As of  Thursday, April 4, 2024, Scoutbook will redirect all calendar functionality to advancements.scouting.org, also known as Scoutbook Plus Internet Advancement.

This change is part of the migration of Scoutbook to Scoutbook Plus Internet Advancement due to the fact that Scoutbook is built on old classic ASP (Application Service Provider) which offers application services over the internet and needs to be retired.

Users have been given the opportunity to experience the new calendar since October 2023 by going directly to advancements.scouting.org. By providing calendar functionality in both platforms, developers have been able to receive and implement feedback while the old Scoutbook calendar was still in use.

The new calendar has added features such as the following:

-The ability to create recurring events such as unit, patrol, den, and committee meetings.
-Users can generate activity logs from events prefilled with event information
-An html editor for event descriptions
-An automatic update of event invitees when members join or leave a unit (available when Scoutbook calendar is fully retired)
-Quick entry for invitation and attendance

A user guide is available at Using Scoutbook Plus Internet Advancement Calendar (IA) – Scoutbook Knowledge Base (scouting.org)

A link will still be available to the Scoutbook Calendar (old) for a short time to assist users with the transition. Users can report issues with the calendar at Latest Scoutbook/New Calendar Bugs topics – Scouting Forums where experienced users with the new calendar are available to help troubleshoot.

HOW AN ADULT MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND SUMMER CAMP 2023

Adult leaders attending camp with their unit must be registered in their specific chartered organization’s unit if they are at camp for more than 72 hours. (Note the “72-hour” policy will change effective 9/1/2023. Early adoption is always encouraged; however, for summer 2023 the “72-hour rule” remains in effect. If you missed the webinar regarding the upcoming change to the 72-hour rule, click here to view the recording. You can also review Scouting’s Barriers to abuse here and the Barriers to Abuse FAQs here.)

 

Adult leaders cannot be registered as a merit badge counselor or any other non-unit position instead of through their unit to attend camp. They could be “multipled” or primary in their unit, but regardless, they must be registered with the specific unit they will attend with.

 

Why must they be registered in this way?
1. First: Camp is a unit program. Meaning, youth fall under the direction of their chartered organization’s approved unit leaders while in attendance (see NCAP HS-502).
2. Second: Because youth participate with their unit, the chartered organization must approve any adult working with their youth. A merit badge counselor (or other non-unit position) is registered through their council and therefore does not have the required approval from the chartering organization. There is a chart below with potential positions they could register in for their unit type.

 

Unit Positions

3. Finally: What about “provisional units”? Council organized camp units (sometimes called “provisional”) are a council-organized activity and therefore not unit organized. Chartered organization approval would not be required. These camp / council-organized provisional “unit’s” adult leaders would be required to meet SQ-401-402. Please ensure all of your registrars, participants guides etc. reflect this important guidance.

Update to Scouts BSA joining requirements opens the door to more young people

While Scouts love to climb mountains and hike across rugged terrain, their path to joining Scouts BSA shouldn’t be met with similarly daunting obstacles. To that end, a change to the Scouts BSA joining requirements will make it easier for young people to join a troop alongside their friends and classmates.

Effective April 18, 2022, the Scouts BSA joining requirements have changed. They now state that a young person can be a member of Scouts BSA if they meet any of these requirements below.

 

New Scouts BSA joining requirements (effective April 18, 2022)

• At least 10 years old, currently in the fifth grade and register on or after March 1

or

• At least 10 years old and have earned the Arrow of Light Award 

or

• At least 11 years old (but not yet 18)

 

As a reminder, the previous joining requirements stated that a young person could be a Scouts BSA member if they met any of the requirements below.

Old Scouts BSA joining requirements (prior to April 18, 2022)

• At least 10 years old and have completed the fifth grade

or

• At least 10 years old and have earned the Arrow of Light Award

or

• At least 11 years old (but not yet 18)

 

In comparing the two sets of bullets, you can see that the change primarily applies to young people who are still in the fifth grade. Thanks to the change, a 10-year-old who wants to join a Scouts BSA troop in March of their fifth grade year (or beyond) is welcome to do so.

 

An option to cross over

Some parents might wonder whether a Cub Scout working on Arrow of Light must move to a Scouts BSA troop if they turn 11 but haven’t finished the rank.
The answer is no. The pack can continue to work on rank advancement as normal and move the Scout into a troop when they complete the rank or at the regular program roll-up in June.
In other words, the only mandatory crossover is when they have completed the fifth grade. Like all the other ranks in Cub Scouting, once school ends, the Cub Scout is now the next rank.

New My.Scouting Hazardous Weather Training Expiration E-mails

For direct contact leaders, staying current on Hazardous Weather Training is an important part of offering a safe Scouting program and needs to be renewed every 2 years.

Like Youth Protection Mandatory Training, My.Scouting will now provide notification e-mails at 14-30-60-90-day intervals prior to expiring. Upon expiration of a person’s training, an e-mail will also be sent.

These notifications are important. Knowing how to recognize and manage weather and environmental risks is key to keeping our participants SAFE in Scouting’s outdoor classroom.

Please take the time before you venture out on your next outdoor adventure and update your training by going to https://my.scouting.org/ and then selecting the BSA Learn Center. You can quickly access the course in the Learn Center by selecting My Learning and typing “hazardous weather” in the search box. Clicking the “Retake” button will take you to the course so you can “Start Again” and complete it to update your training record in My.Scouting.

Thank you for all you do in serving youth and keeping Scouting safe!

click here for Hazardous Weather Training – BSA website

2021 GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT

The current edition of the Guide to Advancement is the official source for administering advancement in all Boy Scouts of America programs: Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scouts. It replaces any previous BSA advancement manuals and previous editions of the Guide to Advancement. Producing the Guide to Advancement has involved many members of the Boy Scouts of America’s national staff and many volunteer advancement administrators and subject matter experts at all levels from across the country. The result is a resource intended to efficiently meet the needs of those who would most often consult it. 

 

Additional information and best practices appear in other official BSA resources such as Advancement News and the Advancement Resources web page found at www.scouting.org/advancement.

 

Note that the National Advancement Program Team addresses many questions through the e-newsletter, Advancement News. You can find the Advancement News archive at www.scouting.org/advancement.

 

Click here to view/download 2021 Guide to Advancement in PDF format

 

Journey to Excellence (JTE) Unit Recognition Program to Be Retired

Effective December 31, 2024, the Journey to Excellence unit recognition program will be retired.

 

Moving forward, metrics for Scouting and Exploring unit success will be seamlessly integrated into unit leader support materials and resources. These metrics will be consistent with those used by the Commissioner corps to support Scouting and Exploring units. This new approach aims to provide a consistent and more streamlined and effective method for evaluating and enhancing unit performance. Feedback from unit leaders and survey results played a crucial role in making this decision.

 

We believe this transition will better support our unit leaders and ultimately improve the experience for all participants as we continue to develop and deliver relevant programs.

 

Units can continue to purchase 2024 Journey to Excellence recognition items through December 31, 2025.

 

 

Topics for Cub Chat Live

for July and August  

What is new in Cub Scouting? Find out by tuning in every Friday at 2 p.m. Central to Cub Chat Live.

This Facebook Live event is broadcasted over all of our Facebook pages every Friday at 2 p.m. Central. They are recorded and posted on the Scouting Magazine Facebook Page.
In the past we have covered hot topics each week and to keep content fresh we only planned topics one month at a time. However, we are all focused over the next several months on one thing… the main thing, welcoming new families into Cub Scouting!

Help promote Cub Chat Live to all your volunteers.  Join the conversation live or watch it later at your convenience.

The Eagle Scout Rank 

  

 

(source:Guide to Advancement/Eagle Scout Rank/section 9:      https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf)

Since 1912, the Eagle Scout rank has represented a milestone of accomplishment—perhaps without equal—that is recognized across the country and even the world. Those who have earned the Eagle Scout rank count it among their most treasured achievements. “Eagle Scout” is not just an award; it is a state of being. Those who earned it as youth continue to earn it every day as adults. That is why an Eagle Scout IS an Eagle Scout—not was.

Over the more than 100 years since the first Eagle, a formal application process has evolved that is important in maintaining the award’s well-recognized prestige. 

  

MIDNIGHT SUN COUNCIL – TRAIL TO EAGLE!

The following links are intended to aid in submitting the application and accompanying materials:

– Midnight Sun Council Eagle Scout Candidate Checklist

– Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook download

–  Trail to Eagle (Eagle Scout Project Workbook pdf file)

–  Service Project Planning Checklist

–  Safe Project Tool Use

– Clarification – MB Citizenship in Society

Don’t miss the Midnight Sun Council News!

 

 – Midnight Sun Council Response to National Chapter 11 Prospect 

 – The Boy Scouts of America and Midnight Sun Council

   WELCOME girls into Scouts! 

 – Outpost Alaska and North American Honda donated a total

JAMIE BANASZEWSKI

Jamie Banaszewski is an amazing volunteer in her work life as well as in other things that need her. She volunteers to be the female Scoutmaster for Troop 38 when we would not have had another person be able to do it full time. In her work life she constantly stays behind the close, even if it’s not her building that needs to be closed. She puts others’ needs before her own and this makes her a caring and amazing person. With the troop she volunteers at almost all the events or volunteer events. She volunteers herself whereever she’s needed even if she doesn’t want too.

      

Thanks for all that you do, Jamie!