Memo to New Webelos Families
Pam Pennock, October 18, 2009
Welcome to our Webelos I den! Webelos is a
two-year program, and the fourth graders are year one (thus the ‘I’) and the
fifth graders are year two. I’m the den
leader, and the assistant leaders are Kevin Haman (Jack’s dad), Ron DiMichele (Roland’s dad), and Tony Semifero
(Brodie’s grandfather).
Meetings:
We’ll have den meetings on a
Wednesday evening once a month (generally the 2nd or 3rd
Wed. of the month) in the
The Pack includes all the
boys from all the dens (grades) at Allen, and the Pack meetings occur on the 3rd
Monday evening of each month (7pm, Allen gym). At the Pack meetings, scouts receive their
Advancements (badges, pins, belt loops they have recently earned); sometimes
there is a program, and almost always the scouts play a game.
Families are encouraged to
attend the Pack meetings. As for the den meetings, it is up to you whether to
attend, and I especially don’t want you to feel you have to come if you have
young children to tend to. But some activities require a lot of parent help and
I’ll need as many adults as possible. I’ll generally signal this need in an
email before the meeting.
Dues:
Our den is asking families to
contribute $5 in dues to help cover supply costs. This is a one-time dues… and we’ll see how far it gets us. Please give the dues to Kevin Haman, who is
our den treasurer.
Communication:
Email is the best way to get
in touch with me, and it’s also the most efficient way for me to communicate
with scout families. Let me know if you do not have email, and/or you don’t
check it regularly. That way I’ll make sure to follow up with a phone call, or
send a note in to school for your son to bring home. My email address is pampennock@hotmail.com.
I set up a den website to
facilitate communication. On it, I’ve listed upcoming den and pack events, link
to den meeting agendas, and link to the pack website (on which monthly newsletters
are posted).
http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/WebelosHome.htm
Uniform:
Webelos can wear either the blue uniform shirt that the
younger scouts wear, or they may wear the khaki shirt that the boy scouts wear.
Our pack requires the scouts to have: the uniform shirt, the yellow Pack
t-shirt, the Webelos hat, Webelos
neckerchief, Webelos slide (for the neckerchief),
belt, and Webelos belt buckle. Every couple of months
the Pack holds a uniform inspection at the Pack meeting and checks to see if
the boys are wearing their uniforms correctly.
(The uniform is discussed on p. 29-30 of the Webelos Handbook).
It is optional to get the
scout uniform pants – actually, none of our scouts have them. Also optional are
the “Webelos Colors” (shown on p. 35, they are three
braids that get pinned on the shoulder), and a red vest to which the boys
attach their ‘extra’ patches.
Most of us buy the uniforms
and other scout supplies at Nankin Hardware store at
Catching Up and Earning
the Webelos Badge:
The first thing a new scout
at any age needs to do is complete the Bobcat Badge. The requirements are on
pp. 42-7 of the Handbook. Please tell me when your son has completed the badge
and he will receive it at the next pack meeting. Technically, scouts are not
supposed to start the Webelos program until they have
earned the Bobcat.
The requirements for the Webelos badge are listed on pp. 49-51, and we’ll be working
on these, as a den and at home with our families, until February. In February
is the Pack’s Blue & Gold Banquet at which scouts earn their ‘rank’
(in our case, the Webelos badge) at a nice ceremony
and dinner for the boys and their families. You can see that the first
requirement asks parents to read a portion of the Handbook. I hope these pages
better acquaint you with the program. Please ask me if you have any questions. (At our September den
meeting, the boys discussed Webelos Badge
Requirements #3 and #4 (p. 49), so please have your son talk those over with
you.)
As for activity badges, only
three are required to earn the Webelos badge:
Fitness, Citizen, and one other from a different activity group. So far, most
of the members of our den have earned the Forester activity badge (done at a
meeting in June), and some of the scouts in the den have earned the Athlete
activity badge (done at meetings in Sept. & Oct., with a heavy portion done
at home). But these two badges are not required for the Webelos
badge -- although they do get scouts closer to the ultimate goal at the end of
5th grade: the Arrow of Light Award (see p. 37). If your son wants
to complete the Forester and Athlete badges on his own, that’s great – but it’s
not necessary.
Our den is now focusing on
the Fitness activity badge (one of the required activity badges) and began
working on it at the October den meeting that your son attended. We will finish it up at a future den meeting,
but the boys need to work on it at home too (requirements #2 & #4).
During the winter, our den
will work on the Citizenship activity badge.
Belt Loops and Pins:
Although they are not
required for earning the Webelos rank, and they’re
not even included in the Webelos Handbook, cub scouts
have the opportunity to earn belt loops (a piece of metal that wraps around the
belt) and pins (usually worn on the hat, or sometimes on the red vest) for
extra activities. Belt loops and pins are
divided into two categories: Academics and Sports. The requirements for earning
them are featured on a scout website, and I have linked to it from our den
website.
Reporting Advancements to
Me
I do my best to keep track of
the advancements boys have earned, but I really rely on your cooperation and
communication. Please help your son keep
track of what activity badges he has earned by marking them in the
Handbook. On the pages at the beginning
of each activity badge requirements, you’ll see blank lines under “Approved
By.” Please put your initials next to each requirement when he has completed
it.
When the scouts were younger,
I relied exclusively on parents to report their sons’ progress to me. But now
that the boys are older, I want (as much as possible) to have the boys report
their advancements to me at den meetings.
This includes belt loops and pins as well as activity badges.
Here’s the logistics: every
month, one week before the Pack meeting, I have to give a list of our boys’
advancements to the Pack leaders so they have time to buy the badges, pins,
etc. from the scout store, give them to me, so I can in turn present them to
the boys at the Pack meeting. Therefore,
if your son expects to be receiving his awards in front of everyone at the Pack
meetings (which is always gratifying), then please help me keep track and to adhere
to my deadline.
Camps
One of the best parts about
scouting is attending camp. Our scouts have the opportunity to attend day camp
(held at Garden City Park) for one week in June at a very low cost. Webelos attend overnight camp at Camp D-Bar-A (in
Pinewood
The famous Pinewood Derby is
another favorite activity of our scouts.
Boys receive their kits to make their cars usually in February, and the
races occur in April.