Cub Scouts
Den Chief Online Training
Have you had your Boy Scouts take their Den Chief Training? In-person is always best.
But online is better than none. This requires Flash, so it will not work on Apple mobile devices. If your computer does not have Adobe Flash already, you can download it for free from Adobe.com.
Den Leaders, Scoutmasters, and future Den Chiefs should all take the training just to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Den Leaders should have a short bullet-point list of expectations to share with the Den Chief and Scoutmaster to provide accountability and ease of cooperation. Here is an example of where you can start.
Pack 358 Invites You to Amazing Race
Cub Scout Recruiting
We are now in the midst of Cub Scout Recruiting. Some quick reminders to all Packs and Troops.
(1) Make sure to send your list of names to Con Sullivan from any list of prospects. This list will allow Con to get those prospects on the Council email and text reminder system. The goal is to make sure your prospects show up at your recruitment nights. Photograph your list and email to Con before you leave the ice cream social or other recruitment activity. They may be blurry and need follow up. Sometimes they don’t. To improve success, use an app like CamScanner to change photos into PDFs. They remove background noise and darken written words. You can see the preview before you send it.
(2) Take something to give to kids. You can get a large bag of candy from Sam’s Club or Costco. You will have flocks of kids around your table. Cub Scout pencils and the frisbies from Council are good, too.
(3) Make sure that your prospect has the date, time, and location of your joining night.
(4) Have prospects sign Membership Applications wherever you can. If they want to sign up at an Ice Cream Social, give them the application. Have a credit card reader (like Square.com) on hand to allow immediate dues payment.
(5) Have as many adults in uniform at your recruitment night as possible. If you don’t have many adult leaders in your pack, ask your most supportive troop to send leaders. Troop leaders want to help, but they don’t want to step on pack leaders’ toes. If you ask, troop leaders will be there. Uniforms help re-assure prospective parents that your pack has solid leadership and support.
(6) If you don’t have enough pack parents to cover a school, make sure to ask troop leaders to fill gaps. Make sure they know your program’s basic’s well: cost of dues, annual calendar, recruitment night logistics, proposed den and pack meeting times. Remember most Troop leaders have never dealt with Lion Cub or the current Cub Scout Advancement program, since the programs are so new. Bring the leaders up to speed.
Good luck!
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.
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.
Recruitment Rally July 22nd
From District Executive Con Sullivan:
North Star Scouters,
Please join us (and/or send your pack recruitment chair) for breakfast on Saturday, July 22nd between 9 am and 11 am at Luke’s Lodge (outbuilding on northeast corner of campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260). This will be an open house format, come when you can. I would like an RSVP so we can pack up once everyone has attended.
Packs will pick up their Registration Night boxes, Open House bags, and Community Yard Signs. Troops can sign up for which Packs/Schools their Troops can assist in the fall. Both can learn about our new Open House style and all about the theme “Catapult into Scouting!” Some Troops may get catapults they will want to bring to schools to create additional interest in Scouting and their Troop.
Packs, if you have not yet already, please tell me when your school’s “open house, ice cream social, etc.” is AND the date of your Registration Night ASAP! Special orders on signs and flyers are due by July 22nd at the Open House. If you can get this information to me earlier, I can have them printed and ready for July 22nd.
Please register for this rally here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4FAEAC2AA7F49-fall
Thanks and I hope to see you there!
Con
Con Sullivan | District Executive – North Star
Good Resources for new Cub Leaders
So you have just joined a Cub Pack or have been recruited to serve as a Den Leader or Cubmaster. What do you need to know?
First, get trained for your position. At the most basic, you can take online training at my.scouting.org. You will need to create an online profile first. Regardless whether you are registered as a leader yet or not, you can take the training. If you register later, you just need to add your BSA ID number to your online “Profile” to link the information together.
Second, seriously consider doing face-to-face position specific training, regardless if you did the National Council’s training. National focuses on philosophy. Local gives you more information about local resources.
Third, get to know the Cub Learning Library and Cub Corner on the national website. It is full of good information and publications that you can download for free. The most important are scripts for your den meetings. Other handy tools are forms.
Fourth, make sure you have the Cub Leader Guide Book or Den Leader Guidebook. These are available through Amazon.com in paper or Kindle formats. See example of Bear Den Leader Guidebook.
Fifth, get to know great online resources such as Cubmaster.org or the Cub Scout Leader Portal on meritbadge.org.
Sixth, find out what advancement software or record keeping your pack uses. See if you can learn how to use it to the level expected of your position.
These are great resources, but don’t forget that the biggest resource you have is the other parents. Experienced or inexperienced, they are your resources. If you can find the meeting agenda you want, you can and should delegate meetings to other parents to lead. You then can focus on discipline and efficiency of the meeting. The special guest parent can focus on program and snacks.
Good luck in your new Cub Scout year! Make it great!
Cub Scout Fun Day Schedule
For Cub Scout leaders, one of the hardest parts about the Fall is that you are hit with popcorn sales, recruiting, and programming in a sixty day period. All of that ignores that school starts, fall sports start, and Labor Day holidays are in the middle of it.
One of the ways to make both recruiting and programming easier is to take advantage of Council’s offerings. You have just-add-water programming.
One of those opportunities is Cub Scout Fun Days. Multiple dates and locations are offered so that you can make the schedule work for your Pack or Den.
For more information, download the flyer. To assess interest, send it to your Pack parents.
Cub Scout Roundtable Thursday
School is ending and the summer is here!
And we know what that means: Summer Camp!
Whether you’re taking your boys to Belzer or Camp K… whether it’s your first year or you’re a seasoned pro… join us this Thursday evening, 7:00 PM, at Luke’s Lodge (outbuilding on the campus ofSt. Luke’s Methodist Church, 100 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260) for the North Star District Cub Scout Roundtable.
We’ll be discussing both Summer Camps, and what you as a leader should know and expect.
If you are new, come learn some of the ins and outs.
If you are a veteran, come and share the tips and tricks that you’ve learned over the years with other leaders.
We hope to see many of you there!
Facebook Live tonight: Cub Scout recruiting 2017
Don’t forget that tonight at 6:30 pm is the night that Council will hold its first ever Facebook Live session. The subject will be Cub Scout recruiting for the back to school cycle of 2017.
I do not have the direct link to the event. I cannot find it on the council’s Facebook page.
I would recommend simply going to this link.
Please note come on a previous Facebook share, I had indicated the wrong time. The actual start time is 6:30 PM.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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