photo
picture
picture

Welcome to the home stretch! In just a few months, your Scout will be marking the end of their Cub Scout journey and starting a new adventure in our Troop.

While you've been preparing for Crossover, the Troop has been focusing on earning the Chess Merit Badge (one of over 135 merit badges available to our Scouts) and hosted a Troop Chess Tournament last week.  We've also been preparing for next weekend's "Do Nothing" campout where our weekend isn' structured around any specific activity but our Scouts will have a chance to hang out and bond together.

Today, I'd like to share some additional information about upcoming events in February and March as well as introduce you to our equivalent of Scoutbook: TroopTrack. (You'll receive access to TroopTrack this week so you can see our calendar for the year.) 

Next month, I'll share more about how to prepare for the Crossover Ceremony and what to expect in the first month of your Scout being a part of our Troop. 

Yours in Scouting,

Mr. Maloney
Scoutmaster

UPCOMING EVENTS

Members of Den 1 are invited to participate in two events with our Troop over the course of the next month.

February 4: Scout Sunday

Help celebrate the birthday of Scouting and say THANK YOU to English Lutheran Church for chartering our BSA Units for over 80 years.  Our Scouts will participate in the service and host a pancake breakfast after the service.

INTRODUCING TROOPTRACK

The Troop uses an online application called TroopTrack to manage all aspects of our Troop including events, communications, advancement, and more.  (TroopTrack is similar to Scoutbook with additional functionality and ease of use.)

TroopTrack account credentials are also used to access restricted sections of the Troop457Zelie.org website.  

This evening (January 15), the Troop will add your household to our TroopTrack instance. When we do this, we will setup two different types of accounts:

  • A Scout Account
  • One or more Adult Accounts

Scout and Adult accounts are joined to one another to form a household.  Both types of accounts have the ability to:

  • View and update advancement, including ranks and merit badges
  • View and update contact information for the Troop roster
  • View parent and leader contact information
  • View account balances
  • View the Troop calendar of events and RSVP to event

Additional permissions may be added to accounts if the individual has a leadership role within the Troop.

The primary difference between these accounts is the level of access.  Scout accounts can only view and edit their own information while parent accounts can view and edit information for any member of their household.

Why Create Scout Accounts?

A TroopTrack account is created for every youth member of our Troop.  This allows us to track each Scout's achievements (rank advancement, merit badges, other awards), participation, leadership,  medical information, and money accounts.

Scout accounts are not initially associated with an email account so they cannot login to TroopTrack directly or receive Troop emails.

As a youth led organization, Scouts should get in the habit of reading all troop communications directly.  We encourage parents to provide the Troop with an email address for their Scout different from a parent's email address. Instructions on how to provide this information can be found HERE.

Adult Accounts

The Troop will create adult accounts based on the adults marked as the Scout's parent/guardian in Scoutbook.  Additional adult accounts can be requested by following these instruction.

TroopTrack Communications

TroopTrack automatically copies parents on any communication sent to your Scout as required by BSA policy.  You will also be added to our monthly Troop Newsletter that highlights additional information you need to know as a member of the Troop.

Learn More

You can learn more about how to use TroopTrack in our New Member Boot Camp Training Course.

TroopTrack Basics

Copyright © Scouts BSA Troop 457

 

You are receiving this email because you or someone in your household
is a member of Scouts BSA Troop 457 or Cub Scout Pack 457.