Yours in Scouting

We have a busy Troop schedule filled with activities that help the scouts with their development and advancement. First, this Saturday is both DropOff & SwapOff (DOSO) and Crossover. Both are mandatory Troop events. From an annual perspective, DOSO, Crossover, and Christmas Tree pick up are our mandatory Troop commitments that we make to the town and citizens of Concord and Crossover is really our opportunity to welcome our newest scouts into our Troop.

We have a wonderful Troop full of lively scouts. This past week the Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) met to discuss the month ahead. The PLC provided the Troop leaders an opportunity to plan and prepare for the Crossover, May bike trip, and to put into practice the boy-led experience. This is their Troop. We, as parents and adults, are here to help and in most cases stay out of the way. Scouts learn by doing and they learn great lessons from success and failure. Stepping back and letting them do it, is hard for adults, but is the best for our Scouts. Yes, sometimes adults can go faster and better, but that’s not the point of scouting. Please keep that in mind and let our scouts be scouts.

Electronics Policy
Electronics are a tool we use at camp, trips and meetings. We live by the Scout Oath and Law. Where the electronics can be tool: keeping track of action items, scheduling events, recording decisions on preparation, finding your locations, planning routes and communicating with other scouts and the Troop makes sense and is scout like. Video games, texting, Snapchat, Fortnight, Minecraft, surfing the internet, and many of the other things people do with electronics is not aligned with the Scout Law and are not allowed at any Troop 132 function (meeting, camping trip, etc.). We don’t do them. That’s not what we do in our Troop. Scouts, if you see other scouts using a tool like a knife (without a Totn’chit, or blood circle) or using electronics inappropriately, be an upstander and say something to the scout first, then his PL/ASPL/SPL if the inappropriate activity continues.

Scouts, please put the Scout Law to work this weekend and be representatives of the Troop to the town and to the cubs. Do your good turn daily.