Non-AOL Ceremony

[zippie2223]

We have a group of Webelo's which did not earn thier AOL. They are going to boy scout next month. Anyone have a graduation ceremony for kids that did not earn thier AOL?

[GopherJudy]

Sorry to hear that none of the boys earned their AOL. Since the boys have to have completed the 5th grade if they haven't turned 11 I would think that you would have to have the ceremony when school is finished. I an idea what our pack uses for Pack Graduation with a little variation, like having the SM of the troop they want to join & a few of the Boy Scouts too! First have those Webelos bring in the flag, post the colors & start the Pledge of Allegience. The CM can call up each of the boys & then call up there parents. The SM & the Boy Scouts are to the side with their troop flag. The parents remove the Webelos neckerchief & slide from their son & the SM can hand out the Boy Scout neckerchiefs & slides to the parents & the parents can put them on their son. The SM can have the boys go stand where the Boy Scouts are & they can all recite the Scout Oath & Law & be welcomed into the troop. The SM can say a few words to the boys & then a short speech to everyone. The new Boy Scouts can do the retiring of the colors. Then refreshments & cake & cookies can be served.

 

I'm not sure if you can use a bridge as part of the ceremony if they haven't earned their AOL, sorry for my ignorance on that.

 

If you can use a bridge, then have the boys & their parents on the left side of the bridge, have the DL take off the Webelos neckerchief & slide & hand them to the parents so they don't get mixed up or lost & then have each boy cross over the bridge 1 at a time as the CM announces their name, have the SM receive the boy at the other end, do the Scout Salute, have a Boy Scout put the Boy Scout neckerchief & slide on the new Boy Scout. Do that for each of the Webelos & then after all of the boys have crossed over they can gather around the troop flag, recite the Scout Oath & Law with their SM & new troop. The SM can make a short speech & when the ceremony is over, the new Boy Scouts can retire the colors & refreshments can be served.

 

I hope this helps! Good luck & let us know how it turns out! Take care!

 

Judy

[Bob White]

If they are age eligible to cross into Boy Scouts you would use whatever 'bridging' ceremony you have in the past (you can find them in the "Ceremonies for Packs and Dens" manual), you simply do not present the AOL since it was not earned.

[FScouter]

A bridging ceremony for Webelos entering Boy Scouts has nothing to do with the Arrow of Light award. If you decided to combine the AOL award presentation with a bridging ceremony, that can be done. Only part of the group would receive the award before crossing the bridge.

[Sturgen]

The only part of the BSA that has strict ceremony rules is the OA, and for any ceremonies that the OA does that don't occure at an OA event are reallllllllly adaptable as well. Since you are doing a cub scout cross over ceremony, do whatever you want, try contacting your local lodge and they may be able to do a simple crossover ceremony without AOL, I have done a few of those in my time, and it just makes it a shorter ceremony for the team to do.

[Lynda J]

There are some very nice programs on ScoutXing.com