Issue 112 Issue March112 2017 March 2017
From the Courtyard
FROM THE COURTYARD SAC SCOUTS NEWSLETTER
GSL’s Note In this issue Cubs..
Our GSL tells us what’s on. Easter Camp
- What I’ve learnt
Ventures.. - Survival Camp
Rovers.. - National Scout Trail - iScout 2017
March has mainly been dedicated to preparing for Easter Camp. Section leaders have been coordinating the programme and logistical issues to ensure all turns out well during camp. The quartermaster too has been busy preparing equipment with some rovers and I feel I must thank all involved in advance for their time and commitment. We’d like to encourage all members to attend Easter Camp and parents to attend the campfire on Thursday 13th April. Parents’ Annual General Meeting A meeting was held on 29th March for parents and members in order to explain the Group’s position in various respects. The first topic was last year’s financial situation wherein the major streams of income and major expenses were explained. Secondly, the uniform issue was explained to parents. The GSL explained that the Groups’ request to carry on wearing the B.P hat has not been accepted by the Association but will be re-discussed in the future by the Executive of the Association. The Group feels strongly about wearing the B.P hat and has decided not to buy the uniform for the time being because even for younger members the baseball cap is not yet issued. For our Group a uniform without headgear is incomplete. This means that probably we will not be participating in this year’s annual parade. Parents present understood our situation and position and pledged to support us. We also explained our Group’s position with regards to certain steps and procedures we are objecting to regarding the Association’s General Assembly procedures. We explained the state of affairs and ensured all present that we are doing so in the best interests of everyone. Other topics presented to the members during the meeting related to last year’s 100 th anniversary events and future plans for this year. A question and answer session followed for clarifications afterwards. All leaders and myself would like to thank those parents/ guardians present for their time and attention. The future of Scouting in our Group As a GSL my primary objective was and is always to try and keep members as part of the Group even after the difficult years of O and A levels. Some leave to study and never return and that is understandable but a good number are managing to balance their study – scouting life balance and the number of rovers is
From the Courtyard
GSL’S NOTE
Issue 112 March 2017
proving that it can be done. Once a rover joins the Crew, given the fraternity developed over the years, members become more than friends, they become family. The bigger the Crew, one obviously faces diverse opin-
ions and ideas and this is where our people management skills come to the fore. We are blessed with leaders and rovers who have the right skills to handle “hot” situations and I am glad to say that we always get it right because as Cubbie used to say, “flimkien ahna fantastici”. Rovers provide back up for Leaders and are always the first to serve where and when required. Their motto after all is “Service”. Long may this continue even though members have to transit from studying to scouting life balances to work/family -scouting life balances which are sometimes much tougher. Therefore, based on what we have achieved so far, I think a young member’s prospects of remaining part of the Group are very good and they can see
GSL’s note
the future develop in front of them and be part of it in a couple of years time.
Just a few of the the SAC Rover Crew prior to the annual iScout challenge Other events During March the Rover Crew participated in the international online event iScout and also participated in a day hike for Rover Crews in Malta. The venture Unit held an eventful Survivor camp too. I’m sure you’ll read more about them in this issue. Unfortunately, April to June is open exam season and so most sections would not be very active besides Easter Camp. Meetings will still be held anyway but we encourage our members to study and do well to have a good scouting summer!
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From the Courtyard
Issue 112 March 2017
WHAT I’VE LEARNT
Blue Smoke, one of our long-term members, started helping in the Cub section just over a year ago as part of his Sixth Form requirements. Here’s how he went. A year and five months ago, to be exact, I began contributing to the Pack as an assistant cub leader. During this time, as many do, I focused primarily on my Systems of Knowledge Project (commonly known as the SOK project). While attending the weekly meetings and the various activities I helped out and participated in, I have learnt a lot, which has contributed greatly to my SOK Project, but more importantly helped me grow as a Cub Leader during this time. I submitted my project last January and having finished 6th Form last week (just weeks before my A’levels)
From the Pack
I am happy to say that I have achieved a very satisfying result from the project. My SOK project included
journals of scout activities (including Camps, National activities and Joint activities, ranging from July to September 2016), various reflective journals and essays about my work. Despite having completed this project, I look forward to many years serving as a cub leader in the St Aloysius College Scout Group, not only to offer a contribution to the scout group itself (which I had joined since 2007 as a cub scout,) but also as a means of further learning and to gain confidence as well as enjoy my time with the Scout Group.
Blue Smoke Assistant Cub Scout Leader
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From the Courtyard
Issue 112 March 2017
SURVIVAL CAMP
The venture unit has held its annual Survival Skills Camp, in preparation for the next world war. Unit Chairman and activity organizer, Craig Bonello, tells us more. Between the 31st March and 2nd April the Venture Unit went up to Black Valley campsite for a Survival Camp. Over three days the nine attendees underwent a ‘back to basics’ camp where they had to work to survive. From water purification, to trapping, to shelter building, every aspect of survival was covered. The unit was divided into two patrols, which made for a highly competitive camp. Every activity won translated in to an advantage for the winning team during the next challenge and therefore, a disadvantage for the loser. This motivated the unit to work extra hard in each activity as a mistake made at the beginning of camp could well lead to hard time in the future. The camp began with a water purification activity, where water was extracted from the well, and purified using various methods. The team with the purest water won a bivouac to build a shelter with, while the other team simply had to make do with equipment from around
From the Unit
the campsite. The patrol with the best shelter won utensils for the next activity which was cooking. This open fire cooking event was done without a grill, meaning that the ventures had to cook on hot rocks. On the menu were fish and bell peppers. One patrol were fairly picky, and decided not to eat their fish, which led to a grave consequences as this team had to pitch a tent for the opposition to sleep in. The opposition simply took a siesta while they worked.
Open-fire cooking—peppers, fish and hot rocks.
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No points for guessing who lost the prior round.
From the Courtyard
SURVIVAL CAMP
Issue 112 March 2017
The day ended with everyone shooting at pork chops hanging from trees with our new archery kits, and another cooking activity. The next morning consisted of a light breakfast, and a 3 hour treasure hunt. The points for each item on the treasure hunt list corresponded to an item of food. The aim was to cook pasta on an open fire, again without a grill. After this cooking activity the day was fairly relaxed with only a game of football and a camp fire in the evening. The next morning, we took time to do some overall maintenance in the campsite and even collected equipment we needed for Easter Camp. Just in time before the rain started everything was packed up and everyone made their way home. This camp was a great experience to do things we usually take for granted, thinking outside the box and
From the Unit
even tested our nerves as a team and individually fighting thirst and hunger.
The Unit—They survived!
Craig Bonello Chairman
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From the Courtyard
NATIONAL SCOUT TRAIL
Issue 112 March 2017
The SAC Rover Crew participated in the National Scout Trail earlier in March. This allowed us the less than regular opportunity to meet with members of other groups while taking in the glorious Maltese countryside. For those of our readers who might not be familiar with scouting itself, in Malta there are around 40 scout groups on the islands of Malta and Gozo. These all form part of what is known as the Scout Association of Malta. Now these groups act in a sort of tribal manner where each group generally works on its own and has its own yearly programme of activities, each believing that their Scout Group is the best on the island (don’t let them fool you with their propaganda, SAC Scout Group is the best). Back in the day this rivalry amongst groups was felt even more with a number of national competitions taking place throughout the year, competitions such as Scout Challenge and Venture Rally. Nowadays the Scout Association of Malta, better known as IHQ (Island Headquarters) is adopting a more inclusive approach, where they are trying to lessen the influence of the tribal “Kullhadd ghal Rasu” approach to things. This is being done by encouraging joint activities between groups, removing the
From the Crew
competitions which partially caused such rivalries and the creation of the National Scout Youth Council. This is essentially an organisational body made of young Scouts whose purpose is to organsise activities and initiatives nationwide. Amongst the first activities to be organised by this Council was the National Scout Trail Hike for Ventures and Rovers on the 19th of March. Now, being one of the more conservative groups on the Island, our group was at first hesitant in taking part in this activity. However after discussing and debating several times over, We finally agreed that a number of the Ventures in the unit and Rovers from the Crew would take part in this national activity. As a result, on an early Sunday Morning in March we all met up at the starting point of this Hike on top of Dwejra Hill. Once everyone was there we looked around us at the other groups’ participants ready to show them that we as St. Aloysius College Scout Group Representa tives where the best amongst them. We were however shocked to find out that we were to be divided into groups with participants from different groups and as a result we would not be able to work our magic as the brotherhood that our group had raised us up to be! We eventually split up according to our designated groups, determined to still outshine the rest in the games and activities presented to us along the way of our hike.
SAC Rovers, joined by some Ventures, at the start of the Trail.
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From the Courtyard
NATIONAL SCOUT TRAIL
Issue 112 March 2017
From the Crew
Participants hiking along, surrounded by greenery...just like something out of ‘The Sound of Music’ if you squint and tilt your head to one side.
The Hike itself essentially followed part of the dwejra lines from Dwejra to Gnejna and from there we made our way to Ghajn Tuffieha National Scout Campsite. Along the way we were presented with a number of challenges to complete whilst working with our groups and we were also treated to some fantastic countryside views of Malta in springtime. Once we arrived at the Campsite, we all met up with our own scout groups and settled down to cook a well deserved meal for ourselves, and by ‘we’, I mean our designated Group cook, Zarby, who had prepared some amazing pork steaks for us along with a lovely bacon and Maltese sausage risotto. Once the cooking was done and the area had been cleaned, we proceeded to relax and joke around together as a group in the lovely spring sunshine. On the whole, I do not regret saying that the first activity organised by the National Scout Youth Council was quite a relaxing and enjoyable one, which didnt require much effort or preparation, brought us together as a group whilst making us realise that national activities with members from other groups aren’t as bad as we thought!
David Pace Once they’re done being generally awesome, SAC Rovers and Ventures are pretty good at relaxing, too.
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Rover Scout
From the Crew
From the Courtyard
ISCOUT
2017
Issue 112 March 2017
As has become customary SAC Rovers entered this year’s edition of iScout head on, determined to excel in the competition and ready for any mind boggling challenge the organizers might throw at them. The iScout Game is an international competition that aims to test the knowledge and wits of Rover Crews across the globe. Each Rover Crew is graded according to how many ‘Travel Questions’ are answered, however to unlock these questions, the crew needs to obtain credits and this may only be done by completing an array of different tasks. The SAC Rover Crew entered this competition for the first time last year and managed to finish in 271st position out of 333 crews, a placement which was enough to finish ahead of our Maltese counterparts Zurrieq, Fgura, St. Julians and IHQ who had all taken part as well. In 2016, the group took home a fantastic 84th place finish out of over 300 teams to set a great benchmark for this year. Fast forward a year, and we were back at HQ all set to go for the 2017 edition of iScout. We had taken our previous experience to heart and once more organised ourselves in teams, with 5 members of the crew; Emanuel Lewis, Timmy Zammit, Matthew ZamPre-competition briefing, technical preparation and general morale boosting.
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From the Courtyard
ISCOUT
2017
Issue 112 March 2017
mit, Albert Galea and being based at HQ with their aim being to answer the Travel Questions. Meanwhile, under the guidance of Pierre Sant and George Zammit Montebello, all the other members of the Crew were in charge of completing the tasks needed to obtain credits. These members were Gabriel Rizzo (who flew back from England just for this!) Emma Gauci, Joanna Ellul, Benjy Catania, Jamie Maistre Andrew Zammit Montebello, Illaria Zammit, David Pace, Liam Curmi de Gray, Simon Gauci , Luke Maistre, Andre Brincat, Bernard Maniscalco and Nicole Mifsud. They were aided by various other wonderful people who joined us at different stages of the event. The tasks were varied and the travel questions, especially, were harder than ever. However the computer gremlins holed up inside the new Board Room managed to answer 35 Travel Questions; the exact same tally from 2016. Once the game deadline had been passed, the whole group relieved the activity by going through the pictures and videos that we had taken of the tasks until the results were published. Our score had been enough for us to finish in 135th place out of the 390 teams that took part – a ranking that, when considering that almost 70 new teams took part in the competition over last year, means that we re-
From the Crew
mained in roughly the same percentage placement as 2016. Furthermore, for the third time running, we finished ahead of all of our Maltese counterparts; of which there were seven this year. The activity itself, despite being more challenging and despite suffering some server an internet niggles from the organizers’ side, was as much fun as it has ever been. The SAC Rover Crew will surely be back for iScout 2018 on March 3rd, and this time we’re going to be aiming much higher. Can we do it? Damn right we can!
Wouldn’t miss it for the world - Albert Galea, George Zammit Montebello with Gabriel Rizzo, who flew in specifically for this competition, celebrating their birthday. Portable birthday cake, also present.
Take a look at all our photo evidence on the following page.
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ISCOUT
2017
Issue 112 March 2017
From the Crew
From the Courtyard
Andrew Zammit Montebello wraps Benji Catania in tinfoil as prt of the ‘Greetings from Mars’ task.
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Keeping fit sometimes means taking your fitness tracker for a flower shaped walk.
From the Crew
From the Courtyard
ISCOUT
2017
Issue 112 March 2017
The lengths we go to to win. Ilaria Zammit’s car wrapped in cling film. No wornd on how long it took to unwrap it though!
Builda bus shelter at a functioning bus stop, you say? David, Luke, Jamie, Liam and Matthew show Arriva and Bus de Lyons how its actually done.
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From the Courtyard
From the Crew
ISCOUT
Forget beer draught (‌.ha ha!) and take a look at this piece of culinary engineering genius courtesy of Joanna Ellul’s kitchen and tool box. We present to you, the pancake draught!
How many pieced of (kind of) obsolete date storage does it take to store 2Gb of data?
This many!
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2017
Issue 112 March 2017
From the Courtyard
ISCOUT
2017
Issue 112 March 2017
From the Crew
Gabriel’s t-shirts will never be the same again! Pictured are some of the crew, wearing ‘at least ten’ t-shirts from past scouting activities, camps etc...
Pancake world!
Book Faces get creative in the Ellul household!
Albert Galea Rover Scout
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