News
Is Scouting a Better Method to Getting USA’s First World Cup?
Can we develop better national soccer teams using Baden Powell’s methods than travel soccer? The evidence is coming in that answer is profoundly “yes.” From my years of backyard athletics, I can attest the skills development was profound. Read this blog post and the new book Shoeless Soccer for more.
Scouts at the JCC Annual Earth Day Celebration 2018
On behalf of North Star District Executive Jessica Hofman:
North Star had the opportunity to host a few stations at the Jewish Community Center’s Annual Earth Day Celebration. Volunteers from Troop 18 and the Council ran a rope bridge, a fire starting station, and a catapult station for thousands of families to stop by and enjoy.
Through surveys done at the event, we were told that our stations were a crowd favorite! This event could not have been possible without the help of great volunteers! Thank you to Ray and John Matutes from Troop 18 for taking time out of their Sunday to help!
Be Prepared – for the SAT and ACT
BSA giving away $350 SAT/ACT programs
In alliance with Scouts BSA, eKnowledge and the SAT/ACT Donation Project are giving Scout families (past and present) $350 SAT and ACT test prep programs for just the cost of providing the programs (under $20). The fee covers everything, including materials, shipping, student support, and streaming. You may request your programs online at this eKnowledge BSA site (<== link here).
Already, over 4,500 scouting families have benefited from the SAT/ACT Donation Project. The mission of this project is to help Scouts be prepared for the SAT or ACT.
For more information please check out the BSA Info Center, eKnowledge site here
Best of luck on the exams!
Don’t Forget! Roundtable this Thurs 5/10
This week’s Roundtable topics are:
- Cub Scouts: “Recruiting… Youth AND Adults” ;
- Boy Scouts: “Ideal Year of Scouting / Supporting Cub Packs at Summer Camp.”
See last week’s post for more details.
Program’s New Name: Scouts BSA (corrected)
Boy Scouts will become “Scouts BSA.” The organization’s name will remain same. That was what former Crossroads of America Council Executive Patrick Sterrett advocated for as he moved to Number 2 in the BSA. It looks like his recommendation held true.
Here is Scouting Wire’s more detailed version. This includes information on “Scout Me In” recruitment campaign.
Here is Bryan on Scouting with yet more details.
UPDATED 5/3/18: Here is local council’s press release: Read the rest of this entry »
Reminder – Roundtable next Thursday, May 10
The roundtables topics next Thursday will be:
- Cub Scouts: “Recruiting… Boys AND Adults” ;
- Boy Scouts: “Ideal Year of Scouting / Supporting Cub Packs at Summer Camp.”
The Roundtables will take place next Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, the outbuilding on the northeast corner of the campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Please forward this information to your Den Leaders, Committee members, and Assistant Scoutmasters. They are an important part of the Roundtables’ target audience.
Remember, attending roundtables is a key requirement to earn the Scouter’s Key for both Cub Scout leaders and Boy Scout leaders.
Open Berths for Sea Base with Crew 408
From Greg Hoyes:
North Star Venture Crew 408 in Zionsville has 2 crews going to FSB Out Island (MUNSON) on June 29th to July 5th (travel from June 27th to July 8th). One of the crews is filled with our fellow Boy Scout Troop and the 2nd Crew is all Crew 408 members. We do have 2 open spots in our Venture Crew and looking to fill them, with either Venture or Boy Scout members.
If the interested parties are male, the adult leadership is covered and if they are female, one of them must be over 21 to cover the required female leadership. This would be good for a mother/daughter or sister/older sister trip.
We have the travel all covered and would depart the morning of June 27th and will be returning on July 8th. We are planning some sightseeing stops for the return trip but have not finalized those details yet. The cost is estimated at $1240 for Out Island, travel (gas and lodging) and 2 crew shirts. I can be flexible in accommodating payment arrangements for someone that wants to go but can’t write that check today.
If you have anybody interested, please have them contact me and we can discuss other details.
On the Adventure
Greg Hoyes
Crew 408 Committee Chair
Congratulations to new OA Brotherhood members!
Order of the Arrow – Lowaneu Allanque Chapter congratulates the following ten Scouts and Adults that earned the OA Brotherhood status at the 2018 Spring Camporee:
David Bradley, Troop 804
Michael (Alex) Bricker, Troop 358
Griffin Burke, Troop 358
Billy Busse, Troop 358
Bobby (Robert) Corridan, Troop 804
Jared Dennemann, Troop 804
David Gusman, Troop 358
Jack Keller, Troop 358
Ivan Miller, Troop 514
Peter Shrote, Troop 804
Family Scouting – Update and Timeline
Starting this year (2018), girls will be welcomed into the Cub Scouting program and this will be the beginning of the transition to what is known as “Family Scouting.” This opens the door for girls and young women to benefit from the skills, leadership and character development training offered by the Scouting organization.
Please peruse the BSA Family Scouting website for more information on how this transition will work as well as more details on the timeline for implementation of these changes (see graphic included here for an overview). And don’t forget to ask yourself: “how can I help”?
Thank you for all you do for Scouting (and now for Family Scouting, too)!
New Website Feature: Ideas for Outings
At the April 2018 Roundtable for Scouts, the topic of different close-to-home high adventure outings was discussed. The ideas came fast and furious. We were having a hard time taking notes and capturing good information.
You have probably had the same experience. You are at a scouting meeting and somebody says, “We had a great trip to the Appalachian Trail. One of the cheapest and best high adventure trips we have ever taken!”
“Where did you go?”
“I don’t remember.”
“What did it cost?”
“I don’t remember.”
You get the idea. So, we decided that the District needed a central repository for ideas that scouts and scouters could use to share the wealth.
So now you can visit a page on the website, with its own link at the top of the page. Bookmark it. Use it. Send it to your Senior Patrol Leader, Pack Committee Chair, or Venture Crew Vice-President for Programming.
More importantly for the first 90 days, we need your help. We need you and your unit to download the questionnaire. Think of your 3-5 favorite outings during your tenure in scouting. If you are troop leader, think of outings you did with your Cub Pack too.
Follow the instructions at the top of the questionnaire to return it.
We will post the questionnaires in a PDF format as they are submitted. So, please use your best Scout Law etiquette in filling these out. They will be available to the general public.
If you have PDF flyers or other supporting documentation, we can post those, if the files are small (under 500K), since we have limited space on the website.
This is primarily intended for Best Practices and referrals. If you have had a disasterous experience, that is probably good information, too, but it is beyond the scope of this project. If you wish to email the questionnaire to us, we will accept them and figure out what to do those later.
Please help us make this one of the most powerful parts of this website! Send your questionnaire, however incomplete, now (we can use updated questionnaires later as you find the information)!
Please email this article to current and past scouters to get their feedback, too!
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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