When do you plan the annual calendar?

[howarthe]

When do you you usually sit down and plan the annual calendar? Do you ever sit down and sketch out the year? Does the year start in June or September? The monthly themes this year were all about the 12 core values. Is that the new standard for every year?

[5yearscouter]

In the past we've done our calendar in June, early enough that we catch most people before they head out on vacations, usally the 2nd weekend.

 

we usually have MOST of the district calendars and council calendar items, but stuff ALWAYS changes, so we do a calendar review for the next 3 months at almost every leader meeting. We do a mid year calendar review early January and try to get into August.

 

We've tried doing our calendar planning in July, but seems attendance is less than June.

We've tried doing our calendar in August, but by then we've already started recruiting and the new parents need/want to know what they are getting themselves into.

 

our year starts in June, as June 1st all scouts in traditional units advance to the next rank in the council database. LDS scouts advance on their birthday which I think would be a nightmare for me personally as a leader, but seems to work for them.

 

Monthly themes have gone away, 12 core values are the new standard.

of course I heard they have added in at national a few supplemental theme ideas to satisfy those who liked the themese.

 

I believe the themes should be more on things cub scouts do,

so June=summer fun(always gotta have summer wet fun), July=science/exploration, Aug=communication/making friends (that is when we do roundup), Sept= hike/camp skills, Oct= safety, Nov= citizenship, Dec=family/faith/doing for others, Jan=building things(Derby), Feb=cooking (blue and gold), Mar= Sports, April= nature/LNT/World Conservation, May=collections/talent/show off.

 

or something like that. most of the old themse and the 12 core values, the webelos badges and the 12 points of the scout law fit into those kinds of topics with some variation each year to keep it interesting.

[kari_cardi]

We do a casual, fun leader's meeting in June or July. We do a cookout and the whole family is invited. We put together the general calendar through the next summer at this time, and rough out a general direction for the pack. Usually the CC has already figured out much of the calendar scheduling around holidays and the local school calendar. We have certain events that happen at the same time every year, and try to match up those events with themes and the 12 core values. If 'Responsibility' works better in October than November, for example, I have no problem moving it.

 

During the school year, we use our monthly leadership meeting to work 2-3 months out, tweaking the calendar as needed. And the calendar does a scheduled re-vamp in February for the second half of the school year, and we re-distribute the calendar to the pack families.

[Scoutfish]

WE do ours the first Monday of June.

 

Our pack is a nine month meeting pack, but we do at least two packe events during June , July, and August.

 

W did something different last year: Instead of planning for the entire year, we just planned from roundup til Christmas.

 

Come January leaders meeting, we plan the second half of the year.

 

Worked out better for us since about half the stuff after Christmas is subject to change or reschedualing.

[CCbytrickery]

We are doing our summer calendar this weekend.

 

In June, we will start planning next year. We'll map out pack meeting days and committee meeting days; if we have the school schedules for next year (for 3 different districts), we'll use those to plan. We also make sure we have our open positions filled (the only one we usually get a late start with is the Tiger DL, and this year, we are trying to hold a "come see what scouting is about" event during June, to introduce scouting to incoming 1st graders.

 

In July, we'll finalize the calendar (but we do stay flexible, because councils dates always come up after ours--and usually mean a quick date change for us).

[Akecheta]

With Spring recruiting coming up we produce an event calendar in March which will have all of our planned events for the next year. This allows potential scouts and their parents to see that we are an active pack. In May we will hammer out the specifics on our events with dates, activity coordinators, leadership inventory and most important the budget. With a budget put together it enables us to determine our dues schedule as well as our goal for popcorn.

[SeattlePioneer]

I'm working to revive a pack that was down to a single boy 3 1/2 years ago.

 

 

Because adult leadership was thin, I've invited ideas and suggestions for program during the next school year in June. Then I put together a proposed plan of meetings and activities and taken that back to discuss at the next Pack Committee Meeting.

 

Usually that has produced some changes, but it's mostly been accepted as proposed. That takes a minimal amount of Committee time to plan.

 

Of Course the BSA recommendation is for a detailed planning effort that may take 2-3 hours. That seems like a committee killing plan of action, since I see little interest in spending that kind of time.

 

Still, I probably have a method that is too efficient. I'd like to see more new ideas added to the program and displacing activities that have been done before.

 

 

 

[Eagle92]

I hate to say it, but we don't have an annual calendar. Part of the reason is that district dates are not given to us in a manner to help out. Perfectly good example, my pack scheduled a trip the same weekend as the district Cubmobile b/c the traditional date and times changed. We got the info about a month before the event, and several packs were in similar situations.

 

But most of the units I know will do it in the June-August Time frame when the council, and their district's, calendar is available. But again we do a 6 month calendar currently.

[Basementdweller]

Ours was completed last week. Should be finished before it gets too nice out and you have problems with leaders attending the meeting.

 

We have no district cub events and the other district that has events has their schedule already posted.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

[AnnLaurelB]

Because we're a small Pack, as CM, around this time last year, I penciled in the next 12 months with a similar seasonal set as we'd done the year before. They loved the fishing at the local PFA, so I made sure to include it.

 

They didn't care much for District PWD, so I put a "?" next to that. I added in what I thought they'd like (LOVED bowling, and asked me that night if we could go skating. Yes!).

 

I made a suggestion for the date for our Dec Pack meeting, to not get too close to the hectic days of Christmas, and put "tentative" Committee meeting dates (generally 10 days before Pack meetings).

 

Note I say "suggested". I took this to the April or May Committee meeting, and asked 1) if my suggestions for activities met w their approval, 2) if they saw any conflicts ("isn't that Homecoming? We can't do it that day."), and 3) if they s(This message has been edited by annlaurelb)

[AnnLaurelB]

DARNED TABLET!!

 

Anyway, I also asked if anyone had any fun ideas to add to the calendar, and they did. I think the Committee was glad enough to have the "work" done for them; they just made changes that seeemed appropriate, and gave approval.

 

That was before our Pack's "unfortunate period", but for the most part, the calendar of events stood. So I'm in the process now of tweaking the 2012-13 calendar the same way.

 

Added skating. Dropped District PWD (but it'll be offered). Extra camp-out. More swimming parties. Kept fishing and bowling. Etc...

 

I'll present it at the Committee meeting this month, and tell them they can do whatever they want with it.

 

In Aug I'll probably start on the 2013-14 one. :0)