graduation month?

[sec338]

Does anyone have a calendar or something that shows when you do your graduatios. ie. from tigers to wolves, and weeblos to boy scouts

[ScoutNut]

Don't need a calendar, unless it's a school calendar.

 

Cub Scouts all move to the next Cub level at the end of the school year. BSA automatically changes all Cub Scout registrations, and allows Tiger registrations, on June 1st of every year.

 

Our graduation ceremony is at the end of May, during our last regular Pack meeting of the school year.

 

 

[ScoutNut]

Webelos crossing to Boy Scouts is an entirely different matter.

 

Webelos can become Boy Scouts when they have met all of the Boy Scout joining requirements. Typically, that is after they have earned their Arrow Of Light award.

 

The usual BSA Webelos program is 18 months long. That is from June at the end of 3rd grade, thru January of 5th grade. The Pack will then either present the AOL one month and have the crossover to Boy Scouts the next month, or do both at their February Blue and Gold celebration.

 

This timeline can be either shortened, or legthened, depending on the Scouts. Also, all of the boys are not required to cross at the same time, or to the same Troop. Again, it depends on the individual Scout.

[sec338]

Thanks! that is what I thought. just wanted to double check.

[Eagle92]

YEp we had the bulk of our Web IIs crossover this month, and the last two that have been with the pack since it's founding doing it next month. As for the new Web IIs that joined in Aug, they are busting butt to get AOL by may, which is entirely doable.

[SR540Beaver]

sec338,

 

Let me make a suggestion on the Webelos crossing to Boy Scouts. Check with the troops in your area and ask when they "prefer" Webelos to cross over. The troop I serve gets between 15 and 20 Webelos per year. Our preference is that they all come in February.......but we will take them when we get them. Due to the quantity of new scouts we take in, we like to do a new scout program in an organized fashion and that is hard to do with 5 in Feb, 3 in Mar, 2 in Apr, 6 in May and then more in the fall. We work with our fall recruits as best we can, but their patrol mates who showed up in February and are getting ready to move to regular patrols are way ahead and they kind of hang there a little until the next group comes in.

 

Bottom line, troops will take a new scout whenever they can get them. For a troop that only takes in a few per year, it probably doesn't matter. Still, talk to the troops and try to find out how they operate and what the prefer.

[beardad]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a quick question in line with this. Does a boy have to only finish the requirements for AOL or actually recieve the badge, to cross over?

 

The reason I am asking is, for all intents and purposes my pack doesn't really have a Web2 den. My son, and one other kid that shows up occasionally are it. They are both either really close to or done with the requirements for AOL.

 

My pack does AOL ceremony at B&G and Cross over about a month later. Is there any reason my son and this other kid can't cross over now (or say january), then come back for the AOL Ceremony and Cross over Ceremony?

 

I don't have my heart set on this, and was just kinda wondering. But There really isn't any reason to keep going to the den meetings once he has his AOL requirements met, since their really is no den. He has plenty of pins he could earn still though.

 

what are your thoughts on this?(This message has been edited by beardad)

[Buffalo Skipper]

beardad,

Once your son earns the AoL, he is eligible to join boy scouts. EARN is the operative word, not present. It is appropriate to present the AoL once earned; this can be done at a pack meeting.

 

Otherwise, the boy scout and cub scout programs are exclusive of each other. One is either a cub scout OR one is a boy scout. Once one joins a troop, it is pointless to "return" the pack to cross.

 

We had two Webelos 2 dens last year. One choose to cross in November. The other included the newly recruited 5th graders, and waited to cross until all den members were eligible. The earlier crossing den did their ceremony at the November pack meeting; the other did it at the February B&G. Same ceremony, different setting. Everyone was happy.

 

Just my 2.

[SR540Beaver]

Just a reminder, that in addition to earning AOL, there is an age (10)requirement.

 

Be a boy who is 11 years old, or one who has completed the fifth grade or earned the Arrow of Light Award and is at least 10 years old, but is not yet 18 years old.

[ScoutNut]

What is the point of the Pack waiting to hold a ceremony, and then not having any Scouts there for the ceremony?

 

There are only 2 Webelos, both of whom want to cross to Boy Scouts before March. Talk to your CM and CC and let them know that they will need to move the ceremonies up a few months. They should not have a problem with your request.

 

 

 

[Eagle92]

The pack I am with has a philosophy that as soon as the Web II gets AOL, they present the AOL and do the Crossover. They want the boys to be Scouts ASAP. So yes we do have dens crossing over, but we have had some indiviudals too.

[beardad]

I guess it's just tradition. I have not even discussed this with my son or with the other kid or his dad. It was just my thinking out loud. My son will be 11 on the first of March so he is covered on the 10.5 rule.

 

I may talk to the guy who is technically the Web2 den leader to see his thoughts. when I talked to him last week, he was thinking of moving over to be the bear den leader since they lost theirs. I said I would take over the web2 den if for nothing else just for rechartering and taking care of AOL ceremony and crossover.

 

I am not sure how close the other kid is to being done, I suspect he is further along than my son, and all my son needs is a hike or campout, and a SMC. oh yeah and to actually choose a troop.

[SMT224]

The culture in our Troop and feeder Pack is to have crossover in April.

 

I would not want new Scouts now, as we do several heavy-duty winter camping trips in January and February which require camping experience to participate. It would be unfair to bring the new guys in when they could not participate in Troop activities.

 

We do a Webelos / Troop camping trip in early April and the crossover in mid-April. This way the new Scouts can join us for the May & June camping trips before summer camp, and then camp with the Troop in August, September, October, and November. By the time winter rolls around they are seasoned campers and are ready to do winter camping.

 

As was stated earlier, check with the Troop they will be crossing over to as to timing issues.

 

[Eagle92]

SMT,

A few ideas to help with Webelos/new scouts and winter camping.

 

1) start inviting Webelos to troop campouts as Webelos 1s. That way you A) have a head start on recruiting them as most troops wait until Web 2 year and B) they start becomign more familiar with your scouts and parents with the leaders

 

2) Have a few older scouts, esp the Den Chiefs if you have them, talk tot eh WDL about having a class on camping.

 

The troop that is chartered with my pack tries to get the webelos involved early. And it seems to work as we had 8 crossover this month, and 7 went camping with the troop 2 weeks later.

 

Also my old troop did "survival" camping as our webelos campout in February, which can get cold in SE Louisiana. We ahd folks go in and teach them some basic camping tricks to keep warm. Also went over lashings and building shelters. Webelos were divie up amongst the patrols, and each patrol worked ontheir shelter. Good time was had by all.

 

On another note, as you can guess I am of the "get them into Boy Scouts as soon as they are eligible" school of thought so that they and their parents become comfortable with the troop, and can start getting prepared for summer camp.

[SMT224]

Eagle92 -

 

Thanks. I understand and appreciate your approach.

 

Perhaps I'm a bit overly cautious, but after a difficult late fall camping trip several years ago with some new Scouts who joined in September, the PLC decided that winter camping trips would be rated as hard, and only Scouts with appropriate camping experience would be allowed to go.

 

Last year it got down to 2F for one of our winter camping trips, and -9F for the other. Once it gets below 0F, it starts feeling dangerous to me, and I want to make sure everyone is well trained and understands cold weather first aid. Brrrrr... makes me cold just thinking about washing dishes in those temperatures!