Back to School Night
Scouting enrollment drop off location
Just a reminder after Thursday’s sign-up night, the applications and enrollment fees for Council, boys life and related costs should be delivered to Three Wisemen Brewing Company in Broad Ripple.
Small units: recruitment night script
The other day I posted an article about how to organize a big unit back to school night for Thursday.
Small units are asking whether they need to have a full meeting like in years past. We are proposing that you follow the same pattern as big units except have one person follow the same order of conversation. It would not require separate stations be set up.
Plans for August 27th Recruitment Night
Unit Leaders:
Could you please forward this message to all scouters that will be assisting at North Star District Elementary Schools with recruiting?
__
Thank you for volunteering to assist district packs with their recruiting efforts this fall. I have outlined the program for Thursday Read the rest of this entry »
Onslaught of Autumn Training
As we head into a hectic autumn of scouting, it is easy to forget to get trained. We shouldn’t, since it is often required to be Rechartered.
Several districts and council have scheduled training in many locations at many times. This is especially true of Pathfinder’s Mini University of Scouting on Saturday, August 29th on the southside and Council’s position-specific blitz in August, September, and October at the Scout Service Center. A new list of courses is now available on a new website at http://www.crossroadstraininghub.com/events/events.htm. Units and districts can now post their own additions to training for the benefit of all in the Council.
Some of these trainings are available online, too, at my.scouting.org. 
More Recruiting Ideas
Frank Maynard runs a well-read blog called Bobwhite Blather. He is a long-standing Troop Committee Chair. He has a wonderful article about recruiting ideas that you have not tried. Give it a read.
Back to School Night: 17 days and Counting
We are approaching the two week mark from Back to School Night for scouting. At this point, your pack’s to-do list should already have some items marked as “Done.”
First, you should have an annual calendar planned and printed for distribution. The calendar should be sure to include your schedule for adult training, the September 12th Rocket Launch and Pack Family Overnight Campout in October. The calendar does not have to be in depth. It just needs to include the date, time, and one-sentence description of the activity. The goal is all families will be able to block time on their calendar to avoid later scheduling conflicts. The calendar should cover through August 2016. Details such as location, leader-in-charge, rendez-vous times and delegation of responsibilities is immaterial right now.
Second, you have an annual budget for the pack and dens that is broken down to an individual scout. This should include basic information about the initiation fee, the role of popcorn sales or other fund-raisers in deferring the costs, methods for obtaining uniforms cost effectively, and campership opportunities for big-ticket items like Summer Camp. The new family needs to know what this is going to do to their family checkbook. Ultimately, they need to know there is room for all scouts, regardless of family finances. Contact your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner Jeff Heck for help in designing your budget or sales pitch.
Third, you should now have possession of the model rockets that you are expected to distribute to your new recruits. These were available for distribution at the August 6, 2015 Roundtable. Only a handful of Packs attended to receive their rockets. Contact your Unit Commissioner or District Commissioner Jeff Heck for information on how to arrange pick up of your rockets.
Fourth, you should now know where you are manning tables for August 27th sign up night. Contact District Executive Con Sullivan if you are not sure or have not informed him of your plans for that night.
Fifth, you should now know who, where, and when your Pack is providing speakers for Boy Talk recruiting speeches in advance of August 27th. If you do not, again, contact District Executive Con Sullivan.
Sixth, you should know who your Pack Back to School Night coordinator is.
Seventh, you should have reviewed your website, Facebook page, and other online resources to make sure that they are up to date and accurate. Make sure that the Pack officers names and contact information is correct. Make sure meeting time and place information is included. Make sure that your basic calendar information for special events. If you do not have a Pack Facebook page or webpage, I recommend using wordpress.com. It has free website that a non-techie can learn quickly. Updates can be done as simple posts (like on this website). Old information remains available to review in the archive.
If your Pack has each of these done and you have read this article in full, please have your Pack Committee Chair email District Commissioner Jeff Heck that these are done.
Thank you for your continued support of scouting and Back to School Night.
Back to School: 19 Days and Counting
Part of this year’s Back to School recruitment campaign is to have activities for the Cub Packs to participate in during the first 60 days of the school year. Essentially, these are “just add water” activities.
Pack Overnight Campout
One of these activities is the Fall Pack Overnight. Council has preplanned three different Pack Overnight weekends. All your Pack needs to do is sign up according to the information in the Council’s flyer then show up.
North Star District is encouraging all of its Packs to participate in the Pack Overnight at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Friday, October 17, 2015 at 6 p.m. to Saturday, October 18, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
There are many exciting activities already planned.
If your school, athletic team, or Pack has a conflicting event, there are alternative dates and locations.
While participation in these Pack Overnights, Cubs who camp out on a regular basis are more likely to remain active in scouting. This is what they think scouting is all about. (And they are not far off the mark.)
Back to School: 24 Days and Counting
For August 27th, we still need volunteers (such as Boy Scout Troop leaders and scouts) to man tables at the following schools. None of them have existing scouting units:
- IPS 109
- Deer Run Elementary
- Eastbrook Elementary
- Snacks Crossing Elementary
- Park Tudor (no confirmations but two families contacted; expect a “yes” from one of two)
Pack 625 needs help at New Augusta South and Central Elementary, their normal feeder schools.
Please contact Con Sullivan, our District Executive, to sign up or with questions.
Back to School Night: 28 Days and Counting
Once you get your new adults enrolled as scouters, they will need training. They are expected to complete Fast Start position specific online training within 48 hours of registration.
Remember Council accepts no registrations accepts without a Youth Protection Training certificate of course completion being stapled to the adult application. This is available online at myscouting.scouting.org or can be offered in person using a video available from the Scout Service Center or District Commissioner Jeff Heck at jheck@cacnorthstar.org.
District is working on its training schedule. Online training is available at myscouting.scouting.org for most positions. Council already has some in-person training scheduled. Cub position-specific training (e.g., Cubmaster, Pack Trainer, Den Leader, etc.) will be offered at the Scout Service Center on the
- evening of Tuesday, August 4th,
- evening of Wednesday, August 12th,
- evening of Tuesday, September 1st,
- evening of Tuesday, September 8th,
- evening of Tuesday, September 22nd,
- evening of Tuesday, October 6th,
- evening of Tuesday, October 13th,
- evening of Tuesday, November 3rd, and
- evening of Wednesday, November 18th.
BALOO training, which is required for Pack overnights, will be offered in conjunction with boy scouts Introduction to Outdoor Leadership skills on Saturday, September 12 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Scout Service Center. Every pack must have one person trained in this for a pack overnight campout. This session is highly recommended because future cub leaders who plan on serving as assistant scoutmasters in the future can obtain the necessary training for both at one event. These trainings never expire, so they are “one and done.”
Back to School Night: 29 Days to Go
At Back to School Night, new parents will be looking to answer the following questions:
- How much does Cub Scouts cost for the year?
- How does it fit with the family calendar?
- Does the Pack have a vision for its success?
To be able to answer these questions, your Pack Committee needs to be able to deliver 3 key documents to the prospective Cub parents:
- A document telling the parent how the program is paid for. This could be a budget for out of pocket expenses in neighborhoods with well-to-do families. This is more likely to be a statement of costs for each Cub and the role popcorn sales is used to defer the costs. This could be a statement describing how financial assistance is offered to families who need it. Your Unit Commissioner should be able to get you guidance for these items.
- A year-long calendar of Pack events. The dens should be meeting in early August to discuss with their den leaders what they would like to see the Pack to do. The den leaders should report those results for a mid-August Pack Committee meeting to schedule the year. The results should be listed on one sheet of paper and be specific about arrival times and departure times. For example, the North Star District fall family overnight at Indianapolis Motor Speedway should tell families to arrive at the track at a specific time and expect to leave by a specific time. This allows new families to put the event on their family calendars with specificity. This prevents double booking as easily. Successful packs are good at calendaring by habit because they simply say, “We customarily go to . . . in November so that we can . . . .” Newer or struggling packs can duplicate the clarity of vision by simply stating, “We are scheduled to go to . . . in November so that we can . . . .” Prospective families are looking for programs close to home that can clearly describe the program. They will avoid wishy-washy units that only say, “We are thinking about doing something this fall.”
- Having a vision statement for how the Pack will perform is very important. This vision statement is not a formalistic business plan gobbledy-gook. It is simply a some concrete goal that can be understood. To be a strong unit, look at the Journey to Excellence criteria for bronze, silver, and gold. Pick a level that makes sense to your Pack. Then tell prospective families what your goal is, “We plan on being a Gold Award Pack.” Most parent don’t know the criteria, and don’t care. They will be interested in knowing that the Pack has a vision of meeting the highest criteria. The statement could be focused on the boys, too. “We plan on each boy making rank by February’s Blue and Gold Banquet and going family overnight camping in the fall, in the spring, and at summer camp. We plan on attending {insert two Council Circuit of Fun Activities}.” The vision of success is contagious and exciting for prospective families.
Remember that part of your programming is already done for you. The Rocket Launch on September 12th and the Pack Family Overnight with District at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October.
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