Investiture atop Scout Rock

Posted on October 9, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight was our investiture ceremony for our new Scouts and Leaders.  Before hiking up to Scout Rock on the summit of Bare Mountain in Red Cliff we gave the Scouts an opportunity to run the 50m dash for their Voyageur Personal Development Award.  All the Scouts gave it their best, and most of them did so in less than 10 seconds (achieving the requirement).  50m is a pretty long way, so good for them!

After the run we started up Bare Mountain with our patrol leaders carrying the Canadian flag and the Scout flag.  We stood up on Scout Rock as the sun set over the Exploits River and the entire Exploits Valley stretched out before us;  one by one the Scouts and leaders pledged, on their honour, that they would do their best to live up to the Scout promise.  It was an absolutely perfect location to mark the official rebirth of the 4th Grand Falls Scout Troop after many years of not having Scouts. 

After the ceremony concluded “Da Foxxy Foxes” were sent off to make us a fire atop Scout Rock and Scouter Shannon & I worked with the “Shredding Sharks” on their patrol camp menu.  Once we were at least reasonably satisfied with their menu, the patrols switched.  I am looking forward to the trip to the grocery this Thursday… should be interesting to say the least!  I think the Scouts will learn a lot about menu planning this camp, if nothing else ;)

After our fire it was time to call it a night, so we began the trek down the mountain.  I led us in an impromptu “what to do when you get lost in a dark forest” lesson as we took the “scenic route” back to the trail.  Nothing like a little (mis)adventure to make the night memorable!

HUGE THANKS to all the parents that were able to come and share this moment with the Scouts.  It was great fun having you along.  Pictures and video from the investiture will be posted soon.

Yours in Scouting,

Scouter Jason

Categories: Scouts | Leave a comment

Test Yer Noggin!

Posted on October 3, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight it was time for the Cub Scouts to put their brains to the test! Ikki and Raksha came up with series of stations that tested the youths’ senses and quick whits. We started off with a trivia challenge that tested the youth on some Scouting Trivia. They used noise makers to signal when they had the answer (which of course was a hit!).

After the trivia challenge the youth moved through stations in their sixes. The had to assemble a puzzle in as little time as possible at one station, another station tested their sense of smell as they had to identify various substances while blindfolded, another featured optical illusions and mind games. It was a really cool set-up and the kids had a blast!

In the end the Red Six took home the victory, mostly because they dominated in the trivia challenge! At the end of the meeting Akela presented some of the badges the youth earned over the summer . Our tenderpad Cubs will receive their badges at next week’s investiture ceremony once they have been sworn in as Cub Scouts.

Yours in Scouting,

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Categories: Cub Scouts | Leave a comment

Anti-Bullying with the RCMP

Posted on October 3, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight in Beaver Scouts we had a special guest from the RCMP who came to discuss bullying with the youth. We make sure to have an anti-bullying night every year with the Beaver Scouts as it truly is one of the most important lessons the youth must learn. After some good questions about bullying, the Beaver Scouts were given permission to ask anything they wanted and the officer took the time to answer them all.

Before our guest arrived, Sunshine split the colony into lodges (smaller groups) and assigned them their lodge animal. The Beaver Scouts will stay in this lodge for the remainder of the year, and likely throughout their time in Beaver Scouts. We also took some time to find out what the youth wanted to do this year in Beavers.

To reward the Beaver Scouts for being good for our guest we spent the remainder of the night playing games, and finished with a round of “Bananas Unite”, one of the colony’s favourite campfire songs.

Yours in Scouting,

Hawkeye

Categories: Beaver Scouts B | Leave a comment

Forming Patrols, Fitness Challenge & Camp Menus

Posted on October 2, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight in Scouts we had a LOT to accomplish, so we started the youth off immediately by having them select the Scouts they wanted in their patrols. As Scouter Jason figured out the patrols, Scouter Shannon helped the Scouts with their “Shuttle Run” test for their Voyageur Personal Development Award – not easy! All the Scouts gave it their best, but none were able to make the 14 second required time (although some were REALLY close!). Each of them consistently got better times with each attempt, so I’m sure they’ll all get it by the end of the year.

After the shuttle run Scouter Jason announced the patrols. Each patrol then had to elect an interim Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, come up with a patrol name, and take dues and attendance for their patrol (which they will do every week). In the end it was decided that Brandon will lead “Da Foxxy Foxes” (they picked the name & spelling, what can I say?) and Gregory will lead the “Shredding Sharks”.

With that all done we attacked a few more of the requirements for the Voyageur Personal Development Award – push-ups (5), partial curl-ups(17) and the standing long jump(1.35m). Almost all the Scouts achieved the requirements on their first attempt! Those that didn’t make it this time were not far off, and with practise will get there.

Our final task of the night was to come up with their menus from camp. Each patrol is responsible for their own menu plan at each camp, with bonus points awarded to the patrol who has the least expensive but still filling (& healthy) menu. Next week the Scouts will be shopping for their own camp groceries on Thursday before camp.

Before we dismissed the troop we took some time to go over the Scout Promise. Next week we will be “investing” our Scouts and new leaders and asking them to pledge their honour to fulfil that Scout Promise. A promise is a big deal, and it’s important the youth (and leaders) understand what they are committing to.

Yours in Scouting,

Scouter Jason

Categories: Scouts | Leave a comment

Anti-Bullying & Games Night

Posted on October 2, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight in Beaver Scouts Sunshine spoke with the kids about bullying and why it is so important for us all to stop it from happening. We were originally supposed to have a visitor from the RCMP, but unfortunately he couldn’t make it. Nonetheless we made up for it by having our first games night of the year! After a pile of games we gathered the Beaver Scouts together to talk about an important Scouting tradition – the campfire! Most of our Tuesday Beaver Scouts are new, and have no idea just how much fun campfires can be in Beaver Scouts. To give them a taste of some of the crazy things we do at a campfire, Hawkeye led them in “Banana’s Unite!”, one of the all-time best campfire songs! The kids caught on quickly (when they were able to stop laughing!). This will be a fun group for sure!

Yours in Scouting,

Hawkeye

Categories: Beaver Scouts A | Leave a comment

Adventure at Aspen Brook

Posted on September 29, 2012 by hawkeye

Our Troop and senior Cubs met up at Riverfront Chalets for our first linking activity with the senior Cub Scouts. We started off the day by discussing some important tips to prevent getting lost, and also what to do when separated from your group. Once the youth had organized themselves in patrols we hiked over to the old Aspen Brook Provincial Park. After a careful hike of the park perimeter to establish the boundaries for the day we immediately got started.

The first game we played was “The Whistle Game”… basically two Scouts are given a head start to hide in the woods and the remaining Scouts have to try and find them. The trick is that every once in awhile a leader will blow their whistle and when they do, the Scouts that are hiding MUST also blow their whistle, making them easy to find. Scouting is all about learning by doing, and it’s one thing to “tell” the youth how vitally important a good whistle is, it’s something much more to “show” them!

After the Whistle Game we spent some time discussing some serious health conditions that can be encountered while camping or spending time outdoors, hypothermia and frost bite. Did you know that hypothermia can set in even if it’s 19 degrees outside? After a good discussion we split back into patrols and started a fire building challenge. The youth had to build a fire and boil a can of water in as little time as possible. To save embarrassment I won’t mention the time it took, but suffice it to say we need some more practice! After the challenge the Scouts kept their fires going and cooked hot dogs for dinner.

Once our lunch had settled in it was time for Capture the Flag. This is a favourite for the Scouts (and leaders) and we all had a blast running through the woods. Although the main objective was to have fun, Capture the Flag is an excellent game to help promote teamwork and strategic thinking. Some Scouts grasped these concepts well, while others tried to go it alone without a strategy… those Scouts spent a lot of time in “jail”.

After “Capture the Flag” we had time for one more wide game, which was one of my favourites as a Scout, called “Predators and Prey”. In this game, half of the Scouts were given 5 minutes to find a spot to hide in the woods. Once hidden they had to remain in their spot (they cannot change spots). The remaining Scouts had 10 minutes to hunt them out. After the first round, we switch roles. This game is at its best when played between sunset and nightfall… perhaps at camp ;)

Needless to say none of the youth were happy with us when we said it was time to hike back to the chalets. It was really cool having the senior Cub Scouts join us on our adventure.

Yours in Scouting,

Scouter Jason

Categories: Cub Scouts, Scouts | Leave a comment

Geocaching At Corduroy Brook Pond

Posted on September 26, 2012 by hawkeye

Last year our Pack tried our best to find a few Geocaches hidden in the area around the church with no luck. Despite the lack of success the kids were more determined than ever to find a cache, so tonight we gave them another shot. We met at Conservation Place for a night hike and Geocaching adventure at Corduroy Brook Pond. The Cub Scouts split into three groups with a senior (3rd year) Cub Scout at the lead armed with a GPS.

The first group’s cache led them fairly deep into the woods off the trail in a dark jumble of branches and stumps; literally hundreds of excellent hiding places. We were down to just 2 meters from the co-ordinates and still could not find the cache. As we turned back to accept our forth failed hunt in a row we caught a glimpse of a container on the edge of the pool of light from the flashlight! SUCCESS!

The second group also struggled to find their cache. We searched around within a meter of the cache for what seemed like forever! Turns out the cache was hidden in a 35mm film canister! Seriously small treasure to try and find in the dark!

Finally the third group took the lead and led us to Gibbon’s Field to find a cache nearby. The hunt took us away from the pack and into the deep dark scary woods. We had a few Cub Scouts feeling a bit anxious as we closed in on the co-ordinates and easily found the cache. They were happy to rejoin the group when we got back!

Before hiking back to the start the Cub Scouts created a giant geocache of their own, filling a big tub with creative trinkets and collectables. Akela and Rikki will come back another night to officially hide and register the cache, and the Cubs will have a chance to find it on our next visit to the park.

The way back proved a lot more eventful than planned. Akela took the lead and led us on a “short cut” out of Gibson’s Field… unfortunately the short cut ended at a washed out bridge forcing us to turn around. Not to be out done, Ikki and Rikki took a short cut further on that ended up being the… uh… “scenic route” back to Conservation Place. Luckily we had some smart Cub Scouts with us that helped us find the right path!

All in all a pretty cool adventure!

Yours in Scouting,

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Categories: Cub Scouts | Leave a comment

Tail Ceremony–A Celebration of Growth

Posted on September 26, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight was the Tail Ceremony for our Wednesday night Beaver Scouts, and once again the weather was perfect!  As most of our colony are returning members, the kids were really excited to get their new tails!  We hiked through the Exploits River Canyon Lookout trails looking for nature and stopping at all the lookout platforms.  At each of the three platforms we discussed the meaning of the tails, and what the youth should expect to change this year compared to last.  Without exception the kids were great! 

Yours in Scouting,

Hawkeye

Categories: Beaver Scouts B | Leave a comment

Camp Preparation & Hike

Posted on September 25, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight we started off our Scout meeting by having the youth work in pairs to set up and inspect the group tents.  The more practise the Scouts have with the tents the better!  There was… uh… mixed success we’ll say, haha!  Some Scouts had their tent up quickly while others spent some time scratching their head.   Everyone learned a lot, which is something. 

Darkness fell as we packed up the tents and began our hike around the Exploits Canyon Lookout trails.  The original intent was to cover off some important material for camping and hiking safety (for their Voyageur Scout Award), to pick our camp location and to discuss the Scouting Law to prepare for investiture but the Scouts were not in the mood for serious discussion.  It happens, and it’s not a big deal.  We can cover the material another time. 

Not the best night behaviour-wise for a few of the kids, but on the whole it was still a good time.

Yours in Scouting,

Scouter Jason

Categories: Scouts | Leave a comment

Tail Ceremony–A Celebration of Growth

Posted on September 25, 2012 by hawkeye

Tonight was our annual Tail Ceremony at the Exploits Canyon Lookout Trails. In Beaver Scouts, we use different coloured tails to denote the youths’ progression in the program; Brown tails for kindergarten, Blue tails for grade 1 and white tails for grade 2.  For our returning Beaver Scouts it’s a really big deal to advance to the next tail colour, and an event they really look forward to.  It was a bit different tonight as almost all of our Beaver Scouts are new to the program, so some of them may be a bit overwhelmed by all the Scouting terminology and customs. It’s hard to get excited about your coloured tail, when you’re still trying to figure out why you have a tail in the first place!

All in all though, the kids had a great hike and some fun along the way.  It’s understandable that our Tuesday group will be a bit wild for the first few meetings as they adjust to way we do things in Scouting.  Scouting is a journey and it takes some time to learn the path.  We really do have a great group of kids though, and we all all excited for the year to come!

Yours in Scouting,

Hawkeye

Categories: Beaver Scouts A | Leave a comment