Pack to Troop (Cub side)

[AnnLaurelB 10]

(I'll double post this)

 

From the Cub side: What's the usual protocol for a boy bridging to a Boy Scout Troop?

 

(Our church owns the charters to both Pack and Troop. Both very small)

 

 

[ScoutNut 147]

There is really no BSA standard, or usual protocol. Every Pack, and Troop does it differently based on their own traditions.

 

We try to have all of the 5th grade Webelos ready to cross to Boy Scouts in February-March. Even 5th grade Webelos new to Scouting in September.

 

We have a Crossover ceremony of some kind. We have done a number of different kinds, however the boys really liked the ones put on by the OA Ceremony Team. Unfortunately, all of those Scouts aged out and the Ceremony Team has not been reformed. The last 4-5 years the Boy Scouts from our Troop have put on the ceremony for the crossing Webelos.

 

The Pack gives the Webelos a compass, their new shoulder tabs, and their Boy Scout Handbook.

 

The Webelos cross a wooden bridge, and are met on the other side by their new Scoutmaster, and Senior Patrol Leader. If they are going to more than one Troop we group them by Troops to cross the bridge.

 

The Troops give their new Boy Scouts their neckerchief (some then, some at their first Court of Honor).

 

 

[Scoutfish 16]

I agree with ScoutNut that the OA ceremonies are the best!

 

The only downside...at least withour pack...is that the OA ceremonies are held inside.

 

This past crossover , the AO was pre obligated so we did it without them.

 

WE had our ceremony in oplace of a pack meeting .

 

WE did this for 2 reasons:

1) The pack meets from 6 to 7 and the troop meets from 7 to...

 

2)WE wanted all the younger scouts to see what was in store for them when they crossed over one day.

 

The ceremony we had was outside and a joint effort between the outgong ACM and the Boy Scout troop in our CO. One other troop that a scout was crossing into was there too and also had their input too.

 

WE lit a few fires, and the Troop led the flag raising ceremony. WE had a tall ( 16 wide by 7 tall) bridge. The CM ( me) removed the scout's Webelos necker, the scout announced one part of the scout law before crossing the bridge to their new troop, and on the other side, they recieved their troop neckers which a PL tied on and Boy Scout handbook.

 

The mother's pins and dad's tie tacks and certificates were handed out as well as carrer arrows were presented to each boy along with his AOL award if he earned it.

 

Afterward, we had hamburgers, chips and drinks.Then the newest boyscouts did whatever the boy scouts were doing for a meeting.

 

It worked out great, but would have been really cool if it could have been a combo of hwat we did , but with the AO leading it.

[Scoutfish 16]

Crossing over should really be a joint effort as the pack sending them off and the troop is recieveing them.

 

I don't think it should be one sided (pack or troop) as it is not so much an end or start, but a transition.

[Twocubdad 665]

Sit down with the Scoutmaster and WDL and ask, "what can we do to make sure that all the current Webelos are active, enthuasiastic Scouts a year from now?" The answer to that question is your protocol

 

A few things you can do:

 

-- Make sure your Webelos Is are going to Web resident camp this summer.

 

-- Make sure your WDL haven't gone ROAD on you (retired on active duty, aka asleep at the switch or burned out). Do they have an active, engaging plan for the W2 year? Do they have any den campouts planned?

 

-- Work with the SM to recruit den chiefs for the W2 den. Ideally, they should be their troop guide when they join the troop.

 

-- Schedule now at least one joint Webelos/Troop campout. We try to do ours in November, after fall sports but before it gets too cold. Ditto for a troop meeting open house.

 

-- Does the troop have a orientation plan for the parents? They need one. I always say the transition to the troop is harder on parents than the boys. (This ought to be offered by national).

 

I've posted this many times before, that I believe part of the reason for the loss of boys between Webelos and Boy Scouts is that we make such a big deal it being the "end of your Cub Scout career" and AOL "the pinnical of Cub Scouting". At the same time, boys are coming to the age where they have the ability to objectively judge their own abilities, likes and dislikes. "I'm really good at math, but suck as baseball." "I really like tiddly-winks but hate camping." So right about the time boys are beginning to pick and choose what the do and don't like, we light up this HUGE exit sign at the other end of the crossover bridge.

 

Personally I would like to see crossover take the entire year. Have the Webelos IIs dens start meeting the same time and place as the troop, but with separate programs. Maybe they do joint opening ceremonies. When they begin to plan for a Webelos/troop campout, the future troop guides attend the Webelos side of the meeting and teach the Webs what they need to bring and how to pack. By December, the Boy Scouts should be running the Webelos meetings totally. Through the months the Webs spend more and more time with the Boy Scouts. Before anyone notices they're just all part of the troop, and their old Cubmaster shows up with certificates and shakes everone's hand....

 

Of course, when I try to sell this to Webelos leaders and parents, they get all sanguine and weepy-eyed. "They've been together since they were Tigers now and we just want to have our last few months...." as their lip quivvers and their voice trails off.

 

It's the parents who want all the Blue & Gold/crossover hoopla. I don't doubt that in an existing pack that pulls all the stops for crossover, the boys have an expectation of a big "look at me" event and will be disappointed if they don't get their turn. Which is why -- with a clean slate -- you have such a great opportunity to get it right!

 

 

[AnnLaurelB 10]

Thanks for the good info! As I've mentioned, I'm new to Scouting 2 years ago, and an accidental Cubmaster this past year. I'm not so much worried about the ceremonial part; my question more extends to what squares need to be checked off, procedurally.

 

The Troop only has 4 or 5 guys, and none of them were interested in being Den Chief this past year. One of my Web2's bridging next month has already said he wants to come back and be a DC for us, so maybe the cycle can begin with him. They're pretty... casual and laid back over there.

 

I really like the idea of the Web2's Den meeting being juxtaposed to the Scouts; I'll talk to the Scoutmaster about that idea for next year. I mentioned to him just this morning that I would like him and his guys to interact with my 2 Web2's as much as possible over this next month before the ceremony.

 

(He's not even sure WHAT paperwork needs to happen, so I'm hitting up the SE this week for instructions). One boy absolutely wants to go camp, so I need to get him all squared away for that.

 

 

[Twocubdad 665]

The only paperwork you need is a Boy Scout youth application. Treat their registration as a transfer and be sure to include the boy's BSA ID numbers so their Scoutnet records will follow them. The transfer fee is only $1.00 and covers them through the next recharter.

 

Of course the troop may have additional paperwork and dues, but that's on their side of the bridge. (so is the application, for that matter. The pack really has nothing to do with it.)

 

FYI, conventional wisdom is for the Webs to join the troop sometime in the February-March time frame. The main purpose being that the Webs get a chance to meet the boys and leaders in the troop and get a couple of campouts under their belts before taking off for summer camp for a week. It's not a policy and there are a lot of troops who don't do so, but that something to consider for the coming class of scouts.

[Hawkrod 10]

I have both sides of this coin in my area of responsibility and can offer that we believe it is the Troop responsibility to provide the bridging program. In our area each Troop has their own way of doing things, some do not do anything but shake hands and welcome boys, others build pioneered bridges and anything in between. I can say that the bridging ceremony can reflect a Troops "program". The more involved the ceremony, usually the more involved the program. I doubt that right now, our unit can keep up with the guys building a pioneered bridge! Our Troop uses a bridge that I built that we also use for Cub crossover every June. We have a ceremony and bring the kids over to the Troop. We usually have the OA do an AOL ceremony and then soon after bridge the boys. This year we had a ceremony that flows from the OA ceremony theme that worked very well and we will probably continue using until something better comes along. We really tried to do it differently this year and have the boys earn AOL sooner and bridge seperately but it just didn't work out and we were right back to what we have been doing. I really do believe it is a Troop program to bring boys in but it is just an opinion so take it for it fair market value.

[kari_cardi 10]

From the administrative side, we give membership ID numbers and parental email addresses to the troop for the transitioning scouts. The troop takes care of the rest. Their new apps should have the email addresses but we find that it is useful for the new parents to start receiving emails before their scouts crossover, so they are up to speed on upcoming events. Crossover is the troop's responsibility, and we did our AOL ceremony several weeks prior with the pack.

[AnnLaurelB 10]

AH-HAH! If I can convince the Scoutmaster that HE needs to do a little song-and-dance, I'll delegate that to him and his Scouts.

 

I have enough to do! :0)