Welcome to SA Troop 500G!

We are happy to have you and your daughter join us for the awesome adventure of Scouting!

Scouts is a new experience for both scout and parent. There is a time when the parents, although still involved in new ways, take a step back and let their daughters take on more and more responsibility for their achievements. While Scouts is girl led, it is parent facilitated. Your role as a facilitator requires a commitment of your time on both organizational and activity levels. To support the girls in their efforts, this guide provides a brief overview of what a parent needs to know to survive the first year of scout life.

Uniform

The formal SA uniform is termed a “Class A”. The Class A uniform consists of the following:

• Scout Uniform Shirt with dark green epaulets and the following patches (Proper placement of the badges is shown in the Scout Handbook):
  • Lake Erie Council
  • Troop numbers (500) *We have these to give to you - do not buy
  • Purple Fleur de Lis
  • Patrol Badge *We will provide this for you, and will change depending on your patrol within the troop
• Purple neckerchief, with lime green edging *We will provide this for you
• SA Scout belt (some pants and shorts have a “built in” belt)
• Scout Uniform Pants or zip-off pants (uniform shorts for summer)

You will also need to purchase a Scout Handbook for Girls. *This is provided for all girls that are crossing over from Cubs

*Troop 500 will provide each scout with the neckerchief, troop 500 numbers, and a patrol badge. The other items, except for hiking boots, can be purchased at the Scout Shop at the Lake Erie Council Headquarters building and store is at 2241 Woodland Ave. Cleveland Ohio. All of the pants come un-hemmed.

Each scout should have her complete Class A Uniform and handbook as soon as possible upon joining. Occasions at which Class A Uniforms are required are:

• Troop Meetings
• Court of Honor
• Summer Camp
• Scoutmaster Conferences
• Boards of Review
• Other occasions as announced

For other troop activities, a Troop 500 t-shirt (aka “Class B”) can be worn with scout pants, jeans, or shorts. Class B shirts are purchased through the Troop.

We have started a small collection of Class As that other Scouts have grown out of, if you would like to try these before buying new ones. Just let us know if this is the case!

Medical forms

Medical forms are required before a scout can participate in any scouting activity. The medical forms have several parts. One of the sections includes an annual physical exam and requires a physician’s signature. The entire multi-part medical form must be completed and submitted to the troop before the scout can participate in summer camp or any high adventure activity. Forms may be printed from the scouting.org page

Form C is required for summer camp and any high adventure activity. Parts A and B are required for any event.

Meetings

Troop Meetings are held Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, depending on troop activities. In the summer months, meetings are held on Monday evenings at the Shelterhouse Picnic area in South Chagrin Reservation from 6:30-8:00pm. Please refer to the current calendar for up-to-date details.

Outings

The Troop organizes outings each month. The outings are designed to provide opportunities for the girls to complete rank requirements and merit badges. They are also fun times with camping, hiking, cooking, and other outdoor activities. Most outings are Friday evenings through Sunday mid-day. Parents are encouraged to attend outings and share the outdoor experience with your daughter. Fees for the outings vary, are paid per outing by those Scouts and adults attending, and are to be paid in advance. Google forms are used for RSVPs and your commitment to paying your Scout’s fees for attending, as we often either register your daughter in advance when going to a Council-sponsored event and/or are reserving campsites and purchasing food based on the numbers that RSVP as attending. These RSVPs are used for planning purposes and it is asked that each Scout has an RSVP Google Form filled out regardless of whether they plan to attend the event or not. Thank you!

Scouts camp and cook in patrols, and Scouts most often will tent with a buddy. Tent partners can be no more than 2 years apart in age. Tents and all cooking equipment are supplied by the troop. Scouts need to pack and bring all personal clothes, sleeping bag and pad, a camp chair, mess kit, day backpack with individual first aid kit, Scout book, and anything else individually needed for the trip. Each patrol, generally, will have a “Grubmaster” that is responsible for planning the food menu, budgeting, shopping, and prepping for the food for the event. Recommended packing lists are available on the Resources page.

The girls plan/calendar for by outings during a twice yearly “Semi-Annual Planning Meeting” during which time we look at school and other calendars, take into account what the Scouts are interested in and the activities that they want to do, and plan our calendar 6 months in advance. The girls’ interests drive our calendars and activities that are planned.

Fees

Along with the fees per outing and the annual membership renewal fees per Scout, the troop has has twice yearly Troop fees. Because it can be burdensome to purchase everything needed when you first start in the troop, all new members will forgo the initial membership fee that is due once they join the troop. They will then be responsible for membership fees after this first fee. Currently, the dues are $50 every 6 months, but that price is subject to change. Fees are put towards purchasing merit badges, items needed for Courts of Honor, and other troop-related expenses.

Attendance at Troop and Patrol Meetings and Outings

In order for your daughter to get the most out of scouting, it is essential that she attend troop meetings, patrol meetings (if they are a part of them) and outings on a regular basis. The troop is stronger when there is full and consistent participation.

Safe Scouting

Please read through the Guide to Safe Scouting book with your child. You can find it in the front of every new Scoutbook, as well as in our Google Drive folder. Then watch the Personal Safety Videos that correspond to your rank at this link: https://www.scouting.org/training/youth/scouts-bsa/

Technology

We communicate via Groupme and have a adult and Scout whole group chat, as well as have a Scout-specific chat. This Scout chat is monitored by two-deep adult leadership.

Whenever there is any online/text/virtual/phone communication between a Scout and an adult, there must always be two adults that are a part of this communication, just like we have two-deep leadership in person. A youth should NEVER be communicating with an adult 1-on-1.

We allow Scouts to bring phones with them to meetings and outings and to use them appropriately. If technology use becomes a problem, that will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Service Projects

Service to others is a cornerstone of the SA philosophy. The girls are encouraged to participate in service projects throughout the year. Service hours are required for rank advancement. The girls will assist with Eagle Scout projects, do yard work and other work at Advent Lutheran church, participate in events such as the council wide annual Yard Charge, and have other service opportunities.

Troop Organization

Elections are held for patrol and troop positions. Senior Patrol Leader is elected every 6 months. Experienced scouts holding a rank of First Class or higher, and having been active in a scout troop for at least six months, will have an opportunity to run for patrol and troop positions.

Those that are elected to leadership positions will be expected to participate in Patrol Leader Conferences, which are held at least monthly and involve planning troop meetings and activities.

Current Adult Leadership Contact Information:

Charter Organization = Advent Lutheran Church (Anthony Binkowsky is our Charter Organization Representative) Scoutmaster = Jenni Ferro jcelia@hotmail.com 917-658-3022 Assistant Scoutmaster = Shari Armstrong redbaron96@sbcglobal.com 216-650-3059 Assistant Scoutmaster = Arunkumar Srinivasan mrarunks@yahoo.com 614-216-2519 Assistant Scoutmaster = Ryan May spockmay@gmail.com 216-385-5341 Committee Chair = Heather Gansler heatherlgee@gmail.com 440-666-6680 Treasurer = TBD

Other possible adult leadership roles can be found in the Troop. We would love for any new adults to consider learning about and taking on a role. We are at our best with all hands on deck!

Rank Advancement

The advancement path is outlined in the Scout Handbook. The girls can work on any requirement for advancement or merit badges at any time. However, they can only advance a rank when ALL requirements for that rank are completed. Rank advancement is earned by each scout; rank advancement is not automatic. Rank advancement order is Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle.

Initially, the girls will get their rank requirements signed off by more advanced Scouts. The girls should bring their Scout Handbook to meetings and outings so that requirements can be signed off. The scout’s name MUST be inside and outside their book. It is her responsibility to be sure she takes the correct book from meetings. Scouts will also need a pencil or pen and a small sized notebook. There is a check list for rank requirements in the Scout Handbook, and there are corresponding pages by the requirements so that the Scouts know where to learn and review the information. As requirements are completed, signed and dated, it is important to make a photocopy or take pictures of these pages at regular intervals (every two to three months) in case your daughter’s book is lost or damaged. Unlike in Cub Scouts, parents may not sign off on requirements.

Every rank requires a Scoutmaster Conference. Ranks beyond Scout Rank also require a Board of Review. More info about these can be found here.

The path to Eagle consists of the following steps:

	Scout	Tenderfoot	2nd Class	1st Class	Star	Life	Eagle
Minimum Active Period					4 months	6 months	6 months
Typical Active Period							10 months
Cumulative Merit Badges					6, 4 Eagle require	11, 7 Eagle required	21, 14 Eagle required
Typical Age	11-12	11-12	12-13	14-15	15-16	16-17	Before 18 years old
Fast Track Age			By end of 1st year	11-12	12-13	13-14	14-15

Note: Advancement requires scoutmaster conference, merit badges, service projects, and other activities so the “Minimum Active Period” quoted here and in the Scout Book is very misleading.

Merit Badges

Scouts earn merit badges throughout their scouting career. Twenty-one badges are the minimum for Eagle Scout Rank of which fourteen specific badges are identified as required. The girls will work with a merit badge counselor to complete the requirements, and can also complete these during merit badge universities and during summer camp, along with their individual work.

As the girls work on a merit badge, they may wish to access the book specific to that merit badge. The content of these books is available on-line. The scout is not required to have this book, nor are you required to purchase books. Merit badge books are optional, but may be purchased at the Scout Shop or borrowed from the Troop Library or from the local libraries. We use mostly electronic blue card records via Scoutbook.com in order to track merit badge completion. Blue cards, which are the documentation of permission to begin a merit badge, as well as that a merit badge has been completed, are essential. They are the ONLY acceptable document if any Council computer records or Troop records are damaged or incomplete. Because Blue Cards are so important, you should consider printing out your Blue cards from Scoutbook periodically and keeping these printed documents in case anything ever happens to the online Scouting records.

Paper blue cards are in three parts. One part is held by the Troop, one part is held by the merit badge counselor and one part is presented to the scout by the merit badge counselor. Scouts must organize and preserve the blue cards as a record of their accomplishments

Parent Involvement

Becoming a trained scout leader will provide numerous opportunities for you to make your daughter’s scouting experience rich and rewarding. Adult leaders help to organize and assist the girls in running outings. You also provide leadership examples for the girls. Though Scouts lead, adults facilitate the details.

Safety and Youth Protection

Scouting promises adventure, learning, challenge, responsibility and much more. In order to fulfill these promises, Scouting must be safe. All scout leaders are trained and certified in the Youth Protection program through Scouting America. Scout parents are also required to complete a Youth Protection exercise with their daughter and submit documentation of this exercise to the troop.

Safe scouting is everything from safety in camping, knife skills, fire skills, and using a buddy system to recognition, prevention and intervention in situations of bullying. It also includes safety from physical or sexual abuse.

To ensure the safety of all scouts, Scouting America requires “Two Deep Leadership.” This means that there must be at least two adults present for any scouting activity. This is especially essential during outings, summer camp and high adventure activities. To achieve this level of safety, parents must take an active part in the operations and activities of the troop.

Summer Camp

Our troop attends one week of summer camp each summer. The girls choose where they want to go, within a drive away, and we have generally gone to a different camp every summer. Summer camp fees are different at each camp we attend, but we have been able to get as-needed individual camperships (“scholarship” discounts off from camp) for many of our camps, if needed.