Author: Jeffrey Heck
District Email Subscription List Updated
Council has finalized the units’ rosters after the 2017 Recharter closing on February 28, 2017. We have added all registered adults in the District to the mailing list this morning.
As you know, the email is a compilation of articles posted on the District Website over the previous seven days.
If one of your leaders complains that they have previously Unsubscribed from this list but are being re-added without their permission, there is likely a simple explanation.
The system we use is Mail Chimp. It automatically reviews new email subscriptions. It looks for previous email addresses that have unsubscribed. These emails are NOT re-subscribed without an affirmative subscription from the recipient.
If a leader has an alternate email or has given the BSA a different email address, since their last unsubscribe, the volunteer is being added based on the new email address and NOT their name. Ask them to unsubscribe again for the new email address. Every email blast has an UNSUBSCRIBE at the bottom of the email. Have the leader scroll to the bottom of the offending email and click on that link.
If you have a leader who wishes to be included or has joined after recharter, please have them subscribe at this link. This same subscription link is also at the top of the district website under “About.”
If you have a leader who wishes to change their email address on the mail list, the leader can click on “Update Subscription Preferences” at the bottom of the email.
As always, please email ideas and timely topics for articles on the website. Give us a reported success of your unit. Include links to your unit website. Remember in the age of Google and social media, one of the ways to drive traffic to your website or move higher on Google’s list is to have links from other websites. Your submitted articles to us with links back to your website will help your general public traffic to your website.
Here’s to another great year with the Council-Leading North Star District! (Highest scoring JTE District in CAC: 2800 out of 3000 points.)
District Pinewood Derby Saturday!
Just a quick reminder that the District Pinewood Derby is this Saturday at the American Legion Post.
Reservations are NOT required but are encouraged. See calendar for more information on location and time.
Duty to God and Religious Emblems
The BSA is making a concerted effort to re-inforce “A Scout is . . . reverent” (Scout Law.) and “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God . . . .” (Scout Oath.) “A Scout is revent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.” Boy Scout Handbook, 13th ed., pg. 16 (BSA 2016).
Part of this commitment is to make Duty to God a more prominent part of rank advancement. For example, boy scouts have new Duty to God requirements from the January 1, 2016 revisions (required for all scouts’ advancement in 2017 since the 12-month grandfathering has expired). Each scout will have to explain how he has lived his Duty to God. For example, Tenderfoot Requirement No. 9 says, “Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived four different points of the Scout Law in your everyday life.” (Emphasis added.)
One of the biggest problems is defining the Duty to God. We are an ecumencial program. In my home troop, we have members of Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Hindu houses of worship. We have had others in the past, too. Doing your Duty to God means something different for each faith.
Luckily, there is a sraightforward solution to this problem: the religious emblem program, sponsored by P.R.A.Y. This organization works with the BSA, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Camp Fire, and other youth community service organizations and non-affiliated youth to provide published, age-appropriate, denomination specific curricula. All faiths (other than the Church of Steve formerly known as the Church of the Holy George) participate. Each faith has a committee that has drafted and approved several curricula for youth to learn about their family’s faith. Each curriculum is focused on the level of detail appropriate to the child’s age.
Many of the protestant and independent churches have coordinated their curricula to have one set for all denominations.
This can be followed on an individual or a small group basis. PRAY has put together an introductory flyer that can be sent to parents introducing the program. The unit can offer a parent orientation, using their PowerPoint presentation, so that you have a live presentation. It includes a script. There are summary and detailed handouts. There are FAQ’s. And so much more.
Troop 56 and the new Crew 56 is beginning their new religious emblem program in the next few weeks. If your unit is interested in joining us, please contact Jeff Heck. We would delight in the opportunities to work together within faiths and inter-faith opportunities, too.
We are considering visiting different houses of worship as an optional supplement to the curriculum. It is hard to “respect the beliefs of others,” as suggested in the Scout Handbook, if you don’t understand those beliefs.
Talk to your unit committee about your religious emblem program. Talk to your chartered organization about how its pastoral staff or laymen can contribute. Watch the miracles occur.
Training at Spring Camporee
The District Committee is planning on offering adult training at Spring Camporee.
Tentative classes include Troop Committee Challenge, Scoutmaster Specific Training, Merit Badge Counselor Orientation, Introduction to Religious Emblem Curriculum, and Youth Protection Training.
If we can find an instructor, we are also considering CPR/AED training.
Please contact Jeff Heck with classes that you would be most interested in seeing offered.
Also let Jeff know if you are willing to serve as faculty, too.
Del-Mi Training Day Sat., Mar. 18
Hat tip: District Chair John Wiebke.
We have received the following email courtesy of Del-Mi District, serving Hamilton and Tipton Counties (some editing to fit with our website’s format):
Leader Training next Saturday, March 18
Camp Belzer, 6102 Boy Scout Road, Indianapolis, IN 46226
A trained leader is knowledgeable and more confident in the role being performed. Trained leaders exhibit a knowledge and confidence that is picked up by people around them. Trained leaders impact the quality of programs, leader tenure, youth tenure, safety, and a whole lot more. A trained leader is better prepared to make the Scouting program all it can be!
Please register online before next Thursday, March 16, at 11:59 p.m. as food and other consumable materials must be obtained prior to the training. See below for available training opportunities next weekend.Cub Leader Training (8 a.m.-12 p.m.) required training for Cubmasters, Den Leaders, Pack Committee Members and assistants.
Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) (1 – 5 p.m.) Every Cub Scout camping trip requires a BALOO trained adult.
Troop Committee Challenge Training (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.) required training for Troop Committee Members.
Scoutmaster Specific Training (8 a.m. – 4 p.m.) required training for Scoutmasters and assistants
Venturing Advisor Training (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.) required training for Crew Advisors and assistants.
Venturing Crew Committee Training (1 – 5 p.m.) required training for Crew Committee Members.
April Trainings in Del-Mi
Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills training is scheduled for Saturday, April 22. This required course prepares Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters to teach young boys the outdoor skills practiced by Boy Scouts.
Effective January 1, 2016: Del-Mi District requires all unit leaders (Cubmasters, Scoutmasters, Team Coaches, Crew Advisors) and committee chairs who were registered in their role as of January 1 be fully trained for their position of responsibility by December 31. Units with leaders who fail to meet this requirement will not be renewed until the leader completes the training or is replaced in consultation with the chartered organization.
Hoosier Trails Offers IOLS and BALOO Training
Hoosier Trails Council (our neighbor to the south and council surrounding Ransburg) is offering Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills and Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation Trainings (just a few minutes past Ransburg and just short of the Deem Wilderness fire tower).
These both take place Saturday, May 13, 2017.
IOLS is required to be a “Trained” Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster. It must be taken in person. It is required to recharter with your unit for next fall as a scoutmaster or ASM.
If you have a new scoutmaster or ASM starting in August, send them to this trainings so that they are prepared to hit the ground running.
REMINDER: No March Roundtable – Annual Recognition Dinner
Don’t forget that we will not hold a March Roundtable. Instead we will be attending the Annual District Recognition at Palomino Club in Zionsville.
Spring Camporee Meeting Sunday
Just a quick reminder to our Scout Troops that the Camporee planning meeting will be this Sunday, March 5, 2017 beginning at 6:00 pm at St. Luke’s Luke’s Lodge outbuilding at 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
From Mark Pishon, Camporee Chair:
Purpose: We will have a planning meeting this Sunday, March 5, 2017 for the Spring Camporee from 6-7:30 pm.Location of Planning Session: Lodge Building in back, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church,100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260Camporee Theme is “Shoot the Moon“.Date of Camporee: April 21 – 23, 2017Location of Camporee: Camp RansburgNorth Star has reserved all rifle, shotgun, and archery ranges for shooting sports.We have reserved two ridges of campsites and the dinning hall.Please have a troop representative at the meeting.
Cub Scout Camping: When do we schedule it?
When to schedule summer camp?
Simply put . . . now. Reservations are open now.
Outdoor activities are absolutely crucial to building a scout’s passion for scouting and for retaining the family.
Few families stay with scouting without a determined and repeated contact with camping and outdoor activities.
For a Cub Scout Pack leader, recruiting families to participate in Camp Belzer Cub Scout Day Camp or Camp Kikthawenund Webelos Overnight Adventure Camp means a quick measure of the likelihood of the boy’s participation in scouting 24 months later. A scout may miss the following summer camp and still remain with the pack. But he is less likely to attend the following year and then is more likely to drop out.
For Cubs who have done Camp Belzer, a great option is to try Adventure Camp. It is open for Wolf, Bear, and Webelos. It takes fewer days but has more overnights. This is much more amenable to a busy family’s schedule.
Many packs offer both camps. It takes a few more adults, but has great success.
Busy families plan months ahead. To persuade them to do summer camp, you need to make the sales pitch now. Lock the time in.
Send emails. Put it on your Facebook feed. Talk about it at a meeting. Bring the District’s Camping Committee members in to promote camping. Then, and most importantly, make a phone tree to individually call families and ask them to attend. If you do not make the ask to each family, their participation will be less likely.
If you have families who have tough questions, ask the District Camping Committee for advice or ask them to call the family. Contact Camping Chair Rick Aker for more information. (If that email does not work, let me know.)
We are here to help your Cub Scout Pack have a wonderful year in retention.
History of North Star Scouting
At the last District Committee Meeting, the question of our district’s history, particularly its founding and name.
I did some quick research, finding all Indianapolis Council districts were announced in the Indianapolis Star in January 1919. North Star was originally designated as District No. 4. Within 10 months, though, it was already called North Star.
Last night, District Advancement Chair long-time Troop 358 scouted Mark Pishon sent me a historic book on Zionsville’s former Camp Wilson, circa 1945. The author does an incredible job of giving a snapshot of all of Central Indiana Scouting. It includes the list of all units and their Chartered Organizations.
In this same document, you can see that the Central Indiana Council had moved to designating districts by directional names: North, East, Central, etc.
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- First appearance of Willie North in North District’s 1956 Winter Camporee patch.
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- Early Willie North patch (circa 1963)
In his history of North Star District and North Star Willie, the late “Uncle Mikey” Stalcup wrote how the name of the district returned to “North Star” several times. This history focuses on the logo, but there are some interesting bits about other reorganizations of the district from 1963 to 2003.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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