Programming
Scouts at the 500 Festival / Mini-Marathon: Sign up by April 25!
On behalf of North Star District Mini-Marathon Chair, Greg Jacoby:
Dear Scouts:
Based on the success of our involvement last year, Troop 174 and all other scouts from the Crossroads Council have been asked to increase the presence of the Boy Scouts at the 500 Festival.
We have been asked to staff water station number 17 at the Mini-Marathon on May 6. It is the water station just before the end of the race, and is located on the IUPUI campus making it very easy to get to and park.
This activity is open to all Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Webelos and their Families.
Please consider volunteering – sign up by April 25!
We need 60 people (30 per shift) to come help, one early morning from 6:30 to 10:30 and one late morning 10:00 to 1:30. You can sign up for one or boththe shifts.
If you are interested in getting involved, please:
- Send an email to me (Greg Jacoby) at gjacoby@bdmd.com and let me know what shift you will be working and who will be attending.
- Go the Mini Marathon web site and sign up, using these instructions:
- Log onto our Pit Station Volunteer Website (<== link);
- Click on the Register Now button;
- Click on the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Pit Station Volunteer (Select button);
- Look for the “Boy Scouts” box (if you see a plus sign, click on that to expand the box);
- Click in the small box next to where it tells you how many openings are left, it should show a check mark;
- The Next button should turn Green, now click on that;
- Create an Account (or sign in with a previous account if you are a returning volunteer);
- From there you can complete your volunteer registration. Please register all that will be attending.
Scouts must wear their CLASS A SHIRTS at the Water Station.
Thanks for your help and as always feel free to contact me [email gjacoby@bdmd.com / phone 317-828-6230] if you have any questions. You may also contact 500 Festival Volunteer Intern, Mannah Mace [email mmace@500festival.com / phone 317-614-6113]; or Program Manager, Erika Miller [email emiller@500festival.com ].
Yours in Scouting,
Greg Jacoby
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!
Scouting for Food – Patch Requests due 23-April
On behalf of Patrick Covell, Crossroads of America Council Program Director:
Thank you for doing your part for Scouting for Food this year! There have been a few great stories shared so far and some hours recorded, but we know there is a lot more out there to be accounted for. We need to get what we have accomplished recorded so that we can inform others of our efforts.
Please record your patch request and service hours information HERE (<== link). The deadline to get your patch request in is Monday, April 23rd, so that you have the weekend to get this accomplished.
Please also make sure to get your service hours recorded HERE (<== link); don’t forget that you will need your ID number to record service hours.
If you need help recording service hours, please see this YouTube video: How to Record Scout Service Hours (BSA).
Again, thank you for what you do to serve your community!
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)
YPT v2: F2F Training on May 5
There will be a face to face (F2F) training session for Youth Protection Training v2 hosted by Pack 830:
Saturday, May 5, 8 – 10 am (registration starts at 7:30 am with coffee and donuts available)
Eagle Creek Community Church, 5943 N Lafayette Rd., Indianapolis IN.
The team is asking for a sign-up RSVP for planning purposes. Please sign up using this calendar link: May 5 YPTv2 Training hosted by Pack 830
Our goal with the F2F sessions is to get as many parents trained as possible! This is likely the first of a handful of sessions; this location may be most convenient for our Pike-area parents but all are welcome. Future sessions will be in other areas of the District.
Please pass this information far and wide and get the word out, let’s get our parents trained, thank you!
YPTv2 – for District Leaders due by March 31
From District Program Chair Mark Pishon – key stats and deadlines for the revised Youth Protection Training:
SEE THIS LINK FOR HELPFUL HINTS / TIPS for completing YPTv2!
Your Rechartering status will depend upon 100% of your Unit’s registered adults being trained by the deadline – don’t delay!
- All North Star District Leadership should complete this training by MARCH 31
- The Council Deadline is April 30 for all Registered Adults and Walking Leaders at camps
- Anyone not completing the new mandatory YPT will risk having their BSA record purged if not completed by the BSA deadline of October 2 – having said that we are urged to be a Pacesetter District for the Nation, and set the example by completing ours within Council deadlines.
- We understand and have heard that there are slow response time issues with the online training…
- This may also be completed via phone, that might also be an option;
- A face to face version should be released by end of March and will be sent to District Training Chairs as soon as it is made available;
- The face to face training will be included in district events in April once available.
- As of last week around 700 leaders out of 6700 have completed the training, or just over 10% of our leaders have been trained with the deadline fast approaching!
Please complete the revised Youth Protection Training ASAP!!
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!
Unit Trainers Needed! Can you answer the call?
We are in need of at least four adult volunteers to serve as Unit Trainers (at least two apiece from Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, respectively).
A Unit Trainer is responsible for ensuring that the adults in the units have completed required BSA Youth Protection training, making training opportunities available, and maintain proper training records, as well as occasional one-off duties. The MeritBadge.Org site has a good overview of responsibilities and qualifications at this link: Unit Training Chair.
Please email District Program Chair Mark Pishon at mpishon@gmail.com with volunteer nominee names by Saturday, March 31, 2018.
Thank you for considering, and for your continued commitment to our Scouts’ adult leadership development!
Hou Koda District 2018 Spring Merit Badge Workshop – Sat. April 14
The Crossroads of America Council Hou Koda District will be hosting its Spring Merit Badge Workshop:
Saturday, April 14
8am – 4pm
LDS Church Brownsburg
9710 W. 56th Street, Brownsburg IN
Registration for the workshop will open up at noon on March 28. Online payment processing will be available at that time.
Full details are still being finalized (costs, which classes are offered, etc.). Please keep this event link handy for more details, coming soon.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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