Patrol corner
The patrol corner is where we put interesting and instructive documents that will interest Scouts and adult leaders alike.
Patrol-in-council
When a Patrol gets together to discuss and take decisions (what they want to do, how much to be paid as subs should be, where they would like to camp, etc) it is called a Patrol-in-Council.
There shall be a Patrol-in-Council for every Patrol. The Patrol-in-Council shall consist of all members of the Patrol. Patrol Leader shall be the Chairman. The Patrol-in-Council shall deal with all affairs of the Patrol.
COURT OF HONOR (COH)
There shall be a Court-of-Honor for every Troop. The Court-of-Honor shall consist of Troop Leader, Asst. Troop Leader and Patrol Leader; Seconds may be admitted as members of the Court-of-Honor except when matters of discipline are dealt with. Troop Leader, Asst. Troop Leader or one of the Patrol Leaders elected shall function as the Chairman and one of the members elected shall function as Secretary. The Court-of-Honor shall plan the activities and deal with internal matters of the Troop and also matters of finance and discipline. The Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster shall act as advisers.
Every patrol member has a voice in the COH through the patrol leader. The COY is the heart of the troop. The COH consists of all patrol leaders in the troop, the Troop Secretary, The Troop Treasurer, and the troop leader. Each patrol leader represents her patrol faithfully at the COH meetings. If she cannot be there, she makes sure her patrol is represented.
These are some things the COH can do:
- Plan interesting troop programs based on ideas submitted by the patrols
- Make up ideas for activities and submit them to patrols through the patrol leaders.
- Hear reports from patrols given by patrol leaders (and from committee chairmen, when needed).
- Make arrangements for patrol leaders to learn new things to teach their patrol members.
- Sometimes arrange for Scouts / Guides from different patrols to work together on special projects.
The COH can meet before, after, or during any regular troop meeting. These short meetings, ten minutes to half an hour in length, are for quick reports of patrol reactions, reminders of responsibilities for next week, or adjustment of plans.
At special meetings, usually every two or three months, the COH fills in the details of plans for the months ahead, and considers ideas and suggestions from patrols brought to the meetings by patrol leaders.
The COH thinks over the various ideas. Are they good? Will they work? How can we make them work? This is the way ideas are turned into actions for the troop. Even the best ideas need planning and work to make them come true.
The COH usually holds longer meetings at the beginning and end of the troop year. The first meeting is to get things started by deciding how many big events can be fitted into the year’s calendar. (The big events might include camping, trips, Court of Awards, council events, parties, service unit activities, community service projects, etc.) The last meeting is to evaluate how the troop has done.
An open COH meeting may be held so that everyone will know how the system works. All troop members attend as “silent watchers.”