Scouting Around - Issue 31 - May/June 2019

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SCOUTING

AROUND Issue 31 - May/June 2019

SCOUTS TT HOSTS FIRST NATIONAL BAND CAMP

Borne out of the interest of some groups to start their own bands, as well as the recognition of a need to improve the overall quality of our existing bands, ScoutsTT, in collaboration with the San Fernando Scout District hosted its first ever National Band Camp from April 8th-13th, 2019. The six-day camp, held at Naparima Boys’ College aimed to improve the performance capabilities of each marching band by training persons to play brass wind instruments and to improve the general musicianship of the their drum corps.

Similar Band Major trainings and band camps had already been running in the San Fernando District by Mr. Jeron Romilly of the 1st Notre Dame Sea Scouts, making it easier to expand to a National event, available to all Scouts.

and brass/woodwind. Everyone, however, became more efficient and effective with foot drills and marching while playing with instruments, which together with excellent musicianship was one of the prime goals of this young but blooming project.

Mr. Romilly was appointed as Camp Director and joined by newly appointed, Deputy National Scout Commissioner for Programme, Mark John, along with Assistant District Commissioner, Jorrel Bisnath, and Scout Leader, Isaac Thomas (Camp Chief) to form the core team that would plan and execute the event.

In addition, all participants earned their Musician Stage 1 badge on completion of the Band Camp.

Marching band in training

For six hours a day over the course of five days, the 62 young people registered underwent intense training in technical skills for wind instruments, basic foot drills, drum major basics and repertoire building. At the end of the camp, 55% of the participants went from not being able to play a note on a brass or woodwind instrument or play a drum cadence to having learnt these basic skills.

Horns up!

The rigorous Band Camp culminated in a Band Display at C3 Centre on the evening of Friday 12th and a short street parade on Saturday 13th. Having learned some new skills and songs, the budding musicians were eager to showcase what they learned over the 5 days, playing two of the five new pieces at these events.

Few beginners even moved up to join the 45% of intermediates on both percussion

Performance time at C3

With the success of this first Band Camp, even those who didn’t get to participate are looking forward to the next opportunity to learn and develop their music skills. Hopefully this program continues to grow and develop our young musicians into skilled performers in and of exciting Scout Bands.


FIRST NATIONAL OBSTACLE COURSE PROVES NO OBSTACLE TO CUB SCOUTS They came from North and South and East and West To put themselves through the Athletics test. They ran, they jumped, they climbed, they crawled, A wonderful time was had by one and all.

The First National Cubs Obstacle Course was held at Pax Vale II on March 9, 2019. Activities included a 25m flat race, skipping, rolling a tractor tyre, throwing a metal rod, crawling under nets army style and traversing an elevated rope walkway.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and Pax Vale echoed with shouts of laughter, grunts of exertion, and resounding cheers of Cubs excitedly encouraging their comrades. The Athletics Badge was awarded to Cubs who successfully completed the activities. Cubs in Silver Arrow were also able to have some items in the Bagheera Challenge signed off. Medals were awarded to all participants. Even the Leaders did not escape the fun they were roped into two teams to take part in the same activities as the Cubs. Kudos to Janet Elcock who out ran, out jumped and out crawled quite a few of her younger counterparts.

Through the obstacle course we go!

The Zumba style warm went down extremely well. Due to the limited space at Pax Vale II only 187 Cubs could be accommodated and registration spaces were quickly taken. It is envisioned that

Ready, aim, throw!

next year’s event(s) will be bigger and better and will certainly take place in a much larger venue. The success of the First National Cubs Obstacle Course convincingly demonstrates the need for more activities that may be difficult for Groups to carry out on their own. Congratulations to the organisers for another successful Cubs event. On to bigger and better in 2020!

John becomes Deputy National Scout Commissioner Cub Scout and moved through the Scout and Venture Scout sections, eventually becoming an adult volunteer as an Assistant Cub Scout Leader at 3rd Trinidad Sea Scout Group in 1999. He continued to serve the group in the Cub and Scout sections for several years.

At a meeting held on February 20th, 2019, the National Executive Committee approved the recommendation of the National Scout Commissioner to appoint Mr. Mark Ainsley John as a Deputy National Scout Commissioner for a term of three years commencing March 1st, 2019. Mark has been an active member of the Scout Movement for the last thirty-two years. He joined the movement in 1986 as a

Mark was the first Youth Representative on the National Executive in 2000 and has served in many leadership roles over the years, including ADC (Cubs) for San Fernando District, Youth Training Programme Coordinator and most recently as Headquarters Commissioner (Scouts). He has played an instrumental role in the development of the revised Youth Programme as well as the redevelopment and reinvigoration of programs such as JOTA/JOTI.

Mark is a Gilwellian and has been a member of the Training Team since 2004 having successfully completed several theoretical and practical courses held by the Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the Interamerican Scout Region. Professionally, Mark is a Secondary School Teacher and holds both B.A. History and B.Ed. degrees. He recently completed a Certificate in Nongovernmental Organizational Management and is currently pursuing an MPhil History from The University of the West Indies. In this role, Mark will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and overseeing the strategic development of the youth programme with the outcome of increasing the number of young people involved in Scouting.


ScoutsTT Become Water Warriors In September 2017, ScoutsTT announced an exciting partnership with WASA’s Adopt A River Programme aimed at improving the health of rivers and watersheds in Trinidad and Tobago.

The partnership fulfilled both the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources’ mandate to protect and preserve the environment as well as ScoutsTT’s commitment to the maintaining and sustaining the environment for our use and enjoyment.

session. To accommodate members who were delayed owing to the inclement weather, the training course began an hour later. There was a seamless transition between topics which were explained as thoroughly as possible. This was to facilitate the younger Scout members, as the class comprised learners of varying ages. The exploration of parameters used in water techniques of water quality monitoring. This training was greatly facilitated by Mr. Darren Narcis, District Commissioner, who had committed his support to the objectives of the program and also going beyond his function in also providing assistance in the execution of larger infrastructural projects. Lunch for the day was sponsored by El Pecos Diego Martin.

Since its launch, the Adopt A River team has engaged with our Scout groups in various districts to train them in effectively monitoring our rivers and watersheds.

quality testing and an introduction to the AARP’s mobile app comprised the afternoon session. This was preceded by a presentation, which entailed the handing over of a La Motte testing kit to the Scouts group, and a brief discussion with Mr. Welch on the way forward.

Tobago Water Warriors Training Thirteen Scout leaders and members situated in Tobago had the opportunity to engage in a Water Warriors training session which was facilitated easily by Mr. Patrick Welch, District Commissioner for Tobago West. Coinciding with other Scout activities on Saturday 20th October, 2018, Adopt A River representatives arrived at the Goodwood High School at 9:20 a.m. to facilitate the Water Warriors training

Chaguanas Water Warriors Training On Sunday 10th February 2019 we held our water warrior training programme for the members of the central Scouts at the Chaguanas Indoor Conference Centre. There were approximately twenty-six (26) scout’s including the scout leaders, which represented different scout groups in the central region. The event took the form of a one day training that summarised the topics of water, watershed management and the

South Water Warriors Training – Training the Trainers On Sunday 15th April 2018, the Adopt A River team visited the Sons of the Pioneers Headquarters under the esteemed host of Mr. Anand Rameshwar-Singh, who gathered leaders from the southern region of Trinidad for this train-the-trainers session. Scout groups represented included Cedros, South Oropouche, Moruga with the majority of participants leaders coming from the South Oropouche area. The one-day training session included an introduction to watershed management, consultation with leaders regarding possible projects in their respective areas and the demonstration of water quality monitoring techniques using the La Motte testing kit. There were on average 35 persons in attendance.

ScoutsTT will be represented at two major international Scouting events in July: 1. The 15th Caribbean Cuboree - Jamaica: July 30-August 5, 2019. • Youth - 112, Adults - 44 • Contingent Leader - Prematie Seejattan • Deputy Contingent Leader - Janet Elcock

Scouting Around the World

2. The 24th World Scout Jamboree - North America - 22 July-August 2, 2019 • Youth - 65, Adults - 16 • Contingent Leader - Richard Robinson • Deputy Contingent Leader - Gavin Chin Lee


The emphasis on community involvement THE NEW highlights: shared values and principles of SCOUT METHOD • The Scouting. The application of The Scout

8: Community Involvement

Community Involvement: Active exploration and commitment to communities and the wider world, fostering greater appreciation and understanding between people.

The term “community” refers to a social unit whose members have something in common. A Scout’s community includes those within Scouting (e.g. Unit, District, County/Region/State) or outside Scouting (e.g. family, school and nation), and it could be local or international in nature.

how it could benefit the community. When a Scout learns to tie a new knot like the bowline, it should be linked on how it could be applied to saving a life. Even when a Scout experiences a learning opportunity that may appear only to benefit oneself (e.g. a sports activity), one should also reflect how such a learning opportunity could benefit the community (e.g. a fit and healthy Scout would be well-placed to serve the community better).

Method happens mostly within the local community context, it becomes an important vehicle for increasing one’s awareness on global challenges and initiatives, for joining global action, and for assimilating/ developing global shared values. • The influence of the community and societies where Scouts come from in their personal development process. Activities and the cycle of action and reflection enables young people to develop a deeper understanding of themselves while having a meaningful contribution to the overall objectives of the community they live in.

Community involvement promotes greater cohesion and rallies each member of the community towards a common purpose of transforming their communities for the better. It exposes more people to the values and purpose of Scouting and rallies them to support the cause of Scouting. Creating a better world is a journey which Scouts cannot take on their own while leaving the community behind. It should be a collective effort regardless of the size of the learning opportunity Scouts engage in. Service should not just be seen as doing things for others but through involvement, it will definitely entail doing things with others. The element of community involvement is about helping Scouts to create a better world. The focus is on active citizenship and responsibility of each Scout to know the role they can play in the community.

Community engagement equally allows Scouts to experience and work with people from different diversities. Therefore, working with and within the community enables Scouts to increase their intercultural understanding, appreciate intergenerational issues that come into play, and get more involved in the community in other scopes of their lives. Every learning opportunity the Scout undertakes should therefore be linked to

New Leader Certification (NLC) Training Schedule Code NLC 01: B-D NLC 01: A NLC 04

Title Leader Specific Training: Section Leader Leader Specific Training: Group Leader Leadership Skills for Scouters

Date 01/06/2019

NLC 02

Coaching and Mentoring Youth Activity Planning

06/07/2019

07/09/2019

NLC 08

Leave No Trace: Environmental Protection Basic Outdoor Skills

NLC 03

Shared Learning

NLC 10 NLC 06

01/06/2019 15/06/2019

07/09/2019

04/10/2019 06/10/2019 02/11/2019

Location PSL Building, Couva 9am - 12 noon PSL Building, Couva 12 noon - 3pm PSL Building, Couva 9am - 3pm PSL Building, Couva 9am - 3pm PSL Building, Couva 9am - 12 noon PSL Building, Couva 12 noon - 3pm Paxvale II, Santa Cruz PSL Building, Couva 9am - 12 noon

Pre-reqs. -

Cost $50.00

Contact Hours 3 hrs (1/2 day)

-

$50.00

3 hrs (1/2 day)

NLC 07

$50.00

6 hrs (1 day)

NLC 07

$50.00

6 hrs (1 day)

NLC 01, 07

$50.00

3 hrs (1/2 day)

-

$50.00

2 hrs (1/2 day)

NLC 01, 05, 06, 07

$300.00

NLC 01, 02, 04 - 10

Nil

20 hrs (2 days & 2 nights) 3 hrs (1/2 day)


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