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3. Patrol Meetings - 2 or 3 per month

• Get started

• Plan the year

• Patrol Meetings

• Patrol Points

• Communicate

• Participation

• Greenbar

• Teamwork

• Celebrate

• Advancement

• Merit Badges

• Skills

• Track Progress

• Things you need

    It is in the Patrol Meetings that you get most of your work done as a patrol. It is also the place where your patrol can fall apart at the seams. If you are sloppy with patrol meetings, if you skip them, or come unprepared, they become nothing but a chore, almost as exciting as washing dishes. A good patrol meeting is a great step forward, every bad patrol meeting is like falling off the ladder. You need two or three good ones to get back to where you were, if you had a bad one.

    In Devon 50 we think it makes sense to have Wednesday night as Scout night. It's just too hard to try to find a good day each time, so we think you should do it this way. Troop meetings and Greenbar meetings are on Wednesday nights, so have your patrol meetings on the Wednesdays that we don't have other scout meetings. You can pick another night, but Wednesday is a good choice. Having it always the same, makes it possible for both the scouts and the parents to make sure they don’t plan other things for that time. If you keep changing, they will ignore it, and you get catch as catch can.

   The official patrol leader handbook recommends that you have two C’s and three P’s in between the opening and closing ceremony:
   Check Attendance?, Uniforms?, Achievements since last time?  Was progress as you planned? (Keep this part short and sweet)
   Coaching Have your scouts learn something new and practice something old. Do it as a group, or have two or three work together on different things, depending on what you are trying to get done. Keep the Troops program feature of the month in mind, and make sure you plan this well, and have everything you need. This is the most important part of the meeting.
  Projects This is your chance to work on something together. There is no limit to the kinds of projects you can do, but try to keep track of time…..
  Planning     Plan your next few events. You have brought back information from the Greenbar meeting about what the troop is planning. Now your patrol needs to plan how you will participate. Who is going, who is driving, what about food, - clothes, - equipment? Can we take advantage of this to get something else done at the same time (advancement or skills, for example)? Make sure you sell the idea to your patrol members. There are a lot of things they could do that weekend; they will only go with you if you make them see how much fun it will be.
  Play      Make time for some playing in every meeting. Most patrols do it at the end, but if you can mind the time, having a break in the middle is good too. Get active, get sweaty and have fun. If you compete, do in with fun in mind, and encourage each other. Remember, you are a team, even if you compete with each other.

    You have many resources available to you to make the Patrol Meeting a blast. The patrol parents could help with something special, - a snack, maybe. Someone from the troop staff, or an adult leader could come and do something with you, - teach a skill, talk about something interesting…
    The Staff Patrol is there to help you with your job. Work with one or two staff members, and tell them how things are going. They can help with just about anything, teaching, talking to problem scouts, talking to parents, helping you plan meetings and advancement, a menu or a patrol trip. They will not do the job for you, but they are a great resource if you use them right.