Weekly Troop Meetings
Troop meetings are held every Sunday evening, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at St. James Presbyterian Church at 1425 Orrs Bridge Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Scouts should wear their Class-A Uniform with a Class-B shirt underneath. Scouts should also bring their scout handbook, pen and paper to all weekly meetings.
Preferably, meetings will be held outside at the church pavilion. However, during inclement weather or when the temperatures drops below 40, the Troop will move inside, to the church’s gym.
Three Different Meeting Types
Unless otherwise noted in the emailed event reminder, there are three main meeting types, each serving a specific purpose for the Troop. Click on the following to expand the section and learn more about the specific meeting type.
This is the typical weekly meeting, where scouts will learn skills, maintain troop gear or just play games and have fun!
Agenda:
- 6:30-7:00p – Meeting preparations and individual scout work, including:
- Scoutmaster Conferences (SMCs)
- Board of Reviews (BORs)
- Advancement work
- Merit badge work
- games & free time
- 7:00-7:05p – Opening flag ceremony
- 7:05-7:10p – Announcements
- 7:10-7:55p – TBD
- planned by the Green Bar, using the Troop Meeting Planner
- 7:55-8:00p – Closing
- 8:00p – Green-Bar (PLC) Check-point, to review:
- Upcoming items on the Current Monthly Planner
- Upcoming items on the Current Schedule of Events
- Finalize the Troop Meeting Plan for the next meeting
The purpose of the “Outing Prep” meeting is to allow the Scouts to make plans, develop menus, check equipment, choose tent mates and handle other details related to the upcoming outing. This is an important meeting to attend for scouts so they may help finalize the outing plans and so they may understand what may be required of them for the coming event.
It is important that you signup for the outing as soon as possible, prior to the Outing Prep Meeting.
There are several different types of outings, which are detailed on the Troop’s Events & Outings page
Agenda
- 6:30-7:00p – Meeting prep., trailer and equip. prep for outing
- 7:00-7:05p – Opening flag ceremony
- 7:05-7:10p – Announcements, finalize outing signups
- 7:10-7:50p:
- Finalize weekend agenda
- Create menu plan
- Assign a Grubmaster for each patrol
- Setup duty roster
- Plan weekend’s campfire and interfaith services (as needed)
- 7:50-8:00p – Closing
- 8:00p – Green-Bar (PLC) Check-point, to review the following:
- Upcoming items on the Current Monthly Planner
- Upcoming items on the Current Schedule of Events
- Finalize the Troop Meeting Plan for the next meeting
The following scouts are strongly encouraged to attend the Green Bar meeting:
- Senior Patrol Leader (SPL)
- Asst. Senior Patrol Leader (ASPL)
- Patrol Leaders
- Asst. Patrol Leaders
- Troop Guide(s)
- Troop Scribe
- Any scout with rank of First Class or higher (optional)
Green Bar attendees should eat prior or bring a bagged meal to the meeting as we will transition directly into the normally scheduled troop meeting, starting at 6:30pm.
Agenda:
- Opening – Start the meeting on time with a simple opening ceremony such as reciting the
Scout Oath or Pledge of Allegiance.- Helpful Form(s):
- Roll Call & Recap – The troop scribe will call the roll and read the log from the previous
meeting. Council members may make additions or corrections to the log before voting to
approve it as part of the troop’s permanent record - Old Business – Take up any discussion items left unresolved at the last green-bar meeting. When necessary, bring matters to a close by calling for a vote. Also, use this time to evaluate the previous month’s Main Event. The scribe will combine all information about the Main Event and provide it to the Troop Historian to file in the troop’s permanent records.
- Helpful Form(s):
- Patrol Report – Each patrol leader should be prepared to make a report on the progress of their patrol. Each report should include information about new members, advancement progress, and anything the patrol has done since the last patrol leaders’ council meeting.
- Helpful Form(s):
- Main Event Planning – Review and discuss the big event related to the upcoming month’s troop program feature. Determine the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” ofthe event. Patrol leaders can add to the discussion by voicing ideas raised by their patrols. Explore the issues and bring any essential matters to a vote.
- Troop Meeting Planning – Distribute meeting plan worksheets for the month’s troop meetings. A meeting plan is included with each of the program features in Program Features for Troops, Teams, and Crews (volumes 1, 2, and 3). As the Green-Bar review plans for each of the month’s meetings, assign responsibilities for portions of the meetings, taking care to distribute the load equally among the patrols and troop leadership. Be sure to plan three levels of skills instruction for each meeting so that all age groups will be equally challenged.
- New Business – This portion of the meeting is devoted to discussions of items not previously on the agenda. A patrol may be requesting permission to embark on a patrol hike, for example, or the opportunity for a special troop service project may have recently come up.
- Scoutmaster’s Minute – Up to now the Scoutmaster has probably observed the Green-Bar meeting and asked a question or two, but otherwise allowed you to run the meeting and guide the agenda. As a closing to the meeting, the Scoutmaster can share some constructive thoughts on what has happened and offer an upbeat, supportive Scoutmaster’s Minute to provide a sense of completion to the proceedings.
For more information on the Green Bar meetings, please visit: https://troop279.us/for-scouts/plc-meetings/
Common for All Weekly Troop Meetings
Several key points are present at all Weekly Troop Meetings, including the following:
- Learning and practicing Scouting skills – Scouts spend part of the troop meeting learning and practicing skills that they will need ton upcoming outings or that will help them advance in rank
- Exercising leadership – The Scouts themselves plan and conduct troop meetings. This autonomy lets them strengthen skills that can only be learned through practice and demonstrate that they are fulfilling their positions of responsibility. Often, the only time an adult addresses the troop is when the Scoutmaster presents badges and gives the Scoutmaster Minute
- Strengthening patrols – Patrols sit together, meet together in breakout sessions, compete together in inter-patrol activities, and lead meetings elements like flag ceremonies
- Promoting advancement and personal growth – Individual Scouts have the chance to get advancement requirements signed-off or to complete Scoutmaster conferences. Occasionally, the troop may offer classes for popular merit badges (although this tends to work better as an optional activity before or after the troop meeting)
