Friends of Scouting Campaign Status

June 2015 Vol. 15 Issue 10

Welcome to the Polaris Star, the monthly Roundtable minutes and Polaris newsletter. You will be able to find out what the Polaris district committee is doing as well as upcoming events in your area! Friends of Scouting Campaign Status pledges. We really need those pledges so that we know that we have the resources to offer a program of which we’re all proud.

It’s June and we are trying to finish strong in our annual Friends of For any questions regarding the FoS campaign, contact the Polaris Scouting campaign. Congratulations to the following units who District Finance Chairman, Jenny Cheng. You can also contact the already achieved their FOS Goals: Crew 479,494, Pack 404, Polaris District Executive, Sue Chen at 408-638-8321 or email 406, 411,433,444,462,485,492,505,566,606, Troop 127,404,407, [email protected]. 408,452,457,463,479,485,493,494,495,581, For those of you that have contributed, we appreciate your commitment to providing the best possible for our youth. For those of you that haven’t yet Upcoming Events contributed, there is still time for you to commit to a quality Scouting program through a generous contribution to Friends of Scouting. Mark your calendars with these district and council events: Date Event June 21 Camp Hi-Sierra opens

Pledges to Date Remaining to Goal July 13 Stevens Creek I Cub Camp July 27 Stevens Creek II Cub Camp $205,000 August TBD On-line popcorn sale begins $200,000 $195,000 September TBD Popcorn sales begin $16,802 $190,000 October 10 Coyote Creek Cycling Classic $185,000 $22,671 $180,000 Polaris Cub Camp week 1 (7/13-7/17) $175,000 and week 2 (7/27-7/31) still have spaces $170,000 $183,198 $165,000 $170,300 $160,000 Cub Scouts Day Camp at Stevens Creek both 2 weeks $155,000 still have some space available. Sign up online at Pledges - 5 June Last Year to Date  http://svmbc.org/svmbc/activities/cub-scout-day-camp/  http://svmbc.org/svmbc/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015- Registration-Form-for-Cub-Scout-Summer-Camps1.pdf Polaris District Friends of Scouting campaign progress

If we are to offer the kind of program that we all want to offer to our youth, we need the support of all of our units in working toward their unit FoS goal. Meeting your FoS commitment is also a significant factor in reaching the Journey To Excellence recognition levels. By now, every unit should have received its Friends of Scouting presentation. Many of you have turned in your pledges. But, many of you still haven’t turned in your FOS 1 Major Cub Program Changes Coming Join the Polaris Training Team!

By now, you should all be aware that major changes are taking The training team consists of more than just instructors. Besides place in the Cub Scout program. While not as broad-based as the looking for trainers, we also need people to help with Cub Scout changes, changes are occurring to the Boy Scout administration (course records and registration), course promotion, program as well. For a summary of the changes with rationale, and event coordination. The Training committee needs your help refer to this Program_Changes_Overview. more than ever with the BSA's push towards mandatory training for all direct-contact leaders. Serving as a trainer fulfills a requirement for the Journey to Excellence award by providing Note from the Editor service at the district and/or council level. Earning a Journey to Excellence award provides benefits to your unit and recognition for a job well done. Please consider joining the Polaris Training Thank you for reading this issue of the Polaris Star. We hope that Team and make it the best in the council. If you have questions, you have found it helpful and interesting. Please send items for contact Shawming Ma. inclusion in future issues of the Polaris Star to Mark Ellson at [email protected] . The deadline for submissions for the July issue is 10 July. Earlier submissions are appreciated. District Volunteer Opportunities Scout-O-Rama 2015

Polaris District Exceeds 2015 Scout-o-Rama Goal! All of you have benefitted from the mentorship provided by district level volunteers as you’ve learned what it takes to offer a quality Congratulations to all units who contributed to an program in your unit. Now is the time to give back some of the outstanding Scout-o-Rama fundraising campaign this expertise that you’ve developed. An opportunity exists on the year. Polaris District achieved total gross sales of $29,750 Polaris District Committee for volunteers to fill the following or 106% of goal! In fact, Polaris District had the highest openings: gross sales in the SVMBC area.  Marketing Chairman A special thanks our top three grossing units: This is your chance to share skills that you’ve developed in your Troop 535 - $5,000 unit and develop some new skills. For more information about Troop 404 - $4,100 these opportunities, contact Sue Chen, Polaris District Executive, Troop 495 and Pack 408 - $1,500 (tied for third) at 408-638-8321 or [email protected].

What was one key to success? Site sales! Troop 404 organized 9 separate site sales at Orchard Supply Hardware, Safeway, Mel Cotton's, Starbucks and Peet's Coffee. Over 80% of their gross sales came from site selling (i.e., stand in front of store location vs door-to- door selling). A typical site sale averaged 17 cards per hour with the top grossing event at a local Safeway yielding $600 in sales plus donations (100% of which go to the troop).

Thank you all for your time and effort to make the 2015 SOR campaign a success!

2 Polaris Email Group

Please note that the address for the Polaris email group is changing to reflect the new council name. For submissions to the district mailing list, please send them to: SVMB-Polaris- [email protected].

The Polaris District Email group is used to send this monthly Roundtable Reminder, our monthly newsletter "The Polaris Star" and between 3 and 7 special announcements a month. You can join the group if you would like to stay in the loop on all that is happening in the Polaris District. If you know a fellow Polaris Scouter who is not a member of the list, please invite them to join.

If you are not currently on the Polaris Yahoo Group mailing list and would like to receive the Star each month, please subscribe to our list by sending an email to the following address: [email protected]

3 May 2015 June Cub Scout Roundtable We are starting to see more and more kids at Roundtable. Remember, Roundtable is an adult learning experience. Please do not bring your kids. They impede on the learning process (not to With the end of the school year fast approaching, now is the time mention if they see it at Roundtable then it won't be fun at your for packs to be working on transitioning in new leaders. So, if you Pack meeting). Please get a babysitter and come without the kids. are moving up to Boy Scouts soon, please bring your replacement to Roundtable. This helps them make connections with our Roundtable would love to hear about theme related activities district’s best resources – the leaders of neighboring packs. that your units are planning and would like to share!

Cub Scout Roundtable is an ongoing supplementary training that June Boy Scout Roundtable gives leaders the skills, ideas, and resources to deliver an outstanding and fun program for our Cub Scouts. Roundtable teaches fun activities for their use at Den and Pack Meetings Part of the success of any organization is keeping good records. through demonstrations, activities, games, songs centered on the Scouting is no different. Units need to keep track of advancement, core values established by the National Scouting Program. This training, attendance, hiking miles, biking miles, etc. How many training is designed for adults, not for youth. Please refrain from times has a scout asked a leader at summer camp to sign off on 20 bringing Scouts with you. While the National Scouting Program nights of camping or having gone on a hike with an elevation gain provides literature, our Roundtable provides alternatives for of 1000 feet? Without good record keeping, we are doing our consideration that supplement this program. We welcome all scouts a disservice by guessing at the answer. This is especially leaders and parents to join in the fun with us. true as leader change over time.

June Round Table – Under the Sea This month, Aaron Keeley is back to update us on software Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Why, Spongebob developments that make record keeping easy, avoid unnecessary Squarepants, of course. This month's theme is "Under the Sea". duplication of effort, and leave us more time for fun stuff. This is And, the supplemental program provided by the National BSA especially helpful for scoutmasters, assistant scoutmasters and office is about campfires. So, we are having a campfire under the committee members. sea! Learn the proper procedures for a successful campfire program while learning songs, stories, and run-ons that are Next month, our roundtable topic is running a successful troop designed for an underwater campfire. Come dressed for under the meeting. In July, we are discussing high adventure camps. sea and earn extra scout bucks.

As always, we have something for everyone. During our breakouts, Monthly Roundtable Location we are teaching Cubmasters fun ways to "graduate" your scouts to the next level. (Remember, once the scouts finish a grade they start Polaris District holds a monthly Cub Scout and Boy Scout working on the next level.) Den Leaders are learning crafts to fit Roundtable meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the theme. We also have the new Cub books available to look at, in Home of Christ #5 Church, 10340 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA. The case you haven't seen them yet. Webelos are looking at the new meeting runs from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. requirements in the Webelos book (Get your current Bear leaders to come for sure!). Also we are looking at the "Iron Chef" and "Scouting Adventures" adventure pins. Venturing Roundtable Information As many of you know, we have lost a big part of the Cub Scout Roundtable Staff due to Boy Scout bridging and people moving The VOA meets on the first Tuesday of the month in even months. out of the area. This means we have a big gap in the program that In odd months, Venturing roundtables are held instead. These can be provided. Remember, many hands make light work. If you meetings are held at the Council Service Center from 7:30 PM to can help the Roundtable (even in a small way), please let us know. 9:00 PM. Participation by an officer representative of every crew Our goal is to provide you with as many ideas as possible to in the council is encouraged. Observers are welcome. The next deliver a great program for all of the Cub Scouts in your Packs! meeting is the Venturing Roundtable on 7 July.

4 May 2015 "Every Boy Deserves a Trained Leader" Polaris District Committee

This Is Scouting "This is Scouting", the replacement for New Leader Essentials, is Position Name now online at http://olc.scouting.org. Make sure that your e- District Chairman David Overhauser learning profile includes your BSA ID number so that your District Executive Sue Chen completed courses can be matched with your leader registration. District Commissioner Terry Bohlen Finance Chair Jenny Cheng Cub Leader Specific Training Program Chair Vacant 13 July – (To be announced) Activities Chair Seth Master Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) Training Pinewood Derby Chair George Cuan 12 September – (To be announced) Scout O Rama Chair Bill Gough Popcorn Kernel Kathleen Thurgate Outdoor Webelos Leader Training District Dinner Chair Troop 495 16-17 October – (To be announced) Scouting for Food Chair Seth Master OA Chapter Advisor Dave Low Boy Scout SM/ASM Leader Specific Training 12 September – (To be announced) Camping Chair John Lin 26 September – (To be announced) Training Chair Shawming Ma Cub Scout RT Commissioner Paul Jancis & Debbie Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills Jancis 11-13 September – Camp Chesebrough Boy Scout RT Commissioner Mark Fisher Membership Chair Anthony Rodrigues Troop Committee Challenge WeST Chair Robert Wise The Troop Committee Challenge is now available online @ Friends of Scouting Leadership Bob Wedig http://olc.scouting.org (Please have your scout registration ID to Chair log in. When completed, please notify Paul Jancis so that he can Friends of Scouting Family Chair Vib Patel verify your registration.) Friends of Scouting CASA Chair Wei Wang Venturing Leader Specific Friends of Scouting Community Bobby Toda 14 November – (To be announced) Chair Advancement Chair Debbie Ward Den Chief Training Marketing Chair Vacant 24 October – Council Service Center Communications/Public Relations Mark Ellson Chair Woodbadge 25-27 September – (First weekend; Boulder Creek Scout All e-mail addresses can be found through the Council by contacting Sue Chen at 408-638-8321. Reservation) 16-18 October – (Second weekend; Boulder Creek Scout Reservation)

For additional information or to verify your “Trained” status, please contact Shawming Ma.

5 May 2015 May Roundtable Recap

This time of year, many of our Cub Scout leaders are planning for the transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. We need to reach out to the new leaders to keep Roundtable strong by getting them engaged in the new Roundtable group. We also need to make sure that new Cub Scout leaders know that they have a place to come for support and assistance. We are looking forward to meeting you the remainder of this year and next year as we share ways to keep our units, District and Council a great source of fun with a purpose for our boys.

We would like to thank the following units for their attendance at the May Roundtable:

UnitType [Participants] Packs 408 [2], 411, 419, 426 [2], 444, 468 [3], 491, 566, 606, 623 14 leaders from 10 of 26 packs for 38% of our packs represented

Troops 407, 408 [2], 452 [4], 454, 463, 466, 468, 485, 489 [2], 493, 495, 566, UNK 18 leaders from 13 of 27 troops for 48% of our troops represented

Please join us in celebrating the following Roundtable First-Timers and Roundtable Anniversaries: Name Position Unit First Timers Weh-Chih Kang T452 May Wang T489 William Kiff District Committee DIST Jenna Hsieh T489 Tong Wu P468 Bob Wu P468 Yunhsi Huang P606 Corey Wong Webelos Den Leader P411 10th Roundtable Guolin Yang Assistant Scoutmaster T485 25th Roundtable Beth Leonard Pack Committee Chair P426

Thank you to all of our FOS contributors for helping to make Roundtable possible! A small part of each FOS contribution is used to fund the crafts and activities presented at Roundtable.