Category: Cubmaster

Family Scouting is Here: Pack 279 Ready to Welcome First Female Scouts

Family Scouting is Here: Pack 279 Ready to Welcome First Female Scouts

To discuss Family Scouting, we first must know the history and how we got here today.

Cub Scout Pack 279 has a long tradition of encouraging scouting to be a family activity. We have always welcomed parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters to join us at outings, pack meetings, and den activities. Last fall the Boy Scouts of America announced a major change to our program. Beginning in 2018-2019 scouting year, the Cub Scouts would begin accepting females into the program in a policy change called “Family Scouting.”

Clearly girls and boys have their differences, but there is no question they deserve equal opportunities and treatment to become better students, stronger leaders, and healthier citizens. For many families, the BSA Cub Scout Program is the right program to encourage that growth.

This change to the BSA policy should not come as a shock as most of the world already enjoys co-ed scouting. In fact, even here in the USA, the BSA has programs like Venturing and Stem Scouting that are co-ed programs.

This spring, the New Birth of Freedom Council asked for at least one Pack from each school district to step forward and offer “early adoption” of Family Scouting. So many girls and families had heard about the change, they were eager to join. It speaks to the quality of the scouting program for sure.

The leadership of our sponsor organization – St. James Church – and Pack 279 and Troop 276 sat down last month to talk about what it means to be leaders. St James Church feels strongly that we seize this opportunity to lead and show other Packs in the area what leadership around Family Scouting looks like.

Early adoption would mean offering Cub Scouts to girls in grades k-4 for the remainder of this school year. Then in the fall, the Cub Scout program would be opened to K-5 to boys and girls.

The National BSA organization has said that Scout Troops for grades 6-12 will need to be single gender Troops. This is in full recognition of the developmental and emotional differences between young women and young men, but the Scouts of America and our Council are encouraging at least one sponsoring organizations in each school district to consider supporting at least one male and one female troop.

St James Church, Boy Scouts Troop 276 and Cub Scout Pack 279 are going to work hand-in-hand to help stand up an all-female Troop as a partner to our Pack and Troop in time for bridging in 2019. This will ensure any females from the CV school district have a BSA Troop to join and continue their scouting adventure in grades 6 and beyond in the 2019-20 school year.

 

So here is the news tonight.

 

  • IF you are a girl in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, and IF you like adventure, and IF you want to work hard while having fun, and IF you want to be a Cub Scout in Pack 279, you MAY pick up your youth application, complete it and join our pack tonight!
  • Young ladies joining anytime in the next three weeks will have their first official Pack meeting in uniform on Thursday, March 15 when we bridge the Arrow of Light den into the Boy Scouts. Your first den meetings will be that following Sunday.
  • You will wear the same uniforms as the boys, earn the same adventure loops, beads, and ranks. You will learn from the same leaders and have as much fun (or more) as the boys already in the Pack.
  • And IF you are a girl and join before the end of the school year, there is no charge to join. That’s right, free membership. We do not want the cost to be a barrier, especially when we hope to learn as much from you in the next few months as you will the program.

 

All girls will have membership in a special Den of female scouts in addition to your work in the den of your grade level. That female den will be mentored and lead by our female Tiger leader Serena Fedor. Serena will be working closely with Assistant Cubmaster Michael Fedor and Cubmaster Matt Weitzel and the parents of our first female scouts to ensure everyone has a great experience.

In fact, whether we planned it or not, every Den in Pack 279 has a female leader helping to plan and run the program today. This ensures our commitment to Youth Protection will be ready for Family Scouting day 1. It also ensures the changes we need to make as a pack to welcome female scouts will be front and center at every level of the Pack.

To the leaders of our Pack, thank you for your thoughtful consideration about Family Scouting. Thank you for your commitment to stand the program up early. Thank you for the work you will do in the days and weeks ahead to ensure our first female scouts have fun and feel safe and welcome.

And to the boys already in the Pack, let’s remember that a scout is helpful, friendly, courteous, and kind. We need your help as young leaders in our pack to make sure every young lady that joins us is treated as you would want to be treated.

As we speak, Camp Tuckahoe and others in the area are being renovated to provide equal facilities for female scouts. That means Cub Camp and Webelos Resident Camp this June are open to all scouts – male and female – in our Pack.

Blue & Gold Dinner with Surprises

Blue & Gold Dinner with Surprises

Everyone knows that Cubmaster Weitzel loves to include surprises into the Blue & Gold Banquet, right?

This year is no different. This week Mr. Weitzel and Mr. Fedor prepared more than 88 bags of awards, achievements, and special recognitions for the Scouts of this Pack. It is so exciting to see so many of you excelling in your Dens!

Don’t forget to dress in your “Class A”  – also known as your Field Uniform – on Friday for dinner. Have a parent or guardian make sure your uniform is clean, pressed, and looking extra sharp.  We are going to take photos as Dens and as a full Pack! It will be our largest group photo yet.

Our ceremony will begin at 6:00 pm, so arrive in time to sign in, pick a seat with your family, and visit with your friends.  We will begin with the presentation of the Colors and a blessing.  Then dinner begins! Awards and recognitions to follow.

And we have an extra special announcement coming on Friday that will surely change Cub Scout Pack 279 for the better for years to come. So bring your listening ears, your singing voices, and your appetite. We are going to have a bucket of fun on Friday night, Scouts!

Summer Camp

Summer Camp

Youth join scouting to go camping!  …and Scouts who attend summer camp are more likely to stay in scouting.

Camping at the Cub Scout level introduces scouts to the outdoors and helps them develop outdoor skills at an age-appropriate level. Cub Scout/Webelos Scout resident camp is a council-organized, theme-oriented overnight program that runs from two to four nights. It is conducted under a certified National Camping School-trained director at the New Birth of Freedom’s flagship camp, Camp Tuckahoe.

Please take a few minutes to share the video below with your scout to learn more about all the exciting opportunities at summer camp.


Talk to a leader today about  summer camp and how you can reserve your scout’s spot at camp this year.

Santa & the Scout Law

Santa & the Scout Law

With the holidays upon us, I thought tonight we would try to answer an age-old question regarding Santa Claus: Is it possible that Santa Claus was a Boy Scout? Let’s take a look at how The Old Man stacks up against the Scout Law;

  • Trustworthy – He shows up every year, just like he promises.
  • Loyal – He’s very dedicated to his craft and his mission.
  • Helpful – Saves many Dads from last-minute shopping. Dads are notorious for leaving things to the last minute, just ask a mom.
  • Friendly – How many people would let millions of kids sit on their lap and listen to what they want? …And smile while doing it?
  • Courteous – He always says “Thank You” for the billions of calories he gets in milk and cookies each year.
  • Kind – Delivering gifts to children is a great act of kindness. Except for the drum sets. …That’s not too kind, at least to the parents.
  • Obedient – We tried to emailed Mrs. Claus on this one. No reply, but seeing he’s been married for all those years, I’m going to bet he does what she tells him.
  • Cheerful – Ho ho ho! Need I say more?
  • Thrifty – Makes his own toys and saves a bundle on shipping costs.
  • Brave – Would you get in a magic sleigh pulled by flying reindeer?
  • Clean – Not sure how he does it, but that red suit looks great even after the millionth chimney has been gone down.
  • Reverent – Does his thing on a very special night for his religion and represents the spirit of the day.

So yes, it looks like Santa Claus may have indeed been a Boy Scout. This time of year no matter what holiday you celebrate, remember that doing your best every day and living the Scout Oath and Law is what really makes each of you a Boy Scout.