Camping & Outdoor Programming
And the 2018 Spring Camporee “Best Campsite Award” goes to:
Troop 343! Congratulations Scouts, way to go!
Well-Wishes for a Great Spring Camporee 2018!
Best of luck to all attending and volunteering at the North Star District Spring Camporee this weekend. We know you will do Willie proud with your skills in Emergency Preparedness. Can’t wait to hear the tales of survival!
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!
Roundtable – April 2018 Flyers
Please see links below for exciting camping and training opportunities – these are roughly in date order:
National Youth Leadership Training (several dates)
Wood Badge (Adult Leadership training) (several dates)
2018 Voyageur Canoe Training (several dates)
Indianapolis Indians game and Campout at Victory Field (May 11)
Cub Scout Fishing Derby at Camp Kikthawenund (May 12)
Leave No Trace Master Education Course 2018 (Aug 17-19 and Sep 13-16)
Boy Scouts Brickyard 400 Weekend Campout (Sept. 8 – 9)
Citizenship in the Nation MB Workshop (several dates)
District Spring Camporee: We need YOU!
From District Commissioner Stephen Heath, District Program Chair Mark Pishon and District Camporee Chairman Rick Aker:
CALLING ALL NORTH STAR TROOPS:
Show your Scout pride, carry your troop flag as you attend this year’s Spring Camporee!
The North Star District Spring Camporee will be held April 20 – 22, 2018 at the Indiana School for the Blind, 7725 N College Ave, Indianapolis, IN.
Join us for the peer camaraderie and recognition with your fellow District Scouts and Scouters. We’re calling on every unit to come and be counted among the best scouts and scouters in Crossroads of America council.
This year’s theme is WILLIE’S SOUND THE SIRENS – ARE YOU PREPARED?
Scouts will be working on Emergency Preparedness and the importance of planning for the unexpected, as well as many key survival skills.
The North Star District also invites all North Star Webelos for the day on Saturday April 21, 2018. Come join us, Webelos!
Pre-registration for all Scouts, Webelos and Adults is required at this link: 2018 North Star Spring Camporee.
Looking forward to an amazing adventure at the District Spring Camporee, don’t miss it!
District SPRING CAMPOREE Leader’s Guide and prep meeting 3/25!
To all North Star Units – please see the 2018 Spring Camporee Leaders Guide v2 (<== linked here!) for our Spring Camporee this year. Rick Aker (North Star District Camporee Chair) is planning on having another Camporee meeting this Sunday, March 25; email and/or blog post to follow with more information.
If you have any questions, Rick’s contact information is in the leader guide.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at our Spring Camporee!!
Reminder: OA Election Results / Vigil Nomination Forms due March 15, 2018
As mentioned last week:
Order of the Arrow Election results and Vigil nomination Forms are due on or before March 15, 2018. Please email election results as well as the forms: OA Vigil Petition Form 2018 (linked here) to Mark Pishon, email loaadviser@jaccostownelodge.org.
If you are having difficulty opening the Petition form using the link above, try this:
- Make sure you have the latest copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your device (see http://www.adobe.com/go/reader_download);
- Open Adobe Acrobat Reader and go to menu commands File => Open;
- Copy this link: https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/resources/forms/vigilpetition-2018.pdf and paste it into the “File name: ” box at the bottom of that screen, then hit Open.
- Print or save the finished form to a .pdf and then send that file to Mr. Pishon at the email address listed above.
District Spring Camporee: April 20 – 22, 2018
Our location has been confirmed!
The Spring Camporee [April 20-22, 2018] will be held at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 7725 N. College Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46240.
Unit leaders will receive the Spring Camporee Leaders Guide by COM Wednesday, March 14, 2018 via email.
The theme of the Spring Camporee is Willey’s Sirens and the focus will be on Emergency Preparedness. Scouts will be able to earn the merit badge or pin for Emergency Preparedness.
Looking forward to a fantastic Spring Camporee!
Reminder: Please contact Troop 343 to participate in April 2 Swim Test!
As mentioned here last week:
Any North Star units interested in sharing the April 2, 2018 Swim Test opportunity with Troop 343 should contact Brian Crow (for confirmation or even just questions!) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE at ScouterBrianCrow@gmail.com.
The Swim Test is being held that evening at:
MSD of Pike Township Aquatics Center
5401 West 71st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268
Time: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Order of the Arrow Updates
Updates as provided by Lowaneu Allanque Chapter of OA Advisor Mark Pishon:
Time to Pay 2018 Dues – The Link is https://scoutingevent.com/160-oadues.
Jaccos Towne Lodge Update – The Lodge has asked chapters develop Brotherhood programs and ceremonies for District Camporees. This will make it very convenient for those going for Brotherhood
OA Unit Elections – All units will be conducting OA Elections before March 15th. Please email election results to Mark Pishon at LOAAdviser@jaccostownelodge.org. The candidate cost to attend an OA Ordeal should not be a reason anymore for not joint Order of the Arrow. Our lodge has established a scholarship committee for candidates to confidentially petition for financial help. Please ask your unit Scoutmaster if there are concerns with candidates that might need assistance.
The lodge has designed a brand new lodge website so check it out at: jaccostownelodge.org.
Please welcome new Arrowmen. New brothers check this link out: http://www.jumpstart.oa-bsa.org/
Jaccos Towne Lodge Spring Fellowship – March 16 to 18, 2018.
Our annual Lodge Spring Fellowship will take place March 16 to 18 at Camp Krietenstein. This is a really fun weekend for all units to attend. You do NOT need to be in OA and your unit will receive service hours. The theme is TV Game Shows. Bring your best “A Game” and card skills. Here is the link for registration: https://scoutingevent.com/160-2018OASpringFellowship
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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