Troop 440 Parent Guide

 

INTRODUCTION
We are pleased to welcome your son as a member of the Boy Scouts of America and of Patterson Troop 440. This membership makes you a Scout parent and your family a Scout family. We hope that your son and your whole family will enjoy and benefit from this association as over 100,000,000 boys have since 1910.

With your help, we hope to develop your son into an adult who is physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

It is exciting to participate in the development of young men into responsible contributors to the community. We feel that a child must grow from the early stage of complete dependence on his family to an eventual state of self-dependence. Along the way, he must be given ever increasing opportunities to make responsible decisions and try himself out in many situations. This development begins with tight family control that must gradually evolve into family support.

You can use our program to help guide your son in this developmental process. Our program will introduce outdoor adventure and social responsibility. We will support your moral values and decisions in all aspects of your son's developmental process. Here are some ways that you can maximize the use of the Scouting program to help your son develop and grow.

·   Encourage your Scout to have perfect attendance at troop meetings and planned activities (camping, service projects to the community, etc.).

·   Be interested in and encourage your son's Personal Rank Advancement.

·   Let your Scout plan and prepare for activities. Guide him; support him in his efforts. But let him do it - for there is no way he will learn and grow if you do it all for him.

·   Attend all family activities and events to demonstrate your support.

·   Offer assistance where possible and when asked, be it in providing transportation to troop activities or helping to organize and run them.

·   Encourage your Scout to have perfect attendance at troop meetings and planned activities (camping, service projects to the community, etc.).

·   Be interested in and encourage your son's Personal Rank Advancement.

Best wishes as you move into the exciting experience of helping your son develop and grow. Let scouting help both you and your son enrich your lives.

 

Troop 440 Committee

REGISTRATION
The Troop will provide you with the following documents/forms, which must be completed at the time of registration:

• Registration Form from BSA (be sure to fill in dates of immunizations on back of form)
• Medical Authorization Form Class 3
• Troop Resource Survey with Driver’s Information
• Parental Consent Authorization
• Internet Photo Release

All the above must be submitted to our Membership person.

ANNUAL FEE

The annual registration fees and dues to be a member of Patterson Troop 440 is $65.00. 

* Boys Life Magazine is required for all scouts and is included in the registration fee, however families with more than one son in the Troop may elect to receive only one copy per family; notify the Scoutmaster when you register or re-register.)

In general, payments in the form of checks are to be made payable to Boy Scout Troop 440. In addition to the annual fee, $1.00 in dues is collected at each meeting.  Scouts are responsible for paying the $1 dues regardless of whether he attends a meeting or not. This amount should be the responsibility of the scout; he should be responsible both for earning it and for bringing it to the meetings.

Fees for individual events/trips are collected prior to each event (see below).

INSURANCE PROTECTION
Each registered member of the unit is covered by an accident insurance policy, adults included. Your individual family insurance is primary; the Boy Scout insurance is excess. The Boy Scouts of America have a Liability Policy to cover automobile and other related situations as excess to your personal insurance.  This coverage is provided through Mutual of Omaha.

YOUTH PROTECTION
Each new scout is to complete the Youth Protection Booklet in the front of the Scout Handbook within 30 days of joining the Troop.

Scouting adheres to “two-deep leadership” guidelines: Two registered adult leaders, or one adult and a parent of a participating Scout, one of whom must be at least 21 yeas of age or older, are required for all trips or outings.  If we are lacking two adults for an event, the event will be cancelled.

There are a few instances, such as patrol activities, when no adult leadership is required.

Scout regulations require a Youth Protection meeting be held a minimum of once every three years. In addition, a video designed to empower our youth against abuse is shown annually (with parents’ permission).  Advance notification will be provided and the parent can determine if they want their scout to attend.

CHARTER ORGANIZATION
Patterson Troop 440  is chartered to our sponsoring organization, Patterson Recreation Advisory Board.

LEADERSHIP
All troop leaders (including Committee members) are volunteers. All leaders must complete a BSA application.

All active registered adult leaders have voting privileges re troop policy, training, etc. and are expected to attend committee meetings.

 

TRAINING
All uniformed adult leaders are required to attend formal training classes.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Parents are encouraged to assist the scout program by participation in any of the various committee positions.  Committee meetings are usually held monthly. Time and location to be determined by the committee.

SCOUT MEETINGS
Meetings are scheduled for every Tuesday, beginning in September and ending the following June.  Meeting time is 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM and will be held at the Patterson Recreation Center on 65 Front Street in Patterson, NY.  Scouts are required to attend all meetings. If a scout cannot attend a meeting, he MUST CALL either his patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, or senior patrol leader advising them he cannot attend the meeting.  He must follow-up by calling his patrol leader or assistant patrol leader to find out what went on at the meeting.  If a patrol leader is absent, he should call another patrol leader, the senior patrol leader or scoutmaster for the information.  Each scout is required to wear the designated class “A” uniform and  bring his handbook, scout folder, a pen/pencil, a notebook, $1 dues and a good attitude to each meeting.

COMMUNICATION 

Communication within the troop will be as follows:

1)     information is given out at each scout meeting – parents, please check your son’s scout folder after each meeting for updated information

2)     telephone messages from patrol leaders to the patrol

3)     web site (www.pattersontroop440.org)

4)     parents are welcome to call the Scoutmaster or any Committee member for clarification or additional information. 

If a scout misses a meeting, he MUST CALL his patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, or senior patrol leader. (Scoutmaster, assistant scoutmaster, or a committee member may be called if the PL, APL and SPL cannot be reached).  Being in a particular patrol does not prohibit you from calling anyone in the troop to get information!

Whenever possible, outlines of all troop activities will be handed out to the Scouts in advance at the weekly troop meetings. Occasionally, things come up at the last minute.  We will let you know of any changes and/or additions to the schedule as soon as possible. Permission slips will always be part of the handout. Please complete these forms immediately placing the responsibility back on the Scout to return them along with payment to Troop 440 in a timely manner. Upcoming activities  can also be seen on our troop web site, www.pattersontroop440.org.  Permission slips can be downloaded from our website.  (If a permission slip for the specific upcoming event is not there, you can print out the generic permission slip and fill in the event name and details.)

INTERNET
As the majority of the troop is online, e-mail is used frequently to communicate with the troop membership.  The Scoutmaster or troop committee members will e-mail you as well as your son.  It is our goal to maximize the use of electronic communications and minimize the use of telephone.  Our site does post pictures of our events, which contain photographs of scouts.  Individual scout names do not appear on this site or as photo captions.  While we are very sensitive to the dangers of posting our children's photos on the open internet, we have decided to do so only if a parent or guardian has agreed to do so.

 

UNIFORMS
Each Scout is expected to procure a complete Class A uniform.  This is defined as shirt, neckerchief, and slide.  Optional items are hat, pants, and belt.  Scouts are expected to wear this uniform at all  meetings and functions unless directed otherwise.  For many events, the Scouts will be permitted to wear the Class B uniform consisting of the troop tee-shirt or hooded sweatshirt available from the troop. Not required but accepted on specified outings only is the camouflage uniform.

 Scouts will be frequently inspected for uniform compliance.

UNIFORM EXCHANGE
Uniforms that have been outgrown or no longer needed can be donated to the  troop uniform exchange. Donations should be in reasonable condition.  Likewise, donated items are available to those who wish.

TROOP EQUIPMENT
The troop has a limited quantity of tents & cookware  which is available to patrols when we go camping.  Any scout assigned troop equipment shall be held responsible for that equipment and its proper use.  All issued equipment must be returned at the next scheduled meeting – as good as or better than when received!  Parent and scout must sign a troop form before taking possession of troop equipment.

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
In order to fully participate in troop activities, each scout should obtain, at minimum, the following:

1.       Sleeping bag – “zero degree”

2.       Sleeping pad

3.       Backpack

4.       Canteen/water bottle

5.       Mess kit

6.       Personal first aid kit

7.       Flashlight

8.       Raingear/poncho

9.       Compass

10.   Fire starter

11.   Toiletries

12.   Small roll of bathroom paper

13.   Pocket knife

Personal electronic devices are prohibited on scout events.

Your son must bring his Scout Handbook along with troop folder, notepad, pen/pencil and dues money  to every troop meeting. Make sure your son puts his name on the book.

TRANSPORTATION
The uniformed adult staff cannot transport the entire troop.  Parents must drive and, in some situations, stay over with the troop. If your son's patrol does not have adequate transportation both to and from an activity, they may not be able to attend the event or worse yet, we may be forced to cancel the activity.  Drivers are not permitted to transport more people than there are seat belts for. Passengers are not permitted in the back of pick up trucks.  We must complete tour permits on drivers and vehicles prior to a trip.  This is why we request this information on the data forms.

ACTIVITY / EVENT REFUNDS
If a scout signs up for an activity and he does not show up he will be responsible to pay the fees for the activity.  Some events require pre-registration with a minimum attendance and/or non-refundable deposits, in these cases a refund cannot be made.  However, if the scout cancels sufficiently in advance of the event, prior to the time an expenditure is made, he may be able to receive a refund for that portion of the fee.

PATROL METHOD
Scouts are formed into Patrols. As the Troop leadership gains experience, the Patrols will begin to plan and run meetings and events. The members of each patrol elect one of their own to serve as patrol leader. The troop determines the requirements for patrol leaders (PL), such as rank and age. The patrol leaders' council is made up of the senior patrol leader (SPL), who presides over the meetings; the assistant senior patrol leader (ASPL), all patrol leaders and the Troop guide.  The patrol leaders' council plans the yearly troop program at the annual troop program planning conference. It then meets monthly to fine-tune the plans for the upcoming month.  To give more youths the opportunity to lead, most troops elect patrol leaders twice a year.  Adult leadership will monitor activities to insure reasonable safety and soundness in decision making.

MERIT BADGES
Merit badges are an important element of the scouting program.  The Troop will loan merit badge books for study and review.  Books are to be returned promptly so that other boys can have access to them.  Parents are encouraged to review the merit badge opportunities and volunteer to be a counselor in a field they have significant knowledge or interest in.  Boys wishing to work on a merit badge should notify the Scoutmaster who will provide a "Blue Card" and the name and telephone number of an approved Merit Badge Counselor.

SUMMER CAMP
Summer camp is a highlight of the scout’s year. All scouts are strongly encouraged to participate for at least one week. Summer camp is normally held at Camp Read, which is located near Brant Lake (30 minutes north of Lake George) in the Adirondacks.  While in camp, each Scout sleeps in two person tents set on platforms with cots and mattresses.  The Reservation consists of three different camps that all have access to high adventure activities.

DISCIPLINE
The Troop Junior Leaders, (SPL, ASPL, and PL) provide the initial level of discipline. This can range from verbal counseling to barring attendance at an event (i.e. camping). Hazing is expressly forbidden. Continued disciplinary problems will be referred to the Scoutmaster who will meet with the Scout (another leader will also be present). Continued problems will involve the Scout’s parent(s) or guardian. In the event this fails to improve behavior, the Scout will be asked to leave the troop (no refund). All Scouts are expected to guide their behavior by The Scout Oath and the Scout Law.