flags)

2. Pledge of Allegiance, Cub Scout Promise, Law of the Pack

3. Announcements

4. Awards

5. Entertainment

6. Closing ceremony (parade the flags back out)

The Entertainment part of the meeting varies, but is generally an interesting/entertaining/informative presentation of some sort. Our September meeting featured the Boston Museum of Science doing a presentation on "Fog, Flowers, and Fireworks". The boys loved it; and during that time the Cubmaster took all the parents outside to give them useful information about the Pack.

Other Entertainments have included the sheriff's office bringing in some of their "crime dogs"; EMTs bringing an ambulance; various science presentations; a TV weatherperson; storytellers; etc. Before the main entertainment we frequently have one or more Webelos den put on a skit. We also have a Pack Committee member whose job it is to come up with the monthly Entertainment.

A lot of these sorts of presentations are free; some cost $$. But that is one of the things that the Pack Fundraiser supports.

Overall, the boys have a blast.

Pack 609 is listed as being sponsored by St. Joseph Parish in Malden, MA.

781-324-0402

770 Salem Street

Malden, Massachusetts 02148

You could probably send something to the pack c/o the parish and it would get to whomever is the current CC.

We have a pattern (and a supply of red felt) that is passed from Wolf Den to Wolf Den. We generally have the boys trace the pattern on the felt and cut it out themselves, then (depending on how adventurous the den leader is) either we find someone with a sewing machine to stitch up the shoulder seams or we have the boys do it themselves! Either way, they are very proud to be wearing something that they made "themselves".

The vests get filled with patches pretty quickly - hikes, Pinewood Derby, sleepovers, reading patches, etc. Makes a nice record of the pack activities for the boys.

I've always been told that B&G was the celebration of the birthday of Cub Scouting, and it should be held in February. So that's what we do - cake and all!

We just had our May Pack meeting this past Monday. Maybe a half hour awarding rank badges and other awards to Tigers through Webelos I, then we had a great AoL ceremony with the 12 Webelos II (lighting candles and reciting the seven "rays"), then we had a crossover ceremony - each boy and his parents come forward, the boy gives his mom a rose, the parents take off the Webelos neckerchief and slide, then the boy walks up the stairs and across the stage to a group of Boy Scouts from our local troop (this year we had five Scouts and four adult Scouters from the troop). One of the Boy Scouts puts the Boy Scout neckerchief and slide on the Webelos II, everyone applauds, he goes down the stairs at the other side of the stage, and we go on to the next boy.

The parents think it's great to make a real ceremony out of it, the rest of the scouts are very impressed as it shows what they have to look forward to, and then we all have more cake. It was great.

Oh, we also get a proclamation from the town and citations for each boy from the state representative and senator (who frequently show up for the ceremony to present them in person). All in all, a good show.

We award rank badges as they are earned - and history (in our Pack at least) shows that they are almost never earned in time for the Blue & Gold. We've given some out in March, some in April, and I expect the rest at the May Pack meeting (which is also our AOL/Crossover).

B&G is a big party - we have a family dinner, entertainment, and a cake contest. We treat it as celebrating the birthday of Cub Scouting, and everyone has a blast.

I'm trying to figure out if there is a belt loop for Hockey. The Virtual Cub Scout Leaders Handbook (my online bible for all things scoutish) has the new Ice Skating beltloop, which states in part "The Ice Skating belt loop and pin are for speed and figure skating on ice. See Roller Skating for information on roller blading and in-line skating requirements. See Hockey for information on hockey requirements.". But I can't find Hockey anywhere. Does it exist??

thanks in advance...

The sentence-ending period somehow got incorporated into the link. It shouldn't have been. Try

http://www.geocities.com/pack712/news.html

Feel free to look at ours: http://www.geocities.com/pack712/news.html.