Hawk Mountain Council, BSA

Virtual Scouting Hub

Face-to-face meetings may be on hold, but Scouting continues, and great ideas for units can be found here at the “Virtual Scouting” Hub.

 

211 is a free, confidential, non-emergency, 24-hour information and referral service that connects people in Berks County with local community resources and health and human services. Dial 211, visit pa211east.org/Berks or text your zip code to 898211.

 

 

 

New – STEM Scouting Activities

Learn new STEM skills with the new Limited Edition STEM Scouts Bridge Engineering Kit.

Learn More and Register

Activities for All Scouts

Cyber Chip: As Scouts do more and more activities online, the Cyber Chip moves to the top of the “must do” list. The Cyber Chip activities include developmentally appropriate online safety lessons and activities.

 

Emergency Preparedness Award: Activities are broken out for each Cub rank and each Scouting program, including Venturers, Sea Scouts, and adults! (That means adults can earn this, too!)

 


BSA Crime Prevention Award: Although the site explaining this award has not been updated for awhile, the award is still available to Scouts of all levels!

 

Cub Scout Resources

2020 Super Cub “Around the House” Passport

Hawk Mountain Council is pleased to announce a variant of the Super Cub Summer Passport, the 2020 Super Cub “Around the House” Passport.  All participants will receive a special patch once they complete and turn in the passport.

We encourage you to begin working on the Passport as soon as you can!  Many of the activities referenced can be found here on this page, talking to other members of your Pack, or by doing some online searches!

Click here to download your “Around the House” Passport!

30-Day Challenge calendars for each Cub rank

Cub Scout Preview Adventure: Protect Yourself
Cub Scout Preview Adventure: Yo Yo

Live Animal Cams

Cub Scouting Activity Videos

(NOTE: These videos were not created by Hawk Mountain Council, BSA or Boy Scouts of America)

Cub Scout Activities you can do from home

Scouts BSA Resources

Requirements for all merit badges can be accessed on Scouting.org!

Council Led Virtual Merit Badge Classes – COMING END OF JUNE

12 Merit Badges you can start from home (Online Videos)

(NOTE: These videos were not created by Hawk Mountain Council, BSA or Boy Scouts of America)

Trail to 1st Class

Click the ranks below to access videos and instruction to help new Scouts learn and prepare for the challenges ahead over the coming weeks. We would like to thank Del-Ma-Va Council for allowing our Scouts to use this resource that they have created!

(NOTE: These videos were not created by Hawk Mountain Council, BSA)

STEM SCOUTING

Adult Resources and Training

Put down the streaming remote! Pick up your laptop or tablet…My.Scouting is always open! Adult Scouting volunteers and leaders can always find training modules online, including Youth Protection Training, position-specific modules, hazardous weather refreshers, safety afloat, and more!

Are you fully trained in your position? No? take this time to be fully trained.

You are fully trained? Then take this time to be cross trained!

Online Merit Badge Counselor Training

Are you an active leader in the Scouts BSA program who also serves as a Merit Badge Counselor? Have you wanted to become a new Merit Badge Counselor? All merit badge counselors are required to complete training for their position.

New Leaders

New leaders who are new to the Scouts BSA program and wish to serve as a merit badge counselor are asked to complete the online training at my.scouting.org which includes an introduction to Scouts BSA.

Experienced Leaders

Hawk Mountain Council recognizes that some leaders are very experienced with the operation of a Scouts BSA troop and also serve as merit badge counselors. We have prepared an online training that meets the national training requirements for Merit Badge Counselors for those who are already experienced and familiar with the Scouts BSA program. Complete this training by watching the video below and then reporting it to the training committee as directed at the conclusion of the video.

Become a Merit Badge Counselor

What expertise do you have to share with Scouts? Check out the list of merit badges and their requirements. To become a merit badge counselor or to change your list of badges offered, complete the merit badge counselor application and a new adult application (using position code 42).

Council Key 3 Fireside Chat Videos

This month we had two Council Key 3 Fireside Chats to update our Scouting family on the happenings of the Hawk Mountain Council. We are glad so many of our volunteers and parents were able to join us.

If you missed the calls you can click either of the links below to watch the video from the call.

April 8th
April 15th
June 4th

Video Conferencing Information

Video Conferencing is a great way to stay connected with your units! This Bryan on Scouting article has links to Webex, Zoom, and Google. It offers an example of a Troop to the east of us that is up and running with remote meetings using Webex.

Cyber-security – Zoom Safety Guidelines

 

ScoutShare

This website is a great resource for Scouting Leaders! This website is not a Hawk Mountain Council Website.

 

100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote.

This year, we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting the women of this country the right to vote. The Berks Women’s History Alliance in partnership with Berks History Center has a framework to provide resources, exhibits and educational events/programs to celebrate 100 years of women having the right to vote.

The Alliance plans to host a culminating celebratory event on August 26, 2020 at the Doubletree (Reading) with Honorable Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of the Commonwealth of PA.

Here are some links to resources:

One Time Eagle Scout Extension

How a Scout requests this limited, one-time Eagle Scout extension

 

1. The Scout informs an adult leader of his or her request.
Like everything in Scouts BSA, this process is youth-led.
The Scout, who is a new member of a Scouts BSA troop, informs one or more of the following adults that he or she is requesting an extension:

  • Scoutmaster
  • Unit committee chair
  • Chartered organization representative
  • Unit advancement chair
  • District advancement chair

[Read more…]

Geo-Fencing

As part of our Fall 2019 Membership Drive, Hawk Mountain Council will be implementing geo-fencing to help promote your signup night on social media.

Not familiar with geo-fencing? Put simply, it’s a method to help make advertisements more localized and allows smaller organizations to compete in smaller markets. Our national office partnered with National Capitol Area Council of Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. last year to test the program and had some impressive results: packs who participated in geo-fencing saw an increase in Scouts, while those who chose not to saw a decrease.

Additional information can be found in this YouTube video from Northern New Jersey Council.

Hawk Mountain Council will geo-fence all September signup nights and is offering each pack an extra geo-fenced event at no cost to the unit for 14 days before the start of the event (example: if your event is on September 18, we would launch your ad on September 4).

All that we need you to do is complete the Google Form linked below so that we can set up your event.

Please submit this form at least two weeks before your event so we can provide the maximum amount of ad-time

Complete and submit the geo-fencing form here.

Places to go with your Scouts

Have you and your committee been stuck trying to pick out somewhere to take your pack or your den?

Is that Patrol Leader’s Council stumped for ideas on an outing?

Or maybe you just need some ideas of places to take your family for a vacation or a long weekend.

Take a peek through this list of 149 locations that are good for your unit (or family) to visit. The criteria being that it had to be in Pennsylvania, specifically the eastern portion of the state (using Harrisburg and State College as general guidelines), similar to WFMZ’s “One Tank Trips” feature.
The three lists below are the same, but are sorted differently: by the name of the location, by the county where the location is found, and by the general category that the location falls under. Feel free to download whichever you prefer. The location categories are located at the bottom of the page.

[Read more…]

Online Registration

Online registration is available now for new youth members. Click on the button below to find a unit and register online today.

STEM Scouts

STEM Scouts is a national pilot program from the Boy Scouts of America, focused on fun ways for girls and boys, grades 3 – 12, to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Using hands-on activities, STEM Scouts also encourages young minds’ natural curiosity and helps build interest in the STEM-related careers that are crucial to our future economy.

The Hawk Mountain Council is home to 17 STEM Labs in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.

To learn more about STEM Scouts including where to find a Lab near you, Click Here.

Scouts BSA?

What is Scouts BSA

Scouts BSA is the traditional Scouting experience for youth in the fifth grade through high school. Service, community engagement and leadership development become increasingly important parts of the program as youth lead their own activities and work their way toward earning Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout.

 

Join Scouts BSA

Scouts BSA has a lot to offer, but don’t let the number of merit badges scare you away. With exposure to a uniquely hands-on learning experience and the opportunity to earn merit badges reflecting each Scout’s budding interests, youth unlock a world of discovery around them and forge a path for the future.

Find a Scouts BSA Unit

 

 

 

Order of the Arrow

Order of the Arrow

The Order of the Arrow is a recognized official program activity of the Boy Scouts of America, intended to recognize those scouts who best exemplify the Scout virtues of cheerful service, camping, and leadership.

Founded in 1915 by Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, just seven years after British General Sir Robert Baden-Powell invented scouting in the United Kingdom, the Order of the Arrow is the uniquely American “honor society of scouting”.

Kittatinny Lodge 5

Kittatinny Lodge 5, Order of the Arrow, is a service organization registered with Hawk Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America, in Reading, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area, serving Berks, Schuylkill, and a small portion of Carbon Counties. Kittatinny Lodge 5 also provides cheerful service to Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation, the council’s camp.

Scouting’s National Honor Society

Purpose

The purpose of the Order of the Arrow is fourfold:

  1. To recognize those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives
  2. To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit
  3. To promote Scout camping
  4. To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others

History

History

The Order of the Arrow (OA) was founded by Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson in 1915 at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and was approved as part of the Scouting program in 1934.

In 1948 the OA, recognized as the BSA’s national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the national camping program of the Boy Scouts of America.

Membership

The OA has more than 176,000 members located in lodges affiliated with approximately 327 BSA local councils.

Lodges

Each local Boy Scout council is encouraged to have an Order of the Arrow lodge. Each lodge is granted a charter from the National Council, BSA, upon annual application. The OA lodge helps the local council provide a quality Scouting program through recognition of Scouting spirit and performance, development of youth leadership and service, promotion of Scout camping and outdoor programs, and enhancement of membership tenure.

Sections

An Order of the Arrow section consists of lodges within a geographic area of the region. Once every year, representatives of lodges in the section come together for a conclave to share in fellowship, skills, and training. All of the elected section chiefs form the conference committee for a national Order of the Arrow event, which is held under the guidance of the national Order of the Arrow Committee.

Leadership

Region Leadership

The regional chief is the youth leader of the region elected by the section chiefs for a term of office specified by the national Order of the Arrow Committee, which coincides with the term of national chief and vice chief. This election is held in conjunction with called meetings of the section chiefs to elect the national chief and vice chief, as well as to plan a national Order of the Arrow event.

The regional Order of the Arrow chairman is an adult appointed by the regional director. The professional adviser for the region is a staff member assigned to the position by the region director.

National Leadership

The national chief and vice chief are Arrowmen selected by the section chiefs, who form the national Order of the Arrow conference committee. They serve as members of the national Order of the Arrow Committee, representing the youth on national OA policy. They also serve as the presiding officers for the national OA event. Their term of office is specified by the national committee. They are advised in their responsibilities by the national committee chairman and director of the Order of the Arrow.

The national OA committee chairman is appointed by the chairman of the national Boy Scout Committee. The professional adviser is the director of the Order of the Arrow, a member of the national Boy Scout Division staff.

Purpose and Mission

Purpose of the Order

To recognize those campers — Scouts and Scouters — who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, and by such recognition cause other campers to conduct themselves in such manner as to warrant recognition.

To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit

To promote Scout camping, which reaches its greatest effectiveness as a part of the unit’s camping program, both year-round and in the summer camp, as directed by the camping committee of the council.

To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

Mission of the Lodge

The mission of the lodge is to achieve the purpose of the Order of the Arrow as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America in the council through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.

Career Exploring

Exploring is learning for life’s career education program for young men and women who are at least 14 (and have completed 8th grade) and not yet 21 years old. Adults are selected by the participating organization for involvement in the program. Color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, economic status, and citizenship are not criteria for participation.

[Read more…]

Venturing

What is Venturing

You love exploring your passions, making new friends, and discovering the world. You’re always looking for an adventure. Rappelling a cliff. Perfecting your shot. Designing a robot. Kayaking into the sunset. Exploring your faith. Volunteering at an animal shelter. The choice is yours! Each activity provides an opportunity to shine and learn more about yourself and the world around you. Venturing is youth-led and youth-inspired. You’ll acquire life skills and gain experiences that will prove to be valuable regardless of where your future takes you, all while having a blast: leadership, event-planning, organization, communication, responsibility – the list goes on!

Join Venturing

Venture Crews are located in neighborhoods across the two county area.

Find a Crew Near You

Learn More

You love exploring your passions, making new friends, and discovering the world. You’re always looking for an adventure. Rappelling a cliff. Perfecting your shot. Designing a robot. Kayaking into the sunset. Exploring your faith. Volunteering at an animal shelter. The choice is yours! Each activity provides an opportunity to shine and learn more about yourself and the world around you. Venturing is youth-led and youth-inspired. You’ll acquire life skills and gain experiences that will prove to be valuable regardless of where your future takes you, all while having a blast: leadership, event-planning, organization, communication, responsibility — the list goes on!

Learn More

Check out our Virtual Merit Badges! Click here to learn more. More opportunities coming soon.

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