GUIDELINES FOR TROOP 103 BSA, ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CHURCH

BLUEGRASS COUNCIL, PALISADES DISTRICT, LEXINGTON KY

11/16/2011

The following guidelines are meant to help the scout get the most out of the program and to allow our troop to run smoothly and fairly. The troop follows all Boy Scouts of America policies and guidelines in establishing and following these guidelines. The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America says that active participation is the only way for a scout to receive the complete and full scouting experience. The success of our troop depends upon the dedication and participation of the registered adults, the interest, enthusiasm and participation of the scouts and the support and participation of the parents. Our troop is a boy run program as described by the BSA. Our leaders and committee members play a supporting and guidance role. It is the scoutmaster’s responsibility to make sure that all scouts receive the opportunity to advance in rank and experience a safe, enjoyable, challenging and fun scouting experience and to receive the values, morals and skills of a scout. It is the scout’s responsibility to take advantage of what is offered to them and the PLC’s responsibility to establish and run the weekly, monthly and annual activities. We are a growing and still developing troop and always will be. Therefore any suggestions to improve our operations are always welcome.

MEETINGS AND ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION

Our troop meetings start sharply at 7:00 pm every Thursday, year round unless the troop is informed by the scoutmaster. The meetings conclude as close to 8:30 pm as possible. Sometimes we do run over. PLCs take place after the first Thursday of the month meeting and committee meetings take place after the second Thursday of every month meeting. The other weeks of the month from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm the hall is available for scouts working on advancement.

  1. BE ON TIME, ALL scouts should arrive 15 minutes early to all troop meetings and activities. We will start sharply at the specified time. Be on time or you may be left behind. Service patrol members must arrive to troop meetings between 6:30 and 6:45 to set up the meeting place and then stay after to clean up.

Arriving late or leaving early only interrupts the meeting and causes scouts to lose out on information that they may need to know. A SCOUT IS COURTEOUS!

  1. BE PREPARED, EVERY SCOUT should bring to EVERY MEETING OR OUTDOOR ACTIVITY his scout book, a notebook, pen or pencil and his scout spirit.
  2. BE IN UNIFORM, we would like for all scouts and leaders to be in a full uniform at all functions however, the standard acceptable meeting uniform is the class A field shirt with a neckerchief and slide. Points will be deducted for improper patch placement and sloppy uniform appearance during uniform inspections. A SCOUT IS CLEAN! See the uniform section for more details.
  3. PARTICIPATION, in order for a scout to advance he must participate. The troop understands that boys can be involved in other activities such as sports, band, etc. And unlike most of these organizations our program can work with these needs. There is however guidelines for participation and advancement based on how active you are in the scouting program. In order for a scout to receive a board of review, work on a merit badge, or attend an activity he must be active in the program. Our troop recognizes three levels of illegibility to advance and participate based on attendance. A SCOUT IS LOYAL!

To be ACTIVE a scout must attend 50% or more of the meetings in a 3-month period and 50% of the troop activities.

To be EXCUSED a SCOUT must advise the SCOUTMASTER that he is going to miss a series of meetings over a given time period. We still allow the scout to participate in the activities of the troop that his conflict does not interfere with but he will not be allowed to work on advancement until he reestablishes himself as active.

To be INACTIVE means the scout has missed to many meetings and or activities without advising the scoutmaster ahead of time. There fore the scout is NOT allowed to participate in activities or advance until he is reestablished as active.

UNIFORMS

The BSA believes that the wearing of the scout uniform creates a positive image and helps to develop a sense of belonging and unit identity. All scouts and registered adults are expected to wear the complete scout field uniform also called a class A uniform to all scout functions unless otherwise instructed. Our troop recognizes that the cost of uniforms can be expensive and so we accept but do not prefer substitutions as listed here. There are 3 levels of uniform wear the troop accepts as described below. All uniforms should be kept clean and neat in appearance with all correct patches and insignias properly attached. All buttons should be buttoned and all shirttails tucked in. All are expected to wear the class A uniform to meetings as describe below. When we specify full class A, we expect all to wear the full uniform as described below. Class B uniforms also known as the activity uniform can be worn when specified as described below. The scoutmaster will announce the uniform requirements when FULL CLASS A or CLASS B uniforms are to be worn. All other times the class A is expected to be worn by all. All non-BSA hats are to be removed when in the scout uniform and at a scout function.

FULL CLASS A, is a short or long sleeved BSA Field shirt. Troop neckerchief with slide (Eagle Scout or Woodbadge neckerchiefs are also approved for those qualified to wear them), Merit badge sashes, BSA field pants (khakis are acceptable but not preferred), and dress shoes or hiking boots. NO OPEN TOE SHOES!! Scout socks and hat are also preferred. In warm weather ONLY scout shorts with scout socks can be worn. This uniform should be worn to all ceremonies, public gatherings, to scoutmaster conferences, to boards of review and activities that the scout is in the public’s eye.

CLASS A OR MEETING UNIFORM, is the short or long sleeved BSA field shirt with a neckerchief and slide and is to be worn to all scout meetings and functions where the FULL CLASS A is not specified. However the complete uniform is always preferred.

CLASS B OR ACTIVITY UNIFORM, is any troop or BSA tee shirt, sweat shirt, polo shirt(any shirt with the BSA logo), BSA pants or shorts preferred. This uniform should be worn to all outdoor activities where the Class A or Full Class A is not specified.

NOTE; ALL SCOUTS AND ADULTS MUST WEAR HIKING BOOTS TO ALL OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES UNLESS ADVISED AHEAD OF TIME BY THE SCOUTMASTER. NO OPEN TOE SHOES!!

When a scout is going to his eagle board of review and when he receives his Eagle award he MUST be in A FULL BSA ISSUED FIELD UNIFORM, no exceptions.

BSA issued uniform parts make nice Christmas and birthday gifts for your scout.

The troop runs a free uniform bank, if you are in need of items check with the committee member in charge of it to see if we have what you need or if you have uniform items your son has out grown we ask that you please donate them.

ADVANCEMENT

The BSA National Council views advancement as the recognition element of the scouts learning process. Only the scoutmaster, assistant scoutmasters and advancement committee members can sign off a scout’s rank advancement. Only approved merit badge councilors can sign off on a merit badge. In our troop we do not allow a parent to sign off on their son’s advancement. All scouts are expected to fully complete all requirements for the badge they are working on. All advancement requirements and guidelines are set by the National Council. BSA guidelines specify that if it says to demonstrate or do some thing then the scout must do so not just discuss it. If the requirement says that a scout must complete something in the field or they must visit somewhere then they must do so. The troop is not allowed to add to requirements or alter requirements for any advancement. Scouts advance at their own pace and choose merit badges that interest them or are required for rank advancement.

RANK

All scouts should be able to achieve the rank of First Class with in his first two years of scouting in our troop. There is no time limit however for advancement for any active BSA member other than before his 18th birthday. Star, Life and Eagle do have a required period of time that a scout must serve actively. The scout needs to want to advance and therefore it is the individual scouts responsibility to come prepared to advance to the approved leaders for advancement. The troop will provide instruction and opportunity for advancement for all scouts and for all ranks. A scout may work on multiple ranks at a time but can only receive them in order. It is possible for a scout to receive more than one rank badge at a Court Of Honor.

MERIT BADGES

Only the scoutmaster or the advancement chairman in our troop can approve a scout for merit badge work. BSA guidelines say the scoutmaster can decide if a scout can start a merit badge. In our troop we look at how many merit badges the scout is currently working on, where is he in rank, and is the scout ready, qualified and able to complete the badge. We do not work on merit badges during troop meetings, the scouts need to work on the program set up by the PLC.

The troop reviews all merit badge work from summer camp and assigns councilors to review all of them with all the scouts. This process can take several months to complete as multiple scouts work on the same multiple merit badges but the troop will do them as quickly as possible.

  1. A scout picks a merit badge he would like to work on and finds at least one buddy to work on it with him.
  2. The scouts then come to the scoutmaster or advancement chairperson to receive the name of a troop qualified councilor and a “blue card”.
  3. The scout fills out all the required information and presents it to the scoutmaster for his approval and signature.
  4. The scout then contacts the councilor to arrange for a meeting.
  5. The scouts meet with the councilor and hands over his blue card for the councilor to keep while the badge is being worked on.
  6. Once the councilor feels the scout has satisfactorily met all the requirements he signs off the card and gives it back to the scout.
  7. The scout then turns the blue card into the advancement chairman so it can be recorded and ordered.

Merit badge work can be done on any day of the week and at any location the councilor decides to meet at. The BSA guidelines states that at no time is an adult to be in a one on one situation with a scout. Merit badges are the only activity that does not require two adults be present but there must be another scout, older family member or friend present. It is recommended that two adults be present if at all possible.

When the merit badge councilor decides they have completed all the instruction for the badge and the scout for some

reason has not completed the requirements, the scout has 30 days to complete the missing work. If the scout does not complete the work in the allowed time and the councilor feels the scout deserves more time it can be extended. The goal here is that a scout does not drag out the completion of a merit badge for an extended period of time. The scout was supposed to want the badge when he started it and there fore should be able to make up 1 or 2 requirements in 30 days.

DISCIPLINE

The basic rule of thumb is we expect all our scouts to act like scouts but we realize boys will be boys. It is also expected that scouts will respond appropriately to correction, behave properly, work diligently and be respectful, in other words live the scout oath and law. In order to have smooth running safe meetings the troop does have to have a disciplinary policy to deal with problems. The safest and welfare of all our scouts is our priority and discipline must be maintained. Should a scout’s behavior become a problem(disrespect for others or their property, vulgarity, chronic disobedience, violent or threatening behavior towards others, untrustworthy, use of illegal dugs, alcohol or tobacco products) appropriate action will be taken and parents notified. We hope these problems are kept to a minimum however they do occur from time to time. The troop expects ALL parents to support our guidelines and make sure their son is following them.

  1. All scouts are to act like scouts at all times and respect other people and property.
  2. All scouts are expected to give adult leaders the respect and courtesy they deserve
  3. Other people use the church facilities while we are there, so running around and making noise is to be kept to a minimum.. No one is to go around the church when it is in use.
  4. NO FIGHTING, real or play, verbal or physical.
  5. No initiations or hazing is permitted.
  6. No sheath knives, knives with over a 3-inch blade or knives that can be opened with one hand are allowed.
  7. No scout is to have butane lighters for any reason or have any kind of flame in a tent. Matches are for lighting allowed fires and lanterns only and should be stored in the patrol box.
  8. Scouts are not to have cell phones at troop meetings or activities as there is no need for them. Adults will have cell phones for emergencies. Scouts with cell phones will have them taken away by the scoutmaster and only returned to the parent.
  9. Electronic games, radios, DVD players or other electronic devices, not required by the troop for an activity are not to be brought to any meeting or activity and will be confiscated and returned only to the parents. The scoutmaster will advise the troop of any exceptions per activity.
  10. Balls, Frisbees or other toys are not to be brought to troop meetings unless required by the program.
  11. Any scout or adult who brings illegal, disallowed by scouting, dangerous items or places another person in harms way will be sent home immediately. Should laws be violated the troop may have to call in law enforcement.

As we are a boy run troop minor infractions are dealt with by the PLC under council with either the scoutmaster or first assistant scoutmaster. The PLC will decide what disciplinary action will take place. The families will then be notified of the problem and the decision of the PLC.