Welcome to Cub Scouting

The mission of the Scouting 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.

There are four aims of Scouting: citizenship, character, personal fitness, and leadership.

The methods of Cub Scouting are: living the ideals, belonging to a den, advancement, family involvement, activities, serving the community, and the uniform.

1 To influence the development of character.

2. To encourage spiritual growth.

3 To help scouts develop habits and attitudes of good citizenship.

4 To encourage good sportsmanship and pride in growing strong in mind and body.

5 To improve understanding within the family.

6 To strengthen the ability of scouts to get along with other scouts and respect other people.

7 To foster a sense of personal achievement in scouts by helping them develop new interests and skills.

8 To show scouts how to be helpful and to do one’s best.

9 To provide fun and exciting new things for scouts to do.

10 To prepare scouts to become members of Scouts BSA.

DEN: The smallest unit of cub scouts is the Den. It is a small group of Cub Scouts who are the same gender and in the same grade. The ideal size is 6 to 8 Cub Scouts.

Pack: This is the group comprised of all the Den’s that are based out of Five Hawks Elementary. It is identified by the the number 9331.

District: To provide more localized support to scouting, councils create districts. Districts are geographical areas of service. Districts have a volunteer District Committee that provides support to local programs in the areas of membership, finance, and program. Another group of volunteers called commissioners provide direct service to Scouting programs. Pack 9331 is currently part of District N which is comprised of packs from Burnsville, Savage and Prior Lake.

Council: To effectively support local Scouting programs the national Boy Scouts of America provides a charter to a community board of volunteers to be responsible for providing the Scouting program to a defined geographical area. These geographical areas are called councils. Councils have a volunteer board which employs a Scout Executive to serve as the CEO and give leadership to the day to day operation. The Scout Executive hires staff to provide direct and indirect support to local Scouting programs. In each council there are many more volunteers than staff as the organization is volunteer lead and professionally guided.

Councils are different in size based on factors such as population, geography, and local markets. Most councils operate Scout Camps and local Scout Shops and have a regional office to provides administrative support and record keeping. To identify what council a Scout or an adult belongs to, an identifying patch is worn at the top of the left sleeve shoulder of the uniform. Pack 9331 is part of Northern Star Council, which Covers much of central Minnesota, and parts of Western Wisconsin.

When joining Pack 9331, each parent or adult family member agrees to support their child in the following ways:

·         See that the scout has the proper uniform and handbook.

·         Assist your scout in attending weekly Den meetings and monthly Pack meetings.  *Attend with your child.

·         Work with him/her to complete the achievements for his/her rank award.

·         Return information forms (health forms, camping participation waivers, etc.) and permission slips as required.  New health forms have to be completed annually and a new camping participation waiver is required for each activity at a council property.

·         Support his/her Den Leader as a resource person or substitute as asked.

·         Agree to serve in some leadership capacity as called upon.

·         Provide input to the Den Leader or Pack leadership with regard to Den or Pack programming.

·         Parent volunteers are always needed. The Pack has an active leadership training program where you will learn everything you need to know to be a successful leader.

·         Parents are also members of the Pack Committee and are always welcome to attend the Parents/Leaders Meeting. The Pack Committee plans the programming for all the activities of the Pack at the monthly parent meetings. The committee also enables, equips, and trains the leaders and parent volunteers. Your role in this committee can be passive but hopefully, as your child’s demands on your time decrease, your role in the Pack Committee will increase.

Cub Scout uniforms serve a dual purpose, demonstrating that a Scout is part of a team and showing individual achievement (Scouts wear the badges they’ve earned). Wearing the uniform to meetings and activities also encourages a neat appearance, and good behavior.

Cub Scouts do den activities that teach them important principles such as healthy eating and how to take care of the environment.  They hone carpentry skills, learn about maps and knots, and practice safe knife and campfire behaviors. These activities are called adventures. As scouts complete them, they earn a belt loop or pin they wear with their uniform.

Lion Cub – Kindergarten
The Lion Cub program has exciting indoor and outdoor activities specifically designed for kindergarten age youth and their adult partner. Adult partners (guardians) are there to support and guide throughout the experience. At the conclusion of their kindergarten year, the Lion Cub will transition to Tiger Cubs.

Tiger – 1st Grade
The Tiger rank is for youth who are in first grade or age seven. To earn the Tiger badge, a youth must complete six required adventures with the den or family and two elective adventure of the den or family’s choosing. Adult partners are also a strong part of the Tiger Cub program.

Wolf – 2nd Grade
The Wolf rank is for Cub Scouts who have finished first grade or are eight years old. To earn the Wolf badge, a Cub Scout must complete six required adventures and two elective adventure, similar to earning a Tiger rank.

Bear – 3rd Grade
The Bear rank is for youth who have finished second grade or are nine years old. To earn the Bear badge, a youth must complete six required adventures and one elective adventure, similar to earning Tiger and Wolf rank.

Webelos – 4th Grade

Webelos dens are for youth who have completed third grade or are ten years old. Webelos Scouts get to work on the five required Webelos adventures and choose two of the 18 elective adventures that are shared by the Webelos and Arrow of Light ranks. After completing six adventures, including five required adventures and two elective adventures, a youth has earned the Webelos badge.

Arrow of Light – 5th Grade

The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light, preparing a Webelos Scout to become a member of Scouts BSA. Scouts must complete four required adventures and three elective adventures to earn the Arrow of Light rank.

After an Arrow of Light Scout has earned the The Arrow of Light badge they’re ready to join a Scouts BSA Troop! The Arrow of Light is the only Cub Scout badge that can be worn on the Scouts BSA uniform. Adult leaders who earned the Arrow of Light rank may also show their achievement by wearing a special square knot on their uniform.