Author: Jeffrey Heck
More Tiger Cub Recruitment Chances
This year’s Tiger Cub class is way down in Pike and Washington Townships. (We are steady so far in Zionsville.)
Our new Field Services Director Nate Young has been encouraging the professional staff to recommend “Water Pod Parties.”
This idea consists of having enrolled Tiger Cubs inviting their best friends, who have not joined Cub Scouts yet, to a water rocket launch. The launch would be held as part of a Gathering Time event at the next Tiger Cub Den meeting. The friends would be asked to come for the rocket launch, then stay for the Tiger Cub Den meeting as guests.
The idea is to get the boys engaged in Cub Scouting before making the formal “Ask” to join. Kick the tires before buying.
If you are interested, please contact Con Sullivan, our District Executive, for more information.
NOTE: This can work for other dens, too, such as Lions, but our primary focus is on Tigers right now.
September 2016 Roundtable Resources
The following items and webpages are scheduled to be discussed at the September 2016 Roundtable.
- Budget and planning resources (spreadsheets on pages):
- Packs: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/PackCommitteeResources.aspx.
- Troops: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Planning.aspx
REMINDER: September Roundtable
Reminder that September Roundtable will be at Luke’s Lodge on the campus of St Lukes United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260. The meeting begins at 6:30 pm tomorrow Thursday, September 8, 2016.
The topic will be “Popcorn and Financial Management.”
Every unit should make sure to have a member of the unit committee present.
OA/Firecrafter Cook Out at Marrott Park
Arrowmen
Cub Scout Training Continues
This week North Star is focused on Cub Scout Leader Training.
Last night we held a class for Den Leader Training.
Tonight, Wednesday, we will hold another Den Leader Training at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, Room 401, Indianapolis, IN 46260. 7:00 pm. We will also hold a Cubmaster Specific and Pack Traininer/Committee Challenge (Pack Trainers are members of the committee, so their training is now committee training) will be held in an adjacent room.
Tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, we will hold the same trainings at 7:00 pm but at the Scout Center.
You can RSVP on the District Website for training. If you do not RSVP, show up anyway! (RSVPs just help us have peace of mind that we have the right number of chairs.)
YPT Report
As of this morning, North Star District has 53 scouters whose YPT is expired or never taken. We have 187 scouters whose YPT expires before the end of November.
We are not making very good progress in making sure this is done before October 1, 2016.
Please call your Commissioner and find out how to present a YPT training at your meeting.
Remember your Merit Badge Counselors need to have YPT, too, so make sure you know their status, too.
Online Applications and Invites
With the new BSA online recruiting system, newly interested families have a way to apply online to join not just Scouts but your specific unit.
We have a problem right now. Several units have had a bunch of people express interest in joining units. The problem is that no adult in some units have taken ownership of the online responsibilities.
We have families that have applied to scouts and not received timely response back.
Please make sure that your pack, troop, or crew has discussed the online application system at your unit committee meeting and clearly delegated the person responsible for managing the process. Ideally it is a member of the unit Key 3 (i.e., Chartered Organization Representative, chair, or Cubmaster/Scoutmaster/Advisor).
Every day BSA sends reports about languishing applications are sent to the District Commissioner and his staff, the District Executive, and several others. We are hoping to have no North Star units on those emails.
Importance of Den Chiefs
Den Chiefs are a unique role in scouting. They are Boy Scouts who go back to serve a Cub Scout Den. A Den Chief has his feet in both the Boy Scout world and the Cub Scout world.
The Den Chief learns leadership and responsibility. The Den learns about scouting from a scout. The Den Leader gets “professional” help. Maybe it would be better to call it “experienced” help.
The role of a Den Chief is hard. The Den Chief is not often given as much responsibility has he believes he can handle. Yet, leading Cub Scouts is harder than leading Boy Scouts. Leading a Den requires teaching many skills that the Den Chief thinks everybody already knows.
Having a Den Chief in a Den for the first time can be confusing for a new adult Den Leader, too. The Den Leader may just be figuring out the role. Then to be responsible for figuring out how to use a Den Chief can make it harder.
Advice for SPLs
Many scoutmasters do not enjoy the start of a new Senior Patrol Leader’s term of office. The new youth leader has a lot to learn. The scoutmaster has to spend time teaching him the ropes, which may feel annoying, since the last SPL had gotten it all figured out. He had not required so much of the scoutmaster’s time as the new guy does.
Sometimes it is is useful to find an ally in getting the new SPL.
Clarke Greene recently posted a podcast about advice to a new SPL.
Take a look at the support materials and additional resources he points out.
Cub Scout Family Camping
Fall is great for camping! Family camping is crucial for happy Cub Scouts.
Your pack should have a campout on the schedule.
Council has several different Family Campouts where you can participate and reduce the amount of planning you need to do.
Some packs would prefer to camp on their own. If you do this, make sure that one of your adults has BALOO training.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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