Planning Your Pack September Program

[SeattlePioneer]

I've just put together a draft of our Pack program for September-December as requested by the Pack Committee.

 

 

I find that September is the most difficult and critical month of the year to plan. It needs to include our recruiting night. It needs to introduce new boys and parents to the Cub Scout program effectively. And it needs to introduce new families to the Pack Cub Scout Popcorn Sale.

 

Stringing all those together effectively is something of a challenge.

 

I will relate what I've come up with:

 

 

Wednesday Sept 12th Recruiting Night/Rocket Launch

 

 

Monday Sept 17 Den Meeting

 

Saturday Sept 22 Hike/Popcorn Site Sale

 

Monday Sept 24th Parent Meeting

 

 

 

School starts the previous week, and I often can't get permission to go into schools for recruiting that week because things are too chaotic.

 

So the Wednesday recruiting night is about the earliest practical. It's functions as a recruiting night for new families, a "back to Scouting" night for current Cub Scouts, and a fun activity making and having contests launching "stomp bottle rockets" made from a sheet of paper.

 

The rocket launch is the most powerful means of attracting new boys to a recruiting night I have found, and it is a fun experience for parents who help their boys build their rockets.

 

We don't have to talk much about Cub Scouts as a family activity, because parents have just had a fine family experience with their boy.

 

The den meetings Sept 17th are about getting dens started again and about introducing new boys to their den, the Bobcat Trail and getting ready for the Saturday outing.

 

The September 22nd Saturday outing last year combined a popcorn site sale with a fun hike and hotdog roast. Our destination was Seattle Ballard Locks, run by the Army Corp of Engineers (pictures http://www.google.com/search?q=ballard+locks&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADRA_enUS457&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=a1OpT-fzC9LciAKa3pDTAg&ved=0CHUQsAQ&biw=800&bih=382 )

 

We set up our popcorn site sale outside the gates of the locks and all the Cub Scouts and families took turns selling popcorn for 45 minutes or so. It was an excellent introduction to the popcorn sale especially for new families, and sales were good. It gave an opportunity to explain that the popcorn sale is voluntary for families, who can sell popcorn to earn funding for Cub Scout dues, uniforms and activities should they wish to do so. MOST families, including those just recruited, chose to sell popcorn.

 

Our Monday, September 24th parent meeting will be designed as a reception for new parents. We will make a point of inviting new parents to this reception in their honor, and most will attend and also get an understanding of how we use the parent meeting to plan activities for the next month.

 

I see MANY packs that have a poorly planned program for their first meetings in the fall and where recruiting is an afterthought. A common attitude is that the first meeting of the year is expected to be poorly organized and chaotic. It needn't be, and shouldn't be, in my experience.

 

And it's equally important to make newly recruited families feel welcome and to make a point of bringing them into the heart of the pack program RIGHT AWAY! If they understand how to participate, and get into the habit of participating, they will do so from the beginning.

 

If they get into the habit of NOT participating, that is the habit that will persist.

 

Which does your pack experience?

[KISMIF_Works]

Our schools start before Labor Day, so we are fortunate in that we have an extra week or two to get the ball rolling before we need to kick off popcorn sales. We are also fortunate in that our schools allow us to set up a table at the open houses to promote Cub Scouts.

 

We haven't formalized the schedule yet but it will surely look something like this:

 

- Last week of August: promote our recruiting night at the school open houses.

 

- 1st week of September (Labor Day week): hold our recruiting night.

 

- 2nd week of September: Den meetings.

 

- 3rd week of September: Pack meeting and popcorn kick-off.

 

I think it works better for new families to have a Den meeting before the first Pack meeting. It's a much gentler introduction to the program to meet with the Den than the entire Pack.

 

As far as the popcorn sale goes, I am upfront about it at the recruiting night. I acknowledge that it's bad timing and not much fun to be asked to fundraise as soon as you join a new program, but I also emphasize the importance of the fundraiser (using real numbers from the previous year) and that it is the ONLY fundraiser they'll be asked to do for the year. We have had very good participation in the fundraiser over the past few years.

 

I am curious about your Parent Meeting. Are you combining it with your committee and leader's meeting? Is it mostly a meet-and-greet? Is it intended as an adults-only meeting? I think it's a great idea to forge relationships with the incoming parents but just wonder how well the meeting is attended.

 

[jonathanrbaker]

Our school system starts back the third week of August, and we are trying to plan an exciting start to the year (which I don't think has been done before in our pack). We are planning a Cub Scout Roundup night during the first week of school, and at our Pack meeting the following week we want to have the kids make Tie-Dye t-shirts (our activity shirts) while the parents are having an orientation meeting. We will also distribute the Raingutter Regatta kits so they can have them ready for the September pack meeting. We'll follow that up with a guided hike in a nearby national forest to get them started with outdoor activities.

 

We're hoping that by hitting them hard with a lot of exciting events, we can set the hook deep.

[ScoutNut]

Typically, we draft a preliminary annual calendar at our June Pack Leaders Meeting, and finalize it at our August meeting when all of the various calendars (including council's) are out.

 

Our school holds a registration day in early August, and the Pack has an info table at that. We collect contact info from interested families and hand out invites to our Pack Picnic/Rocket Shoot the Saturday before school starts, in mid/late August. New families get to know the Pack families, and leaders, in a fun, informal, setting.

 

We hold a registration evening the first, or second, Friday after school starts.

 

The start date for regular den meetings is generally up to the individual den leader. Most start the week after Labor Day.

 

Because of the timing of the Council Popcorn sale, sales info is handed out at September den meetings, along with initial booth sale sign-ups (Popcorn Kernel visits each meeting).

 

September Pack Meeting is at the end of the month, and is a welcome (back) to Scouting event. Scouts receive recognition for anything done over the Summer, and since starting back up in September (including any Bobcats). Tigers receive their Totem(and a few beads). New Scouts receive their necker/slide/patch vest, and are welcomed to the Pack. Popcorn info is presented along with additional booth sale sign-ups.

 

That's generally it for August/September. We will sometimes have a September Pack-wide activity, depending on what is available in the area, and how much lead time we have. Most of the fine tuning will be done at the August, and September, Pack Leaders Meetings.

 

Right now we are concentrating more on finalizing Summer event plans.

 

Just a note, while most Pack meetings are somewhat chaotic simply because of the number of families and siblings attending, there is certainly no reason to "expect" the first meetings of the school year, or any others, to be poorly planned, and organized.

[5yearscouter]

September is too late for us to do recruiting.

The first day of school is slated for August 6th, and if we wait til Sept everyone will already be signed up for sports instead.

 

So we have to send home flyers the first week of school,

roundup either Aug 10th or 17th, although we have done the Weds in between but turnout is usually less even though that is the day of the week we meet.

 

Recruiting is usually games and activities and get out the info about scouting. lots of paperwork, collect payments. One year we did it as a roundup theme, with roping a cow head, milking a cow(rubber gloves stapled under a saw horse), and some ride a stick horse foot races.

 

then we have Weds den meetings in August where we try to make sure every den is working on bobcat requirements, and usually we make something. raingutter regatta boats (cheap ones homemade or oriental trading co, not the scout shop ones), wooden trains (cheap ones from making friends last time we did it, they race in the MIDDLE of our wooden pinewood derby track). a stomp bottle rocket contest would be great, we keep meaning to do it but haven't done it yet as a pack only at day camp.

 

Then an August pack meeting where we'll perhaps have a few bobcats given out often for boys who joined over the summer, or older boys who got the bobcat req in august. and a few other awards like traveler if the webelos worked on it over the summer. and then we hold the raingutter regatta race or train race or whatever.

 

Getting the calender going with some new ideas we try to get accomplished in June, with a review at a parent meeting in Aug or Sept where we recruit more parent help for events.

[SeattlePioneer]

Helllo KISMIF,

 

 

We have a parent meeting/committee meeting/leader meeting

 

 

Our recruiting night was April 2nd and our first parent meeting after that was April 30th.

 

The idea was to make a point of inviting the new parents to meet the existing parents in the pack and to introduce themselves.

 

The second portion of the meeting involved planning our May program and some discussion of other business.

 

All our new parents attended as did most of the current parents. We have a history of well attended parent meetings, and we have been getting good support from parents in recent years.

 

It's good to hear about how other units get their year started ---- wow! School starting in early August!

 

Last year my plan that integrated recruiting, the start of the Cub Scout year, a hike/popcorn site sale and parent meeting worked very well to get things started and to get new families effectively started in Cub Scouts. I'll be interested to see if it works as well again this year.

[OwntheNight]

SP,

 

School starts for us the week before Labor day. Our pack meetings are the last Monday of the month, unless it's a holiday. The school district gives us 1 night in the school, usually a week after school starts. This is for all packs in all schools. I have boys from at least 4 or 5 different schools. Needless to say, I can't be at every school that night. I will start den meetings in August to get existing den's back in "den meeting" mode, and to get the den's that were created from our May open house together. I'm taking your cue of getting the new dens up to speed during the summer as much as possible.This also gives me an opportunity to talk to our existing parents about the expectations for JSN.

 

We will use a 3 tiered approach for the Sept meetings.

 

Tier 1- We will host a bike rodeo for the neighborhood probably the Saturday before school starts. Try to get our name out there for kids, and it shows where our CO is so they know where to go.

 

Tier 2- Use the designated JSN for handing out fliers, and putting up signs for our actual JSN probably 4 or 5 days later. The principal's have been receptive to me putting up signs for longer than the 1 day allowed, by the school district. Boys will also have those extra days to hand out recruitment material. I can also have them wear their uniform, we stand out in front of the carpool lane promoting our JSN night, that entire week.

 

Tier 3- Our actual JSN night at the CO. We can use the gym of the church. More room to spread things out. I absolutely love your idea for either building rockets or the egg drop. (BORROWING!)

 

The following week, Den meetings get started for all dens. I should have established leaders or close to it for the new boys just joining. Last year, I spent that entire week calling parents and making a list of those who might make good DL candidates, and then offering positions. Need to figure a better way on that.

 

I spent last year's JSN trying to convince everybody to join Cub Scouts. This year I will probably spend more time on the nuts and bolts of the pack, and try to get parents committed to helping out. After that, it's off to the races for another year. Popcorn will probably be addressed at the den meetings, with a handout.

 

We are contemplating doing just show and sell this year, and having a big fundraiser event next summer.