Scouting america

Scouting invites every youth to a safe, fun place to learn, explore, and grow. 

Scouting America is a youth organization with a variety of programs including Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts, and Exploring. Pack 900 is a part of the Cub Scout program geared towards elementary aged youth. Keep reading to learn more about Scouting America's goals and the Cub Scouts program!

THE Mission

The mission of the Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of 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.

Scouting America is chartered by Congress to serve our nation’s youth by instilling the values of the Scout Oath and Law.  The program aims to prepare young people for lives of impact and purpose.  We welcome, at every level of our movement, youth and families who wish to live such a life of impact and purpose, guided by the Scout Oath and Law. 

Scouting America is committed to creating a welcoming, safe environment where Scouts can freely express themselves, share their experiences, and become the best version of themselves by learning from and respecting each other. 

Scouting America is non-partisan.  The National organization, Local Scout communities (councils), and units will ensure that their decisions, public statements, relationships with third parties, activities, and events are consistent with our non-partisan nature and maintain the welcoming and supportive nature of Scouting. 

Cub Scouts

Cub Scouting is a year-round program uniquely designed to meet the needs of young boys and girls (kindergarten through fifth grade) and their families. The program offers fun and challenging activities that promote character development and physical fitness. Family involvement is an essential part of the program, and parents are encouraged to play an active role. Cub Scouting helps parents make the most of the time they have to positively impact the lives of their children. 

The Cub Scout motto is Do Your Best and the best way to find out what you do best is to do it. Catch a fish. Ride a bike. Set up a tent. Build a Pinewood Derby® car. Shoot a bow and arrow. Cub Scouting offers boys and girls the opportunity to see and learn fun, new things that can’t be found anywhere else.

So now that you know what Cub Scouts is, how does it work?

In Pack 900, your Scout will be in a group with other youth in their grade level led by a parent volunteer (called the den leader). This grade-level group is called a den. Each den is labeled by the rank they are working towards. For example, Tigers (1st graders) will earn the Tiger rank at the end of the school year. At each den meeting, your Scout will work towards adventures. About once a month, all of the dens will meet together as pack for a pack meeting. At pack meetings, we'll gather for fellowship, fun, and the celebration of Scout advancement.

At each den meeting, some the adventures worked on will be completely new from year to year while others will dig deeper into the same concepts (outdoor knowledge, citizenship, leadership, personal fitness, family reverence, and personal safety, for example) each year in the program strengthening your Scout's knowledge. At the next pack meeting after completing an adventure, your Scout will earn a belt loop (K-3rd) or a pin (4-5th) that they will display as a part of their uniform. Once your Scout has earned all of the required adventures for the year, they will earn that "rank" and a patch that will go on their uniform.

We call the process of completing adventures and earning rank, advancement. 

There are additional activities that scouts and families can participate in outside of den and pack meetings. For example: campouts (day and overnight), Pinewood Derby, summer activities, service projects, sporting event outings (Mavs, Rangers, Roughriders, and Mesquite Rodeo all have scout nights), and more! 

When Scouts participate in these activities (sometimes a part of adventures and sometimes in addition to them), they can earn patches (another aspect of advancement). These types of patches can sometimes be worn temporarily on the uniform (looped on the front pocket button). To display these patches permanently, Scouts can wear a Brag Vest! We encourage Scouts to show off with their Brag Vest at pack meetings by wearing it over their Class A uniform. 

The final stop in the Cub Scout journey is to earn the Arrow of Light (AOL) rank and crossover or bridge to a Scouts BSA troop in February of 5th grade. 

SCOUTS BSA

Upon completion of Cub Scouts in 5th grade, youth have the opportunity to continue their scouting journey with a local troop in 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.

In short, the Scout Oath summarizes the goals of both scouting programs quite well: