Welcome New Scouts
Welcome to Boy Scout Troop 13
We would like to welcome you to Boy Scout Troop 13 Serving Chester & Deep River. Within the links below you will find information to get you acquainted with our troop as well as the necessary paper work required by the Boys Scouts of America and Troop 13.
Our Parent Guide to Troop Events will provide you with information as to activities we participate in throughout the year. We have also enclosed our Troop Guidelines, which will give you an overview of the Troop, when we hold our meetings, parent participation, Scout expectations and advancement.
We would appreciate if you could print the all the materials within the links noted below and return the following forms so we may start the process to make you a member of Boy Scouts; Youth Application, Scout and Adult Data Collection Forms, Web Site Acknowledgement and the Troop Guideline Acknowledgement. They should be mailed to the troop or given to the Scoutmaster. Yearly Troop dues are collected in September.
Uniforms: We have two type of uniforms; Class A and Class B.
Class A is the official uniform that you purchase. Your son will need a shirt (with #13, the CT Rivers patch and the red shoulder loops) plus a hat. He will need a sash when he starts to earn merit badges. We have our own Troop 13 neckerchiefs, which will be given to your son upon joining the troop. We will also distribute patrol patches to be sewn on the shirt and when he finishes the requirements for his first advancement, he will receive his Scout badge. Most Scouts wear jeans to the meetings or khakis. We don't require the official Scout pants/shorts, socks or belt. When we attend more formal ceremonies, we do not allow jeans.
Class B is our troop t-shirt. These will be distributed when your son joins the troop. We wear these at informal Scout functions that don't require our Scout shirts.
Feel free to contact us with any questions. We encourage you to visit our website often for a calendar of upcoming events, how to become an adult leader or a Merit Badge Counselor in our troop and others items of interest.
As your son starts with our troop, he will have lots of questions. One of the most important skills that Troop 13 fosters with Scouts is their accountability for their own success. If your Scout isn't sure what he is supposed to be working on, then encourage him to ask an Assistant Scoutmaster or the Scoutmaster either via mail, phone or at the next meeting. In addition, your Scout may contact their Patrol Leader with questions regarding troop activities or guidance on who they should contact to have their questions answered.
The more your Scout initiates contact with others in the troop the faster his relationship grows with the members and the more confident and independent he becomes in his own problem resolution.
Most importantly, Scouting is not a race, it is a process. By the end of the first year, new Scouts have a good understanding of what is expected of them and as time goes on the bar will be raised; remember success comes in many forms. The Court of Honor is the formal means to recognize Scouting accomplishments, but there are many informal accomplishments as well; such as confident communication with both adults and peers, brotherhood bonding, teamwork, teaching and helping others. Your scout will put pressure on himself once he sees some of his buddies advancing; they create their own competitiveness.
FORMS
- New Scout Application Form
- Scout Personal Data Collection Form
- Adult Personal Data Collection Form
- Web Site/Photo Acknowledgement
Steve Merola, Scoutmaster
Troop 13
E-mail the Scoutmaster