Author: Jeffrey Heck
OA Ordeal participation UPDATED
UPDATE 4/19/17: For newer information see article posted April 18, 2017. with an interview of the Jaccos Towne Lodge Chief James Colter.
UPDATED 4/26/17: Lodge Chief James Colter emailed today to emphasize that going out of council is only an option if specific, extenuating circumstances cause the need to go out-of-council. While we have tried to emphasize this point, we never used the phrase “extenuating circumstances.” If you do seek to go out of council, know that your letter requesting to go out-of-council must describe the nature of this extenuating circumstance. Inadequate explanation of the extenuating circumstance or an inadequate basis are both good cause for the request to be denied.
As the Order of the Arrow tap-out ceremony is coming up at Spring Camporee, Scoutmasters are looking ahead to when and where the Ordeal ceremonies will be.
This year the Council’s Lodge has chosen to have all districts’ OA chapters hold their Ordeals on the same weekend: May 19-21, 2017. (Our LOA chapter is with Central Section at Camp Krietenstein.) For families with scheduling conflicts, this presents a problem.
Remember ordeal candidates must complete their Ordeal within 12 months of being tapped-out for candidacy. Otherwise the offer of membership expires. The scout then has to be re-elected to candidacy.
There is traditionally a Lodge Ordeal in the fall. On the current calendar it shows at September 15-17, 2017. UPDATE: 4/16/2017: Chapter Advisor Mark Pishon is being told from the Lodge that no Lodge Ordeal will be held, despite the calendar. Both Jaccos Towne Lodge Chief James Colter and Council Director of Programs Lee Murdoch confirm that there will be a Fall Lodge Ordeal as posted on theLodge website. More details in my upcoming interview with James this week.
Regardless whether there is a Lodge Ordeal, some families will still have scheduling conflicts. Read the rest of this entry »
Training at Camporee
We will be offering two trainings at Spring Camporee.
In the last seven days, Scoutmaster Specific has been added online at my.scouting.org, so no face-to-face session will be offered for this.
1. IOLS and OWLS in one class
Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills (IOLS) concurrent with Outdoor Webelos Leadership Skills (OWLS) will be offered Friday and Saturday. Sign up is available here. IOLS is offered only face-to-face and is required for any Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster to recharter in that position in the Fall of 2017. Please note that the sign up looks like there are two separate classes, but these are, in fact, two sessions of the same class. Attendees must participate from Friday evening and all-day Saturday.
The same is true for OWLS of any Webelos Den Leader rechartering in the fall. Since Webelos now requires a heavier dose of patrol method training, this training is crucial to increase the quality of a Webelos Den experience.
Instructors will be Jeff Heck, District Commissioner; John Wiebke, District Chair; hopefully one scouter-extraordinaire to-be-named later; and Con Sullivan, District Executive. Other faculty are invited to teach modules, too. Contact Jeff Heck if you wish to teach module. The more, the merrier.
Ideal adult candidates for this training on future Scoutmasters, ASM’s, Webelos Den Leaders, and persons holding those positions now and wishing to recharter for 2018 in the same position. This session is useful for Junior Assistant Scoutmasters. Eagle Scouts since 2002 are automatically credited with completing this class because they lived the modern curriculum. Older Eagle Scouts are not grandfathered because of the significant advancement curriculum change in 2002.
2. CPR/AED for Adults and Children
We will also offer CPR/AED training courtesy of Kevin Neese from Troop 269. Sign up is available here for the morning or afternoon session. Please note that the afternoon session will not be held without a minimum of three participants or a full morning class. This is required for at least one person to have on some scout outings under the Guide to Safe Scouting.
The curriculum will address resuscitating adults and children (not infants).
The class is open to adults and youth. To pass, all participants must demonstrate the ability to learn and retain the information and perform the physically demanding chest compressions. Sometimes sustaining adequate chest compressions are difficult for smaller youth because of the force production required.
IMPORTANT NOTE to Scoutmasters
Troops that do send participants to training still need to provide adequate adult or youth leaders to help staff the camporee. If your adults are participating in training, make sure you bring extra adults.
Staffing the camporee in order to serve our scouts will take priority over class participation.
How are we doing? Read your Finish Line Report
As BSA puts more and more effort into Journey to Excellence as a method for units to assess how they are doing, new tools are cropping up.
If you log into your my.scouting.org account, pull down the menu. Some leaders should be able to see the “JTE Reports.”
This menu option allows you to pull up a report that shows what statistical data that council has received about your unit. The report has several line items numbered as “#1” or “#4.” These numbers indicate a measurement line-item on the JTE system. These lines are very important.
If your unit has reported their advancement properly to council, a statistic showing the percentage of scouts advancing this year will appear. If you have reported your service hours, the total reported to date for the year will appear.
If any of the lines are blank for your unit, where you think your unit has done work, you may want to make sure that you have a person designated to follow up on the missing data.
Service hours are the biggest problem. Units forget to enter the data regularly. If you have questions, look at the National website. Remember we are working for 1 billion service hours in scouting by 2020.
These reports are worth printing out at the end of each quarter, so April 1, 2017 is a good time to take a look at it. Take it to your unit committee to review with other reports like the treasurer’s report. This will make year end JTE reporting simple, since you will have fixed problems each quarter.
Swim Test Monday
Don’t forget that Monday, April 17 is the swim test at Pike High School’s Aquatics Center.
See this article for more details
and Update on North Star Swim Test.
What makes a healthy scout unit? Roundtable has the answers
Programming is the key to a successful scout unit. April is the time when programming becomes overwhelming in scouting, too. Summer camp is coming up. Units wrap up their winter advancement efforts. Cub Scouts prepare to advance to the next year’s program on June 1st. Families are in town before they disappear over summer vacation.
When school starts back up, scout units need to be ready with their next program calendar for the recruitment season that will begin.
As a result of this, scouting oriented websites and Roundtables all turn to planning better programming.
First, Thursday’s Roundtable will be on Dreaming Big on Programming, at St Luke’s UMC, Luke’s Lodge. We will talk about how to make the plan more exciting for scouts. More excitement drives better recruitment. More excitement drives more adult participation. We will have pizza beginning at 6:45 p.m. We will start at 7:00 p.m. We will welcome our new Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter. Bill will lead the Cub Scout breakout after the general session.
Second, National Council’s ScoutCast did a short piece on planning and budgeting this month. It is worth a listen.
Third, National Council’s CubCast did a short piece on retention of scouts and the role that good programming plays in retaining scouts. Listen it, too, not just if you are a Den Leader.
The podcasts are great for stimulating new thoughts, but they don’t offer you feedback. Attend roundtable to hear from veteran scouters who are looking to help you improve. They have the experience to help stimulate your thoughts and help you build toward success.
Come see us Thursday!
Upcoming MBU . . . at a real university
There is a true Merit Badge University coming up. This term used to refer to opportunities to work on merit badges with university professors and researchers in the field.
Over the years, it has devolved into a generic term of any large gathering of merit badge classes.
Wabash University is going back to the original concept . . . some of our district’s former scouts, according to rumor, helping organize it.
Here is more information from Jessica Hofman, Sugar Creek’s District Executive via Con Sullivan:
Want to learn about game design from a theater professor and video game reviewer? Or help with a research study on turtle behavior as you learn the material for the Reptiles and Amphibians merit badge? Or learn about astronomy from professors who have taught courses on Mayan archeoastronomy? Or consider how buildings are designed from a Roman Architecture and Archeology expert?
These are just a few of the offerings at the Merit Badge College at Wabash on May 6th! All of the badges (except First Aid) will be taught by college professors who are experts in the subject. The cost is $20, and includes a T shirt and lunch. There will be fun lunchtime activities and sessions for parents to learn about scouting and college opportunities. You can register at https://www.scoutingevent.com/160-WabashMBC Registration closes on April 15th, and classes will fill, so register early!
Wabash’s faculty already has a strong relationship with council. One of their economics professors is Sugar Creek’s district commissioner.
This is a great opportunity for older scouts to go visit the beautiful campus in Crawfordsville and work with Wabash’s impressive faculty . . . with no grade pressure!
Here is more information:
Sugar Creek District2017 Wabash Merit Badge CollegeJoin us for a great learning opportunity and chance to work on your merit badges at an awesome venue! Join us at Wabash College for the first annual Wabash Merit Badge College. Reserve your spot now!
- The college will be at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana on Saturday, May 6th.
- There will be two sessions (one from 9:30 to Noon and another from 1:30 to 4:00) with lunchtime activities in between.
- Registration Cost is $20.00 for Scouts which includes courses, lunch, and a event T-shirt
All Day Merit Badges (requires both morning and afternoon sessions):
- Robotics
- Space Exploration
- Reptile and Amphibian Study
- Game Design
- Animation
- First Aid
Half Day Merit Badges (offered in one or both sessions, but does not require both sessions to complete):
- Nuclear Science (afternoon, might open morning if there is enough demand)
- Architecture (morning or afternoon)
- Medicine (morning or afternoon)
- Astronomy (morning)
- Citizenship in the World (afternoon)
- Family Life (morning)
Lunch Break Activities:
- Chemistry Merit Badge
- Ultimate Frisbee on the Mall
- Activities for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class Ranks (tree and plant identification, knot tying, flag etiquette, map and compass/GPS navigation course around campus)
Take a look!
REMINDER: district meetings in next 2 weeks
NOTE: one date ROOM CHANGE!!!!
Tomorrow Thursday, April 6, 2017 will have two meetings at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, GREAT ROOM, 2nd FLOOR, Indianapolis, IN 46260. This is a change due to the church’s conflicting events.
- District Committee at 7:00 pm.
- District Commissioners at 6:00 pm.
Roundtable. Then next week we will introduce our newest addition to the Commissioner Staff at Roundtable, our new Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter. Bill is the immediate past Cubmaster of Pack 830 and its current Chartered Organization Representative.
Our Roundtable title is inspired by Rocky & Bullwinkle:
“Programming: How do we make Big Dreams Real,” or “Planning for Unit Growth and Success.”
We will be focusing on how to make your unit more successful. We will have a short presentation and — with your help — lots of good discussions. We are planning for separate discussions of troops/crews and packs.
Please invite to participate your
- committee members,
- unit leaders (e.g., Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, or Crew Advisor),
- Crew Presidents, and
- SPLs (might be worth inviting, too).
If your unit has a history of success, we need you to help mentor other units at the meeting, so please come support our newer leaders.
All attending units will receive a calendar of upcoming events to assist your unit’s planning.
Quote Heard at a Blue & Gold
“A scout is … thrifty, brave, clean and reverent … AND HUNGRY!”
Do you have others? Share in comments or email to us.
Ember Meeting Postponed due to Spring Break
From Ember Advisor Greg Hoyes:
Brothers
Do to many people being on Spring Break, April’s Ember meeting will be on April 9th, instead of April 2nd. We know that still not miss everyone on Spring Break, but hopefully some people will still be able to attend on the new meeting date.
Hope to you everyone a week from Sunday.
Yours in the FireGreg Hoyes XXX
North Star Ember Adviser
New District Boundaries Official
The executive board approved new district boundaries last night. Welcome to our 4 new units! Troop 72 and Pack 72 at Tabernacle Presbyterian and Pack 747 and Troop 180 at St Richard’s School.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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