| Meetings: Troop Meeting Troop 316 meets the second and third Tuesday of every month from 7:00 to 8:30. During this time the scouts will learn and experience scouting through various skill instruction and initiative games as determined by the Patrol Leaders Council. The troop will hold most of its meetings in the fellowship hall of New Rocky Mount Baptist Church. Changes in the meeting time or place will be announced ahead of time. The troop meeting are led by the Senior Patrol Leader and/or his Assistant. Troop meetings will be conducted year round to allow for full scouting experiences. All Scouts are expected to attend. Parents are invited and welcome to observe and participate. . Troop Committee Meeting The Troop Committee will meet at the call of the Committee Chairman, but not less than once a quarter, usually on a Sunday Afternoon, for the purpose of discussing plans, programs, projects, and policies in support of the Scout Troop and its activities. While the philosophy of scouting is that it is boy run, we cannot achieve that goal without strong parent guidance and participation. The Committee (Parent) Meetings are a way for you, the parent, to voice any concerns or ideas you may have about the troop or its policies Patrol Leaders Council Meetings (PLC) The Patrol Leader�s Council is the group of junior leaders responsible for creating and maintaining the troops annual program. Members of the PLC include the Senior Patrol Leader and his assistant, the Patrol Leaders, or assistant, Troop Scribe, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, and Scoutmaster. At the end of every troop meeting, a short ten to fifteen PLC will be called to reflect the days meeting and to plan for the next meeting or finish plans for the next outing. Once a month the PLC will meet for about two hours to discuss the months program theme and finalize ideas on meeting ideas and the months activity. The PLC is chaired by the Senior Patrol Leader or his assistant. No adult has a voting right in the PLC. This is a boy-led organization. Advise can be given but the voting is between the boys. Patrol Meetings Patrol meetings are a period of time during the regular troop meeting where the different patrols come together to discuss their own business of dues, advancement or the upcoming activity. Patrol meetings can be conducted at other times other than at the troop meeting and doing so is encouraged. The Patrol leader chairs the Patrol meeting. Special Meetings Throughout the scouting year, several meetings will be used as �Merit Badge Days� where scouts can work on merit badges or other awards of interest. Other special meetings include Boards of Review, Community Service Projects, Fundraisers, and other such events deemed necessary buy the Scoutmaster. Special meetings will be announced as far in advance as possible to allow for maximum participation. |
| Advancement: Advancement is a key component of the scouting program. Boys will be encouraged to advance but will not be pushed to advance. Troop Leaders are responsible to provide advancement opportunities, but are not responsible for ensuring a scout advances in rank. That is solely up to the scout. Encourage your son to earn everything he possibly can. Many of the requirements for badges of rank and some merit badges will be earned during troop meetings, and outings. So don�t let your son miss any thing or he could be left behind. Advancement is a self-paced program. Scouts will advance at their own pace according to how hard they work. Those scouts who work hard and wish to advance will; those who slack in their responsibilities will not move up as fast. It is the Goal of Troop 316 that all of its scouts make it to the Eagle Rank. Advancement Chairman One member of the Troop Committee will be designated as the Troop Advancement Chairman. He/she will be responsible for the arranging of scouts Boards of Review and recruiting members to serve on that board. The Advancement Chairman also fills out the Advancement Report to be turned in to the Council Service Center Merit Badges Merit badges are designed to explore the scout�s interests in various fields of study. Merit badge subjects include everything from cooking, to archery. Every Boy Scout Rank above First Class requires that a scout earn a minimum number of merit badges including a specified number of eagle required merit badges. Troop 316 offers opportunities to earn several merit badges throughout the year. Merit badges can be earned at any time during the time the boy is a scout. THE SECRET (How to earn merit badges) Secret 1 Many merit badges have a minimum time requirement find two of these that interest you and work on them at the same time. Secret 2 Work on similar merit badges at the same time, such as the citizenship merit badges. Secret 3 Many of the requirements can be completed in school class time or projects. If you are doing something in school or belong to a club chances are you may be completing requirements for a badge. Secret 4 Internet or Library visits. Most of merit badge work is doing research. Encyclopedias are a valuable resource for earning merit badges Merit Badge Counselors Any qualified scouter or parent can become a merit badge counselor. You do not have to be an expert in a field to be a merit badge counselor only have a desire to teach what you know! It is important when teaching a merit badge that it is done with two or more scouts. In accordance with BSA policy. If you would like to serve as a merit badge counselor for a particular merit badge dealing with any interest or professional experience inform the scoutmaster |
| Troop 316 Parent Guidebook |
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