Despite the coronavirus pandemic, members of Boy Scout Troop 20 in Atglen have remained connected and involved in Scouting by participating in online meetings and instruction and virtual camping experiences.
Troop 20, composed of boys who reside in the Pequea Valley and Octorara Area school districts, began meeting virtually, via Zoom, when they realized the stay-at-home order of Pennsylvania's Gov. Tom Wolf would last more than the initial two weeks.
First, the troop held its elections for senior patrol leader through email. Then, under the direction of new leader and Scoutmaster Cory Peters, the Scouts began meeting online. They were invited to participate via email, which included the Zoom link and password.
"This is the first time they ever had to meet virtually because there was no other option," explained Christine Zink, a member of the troop's parent committee. "The committee members communicate by email and text, but this was all new for (the Scouts)."
Youth leaders in the troop, along with guidance from the adult leaders, brainstormed ways to make the meetings fun and interactive, all while continuing to work on rank requirements and merit badges.
The kickoff online meeting for the troop was a scavenger hunt where participants were asked to gather a long list of items from around their homes. "We had to look for a pizza cutter, a hammer, our Scout books, a crazy hat of some sort, a sports jersey or merchandise for a sports team," explained Scout Noah Zink, a student at Pequea Valley High School. "You had to get creative with some of the items you looked for."
"The kids had fun, and they were so happy to get back together again," Christine added. "It had been a few weeks since they saw each other."
"One thing I like is how easy it is to attend (Zoom meetings)," added Scout Tyler Mowrey, who attends Octorara Junior-Senior High School.
Since the early days of the online meetings, the Scouts have taken part in online bingo, merit badge sessions, lessons for rank requirements and more. "One of my favorite parts was during our meetings, we would do online games like Kahoot!" said Scout Jonah Zink, a student at Pequea Valley Intermediate School. "It's a quiz game where a teacher or Scoutmaster makes a quiz about a topic he taught about that night. If you get the question right, you get points. At the end, the winner gets bragging rights."
"I like the games because they're different," noted Scout Finley Reynolds, a student at Octorara Junior-Senior High School.
Some Scouts have even participated in virtual campouts offered by both the Chester County Council and the National Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization via Facebook Live. During the sessions, Scouts learned about camping skills such as knot tying and how to build a campfire.
"They had an online video where they brought in different Scout leaders to talk about some of their experiences," Noah said.
Noah and Jonah also camped out at home. "We set up a tent in our living room and ate and slept there. We treated it like a (real) campout," Noah said. "We earned a patch for the virtual campout, and (the living room campout) counted as a night in a tent. You need a certain amount of nights in a tent to earn a camping merit badge."
The Scouts plan to continue meeting virtually on Mondays at 7 p.m. as they normally would meet in person at the Penningtonville Presbyterian Church in Atglen. The online meetings will continue until the stay-at-home order is lifted and groups larger than 25 are permitted to gather.
"I want to meet in person again, but I do like the online meetings," Jonah said.
The troop is also looking forward to welcoming new Scouts during meetings at the church. "The quarantine hit just as we were preparing to welcome new boys into the troop from two local Cub Scout packs - Parkesburg Pack 135 and Atglen Pack 20," Christine added. "Half of the new Scouts have not yet had an in-person experience in troop meeting."
Leave a Review