scoutout july '12
DESCRIPTION
A new zip wire, your opinions on ScoutFest, your chance to visit two awesome Moots and a huge Scout sandcastle competition.TRANSCRIPT
SCOUT UTSomerset Scout Newsletter
July 2012Issue 15
What you had to say about our
2012 Jubilee adventure.
this month...
O
Two Moots More
Somerset’s wintery Moot
adventure and an
international opportunity.
PLUS...
Beach fun at Burnham
Sedgemoor district’s sandcastle
competition saw 250 young people
building Olympic sculptures.
Leap of faithHuish Woods’ brand
new zip wire
Opinion on ScoutFest
www.somersetscouts.org.uk
London SW1A 1AA
To congratulate the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee, Cubs from 1st Cheddar sent Her Majesty a card featuring a photograph
of the pack. The Queen replied with a lovely commemorative ‘thank you’ which has been framed and displayed in the 1st Cheddar hut.
Check out ‘how to write to the Queen’ online if you would like to contact Her Majesty in her Jubilee year.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/hmthequeen/contactthequeen/overview.aspx
New campfire
Scout Community Week in Wiveliscombe
Scouts in Burnham on Sea have taken on a project to build a campfire area outside their HQ in the town.
The group are pictured here completing initial groundworks for the project which will eventually see a full campfire circle and, we hope, a roaring fire!
During Scout Community Week (May 14th - 20th) there were loads of projects going on right around the county taking Scouting into our communities.
Yeovil’s St Andrews group cleared paths in their local park to mark SCW while Scouts from Wiveliscombe tidied their streets of weeds and helped their local pharmacy smarten up their shop.
Around the UK 2,541 Groups got involved giving 180,000 young people and adults the chance to take part. Parliament were so impressed that 61 MPs signed an early day motion to congratulate UK Scouting on its efforts.http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/24
Check out Scout Community Week videos online:
you scout...
www.somersetscouts.org.uk
Dragon boat race
A wet, but good wet, weekend
For the third year running West Coker Scouts have won the District Banner at Yeovil’s annual District camping competition.
This year saw three teams entered for the first time by the group (one senior team and two novice teams). All the teams had taken part in a practise camp the week before and were up for the competition over the weekend.
This is a picture of their gateway and site.
A trio of triumphs
Ahead of this year’s Explorer Awards evening at Tangier in Taunton, Explorers took to the River Tone for a dragon boat race.
Teams were made up and races were run from Taunton’s new ‘Third Way’ bridge which now crosses the Tone just behind the Scout and Guide Centre.
Somerset’s Network even turned out in this anniversary year (10th birthday for the Explorer and Network sections) to race the Explorers and celebrate their awards.
Taunton’s wet weekend enjoyed buckets of sunshine in June! Scouts from the District camped at Brompton Ralph and took part in
all manner of watery activities including rafting (pictured).
Rafts took float with varied success but this team don’t seem to mind that ‘sinking feeling’.
Thanks to Taunton’s District Media Team for taking pictures for us.
Olympic ScoutingThe Olympic Games draws ever closer but
there’s still time to get young people involved in Scouting’s Olympic activities with ‘Our
Sporting Adventure’.
The Olympic badge and scarf are now also available from Scout Shops.
Free parent packsOver 14,000 copies of the new ‘A parent’s guide to Scouting’ have been distributed since April and it is a fantastic resource to engage with parents.
Let parents know how important their help can be. Order the guide and de-mystify all those Scouting myths and help parents get more involved.
http://scouts.org.uk/involvingparents
ScoutFestJosh(14): “It was brilliant!”
What a fantastic weekend we all had! I think I can speak for everyone who
was there when we say that it was an amazing weekend with so many opportunities to try new activities and meet new people. From arts and crafts to zorbing the children were busy from morning to night.
The camp included the UK’s biggest BIG LUNCH event, live music on the big stage
and loads of activities including high rope courses, climbing walls, inflatables, zorbing, animal encounters, bungee trampolines, an ice rink, monkey bridges, arts & crafts, film nights, camp fires, talent shows, shooting, archery, circus skills and DJ mixing to name just a few.
Central Taunton
Over 1500 people experienced ScoutFest, this is what you had to say:
West Coker (Yeovil)
www.somersetscouts.org.uk/scoutfest
ScoutFestJosh(14): “It was brilliant!”
Thank you we had a terrific time. It was fabulous, really well organised, all our Cubs and
Scouts had a really great experience, as did all the Leaders. Could have done without the bands during the shows as many of the young people found this boring, but the rest of the shows were great and we thought the dancing was very good.
No thankyou, we as a group ALL loved it and wish there were more camps
similar to this one so us Guides and Scouts can meet each other talk about experiences and meet LOADS of new friends. So thankyou again - we loved it.
Katie, 1st Curry Rivel and Drayton Guides (Taunton)
Julie Leader1st Shipham (Sedgemoor)
www.somersetscouts.org.uk/scoutfest
Watch ScoutFest
videos onlineyoutube.com/somersetscouts
Brilliant ... What a fantastic event for our young people! Thank you
Somerset Scouts.
Mandy WilliamsACC Beavers
A wonderful weekend, thoroughly enjoyed by H&H – a big thank you to all concerned for all the hard work put into it (before, during and I am sure after) and if you could stand doing it again YES please but maybe leave it a couple of years!
Sue HunterHuntspill & Highbridge
The evening shows were great, and of course so was the queen,
someone the young people could relate to on and off stage. Can’t wait till the next one.
Jo Bush1st Cheddar
Always room for improvementThanks to everyone for their feedback so far,
here is a summary of the areas in which you felt ScoutFest could have done better.
Big queues for the activities!
Beavers should come on Sunday thus giving the cubs and scouts chance to have a go on activities first.
Activities were impressive and various should have been something to cater for everyone’s tastes (I have a Cub that was quite happy to go around the arts and crafts all weekend).
Would have like to have been able to watch some of the Jubilee celebrations possibly could have had a corner of a tent somewhere with some laptops to watch on or even large screen.
Possibly consider the evening entertainment be split into age groups? The cubs generally around the stage area were getting bored with the bands yet the Scouts/Explorers were loving it.
On the whole it was better than expected!
Have your say
Join the ScoutFest Senior Management Team for the official ScoutFest review. A chance to
reflect on what went well and what ScoutFest could have done better. Your opinions really do count and we want to capture your feedback to help make our events better in the future.
The meeting will be chaired by Vice President Gareth Davies to ensure everyone gets their chance to speak and our County Commissioner Shaun Dale will also be attending. We will announce the date in the next few days.
Use of technology throughout the weekend was impressive. It
showed that Scouting has arrived in this century. The Photobooth was brilliant and reasonably priced.
More toilet facilities needed.
Over 250 Scouts crowded the beach at Burnham on Sea
in June for Sedgemoor’s annual sandcastle building competition.
This year contestants were challenged with building Olympic themed sculptures to celebrate the coming of the games.
Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers from across the district built Olympic logos, stadiums, running tracks, swimming pools, hurdles.
One team even built a complete Olympic village!
Two Moots more than we had before
OVER THE MOON
MOOT
Somerset’s wintery adventure at Huish Woods this year is a joint event between
Explorers and Network to celebrate the two sections’ 10th birthday.
The camp welcomes all Explorer and Network aged participants to partake in the party with activities ranging from tradtional widegames to a less traditional late night field disco.
On the programme: rocket building, bivouaking, chariot racing, fireworks, extreme tree climbing, archery, bushcraft, widegames and a moonlit campfire.
2nd - 4th November 2012
somersetscouts.org.uk/moot
14th World Scout Moot, Canada 2013.
Online bookings for next year’s Moot are now open.
Taking place 8-18th August 2013, the World Scout Moot is an international gathering of Scouts between 18 and 25 years of age in Awacamenj Mino, Canada.
5,000 young adults will be taking part in outdoor adventures and expedition challenges. Book now!
www.mootcanada2013.ca/en/
www.scouts.org.uk/moot2013
48
Our deadline for content is
Wednesday 24/12/10. Issue six
will be published
January 1st, 2011. ScoutOut
MEDIA TEAM
Zip wireThe County DiaryFRI5/10toSUN7/10
FRI2/11to4/11
Written and Produced by Richard Shepherd for the Somerset Scout Council.Images reproduced with the permission of the owners. Copyright Somerset Scout Council July 2012
Check it out... www.somersetscouts.org.uk/county-diaryfor the online County Diary, downloadable event application forms, health forms and kit lists.
Issue 16 will be published September 2012.
Young Leader’sTraining WeekendCome to Huish Woods for the Young Leader event of the year, meet YL’s from across the County and get all your training done and dusted in one fun weekend.
Explorer and Network 10th Birthday:‘Over the Moon Moot’.This time last year they were only 9 - and now they’re 10!
Don’t miss the Explorer / Network event of the year guaranteed to rock.
Your ScoutOut“Superrmmaannn!” I be-lieve this word was said too many times to count
by the Wiveliscombe Scouts and Cubs during our first experience on the new zip wire at Huish Woods.
It was a huge hit - everyone came away with huge smiles on their faces immediately asking when they can next have a go.
They loved the challenge of trying to land on your feet and not ending up with the ground in your back pockets at the end of the zip wire.
The feeling of being a super hero flying through the air, (even if you did end up going backwards!) is brilliant.
If you would like to experience what its like to fly, get on the case with your section leaders now and make sure to shout out your favourite super hero as you go down!
Jess - Young Leader, Wiveliscombe, Taunton.
Young Leader Jess trials new zipwire at
Huish Woods
Tell us what’s Scouting where you are: