WE ARE CUB SCOUT PACK 301, BUCKS COUNTY COUNCIL, PENNSBURY DISTRICT, CHARTERED BY THE BELMONT HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTG ORGANIZATION.
1. What is a FAQ? FAQ is an abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions. Over the years, we find many people asking the same questions. So, the FAQ Page would be answers to the most common questions we get about Cub Scout Pack 301. Of course, if you don't see an answer to your question, just e-mail us by clicking here or call, and we'll answer best we can.
2. I wanted my son to get into Boy Scouts. Is this the Boy Scouts? Cub Scouting or Cub Scouts is the part of Boy Scouts specifically geared to boys in elementary school.
Cub Scouting was formed in 1930 as part of the Boy Scout program due to an overwhelming demand for younger boys to be a part of the Scouting movement.3. I have a daughter in elementary school. Can she join Cub Scouts? No. Cub Scouts is for boys. The Girl Scouts have a program for young girls. They are not part of the Boy Scouts. We can get you information on Brownie and Girl Scout Troops in the area.
4. How often do the boys meet? The boys are divided into "Dens" by grade: First graders are known as 'Tiger Cubs,' second graders are 'Wolves,' third graders are 'Bears,' and fourth and fifth graders are known as 'Webelos.' Tigers meet weekly in the cafeteria of Belmont Hills Elementary school, usually three meetings plus the "Pack" meeting at the end of each month.Cub Scouts and Webelos meet on a weekly basis in "Den" meetings and once a month at a "Pack" meeting. There are two types of Cub Scout meetings. Each den will have one or two Den leaders and 6 to 12 boys, with 8 being the optimum number ("Eight is great!").
One meeting every month, all of the Dens meet together in a "Pack" meeting. This is where the boys show off to their parents, siblings, and to the other boys in the Pack what they have been doing during the month, and to receive any advancement or recognition awards they may have earned.
The den meetings and pack meeting are based on a monthly "theme." The pack meeting is like a party with games, skits, and songs, combined with an awards ceremony. The Cubmaster is in charge of the Pack meetings. Some months, there may be an additional weekday meeting for a Pack field trip.5. When and where are the meetings held? Meetings are from 7:00 to 8:30 P.M. every Tuesday evening. The Den meetings last until roughly 8:20, giving us about 10 minutes to clean up. Pack meetings will be held the last available Tuesday(see "Cancellations" below) of each month in the Cafeteria/Multi-Purpose Room at Belmont Hills Elementary School.
6. My son is in first grade. Aren't weekly meetings a little too much for him? We don't think so. We found that over the years, first graders are the most interested in meeting and completing projects, and look forward to weekly meetings. First graders start out in a program called Tiger Cubs that is structured similar to the weekly meetings the Cub Scouts have. The Tiger Cubs meet with their adult "partner" (rather than a den leader) for weekly meetings. The Tiger Cub and Partner, work along with the Tiger Leader who oversees the meeting and is responsible for planning and running that meeting. Some meetings during any given month can be a "field trip" type of meeting, known as a "Go See It," where the Tiger Cubs (with their Tiger Partners) go someplace or do something outside the School Cafeteria.. Tiger Cub Dens also attend the monthly Pack meetings. The Tiger Cub uniform consists of an Orange Tiger Cub T-shirt, Tiger Cub Belt (to hold his Tiger award fob, although any belt will work.)7. My son is (allergic to [fill in the blank], learning disabled, ADD, ADHD, physically challenged, emotionally challenged, etc.). Can he still be in Cub Scouts? Definitely, yes! The Cub Scout program welcomes all boys. The Cub Scout program is adaptable to many special needs, and there are program and training materials to help Cub Scout leaders adapt the program to the situation. There are also programs to teach the boys to understand those that may be a little different than they are. However, it is important that the Pack and Den leadership be made aware of these cases so that we can deal with any problems or situations that may arise. We ask that you fill out a health form that stays with Pack 301. Please be sure to note any special needs or conditions we need to know about. You should also plan to stay at all of the meetings, which is required for all parents of Cub scouts in all age groups.
8. How early can I drop my boy off before the meeting? What if I'm busy and can't pick him up exactly when the meeting ends? Please, Please, PLEASE! Make sure you understand this: WE ARE NOT RUNNING A BABY SITTING SERVICE!!! BSA doesn't stand for Baby Sitters of America. This is not someplace where you can drop your children off for an hour or so while you run some errands. Scouting is a family program. You will be expected to stay at the meeting with your son and help him out if you can in any way possible, along with the other parents, to make your sons den run smoothly. Pack meetings are for the whole family.
9. What about spring break and other holidays? Do you still have Cub Scout meetings? Here is the Rule of Thumb: If the school is closed for the day due to holiday or weather, we don't meet. If school closes early for weather, we don't meet. There are one or two other days -- that we have learned from experience -- that it doesn't pay to hold a meeting, such as the day before Thanksgiving (everyone's out of town). You will be notified of those days as we get to them, or simply look on our scouting calendar here on our website.
10. When does he get to go camping? As of this year, the rules have been changed to allow Cub Scouts to camp as a pack. We are working on developing a camping program. In the past few years, our overnight sleepovers were at the Franklin Institute. If you enjoy camping out, get involved and help us out in getting a camping trip organized. The boys would love it, we just need a few parents who have some experience to make it a success. "Family camping" is allowed for boys first through third grades at Boy Scout approved or "Council run" camps. Webelos may go camping as a den, but each boy must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. If it is impossible for a parent or guardian to accompany the Webelos scout, guardianship may be transferred in writing to another parent that is going on the camping trip. This parent, by Boy Scouts of America policy, may not be the den or pack leader responsible for the camping trip. Second year Webelos are also allowed to go camping with a Boy Scout troop. This is part of the Arrow of Light requirements. When accompanying Boy Scouts, they are still required to have a parent present on the camping trip.
11. Let's get to the bottom line. How much is all this going to cost me? The annual registration fee is $35.00. You will find that Pack 301 is in our opinion, the best Cub Scout Pack in Bucks County with the lowest registration fees. We are able to reduce the price from $50.00 this year because we are welcoming some great businesses from our neighborhood to help our Pack with sponsorship. Our Blue and Gold Banquet of 2002-2003 was the greatest ever, due to the addition of great contributions by great contributors. Every Major supermarket, Companies like CNN, SESAME PLACE, HARD ROCK CAFE, WWF, MOREY'S PIER, BOSCOV'S the list goes on and on. They all helped to give these hard working and deserving boys a wonderful banquet complete with great prizes. Your registration fee includes your registration with the Boy Scouts of America, in Doylestown, Pa. to enroll your boy in Cub Scouts. Also, this membership includes a subscription to Boys' Life magazine, and of course the awards that he will earn. Also a pinewood derby car kit is included in your fee.
There may be additional costs throughout the year for special events, activities or Pack trips to be paid by those attending, but they will be minimal. The only other expense is the Cub Scout uniform itself.12. Are the uniforms expensive. Does he have to get the whole uniform, or can he just get a shirt or a hat? Since proper uniforming is spelled out in Boy Scouts of America guidelines as one of the means of achieving the goals of Scouting, We expect all boys to be uniformed, but Pack 301 only requires a waist up only uniform. Parents will need to only purchase the shirt, scarf and neck slide. We will have forms available at the first meeting if you would like to place an order and it will be delivered the following week. If you would prefer, you could pick up whatever you would need at the Boy Scouts of America store, located in Doylestown, Pa, right across the street from the Mercer Museum. It's an easy ride. After you enter Doylestown off of 611, you stay on that road until you get to the light past the Pizza Hut up the hill. Turn right and bear to the right and you will see the Boy scout store.
1 Scout Way
Doylestown, PA 18901
(215) 348-7205
FAX (215) 348-7289We expect all the scouts to be in uniform at the meetings and on our Pack trips, as we proudly travel as a group, however, we will not deny the Cub Scout program to anyone because of financial difficulties. If there is a true financial need, speak to someone in the pack leadership and we will do what we can. Everything will be kept confidential.
While on the subject of uniforms, we realize that many boys take part in a number of sporting and other after-school activities. Some times it is not possible to get home between, say, soccer and the Scout meeting. If this is the case, please try to arrange for your boy to bring his uniform and change in the rest room once he arrives for the meeting. This is especially true for Pack meetings. We will not present an advancement award to a boy who is not in uniform! New for the 2003-2004 school year, We are going to have Pack 301 scouting T-shirts made up to be worn at weekly den meetings and some of our pack outings. More information will be available at our first meeting on the "First Tuesday of the First Full Week of School". We intend to keep the cost of the shirts around $5.00-$6.0013. Where can I get Cub Scout uniforms? As answered above. Either order what you need at the first meeting or Uniforms may be purchased at the Boy Scout of America scouting store...
1 Scout Way
Doylestown, PA 18901
(215) 348-7205
FAX (215) 348-728914. Where do you get the Cub Scout leaders? The leadership of this Cub Scout Pack is made up of volunteer parents (like YOU!) who want to be involved in their son's growth and formative years. We are not paid to do this. We think enough of our boys and their friends that we want to provide the best possible opportunity for them to become upstanding citizens of their community. Each Den should have two leaders as well as a rotating parent assistant. Without den leadership, we cannot form new dens.
15. I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to be a den leader. What would I do? Where would I start? Help books, leader manuals, and training sessions are available to help YOU step into the role of den leader as quickly as possible.It's not really that hard, and with all the cooperation of the other parents, stress-free! There are monthly Roundtable meetings where leaders gather to share ideas. For more information about Roundtables, speak to the Cubmaster for details. Attendance to these are optional, but are very informative and interesting.
WITHOUT YOUR HELP IN LEADERSHIP, THIS PACK WILL FOLD!!! One or two people can't do it all, so lend a helping hand. Your son is there anyway so offer any talents you may have. Just say, "Hey...How can I Help?"16. Will the boys have a snack at each den meeting? Sure! They will look forward to it before closing ceremonies. The way we usually do it is that a list is made of all the boys, and we just take turns bringing in a snack for the group. One boys takes a turn each week and over the course of the school year, maybe each boy will have two turns at providing snack. Nothing fancy...a juice box, an ACME 10 cent soda, maybe cookies or bag of chips or pretzels shared. Find a sale and stock up. Keep it cheap!
17. What are these Pack Trips all about? Well, simply put, the boys and their families get to do things outside of our weekly meetings. Monthly, we may have a bowling night, or maybe a skating party. I know a beekeeper who would love to get the boys dressed to work with a hive.(If they are brave enough) We always enjoy a night out at a Trenton Thunder game. We will plan on having a table setup at this years Bensalem Pride Days, as other packs do, giving out candy, literature on Scouting with Pack 301 and maybe displaying pinewood derby cars, and other cool projects accomplished last year. Also, marching in the Memorial day Parade and the Southampton July 4th parade would be fun! We could march or maybe build a fun float to ride on, with the help of a Dad with a utility trailer. We are limited only by our imagination, but whatever we do... the one central theme is ...IT WILL BE FUN !!!!
18. Is my son required to be at all the den and pack meetings? Of Course! When you join a group, your fellow scouts begin to count on you being there. If you miss meetings, you miss out on opportunities to advance along with the others. Unless you are ill, we would hope for you to be at all your scout meetings. While at those meetings, proper behavior is expected and no running or ball playing in the cafeteria will be tolerated. Boys are expected to pay attention to your den leaders while they are instructing you since all it takes is one disruptive scout to ruin the evening for the other boys.
When ANYONE is standing in the front of the room speaking, RESPECT FOR THAT SPEAKER WILL BE EXPECTED, and all boys should be silent.
LACK of RESPECT TOWARD OTHERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED !
19. I have more questions that aren't answered here. Who should I talk to? Please contact your son's den leader or your Cubmaster, as they will be able to give you more information about the Cub Scouting program. To e-mail Anthony...Click Here! E-Mail addresses for all the individual den leaders will be available in September.
