The Guide to Safe Scouting has been updated.  The May 2018 updates appear in both the online and PDF versions of the guide.

You can find both versions by following this link.

National Council has changed the requirements of the following merit badges:

Required Merit Badges:
Camping, Communication, Emergency Preparedness, First Aid, Personal Fitness

Elective Merit Badges:
Animal Science, Archaeology, Archery, Astronomy, Athletics, Canoeing, Chemistry, Coin Collecting, Crime Prevention, Electronics, Energy, Insect Study, Medicine, Nature, Plant Science, Public Health, Radio, Scouting Heritage, Sculpture, Theater, Weather, Wilderness Survival.

A detailed list of the changed requirements for each of these merit badges is available on the "Boy Scouts" page.  Just open this link and follow the "Merit Badges" link.

The current requirements for each merit badge can be downloaded from the "Merit Badges" page on Scouting.org.

The next phase of the BSA's Family Scouting Program, starting Girl Troops, will launch on
1 July 2018.

The Great Trail Council has established a 180-day action plan for chartered organizations to recruit and train the adult leadership needed for the new Girl Troops.  The goal is for the new Girl Troops to be officially up and running in February 2019 so that they can attend a 2019 summer camp.

A copy of the 180-day timetable can be downloaded using this link.

Seneca District's 2018 Fall Camporee is going to be a bus trip to New York State.  The dates are Thursday through Sunday, 11-14 October 2018.

Scouts and Scouters will visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown (Satellite Image), the United States Military Academy West Point (Satellite Image), Howe Caverns (Satellite Image), Watkins Glen International Race Track (Satellite Image), and Watkins Glen State Park (Satellite Image).

In between visiting all these great attractions, everyone will be camping at the Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Center (Satellite Image).

UPDATE:  Since the bus trip will last more than 72 hours, all participants must fill out all three parts (A, B, and C) of the Annual Health & Medical Record (AHMR).

To learn more and to register, follow this link.

Here's a message from Tom Torres, Seneca District Cub Scout Training Chair:

Greetings Seneca District Cub Scout Packs,

A new era for Cub Scout Packs is fast approaching.  On June 1, 2018, the BSA will welcome girls to join Cub Scouts.  That's less than 90 days from now.  There will be some challenges as we introduce these new Cubs Scouts to the BSA.  I want to identify a couple of these challenges and ask each pack to do its part to meet them.

First, since girls may join our packs in June, we need to be ready for them with trained leaders for the new Girl Dens.  This will be difficult since we do not know how many Girl Den leaders each pack will need.  Cub Scout recruitment starts in September, but girls who are siblings of current Scouts may wish to join right away.

So, the first challenge is for each pack to identify at least two potential leaders for Girl Dens and send their names to me.  The second challenge is to train these potential leaders before June 1.

The training requirements for Den Leaders and Assistant Den Leaders are simple -- just Youth Protection Training and Den Leader Training.  Both trainings are available on the My.Scouting.org Web site.  If the potential leaders are new to Scouting, they may need help setting up a My.Scouting account and navigating the site, so be prepared to lend a hand.

If every pack meets both challenges quickly, in March or April would be great, then we will be ready to lead these new Cub Scouts before summer activities start.

I am asking everyone to pitch in to help Seneca District get off to a good start in this new era of Scouting.  Please contact me with any questions you may have, and I will do my best to get them answered.

Sincerely,
 
Tom Torres
Seneca District Cub Scout Training Chair
TTorres123@Yahoo.com
216-926-2086

National Council has released a new, updated edition of Youth Protection Training (YPT).  Just like the old training, it's available online at My.Scouting.organd is good for two years.

There is a change, however, and it's that every registered adult Scouter must take the new training before 1 October 2018, even if their old Youth Protection training has not expired.

Since this requirement applies to all Scouters in the U.S., the training is in high demand.  This means there may be times during the day when it is not possible to open the training after you login to My.Scouting.org.  It may be best to take the training early in the morning to take advantage of Ohio's location in the Eastern Time Zone.  Late night in Ohio may not be late enough since it will be early evening on the West Coast.

IMPORTANT:  The training works with the Chrome browser on Windows PCs and the Safari browser on Macs.  It may not work with other browsers.  So, if you have problems, switching browsers may be your best bet.

The training doesn't take long, but don't wait until September to take it.  Do it now and avoid the last minute rush.

When Boy Scout rank requirements change, National Council releases a PDF handout of all rank requirements that includes the changes.  This handout is an updated version of the "Boy Scout Rank Requirements" section found at the back of the Boy Scout Handbook.

The current PDF handout was released in November 2017 and is available on Scouting.org.  You can also find a link to it on the "Boy Scouts" page by using this link and then clicking on the "Awards & Advancement" link.  You'll find the link to the handout under the heading "Current Rank Requirements."  Printing it on 8.5"x11" paper produces an easy to read copy, best suited for a three-ring binder.

You'll also find a link named "Current Rank Requirements -- Simplified Handbook Insert."  It links to a second PDF designed to print two pages of the handout per sheet of paper.  The sheets are meant to be stapled together at one corner and can be folded in half to fit in a Handbook.

The BSA's Family Scouting Program will launch in 2018. As you have probably heard, the first step will be opening Cub Scouts to girls.  Packs can be All Boy, All Girl, or Family with All Boy and All Girl dens.

The Great Trail Council has established a 180-day action plan for packs to choose how they will operate and to recruit and train the needed adult leadership.  A key element of this action plan is recruiting new Cub Scouts to attend the council's 2018 Day Camps, Cub Scout Adventure Camps, and Webelos Resident Camps.

A detailed explanation of the action plan and its 180-day timetable is available for download as a two-page PDF using this link.

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