Troop 132

We had a lively meeting this week, while the senior leaders prepared the Troop for our intra-patrol Klondike/winter skills event. Our outdoor program is where you can learn and develop scout skills while having fun.

Advancement Corner – Rank Advancement Process
Unlike Cub Scouts where a parent signs off, the Boy Scout Rank requirements are signed off by the Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Scoutmasters (ASM) and Scoutmaster (SM).
First, bring your Scout Book to every meeting. Keep track of camping nights, service projects which you can log and have an ASM or SM sign off in the back of your book. The book record of your advancement. The Troop maintains these lists in another application called Troop Master, but it is good practice for the scouts to do their own record keeping. When you have learned skills and ready for sign off, the first person you should ask is your patrol leader (PL). Your patrol leader is your first point of contact to show or demonstrate the skills and have them sign off. The patrol leader makes an effort to learn what his scouts need. So when there are Troop activities, those that need cooking (for example) have that opportunity. If the PL is not available, please check with the ASPL or SPL and they can review, sign and date the books.

For senior scouts, that is, higher than 1st class, many or most of those requirements have to be signed off by an ASM or SM and /or the Advancement Chair. Specifically, the requirements for merit badges earned should be signed off by Mr. O’Neil, Advancement Chair.

We will service projects next week.

Excellent presentation and interest in Philmont 2021. Challenge yourself. “If you can do this, you can do anything”, spoken by Will Duggan while at Philmont.  …and have a life lasting experience …and fun.

Reminder, our Patrol Leader Council meeting is this Monday (1/20/20) at 6pm, Monument Hall. All positions need to report in prior to the meeting if you will not be in person. Others are welcome and this is where we plan for the next month.

Another reminder, the February Court of Honor will be right after February vacation, so keep working on rank advancements & earning merit badges.

Congratulations to Tommy Stone who passed his Board of Review and earned Tenderfoot.

I’m going to start a little section of the blog here called Advancement Corner; as a reminder of how we get scouting done in our Troop.
 
Advancement Corner – Topic- Merit Badges (MB)
There are many merit badges, Reading, Art, Traffic Safety, and others. If you have an interest, there possibly is a merit badge for your desires. Check it out on the merit list.   

If you want to earn a merit badge, please ask for a blue card first from Mr. Spraque. You will then need to approach Mr. Cancio on getting a councilor. The scouts call the 'merit badge folks' merit badge councilors, because they council – not teach.  The councilors guide and enable you to learn and earn the merit badge. You are an active participant not a student. Keep that in mind. This is not like school.

Of course, there are merit badge universities posted in past announcements and often we will host a session for the troop. We make those opportunities available via the “announcements” and encourage scouts to attend if possible.

Some advice I will pass down for Scout rank, Tenderfoot and Second Class Scouts. Stay focused on rank advancements first and you do not need to focus on merit badges. Getting to First Class should be your goal. All the skills you earn up to and including 1st Class makes you a good, independent scout who has the scout skills to handle most events and trips we take, including high adventures. These skills include navigation, camping, first aid, cooking, planning, knots, and working as a patrol.  As a First Class Scout, you are very capable. Beyond First Class, the merit badges will matter for advancement. Stay Focused.
 
Next week's topic – rank advancement sign off!

Happy New Year.   Good job with Christmas Tree Pickup. You learned that working together, working hard and helping our community is core to our values as scouts. Nice job. I heard many compliments about the scouts and how you all followed the scout law. Specifically, friendly, courteous, kind, and loyal to our Troop and community.

We also had our Troop talent show and the timing was not great because it was hard to get the word out ahead of time. We will do better in the future.

This month we have our troop Klondike derby where patrols will work together and compete on time for things like fire building and log sawing to name a couple. Don’t forget, that is a one-day event on Saturday, January 25, 2020, Camp Acton.

Next week we will start preparations for that next week.

We have a great year planned – Ski trips, Hiking, Service Projects, Summer Camp, Sea Base and that’s just the first half of the calendar year. We Scouters (adults) are all here to help you along the scouting journey. You set the pace and direction.  You decide if you want to focus on ranks and merit badges and/or just the outing experiences. We will help you achieve your scouting goals and desires both big and small, but they all start with living the Scout Law and Oath.

What are your New Year Scout goals?

I look forward to seeing everyone today at Christmas Tree Pickup.