Meeting time frame

[Strikermd140]

Ive poked around the forums about 15 minutes and i saw a few relevant posts on the subject but nothing dedicated. One post was in a senior time management section here. The question is (and there might be a reg on this, but haven't seen one) on how long a meeting can be. Currently we are a 1830-2100. Staff at squadron toyed with the idea on extending the time to be a full 3 hours.  We would do a 1800-2100 to allow for classes we dont get enough time for. The past few meetings we were noticing that the time given isn't quit enough especially on promotion nights when we normally do the promotion boards and drill testing. We are going to ask parents to see their feeling on this as long as there is not a regulation for meeting time frames. Our cadet staff is new and still learning schedules. As of now senior staff has a posted schedule of events for each week. The extra 1/2 hour would help in my opinion for some activities.
Anyone have  thoughts on this?

[Eaker Guy]

Good idea, but might be hard to pull off. I see you are not extending the time past 2100. This is good, because the parents would throw a fit You might be conflicting with school schedules and other extracurricular activities(e.g. soccer, chess club, debate team, etc...) If the schedules did overlap, you would force them to make a choice between the two, which may or may not be good. It would force them to show their commitment, but it may also deprive them of other activities outsides CAP, which may not be desirable.

[Strikermd140]

Im going to voice it to the cadets at the meeting and see what there input is on it. Then i'm going to check with parents and get there input.  Even thought about doing the extended meeting over summer break. This shouldn't interfere much with starting a 1/2 hour early.

[LSThiker]

Regarding meeting times, there is no maximum amount.  There is only a minimum of 8 contact hours per month on regularly schedule meetings.  I would suggest that you look at CAPR 52-16, Chapter 4. 

Prior to extending an extra 30 minutes, I would suggest critically looking at your meeting time to see if you can cut some time.  Here and there 5 minutes can make quite a bit of difference.  In addition, does a class really need to be 1 hour vs 45 minutes type of critical analysis.  Also, without knowing your unit, is there any "screw off" time that is interfering with your goals?  When I was a cadet, I probably would have loved a 3 hour meeting, but realistically, you are looking at burning some cadets out when you factor in all the school requirements, extracurricular activities, and family obligations. 

[Capt Thompson]

WIWAC, 1745 to 2100, sign in at 1745, opening formation at 1755 and at 1800 the Seniors and Cadets went to their respective rooms to carry out the business of the day.

The Squadron I'm at now, 1800 to 2100. Sign in at 1800, opening at 1805 and then the Seniors and Cadets go to their respective meetings. Color Guard practice is on another day, and we have a dedicated weekend day each month for ES training.

Our Squadron has toyed with different formats, including shorter and longer meetings, every other week meetings etc. While lengthening the meeting might be hard at first, it would give you time to do more.

I see the logic behind seeing where we can cut the fat during a meeting, to make more time within the constraints of the current meeting time.... but what if you did both, how much more could you accomplish? What could be added to the curriculum? More ES, AEX, DDR, Cyber Patriot, Drill Team/Color Guard?

Perhaps the extra half hour earlier isn't mandatory, but is an option for Cadets wanting to participate in special projects or extracurricular activities?

[TheSkyHornet]

A squadron near me that I go to for flight training meets Tuesdays from 1900-2200 during the summer and 1900-2130 during the school year.

It cuts a little into my sleep time since I have a 25-30 minute drive home after, but it really isn't unbearable.

I would like to see my squadron move to a different meeting time/day just because those weekend meetings really eat up the weekend. If you schedule to go out of town or you have family events to go to, you can't make the meeting. I'm not one to believe that your entire time off from school/work needs to be dedicated to CAP, including the loss of an entire day every weekend, cutting your weekend down to a day of CAP (Sunday, 1500-1730) and a free Saturday.