Issue 117 Issue 1172017 August August 2017
From the Courtyard
From the Courtyard SAC SCOUTS NEWSLETTER
GSL’S NOTE In this issue Cubs.. - Weekly Activities
Scouts.. - Operation After Sun
Our GSL tells us what’s on. Registration Form The Group is about to revise and update its members’ data and profiles. To this end we will soon send all parents an email containing a link to an online registration form. Kindly fill in this form fully and print it out. Do not forget to sign it (parents and / or guardians) and return to us in printed form as
Ventures..
soon as you can. The form also contains a consent form wherein you consent (or not) to allow
- Navigating the Nebrodi.
pictures of your kids to appear in any promotional pictures we use and medical information and
Rovers..
important to us and we thank you in advance for your cooperation.
- John A. MIzzi Cup 2017
permission (or not) to apply first aid to your sons should the need arise. This information is very
Parents’ meeting for Pack members On August 23rd a meeting for cub scout parents was held at our HQ. Parents were introduced to the cub leaders to get to know them better and a brief presentation was given by the Group Scout Leader, Akela and fellow leaders. We would have liked a stronger attendance by parents as not all parents turned up however we received great feedback from those present. After the meeting, parents were offered some drinks and light snacks and cubs were awarded their proficiency certificates and badges.
Group Events The troop had a busy August and I am sure you will be reading more about their events further on in this newsletter. Unfortunately, due to the heat wave we had to cancel the event related to horse riding and keeping. It will be held in the near future when the weather is cooler. The Rovers and Venture Unit held the John A Mizzi Cup on August 9th. This was a basket ball game between the two sections. In all there were 35 members hoping to take part. Needless to say the competition was fierce and all did their best to ensure their section won. It was not easy due to the frequent changeovers to enable all members to take part and the extreme heat in the gym. The Rover unit won by a landslide
From the Courtyard
GSL’S NOTE
Issue 117 August 2017
although at the beginning the Venture Unit did put up a good fight. After the intense game we all headed off for a well earned drink and dinner down at the Melting Pot at Pembroke Athleta’s football club. Well done to the organisers, namely Jamie Maistre and Albert Galea. This event also served as an introduction for some of the older venture members who will be joining the Rover Crew in the coming weeks. National Camp A number of patrol leaders and assistant patrol leaders from the Troop shall be participating in the National Camp at Ghajn Tuffieha Campsite organised by the Scout Association and the Girl Guide Association of Malta between September 7th and the 10th. A Patrol of eight members led by AGSL Mark P.
GSL’s Note
Borg will be attending together with other leaders forming part of the Service Team.
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From the Courtyard
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Issue 117 August 2017
Here are the weekly activities prepared by Rama and Bagheera during the month of August. My weekly activity this month was focused on the phonetic alphabet. The phonetic alphabet was used mainly in the military to communicate as words get lost through the radio. So, they invented a word for each letter to spell out words. One of my most interesting memories as a Brownie Guide was learning this phonetic alphabet and communicating with other Brownie Guides all over the world over the radio using this phonetic alphabet. I decided to share this experience with the Cubs and teach them this phonetic alphabet. Once we had fun guessing the words to the letters and learnt them well, we played a game where the Cubs were split into two and had to transmit a message to each other using
From the Pack
this phonetic alphabet...needless to say they pulled it off pretty well!
Ilaria Zammit Rama
How do you teach a group of kids about teamwork while also teaching them knotting, without having to sit them down for a boring lecture? Chariot racing of course! Knowing that the cubs have recently participated in a number of knotting and pioneering related weekly activities, I felt fairly confident that they’d have at least some recollection of (at least) one relevant knot and that they’d also be able to implement this during the session. Thankfully, I wasn’t too far off the mark! The fact that the activity fell close to a public holiday turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we were able to split an unusually small pack of 12 attendees up equally. The Cubs were split into three groups and assigned one or two leaders per group. The groups were given the same number of spars and ropes each, setting an equal playing field for the races. Within half an hour, the cubs had to design and build their chariot which was to hold one team member and be carried by the remaining three. Once these were completed it was up to the leaders to carry out some thorough safety and structural integrity checks before allowing the cubs to volunteer a team mate as the chariot rider. With this done, the cubs assumed their positions and set off at Akela’s signal. Three races were held, with each race becoming more and more intense while each group vied for the title of winning team.
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WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Issue 117 August 2017
From the Pack
From the Courtyard
Emma Gauci Bagheera
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From the Courtyard
OPERATION AFTER SUN
Issue 117 August 2017
Operation After Sun is an annual activity held in the hottest days of summer i.e. between midJuly and mid-August. This year was not an exception as the event was held on Wednesday 2 nd August, replacing the usual Wednesday meeting. The scope of Operation After Sun is for Troop members to spend quality time together in a more relaxed environment than the usual weekly meetings and before summer camp. The activity was held at Golden Bay and the response for this activity was positive as reflected by the large attendance of over thirty scouts. The activity commenced at 16:30 and although it was still scorching hot, we unloaded the necessary equipment from the leaders’ cars on the pavement and subsequently transported it in a designated area on the sand, which we shortly ring fenced by staves. The bay was half full and we managed to find a good spot towards the middle of it to set-up our BBQ without disrupting any civilians. Following the unloading of equipment the Troop members proceeded for a well-deserved swim after the usual calls by the leaders for sun screen protection whilst some of the leaders remained on the beach to guard the equipment, finalise the paperwork and proceed with the preparations for the BBQ, which
From the Troop
followed. The sea was not as clean as expected. As a consequence, the shore was full of algae but the scouts still had a great time playing different games in the sea and later on the beach. Meanwhile, some leaders continued preparing for dinner by chopping tomatoes and lighting up the BBQ. At 18:30 we started cooking on the BBQ. The menu for the activity was kept simple in view of the limited time available, namely burgers, buns, sausages, cheese, tomatoes and a different range of sauces. As evidenced from the photographs below, the majority of the cooking was done by the senior members of the Troop and guided by their leaders to ensure that the necessary precautionary measures were taken and the food was prepared to the required standards.
Cooking - Buffalo Patrol Leader Thomas Sciberras Herrera in action (left). Burgers and sausages for everyone! (Right)
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From the Courtyard
OPERATION AFTER SUN
Issue 117 August 2017
The food was ready and the serving station was set-up in no time as by this time everyone was hungry. Food was served patrol by patrol. There was abundant food for everyone as well as cold drinks provided by the leaders followed by sweets. At 19:30 a joint effort was made to clean the BBQ and utensils used to cook as well as a general clean-up of the area in order to leave the used area in a better state than we found it. All the equipment was subsequently transferred from the beach to the car park and shortly loaded in the leaders’ cars with the guidance of the senior patrol leaders and the collaboration of all Troop members for delivery to the SAC headquarters in Birkirkara. The activity was concluded at 20:00 and, once again, it was well received by the scouts, who from their end made the most of the activity irrespective of the heat. We therefore look forward to scheduling another Operation After Sun next summer.
From the Troop
Ian Meli
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Assistant Scout Leader Troop Section
From the Courtyard
NAVIGATING THE NEBRODI
Issue 117 August 2017
Last month, the ventures gave us with a seek peak of their Nebrodi adventures, with the promise of more news this month. This month, it looks like they’re going to need more time to give us the greatest account of their adventures, ever.
From the Unit
Till next month, folks!
Until then, here’s a photo of the ventures, just to make sure you don’t forget what they look like.
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From the Courtyard
JOHN A MIZZI CUP 2017
Issue 117 August 2017
From the Crew
Every year, a team of Rovers pitch their sporting capabilities against a team of ventures during the John A. Mizzi Cup which was held on 9 August, this year.
Pre-Match photo with Rovers (in White) and Ventures (In Blue). There is no post match photo as this would have been an unsavory sight for you, our readers. Held on, or around, Cubbie’s birthday The John A Mizzi Cup is a sports event well rooted within the SAC tradition, pitching the two older sections against each other in an attempt to show the other who’s boss in a manner weakly veiled as a sports competition. After many (many) weeks of debate, the unit settled on a game of Basketball this year; news which was met with both dread (due to our less than pristine collective physical condition) and glee (because we actually had two more-than-decent basketball players in our midst) by your trusty Crew. The game was chosen, the date was set and the subtle yet unmistakable signs of testosterone clashing against testosterone were afoot.
Very serious, pre-game pep-talks on either side. For the ensuing weeks, backhanded comments and smug looks were shot across the courtyard as each team prepared for the game as best they saw fit until finally both teams assembled at Luxol Basketball court and prepared for the game on what was possibly the hottest evening of the year, to date.
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From the Courtyard
JOHN A MIZZI CUP 2017
Issue 117 August 2017
Basketball is played over four quarters or 10 mins each, with a break in between the second and third quarter. The game started out in favour of the unit where they racked up a fair number of points within the first quarter, leaving the rovers to wonder whether they were going to have to take back their bravado. By the next quarter though, we’d begun to match their score and by half time, the rovers were counting their chickens before they’d hatched. Basketball is a team game and while it took the lot of us to rack up points, it was blatantly clear to us all that, had it not been for the Maistre brothers, we’d have had a much harder game. With all said and done, the third and fourth quarters sailed by and the game ended with the unit having scored 19 points to the Crew’s 43. The game was fast-paced, if only to us novices, and according to one onlooker, rather less cordial than it should have been. Still, it was a very enjoyable game and a great event which allowed us to get to know the Ventures which will soon be joining us as Rovers.
From the Crew
Following the game, we all changed into something a little less...sweaty and made our way to The Melting Pot football club where it was burgers and pizzas all round!
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JOHN A MIZZI CUP 2017
Issue 117 August 2017
From the Crew
From the Courtyard
Cheerleaders’ Corner
Our photographer for the evening.
Emma Gauci Rover
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