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Each Scout should "Be Prepared" to bring certain items to camp in order to have a successful camping experience. Click this link for a suggested list of what to bring.
  No,
but you may bring a camp stool that is collapsible and
is not more than 18 inches high when set up.
If you are doing any type of requirement
work you should have it along. A small pocket notebook with the
spiral binding on the top is ideal. A pen is okay but can run
out of ink or leak. A wood pencil can be sharpened with your
pocket knife.
Size is the only problem. It should be washable and able to dry easy. There are small camp pillows that work well. If you have a full size pillow that can be attached without too much bulk to your pack or duffel bag that is okay as well.
Just avoid extra large bags or plastic bags that are very big and bulky.
You may have to carry your bags to your campsite which can be as much as
1/2 mile away. Anything over that will require a back pack.
I have written an article about rank
advancement. There will probably be some questions after reading
the article.
I hope all of you understand how important participation is
to rank advancement. Feel free to contact me with any specific
questions you may have after reading this article. (click
here for article)
I am often asked the question who signs
off the requirements for rank advancement in my son's book? The
answer to that question is only the Scoutmaster or Assistant
Scoutmasters are suppose to sign off the requirements for advancement.
Now is when the discussion starts. What about the boy run program?
The boy run program allows for older boys to help in the instruction
of the skills. Once a patrol leader or older scout has helped
another boy learn a skill that has not yet been checked off in
the book they can send the boy to the Scoutmaster or Assistant
Scoutmaster to be tested. This saves valuable time as the adult
will only have to witness that the scout does know how to do
the skill but does not have to go through all the teaching steps
as the older scouts have already done that. Each time the older
scout teaches a younger scout how to learn a certain skill it
reinforces his own knowledge of that skill. That is how the older
boys will remember what they learned in those earlier ranks they
have already "mastered". When we are at a long term
camp such as Tesomas, program areas like Eagle Quest have staff
in them that are suppose to be prepared to teach the skills in
the ranks sufficient for the boys to be able to master each skill
well enough to have his book "signed off". For the
most part, we have not had any problems with accepting the recommendations
of the staff members in Eagle Quest but we do try and check and
make sure the boys are actually learning to perform the skills.
When we go to long term, the leaders that are up there can all
be considered "in camp assistant scoutmasters". Whoever
we assign to work on a particular skill we are confident they
are competent to teach that skill. So if we have several dads
come along and they have various skills in cooking, compass work,
camping, knots, first aid, etc. we can cover a wide variety of
requirements. The leaders MUST BE REGISTERED SCOUTERS HOWEVER.
On our regular campouts we try and stick to BSA requirements
that the Scoutmaster or his assistants are the only ones that
can sign off the requirements. I tell the boys over and over
again, there is no secret to rank advancement. Read your book.
It explains what you need to do and how to do each requirement.
If you have a question, dad or mom might be able to help out
or call your patrol leader or someone from your patrol who already
has the rank. When you feel comfortable with a requirement come
and ask to have it checked off. We do so many of these as a group,
but there are many that you can do on your own, just one a week.
Before you know it you will have advanced another rank.
Driving instructions for various camps are listed below
Recruitment of boys for our troop is
usually left up to bridge-over scouts from our pack. This will
always remain our chief source of new members but it does not
have to be the only one! First of all, there are many boys who
may have decided not to bridge over when they left the pack.
They may be under the impression that they can’t join anymore
or that they will be way behind all the other boys. Both are
not true. Any boy who is eleven years of
age or completed the sixth grade is eligible to join the troop. Since every scout
works at his own pace, being behind the boys who have been in
the troop a year or two will not affect the fun that everyone
has in the troop. With a little work any boy can advance fast
enough to “catch up” to his age group. The next misconception
is that you have to go to St. Matthias School to join. We have
several boys in the troop that attend other schools. Any boy
past 8th grade has to go to another school so that myth can be
put to rest. The next one is that you have to belong to St. Matthias
Parish and/be a Catholic. Neither is true. You can go to any
school or church no matter what the denomination (Lutheran, Methodist,
etc.)
The troop welcomes any help you can provide. We need drivers and chaperones for outings, someone to plan outings, someone to organize the fundraising activities and merit badge help. If you are interested in helping please contact any troop leader or print out this troop resource survey and give to a troop leader.
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