Pack212Scouter

A couple of years ago, I took several ceremonies apart combined the parts that I liked and reworded it so that it was more understandable for elementary age. It has been well received in our area and the boys always show considerable respect...I'll post it below. Pack 212 Southeast Christian Church Flag Retirement Ceremony Items needed: 1 US flag, old, worn, and/or tattered for retirement. 1 pair of large sharp scissors. A modestly burning campfire. 4 or more Adult Leaders or Boy Scouts to handle flag and as many Cub Scouts for reading as may be appropriate. Sections in red are t

Most any outdoor activity with a Troop counts for this. For our Troop it has always been one specific campout. The whole point of it is to let the Webelos see what Boy Scouts do and get them interested in it. Additionally, if the Troop is smart they use it to promo their program to the Webelos.

While BSA is puching for the Cub Scouts 2010 to be used, really there is no rule that you cannot continue your meetings as they are, there will simply be no more training or materials from the old program offered. That said, as a Cubmaster, I am really starting to look forward to this. This is how alot of our Dens run and it will much simplify getting all the Scouts finished with their work and having a uniform program with leaders that have a program ready to go. Also, I am actually looking forward to the new "core value" themes.

I don't care for it wither Dean...but it is Cub Scouts, so we do not have any choice but to take the parents word for it.

It does indeed sound like you landed in a very poorly run unit. I'm sorry that your Scouting experience so far has been this negative. Most of the units that I know in our area do not run this way, "mine" in particular. Theoretically, with Cub Scouts 2010, most advancements should be run in Den next year and much of this should be solved. I very much doubt that this unit will follow it or even know about it, if it is being run this way. Talk to the Den Leader and give the Cubmaster a call. If you don't feel good about their answers and plan, I would suggest a call to the local council of

The current plan published by BSA is a new Webelos Leader Guide with undetermined shanges for 5/2010. New Youth Handbooks will be released with minor revisions as supply requires.

Our Pack has used PackMaster for three years now. Our Troop for longer than that and the AHG unit at our CO for two years. We love it. It does almost everything needed and has caused no issues. Pay the little extra for the DotNet option. One of the great things about it is you can save the most recent copy to a hard drive. Then you can access your data for reference even if there is no internet connection (try that with a web based program!) You can even leave the database locked out, and update it at a non-internet site and then upload the changes when you return. The really cool thin

The official answer is that they would need to tent seperate from you. How this works depends significantly on the boy. Mine for instance has tented with me some, but when we family camp, he has been tenting by himself in a pup tent since he was five. He loves the outdoors and while he respects it, amaizingly he has no "fear" of it. He's the kind of Webelo that I honestly think that you could drop in the woods with a knife and some matches and you'd come back a week later to find a cabin built and him five pounds heavier! I have known far more boys however that are alot more apprehensive.

As for recharter, our pack recharters in January, so any scouts that don't return are already chartered through the end of the year. We just archive them in PackMaster and if they don't come back, don't recharter them the next January. If they don't show up after recharter, they have already paid dues back in September that covered recharter, so the Pack does not lose money. We do try to find out why they dropped though.

Scoutfish, he is incorrect. Webelos is still a two year program....or more like 18-20 months. Anyway, they can only join Boy Scouts if they are 10 1/2 with AOL (with 6 months active after Webelos badge) or having turned 11 or completed 5th grade.

Get two copies of each....Redbox

Depends alot on your parents and your Charter organization. In our case, since we have a very conservative CO & parents, some that would be considered obvious are not good choices. For example, Down & Derby has been complained about because of the shower scene. Monsters vs. Aliens has been considered a no go because of certain references to female body parts and the "parking" scene. Make sure it is a movie that you have seen so that you can evaluate it, then consider your parents and CO.

Wow...and we are working on turning ours around because we were at 60% last year. That is an issue! With a group that size though, you should be able to talk to each of them and find out why. Your Pack may also want to consider doing what we do...charge dues for the entire year up front. Then people don't so much see it as something that can be put off.

At first I was kind of hesitant about this, but looking back at our history, most of the successfull Dens, retention wise, were Den Leaders that were already doing their own version of achievements worked on in the Den.

Yea, we are very fortunate. It is always a shame when a boy who wants to be a Scout, can't because of finances. I'm assuming that you approached your CO about helping with this? (I know...times are probably tight for them too). Here is another possibility...perhaps approach some of the businesses in your community to see if they might be willing to sponsor a Scout. Make a presentation to give to them, outlining the values that Scouting instills...how it helps the community, and how much it costs for a Scout to fully participate for the year.(This message has been edited by pack212scou

A few years back, a generous individual left out pack a scholarship fund. Over the years, we have been careful to keep it replenished so that no Scout gets turned away. Our current policy is that the Cubmaster and Committee Chair talks to the parent and discusses out policy for scholarships, which is basically as follows. The only other distributed information is to the Treasurer to transfer the money to their account and the committee is advised of how much is given in scholarships. We arrived at this balance, because it is a sensative discussion for many families. Now to our policy.

I suppose it's a matter of semantics, but I consider that there is a difference between caravaning and "travelling together." Caravaning is a group of vehicles staying in line together. "Travelling together" would be a group of vehicles headed to the same destination, keeping in contact with cell phones & radios, using GPS, and making stops together.

I would be against it. Why does everything have to be co-Ed? Males and females are different. Neither is better, just different. Most everything else is co-ed these days. Boys need a place to hang with "the guys" and girls need the same. My daughter loves doing outdoors stuff too, but my son loves the times when it's "just the men"

I know what your saying. There is a ballance to everything. I believe in bling that means something or for a major event. We actually went through the streamers on our Pack flag and got rid of anything that wasn't quality unit or such. I mean good grief. Council gives out streamers for filling out paperwork anymore!

As usual, I see the "guidelines" being quoted as rules. I'm not sure if it is still there, but for the longest time that chart came with the disclaimer that "they were guidelines and that what may not be appropriate in one part of the country may be the norm in another.". For instance.... Winter camping may not be appropriate for a Pack in Georgia, while it may be the norm for a Pack in Vermont.

Our CO has had a BS troop, a CS pack and an AHG troop for many years. Many of the more active families have kids in two or all three programs, so there has been a natural cooporation and coordination between the units since long before national did anything. Now what is changing in our area is that there is an AHG girl Venturing unit starting up.

Maybe this will clarify. Assuming that there are no grades skipped....and assuming that school starts in Aug and finishes in May (this may vary slightly by area)...(remember that in addition to Boy Scout requirements, they must be a Webelos for 6 months since completing 4th grade or turning 10...probably the origin of the 10 1/2 myth. Jan birthday - Enters K at 5 years, 7 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 10y, 4 months. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 1/2 (July before starting 5th grade year). Without AOL, eligable in Jan of his 5th grade year (11y). May birthday - En

Lisa, While it is true that nowhere is it printer or required this way, most people tend to think 10 1/2 because of the requirements of most school systems. Most school systems in the country will not let a child enter kindergaden unless they are turning 5 by sometime I'm October. What this means is that in "most" applications, the "six months after turning 10" applies rather than the "six months after completing fifth grade.". I know that there are exceptions, but this is what is typical now. People just need to remember that this is wha you usually see. Not what the rule is.

Our Pack costs per boy are about the following: BSA registration (youth, portional leader, Boys Life, and insurance) $30 Awards (belt loops only awarded once) $40 Technolgy costs (PackMaster, website, voicemail, etc) $10 Basic Den Supplies $5 Derby costs are usually covered by concession sales at the event. Campouts are an additional cost.

Wow...Talk about attacking the holy grail of Scouting! Seriously though, as others have said, it's not the Dutch oven meal that is going to kill you. It your lifestyle and nutrition choices the rest of the time. As for caloric intake, you would be amaized how rapidly calorie needs go up in the outdoors. Simply being outdoors, walking, and basic camp chores can raise one's calorie needs by 20% and more. Add in activities and it foes through the roof. As an extreme example, some of you may remember the Steiger Antarctic Expedition in the 80's. Their caloric needs were so high that they