LEARN MORE ABOUT SCOUTBOOK IN ONE HOUR!

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCOUTBOOK IN ONE HOUR!

Are you getting questions about what Scoutbook can offer parents, Scouts, and volunteers? Here’s a chance to help your team understand what you gain with this revolutionary Scouting web application.

Scoutbook is the unit advancement software from the BSA.

From the first knot tied to final hours of service performed, the Scouting experience is a journey like no other. Scoutbook ensures not a moment is missed – tracking advancement, milestone achievements and all the fun along the way. You’ve probably already heard about or are using Scoutbook. Now it’s time to encourage other Scouters to join the more than 300,000 Scoutbook users who are taking advantage of the digital resource.

Approving Eagle Projects

Approving Eagle Projects

Larger video or to download video for better resolution

Handout:

• Notes for Eagle Project Approvers, Unit Leaders and Boards of Review. This guide is for Scouters at the unit, district and council level who are involved with approving Eagle projects.
• Guide to Advancement (chapter 9)
• Approving Eagle Projects Presentation (PDF)
• Approving Eagle Projects Presentation with speaker notes (PDF)

A Peek at the New 2016 Boy Scout Requirements

UPDATED

The requirements have been posted at: http://scouting.org/programupdates

Webinar on new requirements higer resolution and slides are here

•Requirements and more information is here.

•MORE Webinars can be found here.

•Send questions to:

GCCADVANCEMENT1@GMAIL.COM

•Feedback to the National Advancement Team may be sent here:  advancement.team@scouting.org

Merit Badge Couselor Resources

Recording of the recent Merit Badge Webinar and resources are here

Second wave of interactive digital merit badge pamphlets brings total to 8

Being a Boy Scout in 2015 is getting cooler and cooler.

That’s thanks to interactive digital versions of popular merit badge pamphlets — something I only wish had been available when I was a Boy Scout.

We were promised that more merit badges would be added regularly, and the merit badge team hasn’t disappointed. The second wave is here.

The addition of the Communication, Digital Technology, Family Life and Personal Fitnessmerit badges brings the total available to eight.

These four join the interactive versions of Cooking, First Aid, Animation and Robotics merit badges, released in May.

Where can you learn more about these interactive digital merit badge pamphlets and find links to buy them? Where else but BoysLife.org?

Here’s some more need-to-know info

EAGLE PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD – DEADLINE JAN 21, 2016

EAGLE PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD – DEADLINE JAN 21, 2016

Every year the council awards an Eagle Project of the Year award.  Applications for 2015 are due into Alexis at Eagle Services at Council by January 21, 2016. 

The National Eagle Scout Association has established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project

of the Year Award to recognize valuable service of an exceptional nature by a Scout to a religious institution, a school, community,

or other entity. The award recognizes the Scout for his Eagle Scout service project, which is part of the requirements for earning the

Eagle Scout Award. Each local council will choose a council-level winner, and from that pool, each region will pick a region-level winner.

A national winner then will be selected from the four regional finalists.

More information and the application can be found here: http://www.nesa.org/adams_award.html (application is on the left side of page; for a better chance of success, make sure you follow the directions exactly)  

Turns out I’ve been using antiperspirant wrong my whole life

Any Scouter or parent will tell you antiperspirant — deodorant’s tougher cousin — is an essential part of Scouting.

A Scout is courteous, and smelling decent is certainly the courteous thing to do while camping, paddling or backpacking with your fellow Scouters and Scouts.

This week, though, I learned I’ve been using antiperspirant wrong all my life. Apparently you should apply it to your underarms before you go to bed at night, not while getting ready in the morning.

Wait, what?

Read the rest

HOW AND WHY THE 2016 BOY SCOUT REQUIREMENTS WERE CHANGED AND INFORMATION ON THE NEW REQUIREMENTS AND NEW HANDBOOK

This month’s ScoutCast has an interview of the Chairman of the National Advancement Team.  To listen, go here:

http://www.scouting.org/ScoutCast.aspx 

New Requirements are here 

Merit Badge Coucilor Certifications

We are having to return many merit badge counselor applications for the following merit badges because they do not contain the proper paperwork.  Please read through the instructions below:

 

In addition to the adult application and the merit badge counselor application, the following documentation/forms have to be submitted for the specific merit badges listed below.

Special Qualifications are required to instructors for certain merit badges and require additional documentation.  These badges are explained in Chapter 7 of the Guide to Advancement.  For these badges, the prospective Merit Badge Counselor must provide a copy of current certification OR a letter specifying that instruction and activities for the merit badge will be conducted by a currently certified instructor as described below:

Open Pool Days at the Heard

Open Pool Days
Scouts wanting to work on Aquatics requirements may attend (Swim Checks, 2nd and 1st Class requirements, Swimming or Lifesaving requirements, Cub Scout Aquatics Advancement, etc.)

Days:
       August 8, 2015 - To register: click here
       September 12, 2015 - To register: click here

 

NEW! Merit Badge Process for Scouts Parents and Unit Leaders

A new guide is available!
Click Here for guide: Merit Badge Process for Scouts Parents and Unit Leaders

It explains the merit badge process from the vantage point of unit leaders, parents and Scouts

It is available on this webpage: http://grandcanyonbsa.org/mbc

TROOP LEADER GUIDEBOOK

The new Troop Leader Guidebook vol 1 (which replaces the Scoutmaster Handbook) is now available at Scoutstuff.org.  It will be available in the Scout Shops in a couple of weeks.

Volume 1
Recommended for both first-time and experienced Scout leaders, this handbook provides a thorough overview of the responsibilities and rewards of leading a troop. Topics include troop meetings, uniforms and insignia, community service, awards and recognition programs, and much more.  
The appendix in itself is a valuable collection of resources and is available to download here

Volume 2 should be out later this year

ON-LINE MERIT BADGE CLASSES

We have recently received inquiries about on-line merit badge classes that replace face to face counselor interactions with a Scout with on-line video conferencing and the completion and email exchange of written material in the form of workbooks and the like (often these webinar classes charge a fee.)  We asked the National Advancement Team for guidance on answering these questions and the following reflects that guidance:

Scholarships for Scouts

Many organizations offer scholarships to members of the Boy Scouts of America. The list below contains links to more information about each scholarship.


More info click here

Looking for Good Eagle Project Ideas?

Look at the best:

2015 GLENN A. AND MELINDA W. ADAMS NATIONAL EAGLE SCOUT SERVICE PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD

In 2009, the National Eagle Scout Association established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award to recognize valuable service of an exceptional nature by a Scout to a religious institution, a school, community, or other entity. The award recognizes the Scout for his Eagle Scout leadership service project, which is part of the requirements for earning the Eagle Scout Award. Each year, local councils select a council-level winner, and from that pool, each region selects a region-level winner. A national winner is then selected from the four regional finalists.

NESA recognizes the following Scouts as recipients of the 2015 Adams Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award:

Poisonous plants quiz

Whether you're on a backcountry trek or a walk in the park, be aware of dangerous plants.

Advancement Educational Presentations

There are a number of advancement educational presentations  that are setup for group instruction or individual review.

Here are some that have just been updated:

Grand Canyon Council Merit Badge University

*Taught by Experts*

Your Scout (ages 11 to 18) will have the opportunity to earn up to two (Eagle or Non Eagle Required) Merit Badges.  Some of the Merit Badges that will be available are:

Eagle Congratulation Letters

Where you can go to find addresses of dignitaries to write 

Eagle congratulatory letters

http://usscouts.org/eagle/eaglecongrats.asp

Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook Procedures

We are receiving reports that Scouts and Scouters are having difficulties opening the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook.

Make sure you are following instructions.

Do not attempt to open this workbook in a browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) or in programs such as Nuance PDF Converter. The workbook was created in Adobe LiveCycle, which must be saved to your computer and opened with Adobe Reader 9 or later. This enables the user to take advantage of the enhancements of expandable text boxes and importing images.