Welcome to
Malcolm Cub Scouts Pack 42
We are here to help make your Scouting experience a
complete SUCCESS!
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Welcome to Pack 42!
On behalf of the existing members and the leadership from Walton, --WELCOME TO PACK
42!
Based on our initial experience and the feedback from new parents reflecting fear of the
unknown, we think it is a very good idea to start by explaining how Cub Scouts works, letting you
know we are here to answer your questions and implement your suggestions –all to make sure
your experience with Pack 42 is a positive life-building adventure for your son.
The best first step to becoming a Cub Scout is to attend the Joining Event at the Walton Cub
Scout facility this coming Saturday at 9AM. This is very important. Please make the time to attend
and support your son. If you cannot make it, it is not life or death, but missing it would definitely
be a missed opportunity. We do all in our power to not impose on your personal time. However,
this is a Lincoln-wide event, which we cannot control. Please be there if at all possible. The event
is this coming Saturday at 9AM at 600 South 120th Street in Walton Nebraska. Drive east on O
street toward Eagle, Nebraska and at 120th street head south for about a half mile. Parking will be
SOUTH of the main entrance through a well-marked gate.
All in all, we want to open the door for you and do all we can to welcome you into Scouting
and to know that you are a critical contributor to our Pack. If you have any concerns or questions,
please contact either Tony Ridder (402) 890-1076) or Monte Boesen (H=796.9516 C=840.0863).
“A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my
bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind
of car I drove, but the world may be different because I
was important in the life of a child.”
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Joining Event
Driving to the Joining Event will give you the opportunity to pick up all of the needed
supplies you’ll need to begin Cub Scouts. Below is a form “Walton” has provided, which describes
the item costs associated with Cub Scouts. The “Trading Post” (store) clerk is named Paula. She
will help you pick up exactly what you need and she does NOT sell you things you do NOT need.
Of the following items, you will NOT need a belt, cap, “Badge Magic”, or the more expensive
coil-bound book (paper-backed works fine). If you do want these items, go for it. But you do not
need to spend the extra money.
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Bottom line: Get your son’s uniform and BOOK as soon as possible.
How to Use the Cub Scout Books
Since Tiger Cubs are the first tier of Cub Scouts and Wolf Cub and Bear Cub books are very
similar to the Tiger Cub book, we’d like to describe how the book works. This should make a lot of
you feel much more comfortable with Cub Scouts.
Pages 1 through 19 give a very good road map of how Scout activities and meetings work. If
at all possible, please take a few minutes to read this introduction.
Pages 21-23 refer to the goals of the Tiger Cub book and emphasize the three categories of
each lesson Know, Commit & Practice.
Beginning with page 25, you and your Tiger Cub should read together through page 27. These
pages explain how Tiger Cubs earn their very first emblems. The first three things a Tiger Cub
will learn will be 1) Cub Scout motto, 2) Cub Scout sign, and 3) Cub Scout salute. When he learns
these, your Tiger Cub earns the Immediate Recognition emblem and as achievements are
completed, beads are provided by the Den leader to be placed on the immediate recognition
emblem.
Pages 29 through 34 explain how to earn the Bobcat Badge. (This can be earned immediately
at the Joining Event and by showing the Den leader the punched activity card from the Joining
Event is all that’s needed for the Den leader to get the sew-on badge to be awarded to your son at
the next Pack meeting. (Monthly pack meetings are when patches are awarded.)
Pages 37 through 77 are all activities to earn the Tiger Cub badge. You’ll see each activity
marked as a Family, Den, or Go See It activity. Wolf Dens (grade 2) and Bear Dens (grade 3) have
more flexibility regarding which achievement to complete. Electives follow achievements, and we
can discuss these much further down the road. (They are optional for extra badges.)
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BIG PICTURE
Cub Scout Motto: DO YOUR BEST
Q: Do I have to go to every meeting?
No. We have weekly Den meetings and one Pack meeting each month. The Pack meetings are very important, and at a
minimum, at least one Den meeting needs to be attended. But everyone is very busy. Please work with the Den leader to
coordinate what can be missed and for guidance regarding working with your boy to complete missed Den meeting material.
Q: How do we sign off the boy’s achievements?
Tigers, Bobcats, Wolves – Parents do most of the signing. Den Leaders mostly guide.
Bears – Parents + Den Leader. Bear advancement is trickier!
Webelos – Den Leader + Parents. It is more like Boy Scout advancement, and needs checking by an adult other than the parent.
Q: How is this all organized?
It seems like chaos at times, but it is actually organized. Each boy is assigned to a Den of similar aged boys, who are all working
on the same advancement patch. The Dens together form the Pack, and the Cub Master leads the Pack Meetings. The Pack
Parent Meetings are run by the Committee Chair and we are chartered by the Malcolm United Methodist Church.
Organizational Chart: 1) Den; 2) Pack; 3) Cornhusker Council; 4) Boy Scouts of America.
Q: When can a boy start?
Anytime after he is 6 yrs old, and/or in first grade. Specifically as follows:
1st grade – Tigers (6 yrs)
2nd grade – Bobcat, Wolf (7 yrs)
3rd grade – Bear (8 yrs)
4th & 5th grade – Webelos (9 yrs & 10 yrs)
EVERYONE must earn their Bobcat badge. Thereafter, they can work on their appropriate rank. E.g. 4th graders who join as
Webelos must earn their Bobcat before working on their Webelos pins. (Don’t worry, the Bobcat badge can be earned in 1 hour.)
In the year that the boys turn 11, they are eligible to cross-over from Cub Scouts into the Boy Scout program.
Q: Books? Uniforms?
Buy one, and mark your child’s name in it and “put a GPS tracking chip on it”. Same goes for clothes. If your child needs a
uniform but cannot afford one, the Trading Post in Walton has “used” (new but taken home/returned) shirts for sale.
Q: How Do Parents Help Out?
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Family Involvement – We are a family program, and will find ways to include siblings in the activities when appropriate.
Financial Commitment (Uniform, Registration fees, Den Dues and money earning projects). If finances are a challenge
talk to Cub Master (financial aid is available to qualified families)
Communicate to Pack 42 leadership your skills which you are willing to share with the boys.
Boys Life Magazine
Q: Pins, Belt Loops, Segments, Patches, and Rank?
Yep, it is confusing at first. But don’t worry, the books actually explain most of it. The costs are covered by the Pack bank
account, and earned by the money added to the account from fundraising.
Q: Fees?
The new fees are due when you join, and are pro-rated through the end of the calendar year. New members have also paid for
1/1/2013-12/31/2013. Thereafter, as we approach a new year that members have not paid, dues for the next year will be
collected. We estimate it currently costs us ~$45 per boy per calendar year, for permits, badges, insurance and other costs.
Some of this the boys earn with our fundraising.
Q: When are the events and meetings?
First, check with your Den Leaders, for any Den activities. Check the Pack website calendar.
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Websites
Please mark the following Cornhusker Council website for future reference:
http://www.cornhuskercouncil.org/ This is the “Walton” website. If you go to it and search for
“Pack 42” you can navigate to the Pack calendar. Monte is primarily tasked with updating this
calendar, but experience shows that dates & times den meetings (the meetings with same-aged
Scouts) can change with short notice. Moreover, the calendar for the coming school year is
roughed out and given the possibility of changes I have not built the calendar too far into the
future. Simply note, sometimes dates and times must change. However, any changes to pre-set
meeting times NEED to be clearly communicated by the den leaders and acknowledged by EACH
parent BEFORE times are officially altered. Otherwise, out of courtesy, the meeting must proceed
as originally planned.
Another website we’d like to encourage all parents to visit, set up a password, take the Child
Safety training, and print/save the final certificate is the following. However, this is NOT required.
Just a very good idea to help reinforce the importance we stress on safety for your son.
If you are reading this, you can click on the following link:
https://myscouting.scouting.org/_layouts/MyScouting/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f_layouts%2fAuthenticate.aspx%3fSou
rce%3d%252f&Source=%2f
If you are reading this from a print out, you can go to WWW.Scouting.ORG, create an
account, click on E-Learning and take Youth Protection.
Pack 42 does have its own “official” website, but admittedly it really does have only limited
usefulness to the membership. (It is a legacy site from the prior Cub Master, Scott Saathoff, who
used it to send out group mailings.) This site is:
https://malcolm.scoutingplanner.com/unit_home.asp
If you do a Google search for Cub Scouts, you should will find a “balloon” over Malcolm
which will take you to our Pack’s website. Last month, I established this balloon. However, when I
checked it Sunday night, September, 9, it was not appearing. I’ve contacted Walton and hopefully,
we can get it back.
I also have a link on my e-mails referring to the site: Pack42 Resources:
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/mjboesen/Scouts/Scouts.PHP
This is a very old personal website, which I’ve begun using primarily as a resource where I
place miscellaneous handouts I receive from Walton. However, I’ve written several websites and
this website has the potential for a variety of formats (since it is my own). We may use it more
extensively in the future.
Most important –please remember that the Internet is a wonderful resource for Cub Scouts –this
is done world-wide and there are countless resources out there!
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