Centenary Badge – Get your ideas together

littlegreenman

As we were discussing last meeting we will be running Patrol based challenges to get the final part of the centenary badge. Get your thinking caps of and start planning. (see below to find out about the badge)

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Centenary Badge 2008

A special Centenary Badge has been commissioned to be worn by all members during our Centenary Celebrations

The badge is comprised of two parts (or there are two badges)
The bottom portion of the badge can be purchased in the Outdoor AdventureStore and worn by ALL members of the Association for the year 2008.

The second badge (the top part) may be worn by members who have completed a specific task.

The badge(s) should be worn as a ‘Special Event’ badge as indicated on the association badge chart.

The Task

Simply, carry out a task/project/event/initiative involving the number ‘100’. The event MUST be thought up, planned and carried out by Scouts themselves as a team (i.e. a Beaver Lodge, a Cub Six/Clann Macaoimh, a Scout Patrol, a couple of Venture Scouts) The list overleaf will provide your members with a few ideas to set their imagaination to work.

Wear it for Life!!

The National Youth Programme Committee has decided that if the top portions of the badge have been earned then the complete badge Top and bottom can be worn for life.

http://www.scouts.ie/news/524/

Website change

littlegreenman

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.

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Glenmalure Photos are now up

littlegreenman 4 Comments

Hey everyone the pics are now up but they are not in the Gallery.There was so many of them that it would have taken me hours, literally, to resize and publish then on this site so stuck them on another site, called Flickr, that makes it easy to upload them.

You can see them by clicking on the link in the bottom right of this page. Cheers.

Ian

Great Weekend

littlegreenman 1 Comment

Many thanks to all of you for making the weekend in Glenmalure a great success.  I dont know about you lot but I was wrecked last night and this morning even after having a lie in ( any commnets about my age are prohibited) Congratulations to the Star Scouts for completing their goal of reaching the summit of Lugnaquilla. Also well done to the younger Scouts for their efforts on Saturday, it was a tough enough climb. We will definitely make a return visit to Glenmalure. Ian is looking for pictures to put on the site and for a poster so dont forget to send them to him. If you need his email text me and I will send to you. 

Shay

p.s. dont forget there is no meeting this Thursday. 

Trip to Glenmalure

littlegreenman 4 Comments

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…

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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 home

For 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

Gear List for weekend in Glenmalure

littlegreenman 9 Comments

Glenmalure is a pretty remote place so it is important that all scouts are PREPARED before going there. As the motto goes:  Be Prepared!

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Right so, here is the list.

Essentials:

Hiking boots 
Two changes of clothes
Good waterproof raincoat with hood
Rain trousers or gaiters
Several pairs of thick socks
Warm Hat & Gloves
Thick jumper
Survival bag (sometimes called a bivvy bag – available for cheap in outdoor stores)
Whistle
Toiletries
Eating utensils (whatever will get you by)
Sleeping bag
Ground mat
Water bottle
Torch (with extra batteries – you will be using this a lot)
Emergency rations (a few bars or sweets – don’t go over board)
A few black bags (for lining your rucksack if it rains)
Optional Gear (if you have it):
Map of Wicklow (Discovery Series 56)
Compass
GPS (or whatever cool nav gear you might have)
Pen knife
Camera
Gaiters
A deck of cards
Do not bring:
Mobile Phones
Spray Deoderant (just roll-on – the spray is a fire hazard)
Sheath knives (anything bigger than a penknife will be confiscated)
MP3 players (all personal music players are forbidden)
Electronic games
Fuel or anything the leaders deem a fire risk

Keep checking the website as the plan for the trip will be going up in the next week. Peace Out. 

The Leaders

Scout and Patrol of the Year Competitions have started – Good Luck

littlegreenman 3 Comments

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 system
Inspection
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! 

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So you think you’re funny?

littlegreenman 6 Comments

Caption competition

What are Karen and Rachel saying to one another? (Bear in mind they have just eaten some scout cooked food.) Funniest comment wins a prize! Enter as many times as you like.

[Prize this week will be a big thumbs up at the next meeting]

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Disclaimer: Any rude or inappropriate comments will not be allowed. Only humorous and wholesome comments please. When commenting give yourself your real name I will be blocking people who try to remain anonymous.