1st Withington Scouts Winter Update By john_williams on 11/01/2020 In Uncategorized / 0 comments Group Chat I would like this opportunity to say thank you for making me feel welcome and I was absolutely taken a back with the turn out for the BBQ and AGM. Children wise – We are now getting full and now with some sections having to run a waiting list, which is amazing. Leader/Helper wise – We are growing the team, but we still need more help, so please don’t be shy to step forward. I am also pleased that there are a few camps, expeditions and WOW activities being planned over the next term The next challenge for the group is to get out and Scouting, doing enjoyable & challenging program, and being part of the community. If you have any ideas then please let the leadership team know. We have a couple of big events that we are trying to organise and for 2020, we want to be one of the most active & enjoyable groups in the area. Many Thanks John Williams 07912 515 570 Very Important – Facebook Page We have a problem with the current members page and we will need to close the current one down and move to a new one, the new group will be https://www.facebook.com/groups/1stWithingtonSG Good News Headlines For the first time in 5+ years we have had our first Gold Chief Scouts Award recipients; Ben, George and Alex.The increased number of Cubs on a Wednesday now mean that the section is saved.We now have 30 Children on the waiting list; we need to consider opening another beaver colonyThis coming term we are trying to create a waiting area in the old “green room” at the back so when you are waiting to collect your children you are not in the bad weather.Rebranding – We are having a necker change; there will be no cost to the children but we trying to build a brand and show the reboot that we are undergoing. Bad News / Action Required The huts store room roof collapsed in October; the insurance company have been awkward in paying out and has taken far too much time to get back to normal.The hut is need a lot of maintenance, and we need to create a working party to help with some one off projects – e.g. Painting the green roomWe need more leaders and helpers, Ellen – Aleka for Thursday Cubs will be leaving us is summer and we will need to form a succession plan Section Updates Beavers Tom and Angela are doing amazing job, the number of Beavers has grown. We hoping that we are going to be awarding a number of Bronze awards in the next few months. Tom and Angela could do with an additional pair of hands to enable the group to grow further. We are now looking at setting up a parent rota to help. If you have any interest in running a session based on your skills or job feel free to contact Tom, for example Angela who is a science teacher ran the Experiment activity badge. Cubs Wednesday This was the smaller group with 9 members, but with the extra capacity we are rapidly growing. I will be running the group until we can get a full time Section Leader, so if you know anyone that might be interested then please get in touch. Currently I need some help, I have setup a Parent Rota within OSM please if you are free could you sign up, it would be greatly appreciated. The program has now been organised and should be published through OSM. We are now looking at setting up a parent rota to help. Cubs Thursday Thank you to Ellen Newman who has taken the helm of Thursday Cubs; unfortunately, she is moving on in July, so we do need to do some succession planning. Thank you to the young leaders Nellie, Ellie & Daniel they are doing some amazing stuff. I would like to also like to introduce Shannon as the packs new (ACSL) Assistant Cub Scout Leader. Currently we need some help, we have setup a Parent Rota within OSM please if you are free could you sign up, it would be greatly appreciated. The program has now been organised and should be published through OSM. Scouts The programme for Scouts is now published on OSM the team is led by Matthew “Hutch” Hutchinson, Kat, Colin, Charlie, & Alex. Scouts finished 2019 growing to 4 patrols, 2020 year hoping for we are hoping to grow to 5. A caving session and a trip to games workshop to cover the model making badge are already in the works. We are hoping to have an indoor camp in the next few months and then more outdoor camps when the weather improves. Explorers The Scouts have seen a huge growth in numbers growing by 1/3. The team have done amazing and we are now looking at getting out and doing some WOW scouting. Greg & Alice could do with another helping hand. Dates for the Diary Scouts (13+) Expedition September 27th -29th Skills Camp – Details to Follow October 25th – 27thRemembrance Sunday 10th November Gift Aid If you are a UK Tax Payer you can “Gift Aid” your Subs, which costs you nothing but the Government give the group and additional 25%.