Troop Meeting and Annual Planning

Peter Berck1/30/2016 at LEAD

Long term and Short term planning

• Long term planning (covered later) results in – Monthly themes (e.g. cooking, citizenship,

50miler)– Monthly outdoor activities (camps, trips, hikes)

• Short term planning– Troop meetings to go with the activity and theme

PLANNING THE TROOP MEETINGThe Month’s Program:

Senior Patrol Leaders Work Through the Patrol Leaders to run

the troop.

The Patrol Leaders Council Makes the Troop meeting and Monthly Plan

PLC• SPL is in charge• PL’s are primary

participants• SM is the primary resource

person.• All others are support

people, not primary participants.

Support people: Not on the PLC

• Older scouts except for their patrol leader

• JASM, Instructor, Quartermaster, Scribe, etc

• ASM’s• Troop Guide-backs up PL of

a new scouts patrol.

When We TalkThey Can’t

Why Troop Meetings?

• 1. Prepare for cool outdoor stuff• 2. Learn Skills• 3. Exercise Leadership• 4. Strengthen Patrols• 5. Promote advancement and personal growth• 6. Inspire Scouts• 7. Have Fun.

The 7 Parts of a troop meeting

• Preopen (15 mins)– Game or project, set up (flags), last minute prep.

• Open (5): the SPL’s show.– Flags. Change it up—sometimes law and oath

• Skills (15-20): scouters and older scouts – New scouts—basic skills and scout rank– Experienced scouts– 2nd and 1st class skills (e.g first aid)– Older scout patrol. Their own outings, projects and

advancement. (e.g. Emergency preparedness). They are not 10.5 years old.

…parts of a troop meeting• Patrol meeting (5-20): this is the PL’s meeting.

– Menus, outing plan, equipment, dues, permission slips, …– Empower the PL, put business here.

• Interpatrol Activity (15-20)– E.g. Game with a purpose: the lashed chariot race

• Close: SPL’s show– SPL makes necessary announcements– Scoutmasters minute. Short and Sweet.– Closing ceremony.

• After the meeting.– Clean up by service patrol– PLC meeting to debrief

Sample TM’s Outline

• Month Theme: Citizenship• Month Outing: Hike the Bay Trail to the Red

Oak and stay on the ship overnight. Cook on the pier.

• The patrols hike 4 miles but• The Older Scouts bike 50.

1st Week.

• Preopen: Nautical Knots. Bowline and for the advanced, Bowline on a bight.

• Open: Flags. The Oath.• Instruction– New: meaning of the oath– Experienced: Meet a lawyer and discuss rights

and obligations of citizens (1st class requirement)– Older: Safety aspects of cycling merit badge

1st meeting

• Patrol Meetings– Head count for hike, distribute permission slips– Assign cook (chance for 1st, 2nd, and Merit badge )– Will the patrol bike or hike?– Plan a patrol dinner get together(just older scouts)– Later in the month it will do the rest of the hike planning– Start Stop Continue (aka thorns and roses.)

• Interpatrol activity:– Race to tie bowline on a bight and hoist a scout up a

tripod. (ambitious—but with preparation…)

First meeting end

• Closing.– We do a circle, a scoutmasters minute, and the

benediction… May the Great Scoutmaster of all good scouts ….Bonus for Citizenship month we sing God Bless America

• After:– PLC meets. Start, Stop, Continue– Service patrol puts the room back in order

More ideas

• Are in the last half of the packet on the table.

Zot!

You are now the PLC

Your Assignment

• Choose an outing (would be in long range plan)

• And a theme (would be in long range plan)• And plan several meetings for that month.• There are blank troop meeting planning

sheets on your table.• To note: The role of the SM here is an advisor,

if needed.

THE ANNUAL PLAN

5 Steps

• SM homework• Patrol Input• Planning Conference• Troop Committee• Announce the plan

Homework

• Make a background calendar—holidays, finals, sponsoring orgs events…– Add in council and district events (LEAD, CHECK,

Roundtable, Camporee) in case you want to go. – Deadlines for Philmont, Natl or Intl Jamboree and

other big adventures – And whatever else is helpful in planning (we

always go to summer camp the same 3 weeks)

Goals• What are the goals for the year? Examples:– A hike a month– Every scout a rank– Go ahead and think of a few more– Out of town hike alaska/increase % participation– Fundraisers– Merit badge achievement– Service project– At least 3 seniors only events (1st week camp, snow, trans-

sierra)• SM and SPL work on SM’s goals presentation

Make a flexible draft

• When are the overnights• What are ideas for other adventures (aim for 1

overnight and 1 adventure or more per mo.)• Take a look at the 36 Features in the planning

guide. Or invent your own.• Fundraising activity (popcorn )• Discuss with your SPL—• There should be plenty of choice and flexibility

left for the next step

2. Share the draft

• With the PLC, and they share with the scouts.• Best possible case: they think of 20 great

things you never even dreamed of.

3. Planning Meeting

• PLC + ASM’s+JASM. (In some literature troop committee and others as well) This is a bigger meeting but remember the PL’s not the ASM’s are closest to the scouts. (But the ASM’s drive…)

• Scoutmaster presents the years goals. PLC votes them in and out.

• Fill out the months! Choose among the features! • The PLC votes features in and out

Ex: 49ers Month• We have two outings, an overnight in the gold country

where we pan for gold, and a visit to the train museum in Sac.

• Our troop meetings further our features with (among other things)– Map and compass – reg, new ptls– Geocaching ventures– Pioneering miniatures, venture ptl– Lashing and rustic table /knots reg/new– Pioneer food cooking flapjacks/dutch oven reg /v– And so on

4. Troop Committee

• Needs to approve.• And buy in and help make it so.

5. Announce

• Distribute to all,– Scouts– Scouters– Troop Comm.– Chartering Org Rep– (a great plan is great publicity and a great

recruiting tool-don’t be shy)

Let’s make a plan

• Middle pages of your handouts have a template.• Features are monthly themes from the guide like

Citizenship, Aquatics, etc.• Notice the plan template asks you to consider what new

scouts, reg. scouts, and venturers are doing separately. – Especially if you have good/excellent retention or want that,

you have to think about the 14+ scouts.• A T6 plan in calendar form is in your folder. You can use

it for Council and District events if you want some realism.