Uncategorized – Page 2 – 1st Stocksfield Scout Group

March 20, 2020March 21, 2020

The Great Indoors

We know the coming days and weeks are going to be difficult for families across the UK, as the spread of Covid-19 causes schools to close. As the experts in developing skills and bringing adventure to young people, The Scout Association wants to do what it can to help.

While we normally love the great outdoors, The Scout Association has pulled together some inspired indoor activity ideas. We hope they will keep your kids learning new skills and having fun (and avoid hearing ‘I’m bored’ every 30 seconds) all in #TheGreatIndoors.

There are also plans afoot for “virtual meetings” so that we can all carry on Scouting – more details to follow soon

March 16, 2020March 16, 2020

Cancelled

I have just been emailed by Tim Kidd, the UK Chief Commissioner for Scouts. With a heavy heart he instructed us that all Beaver, Cub and Scout meetings and activities are cancelled with immediate effect. This is after the Prime Minister’s instruction to avoid non-essential travel and contact. As a Group we must await further instructions from The Scout Association. Plans for online and at-home activities are being developed.

Dr Malcolm Murray
Group Scout Leader

March 15, 2020

Camp

En guarde!
Confronting your fears
Learning to work as a team
Reaching for the sky
Rocket scientists
A serious business
Laser quest
The ever popular Tuck-Shop session
Stepping over the edge: the hardest bit
Making it look easy
1, 2, 3, Geeee!
Can you swing without screaming?
Walking blindfolded, you rely on your friends
Getting muddy!

Older Beavers and Younger scouts joined the Cubs at a camp at Dukeshouse Wood. They left with new experiences, new friends and a significant amount of mud on their clothes!

January 25, 2020January 25, 2020

Thinking of Others

Everyone in the Group has been raising funds to try and finish off the new hut. At the same time though, it is important that our members also think of others. For the last three years the Scout Troop has effectively been homeless, operating out of a range of temporary locations. This was used as a stimulus for discussions about homelessness, poverty and the things we take for granted. Scouts built temporary shelters using scavenged materials. They collected donations for a local food bank. Together with the Beavers, Cubs and Leaders, they have also been learning about sanitation and have been working to twin our toilets in the new hut, to create new toilets elsewhere where they are really needed.

Page from a quiz about toilet twinning — Scouts learnt about sanitation issues in a quiz. The answer is D by the way 🙂

I am always impressed by their resourcefulness. Three Scouts raised almost enough to twin a toilet on their own through an impromptu bake-sale. The Cubs also made and sold some nice looking mince pies after their Christmas play.

A plate of mince pies, each topped with the Scout emblem — Fantastic mince pies

October 24, 2019November 2, 2019

Halloween Fun

The Scouts lit up the night with their pumpkin lanterns…

Space-themed pumpkins
Mixed pumpkins
Horror theme
Sad faces

June 28, 2019

What happens when you run out?

Last night the Scouts were challenged: what do you do if you are out walking and your water bottle runs dry? They learnt how the empty plastic bottle could be fashioned into a DIY water filter, using stones, sand, charcoal scavenged from an old fire and a scrap of cloth.

Much to their amazement, when dirty brown water was poured in at the top, clear water came out the bottom. It would still need boiled, but it was the first step.

May 20, 2019

Quality Camp Food

At the weekend the Cubs were demonstrating their camping and cooking skills when they went to Whittonstall

Dinner Underway
Ever threaded hotdogs onto spaghetti before?
Magic blue flames in the evening
Patrol tents in the sunshine
Cooking Noodles in DIY pans over a Swedish Candle
Roast Pineapple
Chocolate muffins baked inside an orange

February 13, 2019

Deep Learning

For the last two weeks Scouts have made the journey to the Diving Centre at East Bolden, for their Discover Scuba sessions. These have been a big hit with the Scouts and their parents – several had a go too!

January 13, 2019January 14, 2019

If you go down to the woods today…

You won’t be alone! This weekend thirteen Scouts from Stocksfield joined 150 from the District and over 1,500 from across the UK at Hawkhirst Scout Activity Centre on the edge of Kielder Water as part of the 2019 Wintercamp.

Activities included quad biking, tomahawk throwing, zip wires, power-boating, crafts, fairground rides, mountain biking, a silent disco and a Scout version of angry birds.

Participants returned happy, tired, having made new friends and tried new activities. Plans are already underway for the 2012 camp!

December 3, 2018December 31, 2018

Survival Skills

This weekend the Scouts braved wind and rain camping out in the wilds. They learnt survival skills – building bivvies in the woods, foraging for food, preparing and cooking wild animals, different ways to build fires, which wood burns best and how to signal for help.