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Happy New Year 2014
Message from our Group Scout Leader
Vega Sturgess
We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and great celebrations to see in the New Year.
Christmas is a celebration with particular significance for Scouts. Leaders and youngsters alike have taken their Scouting promise and many parents were Scouts or Guides themselves.
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This year Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, families and friends gathered in Barton St David Church for a Group Carol Service, led by the Rev Trevor Cranshaw. We were joined by Tim Burch, District Commissioner and John Myers, former DC and now Secretary to the Yeovil and District Scout Council.
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After a wonderful service of traditional carols, modern songs, poems, readings and prayers, Tim Burch presented three Beavers with their Bronze Chief Scout Awards - many congratulations!
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We then returned to the Hall for mulled cider, warm toffee apple juice, mince pies and cakes.
Very many thanks to Jenny Turk for organising the Carol Service and to all those who participated and helped in lots of different ways.
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Christmas cards made by the Scouts for residents of Castle House Nursing Home, Keinton Mandeville.
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My request this holiday is that we all live our promise and see the goodwill we can create by doing so. Some examples include: helping those less well off than ourselves, being tolerant, forgiving someone who has annoyed us, keeping promises, apologising when we’re wrong and taking happiness from simple things like being with friends.
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Scouts singing carols to residents of Castle House Nursing Home, Keinton Mandeville
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Most importantly thank those who help you. My Leaders, helpers and Treasurer say that with some notable exceptions, they don’t get very many thanks from adults or youngsters. Why not thank them personally this year, email them or send them a note to show that their voluntary support for you, your children or your section is appreciated?
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Wishing you every happiness for this holiday period with lots of fun and laughter, returning in January feeling refreshed and ready for the Scouting activities already planned for you. Thank you for being an important part of our Group in 2013. Scouting is really alive in Barton and I look forward to 2014 with excitement.
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Date for your Diary
Sunday 27 April 2014
St George's Day Parade, Yeovil Football Ground
Details to follow
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Treasurers Report
Darren Cross
I cannot believe how busy the Group has been over the past year and how the Leaders and Helpers have time to fit it all in; even the wonderful photos on the Group’s amazing website is a full time job in itself; fantastic work Jane, the photos are fantastic.
Between last Christmas and Easter we raised almost £2,000 for the Group, not to mention the surprise donation of the Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers which resulted in the Group receiving various sports items from dozens of balls, skipping ropes to a massive parachute.
Sainsbury’s in Street very kindly gave us an opportunity to Christmas Bag Pack on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 December.
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We raised an astonishing £1,481.23 over the weekend.
We are extremely grateful to the leaders, parents, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts who gave their time to help.
Many thanks too to Hannah and Luke at Sainsbury’s, Street who very kindly allowed the Group to work with them.
The money raised will go towards the exciting events over the coming year similar to the events from this year such as Pottery, Cookery, Crafts, Circus Skills, Birds of Prey Display, Canine Partners, Camping, Hikes, Archery, multi-million pound Helicopter Simulators etc as well as the 2 new Bell Tents and other Camping Equipment that we desperately need for the Group.
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Review of Autumn Term 2013
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Remembrance Day Parade
Barton St David Scouts, Cubs and Beavers gathered at Lydford Church for the Remembrance Day Parade on Sunday 10 November 2013. One of our Scouts, Hannah, read a moving poem during the service.
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Outside, simple wooden crosses bearing the name of each man from Lydford who died at war were placed in the ground by the children. We laid wreaths on the war memorial and stood in silence to remember those who gave their lives that we may live in peace.
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Beavers
Jenny Turk and Vee Vyner
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We welcomed five new children to Beavers this term and it was great to see the invested Beavers back from their Summer holiday raring to go!
This term the Beavers achieved the Experiment Activity and Air Activities Badges, as well as their Promise and Creativity Challenge Badges.
They learnt about chromatography; made paper aeroplanes; created clay masks with the help of local potter, Paul Stubbs; learnt how to tie reef, slip and hitch knots; made Christmas decorations and iced biscuits.
Three Beavers earned all their Challenge Badges and so were presented with their Bronze Chief Scout Award (the highest award a Beaver can get) by the District Commissioner in front of the whole Group, parents and guests at the end of the Carol Service. We are very proud of them.
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The Beavers visited Orchard Park Farm to do some apple pressing. They had most fun taking it in turns to wind the plate to crush the apples in the traditional press. They made a lot of juice and once sieved and vitamin C was added they bottled it up and took a bottle each home to share with their families.
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The Beavers welcomed Peter Littlewood from the Young People's Trust for the Environment. Peter led a very interactive talk to the Beavers about wild animals in the UK. Peter brought some fantastic exhibits for the children to handle, used a tablet to show them pictures and develop their knowledge, used puppets to encourage participation and directed games. It was an extremely informative and enjoyable session. Peter said: "I enjoyed the visit. The Beavers were extremely well behaved and very enthusiastic."
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The highlight of the term was our first ever Beaver Sleepover, which ran from 26th to 27th October in Barton St David Village Hall. The theme for the event was 'Carnival'. There was a variety of activities and games including (Day 1): T-shirt tie dying, clown dressing up relay race, Circus Skills workshop and show run by Diablo Dave, popcorn transfer relay race, mask decorating, Carnival character designing, campfire, story and then tent erecting before bed.
On day 2 there were 'side show' events such as knocking down the cups, agility races, parachute games, as well as taking off the elastic bands and marbles to reveal the patterns on their tie dye t-shirts. The Beavers each made 'instruments' using rice and pasta (and glitter for a bit of sparkle!) to fill plastic bottles. The Beavers were each awarded with their 'Nights Away 1' staged badge and presented with a Sleepover badge for their camp blanket.
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At the end of the Sleepover all the Beavers who attended were asked to complete a feedback form at home. One of the questions was ‘What will you tell others about Beavers?’ they said:
• It’s epic!
• Great fun
• We do fantastic things
• It is great fun and why don’t you join!
• Beavers is brilliant and creative
• Beavers is good fun
• Come to the next Sleepover
• It’s very good fun
• It is creative
• That you should join because it’s so much fun there
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You can find more details and pictures of all our activities this term on our Barton St David Scout Group Blog.
With best wishes to all in the Group and their families for a fantastic holiday and look forward to seeing you again on Monday 13 January at 1815. Please remember your subs. You can find the programme by clicking on the link below.
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Cubs
James Gordon, Ian Flack, Trudie Gordon and Neil McDonald
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Yet again Cubs have had a wonderful and exciting term. It started off with a weekend camp at Orchard Park Farm with two nights away which helped towards their camper and nights away badges.
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Fun was had by all, we had Sharandys Birds of Prey turn up to show us a number of owls and the vicar on the Sunday for Scouts Own.
Many thanks to Rob Pitts for coming along for the weekend.
You can find more photos on our blog.
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Weekly sessions were still at the farm right up to when it was too dark to see anything where we then moved back to the hall.
We hadn't played games for what seemed like ages and so we spent a couple of weeks enjoying ourselves playing dodge ball, one of Jane's least favourite games. This helped to introduce the Beavers who had joined us and those from our waiting list who may never had played games like killer smarties, jousting or ladders.
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Canine Dogs visit was a hit with everybody and has become our charity for the year and we are collecting used stamps and could use everybody's help in the collection to support a partner dog.
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We have started "Cub of the month" to reward the cubs in attendance, helping and putting the ethos of Cubs into practice. So far Tom and Edward have won the award and I must say it is very hard to single out a Cub for the award as they are all so well behaved.
Our points system seems to be going well, with points awarded for prompt arrival, helpfulness and winning games. Blue won this term with 142 points and the other sixes not very far behind.
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Next term sees our sixers and seconders in Yeovil for a badge day where they can gain 3 badges and we are working as a section towards the Chief Scouts Silver Award, which a number of the older Cubs are near completing.
There will be other District activities and planning towards District Cub Camp and our own camp(s).
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We are sorry to see Oliver go but excited for him as he joins Scouts in the New Year.
Have a great holiday and see you all on Tuesday 14 January from 1800-1930 at for the Cubs Spring 2014 Term. Please remember your subs.
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If you have any questions please contact the Cub Leader.
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Scouts
Jonathan Turk and Jane Philpott
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We welcomed four new Scouts to the troop this Autumn and started term with games.
The Scouts then went to Orchard Park Farm to learn about apple pressing and the production of apple juice.
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Scouts were invited to Hallr Wood to help with reconstruction of a Romano-British pottery kiln. This was part of a collaboration between the Central Somerset Outdoor Learning Partnership and the Charlton’s Historical Society, funded by the Big Lottery.
Many thanks to Deb Millar, Tom Mycock, Caelia Lunniss and the rest of the Hallr Wood team for their warm hospitality. Also many thanks to Vega Sturgess, Simon Anstey and Paul Stubbs for coming along to help - your kindness was much appreciated.
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A highlight of the term was a visit to RNAS Yeovilton to have a go in the Lynx Simulator.
"Best scout session ever". "Awesome". "Wicked". "Amazing". "Can we do it again?".
We flew over 'Portland harbour'; scared a few ships with daring fly-overs; crashed into an air balloon; dodged enemy fire; and took off and landed (sometimes unconventionally) on aircraft carriers.
Many thanks to RNAS Yeovilton, particularly to Nick and the Bearded Freak, for giving us such an exciting and informative experience.
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Scouts were delighted to welcome Simon Merrett from Hamdon First Aid to help us work towards the Emergency Aid Staged Activity Badge. We learnt what to do at the scene of an accident; when and how to contact the emergency services; how to respond to the needs of an unconscious patient; and how to open an airway, give CPR and how to place in the recovery position.
Many thanks Simon - one day this knowledge could help to save lives.
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Apart from the moon being rather too bright, it was an almost perfect night for star-gazing - cloudless, clear and dry, if a little chilly. Scouts listened attentively as John Chuter, local astronomy expert, gave a fascinating talk about the night sky. John highlighted various websites which have detailed maps of the moon, the constellations and all manner of other interesting astronomical information.
Many thanks to John for sharing his knowledge with us. We look forward to welcoming him back in the Spring Term for the next instalment.
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Scouts made spooky treats and did apple bobbing at Halloween.
On Bonfire Night, we met in the woods at Orchard Park Farm and played games and toasted marshmallows round a camp fire. Many thanks to Vee and George for lighting the fire before we arrived.
Scouts were challenged to construct a giant marble run from pipe lagging and other materials and did further work on their First Aid badges. Tim Burch, District Commissioner, kindly joined us for this session and awarded the Wood Badge certificate to Jane and First Aid badges to the Scouts who had completed the requirements.
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Scouts made Christmas cards to give to the residents of Castle House Nursing Home in Keinton Mandeville. We also made Christmas crackers and Christmas decorations.
The following week, we visited residents at Castle House Nursing Home in Keinton Mandeville, sang some Christmas carols and recited a poem.
Many thanks to everyone who has helped us this term. We are looking forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday 14 January from 1930-2100. Please remember your subs.
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Thank you
The whole Scout Group would like to say a huge thank you to Vega Sturgess for all she does as our Group Scout Leader. Much of it goes on behind the scenes - organising and attending meetings; writing minutes and reports; and ensuring that all the Leaders are properly trained and supported in their work with the children. Thank you Vega.
Thanks too to Darren Cross for all he does as Treasurer and for his valuable work in organising fund-raising activities. Darren was at Sainsbury's bag-packing for the whole weekend just before Christmas. He also helps out with the Sections when required, for example, he assisted the Cub Leaders at camp this year. His hard work is greatly appreciated. Thank you Darren.
Very many thanks to all the leaders and assistants without whom none of this would be possible: Jon Turk, Jane Philpott, Simon Anstey and Vee Vyner (Scouts); James Gordon, Ian Flack, Neil MacDonald and Trudie Gordon (Cubs); Jenny Turk, Vee Vyner, Daniel Turk and Matthew Turk (Beavers). A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes, which takes even more time than running the sessions themselves, and we are fortunate to have a great team of leaders.
We're delighted to welcome Keith Sturgess as our Quartermaster. Thank you Keith - our kit really needs organising, so we're extremely grateful.
Thank you to the many parents and carers who have helped us this term - we couldn't provide such a varied and exciting programme for the children without your support.
Our newly formed Executive Committee is just finding its feet - thank you to Roger Burge and Amy Robins for stepping forward - and will hopefully be able to rally even more helpers. The more people who volunteer, the easier it is for everyone. We have a very flexible approach to volunteering and any help is welcome - you can read more by clicking here. If you feel you can help in any way, please contact us.
Finally, we would like to thank our District scouting colleagues, particularly Tim Burch, John Myers, Rob and Heather Pitts, for their friendship and encouragement and for supporting and participating in our camps, sessions and special events.
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Here's to a great term and please don't forget to bookmark the News Page of our website to keep in touch with what we're up to, find details of our programmes and see photos of the children enjoying a wide range of activities.
Many thanks
Barton St David Scout Group
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Barton St David Scout Group at Remembrance Day Parade 2013
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