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ScoutNut

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Everything posted by ScoutNut

  1. "I rest more easily knowing there are not all sorts of parents that have not had background checks running around my son's camp while he's sleeping at night." Hey everyone - How many of your Troops out there do background checks? How many do ANY kind of screening at all? I know neither my Troop or my Pack does. I also know that at least 2 other Troops in my area do not. Running a complete background check on a perspective leader can be VERY expensive. Usually a parent, a former scout, or an interested member of the community, says they want to help and the CM, CC, or SM says
  2. Our Scoutmaster actively discourages parents (and will NEVER consider siblings) from attending all but one outing. That outing is lodge camping in January with the Webelos and he makes it very clear he wants only Dads (& not to many of those). For regular camping trips he asks for drivers but they are not allowed to stay. They drive (sometimes as much as 1.5 hrs) unload and drive (another 1.5 hrs) back home. Then when it is time to come home they are expected to drive out and back again. Then he yells at the parents at COA because he has to cancel camping trips due to lack of drivers!
  3. Like just about everything in Scouts there should be a progression involved. They should start out in Kindergarten doing day trips only, go on to overniters in a GS lodge or cabin, move up to adarondacks then platform tents, and finally end up tent camping and backpacking. A group of 10 year olds (5th/6th grade?) should be doing at least some kind of cabin camping by now. Of course these things all depend on the interests of the group. If the majority of the girls hate the thought of camping this could put a damper on things! Also - the biggest question that comes to mind - has anyone
  4. Did you ask your former CM why he wanted you and the other leader to step down? Did he give any reason at all? You said that there are no replacement leaders for your 2 dens. How does your current CM expect to have dens for these boys with no one to lead them? Big question - IS ANYONE IN YOUR PACK TRAINED?? Your Charter Organization owns your Pack. Contact your Charter Organization Representative. It is his job (and the job of the Charter Org) to provide leadership to the unit. Your Council has very little to do with this issue.
  5. My son just got back yesterday from Camp Freeland Leslie in Oxford, WI. They had a great time! Went over to Devil's Lake WI State Park for a day to hike the bluffs, went canoeing and had a "battle" on the lake, worked on his Camping and First Aid badges. His favorite meal was "Zippy Beef" (macaroni beef slop), after his partol finished the batch they had made they went around and cleaned up everyone else's leftovers! He was also impressed by the whole pig that the staff roasted one night!
  6. The themes are great and give you something to "hang your hat on" when planning your Den and Pack meetings. The program helps are a great "help" too. But, remind your leaders that using the Helps as a bible will NOT automatically cover every achievement the boys need to advance. They should be utilizing area resources also. Home Depot woodworking workshops, Com Ed "Power Houses", scout programs offered at nature centers/museums/zoos/aquariums/botanic gardens, tours at stores/factories/businesses/utilities, etc. Not to mention FAMILIES! District Roundtables are a great place to find activ
  7. "The consequence was the SPL gave him a written warning per Troop policy." Perhaps it is time to look into changing Troop policy to include clean up when there is defacing of property involved.
  8. My husband and I have also done popcorn for our Pack for the last 4-5 years and both the Troop and Pack last year. Our council also takes back unsold popcorn so you are not "stuck"(unlike GS cookies!). We get 30% and prizes. Like acco40, we have popcorn from the end of September until mid-December in our house! We have a spare room that is filled to the brim! Boy, the smell of that butter can sure get real old after a while! We base our order on what we sold last year and order enough up front to cover both booth sales (show/sell) and take-orders. That way the boys can get their ta
  9. Prior to this year we would hold a Tiger graduation ceremony at our last formal Pack meeting of the school, in May. This was when all ranks would graduate to the next level of Scouting. The Tigers would receive their "Tiger Cub" bar to be worn on their blue Cub Scout shirt and the "Tiger Graduate" patch for their red patch vest. This year the the Tigers had rank advancement ceremonies just like the other levels. At our first Pack meeting in September, the boys demonstrated their knowledge of the Tiger Cub Motto, Cub Scout Sign and Cub Scout Salute to earn their Tiger Totem. As the mon
  10. My council shop said that they will not get the new belt loops/pins/literature in until sometime this Winter. They thought it might not be until after Jan 1, 2003.
  11. Yarrow - Bravo to your son! Webelos can actually be more of a challenge than the younger ages! Maybe your son can talk up the benefits of being a Den Chief to the other boys in his troop. That is one of the ways to get more boys interested! We stayed with the Pack when my son went up to BS. He really liked working with the younger boys and would often come to Pack meetings to help out. When Den Chief training came up I told him about it, he talked to his SM and the CM, and he was in! One of the other boys in his troop usually helped his Mom with his brother's Cub Scout Den. My son
  12. Dan W - You say you are working towards completing the requirements for the Totin' Chip award. I do not understand why the question about the Cub Scout Whittling Chip. Are you trying to use the fact that your Scouts earned the Whittling Chip in 3rd grade to avoid completing the knife requirements (or all of the requirements) for the Boy Scout Totin' Chip? If that is the case then I would have to strenously disagree with you! First, not all boys complete this award. It is only 1 of 11 activities available to earn a portion of their requirements towards their Cub Scout Bear rank.
  13. LauraMO - For the Cub Scout uniform you should check out area garage sales. You might find that some people will put their son's old uniform on sale after he has graduated out of Cubs. Also check your area Parocial schools. Navy blue pants are usually part of the school uniform and they might sell used uniform pieces. Last, if you wait until closer to August, National usually has a coupon for a reduced cost if you buy a complete uniform. For your uniform, I would go with a men's tan shirt. They are roomier, seem to be studier, and the tan looks MUCH better than the yellow! BTW
  14. Bob - You stated - "The dress Uniform is for some troop meetings and for formal situations such as parades and Courts of Honor. No piece of clothing is designed or constructed to fit all activities in all weather all the time. It sounds like you expect the uniform to do far more things than it is designed for or required for." I agree with you, however, our SM is one of those that require a full uniform (less MB sash which is just worn at COA) for almost all activities, including camping. The boys are allowed to bring scout T-Shirts & jeans camping as extras but are requir
  15. GSUSA is NOT releasing a new older girl program. The program is not changing. There will NOT be new IPA's or new books. In October, at the National Convention, they will be introducing "New Directions" for girls 11-17. This, from what I understand from various e-mails to National, will be a series of pamphlets/booklets about different ways that older girls can experience Girl Scouts. They have had various different polls and questioneers on the national website aimed at trying to find out what older girls like/want. IMHO this does not sound like it will be anything very revolutionary
  16. WOW SUZDVM - I sounds like what you really have is a combined Pack/Troop with little help and less training. With only 15 Cubs and 7 Boy Scouts you do not have much diversity. Are you the ONLY adult who works with the Boy Scouts? What does your Troop do except help run your Pack? Does your Troop get out camping any more often then your Pack? You need to have a BIG time parent meeting and explain to them that in order for you to give their children a quality program you need HELP and COOPERATION! It seems like time and distances are a real problem for you. But, I think that in o
  17. Alki- Girl Scouts can do high adventure activities, and some do. There are what are called "Wider Opps" which can include high adventure, and some GS Councils offer summer camps that might include some high adventure type activities. The problem with these is that very few girls get selected to attend a Wider Opp, they must apply in some instances a year in advance with forms, essays, interviews, and recomendations. If and when they do get selected the trips are usually VERY expensive. High adventure type summer camps are also VERY expensive. Your average GS Troop leader is not trai
  18. Here is a simple "Law of the Pack" maze I found that is perfect for Tigers. This is in the 2001 Pow Wow book from Circle 10 Council and there is lots of other info in there as well! http://www.pack235.org/info.asp#POWWOW01 Go to the Tiger Cubs Section, page 5.
  19. Different Troops focus on different things. They do NOT have to be all campers! That is the point behind visiting different Troops before you join one. Also, you do NOT have to attend one of your council's camps. If you have been disapointed in them previous years then by all means look elsewhere! Camps (like Troops) are not all alike! Check out other area BS councils. Ask about their camps, look at flyers, check out websites. Our Troop has not attended our councils summer camp in the last 3-4 years. They found a neighbouring councils camp that they like much better! I really can
  20. I'm sorry, but as much as I love Scouting and what it can do for kids, schoolwork comes first. We all have to set priorities, and considering that I have been a GS/BS leader for going on 10 years now, scouting is one of my top priorities. But it IS an optional one. Schooling and getting good grades is NOT optional! Yes, they have to learn to schedule their time. If they really want to go to the meeting or on the trip then they sure as heck better get their schoolwork done FIRST. And trust me, if my dd's part time job starts to interfere with her grades the job goes! As for grounding
  21. Oh, I think that they would really like the high adventure side of it. They love camping, hiking, wall climbing, horseback riding, canoeing (just starting LOL !), etc. They also really love GS. My dd and my co-leaders dd both have younger brothers in BS so they have been kind of immersed in the BSA end of things and I think they feel it is kind of disloyal to GS. They are also REAL busy. With honors/AP courses, sports, plays, choir, school newspaper, and jobs on top of GS meetings, trips and working towards their Gold Awards, they do not have a lot of time for MORE meetings! Maybe, i
  22. Ed - I can understand your concern that the building is going unused when there is a Boy Scout Troop that would like to rent it. I have 2 questions - 1)How big is your Troop? Would you be filling it to capacity? 2)Are the Cub Scout Packs allowed use of the other buildings now that they have their own? Our councils camps are not very Cub friendly and as a result are not used by the Cubs that much. You must remember that most troops have their own tents and camping gear. Most Cub packs do not. Most troops have leaders and scouts who are experienced campers. Most Cub packs do not. A
  23. NJ - You were probably talking to someone who was in GS as a youth. At one time there were only two levels, Brownies and Girl Scouts. Actually GS levels can be split by either age or grade or both. It depends on the troop and the girl. Dan - I think you should aim your pitch at the Cadette/Senior levels. Cadettes are ages 11, 12, 13, 14, OR grades 6, 7, 8, 9. Seniors are ages 14, 15, 16, 17, OR grades 9, 10, 11, 12. The younger Cadettes would not be eligble for Venturing yet but it does not hurt to let them know it is available! I would LOVE to get my 10th grade Seniors d
  24. It is never "WRONG" to have scout meetings! If it works for you and your den go for it. Two of the reasons that many Packs do not run regular den and pack meetings: It is often very hard to get everyone together because of vacations; Pack leadership needs a vacation too to prevent burnout. Remember that the boys can, and should be, working in their books with their parents during the summer. Also, activities run by the Pack are still considered Pack meetings. They might be very informal, but they are still meetings!
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