Why should my son or daughter join Scouting?
Scouting is defined as “Fun with a Purpose!” It’s a great opportunity to meet friends, develop life and leadership skills in a fun and safe environment.
You can read more on “Why Join the Cub Scouts“.
What’s the time commitment?
Minimum:
- Den meetings: 1.5 hours/month
- Pack meetings: 1.5 hours/month
- Den activities (homework or field trips): 1-3 hours/month
Optional (but highly recommended):
- Overnighters: one in the fall, one in the spring
- Hikes: held approximately monthly 2-4 hours per hike
- Campouts: fall is 2 days/1 night, spring is 3 days/2 nights
- Pinewood Derby: 2 hours minimum
- Misc events like service events
What days of the week do you usually meet?
Our pack meetings are typically the first Monday of the month. The gathering activity starts at 6:15PM. The pack meeting starts with the flag ceremony at 6:30PM and tends to finish at 7:30PM. At the beginning of the school year, it can run until 8 PM.
Den meetings are decided by the den leader and families, typically once a month and 60 – 90 minutes each time.
How many kids are in the same den/pack?
Dens consist of Scouts in the same grade level. Preferably we’d like to have 4-8 boys in a den. We also aim to have at least 2 dens per grade level.
- For the 2015-2016 year, we had 70 Scouts in the pack.
- For the 2016-2017 year, we had 84 Scouts in the pack.
- For the 2017-2018 year, we had 92 Scouts in the pack.
- For the 2018-2019 year, we had 124 Scouts in the pack.
What do parents need to do?
Parents of the younger Scouts should stay with their sons at all of the events. As they get older, this is not as needed. However, it’s still great the parent to participate (i.e. do not drop off). Once the boy reaches Boy Scouts (mid 5th grade), parent involvement in activities can be rare (so take advantage of the time now!).
Also, there are requirements that need to be done at home and with parents. Some examples include:
- talking to Scouts about
- safety around other adults
- safety around the house
- safety online
- religion/famiy beliefs
- growing plants
- using a knife to carve (soft wood or soap)
- planning and doing chores to help the family
Lastly, the parents are expected to help out at pack activities at least once during the year. Everyone at the pack level (including the Cubmaster, den leaders) are parent volunteers just like everyone else. Even at the district level, most of the positions are unpaid.
Is this typically a Parent and Child event?
No. In fact, in many cases moms seem to participate more than dads. Also, we have had many excellent moms as den leaders and pack leaders.
Can kids join this summer or wait until school year begins?
They can join in the summer and participate in the summer activities.
If summer, what is your calendar of activities?
We have hikes and a parade planned. Also, the district is putting on a week long day camp (www.meridiandaycamp.com). One year, we had 17 Scouts from our pack going. We are looking into planning additional events this summer.
The school already started, can my son/daughter still join?
The registration is open a few weeks after the school started. As long as it is open, you can sign up here and wait for further communications.
If the registration is closed, you can still contact us and we will work with you to figure out options for you to decide. If you are invited by a Den Leader to join his or her Den, please ask the Den Leader to send in as a referral. Den Leaders know how to contact Pack Leaders.
If new school year, what is the calendar of activities?
At a pack level, these are what is planned:
- Monthly pack meetings
- Monthly hikes
- Popcorn fundraising
- Fall + Spring Overnighters
- Fall + Spring Campouts
- Service events: Red Ribbon Week, Earth Day, school cleanup, Scouting for Food, Toys for Tots, Pick Up with a Purpose
- Pinewood Derby car building and racing
- Blue + Gold Celebration (Pack Party at the school)
- Pack Picnic
At the den level:
- Monthly den meetings
- Homework and field trips
See this page for some highlights of past events: http://pack996.champlearningacademy.com/updates/. You can also see posts on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pack996
How much does this cost? Are there other fees/payments?
To register for the year with the pack, it is $120. This covers awards and many other costs at the pack level. Dens also have costs for activities (supplies, field trip fees).
All scouts are asked to participate the popcorn sales to raise fund for 50% of the Pack expense. If you decide to opt out or cannot participate due to reasons like late registration, you are expected to donate $100 to the pack.
The uniform and handbook without tax is about $100. Here is the breakdown:
For Tiger/Wolf/Bear Scouts (Grades 1-3 based on official online store)
- Shirt: $25
- Belt: $10
- Neckerchief*: $9
- Slide*: $6
- Hat*: $15
- World Crest: $2
- Shoulder loops: $4
- Unit Numerals: 3*1.50 = $4.50
- Den Numerals: $1.50
- Council Patch:
- Handbook*: $13
*Items with a star need to be updated each year as they are rank specific.
For Webelos Scouts (Grades 4-5), prices will be very similar.
Hikes/campouts can be $5-$20 per event for parking
Overnighters can be about $100/person
Can Siblings join in the activities?
Yes, Cub Scouts is family oriented with siblings/parents joining in most activities (campouts, hikes, Pinewood Derby). Preference is made for Scouts where limited space is available, but siblings are very welcomed.
I don’t attend Quail Run Elementary, can I still join Pack 996?
For many reasons, including building established friendships, we highly recommend joining the local Pack associated with your school. If that’s not possible, absolutely join us! Please do let us know the reason so that we can look into fix that.
My neckerchief slide comes off all the time. What can I do to prevent this?
Wrap a rubber band around the neckerchief to create additional bulk and friction. You can also slide one of the metal ends into the rubber band.