Troop 82 Guide to Merit Badges

HP Troop 82 – Merit Badge Overview The following information is provided for Scouts and Parents to gain a clearer understanding of the process to earn Merit Badges for Advancement with the Ultimate goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. What are Merit Badges all about, an Introduction. http://www.scouting.org/meritbadges.aspx What are the Merit Badges I need to earn for Eagle? http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Eagle_Scout_rank

Plan for Your Son’s Success 21 merit badges required for Eagle 13 required 11 taught at Troop 82 Camping and Swimming have to be done at summer camp 10 taught at TRJ Summer Camp Citizenship in the Community, Family Life and Personal Management not available – take at Troop 82 or outside 8 optional Salesmanship earned by selling movie tickets Disability Awareness and one more at Carry The Load – Memorial Day Scout camp, Scout and Perot Museums, or outside Mix of eagle required and optional badges required for each rank advancement

A Strategy for Troop 82 Scouts Understand WHICH badges to pursue WHERE Summer Camp Complete Camping and Swimming at Summer Camp Go to camp twice and complete 7 eagle required badges Troop 82 Complete one eagle required badge spring and fall, grades 6-8 for 6 badges; can still take badges in high school to catch up Citizenship in the Community, Family Life and Personal Management are available @ T82 but not TRJ Salesmanship badge by selling movie tickets for T82 Outside sources for remaining badges CTL Memorial Day Scout or Perot Museum Outside on your own 21 merit badges + Eagle Project = Eagle Scout

Realize all Merit Badges are not Created Equal Always read the requirements in advance for the badge your son is working on no matter where he is doing it Easy Family life, All the Citizenship Badges, Emergency Preparedness, and First Aid Moderate Camping, Personal Management, Personal Fitness Difficult Hiking (extensive requirements), Cooking (2 periods at camp) Some badges cannot be completed during the current semester (personal management, personal fitness, sometimes cooking) Use Troop Master to understand mix of eagle required and optional badges required for advancement for each rank and create a written plan (next slide)

Merit Badge Planning Guide Troop 82 Merit Badge Planning Guide Year1 Year2 Year3 Year4 Year5 Year6 Year7   Fall: N/A Spring: Summer: Outside: Projected Ranks: Arrow of Light 2nd Class Star Life Eagle Scout First Class Eagle Palms Tendefoot Eagle Required Merit Badges Eagle Required 1 First Aid* 2 Citizenship In The World* 3 Citizenship in The Nation* 4 Citizenship in The Community* Elective 5 Cooking* 6 Camping 7 Personal Fitness* 8 Personal Management* 9 Family Life* 10 Communication* 11 Swimming or Cycling or Hiking 12 Life Saving or Emergency Preparedness* 13 Environmental Science* or Sustainability Bold = Course Taught @ TRJ Summer Camp Asterisks * = Course Taught @ Monday Meeting

3 Ways to Earn Merit Badges Monday Night Troop Meetings – Eagle Required Merit Badges are taught by parent volunteers (required to take youth training (on line) and merit badge training course (in person)) Official Boy Scout Summer Camp, Jamboree or other advancement gathering Outside Merit Badges – On your own, group, coach or instructor

1. Monday Night Merit Badge Classes The troop will teach Eagle required merit badges for First Class Scouts and above for 5 weeks on Monday Nights in the Fall and Spring. A sign up sheet is passed out to the Scouts 3 weeks before the class asking them for their top 3 choices for Eagle Required badges they have not yet completed. The badges offered are: Citizenship in the Nation Citizenship in the Community Citizenship in the World Communication First Aid Family Life Emergency Preparedness Cooking Personal Fitness Personal Management Environmental Science If merit badge is completed or partially completed, Instructor will sign off and information will be put in Troop Master. www.troopmasterweb.com/troop82

Monday Night Merit Badge Sign Up Sheet Merit Badge Class Sign Up Sheet   FIRST Class AND ABOVE ONLY Scout Information: Name: Company: Patrol: Rank: The following Merit Badges will be offered Monday Nights for 6 weeks this SPRING 2015. CLASSES START March 2, 2015 You have three choices. Mark your top choice as 1, second choice as 2 and third choice as 3. We will make every effort to give a scout his first choice, but it is not always possible. In some cases it will be necessary to award the third choice, due to class demand and prerequisites for a class. Choice # (Select only 3) Class Offered Required for Eagle Citizenship in the Nation Yes Citizenship in the Community Citizenship in the World Communications Emergency Preparedness Environmental Science Family Life First Aid Personal Fitness Personal Management Cooking

A little more about Monday Night Merit Badges Regular Scout meetings start at 7:30 PM. Merit Badge Classes are from 7:45 PM – 8:45 PM in the assigned classrooms. Scouts are then dismissed back down to the scout room for meeting announcements and close. Not all scouts will make all classes and full attendance is not part of completing the badge however we strongly encourage scouts to make all the classes.  Scouts will be provided a Merit Badge Booklet (require $5 for a deposit) and the badge worksheet. It is expected the scouts keep up with their worksheet weekly ahead of class BUT class time will be given to discuss the topics and time to fill in parts of it. The purpose of the class is to teach at a high level the material and facilitate discussions with the scouts. In essence this is a guided book report with scout participation in certain requirements. Some badges have outside requirements or a 13 week activity tracking chart. What this means is that the scout will not get the badge in the 6 weeks of Monday night classes and they will have to follow up with their Merit Badge instructor for completion or they can always see me for final signoff. At the end of the 5 weeks, we will take the attendance/tracking log and upload all the information in Troop Master for either full or partial completion of the badge. The most important thing for all to remember is that the worksheet is like their scout book, NEVER lose it as this tracks all your progress. Bring the worksheet and booklet to every class.  

Summer Camp For those Scouts choosing to attend Summer Camp in June there are numerous merit badges offered and taught by Boy Scout of America trained staffers. Typically the Scout will choose 4 – 5 merit badges for the week. The troop recommends pursuing eagle required badges at camp. Not all eagle badges are taught at camp. Click here for a link for TRJ 2016 summer camp offerings. Eagle badges currently taught at TRJ for Summer 16 are as follows: camping, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communication, cooking (2 periods), cycling, emergency preparedness, environmental science, first aid, hiking, life saving, personal fitness, swimming Eagle required citizenship in the community, family life and personal management are not taught at TRJ as of Summer 16. Completed or partially completed merit badges will be loaded into Troop Master.

Outside Merit Badges Here the scout chooses badges of strong interest to him. There are 2 ways to earn these badges. 1. TheNational Scout Museum, Perot Museum or Jamboree Obtain a Blue Card for participation from the merit badge desk. The card is required in ADVANCE of the merit badge class. The scout may independently pursue under the guidance of a ‘counselor’ who mentors them through the badge. This counselor may be a parent or a professional with expertise in the badge subject matter. Scouts are required to complete the Merit Badge Worksheet per the badge found at www.meritbadge.org. and to use merit badge booklet. Badge is signed off at the merit badge desk, not by an ASM, although an ASM can sign off elements of the badge. After it is approved by the merit badge desk a yellow card will be issued and the badge will then be entered into Troop Master. Obtain permission from the the Troop 82 Scout Master before beginning a badge that is eagle required. Troop 82 strongly encourages eagle merit badges be done on Monday nights, at summer camp or through an approved BSA provider.

Boy Scout Required Blue Card

My Son has a Partially Completed Merit Badge Happens frequently, whether it is a partial completion from Monday nights or summer camp. Print out requirements for badge. Got to Troop Master print off the completed requirements. Bring documentation to show how the scout completed the requirements. No partial listed in Troop Master? Bring your completed worksheet to your ASM or Merit Badge Counselor for sign off or further coaching.

Other Information To track the progress of your Scout for Advancement and Merit Badge Completions and Partials: http://hptroop82.org/ Go to “Existing Scout Login” ______________________________________________ Harold Hickey Robert Manley harold.hickey@gmail.com rmanley@McKoolSmith.com Jeff Graham jeffrey_graham@sbcglobal.net

BSA Mission Statement The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.