SAC Scouts Newsletter

Issue Issue 9393 March March 2015 2015

From the Courtyard

sac scouts newsletter

From the Courtyard feature of the month

SCOUTS AND NATURE

What’s on April 26— Annual Parade

Scouting and nature have always been friends, we respect nature by taking care of it and it rewards us by surprising us with its beauty. Venture Leader Andre Brincat shares some tips on how to appreciate one of nature’s beauties; Birds.

Fresh out of the recent Spring Hunting Referendum, we have been subjected to an endless barrage of opinions and jokes about this issue. But where do the Scouts stand?

In Scouting we learn about the beauty of nature and about the importance to respect the living creatures around us. There is a very close connection between the soil, the plants, and all animal life, including people. Understanding this connection, and the impact we have upon it, is important to preserving the wilderness, as well as to our own well-being as members of the web of nature.

The best way for our young Cubs and Scouts to appreciate the birdlife of our Islands is Bird-watching. It's funny that many children know so much about the animals of the Savanna, but not the birds of their own land..

Where to start?

Birdwatching is conducted in the countryside, however some of the best bird-watching can be done in your own back garden. In most places, our feathered neighbours include many lively characters.

It's easy to learn the birds that live around you.

What do I need?

You'll need only two things to start watching birds, a pair of binoculars and a good reference book about the birds of Malta.

To get started, here’s a website with lots of good information about Malta’s Fauna: http://schoolnet.gov.mt/tanti/default.html Once you get set up, you can try taking some photos or keep a log book of what the birds do throughout the day and indeed throughout the year! Did you know that a robin chooses a garden and returns to it every winter?

A good way to attract more birds to your garden, and also to offer them some help with shelter and food is to build a nestbox or bird feeder. On the next page you will find some guidelines on how to build them. Give it a try!

From the Courtyard

SCOUTS AND NATURE

Issue 93 March 2015

Make a recycled bird feeder Make a bird feeder from plastic bottles you would throw away.

Stuff you need: Plastic drinks bottles, yoghurt pots or milk cartons (make sure they're clean), wire or string, bird seed, scissors.

Feature of the Month

Cut a hole in the side large enough to allow a free flow of seeds, but in such a way that it won’t all fall out on the ground in the slightest puff of wind, and won’t get wet if it rains.

Make a few small holes in the bottom of your feeder to allow any rainwater to drain away.

Hang it with wire, or even strong string from a tree or your washing line.

If your feeder starts to wear out or the food in it goes mouldy, recycle it and make another one! Remember to keep your feeders well stocked, especially in winter. Birds come to rely on them and will go hungry if you forget.

2

From the Courtyard

SCOUTS AND NATURE

Issue 93 March 2015

Make a nestbox If you’d like to help the birds in your garden, why not have a go at making your own nestbox?

Feature of the Month

Natural nest holes don't come in 'standard' sizes, so please use the following sizes as a guide. Use a plank of wood about 150 mm wide and 15 mm thick. Cut each section as per our plan.

The inside of the box must be at least 100 mm square and the bottom of the entrance hole must be at least 125 mm from the floor. If it is less, young birds might be scooped out by a cat.

Use galvanised nails or screws. The inside front surface should be rough - this will help the young birds to clamber up. A drainage hole in the base will also help to stop the box getting damp inside.

Hinge the lid with a strip of leather or rubber (an old piece of bicycle inner tube would do). Do not nail the lid down (because you will need to clean out the box in the autumn). Instead, use a catch to keep it closed.

The entrance hole size depends on the type of bird you want to attract, see what size the birds of your garden are. Make the hole slightly wider than them.

If you remove the top half of the front panel, the same type of box could attract robins too.

Softwood boxes (such as pine) can also be painted: apply paint only to the outside of the box, and not around the entrance hole. Whatever you use, make sure the box dries and airs thoroughly before putting it up.

Where to put your nestbox Boxes should be fixed two to five metres up a tree or wall, out of the reach of cats and curious humans!

Unless there are trees or buildings that give permanent shelter, it is best to face the box between north and east, to avoid strong sunlight and the wettest winds.

Tilt the box forward slightly so any driving rain will hit the roof and bounce clear.

House sparrows will readily use nestboxes if you put them near the ventilators of your house - and putting them there will often deter the birds from using the ventilators! Open-fronted boxes for robins need to be low down, well hidden in a bush, shrub or tree.

Fixing your nestbox with nails may damage trees. It is better to attach it with wire around the trunk or branch. Use a piece of hose or rubber around the wire to prevent damage to the tree. Two boxes of the same kind may both be occupied if they are at the edge of adjoining territories and if there is plenty of natural food, you can attract several species.

3

From the Courtyard

GSL’s note

Issue 93 March 2015

Easter Camp Easter Camp this year was held at Ghajn Tuffieha Campsite. Despite the dodgy weather which as usual provided for strong winds, rain and sunshine towards the end all members had a great time.

Around thirty scouts and thirty cubs attended camp and there were the usual leaders with them to ensure that all goes well. We also had a busy kitchen managed by Matthew Zarby and Luke Maistre (the hurricane in the kitchen) and QM functions were handled by Gabriel.

A great big thank you goes to all Troop and Pack leaders who ensured that every hour of the camp was planned and productive and members enjoyed every minute of it. The spirit of all members remained high throughout even though the weather was at times challenging. The Rover crew also provided service to the Camp in different ways and they also had their own camp between Thursday to Saturday. The venture unit was present at campfire as many members are currently studying for their O levels.

Campfire too seemed to be a resounding success. Around one hundred fifty parents and friends attended and they also enjoyed a well prepared bowl of warm beef stew before the campfire. All patrols and sixes

GSL’s note

contributed to the campfire and even the Rovers added to the humour by singing and putting up a good stunt of Wenzu u Rozi. We hope the memories and experiences for members will remain strong in the future.

Annual Parade The Annual Parade shall be held on April 26th. Those members that have a full and correct uniform only should attend the parade, whereas we ask those that do not have the uniform to come to Valletta anyway and cheer us on in St Georges Square.

Anzac Day -25th April A number of our Scouts will be taking part in the Anzac Day Commemorative Service at the military cemetery in Pieta. They shall be chosen in the coming days (it’s on Saturday 25th April around 10:00am) Activities In the next few weeks a good number of our members will be studying for their exams. To this end our programme will not be congested but weekly meetings will be held anyway.

Now that easter camp has passed we are already planning for Summer Camp. Dates are not yet confirmed but we’ll inform members once things are decided.

100 Years Anniversary We are going to establish a committee of leaders and former members and parents to help out with the planning and running of our 100 years anniversary next year. If there are any parents that are willing to help out please get in contact with our Section Leaders.

4

From the Courtyard

MINECRAFT CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

Time for another Easter camp for the SAC cubs, at the camp site in Ghajn Tuffieha. The theme of this camp was ‘Real-Life Minecraft camp ‘and it was held between the 29th – 31st March for the Pack. The theme for this camp came under a lot of discussion between the cub leaders as Minecraft is in fact a computer game that is very popular with children as well as adults. For those of you who haven’t a clue what it is, don’t worry, some of us did not either!

We spent a lot of discussing this as we did not want to give the boys the impression that we are comfortable with the amount of time some of today’s children spend in front of a screen, but we thought it would be a good idea to actually show the boys that all the stuff they do on the computer, specifically in this Minecraft game, can actually be done in real life, in the country and it can be fun. So all the games and activities planned had a Minecraft name but done real life and in the open.

From the Pack

So, on arrival, we all settled down in the barracks which is where we were going to sleep, and had a tour of the camp site and had the camp site rules explained by Akela.

Over the next 3 day we had a series of games, as well as craft sessions, which were very interesting. One was Time to Farm and the cubs actually planted some seeds in small pots and took then home with them at the end of the camp. This was preceded by a very lively discussion lead by Riki Tiki Tavi about farming and growing food and loads of other things that cropped up.

The other so called craft was Hot topic. Here Bagheera patiently had all the cubs making dough to make their own food – flat bread. All the other leaders pitched in to give a helping hand so that we had all the dough well kneaded. The cubs then proceeded to the kitchen in their sixes to give their dough to Luke, one of our camp chefs, to cook for them. What can I say, it all got devoured and we used the remaining dough they had made to make more flat bread for the evening meal and there was enough for all the cubs and scouts to enjoy.

A third craft was Local Brewery that involved small glass jars, chalk and salt. Chil explained what had to be done and at the end of it each cub had a glass container filled with layers of different coloured salt. Another souvenir to take home with them.

Other games included Time to Strike, Return to Sender, Bench Marking and Getting Wood that all involved outdoor games. Diamonds for you was a Minecraft Challenge with check

5

From the Courtyard

MINECRAFT CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

points that had the boys working in their sixes and moving from one check point to another solving puzzles or activities at each one.

We also had Delicious Food that was our cook out for the camp that took place a distance away from the camp site. We walked out to the area and the cubs started looking for wood – kindle and kindling to start off their fires. Unfortunately it was rather windy on the day so it took us a bit long to light our fires but eventually we were cooking our food and eating hotdogs.

From the Pack

After clearing the area we got back to the camp site to continue with our other activities.

Another great activity was Overpowered – a game of Laser Tag. After setting up the area with obstacles here and there, all the cubs enjoyed this tremendously and had one battle after another.

After lunch on the last day, the cubs had time to do their proficiency badge work – the badges this camp were Computer, Local Historian, Camper, Craftsman and Explorer. So each leader took a group and spent some time going through the requirements and seeing what the cubs had themselves prepared at home. This is the time when the cubs have the chance to present and explain to the others in their group what they have learned and prepared for the badge they would like to gain. It is always interesting to hear them talk and explain and gives them a chance to get up and speak in front of a small group of their friends and a leader.

On Sunday we organised mass for the cubs and scouts at the camp site and also invited our camping neighbours to join in.

On the last day the cubs had to pack up all their belongings, ready to be collected by the parents in the evening. Later that day we had Getting an Upgrade, one of the last activities that had the cubs running around the whole campsite looking for Easter eggs.

Each six pooled in all the easter eggs found by all the members and then they all enjoyed eating them.

6

From the Courtyard

MINECRAFT CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

Of course for almost all the activities and games points were given to the winning six. These points were counted at the end of camp after the Grand Howl and the Camp Shield was presented to the winning six, the Grey Six.

From the Pack

This was followed by our campfire which had us all enjoying a delicious stew and then being entertained by all the scouts and cubs present.

7

Thanks go to all the cub leaders, Zarby and Luke in the kitchen, general camp staff and QMs as well as the Camp Chief for another great camp!

Written by Chil – Jackie Maistre Melillo

From the Courtyard

iScout 2015

Issue 93 March 2015

Ilaria Zammit tells us about an unusual activity for our Rover crew iScout 2015 was a fun and mind boggling evening of crazy challenges!

From the Crew

The anticipation grew as none of us knew what to expect in the iScout Treasure Hunt. This was not an ordinary treasure hunt as it was online. I, myself, must admit that I’m still not sure I understood the way the game worked. All that was clear was that we knew we had to compete with rover scout groups all over the world, but we did not know what was going to be asked from us. HQ was our meeting point at 5pm, and the plan was that Luke was going to practice his chef skills and cook us a plate of pasta before we set off to attempt winning the treasure hunt. Pierre, Andre, Emanuel, Meli, Simon, Joanna, Luke, Liam, Luca, Andrew, Albert, Edward and myself helped prepare the cub room, laptops and computers and a projector to make sure we were ready. A total of 8 laptops and computers were set up and we all settled inside the cub room. At 6pm, we were able to start exploring round the website, with our first task assigned to us – a group photo. We set ourselves up next to Cubbie, with our group flags and big smiles on our faces.

8

From the Crew

From the Courtyard

iScout 2015

Issue 93 March 2015

At 7pm, the treasure hunt started – which was also the time our pasta Bolognese was finally ready. We ate from mess-tins, scout style, whilst looking at the lists of tasks we had to do. I felt like I was in a scene from a movie whilst the group was delegating the tasks and the action plan for the evening. Picture this – a group of people round a table, one reading the tasks, one opening any links provided, one writing everything on a white board while the rest of us were munching away devouring the delicious food. As Andre had stated, it had to be us, the St Aloysius Rover Crew to be eating just when the activity started. It took us 30 minutes to go through the 30 tasks assigned, planning who would be doing what and where. We automatically teamed up, and went to our first destinations to start these tasks. From what I understood, following these tasks we would be assigned points which would allow us to answer track questions, which were difficult (to say the least) questions which would provide an answer of a location around the world.

Various tasks were asked from us – such as creating a painting of a game console around a window; reenacting the Wing Mil (a new fad to be expected of 2015); creating a floating bed in a pool; recreating a picture of the famous painting of the Milkmaid including a technological object; taking a photo of Indiana Jones in a cave with paintings, a whip and a lantern; a meter high of foam in a shower; using a glue gun to apply ketchup and mayonnaise on a burger; square doughnuts which Zarbi kindly offered to do for us; a threatening letter which read ‘To our Dutch friends, make us win or pain and grief will befall your hamster’; a board with scouting knots using wires of technology such as phone chargers and ear phones; and many more. We then had to hand in photos of videos of the respective tasks, which would give us the points. One of the funniest moments I can look back on was having to play a game of bingo. During the game, they asked us to take a photo of the bingo game with an apple so I whipped out my iPhone which would represent the apple, and took the photo. The judges said this was not really an apple, but Lewis quickly retaliated by saying that it is an apple and that it was being creative whilst thinking out of the box, hence Scouting.

They quickly replied by saying it was a fair argument and accepted the task. Lewis, Meli and a couple of others worked on the track questions, which were quite a piece of work to do.

9

From the Crew

From the Courtyard

10

iScout 2015

Issue 93 March 2015

As we slowly gathered back to HQ we started sharing stories of our experience during this event. We did say that if we were a bigger team, this would have worked out easier and better, so we now know what to do for next year. At 11pm, time was up, and we cleared the room to kill time as at midnight the results would be launched. We know we were competing wit 253 teams around the world, but there were also other Maltese teams that participated, including Malta Knights (HQ), Zurrieq Rovers and the Rover Crew from St Julian’s. We waited with anticipation as the results were finally launched. The St Aloysuis Rovers Crew played 173rd from the 253 teams, but we did place first from all the Maltese teams participating, which was the achievement we wanted the most. At the end of the day, we had had a blast and a really great time. To say the least, I was amazed and happy with the way we worked as a team, as we had no arguments and knew exactly what to do with our respective teams. This event was definitely a hit, and I would surely participate again next year.

Metre high of foam in a shower.

Liam Curmi de Gray gives his feedback on the matter. His task was to download 7 toolbars on his internet explorer, and take a photo with the iScout logo on the screen with these 7 toolbars.

“Thus the activity started, whilst everyone was eating spaghetti from their messtins and we were reading each and every activity one by one and assigning people to do them. I skimmed through the questions ahead until one of them caught my eye. One of the tasks was called ‘Internet Explorer’ and it peaked my interest. I opened to see what the tasks was about and it looked very simple to do but I knew this was going be an agonizing and dreadful one.

The task said “Download 7 different toolbars on Internet Explorer, the space you have left should display the banner and take an actual picture of the browser page (not a screenshot)”. Very simple to do but I knew this was going take a while. I had to use Internet Explorer (which is already slow...), download from the web browser (The Humanity.....) and update the browser with the new toolbar (Oh GOD....). To top it off even worse because I was pressured with time, sometimes I would have thought that I downloaded a toolbar and it turns out to be an application making my laptop even slower and exposing myself to more and more viruses. After an hour of patience and maintaining mental stability, I finally rejoiced that I had finished and uploaded my picture. I have sacrificed many things for scouts but it never crossed my mind that I would also have to sacrifice my laptop in order to win for the group.”

From the Courtyard

iScout 2015

Issue 93 March 2015

Joanna Camilleri Ellul worked on the floating bed “One of the first tasks we were presented with was to recreate a romantic scene where two lovers wake up on the shore of a lake, but in reality we had to float a bed on water. I remembered that at home I had a folding boat available, apart from access to a pool. We set up the boat, put cushions in it and a red throwover to make it look romantic and floated it in the pool. Eventually Luke got inside and realised that the boat was actually leaking, so I quickly got in and someone else took photos. Eventually we got out, slightly wet, only to realise that we had forgotten to include the iScout logo in our photo. We set up the boat once again and floated it once again. This time we had a problem keeping the boat open and it was taking in water at a faster rate, so we had a real laugh trying to look romantic while knowing that our boat was sinking. However we managed and our photo was excepted.”

Andre Brincat took part in the track questions ”Who the hell came up with these questions? Saying they were difficult is a real understatement as not even our brainiest ensemble could figure out what they meant!! Each question had to do with a geographical location. Some of the initial questions were quite straightforward and had us googling stuff like the highest mountain in Canada or the future location of a monument in Norway (or was it Denmark?) but then it stared getting difficult and annoying. ‘ Find the location of the servers of the fourth most popular search engine in China’. Do the Chinese even know that?!?! Or ‘Which North Korean mountain used for bomb tests has a number 5 painted on it?’ It’s North Korea!! Who cares!!!

As tough as they came though, we had a great time feeling all CSI and hacking at our keyboards in this race against time and patience.

11

From the Courtyard

ROVER CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

As a general rule, all rover crews aim to give back to the group and their community, which means that during our bi-annual camps, the SAC Rover crew are usually the camp’s service team.

This year was to be no different, however thanks to some well timed collective enlightenment, your favourite Rover crew figured out that they could pull together three days of absolute camping bliss at the end of the group camp. This would serve as a rare opportunity to spend time together with our own camp programme – by which I mean doing exactly the opposite of what is expected of us as a service team.

Thursday 2nd April 2015 While Thursday signalled the end of camp for scouts and their respective leaders, Rovers woke up looking forward to the start of their camp. Camp cook Luke kept himself busy in the kitchen while the rest of the available crew spent the majority of the day helping to strike camp and pack all the group’s equipment into two trucks to be taken back to HQ. Once this was done, and the crew was left only with the equipment which we could fit into our cars (and ‘some’ leftover food) it was time to begin redecorating the empty campsite to better suit our needs – one medium sized gazebo, some mesh flaps to protect our delicate complexions and constitutions from the sun, one cable drum table and a BBQ setup.

With this done, it was time to begin thinking about supper, which necessarily included getting way to excited about an irrationally large fire before realising that anything cooked on said inferno would have been charred to a crisp. Supper was eventually cooked and served but it was a long time before any of us considered abandoning the warmth of the fire to get to bed – that is, until RCC Pierre graciously informed that reveille would be at 08:30 for flag up.

Friday 3rd April 2015 The first official event of Friday was flag up, however considering the effort it took to get most of us to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags, I think RCC’s heroic efforts to wake us up deserve a special mention.

Once awake, we hoisted our flags to half mast as is fitting for Good Friday and set about consolidating our plans for the day. Prior to the camp, the crew had been given a short hike by Venture Leader Andre’ however we were still undecided whether this should have been a morning hike or a night hike. We eventually compromised and settled for a starting time of 13:00. Until that time, we spent our morning discussing current issues, topics of interest and future rover activities. Come 13:00, we gathered around our round table to begin marking our checkpoints.

12

From the Courtyard

ROVER CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

Planning at the Rover Round Table.

The hike took us from Għajn Tuffiegħa campsite to Ras il-Waħx and then along the cliffs to Żnuber tower.

This section of the hike was a little more time consuming than necessary but also much more rewarding as the majority of the crew decided to ditch the pathway and follow a set of stairs down the cliff face with the intention of resurfacing at some point further away.

For the remaining rovers who stuck to the path, it looked a lot like we were about to loose sight of the rest of our core members forever. Some time later, after descending a set of stairs straight out of The Hobbit, we caught sight of them again, exhibiting an excellent display of teamwork in lifting Crew Mascot Nina over difficult-to-negotiate crags and crevasses.

Rover Crew front to back: Pierre, Emma, Luke, George and Gabe Liam, Albert, Matthew Andrew and Simon. Not pictured, our four-legged mascot, Nina.

13

From the Courtyard

ROVER CAMP

Issue 93 March 2015

Eventually joint surveillance reunited the entire crew and after a quick sandwich and water break under Żnuber tower, we carried on towards Miżieb pumping station, through Miżieb and Manikata church. Having competed the hike at an enjoyably relaxed pace, we headed back down the hill back towards the campsite by 17:00. A cup (read kettle) full of tea was in order, promptly followed by a nap. Flagdown was at 19:30 after which we all occupied ourselves building a fire and preparing supper before dropping off to sleep.

Saturday 4th April 2015 Saturday started with flag up at 09:15. The last day at camp consisted mainly of a hearty English Breakfast, ensuring we left the campsite and ablution blocks immaculately clean and then striking camp. Flag down was at 13:30 after which we all packed up and headed back to HQ to unload group equipment.

Content rover crew – and Luke (not pictured)

While the Crew’s camp was only two and a half days long, it was highly enjoyable and has definitely inspired more of the same in the future!

Emma Gauci

14