Come and check out all the fun accessories for your cars!!
Volunteer of the month
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!
MSC Online Merit Badge Classes
Our Tanana Valley District Committee is continuing to host Virtual Merit Badge Classes for our Midnight Sun Council Scouts!
These classes are taking place regularly each Monday evening at 7 pm.
Please contact your Scoutmaster or the Council office at 907-452-1976 for the meeting login information.
For these sessions, please direct your Scouts to be in a room in the house with other adults within earshot, or to invite a parent/guardian to sit in for the class.
The Zoom link will become active at 6:50 pm.
Topic: MSC Virtual Merit Badge Sessions
New Dates will be announced soon!
BSA Online Applications Access Extended
To help ensure units have full access to BSA online systems while charters continue to be processed, we have extended the grace period for units to continue accessing online systems for an additional 60 days. This includes Scoutbook, Internet Advancement, my.Scouting tools, and Den Leader Experience. This extension will be available for all recharter dates. This additional 60 days does not extend your charter expire date. Instead, it provides continued access to tools and resources.
Venturing
Are you looking for
your next Scouting
Adventure?
Midnight Sun Council
now has a Venturing
Crew!
There will be a Venturing Crew Informational
Meeting on Friday, September 20th at the
Scout Office starting at 6 pm
Contact Crew Advisor Matt Cooper for more information.
Click here or on image to view/download flyer.
Updates to Venturing Awards and Ranks
The National Venturing Committee is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, the Venturing, Discovery, Pathfinder, and Summit awards will be referred to as Venturing ranks to improve consistency among the different programs within Scouting. The Quest, Ranger, and Trust Awards will remain as part of the Venturing program as specialty awards and are not considered Venturing ranks.
Additionally, certain restrictions regarding prior credit for Venturers have been changed. Effective immediately, Venturing Advisors have the discretion to give a Venturer credit toward Venturing rank and award requirements for work previously completed by the Venturer while a registered member of a Scouts BSA Troop or a Sea Scout Ship. As explained in more detail below, this change aligns the Venturing advancement program with the Scouts BSA and Sea Scouting advancement programs.
Under the current edition of the Guide to Advancement and the latest printed edition of Venturing Awards and Requirements, a Venturer was required to complete all work on Venturing awards while registered as a Venturer, and Venturing Advisors were not permitted to give credit toward Venturing award requirements for work previously done by a youth in Scouts BSA or Sea Scouts. Neither Scouts BSA nor Sea Scouts have these same restrictions. Except as stated in the temporary transition rules covering first-time members entering Scouts BSA after February 1, 2019, in both Scouts BSA and Sea Scouts, unit leaders are currently able to consider work done in any program when giving credit toward completion of rank or award requirements. To improve consistency within the three programs and to encourage membership in Venturing Crews, Venturers may now receive credit toward Venturing ranks and specialty awards for work completed while registered in a Scouts BSA Troop or a Sea Scout Ship.
The next editions of the Guide to Advancement, Handbook for Venturers and Venturing Awards and Requirements will be revised to reflect the two changes to the Venturing advancement program described in this update.
Fall Recruitment Strategies
The bottom line is to keep Scouts active, in person or virtually. Please follow these links for some virtual recruitment ideas:
Cub Scout Recruitment Idea Book
Use This Virtual Rally Plan to Recruit Scouts During COVID-19
Using Tools Like Geofencing and Nextdoor Events to Promote Scouting
Fall Recruitment Strategies
Cub Camp
Cub Scout Resident Camp
2022 Camp Dates
TBD
2022 Camp Fees
Information will be posted when available
Webelos Resident Camp
2022 Camp Dates
TBD
2021 Camp Fees
Information will be posted when available
Cub Scouts – Scouting at Home
CUB SCOUTS (K-5)
Scouting Advancement can still happen from home!
The Merits of Scouting @ Home
Across the nation, councils are finding ways to help keep our youth members engaged and Scouting. These out-of-the-box, in-home activities are centered around providing advancement-related content to help keep kids safe, engaged and to help them make the best of home time.
Adventures for Cub Scout Members and Youth in Grades K-5
MSC Scouting at Home Patch Program for Cub Scouts!
Cub Scouts just need to complete 4 of the listed options in the Cub Scouts requirements.
Once a Scout has completed the requirements to earn the patch, an adult should send the completed MSC Scouting from Home Patch Program Tracker form
(a scanned copy or a photo is fine) to the District Executive, Robert Stewart at robert.stewart@scouting.org.
Other Activities & Resources Grades K-5
30 Day Cub Scouting Challenge
30 Day Lion Challenge 
30 Day Tiger Challenge 30 Day Wolf Challenge
30 Day Bear Challenge 30 Day Webelos Challenge Thank you Heart of America Council!
Ideas to Stay Busy at Home (for kids!)
4 Activities to Do at Home During Coronavirus
25 Fun Things to do When You are Stuck Inside
Free Digital Boys’ Life Magazine
5 Cub Scout Activities for Your Weekend
5 Fun and Active Den Meeting Game Ideas
Fun projects you can do from home (Bryan on Scouting)
NATIONAL RESOURCES
BSA’s national cub scout staff have put together some fun activity videos that can be useful Cub Scout recruiting tools. The YouTube videos are short, 2 to 5 minutes, with a purpose and an activity. Activities are all requirements found in our program. They are not branded as BSA or Cub Scouts.
Here is the link to a YouTube playlist for K-2nd grade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwHOx1z5AOQ&list=PLHGEvyG5wutg0Wgwp6hQQJYCi0sjpwaDK
Here is the link to a YouTube playlist for 3rd-4th grade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5YTfSoOXDE&list=PLHGEvyG5wutje5QyAh3oAnjSu6WrNQBb3
The national Scouting at home site is here to help members and nonmembers engage in Scouting while we shelter in place. Lots of good resources are included.
https://www.scouting.org/scoutingathome/
Tools and recourses to strengthen your units can be found here, including some timely webinars on zoom meetings, digital recruiting, school access during covid, and much more. https://scoutingwire.org/marketing-and-membership-hub/
Bryon on Scouting has also published some of the best digital scouting resources from around the country: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/06/24/everything-you-need-to-know-about-virtual-summer-camps-for-cub-scouts-and-scouts/
Video Resources
Cub Scout Pack 1551 YouTube channel
Boy Scouts of America – Scouting at Home – YouTube channel
other Resources
Bryan on Scouting – Scouts BSA Handbooks for Boys and Girls now available on Kindle
Cub Scout Recruitment Idea book
For more information and activities check the scouting at home link regularly, and let your friends know about these great options for at-home fun and learning for Scouting families and non-Scouting families alike.
Scouting @ Home with the Midnight Sun Council
FUN PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE DONE FROM HOME
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Boy Scouts of America – Scouting at Home – YouTube channel
Scouting @ Home Concept
A one-stop shop for Scouting and non-Scouting families to find quality age and grade specific character building activities at home.
Youth Protection Reminder
It’s critical that we all continue to keep youth protection top-of-mind whether our Scouting activities are taking place in person or through a digital platform. Of note, remember that BSA prohibits any one-on-one interaction between an adult leader and a Scout – in person, online, through a web conference, over the phone, via text, or in any other form.
Detailed youth protection information is available here. To ensure you are following safety standards for all Scouting activities, please reference the Guide to Safe Scouting.
The BSA’s Social Media Guidelines serve as a complement to our youth protection policies.
The Merits of Scouting @ Home
Across the nation, councils are finding ways to help keep our youth members engaged and Scouting. These out-of-the-box, in-home activities are centered around providing advancement-related content to help keep kids safe, engaged and to help them make the best of home time.
Scouting @ Home Patch Program /adventures/challenges/activities
Cub Scouting (Grades K-5)
Scouts BSA (Grades 6-12)
You can help with additional Cub Scout/Scouts BSA Skill videos!
If you are an adult and have expertise in a Scout skill that you would like to share – this is your opportunity at being an internet sensation! While there are no meetings going on, this could be your “one hour a week” for Scouting project.
How this will work:
• Send an email to District Executive Robert Stewart at robert.stewart@scouting.org with the Scout Skill you would like to teach by video recording.
• He will let you know if someone else has already contacted him about doing the same skill.
• Record a video of yourself or others teaching the skill
• Contact Rob again when you are done to arrange the transfer of the video file (if you have a Gmail account, include your Gmail address)
By participating in this project, you agree:
• The council may or may not be able to use the video. If the video is used, you will be given credit when the video is shared
• That once the video has been given to the council, ownership of the video transfers to the council and the council may edit the video
• That you do not expect to be reimbursed for your time or expenses in creating the video
• That if anyone under the age of 18 is shown in the video, you will receive written permission from the parent for their child to be included in the video and the written permission is transferred to the council with the video
Scouting Advancement can still happen from home!
Remember, Scouts still need their Unit Leader’s approval to start working on a Merit Badge, and Youth Protection policies must be observed even in a digital setting.
Online Merit Badge Opportunities:
This is a great time to encourage Scouts to complete their Cyber Chip!
FEATURED KNOTS AND CAMPCRAFTS VIDEO
Click here for more Knots & Campcraft skills videos from national
Looking for other free resources for youth? Here are just a few:
National Geographics Kids: Activities and quizzes for younger kids
Duolingo: Learn languages for free
Mystery Science: Free science lessons
The Kids Should See This: Wide range of cool educational videos
For more information and activities check the scouting at home link regularly, and let your friends know about these great options for at-home fun and learning for Scouting families and non-Scouting families alike.
