1st Roade Scouts - BASECAMP Oct 2023 newsletter

Insidethis month’s

BASECAMP

Badger’s Blog

An October welcome from our Group Scout Leader (GSL)

Since we last spoke

News from the 1st Roade Scouting community

Going the extra mile

Cub Leader Fox’s fundraising mission

Wheelie Good Fun

A look back at the Beaver and Squirrels wheeled adventures

Looking ahead

A preview of what’s coming up in October

Go, go Gullivers

Reporting on the rollercoaster ride of September’s overnighter

Badges of Honour

Why the award of badges has to be

Lest We Forget

The importance of being there on Remembrance

Remember, Remember

A few things to bear in mind when scouting

Mouse in the House

A quickfire Q&A with cub leader, Mouse

Rumble at the Jumble

We review last month’s fundraiser

Badger’s blog.

First up, welcome to BASECAMP; our new look monthly newsletter where we celebrate everything that’s great and good about scouting with 1st Roade.

It’s great to be back. As much as the summer break is welcome, my Tuesdays, and those of all the volunteer leaders, are so much brighter when the young people return for the Autumn scouting term.

And after a summer of planning, this is definitely a term we can all look forward to, with so much to enjoy and new badges to be earned. September’s already been busy

jumble sale, and our young people getting out and about on their bikes, scooters and hikes. October’s jam packed too.

Sadly, I will have to sit much of it out for a fair while as I recover from some much needed surgery, but everyone is raring to go whilst I’m out of action.

It’s also really good to see lots of new faces across all sections. Scouting in Roade is well praised across the district and it’s great to see, and hear, that young people locally want to join us for adventure. I know many have been inspired by fellow squirrels, beavers, cubs and scouts and that tells its own story.

I’m confident more memories to be talked about will happen this term.

Badger

Foxontherun.

When it comes to fundraising efforts for 1st Roade Scouts, Cub leader Fox is all set to go the extra mile in 2024. 13.1 miles extra in fact, when he tackles the London Landmarks Half Marathon, all in the name of helping fill our coffers, which helps keep the cost of scouting great value.

Fox, who admits that he’s not a natural born athlete, is already in training, plodding the streets of Ashton. After various changes of trainer, he’s looking forward to huffing and puffing his way past famous sights.

If all goes to plan, Fox will make his way past landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye, The Shard, Nelsons Column in Trafalgar Square and St Paul’s Cathedral, all on his way to the Tower.

Rest assured, if he’s well supported by way of sponsorship, the other leaders think we can convince him to take on the mammoth challenge dressed in a Fantastic Mr Fox outfit complete with oversized head!

Now that really would be some sight, sweating past Downing Street.

Parents can sponsor Fox on the Run via his JustGiving page (Search: James Bailey) where he has set himself a cool £1,000 target.

Let’s hope his training goes well. He says the roads of Ashton are already proving tough on the legs!

SponsorFox

reasonsto Online ScoutManager.

Keep a close eye on your child’s badge progress, what they’ve been awarded and what they can earn at home.

Stay in touch with the leaders by keeping contact details and special information up to date.

Make fast, secure online payments for termly subs, camps and trips as 1st Roade Scouts go cashless.

Be in the know about the termly programme and what your child will be up to each Tuesday, including regular updates to times & venues.

Set up a termly subscription for peace of mind when it comes to subs so you never have to worry about missing an important payment.

Sign your child up to upcoming trips, camps, and special events they will want to attend, at the click of a mouse.

Leaders update OSM daily with information about our young people, their progress, wellbeing and any changes to the times/venues of sessions. Please log in twice a week to check for any important updates.

https://www.onlinescoutmanager.co.uk/login

Since welast spoke

Gota‘can’ doattitude?

We want your empty drinks cans! We’ll crush them down and recycle them to help fundraise for the group. Bag them up and bring them to Fox each Tuesday.

Newmonthlyawards

Squirrel/Beaver/Cub of the Month recognition to start in October.

New for the new Scouting year, and hot on the heels of us presenting ‘Of the Year’ trophies at the AGM, are some new monthly awards we will reward young people with.

The award will celebrate an individual, handpicked by the leaders from each section, who best displays the scouting values, attitude and behaviour at the weekly sessions. This is not about the ‘fastest, biggest, strongest or loudest.’ The leaders will keep their criteria a closely guarded secret but rest assured the monthly winners will be

fully deserving of their award, and reasons will be given! October’s winners will be announced next issue.

Newlevelsoffun

This month’s recommendation to work towards your Book Lovers badge.

Released last month as the 13th book in the much loved Treehouse series,. the 169-Storey Treehouse is a fast paced, often mad but delightful read, suitable for 6-11 year olds.

Packed with cartoon strip illustrations that bring to life a weird and wonderful story, Treehouse owners Andy and Terry have added new story storeys including a gecko chamber, edible gingerbread house, super noisy level and even a Santa level.

Weshallgo totheball.

We’ve not even got Halloween out of the way yet (each section has some spooky sessions to look forward to), but we are already thinking about Christmas. It is the most wonderful time of year, after all.

On top of Christmas craft and feeling festive on Tuesdays, we’ll be taking over 90 young people and adults to the Christmas Panto at the Old Savoy - home of the Deco Theatre in Northampton.

We are thrilled families have really got behind our offer of discounted tickets for Cinderella on 5 December.

Thank you. It’s amazing support for something new we thought we’d explore as a not for profit event. Remember the ticket price we have negotiated also includes free ice cream!

Oh no it doesn’t.... Oh yes it does!

Birthday Rollcall.

Everyone connected to 1st Roade Scouts would like to wish a big scouting Happy Birthday, in October, to:

Joshua Danial Arlo Amelia

Aurelia Joshua Lola Bonnie

Have a fab day, however you choose to celebrate.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a pre-booked, ticketed event and is not part of a standard Scouting evening. For those not attending, the Tuesday session at the football club will not run

All 1st

Scouts members can enjoy

10%OFF

purchases* made in store at GoOutdoors when you show your group necker at checkout.

*Conditions apply.

Roade

Awheeliegood time.

Getting 22 bike and scooterbound Beavers to form an orderly queue, and not put the pedal to the metal, was never likely to be an easy task for Beavers leader, Owl, especially with the constant requests to ‘race’. But it was one that went down a treat as the young cyclists worked towards their Cycling badge last month.

Helmet bound, and following a group talk on bike safety and some maintenance checks, it was green for go as they ventured round the football club, the sound of bells dinging as they chased their friends.

We were impressed with the control of some of the more experienced cyclists.

“Does that mean we can ride across the football pitches?”

We also loved the enthusiasm of those still getting to grips with life in the saddle. And we were particularly jealous of some of the unique helmets on display.

Imagine our joy then when the Squirrels turned out in force exactly a week later for a Scooter rally around the football club. There was an agility test weaving

around a course of cones, a ‘see who could scoot the furthest’ challenge (which revealed the Squirrels’ competitive side), and of course, there were races. Lots of races!

Each squirrel also had a go on a full size skateboard; part of the requirement to achieve their ‘Be Active’ badge.

Morebang fortheir badge.

Hubble, bubble, toil and... plenty of fun.

Our inquisitive Squirrels will be putting all their wizz bang senses to the test and giving some simple scientific things a go later this month, as they work towards their super Exciting Experiments badge.

It’s one of the most popular badges in the Squirrels collection.

We can’t promise they’ll all be rocket scientists but we’ll ask lots of big questions ‘why?’, connect with nature, and go on a voyage of discovery.

Beaversto

Design and test paper aeroplanes. Find out all we can about one kind of aircraft, like a Spitfire, Concorde, helicoptor or hot air balloon and tell others in your section about it. We’ll even learn how to spell our name in the phonetic alphabet.

The Beavers will take flight and explore everything aircraft in early October as they aim high to start their Air Activities badge.

We’ll talk about plane tripsreal and made up - we’ve taken and let our imaginations soar, so we’d encourage parents to sit and talk about airport memories and what it’s like on a flight.

Everyone loves a bit of blue sky thinking.

Spooky Tuesday

It’s alive! The cubs will be spookifying up some junk modelling on Halloween as they turn recycling into something a little more scarier. Given free rein to make skeleton models, they will work in their sixes to get crafty. Whose junk will frighten Fox the most?

It will need a bit of prep from parents however, so please keep hold of any cardboard boxes, tubes, bottle lids and anything else you think could inspire a makeshift monster creation, or two.

Lightning bolts not required.

It’s not just the cubs who are in for a monster time on Halloween.

The Scouts will get their freak on with some classic Halloween games and spooky challenges, whilst Beavers will venture out with their torches on an hour long trick or treat hunt around the village. Starting at the football club, they will visit carefully selected houses to see if any treats await.

Please let Owl know if you are happy for the Beavers to call at your house as part of the Trick or Treat hunt.

Back to Basics.

After a back to basics camp, cooking on open fires started by hand followed by lake fishing last term, and map reading and torchlight orienteering last month, the Scouts programme champions the simple life.

And the focus on survival skills will continue into October.

First up, knots.

Knowing your knots, has long been a Scouting skills tradition, developing focus, routine, discipline and dedication, and our Scouts will certainly learn the ropes, quite literally.

Keen on bushcraft, they will get plenty of practical experience, understanding their bowline from their double fisherman knot; their rolling hitch from their sheepshank.

Remembrance Sunday

Please ensure you have this date in your diary as we request all squirrels, beavers, cubs and scouts of 1st Roade group attend

Lest we forget. It is a chance to display their pride, and privilege, in wearing their scouting uniforms and uniting to show their respects under our flags during the church service and the village parade to Memorial Green.

We learn about the meaning of the poppy in sessions leading up to Remembrance Sunday, and why we wear them.

Leaders will be selecting flag bearers and the wreath party during October. If you cannot commit to this date, please let us know asap

Mouse - real name Holly, or as her old school friends nicknamed her ‘Jolly Holly’ - joined 1st Roade as a cub leader in February 2022, and immediately became a hit with the young people.

A former Brownie in her home county of Surrey, Holly says her first scouting memory was doing her flower arranging badge. Now, the best part of scouting is the outdoor adventures, with a particular love of not sleeping on camps.

It’s a love - of camping, not lack of sleeping - that has been passed on to her own children, who have been part of the 1st Roade family since Will, aged 13 and now a Scout, joined Beavers. Her youngest, Sam, at 8, is a cub.

With a zest for life, dog walking, and reading classics, Holly says she hopes people see her as ‘someone up for a laugh’ and who doesn’t take life too seriously. In fact the only thing she’s really serious on.... Strictly no fancy dress!

Mousein theHouse.

Quick fire Q&A with Cubs leader, Mouse (Holly)

Disney Character Ice Cream Flavour Crisp Flavour Wreck it Ralph Chocolate Pickled Onion

First Pet TV Series she’d love to be in Pip, the Guinea Pig Game of Thrones

The superpower she’d love to have is: Everything she touches turns into seashell shaped Belgian Chocolates!

Go, go, Gullivers

What do you get when you cross 41 excitable beavers, cubs and scouts with access all areas at a theme park resort and a sleepover? Bags of fun, and plenty of giggles, of course…. and it’s no joke just how tired the leaders were!

That’s what happened for our first camp out of the new scouting season with the sections coming together for a weekend of full-on fun at Gullivers Land and Dino Park in Milton Keynes.

The group, ranging from 6 year old beavers to 13 year old scouts, were treated to behind the scenes access to the park’s main attractions, including bubbles and games on Main Street, and were first in queue for the rides before they opened to the public.

Rumble at the Jumble.

1st Roade Scouts have been holding a community jumble sale in the village for well over 3 decades now, after starting in the 1990s. As fundraisers go they continue to prove incredibly fruitful - and great fun.

The past two sales have banked an average £1,000 for a day’s work, and the latest version, held on 30 September at the Village Hall, kept up this tradition.

Thanks to the generosity of the village in terms of jumble donations, and some awesome volunteering from adults and young people, our latest fundraiser netted almost £1,200 to bolster scouting locally.

We hold the jumble sale twice yearly and never fail to attract interest.

This time, over 200 bargain hunters turned out to rummage through the inviting piles of preloved, toys, accessories, household bric-a-brac, books, DVDs and collectables on offer.

It was just reward for a mammoth effort put in by an army of helping hands, including squirrels, beavers, cubs, scouts, their adults, and leaders who for over 9 hours collected, sorted, set up shop and manned

stalls to sell as doors opened to the public.

It was fabulous to see lots of new faces give up their time to volunteer and get into the jumble spirit.

Without this army of volunteers and the generosity of the village, which never fails to amaze us, we would never achieve what we do at the sales. It is a team effort.

Jumble sales, and fundraisers likes this, help us keep the cost of scouting low, whilst making new opportunities accessible to the young people.

Remember, Remember.

Drop Off & Pick Up

It is really important that every young person attending a Tuesday session is promptly picked up and dropped off by a responsible, accountable adult (16+). If, for any reason, another adult is picking your child up, let us know in advance.

Likewise, timeliness is key. We don’t want to have to introduce late fees for pick up.

Attendance

We know illness or family emergencies can’t be avoided, but if you know your child won’t be attending a Tuesday session due to another event clash, tell us asap and well in advance - ideally not 1 hour before the session is due to start. We plan each session for a certain number of children so last minute drop outs do get frustrating.

Young people who do not attend 3 consecutive Tuesdays - and don’t give leaders a heads up in advance - will automatically be taken off the register and their scouting place reallocated to someone else.

Check OSM for updates

From time to time, we will make updates to times, dates, venues and activities on the termly programme. Please log in to OSM before each session so you have the latest info to hand. Whatsapp is only a back up.

Uniform

We want the young people to learn respect for their appearance and take pride in their uniform. So please ensure they come to sessions in the full, correct uniform and sensible footwear. Replacement neckers are available at £7 should you need them.

Bringing a coat, and water bottle to every session is also required.

There’s a few bits and pieces, we’d like to remind parents and carers about when it comes to scouting with 1st Roade Scouts.

Aquickbitof housekeeping tobeaware of.

Volunteering at other events

Being part of the 1st Roade Scouts family is more than just paying subs, turning up on a Tuesday and going on the odd camp.

Turning up to volunteer and help out at fundraisers - like Jumble Sales - and attending community events like Remembrance Sunday and St Georges Day parade all show your commitment to the scouting promise you made.

Respect the leaders, and their time

All our leaders are volunteers who give up their time for free each week, and for many weekends.

With this in mind, they deserve to be treated with respect. Bad behaviour will not be accepted and each leader has the right to refuse attendance should it become a common problem.

Likewise a leader’s spare time is precious so regular lateness for pick up should be avoided. We know it’s great value, but scouting is not cheap childcare!

Going Cashless

1st Roade Scouts have gone cashless, meaning all payments for subs, camps, and trips should be paid online via OSM. Leaders can no longer accept cash for any activity.

We also request that payments for subs are made 3 weeks ahead of the start of term to give time for funds to reach us. We have bills to pay as a group, and things to book in advance so swift payment is essential.

Winter Term Subs of £40 will be payable by 19 December.

If you have any queries on payments please email our Treasurer: roade.treasurer@hotmail.com

We value kindness, honesty, respect and commitment.

Badges of Honour

Believe it or not, we awarded more than 220 activity badges last term - and this number didn’t include any of the Investiture badges supplied to new joiners either.

There’s been plenty going on with Hike Badges, and Nights Away badges being earned already this term, and lots of Joining in awards.

It’s a never ending list and it’s so good to see parents uploading evidence of badge work to OSM as their children earn more at home.

We love awarding badges, just as much as the young people clearly enjoy earning them both in the Tuesday sessions and in their free time at home.

But it has to be sustainable.

Each badge costs the group between 75p - £3 to source and award. Much of this cost we cover, as collecting badges, and proudly displaying them on the arm, is what Scouting is all about.

And we would never cap enthusiasm by limiting the number of badges that can be earned each year.

This annual payment will be in addition to subs and any Investiture fees due - and will make badge collecting just that little bit easier for us, and definitely more fun, for the young people.

Look out for the Annual Badge Contribution added for online payment in OSM this month.

That’s why, we are introducing a one-off annual £10 parent contribution (payable per child on, or before 1 Nov).