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For Everyone
Recharter: Finish Line Is Here!
December 15
The deadline has passed! A huge THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to the units who completed their Recharter on-time. Due to the reduced time that the Council has to process recharters this year, your timely help is enormously appreciated.
Once your Charter is submitted:
Ensure that payment is sent to the Council Office (Attention: Recharter Payments) in Pleasanton. The Council will not finalize your Charter until payment is received.
If there are any issues found during finalization of your Charter, your Commissioner Corps will be in touch with you to resolve those issues.
Any adult whose compliance items (AB506 Training, LiveScan, YPT) are not all completed by 12/31 will be put into Suspended status. While on Suspended status, they are not officially a BSA Leader -- they cannot sign off advancement, do not count towards two-deep leadership and cannot stay overnight with Troops/Ships. To clear their Suspended status, send the missing compliance item(s) to Paul Lanzi (or your Unit Commissioner if you have one) and we will request the leader be un-Suspended.
Thank you again for your time and attention on Rechartering your unit. We look forward to presenting you with your new Charter Certificates in Q1!
Support our newest Troop and Enjoy Scout Caroling
December 16
Come support our newest Troop, Troop 415, as well as Pack 88 as they sing some of your holiday favorites at the Ruth Williams / Bayview Opera House on Saturday December 16 at 6:30pm. The free event runs from 4-8pm and includes Ice Sculpting, Snowman Building, Video Gaming Stations, Arts and Crafts stations with the Museum of Craft and Design, Toy giveaways, local vendors, food trucks and a very special visit from Santa Claus.
Cub Scout Breakout: Tips and Tricks for leading the 'Building a Better World' adventure + Webelos-to-Scout Transition discussion
Scouts BSA/Sea Scouts Breakout: Guide to Advancement + discussion on engaging your Charter Organization
See you there!
2024 Calendars for Neighboring Councils
Our neighboring councils have recently released their 2024 activity calendars. Bookmark these as events may change! Be sure to check with the event organizers to ensure that out-of-Council scouts are welcome before publicizing an event to your unit.
Scouts and Scouters from Pack 12 visited USCG Cutter 'Stratton' at Coast Guard Island (Alameda) on December 9. The tour started with breakfast on the mess deck of the cutter before moving on a ship-wide tour. They learned about the work that our Coast Guard does in maritime law enforcement and ocean ecology/preservation.
As a service project, the scouts made over 100 holiday cards for members of the US armed forces. Pack 12 teamed up with Pack 30 (Berkeley CA) for the visit, and the two packs will meet again in February to do a joint rocket-launching activity.
Cub Scouts
AOL Den Visits to Troops and Clubs + Schedule 'Crossing Over' Ceremonies
Now
AOL Den Leaders - now is the time to schedule your den's visits to Troops and Clubs. You can find a list of Troops and Clubs on our District Website, and the information sheets (answers the most common questions that AOL parents have) in this Google Drive folder. Contact information for every Troop and Club is included in the info sheets!
Also be sure to reach out to Mike Otani (Order of the Arrow Village Advisor) if you would like to have our Order of the Arrow scouts perform your Crossing Over ceremony in February/March. There are two ceremony variants to pick from and it's a great way to introduce Cub Scouts to the Order of the Arrow.
Changes to Cub Scout Program Coming in 2024 - Learn More!
National has announced the first revamp of the Cub Scout program in 10 years. After soliciting input from more than 23,000 parents and volunteers, several key changes are being made to the Cub Scout program starting in 2024.
We will be talking about these changes at Cub Scout Roundtable breakouts in early 2024. In the meantime, you can find information about the changes:
New loops, pins, and handbooks will start rolling out in March 2024 and Scoutbook will reflect the modified requirements starting in June 2024.
Pinewood Derby Workshops @ Palo Alto + Foster City
January 13 and January 27
While the popular Pinewood Derby Workshop at Camp Tamarancho won't happen this year, our neighboring Council to the south, Pacific Skyline, will hold two Pinewood Derby Workshops in January. Check out:
January 13 @ Palo Alto Service Center, 10am-2pm (RSVP required)
January 27 @ Foster City Scout Shop, 10am-2pm (no RSVP required)
Design stations and volunteers will be available to get your Cub Scouts race-ready!
Camp Yunakin (GGD Cub Day Camp) Registration Opens in January
June 17 - 21 @ Golden Gate Park
Save the date! Golden Gate District's Cub Day Camp, Camp Yunakin, will be offered June 17-21 in Golden Gate Park. Registration will open in January.
Shooting Sports for Cubs: Bullseye Bonanza @ Camp Chesebrough
March through October 2024
Take a day trip down to Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council's (SVMBC) Camp Chesebrough (Highway 9, south of San Jose) for a fun-filled day of BB, archery, and slingshots for Tigers through Webelos scouts. See registration website for dates and activities.
Important Advancement Updates: Rank and Merit Badge Changes
Effective January 1
Beginning January 1, 2024, a handful of changes take effect for Scouts BSA requirements, and will appear in Scoutbook. These changes include:
Scout and Star Rank: changes to Cyberchip. The Cyberchip (videos, contracts, pocket cards) has been phased out. Instead, Scouts should view the Personal Safety Awareness videos that can be found here: https://www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection/scouts-bsa/
Eagle Palms The three month requirement is no more. Everything else (earning five additional merit badges, live by the Scout Oath and Law) is still in place.
Merit Badges There will be changes to 30 merit badges beginning January 1, 2024. See the full list here.
Scouts who are already working on "old" requirements may continue to do so (unless official communications establish when the use of old requirements must cease) or they may switch to or begin work using the new requirements. Scouts who choose to use the old requirements may continue using them until the merit badge is completed. Scouts who have not begun work on a badge by December 31st 2023 must use the new requirements. See the Guide to Advancement section 7.0.4.3 for details.
Thank you to Golden Gate District Advancement Chair Andy Chen for sending in this update
Merit Badge Midway (Pacific Skyline Council)
March 2 (Registration opens December 18)
The Main Merit Badge Midway registration opens Monday, December 18, 9:00 AM. This event will be in person at Ralston Middle School in Belmont. It will be held Saturday, March 2, 2024. Two sessions are available, 8:30-11:30 AM and 12:30-3:30 PM. A few classes will be all day, so a Scout would only be able to take one merit badge if attending one of those classes. The fee for this event is $60.
Featured this month: Paul Lanzi, District Commissioner
Two quick news items from the Commissioner this month:
Our District Executive, Keith Bauer, is on medical leave with no estimated date of return. We are thankful to have Alan Young, Field Director, helping us out on an interim basis. You can contact Alan via email (alan.young@scouting.org) or phone (925-674-6113)
Recharter season is a stressful time for volunteers and professional staff alike. Thank you for your patience, assistance and guidance. This annual effort is a crucial part of the operational aspect of Scouting -- thank you for your help.
As the year winds down, I've been reflecting on my first year as District Commissioner. I'm truly in awe of the scouting program that you and the other 450 adult leaders in Golden Gate District create, every day, for our 1,200+ scouts. With limited resources and time, you create outdoor and leadership experiences for youth who would otherwise not have it -- and create an environment where being trustworthy, helpful, and courteous is valued and (maybe!) even considered cool. That's a special gift from you to our scouts. Thank you.
I hope you have a great holiday, and we'll see you in the new year!
Service Hours Update
Monthly Update on our District's Service Hour Progress
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Golden Gate Area Council BSA, 6601 Owens Drive #100, Pleasanton, CA 94588, USA, (925) 674-6100
