A Process for Creating a Yearly Troop Calendar.

"A Plan is only a standard to deviate from."

1. Preparing for the "Planning Meeting"
2. The "Planning Meeting"
3. Executing the Plan

Preparing for the "Planning Meeting"

• NOTES:
  • use a spreadsheet to lay out the calendar
  • update the spreadsheet as you recieve new information
  • calendar goes from: end-of-August to end-of-August
  • weeks are laid out: Monday to Sunday

    

  
  
• Capture three (3) calendars, and block out appropriate dates on spreadsheet:
  1. School Calendar (usually available in March)
     • vacations
     • holidays
     • time off ("Professional Development Days", etc.)

     

  2. Council Calendar (available during last Roundtable of year)
     • Camporees
     • Freeze-outs
     • Merit Badge College
     • Other: OA Weekends, RoundTables, Scouting-for-Food

     

  3. A Real Calendar
     • Mother's Day
     • Father's Day
     • Patriot's Day
     • Other Holidays

     

• Plug in standing activities:
  • Troop Meetings (every Thursday, whenever school meets)
  • Courts-of-Honor [COH] (3-4 per year)
  • Board-of-Review [BOR] (2 meetings prior to each COH)
  • Parties (Christmas, EOY, etc.)
  • Rock Climbs
  • Civic Duties (Memorial Day Parade, Veteran's Day, Band Concert, Town Meetings, etc.)
  • Fund Raisers
  • PLC Meetings (last Tuesday of the month)
  • Committee Meetings (first Tuesday, every other month)
  • Summer Camp
  • Community Service Dates
  • Council RoundTables (1st Monday of the Month)

  

The "Planning Meeting"

• NOTES:
  • Ideally scheduled for the last PLC of the preceding year
  • use a whiteboard or easel with large paper
  • bring copies of the calendar thus far
  • attendees include: PLC, SMs, committee members, interested adults
  
  
• Planning Meeting Agenda:
  1. Select Troop Activities (limit to 10: one activity per month)
     1. List "Statndard" Activities, E.G.
        • Winter cabin camp
        • Ski trip
        • Ice Climb, Rumney NH
        • EOY Rock Climb, Rumney NH
     2. List Other Previous Year's Activities, E.G.
        • Wilderness Survival weekend, Townsend
        • Webelos weekend, Townsend R&G club
        • Rock Climb/Campout to Jockey's Cap, Freyburg ME
        • USS Massachusetts, Fall River MA
        • day Hike, Mt Cardigan NH
        • Winter climb/camping Lonesome Lake Hut ,NH
        • Day ski-trip (during Spring Break) Tuckerman's Ravine, NH
        • day rock climb, Hammond Pond MA
        • Bike/campout, Nickerson Sate Park, MA
        • 3-day/2-night canoe trip, Nashua River MA
        • Mt Watatic night Hike/EOY ice cream party (last meeting of year)
     3. List Prior Well-Received Activities, E.G.
        • Canoe/Camping Trip, Beal Island ME
        • Bike/Camping trip, Block Island RI
        • Bike Trip, Coast Guard Beach MA
        • "Dam Campout", Dudley MA
        • Rock Climbing/Campout, Pawtuckaway State Park MA
        • Canoe/Campout, Washburn Island, Cape Cod
        • Backpack, Wilderness Trail, WMNF, NH
        • Backpack, Mt Tom, NH
     4. Brainstorm New Activities, E.G.
        • Urban Survival weekend, Boston MA
        • Rock climb, Purgatory Chasm, MA
        • Camp, White Mts, NH
        • "Leave-No-Trace" (LNT) campout
        • Valley Forge PA (during spring break)
        • Camp on an aircraft carrier
        • Camp on Boston Harbor Islands
        • Camp on Nantucket
        • 50-miler
        • Philmont
     5. Vote on upcoming Activities (voting limited to PLC, each scout gets 3 votes)
     6. Tentatively Schedule the Activities
        • try not to schedule consecutive weekends
        • try not to schedule on school vacations
        • watch out for 3-day weekends
        • don't schedule: biking weekend in January or ice climbing in September
        • when is hunting season?
        • is camping site available?
        • look for "synergy" in campouts, E.G.
          • biking & camping
          • Pioneering & Webelos camping
          • climbing & camping
          • cabin camp & engineering
        • the best campouts seem to be those with:
          • an attainable goal
          • provide some controlled "adventure"
     
     
  2. Set Troop Meeting Agendas
     • Ideally: each activity should take 2 meetings
     • Each Activity could leverage a Merit Badge (MB booklet provides a good outline for what to cover during the meetings)
     • Each Meeting Activity should be reinforced by a Troop Activity
     • try to suggest varied activities, stuff the scouts wouldn't normally see.
     1. List the 'gottas', E.G.
        • Winter Camping (as a prerequisite for winter camping)
        • Intro to Rock Climbing (as a prerequisite for Rock Climbing trips)
        • Wilderness Survival (as a prerequisite for Wilderness Survival trip)
        • Care & Feeding of a Bicycle (as a prerequisite for Bike trip)
        • Athletics (in preparation for Camporee)
        • "Leave-No-Trace Camping (in preparation for LNT Campout)
        • Rock Climbing MB (in preparation for EOY rock climb)
     2. Brainstorm New Activities, E.G.
        • Engineering
        • Model building
        • 1st Aid & CPR
        • Cooking
        • Fly Fishing
        • Shooting
        • Robots
        • Auto repair
     3. Vote on upcoming Activities (voting limited to PLC, each scout gets 3 votes)
     4. Tentatively Schedule the Activities
        • is "tiering" necessary? (younger scouts & older scouts)
        • look for "synergy" between weekend activities & troop meetings, E.G.
          • biking sections precedes biking weekend
          • athletics precedes Camporee weekend
          • "eat off the Land" precedes Wilderness Survival
        • cover campout prerequisites during troop meetings, E.G.
          • offer Climbing MB before a big climbing trip
          • cover winter camping/survival before January

Execution

1. Program Chairman "Fine-Tunes" the schedule agreed to in Planning Meeting

   

2. Program Chairman reformats "Activities Calendar"
3. present "Activities Calendar" during EOY party/COH, solicits adult leader(s) per activity

   

During the Year:

• publish "Activities Calendar" at First Troop meeting of year
• PLC meetings review upcoming month's schedule:
  • retool plan as needed
  • insure instructors for Troop Meetings
  • insure Activities are prepared for (E.G. pack gear, insure food, etc.)
  • schedule other activities (E.G. games, patrol meetings, etc.)
• Committee meetings review upcoming 2 month's schedule:
  • retool plan as needed
  • review prerequisites for activities as needed
  • insure leaders are:
    • handling logistics, E.G.
      • adequate adult supervision,
      • qualified adults,
      • drivers,
      • special equipment needs E.G. canoes, et.c
      • food responsibilities,
      • reservations,
      • prerequisites,
      • trip announcements,
      • permission slips,
      • Tour Permit,
      • Training Assistant Leaders for NEXT YEAR
      • etc.
    • scheduled
    • YPT
    • adhering to "Guide to Safe Scouting"
    • know Duties and Responsibilties
  • insure adequate support for trips/activities (E.G. equipment, supplies, etc)
• Publish the Activities Calendar:
  • Newsletter
  • Website: http://www.townsendbsa.org/