A massive well done to all our scouts who represented the Raven Troop at the Regional Competition this weekend!! You did the troop proud so fair play to you all. Congratulations to the team for bringing home the Willie Mordaunt Trophy, all the hard work paid off and it was well deserved. Keep up the great work!!!
Category: Competition
Catapult a flying success !!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to all those who turned up today.
The catapult worked really well. Hopefully we will be test firing next week.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5TDeGsKZQ]
Looks like we will be putting two teams into the John Galvin on Saturday November 20th so keep it free.
As part of the competition you will also get marks for medieval costumes so get thinking of what you are going to wear.
Expedition essentials
For those of you brave enough for the ultimate wilderness challenge of this years County Expedition we have some prepared a gearlist.
This Thursday you will be given your tents and cooking gear for the trip to split between yourselves. On Friday you will be getting the food. I’ll have the maps and compasses for the patrols.
We will be meeting at the den at half six on Friday – make sure to have a dinner in you first. Home around 2pm on Sunday.
Personal gear: 1. Hiking boots
2. Rain gear (top and bottoms)
3. Torch (with spare batteries)
4. Sleeping bag (with sleeping mat)
5. Eating utensils
6. One change of clothes
7. Spare jumper
8. Hat and Gloves
9. Personal emergency rations
10. Survival bag and whistle
11. Toilet roll and wash gear
All packed inside a rucksack lined with black bags – not hanging out.
Website change
Hi folks,
I have added a new button to the site and taken a few away.
The scout competition is getting pretty difficult to manage on this site so I have put all the details on a excel sheet which can be downloaded by clicking the black button on the bottom right of the site. The leader board for patrol of the year will still be in the same place but the links at the top will be removed. Any questions ask me on Thursday.
Thanks, Ian.
Trip to Glenmalure
I hope you are all getting in gear for our venture into the wilds next weekend. We have put together a jam-packed schedule for the trip, with loads of hiking, wide games and embracing the rugged conditions. Let’s hope no one ends up in tied to a tree…
Trip goals – (1) Everyone can put up a light weight tent (2) Everyone can use a trangie (3) Everyone can recognise the basic features on a map (4) Everyone can take and follow a bearing on a compass (5) Everyone has fun
Friday 1900 Leave scout den in Swords 2100 Arrive at Glenmalure hostel – Unpack gear and claim beds then cup of tea. 2200 Wide game in the woods – Game ‘Lights Out’ 0000 Back in to warm by fire – tea and biscuits – Star scouts prepare route card and lunch for climb tomorrow. 0100 Bed Saturday 0700 Star scouts wake to prepare for Summit 0730 Star scouts breakfast and gear check 0800 Star scouts leave to climb Lugnaquillia (925) via Clohernagh (800) while everyone else wakes up. 0900 Breakfast 1000 Gear check and prepare lunches 1100 Leave for hike to Benleagh (689) Map and compass bases along the way 1230 Arrive at Benleagh and return to Fraughan Rock Glen 1300 Troop meet back up with Star scouts in Fraughan Rock Glen – Lunch 1400 Inter-patrol tent pitching and trangie working competition (if conditions are good) 1500 Game of ‘Bulldog’ in the heather (if conditions are good) 1600 Head back to hostel 1700 Prepare Dinner 1800 Dinner 1900 Chill out 2000 Wide Game in the woods – ‘Capture the flag’ 2200 Back inside for tea and biscuits and warm by the fire 0000 Bed Sunday 0800 Wake up 0900 Breakfast 1000 Inter-patrol map reading and compass work competition 1100 Pack-up, clean-up, and out 1200 Final parade – ‘Scout of the camp’ announced 1300 Head homeFor a virtually uninhabited valley in south Wicklow, Glenmalure has played two big parts in Irish history, once in 1798 and once in 1580. The first scout to recount the history of the those two dates to Shay when we get to the hostel earns a bonus point for scout of the year competition. A good place to start is here.
The scout who can sing this song in its entirety gets five bonus points.
The Leaders
Scout and Patrol of the Year Competitions have started – Good Luck
Time to get in gear, get out and about and try and win some great prizes for yourself and your patrol. The new marking system was brought in last night details are below.
New Grading systemInspection
Each scout is now required to turn up to meetings in full uniform with scouting trail book .
Full Uniform means: Scarf, woggle, shirt (ironed with badges), belt, trousers (official), black shoes (or hiking boots) and dark socks.
Points:
Attendance: 1 point Full Uniform: 3 points Shirt and shoes: 1 point Less than shirt and shoes: -1 point Badgework: Merit badges: 5 points
Scout awards:
Tracker award: 5 points Explorer award: 5 points Star award: 5 points National Scout award: 15 points Chief Scout award: 15 points Special bonus points
Scout of the Camp (for scout spirit): 5 points Scout of the month: 5 points – This is a new prize given monthly based on three criteria; scout of the year points, most improvement, and scout spirit. It will be awarded on the first meeting of every month and will be judged by the leaders.
*extra bonus points TBA
Scout of the year competition will end before the summer break and the winner will be given a prize. Patrol of the Year
New grading system
Patrol of the year award will be based on the scout of the year (SOTY) points gained by patrol members. However, patrol of the year marks will be awarded on a weekly basis and based on a ranking system. For example, the patrol who get the most SOTY points in a given week will get 4 marks, the group that comes second will get 3 marks, the third 2 marks and last gets one mark.
***This ensures a tight competition even if the patrols are unbalanced (which they inevitably are). The prize for Patrol of the Year will be a weekend away for the patrol somewhere of their choice (within budget and reason). It will be presented before the Jamboree this summer.
Each meeting:
1st : 4 2nd: 3 3rd: 2 4th: 1
Scores for patrol of the year and scout of the year will be compiled and tallied by Ian and will be available on the website.
It may sound complicated but you will get the jist after a week or two.
Good Luck!
