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Welcome to Troop 400/2400

Build Character * Foster Citizenship * Develop Fitness

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BSA Troop 400/2400

Basics for New Scouts and Parents

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Agenda

  • TroopKit
  • Scoutbook
  • Member’s website and resources
  • Campout Gear & Planning
  • Meetings
  • Volunteering
  • Dues and Accounts
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Troop Organization
  • Advancement, Ranks, Merit Badges

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Events & Troop Kit

http://troopkit.com/

  • Troop Meetings on Monday Evenings 7-8pm at Bethel Lutheran Church
  • Parent Meetings on first Monday of the month in Room 10 (next to Room 1)
  • PLC and Scoutmaster Meetings held Monday after a campout
  • Troop Kit is the main tool used for event scheduling and Troop communications
  • The site admin will send you an Access Code and password
  • Event specific details and sign ups are in Troop Kit
  • When scouts sign-up for an event, a parent must approve.

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Troop Kit Homepage

  • The Troop Kit homepage shows the calendar of events and current sign up status

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  • You can sign up for yourself and your Scout

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Troop Kit - Events

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Register for an Event

1. Scroll down and click on your name

2. This brings up the event registration screen

3. Select the option to attend or not attend. You can also just transport people but not attend the event

4. Indicate how many people you can transport TO and FROM the event.

5. Provide your cell phone number

6. Select the “Submit” button

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You will receive an email confirmation of your event registration

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Scoutbook

http://scoutbook.com/

  • ScoutBook is where Scouts keep track online of advancements, awards, camping, service, and hiking.
  • Using your my.Scouting.org credentials, you can venture to Scoutbook by web or mobile Scouting app.
  • Click on My Dashboard, click on your Scout, and edit Profile, do the same for the parent under My Account. This will only be available after the paperwork is processed with National.
  • Tutorial: https://help.scoutbook.com/knowledge-base/scoutbook-tutorial-for-parents/

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Troop 400 Website

https://sites.google.com/site/bsat400/

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Campout Planning

  • Sign up on troop kit
  • Duty Rosters
  • Health forms
  • Food Restrictions
  • Pack Check
  • Buddy System

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What Happens on a Campout?

  • Dilworth Departure Point: Line up packs, formation, announcements, health forms, separate into cars, depart
  • Campsite Arrival
    • Hike or activity before check-in, or
    • Set up camp and Flag raising
    • bag lunch
  • PLC programming
  • Patrol Cooking and dinner
  • Campfire: skits, jokes, stories, games
  • Next morning: Flags, Patrol Cooking & Breakfast, Pack-up
  • Flags, Trash Sweep
  • Thorns and Roses
  • Back to Dilworth

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What kind of gear do we need?

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BSA Troop 400/2400�Parent Participation

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Parent Participation

  • Parent Meetings
  • Campout
  • Volunteering
  • BoR
  • CoH
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Adult Roles

  • Volunteering is fun, insightful (of own child), and mandatory to keep the troop running smoothly for all scouts.
  • Merit Badge Counselors and MB Activities
  • Troop Committee
  • Interested in becoming an Assistant Scoutmaster? Talk to a Scoutmaster

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Training Opportunities

  • Online (Safety, Troop position specific)
  • Adult Outdoor Leader Skills
  • University of Scouting
  • Summer Camp
  • Shooting Sports
  • Safety First-Aid, Wilderness

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Parent Involvement and When To Let Go

  • Teenager Brains
  • Natural vs Logical Consequences and Problem Ownership
  • Special Needs

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“The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.”

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Robert Baden-Powell

http://bit.ly/38swhH3�T400 Shared Space > 4. Committee > Membership

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Dues and Accounts

  • Troop Dues
  • Account Balance
  • Requesting Reimbursement
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The Patrol Method

  • Building blocks of a Scout Troop
  • New Scout Patrol, Traditional Scout Patrol, Older Scout Patrol
  • Troop Guide, ASM - New Scouts
  • Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader
  • Quartermaster and Patrol Box
  • Patrol Meetings

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Troop Organization

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Troop Committee

Activities Chair

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Reservations (2)

Scout-o-Rama Coordinator

Scouting for Food Coordinator

Chartered Organization Coordinator

Equipment Chair/Quartermaster

Summer Picnic Coordinator

Hospitality Committee (3)

Summer Camp Coordinator (2)

First Aid Coordinator

Membership Coordinator

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New Member Coordinator

- Welcome/Joining package

Roster, Intranet, Troopkit Coordinator

Health Form Coordinator

Advancement Chair

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Awards Coordinator

Community Service Coordinator

Board of Review Committee

Eagle Chair

Eagle Board of Review Committee

Training Chair

Merit Badge Coordinator

Merit Badge Counselors

Fundraising Chair

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Popcorn (2)

Sees Candy

Dine-out Coordinator

Friends of Scouting

Treasurer

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Vice-Treasurer

Communications:

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Committee Secretary

Webmaster

Intranet Coordinator

Troopkit Admins

Journey to Excellence Advisor

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Advancement

  • Scout Master conference (SMC)
  • Board of Review (BoR)
  • Court of Honor (CoH)
  • 4 Steps of Advancement:
    1. You learn.
    2. You are tested.
    3. You are reviewed.
    4. You are recognized.
  • Rank Requirements listed in the back of the handbook

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Ranks

SCOUT

TENDERFOOT

SECOND

CLASS

FIRST

CLASS

STAR

LIFE

EAGLE

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Merit Badges

  • 135+ Merit badges
    • Agribusiness, Arts & Crafts, Business & Industry, STEM, Conservation, Hobbies, Personal Development, Communications, Professions, Public Service, Sports, Trades, Transportation
  • Blue Cards
  • MB Midways, Universities, and Workshops
  • Monthly Themes

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How to Start a Merit Badge

  • Pick a Subject. Talk to your Scoutmaster who will assign a Merit Badge Counselor to you.
  • Pick a Buddy. You must have another person with you when meeting the MB Counselor. Can also be a parent or registered adult.
  • Contact the MB Counselor. Call, or email (CC your Scoutmaster and buddies)
  • Show Your Stuff. The counselor will test and review the requirements with you.
  • Get the Badge. The counselor will sign-off. You will need to let your Scoutmaster and the Advancement Chair know you have completed the MB.

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Youth Protection

  • Youth Protection Training
  • Buddy System
  • Three R’s
    • Recognize
    • Resist
    • Report
  • Two-deep leadership and NO One-on-one’s
  • Sweet 16 of BSA Safety

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Glossary of Terms

Term

Definition

BSA

Boy Scouts of America - A nationwide organization founded February 8, 1910, and chartered by the U.S. Congress June 15, 1916

ASM

Assistant Scout Master - assists Scoutmaster and provides guidance and mentorship to scouts

SPL

Senior Patrol Leader - older scout who leads most meetings and events

PLC

Patrol Leader Committee - monthly meeting of Each patrol leader, representing his patrol, meets with the other patrol leaders and the senior patrol leader to plan their troop program. The Scout Master acts as an adviser

SMC

Scout Master Conference - A distinctive feature of the troop advancement plan in which a Scoutmaster helps a Scout accept responsibility for his own growth toward each rank

SM

Scoutmaster - adult leader of the Troop

Troop Kit

Software tool uses for scheduling events and troop communication

COH

Court of Honor - a ceremony to acknowledge merit badge and rank achievements held quarterly

BOR

Board of Review - a committee, usually made up of three parent volunteers and an adult leader, to interview a scout for rank advancement

Merit Badge

A recognition given to a Scout for completing the requirements for the badge.

PL

Patrol Leader - The youth leader of the patrol, elected by its members

Patrol

A group of boys who work together in and out of troop meetings

Parent Meeting

Monthly meeting held usually on the first Monday of the Month to convey news and updates to parents

Baden Powell

Baden-Powell, Robert Stephenson Smyth. Founder of the worldwide Scouting movement. Known as Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Chief Scout of the World, and B-P

District

A geographic administrative unit within a council. T400 is in the Polaris district

Council

An administrative body chartered to be responsible for Scouting in a designated geographic territory. Polaris is within the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council. http://svmbc.org/svmbc/

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At a Glance…

  • Troop 400 meets on Monday nights at 7pm at Bethel Lutheran Church in Torvand Hall 10181 Finch Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014

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  • Troop website: https://sites.google.com/site/bsat400

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  • Troop Kit website: http://troopkit.com/

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  • Council website: http://svmbc.org/svmbc/

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  • Scout Shop: 970 W Julian Street, San Jose 408.279.2086

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  • Training: http://svmbc.org/svmbc/training/

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