The Troop always has plenty of things going on to ensure the boys have a great time and learn a lot. If you would be interested in helping as a registered leader, or just from time to time, ask your Scout Master how you can help! (It really can be fun!)

The Troop 209 web site is intended to provide a communication resource for the scouts, parents, and leaders involved in the troop. For the safety of the scouts, no meaninful identification information will be posted. This includes the individual scout's name or other contact information, such as phone numbers.  From time to time photographs taken at Troop events may be posted to this site, but with no identification of individual scouts. If you do not want your scout's photo to be posted, please inform the Webmater@troop209.org. Care will be taken to either not use photos including your scout, or to obscure his image to the point he can not be recognized.
If you have a family web site that includes information related to your scout's involvement with Troop 209, we will include it on our links page at your request. Simply send the URL (internet address) to the Webmaster@troop209.org.

Below is some material downloaded from Pack 215's web site. It contains very useful information. The Rules For Online Safety are for the scouts. If you choose to access the internet with your scout, or allow your scout to access the internet, please use these rules as a guideline.

Perhaps the most important thing to do is monitor your scout's internet time very closely. There is a great deal of useful information, on just about every subject, on the internet. The downside of such a resource is that there is also a lot of material that is not suitable for children (or even adults). If this information were hard to find or adequately controlled this might not be a problem. Unfortunately there exist a large number of sites with information that most people find very objectionable.

There is pornography, terrorist how-to information, racism and other assorted hatred, and a lot of other types of information that is potentially hazardous to children. It is very rare for a child molester, or other predator, to be online; it does happen.

As alluded to above, these sites are not hard to find if you look, and some can be visited by accident. Some sites use spelling similar to a legitimate site, or a domain name with only the extender changed, to encourage accidental access to their sites due to banner ad revenue.

Please review the attached guidelines and consider what kind of access your scout should have to the internet. A suggestion is that the scout in only access the internet with a parent present to monitor and assist. The guidelines and rules you establish should reflect your scout’s individual needs.

SCOUT'S RULES FOR ON-LINE SAFETY
I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide on the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online, and appropriate Web sites for me to visit. If I want to visit other Web sites, I will get their permission first.
While I'm online, I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents' work addresses/telephone numbers, or the name and phone number of my school without my parents' permission.
I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
I will never agree to get together with someone I 'meet' online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and I will bring a parent or my adult guardian along.
While I'm online, I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.