Issue 116 Issue 1162017 July July 2017
From the Courtyard
From the Courtyard SAC SCOUTS NEWSLETTER
GSL’S NOTE In this issue Our GSL tells us what’s on!
Cubs.. Cubs light it up.
Scouts.. Operation after Sun
Pasta Night Fundraiser As usual the Pasta night held on July 29th proved to be a great success. Two hundred and thirty persons attended and we’d like to thank all of your for your participation. The event is more than a
Ventures..
hard day’s work as the cooks start preparing from at least two days before. The logistics are also a
Navigating the Nebrodi
headache having to work in the midday heat to set out all the tables and chairs in the car park.
Rovers.. Can you Escape?
Needless to say, clearing up afterwards is also a chore but as usual we always manage to pull together for a successful event. Thanks to all the rovers and ventures that contributed throughout the planning and implementation stage. Kif kien jghid il-Cubbie, “Flimkien ahna fantastici” :) One hundred years, one year on. This time last year, our Group took the largest ever contingent (60 members) to an overseas camp in Aosta. It was a great time for all and we still reminisce about the good time we had. This year, VSL Andre Brincat took the Venture Unit for a week long expedition in the Nebrodi Mountains in northern Sicily. I am sure you will read about this in more depth in the subsequent issues of the Courtyard.
Coming up 23 August—Cub Parent meeting
August – a busy period. August promises to be a busy period for all sections. The problem is coping with all that is going on
31 Aug—6 Sept— Summer Camp
and ensuring we get the best for all members. The Troop attended a pool party at the Hamrun Scout
3 September— Campfire
keeping and riding at a local horse farm on August 9th and the Pack are having a parents meeting too
Group on July 27th, are having a Night Adventure at the Beach on August 2nd , an experience at Horse on August 23rd as an introduction for all the new parents of the latest members. The Rover Crew are preparing for a number of events too - a treasure hunt with another Rover Crew, the John. A Mizzi Trophy and Summer Camp. The John. A .Mizzi trophy is a competition held between the Rovers and Unit in honour of our former
From the Courtyard
GSL’S NOTE
Issue 116 July 2017
GSL, known as Cubbie. It usually is a game (football, archery, basketball, bowling) where the Rovers and Unit fight it out to win the much coveted trophy. This year we shall be having a game of basketball and many have already been trying to understand how the game is played and what the rules are. I am sure that we will set our own rules on the day to make the event more interesting. May the wisest team win. Summer Camp By the time the September issue is circulated we would have already started our summer camp – 31st August to 6th September. We encourage all members to attend and apply using the provided circulars
GSL’s Note
for camp as soon as possible. Campfire is on Sunday 3rd September.
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From the Courtyard
Issue 116 July 2017
CUBS LIGHT IT UP
Our weekly activities are going strong and for one of July’s activities, Akela stepped it up a notch, showing the cubs how to light a fire in the middle of the courtyard. Baden Powell, founder of the Scouting movement, once said that there is no smell like that of a fire which you’ve just made to warm yourself up or to cook a meal on, and I would have to agree with him! Fire may perhaps be one of the oldest discoveries ever made by mankind and one still so important in our everyday lives! I believe that this is even more so for a member within the scouting community. Having the necessary skill to light a good fire takes practice and certain degree of knowledge. Besides its obvious utilitarian functions for warmth, light, cooking and general survival, fire serves one other important function; that of uplifting spirits and spreading cheerfulness. In fact the bonds between scouting brothers are often formed and strenghtened over a campfire! Because of the fact that fire forms such an important part of
From the Pack
the scouting lifestyle and because, in my experience, scouts of all ages find fire to be very fascinating, the Cub Pack had a detailed session on fire building to teach the how to build and be safe around a fire. Together, as a pack, we went over all the necessary knowledge one needs to be able to light a basic fire, such as the Fire Triangle, the different types of fuel required, the actual laying out of the fire, different ways of starting a fire and where a fire should be made. For all its usefullness in both a survival scenario and at a campfire, fire can be a dangerous element and as a result the pack also went over various safety tips in order to be able to be safe whilst making a fire.
The fire triangle
With the theory part over, we then got down to practicing what we had learnt, and we built a fire in one of the group’s large BBQ barrels and when it was lit, the Pack formed a circle around the fire and joined the leaders in practicing some campfire songs such as the renknowned “Bugs Bunny” and much loved “Wat En Chu” being led by the Cub Pack’s on resident campfire aficionado, Kaa!
David Pace Akela
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From the Courtyard
Issue 116 July 2017
OPERATION AFTER SUN
The troop welcomed the month of August by switching their usual meeting for something a little...cooler. With the current heat wave over the Islands, draining all our energy, the troop leaders decided that having an afternoon at the beach would most certainly help the situation. Traditionally Operation 'After Sun' would take place right after the exam period, but this year it was agreed up on, to hold it in August since July was already full of activities. The idea is that scouts get to spend an afternoon at the beach, swim, play some beach games and have a BBQ at the end. This year it was no different, we met at Golden Bay on Wednesday 2nd August instead of
From the Troop
our weekly meeting at 16:30hrs. Around 30 scouts attended the activity, all in their bathing suits ready to hit the water. After everything was unloaded from the leader's cars, Scout Leader Bernard, gathered all the troop for an introduction and a quick safety briefing. The buddy system was used, whereby each scout is coupled with another one, and both are responsible of each other. In the water, scouts played what I would call the SAC version of water polo. All I can say that it involves two teams, and the goal is to hold the possession of the ball, other than that...total anarchy. After a couple of swim races, it was time to dry-up and have dinner. Leaders cooked up burgers and sausages. Scouts queued up for their food and drinks in an orderly fashion and everyone seemed pleased with the food. Some went to satisfy their sweet tooth and bought an ice-cream from the vendor on the beach. All in all, it was an excellent activity and everyone had fun together.
Troop members play an impromptu game of beach football (left) and pose for a photo on arriving at the beach
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From the Troop
From the Courtyard
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OPERATION AFTER SUN
Issue 116 July 2017
The troop and their leaders enjoying themselves, post BBQ
Bernard Maniscalco Scout Leader
From the Courtyard
NAVIGATING THE NEBRODI
Issue 116 July 2017
Our Unit spent a week trekking and enjoying the Sicilian way of scouting. Here’s a sneak-peak of their adventures. Our Venture Unit has just returned from a fantastic trip to Sicily where they were hosted by the Fabio Rampulla scout group in Gela, Sicily. The week long experience consisted of a 4 day expedition on foot in the Nebrodi Mountains, followed by a more relaxing few days enjoying the sea and beaches of Gela. This trip was a great opportunity for our 12 boys to experience a different way of Scouting as well as the true Sicilian culture. They also had the chance to put some of those core scouting skills to test while in the mountains, something which we can’t do so often on this barren island. But enough for now, read the
From the Unit
whole story in the next issue of this Newsletter. Meanwhile, here are some photos to give you a taster.
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NAVIGATING THE NEBRODI
Issue 116 July 2017
From the Unit
From the Courtyard
Andre Brincat Venture Scout Leader
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From the Courtyard
Issue 116 July 2017
CAN YOU ESCAPE? Could we escape? Yes we could. Yes, we did.
On Wednesday 5th July, a group from SAC Rovers participated in a team building (or destruction, depends on your perspective) event at Can You Escape. The concept of the game is that a group of people are locked in a room with hidden clues within. These clues are the key to escaping and this must happen in 60mins or less. There are 3 rooms available at escape rooms in Fgura; the Spaceship, the Classroom and the newest of them all, the Pub. We split ourselves in 2 teams so as to try our luck (when I say luck I really mean skill) in 2 different rooms. One of the teams attempted at escaping the Classroom, whilst the other team, my team, took on the Pub. I obviously cannot go into too much detail as to what escaping from both rooms truly entails as I would be ruining the event for any readers wishing to try them, but it is safe to say that all clues are very innovatively designed and fun to grapple with. We all managed to escape our respective rooms and as the Pub team, we were particularly pleased with ourselves as escaping means that we formed part of the 25%
From the Crew
of previous groups had successfully escaped.
Both teams and their times, after escaping from their respective rooms Following successful escape of both these rooms, we were ‘challenged’ to form a group which would attempt escaping the spaceship… Needless to say, the challenge was accepted and this time, it took just over 38 minutes to escape. Everyone who attended the event truly enjoyed it. A big well done goes out to the owners of Can you escape for their innovative and fun ideas. Emanuel Lewis Rover
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