Meetings & Participation

Troop meetings are held one night a week, typically on a Monday or Tuesday.  Typically, they run from 7-8:30pm.  Indoor meetings are held in the St. Thomas Elementary School cafeteria, while outdoor meetings can be held at a variety of local parks in the area. The events and program at any given meeting vary extensively, depending on what the boys decide at the Patrol Leader's Council. Often meetings will include some skills instruction, time for individual patrols to meet for the boys to learn about upcoming events, and perhaps planning or preparation for an outing.   Boys can sign up for events at a meeting or on-line.   Meetings are also good places for our adult leaders to "check in" with each boy for guidance and encouragement.

In addition to regular indoor or outdoor meetings, the boys will occasionally plan a special event or "fun night" at places like Ann Arbor Whirly Ball or attending the Banff Outdoor Film Festival together as a group.

Boys are encouraged to wear their scout uniform shirt to meetings, and to bring their Boy Scout Handbook or requirements sign-off sheet to each meeting.   Meetings are the best (and often the only!) place for patrol leaders and adult leaders to "sign off" on skills for rank advancement after the boys have demonstrated those skills on an outing.   Your son should try hard to attend and bring his book to the meeting following a weekend outing for that purpose.

We ask that you help your son learn to be courteous and responsible in terms of meeting attendance.   The older boys and the adult leaders work very hard to put together meeting plans, often showing up half an hour early and leaving up to an hour late, on top of the planning they do beforehand.  It really hurts when boys don't take this effort by their friends and volunteer adult leaders seriously enough to show up, on time, and stay to the finish.     Scouting is a team, and meetings are the team practice before the game.