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Welcome to Cub Scout Pack 717!!
We hope the following information will be useful to you as you ready yourself for this incredible journey! If you feel overwhelmed, don't worry, just ask an experienced scouter or Pack Leader!
This is a compilation of information for families new to scouting at Wagon Wheel. You will form into dens of 6-8 boys, select an adult leader, and plan and conduct den meetings. You will attend monthly pack meetings at Wagon Wheel on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 7-8 p.m. Leaders will need to get some training - Youth Protection and Fast Start are required. The boys will use their scout handbooks to accomplish activities toward rank advancement with your help. Activities can be done at den meetings or other places. There are also other activities to be achieved. Parents and boys within a den will decide when and where to meet. Twice a month with one den meeting and one outing works pretty well.
Our Pack collects $105 for the year. You can expect to spend $70 on uniforms and $100 on other scout related stuff.
At this time the Pack has a policy of purchasing your son's scout handbook (Tiger or Wolf or Bear or Webelos handbook) and neckerchief. Your son will receive this at either our June Graduation picnic for spring recruits or our Back to School picnic for fall recruits. If he did not receive one, simply ask your den leaders.
To purchase your son's Field Uniform "Class A", please visit the Scout Shop where staff can assist you with everything you need. Let them know you are Pack 717 and your Den # if you have it. The closest scout shop is just west of the 5 freeway and south of La Paz behind the Claim Jumper. There is also a scout store on-line.
The scout handbook is the "how to" for the year and a record book to keep track of your son's progress. One of the first items in each book is Bobcat achievement. All new scouts must complete the Bobcat rank. There are 8 requirements under Bobcat rank. They include: learning the scout promise, handshake, salute, law of the pack, the meaning of WEBELOS, the scout sign, etc. Most boys finish this immediately and receive their first badge, the Bobcat badge at our October Pack Meeting during the Bobcat ceremony.
Then it is on to making rank. The next section of the book is marked "achievements" on the Tiger or Wolf or Bear Trail (Webelos are a little different). Each achievement is broken into subparts a, b, c etc. To complete an achievement requires some, not always all, of the subparts. It seems like a load, but all of these will be completed by the end of February. It means doing a couple of achievements each month. Den leaders try to get them done at den meetings, but often there is stuff that needs to be done with the family or as homework. Most of it is fun stuff. All of it is boy friendly. It is important to not become so achievement oriented as to take the fun out of scouting. That is the real challenge. My suggestion is to plan fun stuff that just happens to accomplish the requirement. There are many sources of suggestions including the annual program helps.
Completing rank requirements by February is just in time to receive their next rank badge --Tiger or Wolf or Bear or Webelos -- at Blue and Gold. Blue and Gold is the celebration of the birthday of scouting and we hold it in early March. Everyone completes rank in order to get the badge at this ceremony.
Along the way, the boys may do other fun activities either within scouting or as outside sporting or academic activities. Check out this web page for a detailed explanation of the academic and sports awards. Basically, the boys earn belt loops for most any activity they do. The pins require a little more effort. Save pins for Bears and Webelos.
If that isn't enough, there are a flock of electives after the achievement section in the Tiger or Wolf or Bear Book. These are done at any time to earn arrow points. The first 10 subparts of electives earns a gold arrow point and each 10 after that earns a silver arrow point. Arrow points are awarded after the rank award at Blue and Gold and at pack meetings up to June graduation.
You do not need to purchase any awards - these are all purchased by the pack. Den leaders will keep track and ask you for additional input on awards for the cubs. They will enter this information into ScoutTrack and the pack awards coordinator will buy the awards and prepare them for presentation at the pack meetings.
Boys also earn patches from different activities and accomplishments. Most do not go on the uniform. Patches are sewn on a red vest after the boys have collected a few. The scout shop sells vests also for approximately $12. Michael's has several fabric glues that keep the patches in place for a long time. But not forever. You will want to eventually sew them on. The Brazilia tailor shop in the Dove Canyon center does this for a price.
This is only some of the information available. Check at the scout store, the Orange County Council web site, and use your search engine to find more. Youth Protection Training and Fast Start Training are available online at the BSA Online Learning Center. Keep track of training completion and forward to the training chair when complete.
Last modified 05/19/2010 12:41 AM by akela
