Group Scout Leader update

We are entering into one of the busiest periods of everyone’s year, with lots of competing activities, events and items vying for attention. To make sure you’re aware of the Scouting items, I’d recommend making a note of the Group Calendar. Of course, as we get closer to events, we will call them out on Rewind and Fast Forward, but knowing about them well ahead might help you when you’re booking in other items.

Remembrance Day – An email has gone out this week about the Remembrance Day parade on Sunday 10th November, 10.15-12.15. Please check the event details for arrangements and what to wear.

Christmas Service – We aren’t ready to push the invites out for our Group Christmas Service just yet. It’s the first Monday in December. Stay tuned for invites once we get to November – it’s too early to mention the c-word otherwise!

Christmas camps/events – we have a number of placeholder events in the diary for several of the youth sections over weekends in December. Similar to other sizable events, it is highly likely we will need additional adult support to make these possible. Please let your young person’s section leader know if you can help on either of the following:

Cub Christmas Event – 7th – 8th  December
Beaver Christmas Event – 14th – 15th December

A DBS check will be needed for any adult volunteering; it’s important we start the process of the standard vetting now, just in case there are any delays in processing.

Falcon Active Support – if volunteering alongside young people isn’t your thing, we have an Active Support unit who work with the group to provide support with our building maintenance, upkeep and other essential items. If you’ve some spare time on your hands and are interested in knowing more, please get in touch

Community events/fundraising – we have a number of events we will be supporting and fundraising at, from the Christmas Lights switch-on (30th Nov) to Penistone Against Plastic Pollution Christmas Market (14th Dec) and more. These time-compressed events are where we will seek support from adults and some of the older sections. These once a year items, for only a few hours, are a great opportunity for you to please support the group with some volunteer time. If this is an area you’re interested in and could support us, please get in touch – we’ve a new fundraising team who would love your support.

Christmas tree collections – An immensely popular and brilliant fundraising activity for the group. Something we want to do again, but will require the mobilisation of our parents, guardians and relatives to achieve. Please look out for an invite via your young person’s Online Scout Manager in the coming week – note that it is not inviting the young person to be involved, but yourselves as adults!

The week ahead (21st October 2019 onwards)

Beavers

Section meetings

Castors, Boomers and Millstones will be doing a navigation exercise to the nearest chippie for chips. Beavers will need warm and waterproof clothing, a torch if they want to bring one, and a hungry tummy!

Afterwards we’ll be investing our new Castor members and awarding some badges. You’d be very welcome to join us – just come a little early for pickup.

Future Beaver events

Some of you have been asking about the Beaver Christmas Sleepover on 14-15 December. We haven’t firmed up details about this yet, but will let you know as soon as we can.

Boomers will be investing our new members on the first meeting back after half term and Millstones will confirm the date for this soon.

Cubs

Section meetings

Alegre will be getting into the Halloween spirit and making pom-pom pumpkins or pom-pom spiders!

Bella Vista will be cooking up the ingredients they decided on last week. We’re looking forward to tucking into those homemade healthy ‘takeaways’.

Raptors will be meeting in school on Wednesday this week (23rd). We’ll be making guys for the Penistone bonfire. Please bring along any old trousers, jumpers etc. that you don’t mind going up in smoke, and plenty of old newspapers/magazines to stuff them with.

Scouts

Section meetings

Enigma will be meeting on Friday instead of Monday this week. We’re having a joint meeting with Viernes because the Scout Hut is being used for an All Hands Leader meeting.

Wibbles will take part in Parliament week and look at current topics to debate.

Viernes will be joined by Enigma this week – they will be carving pumpkins! (Due to Friday Scouts having some last-minute leader shortages, we had a low turn-out and didn’t want scouts to miss the carving opportunity).

Explorers

Section meetings

Scorpion Explorers are taking part in Parliament week activities. We’ll be joined by local councillor Andrew Milner and look forward to some interesting and lively debates!

Future Explorer events

Explorers have some dates planned in for scuba ‘try dives’ at Stocksbridge Leisure Centre. Please look out for emails and reply quickly to secure your place.

An Explorer-only camp is being arranged by the District team for the end of November. Details for this will be sent to everyone this week.

Adult volunteers

Parents / Guardians 

Volunteers are still very welcome for staffing the novelties stand at Bonfire Night on Saturday 2nd November. If you can help between 5.30 and 8pm, please let us know. Thank you to those who have already signed up, the GSL team will drop a note to you this week with the arrangements.

Previously:

Beavers

Castors, Boomers and Millstones had great fun making paper and plastic bottle poppies. Everyone did very well using the scissors and working with the fiddly paper straws and split pins.

 

Cubs

Bella Vista walked up to Tesco and priced up the ingredients for their healthy alternatives to takeaways.

Alegre cubs completed their home help badge with the cooking element this week. A special well done to Shirley Plummer (who came to help us for her first time). Also a massive thank you to Sharon Huddlestone. Thanks both for your help and hard work – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Raptors had a mix-up night this week! We did parts of various badges including sewing a button, stripping a bed and remaking it, and a bit of Makaton. All Raptors took home a worksheet to finish off their homehelp badge.

Scouts

Enigma had a fun night this week with a fancy dress theme of ‘fabulous darling’! We also decorated and judged cakes bake-off style and made mocktails. There was a face-painting competition and also a disco.

Wibbles Young Leaders ran a ‘Task Master’ style evening this week as part of their mission 2 of the Young Leader programme. Challenges were based on artistic skills, dexterity and teamwork moving jelly beans, and physical tactics to determine the overall winners. A fantastic tactical effort in the final stages saw Merlin Patrol sneak in to steal the victory and the most patrol points in the last few minutes.

Viernes carved some fantastic pumpkins ready for Halloween and learnt some facts about how we celebrate too.

Caving – Representatives from all three troops went to Derbyshire on Sunday, heading underground twice with the Derbyshire North West Scout Caving team.

Scorpion Explorers

Explorers were continuing to look at survival skills and keeping fed and hydrated.