Welcome to BSA Troop 614's website.
The adult leaders of Troop 614 in Scotts Valley, CA would like to take this opportunity to share some information about our "Scouting" program with you.
What is "Scouting" in Troop 614?
The goal of our Troop is to have fun! We have found that by combining interesting and challenging trips and outings with a solid and time proven structured scouting program we can help build your son's self confidence, give him goals and enrich his values by teaching him outdoor skills related to camping, hiking, backpacking, first aid, survival training, outdoor tools, swimming, cooking and caring for the environment. We hope to assist you as parents in the personal development of your son by emphasizing physical fitness, a strong moral code, personal responsibility, commitment, loyalty, leadership, goal setting, and serving others and our community.
Learning to be a leader is also one of the pillars of the scouting program. Advancement through the scout ranks is the structured tool for facilitating this learning. Participation in monthly troop outings and other major events such as summer camp and National Jamboree offer invaluable opportunities to learn and practice the full range of scout leadership skills.
What is "Scouting" in Troop 614?
Our goal as troop leaders is to build your son's self confidence, give him goals and enrich his values by teaching him outdoor skills related to camping, hiking, backpacking, first aid, survival training, outdoor tools, swimming, cooking and caring for the environment. We hope to assist you as parents in the personal development of your son by emphasizing physical fitness, a strong moral code, personal responsibility, commitment, loyalty, leadership, goal setting and serving others. Advancement through the scout ranks is the structured tool for facilitating this learning. Participation in monthly troop outings and other major events such as summer camp and National Jamboree offer invaluable opportunities to learn and practice the full range of scout skills.
What Scouting is not
B.S.A. is not "Baby Sitters of America". Meetings are meant to be fun, but also to work on advancement, pass information and to teach scouting skills. Mere membership is not a ticket to Eagle. The rank of Eagle is a time-honored award that we as parents and leaders should present as a goal, with the understanding that Eagle rank requires a high level of commitment to the values and standards of scouting. To attain that goal, regular attendance and extraordinary personal development is required.
What we expect from your scout
Eleven year old boys need direction; they do not have all the answers. However we as leaders wish to instill in them a feeling of commitment and responsibility to scouting at an early stage. This means a willingness to attend meetings, study for advancement at home and to attend monthly outings. This level of commitment will impact your entire family and should be a joint decision between the parents and scout. Each boy must fully realize that to get the full benefit from scouting, he must commit to attending and participating. There will often be conflicts with sports, family activities, and social events, but troop functions must rank high on your list of priorities. To quantify this issue, the troop expects that a boy attend at least 50% of all troop meetings and outings, participate in fund raising, community service and Eagle Scout projects. Failure to meet this level of commitment will result in consideration for deactivation. Lesser involvement causes your son to fall behind his peers, which works counter to the positive development we are trying to achieve.
What we expect from the parent(s)
Scouting means a substantial commitment from parents also, in the form of money, time, transportation to and from meetings and events, and support of advancement learning. Motivation is necessary from both home and the troop leaders. The philosophy of living by the Scout Oath and Scout Law needs continuous reinforcement at this age, but it can be a valuable tool in shaping the future success of your child. Parent involvement and encouragement combined with the efforts of our troop’s adult leaders will enable your boy to mature into a strong and confident adult.
What you can expect from the troop leaders
The Scout Master and a committee of 6-8 Assistant Scout Masters meet monthly to plan meetings, outings, review scout progress, manage troop finances and plan for the smooth operation of the troop. Members of this committee make a major commitment of personal time and energy to planning and organizing events for the benefit of the troop. From this grows the need to teach our scouts to be responsible for passing information to parents, to sign up early, to bring money to meetings as required, and to attend events when signed up. Failure to meet these standards have negatively impacted some recent trips. Improving on this is one of the goals of this letter.
What are the long-term objectives and goals of Troop 614?
Fun and personal growth through adventure, challenges and learning. Your boy will develop life-long memories and friendships by committed participation. Eagle should be the goal for all boys, but conditioned by the realization that it will be achieved only by those who fully commit themselves to scouting. Many valuable lessons will be learned along the "trail to Eagle", even if that rank is ultimately not achieved. Please direct any questions to the Scout Master or other adult leaders at any opportunity. Let us hear your concerns and suggestions.
Created on 08/29/2007 01:48 PM by admin
Updated on 05/04/2010 02:12 AM by ssnell
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