Troop,
Last night was a successful restart for our in-person meetings. I am really excited that all of you participated and melded so well. There are a few notes taken away from last night’s meeting that I will address here, so please bear with me on this long(ish) post.
Scouts in Patrols: If you have access to Scoutbook, you can log in and see what patrol you are in. If you do not, let me know so we can get you sorted.
Meeting Schedule:
For each month, we will generally follow this schedule of meetings (they may shift due to when we camp and stuff like that):
Week 1: Rank ADV
Week 2: MB work
Week 3: Campout prep
Week 4: Game night
Rank ADV: The Scout seeking rank, the process is simple:
1. Seek out a senior Scout and receive education on the skill/knowledge.
2. Practice skill/knowledge
3. Demonstrate skill/knowledge to PL (get initials in LEFT hand margin of handbook)
4. Demonstrate skill/knowledge to SPL/ASPL (get second set of initials in the LEFT margin)
5. Demonstrate skill/knowledge to and Adult Leader (ASM/SM) for final initials in the RIGHT hand margin, as a final check for the requirement.
**If you worked on rank advancement during the pause of in-person meetings since March, we will work with you and your parents. If your parents will sign off in the LEFT margin, we will work through getting all those requirements documented and you advanced as appropriate. I intend on having Scoutmaster Conferences with each of you to hash out what you have done, and what you need to work on to be successful.
MB Work:
The Troop conducts Merit Badges throughout the year (we shoot for starting one each month, depending on the desires of the Troop). The process basically works like this: the MB Counselor will provide a 20-30 minute class/presentation/instruction/etc. on the selected MB. Then the remaining requirements are either done in subsequent meetings, or on the Scout’s own as homework. The Scout will leave the meeting, do the research, and bring back the results to the MB Counselor for verification (to his/her satisfaction). Once completed, the counselor will sign off on the blue card and turn it in to the Troop.
If the Scout wants to do a MB that the troop is not sponsoring:
The Scout comes to the SM and requests “permission” to start a MB. The SM will provide a signed Blue Card with the MB annotated.
The Scout seeks out a MB Counselor and conducts meetings with them. Once the requirements have been fulfilled, the counselor will fill out the Blue Card and sign it as completed. The Scout will then turn in the completed Blue Card to the Scoutmaster for recording and awarding.
Camp Prep:
Just what it sounds like. the meeting will be focused on preparing for that weekend’s trip (camping/activity/etc.). This will include meal planning, location, attendance, etc.
**type of trip will be decided on by adult leader ability to support, weather, and time of year. Scouts make a list of desired types of trips during the annual planning meeting (usually in August-this year will be this month or next.
Game night:
The Troop decides on types of game nights to do during the planning meeting. During the Camp Prep meeting, the troop will decide what Game Night to do the following week (after the trip). This ranges from kickball at a park to stuff like Battlefield/Dartwars, Minigolf, Overdrive, etc.
If we have an extra (5th week) in the month, we will fill it with something Scout related, likely follow up conferences or somthing like that. We will cross that bridge when it happens.
If you have any questions, let me know. Also, if you made it this far in the post, thanks for reading!
Dan
228-806-9063
