Spring 2024 - Newsletter

Another busy term complete! We've had a fantastic spring term across the group, with new members, exciting activities and a lot of fun. Here's a quick review of what we've been up to...

This newsletter briefly outlines section updates, and provides some insight to what's been happening behind the scenes at the group.

This year is part of The Scout Association's Outdoor in 24 challenge, wherein we're aiming to provide at least 50% of our programme outdoors. We've been doing well so far, but naturally the summer term will be where we really shine.

Beavers

Beavers have been focusing on their communicator, global issues, international, faith, disability awareness and promise badges - quite a lot! They've been learning about Chinese New Year, how to use the phonetic alphabet and have had plenty of fun with games and activities.

Cubs

Cubs have been communicating, mailing, astronomising, cooking, chemist-ing, and tenting this term! With visits from the Royal Society of Chemistry and a local herpetologist, they've been learning about the world around them. They've also been working on their chef badge, cooking up some scrumptious pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

Scouts

Scouts have spent this term re-focusing on their core skills, with a lot of time spent on fire-lighting, cooking and pioneering. They've also been working on their survival skills, and have been learning about the importance of first aid. They'll be touching up these skills on the Mission Adventure camp, and we'll be expanding on them in the summer term with exciting outdoor activities planned.

Group Updates

New Tents

We're excited to announce the purchase of four new tents for the group, which will be used by all sections. These will allow us to run more outdoor activities and camps, with the aim for sectional outdoor camps for our Cubs and Scouts in the summer term (both sections getting their own camp).

AGM

We'll be announcing the date for our Annual General Meeting during the summer term. This is an important event for the group, where we review the past year and look forward to the next. We'll also be electing our new Group Executive Committee.

Storage

We're currently working with St George's Church and other third party stakeholders to tender new storage facilities for the group. This will allow us to store our equipment more securely, and grow our collection of kit and equipment, greatly benefiting the variety of activities we can offer.

Membership

We have seen 10 new members join us this term, which is fantastic! We're always looking for new members, and have a waiting list for Beavers and Cubs. If you know anyone who would like to join, please get in touch.

New Website

We've recently launched this new website, which is significantly easier to use, and much easier for us to maintain. We hope you like it!

It is also much faster to load pages, and has facilities for camps, such as our Mission Adventure website.

Gift Aid

We recently put out an appeal for Gift Aid declarations, and we're pleased to say that we've had a great response with over 75% of parents signing up. This is a fantastic way to increase our income without any cost to you, and we're very grateful for your support.

If you're yet to sign up, please get in touch with us or login to your Online Scout Manager account to complete the form.

Gift Aid provides us with approximately £2,000 per year in additional income, which directly increases the activities we can offer to our young people (as it is on top of our fixed costs).

From the GSL

This term has been fantastic for the group! We've seen a lot of new members join us, and have had exciting activities planned by all our sections. Our leadership team have yet again gone above and beyond to provide a fantastic programme for our young people - and I want to thank them publicly for all their hard work. We're looking forward to the summer term, with more outdoor activities planned, and our AGM coming up. With Mission Adventure coming very soon, we're all very excited for the largest camp we've ever run!

Thank you as a parent for your continued support, and I hope you have a restful Easter break.

Phil, Group Scout Leader

Mission Adventure

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Mission Adventure is coming up! This is a massive camp with over 60 people on site, and we're all very excited for it. With less than a month to go, we're wanting to make sure everyone is prepared.

Planning Update

We have now finalised the programme, itinerary, tent allocations, menus and activities for the camp. Risk assessments have been completed, and we're now in the final stages of preparation including purchasing food and equipment.

Kit List

We've published the kit list for the camp, which can be found on the Mission Adventure website. Please ensure your young person has everything they need for the camp, and if you have any questions please get in touch.

Transport

Please be aware that transport to and from the camp is not provided. If you are struggling with transport, we encourage car sharing with other parents. If you need help with this, please get in touch.

Arrival and Departure

We'll be publishing arrival and departure notices the week before the camp. Please ensure you're aware of these times, and if you have any issues please get in touch.

Final Payments

Payments for camp are due 14 April 2024. If you have automatic payments set up, you don't need to do anything. If you're yet to pay, please do so as soon as possible. If you have any issues with payments, please get in touch.

Pre-Camp Meeting

Each section in the week before camp will be learning some camp skills, and will be having a pre-camp meeting. This is where we'll be going through the final details of the camp, and working with young people to ensure they're prepared.

We strongly recommend every young person on camp is at Beavers/Cubs/Scouts the week before camp, as this is where we'll be going through the final details.

Monday 29 April

Note that all section meetings on Monday 29 April are cancelled due to it being the day after camp. This is to give young people and leaders a chance to rest after the camp.