It’s been said that the weekly troop meeting is the glue that holds a Boy Scout troop together. From beginning to end, there should always be something happening creating a focus, capturing and maintaining the Scouts’ attention, and providing the grounds for rewarding experiences. There should be a period set aside to learn new things that are useful and relevant, moments that are amusing and entertaining, and opportunities to put skills into action in ways that are challenging and fun. Troop members should leave the meeting feeling invigorated, feeling good about Scouting, and feeling good about themselves.
To help accommodate this, we will break the standard 90-minute meeting into six timed blocks. We will try to stick to a strict schedule to keep things moving. The blocks are as followed (click each to see details):
- Opening Ceremony
- Announcements
- Group Instruction
- Patrol Review
- Game/Challenge
- Closing
- After Meeting Review
- Advancement, Training & Planning
Key to making this happen is planning and preparation. Each month the Patrol Leaders’ Council will use the Troop Meeting Planning Form (see below) to plan each meeting so that it will be organized and productive. The SPL and Scoutmaster will work together to make sure all resources are available for the meeting.
Printable Troop Meeting Planning Form (MS Word)
Patrol Leader Award
The goal of all of this is to create a more organized and effective troop meeting. But it is also to recognize Patrols that are performing to Scout standards and above. Patrols will receive points for a variety of things throughout the meeting. These points will be totalled throughout the term and a single Patrol Leader will win the Patrol Leader Award. This award will only be given to TWO boys throughout the year. It will be an exclusive club and one that we recognize regularly!
Points can be earned at any Scouting event, not just troop meetings. Specific tasks or events will have pointed assigned to them and we will encourage all adults to award points to boys and/or patrols who are demonstrating Scout Spirit.
Scout Troop 313 