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 to be used if the flag is too large to safely retire in one piece.

Prepare fire pit, preferably by lining with ashes from previous retirement. Fire pit should either be a separate one from the campfire or should be the last thing that the campfire is used for that evening. If metal grommets are used, remove them from flag prior to ceremony with scissors.

Light fire and begin ceremony when it is burning sufficiently to not go out.

OPENING:

MC: Please stand. I would ask you to remain silent, standing until the retirement ceremony is over, and the flag is completely burned.

MC: Color Guard advance. (color guard enters to stand behind fire)

MC: We are here tonight to give honor to this flag one final time. It has flown long and proud as a symbol of our nation at Christian Academy of Louisville. The flag is always to be treated with respect. United States Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8 states The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. As part of this ceremony, we will be separating the flag into four sections for the safety of the color guard. The blue union will kept in one piece, as it represents the fifty states and the union should never be broken. A small amount of ashes have been kept from a previous retirement and are lining the fire to prepare a place of honor for this flag. After this retirement, the ashes from this flag will be buried secretly so they cannot be dishonored and the grommets will be taken to a veterans cemetery and placed at the headstones to honor those who died for our freedom.

MC: Color Guard present the colors. (Color Guard unfolds flag and holds it facing assembly, blue field to stage right)

MC: I was born on June 14th,1777 and the Declaration of Independence is my birth certificate. I am more than just red, white, and blue cloth shaped into a design. I am the shelter of the worlds mistreated people; the silent guardian of freedom. I am the symbol of the greatest nation on Earth; a nation of the people, by the people, for the people. I am strong because of the strength of the American people; their desire to give help to those in need. I try hard for peace yet stand ready to fight cruelty. I feed the starving and offer help to the needy. I defend the freedom of those who desire it and offer a home to anyone who will pledge allegiance to me. I have led your sons and daughters from Valley Forge to the Arabian Peninsula. I have flown at Gettysburg, Flanders, Normandy, Korea, and Vietnam and I fly today in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have protected the weak and the innocent in dozens of nation. I covered in silence each of your honored dead taking them in my embrace to their final resting place beneath the rows of white crosses. I fly over you schools, your homes, and your churches. I even stand on the moon, as a

symbol of what this great nation is able to do when united in purpose. I have flown through peace and war, difficulty and success. Honor me, respect me, and defend me with your lives and everything that you have. Never let my enemies tear me down from my high place lest I never return. Keep alight the fires of patriotism; keep alive the spirit of democracy. Worship Eternal God, keep His commandments, defend freedom and justice; and God willing I shall remain in freedom for the rest of my days.

MC: Scout salute! MC: Please join me is saying the pledge to this flag one final time.

(say pledge)

(If necessary for safety, Scouts separate flag into four pieces with one cut vertically and one cut horizontally during the following. Keep the union in one solid piece to be burned last)

MC or Scout 1: I have 13 stripes which represent the 13 colonies, which stood defiantly for freedom and became the first states.

MC or Scout 2: The red reminds us of the blood of patriots and heroes who have died for our freedom.

MC or Scout 3: The white represents the purity that is in all our hearts and the honor deep inside our soul.

MC or Scout 4: My 50 stars represent the 50 states, which make up our great nation.

MC or Scout 5: My blue field stands for truth and justice under Gods heaven, which binds our union together.

MC: Do not grieve for this flag, for it has served our nation proudly. It is deserving of retirement with the honor and respect, which we now give.

MC: Honor guard retire the colors!

(The honor guard now places the flag or pieces of the flag in the fire, lowering the center into the flames and folding the corners inward to the fire. If the flag has been separated, burn the union last)

(Once the flag is completely aflame and the fire begins to burn down) MC: Two!

MC: Color guard dismissed!

MC: Pack dismissed!

(after the fire has gone out, collect some ashes to keep for the next ceremony, and secretly bury the remainder of the ashes so that they cannot be desecrated)

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 office and ask to talk to your District Executive. He would probably like to know so that he can intervene (at least he should if he wants to save a unit). I'd also ask for a list of other Packs in my area though.

A good Pack should have a Pack Meeting every month. 2-3 Den Meetings/Outings every month. A Couple of campouts each year (including the District/Council campout). At least a Pinewood Derby, usually around this time of year. There are of course other things such as leader training, etc. Many Packs that do all of the above though are usually on a reasonably good footing on the rest, although there are exceptions.

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 think is that it now uploads all your information on scouts & advancement to SOAR websites. Their support is really good also.

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. Most tent well with another boy, but some need an adult for security.

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 pack212scouter)

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.

- We do not have an income level, but if the family expresses a reasonable need, they get a scholarship.

- Scolarships are provided to cover dues for the year and events up to the next fundraiser. Additionally, we maintain a uniform closet and can include the book.

- Families receiving Scholarships have to apply for a Council Scholarship. While this does not determine their eligability with the Pack, it may reimburse the Pack for BSA dues and sometimes provide a uniform shirt.

- Families receiving scholarships are required to participate in our two fundraisers (Popcorn & Camp Cards). 25% of Popcorn and 45% of Camp Card sales got to their Scout Account.

- Families receiving scholarships are required to volunteer in some way with the Pack. We do NOT require that they be a Den Leader (don't want forced Den Leaders), but we DO require that they at least help with some events, even if it is only setup/teardown.

- If fundraising does not cover what they need, then additional funds are approved if they made a good effort, or there is a good reason (such as family illness).

- Barring illness, etc, they are expected to attend any events that they register for that were paid for out of scholarship funds.

- If they do not do the above, then this counts against them in future Scholarship decisions.(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

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 - Enters K at 5 years, 2 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 10y. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 1/2 (Nov of 5th grade year). Without AOL eligable in May upon completion of 5th grade (or turning 11 if that's first).

Oct birthday (before school cutoff) - Enters K at 4 years, 11 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 9y, 7 months. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 years and 1 month of age. Without AOL, eligable upon completion of 5th grade (May at age of 10y 7 months).(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

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 had to consume a pound of raw butter every day just to take in adequate calories.