Day camps emphasize a week-long (M-F) of activities with a Friday night sleep over. These activities are designed to deliver key parts of the excitement that we promise during recruitment.
Overnight camps involve less days but more hours of camp life. This is a great option for parents who want their Cubs to experience summer camp, but can’t afford an entire week off of work.
One of the biggest concerns in scouting is whether we “have sufficient adults to meet the requirements of the Guide to Safe Scouting.” This implies that the Guide has a set ratio. You will even hear scout leaders speak as if there were written instructions about the ratio. The answer to this is a bit more complicated. We are required to have 2-deep leadership on all outdoor outings and overnights. That leaves an implication that 2 adults could take 60 Cubs. This is clearly unwise. For certain types of activities there are set ratios, such as Boy Scout and Venturing rappeling is 10:1 and different aquatic activities have different ratios. In Cub Scout Camping, one parent (or adult family member) must camp with each Cub (some exceptions for solo Cubs with designated proxies for parent, but only one Cub per adult under this exception).
Outside of these activity-specific ratios, the exact numer of adults necessary is just listed in the Guide to Safe Scouting as “sufficient leadership.” This is at the discretion of the Chartered Organization to decide. Many Chartered Organizations feel that 5 Cubs to 1 Adult works well. For more mature Cubs, this ratio can be fudged in favor of more Cubs. (See this old conversation from 2012 on a non-BSA website on the topic.)
Your Camp Director at each location can give you better guidance as to what ratio makes sense for their specific activities.
Remember a Cub’s attendance at Summer Camp is the best indication whether the Cub will return for the next year of scouting. Parents are the biggest roadblock. Camp costs money and takes effort. Gently remind parents why they signed their Cubs up for scouting and why the Cub wanted to join. The Cub wanted to have fun with his friends. The parents want the Aims and Methods of Scouting to benefit their son.
Some families find that the day camp experience is not the challenge that their more mature Cubs require. Camp Kiktheweund’s Adventure Camp is now available to more Cubs. This is a great option for Cub who want the challenge of overnight camping. Find the challenge that is right for your Cub.
Firecrafter has joined the 21st Century! We now have an online membership database and email system. No more managing a personal contact list and sending emails through my GMaill account!
Firecrafter Logo
So, we need everyone to login and farmilarize themselves with the new system. To start, go to Firecrafter.org and click “access the database” from the main page, or here is the direct link https://firecrafter38.wildapricot.org/Sys/Login. As directed, link the Forgot Password link and then enter the email address that you think is associated with the account, along with the bot preventing code. Then you should get an email with a temporary password and the ability to finish your account login setup.
If it does not work, your email may have changed, be under a parent’s email (youth), or some other database issue. To gain access, please email councilsecretary@firecrafter.org with your name, Firecrafter year, and updated email address.
Firecrafter adults (21+), the new system also tracks dues and will “suspend” you from the Ember emails if your dues are not current. This would be a great time to get your dues current, or pay the lifetime membership, so we can keep you involved in the North Star Ember. Dues payments are handled as the Firecrafter Council level and the Council Secretary will be able to assist you with payment and getting you reinstated in the system.
I did send a test email from the new system at 9:00 on 1-8-2018, so if you did not get that, your email address may be wrong in the database or your dues are not current for adult members.
I will continue to send emails using both the database system and this distribution list until February 15, then all emails after that will only be through the new system. Please try to make sure you have access to the system before that deadline, so you can stay informed on what is happening in the North Star Ember.
If you have any questions, I can provide very basic help, but cannot do anything to help with the system login, so contact councilsecretary@firecrafter.org for more assistance.
Here is communication from Camporee Co-Chair and former North Star District Executive Con Sullivan:
Hello from the beautiful Florida Keys!
I have attached the Willie Scoring Sheet for the Winter Camporee. If you have not yet, please complete the requirements listed on the [previously sent] message (Register online, send a summary of your event, send estimated # of patrols) ASAP. Please send these to Thomas Jacoby at thomasjacoby@gmail.com.
For regular followers of Clarke Green’s podcast and blog, you know Clarke has been beta testing a quarterly planning model with his home troop. He has hinted at several elements before.
Now he has rolled out an article on the details and overview of the plan. Take a look!
Last Sunday, the Winter Camporee committee met. Our former District Executive Con Sullivan is co-chairing the event and presided over the meeting.
The theme will be the Winter Olympics with Willie’s Chills and Thrills! The event will be at Camp Krichtenstein from Friday, January 19, 2018 to Sunday, January 21, 2018.
Con emailed the following afterward:
Thank you to those who attended our Camporee Meeting last night. I have attached the most recent version of the Leader’s Guide for the ’18 Winter Camporee.
Normally, we would have district elections in December. We are a bit delayed in slating the candidates, so that will be postponed to the first District Committee Meeting of January 4, 2018 at 7:00 pm at Second Presbyterian.
Instead we will hold the last District Committee Meeting of the year at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N Meridian St, Rm 401, Indianapois, IN 46260., Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 7:00 pm.
The Commissioner Meeting will be held on the same day at 6:00 pm in Room 405.
This Sunday, December 10, 2017, the Winter Camporee Planning meeting will meet at 6:00 pm at St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W 86th St, Room C115, Indianapolis, IN 46260. It will be chaired by co-chairs Con Sullivan and Thomas Jacoby of Troop 174. The location is to be determined. Please send a scoutmaster or proxy to participate in the planning process. The camporee will be January 19-21, 2018.
The following week on Thursday, December 14, 2017, we hold the last Roundtable of the year.
Our district elections will be Thursday, January 4, 2018. More information to follow. Please have your Chartered Organization Representatives and District Members-at-Large (that is district committee members) and Council Members-at-Large who live in North Star District attend. They are all eligible to vote.
One of the most important events for a scout is outdoor programming, specifically camping. The more nights of camping that a scout does the higher the probability of renewing scouting membership for the next year.
Think about it: what promise do you as a scout leader give to each new recruit? We camp.
In order to better diagnose which units are fulfilling the recruitment promise, we try to track how well units are doing in camping.
This year council-wide Cub Scout camping is down 14.29% and Boy Scout camping is down 4.72%. In North Star District, Cub Scout camping is down a mere 1.13%, but Boy Scout camping is down a whopping 10.02%.
Camping that is done through Crossroads of America Council facilities like Ransburg Scout Reservation or Camp Belzer, regardless whether summer camp or weekend camps, are automatically reported. However, any camping done outside our Council like at an out-of-state council’s facility or in a state park is not automatically reported.
If your pack, troop, or crew has camped out-of-council or on a non-BSA property, please email information about those campouts to our District Executive Jessica Hofman. If you are not sure, have your advancement coordinator send an inquiry to Jessica. She will be more than happy to research the information on file for you.
Good camping numbers suggest good programming. Good programming suggest good retention. Good retention means more lessons learned in scouting.
Traditionally in BSA units, National recommends that units do an annual planning conference one time per year. This is designed to discuss the budget, annual calendar, and longer-term projects, like high adventure outings. The idea is that at least once per year that the unit makes sure that it is staying on course. This is usually done concurrently with the annual program calendar.
The result is that the unit has a full agenda to talk about the calendar. Dealing with other long range issues gets varying discussion and analysis. For units that do the planning as part of an evening meeting, they run out of time quickly. For units that have a full retreat, they have plenty of time, but may have different items on their agenda.
Compounding the problem, most officers of the unit only plan to be with the unit until their son (and soon to be, daughters) leave the unit. This makes planning a much shorter term vision than the unit probably needs. But in terms of prioritzation, it allows the players to focus on what affects them and shorten the agenda.
Scouting already has a tendency to “meeting” our volunteers to death. We tend to have too many short meetings rather than taking the time to do a retreat once.
Thursday, October 5, 2017 at Second Presbyterian Church, 4th Floor:
Commissioners: 6:00 pm, Room 401
District Committee: 7:00 pm, Room 405
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 7:00 pm (except where different below), Luke’s Lodge, outbuilding on Campus of St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St.
1. Youth Protection Training (Y01) (6:30 pm)
2. Boy Scout Roundtable: TBA. Possible topic: path to Eagle.
3. Cub Scout Roundtable: planning your next camp out. Presented by Scouts from Troop 56 and RTC Bill Buchalter. (Great for Pack Programming Chair, Pack Chair, Cubmaster and Den Leaders, especially Webelos Den Leaders). Tents and gear explained.
4. Rechartering breakout for Unit Rechartering Coordinators. How to rechartering. Changes to system.
In some of my reading on other subjects, I ran across some scientific research from the mid-1800’s that I think is fascinating in its potential application to scouting. I am going to go down some complicated paths in this series of articles, so allow me to set the context first.
The View from the Eagle Board
For those of you who have sat on an Eagle Board of Review more than once, you likely can confirm that the following scenario is common.
A 17-year old in full dress scout uniform walks in the door. He is often clean shaven (although beards are increasingly common). He walks erect even if slightly nervous about what he is walking into. He firmly shakes hands with each member of the Board of Review. He answers questions about his Eagle project in great detail. He has pride in his accomplishments. He looks the part of an Eagle Scout already.
As he sits through the Board, the Board members ask the Eagle candidate to reflect on his beginnings in scouting and his growth. The candidate describes his first campout in the rain. He reflects on his anguish and discomfort. He laughs about how those deprivations are nothing compared to the later discomforts of camping in the snow of winter amidst the howling winds. He reflects on what he learned about overcoming obstacles, adapting, and accepting his circumstances.
He has learned that slight discomforts at home are nothing compared to facing the elements and the discomforts Mother Nature offers.
In my role as District Commissioner, the BSA charges me with the primary mission of encouraging Best Practices in our units. In other words, I am responsible for being able to explain to leaders why BSA policies are in the best interest of the unit, its leaders, and its scouts. That does not mean that I agree with each and every policy, but it does mean that I should be able to articulate the rationale in the light most favorable to the BSA’s intent.
For example, I should be able to articulate why units that camp the most are the more successful; why units that allow the boys to experiment with the patrol method with guidance and boundaries from the scoutmaster corps are more successful than units where adult leaders run the program; or why units with Senior Patrol Leaders who work the Patrol Leader Council are more successful than units where Senior Patrol Leaders acts as the patrol-leader-of-all. Read the rest of this entry »
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