GOING FOR GOLD IN 2009
s cout Leade0r9 S r fo e in z a The mag February/March 20
Go global
Travel the world in your meeting place
Sticky business
Have a pop at pop lacrosse
G N I H T E DO SOMR MONEY O F y 09 a D Y e s o N N d e FUNs pull out the stops for R Scout
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Your Scout Support Team Alasdair McBay – UK Adviser (Scout Section), Ed Wilson – Programme & Development Adviser Contact them at: scout@scout.org.uk Scout Support Team The Scout Association, Gilwell Park, Chingford, London E4 7QW; Tel. 0845 300 1818 Advertising Tom Fountain tom@thinkpublishing.co.uk Tel: 020 8962 1258
Be prepared Now’s the time to start planning the year’s diary, says Alasdair McBay. And make sure that the Outdoor and Adventure Programme Zone remains the backbone of your Troop’s programme
The Gold File NAME: JACK AGE: 14 YEARS OLD GROUP: 1ST OVER ST JOHNS, WINSFORD. My best bit of work towards my Chief Scout’s Gold Award was hiking to camp and staying overnight with three others to achieve our Expedition Challenge. We made stew to cook over an open fire, and I took my guitar so we could have a song round the campfire. Our youth websites are changing In March, our youth sites will be retired in their current form. In the meantime, consultation with volunteers, parents and of course young people is taking place to determine the best sort of provision. If you have thoughts and ideas on this subject, we would be grateful to hear them at web. team@scout.org.uk Basic badge requirements and programme descriptions will still be available at www.scouts.org.uk/scouts
So the Christmas decorations are packed away and you’ve already broken some of your new year’s resolutions. But there’s still time for a fresh start! What should be on the Troop checklist to make your 2009 outdoor activities extra special?
Going for Gold Here are some simple goals to aim for. • Aim to get everyone in the Troop through the Outdoor Challenge • Aim to get half the Troop through the Outdoor Plus Challenge • Aim to provide the opportunities for three adventurous activities so that Scouts have the chance to gain the Adventure Challenge this year • Aim to provide at least one expedition opportunity for the Troop. By forward planning now, your Scouts will have the best chance to achieve their Chief Scout’s Gold Award. They’ll also be taking part in a memorable and high quality Balanced Programme.
Stick to the plan! But once you’ve planned your programme and got the Scouts on board – make sure it happens! Remember to get parents involved (take a look at www.scouts. org.uk/thebigadventure for a great way for them to take part in your camps and other outdoor activities). They will appreciate your organisation and commitment to make their child’s time in the Troop fun and adventurous. And speaking of fun, remember it’s not too late to organise a fundraising activity for Red Nose Day 2009. See page 8 for links to four great ideas just for Scouts.
Contents 4 Back to school A unique idea to help your Scouts brush up on their skills
6 Sticky business Organise a game of pop lacrosse for your Troop
7 Programmes on a plate This issue’s theme is parents and the family
10 Timing is everything The easy way to tackle Beliefs and Attitudes
12 Meeting sparklers A tangled up tug of war and some soapy cereal
14 Make a landflyer An exclusive programme idea from the new Scout Handbook
16 The world where you live Taking on the Global Programme Zone without a passport
18 Dangers at camp How well do your Scouts know their camp safety?
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l o o h c s o t k c a B re ling (Beechwood) Scout Troop we When a lack of time meant 7th Stir der Lea p, indefatigable Group Scout unable to go away on summer cam lliant idea – a Scout school with David Mitchell came up with a bri drew Corrie reports Scouting skills on the timetable. An
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cout School ran for three days, one week during the summer holidays. Pioneering, survival skills, backwoods and bushcraft activities, rather than the three Rs were on the curriculum with the aim of improving young people’s basic skills sets. Numbers were kept below 12 to ensure a good ratio of leaders to Scouts. ‘I have always promoted traditional Scouting skills,’ says David ‘and the kids seem to love it too. It must be the Ray Mears effect! These types of skills have been passed on to our leaders who pass them on to the young people.’ After several leader-only events to bring their skills up to scratch, the school was almost ready to open. The timetable was based around activity badges and Challenges. The leadership team worked out, in advance, how the programme would enable the Scouts to sign off 4
as many of the elements of the awards as possible, maximising badge earning potential.
Tools and methods Although the team used videoclips, and DVDs to help with the theoretical parts of the programme, the approach was otherwise very hands on, with plenty of learning by doing. ‘We ran Scout School as we felt bad about not being able to take the Scouts to summer camp.’ David expands. ‘Work and family prevented this, but we worked out that we could manage three days and a weekend if each of us took the odd day off work and spent time working up the programme. We did it the last week of the school holidays when they were all very bored!’ Not only did Scout School help the adults get to know the young people better, it was also a big hit with the
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Scouts themselves. ‘The Scouts loved it,’ says David. ‘They made a video diary and all the Scouts talk about the school as a highlight of the year.’ So much for the theory – what about the practice? By the end, all those who attended could light a fire with flint and steel, using a fire piston fungi and the sun. They also had a backwoods day, combining camp craft with pyrography and woggle making, and a pioneering day. The following weekend some Scouts did the full outdoor survival experience at their local campsite – Barrwood. Equipped with a box full of food and a firesteel and axe, the Scouts spent the night outside – in the rain!
Graduation Each Scout (and leader) who completed the ‘wilderness’ night was presented with a special metal woggle - now something of a badge of honour in the Troop. ‘This year is our centenary,’ says David ‘and we will be going to Wings 2009 for summer camp, but we still plan to do Scout School.’
SAMPLE PROGRAMME
Over to you Why not run a Scout school of your own in addition to your summer camp. For information and advice contact David Mitchell at lesleyanddavid@mac.com There are also more details on the Group’s site at www.7thscouts.com If you have an idea to support the Troop – whether it’s tried and tested, tried and failed, or not yet tried but sounds like a good idea, let me know and we’ll share it in the supplement.
12 - 3.30pm
Day one: Backwoods skills 9am
Tea and introduction
9.15 - 9.30am
Hygiene
9.30 - 9.45am
What is backwoods? Fire types
9.45 - 10.15am
Wood and burning properties
10.15 - 11am
Axe and saw
11 - 11.45am
Fires and ovens
3.30 - 4pm
Cooking: Smoking fish Roasting meat Newspaper fish Kebabs Nettle tea Bannocks Choc ban Egg in an orange Stewed apple Twists Clean up
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Sticky business
est team sports Lacrosse is said to be one of the old your Scouts had a in the world, so isn’t it time you and lacrosse, the perfect go? Andrew Corrie introduces pop game introduction to this breathtaking
P
op lacrosse is an exciting, fast, free-flowing game which is the flexible alternative to traditional field lacrosse. It can be played in any area by players of every age and ability including those with disability. Pop lacrosse is the ideal introduction to the sport, incorporating the basic skills and strategies of the field game but using a more flexible rules structure which can be adapted to suit the players, equipment and area of play available. Easy to learn and teach, pop lacrosse offers a challenging, enjoyable experience which benefits health and co-ordination, helps
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people to work with others in a skilled situation and is, quite simply, a lot of fun!
The aim This is to score more goals than the opposition by propelling the ball from stick to stick whilst on the move down the field of play and shooting into the goal.
Equipment Stick – Any lacrosse stick may be used Ball – A standard lacrosse ball (or for beginners, the
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specially designed soft ball) Goals – Pop lacrosse goal rings or improvised rings such as hoops, buckets, chairs, and so on. Allow for room to play behind the goal.
Playing area • Indoors/outdoors on any surface • Use easily identifiable boundaries • Mark centre point and designate goal area of approx. 5m radius around goal.
Players The game is suitable for mixed groups and all ages. Guide to number of players: Five-a-side would be suitable for an area the size of a netball court.
Basic rules of play 1. Teams alternate taking centre pass at the start of game and after each goal, with the opposition 3m away. 2. On the whistle the ball is ‘dead’ and players must stand unless moved by the umpire. 3. When the ball goes out of bounds, the nearest player brings it back into play. If indoors, use the walls to take the ball on the rebound. 4. Ground the ball. The nearest player then picks it up with their stick and continues play.
Fouls 1. No stick contact. 2. No body contact. 3. No ball on body. 4. No dangerous throwing, shooting, or follow-through with stick. 5. No trapping of ball. 6. Ball carrier to release ball within four seconds. 7. Defending players must mark an opponent rather than the space in front of goal. PENALTY: Free position to other team with the opposition 3m away. No penalty to be taken inside the goal area. In case of simultaneous fouling or no player clearly nearer an out of bounds ball – take a throw by placing two players on the boundary 1m apart and throwing the ball up and out to them.
more info See www.englishlacrosse.co.uk for more.
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Red Nose Day ideas from Programmes Online
Ref
Activity name
12758
The Big Outdoors
12787
The Big Eat
12788
The Big Create
13332
Reflect Activities
Activity
Time
Flag break
5 mins
Surname match
10 mins
Co Ga
30-60 mins
Cre Ex Vis visi
10 mins
Co Ga
30-60 mins
Co Vis visi
60 mins
Fit Ga
Show and tell
This issue’s theme is parents and r the family, written by Tony Taylo
POP
Relations
Family trees
Programmes on a plate
Generations Game
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Scouts February/March 2009
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Zon
Zone/Method
Instructions When a new Scout joins the Troop, find out about their parents or family circumstances. It is useful to know what skills they can offer through their work or hobbies.
Community Games
Find the meaning of 20 different surnames, including some from the members of your Troop. Print out the surname and its meaning separately on a piece of paper. Number the surnames and give the meaning a letter. Display them round the hall. The Scouts must then try to correctly match the surname and meaning. The website www.surnames.com will help.
Creative Expression Visits and visitors
Encourage two or three Scouts’ parents to come along to a meeting and demonstrate a skill or hobby that may interest the young people. Divide the Troop into smaller groups to work with a parent and get hands-on experience of whatever is on offer. Suitable activities might include greetings card making, calligraphy, home baking, model making, tabletop photography, woodworking or growing indoor plants.
Community Games
Hold a quiz for individuals or between Patrols. Ask questions about relations such as: what do you call your mother’s sister (aunt), what relations will my Uncle George and Aunt Elizabeth share (father and mother) or my grandfather’s son is not my father so who is he (my uncle)?
Community Visits and visitors
Invite a genealogist along to your meeting to show how to explore a family tree. Websites like Ancestry require a registration fee, but also offer a 14-day free trial. They can also show what information can be learned from birth, marriage and death certificates. If you have access to a computer suite, you could get the Scouts to try researching their own family tree. They will need to know the names and birth dates of their parents and grandparents to get started.
Fit for life Games
To start this games evening you will need eight teams, each one comprising a Scout and a parent or guardian. It is designed on a knock out basis. For the first round pairs of teams compete against each other to complete a task lasting about five minutes. The four winning teams then compete in pairs to reach a final. A panel of Scouts and a leader who are not competing decides the winners of each activity. The first round might be based on Scouting skills that have already been taught to the young people. This might be putting three poles together in a triangle with lashings, mixing and cooking pancakes, immobilising a patient with a suspected broken leg using triangular bandages or passing a message across the hall using sign language. In the second round you might get the Scout guiding their blindfolded partner round an obstacle course from one end of the hall or taking part in a game of blow football using drinking straws and a table tennis ball or small balloon. Two games could be used in the final, such as building a stand-alone flagpole with canes and rubber bands and knocking footballs off empty drinks bottles using tennis balls rolled along the ground. This activity could be a good method of getting parents to come to an annual general meeting!
For more great ideas visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol scouts.org.uk/pol
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Timing is everything We are often asked about Beliefs and Attitudes and the best way to tackle this Programme Zone. Letting Scouts discover things for themselves can be the best approach, suggests Ed Wilson
I
n conversations I’ve had with leaders, I find they like to cover this zone and the Scouts like exploring it but it is never quite the right moment to bring it up! Of course we, as leaders, will often run Beliefs and Attitudes activities that will involve either visiting a place of worship or somebody coming in to talk to the Scouts about another community. This is a brilliant way of getting Scouts to understand the world around them and to see that in the UK our society is made up of people from different religious backgrounds and from other nations. However, the Beliefs and Attitudes Zone is as much about Scouts exploring their own beliefs and attitudes as it is about exploring somebody else’s.
The campfire yarn I remember, a Scout Leader telling me about a camp. They liked to sit around the fire and just go into the songs and sketches. On the last evening of the camp everybody stopped after a while and he talked to them about Scouting around the world and why it was so important. He said that he hadn’t planned it and yet two or three Scouts had come up to him after and said that they had really appreciated the story and that it had made them really think about what it is to be a Scout. However, the year after on the last night of a camp to Jersey he tried to do a similar thing but it had been somewhat premeditated and not really worked. Again this highlights the idea that you have to seize the moment.
Walk and talk Next time you are on camp why not come up with a list of questions for the Scouts to discuss? On a day hike ask a question about how they feel about a certain issue. This of course doesn’t have to be highly philosophical questions about our fundamental human rights! Just talk about, for example, why they should be allowed to go and play football on the local green. As Scouts we often talk about being prepared. This is a perfect example when you could have a few varied topics to discuss up your sleeve and maybe a story or two to help the Scouts discover their own beliefs and attitudes.
10 Scouts February/March 2009
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e l k r a p s g n i Meet ed h a twist and a submerged Shredd A Scout called caviar, tug of war wit dle to yet more Meeting Sparklers Wheat. Andrew Corrie puts the can to brighten up your meetings
Book and string Tie a length of string around a heavy book, making sure the book is in the middle of the string. Now challenge someone to pull on both ends of the string and lift the book up until the two halves of the string form a straight horizontal line, not a v-shape. Try as hard as you like, it’s impossible!
Tug-of-war Tug-of-war is always a great game, but here’s a slightly different version. Divide into two teams with a rope, as usual, but then ask the Scouts to tie their right foot to their left foot. It makes the game a lot harder to play. Be careful not to get friction burns off the rope.
Roundabout Everyone stands in a circle and joins hands – except one person, who stands outside the circle. That person is the caller. The caller calls out the name of one of the people in the circle, and has to run to touch the named person. The circle has to spin round to stop the caller reaching the victim. It can rotate to the left or right. Hands must stay joined. Try it – you have to run a lot faster than you think!
Beef pudding This is a good way of choosing who is going to be ‘it’ in a game. One person closes their eyes. Then someone else gives everyone standing round the name of a food, such as beef, ravioli, caviar, pork chop, haggis, stew, fried chicken and so on. This is all done out loud, so the person with their eyes shut hears all the names but doesn’t know who each name belongs to. Then the one with their eyes shut calls out any of the foods just listed. Whoever that name was given to is ‘it’.
Wrist puzzle Get someone to hold their arms out straight, and to put one fist on top of the other. Tell them to press their fists together really, really hard. You can separate their fists by giving each fist a flick with just one finger! No matter how hard they press, you can separate them easily. It won’t work if their elbows are bent – so watch out for cheating!
Feely game Fill a bowl with war, soapy water. Put various objects in the bowl, then ask blind-folded Scouts to put their hands in, take an object, feel it, then guess what it is.
12 Scouts February/March 2009
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klers
Because of the soapy water objects feel very, very different. Objects to try could include, cotton wool, a cube of jelly, banana skin, a Shredded Wheat, wool and so on. Make up your own list!
Scrunch Give each Scout two double sheets of newspaper – ie two pages with a fold in the middle, opened out, rather than a single page. Make sure it’s a broadsheet not a tabloid newspaper. Tell everyone to crumple up the first sheet into a ball as small as they can, with both hands – easy enough. Then, put that crumpled ball aside. Now the tricky part. Take the second sheet and hold it between finger and thumb at one corner. You’ve got to crumple up that sheet until it’s the same size as the first ball, starting from the corner – using only one hand. Just try it – it’s almost impossible!
Scout Baseball Cap Item code: 1025891
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An alternative to the smart shirt, this three buttoned pique Teal Green Polo Shirt has a slightly scooped back and vents in the side seams at the hem. Made from polyester/cotton, it is a perfect alternative for summer days or for multiactivity use. Sizes 34-40
Item codes: 102658R / 1026581R / 1026574R / 1026587R
£35 Available now in men’s and women’s sizes
Scout Polo Shirt
Item code: 1006826R
New Scout Waterproof Jacket
The new design baseball cap for Scouts of all ages and fits all sizes. A must have fashion accessory, this cotton, long peaked baseball cap is also very functional. As well as keeping the sun (and the rain!) out of your eyes, wearing a cap during the summer months will help reduce the risk of heat stroke and help protect against exposure to direct sun light.
Choose with or without Scout logo (£38 with logo) Men’s S-XXXL Women’s 10 - 20 £35 without logo £38 with logo
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An electric landflyer e the imagination of your Scouts and Want an activity that will captur e time? Then look no further, teach them practical skills at the sam says Elis Matthews
You will need
Tools
• a piece of balsa wood 200mm x 80mm x 10mm (off-cuts will do as sizes do not need to be exact) • 4 plastic wheels • 4 bead-headed pins • 4 small beads • a 4.5 volt battery • 2 matchboxes • 2 thick elastic bands • 2 paper clips • a propeller • sticky-backed plastic • a 3 volt motor.
• Sharp modelling knife • Hand drill and small twist drill the diameter of the motor shaft.
Scouts should only use power tools such as drills under the supervision of an appropriate adult.
14 Scouts February/March 2009
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WANT MORE IDEAS? This is just one of hundreds of practical programme from The Scout Handbook – 300 pages of ideas and in full colour. Available from www.scouts.org.uk/shop priced £8.
Instructions 1. Mark out the balsa as shown in fig 1, using the steel rule and pencil. Cut to size with a modelling knife. 2. Fix the four plastic wheels onto the balsa using the bead-headed pins for axles and a small bead for the bearing (fig 2). Because of the pins, the landflyer will not be suitable for small children to use. 3. The power unit is built up from a 4.5 volt battery, two empty matchboxes and the 3 volt motor. For neatness, cover the boxes and battery with sticky backed plastic (the heavy duty kind). Fix all three together with a strong elastic band then fasten a paper clip to each battery terminal for connecting to the motor.
4. To fit the propeller onto the motor you may need to enlarge the hole in the propeller. To do this, place the propeller onto a firm wooden off-cut and drill through, using a twist drill (see fig 3). 5. Push the pointed end of the propeller boss onto the motor shaft. It is important to put it this way round as the propeller is pushing not pulling the landflyer. 6. Fix the power unit to the chassis with the second strong elastic band. Connect the leads from the motor to the battery with the paper clips. If your landflyer shoots backwards, swap the clips around!
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The world where A you live
long with Beliefs and Attitudes, the Global Programme Zone is one of the more difficult to cover. To a large extent this is because most people associate it with foreign travel. However, the name of the Programme Zone suggests that this is not just about having experiences from around the world but also about looking at the issues that we face as a global community.
The shrinking world
Covering the Global Programme Zone doesn’t have to mean a trip abroad, says Ed Wilson. It’s often more about issues closer to home
There is a phrase I’ve heard going around: ‘There is no such thing as international any more.’ In many ways this is true as I can now get on a train in London and be in Brussels quicker than I can be in Edinburgh. This of course just shows how important it is for us as Scouts to understand about the global community and the issues this brings with it. There are some brilliant activities on Programmes Online that help in this proces. Just log onto www.scouts.org.uk/pol and have a look at the following programmes: • In Their Shoes • Commonwealth Quiz • The World Restaurant • On Yer Bike! • Iceland Quiz • Sweden Quiz • Operation: FlagMatch All these activities show that you do not have to take your Scouts abroad to help them understand the issues that we face and how the Global Community is shrinking. This is also reflected in the Global Challenge as you now have to only complete the International Contact section and the Global Issues section. This means that you can look into an issue that the Scouts feel strongly about. While they have not been abroad or made contact with people from another country they have looked and reacted to a global issue.
Exploring ideas Although there is no doubt that the Global Zone can be challenging, it can also be hugely rewarding. Scouts will be able to explore issues and get to grips with ideas they otherwise would not consider.
16 Scouts February/March 2009
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Dangers at camp
above. Scouts, working in pairs Give out photocopies of the sketch nutes to identify as many hazards or small groups have five or ten mi and bad practices as they can
Ask your Scouts to answer the following questions: • What is the Troop doing wrong? • What is wrong with their equipment? When you get the feedback there might be some disagreement which is an ideal opportunity to discuss safety issues in more detail.
Just some of the dangers Lighting the Tilly lamp inside the tent; fire upwind from tent; sparks affecting tent; playing games around the cooking area; axe unmasked and lying on the ground;
chopping area not cordoned off; fuel can underneath the altar fire; helper less than two axe lengths from the wood chopper; toilet tent not pitched in a discrete place; equipment left lying around; clothes hanging off guy ropes; box of food lying on the ground; climbing over the fence instead of using the gate; litter blowing away; dirty plates left lying around; knife stuck into the ground; wet pit dug into the ground; unused tent peg left in the ground as a trip hazard; altar fire looks unstable and the fire seems out of control; toilet tent is ripped and the numerous flies suggest it has not been regularly emptied or checked… Can you find any more?
18 Scouts February/March 2009
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