Author: Jeffrey Heck
Council Asking about Going Co-ed
Council has called a meeting of District representatives for next week. The topic will be about “Making Scouting Accessible to Families.”
As I noted in a previous post, this really is a questions of whether we should go co-ed throughout our programs.
If you have an opinion on the subject that you would like me to share, please me your thoughts by Sunday, August 13, 2017. I will make sure to include these in the conversation with council officers.
REMINDER: Roundtable Thursday
Just a quick reminder that Roundtable will be Thursday, August 10, 2017 at Luke’s Lodge, the outbuilding on the northeast corner of campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 6th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Cub Scouts: Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter will be leading the Cub Scout breakout. He will be giving a prototype Den Meeting. This is designed for Den Leaders to see a Den Meeting being run. This is especially valuable for new Den Leaders; 
confused, veteran Den Leaders; and prospective, future Den Leaders (aka “parents you would like eto recruit as Den Leaders”). We will have a short discussion of how Lion Den Meetings (i.e., kindergartners) are different than Tiger (1st grade) through Webelos (4-5th grade), too. We will look at existing resources and strategizing how to use these resources and parent assistance.
Side note: To get your Den Leaders to the meeting, the most important step is to invite them to come with you. One of the biggest reasons Den Leaders do not attend is they don’t know about Roundtable. The second biggest reason is that they think Roundtable is meant for Cubmasters and Pack Committee Chairs. To put it gently, this is wrong. Roundtables are most valuable for Den Leaders. They have the most face-to-face contact with Cub Scouts of any scouter. An invitation helps resolve these problems. Cubmasters, pick up the phone and call each Den Leader. Ask them to come. Then follow up with a blast email.
The third biggest reason your Den Leaders don’t attend is child care. Think about joining forces to take care of childcare.
Boy Scouts: Jeff Heck will be leading the Boy Scout Roundtable. (We are still looking for a Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner.) The Boy Scout Roundtable will be focused on Fall Recruitment Planning. Please invite your Troop Membership Chairs to attend. This topic will apply equally well to our Venturing Crews, too.
Cub Scout Back to School Planning
Thank you to all of our Cub Scout Packs for sending representatives to our Membership Rally on July 22nd. We had only two units that could not send representatives that day. They had their material picked up within two business days!
That is fanastic. Thank you for being so dedicated to your boys and the growth of their units.
Now the work begins.
Remember, families are easiest to recruit when they know what they are being asked to do. That means that you need a Pack Annual Calendar, a cost of the program per scout for the year, clear publications stating the Pack dues and their due dates. I highly recommend setting tentative den meeting times. Make it clear that the dens can change times.
The council is working to recruit Latino boys. If you feel that your unit would be well served by having a Spanish speaking interpreter at Back to School Night, please email Jeff and let him know the dates you need the interpreter. We cannot guarantee all requests can be fulfilled, especially all on the same night. Even so, if we don’t have a request for services, we can’t serve.
If you have other questions, please let us know as early as you can, so that we can help solve problems.
Invitation to Join Crew 56 (and other crews)
Tonight (Wednesday, August 2nd) at 7:00 pm, Crew 56 is holding its organizaitonal and planning meeting. The meeting will be at Luke’s Lodge, on the northeast corner of campus of St Luke’s UMC, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Crew 56 is the only Venturing Crew in North Star District within several miles of Meridian Street or our district’s side of Washington Township.
The crew will be electing its inaugural officers, planning the annual calendar, and discussing long-term high adventure options. Some of the high adventure items under discussion include the Boundary Waters canoeing, Sea Base sailing and scuba diving, World Jamboree in West Virginia in 2019, trips to Konderstag, Switzerland’s International Scout Centre, hikes on the Appalachian Trail or the El Camino (the pilgrimage route to San Juan Compestello in northeastern Spain), and many others.
Venturing Crew 56 is a co-ed unit for boys and girls aged 14 to 20. (Former girl scouts can wear their Gold Award on their Venturing uniform.)
Boy Scouts can be dual registered with a troop. They can continue their pursuit of Eagle Scout while in a crew, so long as their primary BSA registration remains in their home troop (meaning the unit that pays his BSA dues). The Crew welcomes scouts, friends, sisters, etc., from nearby troops such as Troops 18, 35, 56, 174, 269, 343, and 514.
Come join Crew 56 tonight.
If you live too far away from Crew 56 or your troop has a sister crew, please send Jeff an email about recruitment nights and other chances for new members to join you. We would love to grow our existing crews. We need information to be better serve those crews. We will help you publicize your efforts, too!
REMINDER: August District Meetings
We are back to work in August.
District Committee will meet Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 7:00 pm on the fourth floor of Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
District Commissioner and Unit Commissioners meet on Thursday, too, at 6:00 pm.
District Roundtable will be a Luke’s Lodge on the northeast corner of campus of St Luke’s UMC, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260. PLEASE BRING A DEN LEADER who has never come before. We are focusing on serving our dens this eyar. More information on topics to follow in the next several days. Watch this page for details.
Comments on President’s Speech
NOTE: This is a long article. I apologize for its length. I hope it serves to give leaders in need of resources to respond to parental concerns what support they seek. This cannot be addressed flippantly or dismissively. The concerns need to be addressed with care, campassion, and education. The media has not served us well on any of those fronts.
As always comments are welcome when in the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law.
As the world now knows, on Monday, July 24, 2017, President Donald Trump spoke to the Boy Scout National Jamboree. The presentation received a raucous response from those present and howls of derision and anger from the news media. Whatever your political beliefs, they are probably on the spectrum between these two poles.
As part of my summer duties as North Star District Commissioner, I strive to visit each unit at summer camp, especially the Packs attending Camp Belzer and the Troops attending Camp Ransburg. Troops that camp outside of council or Packs that attend Camp Kikthaweneund are beyond my ranging.
Since most of our units camped before the President’s speech, I did not hear opinions from those units. From the handful that I met with after The Speech, I heard a wide range of opinions. What was most interesting was that those I spoke with closer to The Speech were more favorable and less critical. As time passed, I heard fewer favorable comments and more critical comments. Read the rest of this entry »
Reminder: Saturday recruitment rally
Do’t forget the Cub Scout Recruitment Rally this Saturday from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Luke’s Lodge. For more details, click here.
Cubs can canoe!
New aquatics rules now in effect – Bobwhite Blather:
In April of this year, however, the rules for Cub Scout aquatics changed to allow a range of activities permitted at the unit level. And while most water activities – the more rigorous and risky ones – are still restricted to Boy Scouts and older, Cub Scouts of all ages can now go canoeing, rowboating and paddle boating – the very things they’ve been doing with their families all along. (And yes, I know some of you have been boating as a purportedly unaffiliated “family” activity to get around the BSA’s safety rules.)
There’s always a catch, though, but it’s not a big deal and isn’t anything you wouldn’t expect. While we no longer have tour permits or tour plans, the requirements for adult leaders to be appropriately trained are still in force. There are two primary unit volunteer training courses for aquatics, and they’re both available online: Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat.
At least two adults are required to supervise any swimming activity – at backyard, public and hotel pools, beaches, lakes, rivers and oceans, whether or not a lifeguard is present. Safe Swim Defense training, completed within the last two years, is required of at least one adult supervising swimming activities, or even non-swimming activities where the water is over knee-deep or there is a risk of submersion. Common sense, though, dictates that as many adults as possible should complete Safe Swim Defense training – and it should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that they complete Youth Protection Training as well. All boating activities likewise must be supervised by at least two adults, one (and preferably all) with current Safety Afloat training.
Now that you’re trained, what can Cub Scouts actually do on the water? Here’s a summary of allowable activities for Cub Scout packs:
Learn to Swim programs for all ages.
Recreational swimming for all ages, divided by ability groups, with only those who are able to swim (who have passed the BSA 100-yard swim test) allowed in deep water.
Snorkeling in confined areas for all ages, divided by ability groups. Only swimmers are allowed in deep water.
Riding in large boats including commercial marine transport such as excursion boats and ferries, as well as larger (capacity of four or more passengers) privately-owned craft on calm waters where all operation is done by adults.
Stable, fixed-seat rowboats and paddle boats on calm, flat water. If a non-swimmer or beginning swimmer is on board, he must be buddied with a swimmer in the same boat.
Canoes on calm, flat water. A non-swimmer or beginning swimmer must be buddied with an adult swimmer in the same boat.
Single-person kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on calm, flat water for swimmers only (non-swimmers or beginning swimmers are not allowed to kayak or SUP).
Tubing on gently-flowing water for Swimmers only.
Don’t forget about the rule requiring that Coast Guard-approved life jackets are to be worn by persons when engaged in boating activities (rowing, canoeing, kayaking and paddleboarding) and in some cases aboard larger vessels as well.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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