News
More Info on Retroactive Eagle Palms
For those who saw the previous announcement that retroactive Eagle Palms now exist, there were questions about why the rules were written they were.
Now the new rules have been revised.
See this article for more information
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Essentially, more merit badges before Eagle gives more palms.
Information for this Weekend’s IOLS at Belzer
This weekend, North Star in cooperation with Del-Mi, is running the only in-person, required training for Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters. It will be at Camp Belzer.
For attendees, please plan on bringing the following items
Watch this page for updates on any last minute updates.
Invitation to Pack 358’s Hayride
Pack 358 from Zionsville Christian Church is again opening its annual hayride and bonfire to other packs in the North Star District. To participate, simply visit this link.
For troops this is a wonderful opportunity to get to know parents and cubs from various packs and to help serve cub scout packs.
Known Issue with Rechartering Invoice
This year National Council has added local council insurance premiums for registered members. That means the $1.00 insurance premium per scout and scouter is automatically included in your invoice, which is an upgrade over the last rechartering cycle, completed in November 2016.
Unfortunately, all is not rosy in the invoice automation. At Council meetings last we were informed that the Adult Partners for Lions and Tigers (i.e., parents included on the Youth Application but have not completed a separate Adult Application for positions such as Den Leader, Assistant Den Leader, Committee Member, etc.) do not have that insurance premium included in the invoice.
Consequently, please count these adults and multiply by $1.00. This will need to be added manually to the amount of the invoice for your pack to be paid in full.
Trained Den Leaders Required for Rechartering
Den Leaders, like all registered leaders in North Star, must be trained in order to allow them to be registered with their pack at rechartering. This is one of the largest training deficiencies that we have in the district.
That means that they need to take the online training under My Profile at my.scouting.org.
The biggest obstacle to get people trained online is that do not have a working my.scouting.org account.
At the next meeting, have a listed of people who need training. Pull each one aside and have them login to their my.scouting.org account. Have them go to the Training section and make sure that they can start the online training by picking the right course. You will identify problems quickly this way. Then let them finish at home.
We will also be offering a Den Leader Training in person at the next Cub Scout Roundtable, Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 7:00 pm at Luke’s Lodge, on the campus of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN 46260. This will be the last live offering in calendar year 2017 for North Star District (and third roundtable offering of the same). You can register here.
Scout troops should follow the same pattern.
All training is available online this year, except Scoutmasters’ and Assistant Scoutmasters’ class Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills which will be offered at Belzer October 27-29, 2017. Click here to register. (The one on the training hub is out-of-date, and has been replaced with this one.)
Chief Scout Executive on co-ed choice
Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh, Patrick Sterrett’s new boss, made these remarks the day after the vote to go co-ed. Surbaugh is a good speaker and worth a listen.
It is too bad these types of posts did not precede the vote.
Anti-Fragile and Scouting (Part 3)
This is the third part of a series commenting on what I have been reading in the works of Nassim Taleb, beginning with his book Anti-Fragile, part of the Incerto series.
In the first article, I outlined his biography and introduced the questions of “What is the opposite of fragile? Are your scouts, scout parents, or scouters fragile? What are your duties as a scout leader in handling this matter?”
In the second article, I defined anti-fragile as strengthing in face of adversity. I suggested that resilience is not the antonym of “fragile.”
Up to this point, I have focused on making the scouts anti-fragile, stronger for having faced adversity. Let’s look at the concept of anti-fragile as a criterion for assessing the quality of your unit’s planning and programming.
Taleb questions the engineering world’s emphasis on efficiency. Let’s assume the definition of efficiency is doing just enough to complete the task with just enough resources and time. No wasted motion, effort, time, or resources. What is the effect in today’s world of being ever more efficient?
When planning goes well, the planner looks like a genius. No waste. No muss. No fuss. The trailer is packed so efficiently just the perfect amount of food is loaded. There is no excess weight to slow the trailer down. Every scout finds just the equipment he needs to do his tasks. It’s perfect.
But what happens if some of the planning fails? What if there was no weather report of a major rainstorm? To have been truly efficient, the planner took only what was in the plan. Since no weather report predicted a rainstorm, the efficient planner takes no shelters or tarps to keep the weather out when cooking. People get cold and wet and maybe are a little hungry.
Notes from Rechartering Roundtable
If you are attending the Rechartering Roundtable, you can watch the presentation live on your iOS device, Mac, or the web by clicking here. This will allow you to see the same slides as they advance. Please note that this is not the same as downloading the file. That will be posted on this page as a later update, after the Roundtable is over.
For copies of the Journey to Excellence forms that are required to complete recharter, you can download them from www.scouting.org/jte.
Take a look at the Unit Assessment form to know more about what you can do to improve your JTE score. Talk to a commissioner the results. Review the Unit Performance Guide, especially chapter 4 for ideas.
Remember Recharter Agreements are required. Sometimes those are handled in advance. Rechartering cannot proceed, if our DE does not have that agreement in way or another.
BSA rolls out 100% co-ed
You may have heard, but all programs will be co-ed by January 1, 2019. Cub Scouts start, as I read it, June 1, 2018.
Here is the announcement from CAC Council Commissioner Ron Penczek:
Team,
I wanted to take a moment to forward on to you official communications from our National Council regarding girls in Cub and Boy Scouting. While it is too late for my girls to stand beside their brother in earning Eagle Scout, I am very excited to bring our program of citizenship, leadership and fitness to girls around the country, I hope you are as excited as me. I know for some Scouters, this change will be concerning and their concerns are not without merit, but as a Commissioner Corps, I am sure we can help deliver a positive message. We can be the agent of change that helps everyone to see the benefits of such a change and help implement such change in a positive way.
Please cascade this to your District and Unit Commissioners and begin talking with your units about this change.
I look forward to talking with you next week.
Kind regards,
Ron
BSA Expands Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts Programs to Welcome Girls
The BSA’s board of directors has unanimously approved welcoming girls into our Cub Scouts program and delivering a Scouting program for older girls that will enable them to advance and earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
The historic decision comes after years of receiving requests from families and girls. The BSA evaluated the results of numerous research efforts, gaining input from current members and leaders — as well as parents and girls who have never been involved in Scouting — to understand how to offer families an important additional choice in meeting the character development needs of all their children.
Linked below (or attached) are a few resources to help you learn more about today’s decision, as well as respond to any inquiries you may receive. As always, please direct all media queries to pr@scouting.org:
YPT Update
Thank you to all the scouters who have been updating their Youth Protection Training. Your efforts are paying off. In 2018 we are running ahead of 2017.
We still have a bunch more to go, the trends are excellent.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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