Xmas Party and more

Xmas Party:
I know this was a week ago but I did not have time. :o)

Well the party went well. Food was good. The cubs seemed to have enjoyed all the games. Some were a bit sad that they did not get any prizes. Life is so tough hey ? :o)

I was a bit disappointed with the results of the "dress to impress". Most of the kids showed up with what they would typically wear to play in the school yard. Only two or three actually had ties, others had nice shirts while some had sweat pants and t-shirt ? Geez. :o)

I took some pictures but haven't posted yet. Stay tuned.

Points:
The Wolverine six is leading in points per cub. Let me explain:
Since this six has only 4 members while the other sixes have 5, it is not fair to consider the total points. I simply take the total and divide by the number of cubs in the six. I think this is an easy way to make it fair.

The Wolverines will have a pizza dinner paid by us on their 1st meeting back ( jan. 9th). Guys, please come earlier.

Pop Cans:
We're doing good. We now have a total of: $150.20

I want to wish everyone great holidays and all the best wishes.

YIS
Shere Khan

Xmas Party - (changed from 19th to 12th)

Well, we're in December already. Man time sure flies.

Our last meeting of 2006 will be on December 12th. We're going to have a pot-luck type party (Please see Racksha for food ideas) and you'll have to "dress to impress". Wear tux, suit and tie, Sunday dress, evening gown or whatever you fancy but make it nice (ie: no jeans).

We'll play some games, give away prizes (not for free of course) :o)

FYI. I've regurgitated the above info in a handout that you will receive at tonight's meeting.

YIS
Shere Khan

Hike in Larose Forest

Well, we had our Larose Forest hike this past weekend. What a beautiful day. It started off a bit chilly but warmed up quite nicely. I think we had the majority of the pack and they seem to have had fun.

The hike is less than one kilometer (or I don't think it's more). It felt quite longer last year because we had to pull a sleigh full of gear through the snow. (see these pics from last year) On the way the kids learn to stick together (buddy system) and learned about other rules of hiking in the wilderness.

Once arrived, we started by getting the fire pit ready and plan for our events. One half of the group learned how to start a fire while the 2nd half learned how to use: a hatched, an axe and saw. We trekked through the woods looking for spruce branches to fix the shelter we built last winter. The kids are learning that they should use spruce for the roof of a shelter and fir branches for bedding. (remember spruce on the roof, fir on your back)


All in all it was a good day.
Here are some pictures of the weekend hike.

YIS
Shere Khan

PS: For those of you reading this and are not from the area you're probably wondering where the Larose forest is. Here's a good website with tons of info: http://www.ofnc.ca/conservation/larose/laroseforest.php

Hike in Larose Forest Coming Up

Hi everyone,
We are having a hike in Larose Forest on Nov. 25th. Drop off is at 9am in the parking lot the x-country ski entry of the Larose Forest. See handout for more details. As in all hikes that we do, please dress accordingly. This is very important.

Click here to see some pics of our hike there last year.

YIS
Shere Khan.

Remembrance Day Parade

REMINDER:
We are meeting at the Catholic church on Laurier at 10:15am.

Pop Can UPDATE

We're at almost $100.00 already ($99.50 to be exact). I think we'll easily beat our goal of $150.00 this year. Let's how much we can get. Great work everyone.




YIS
Shere Khan

Investiture Pictures

I just uploaded some investiture pictures ... Thanks Mark.

Click on the link below (or visit our website):
http://rocklandscouts.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album31

PopCans

Keep those popcans coming.
We've got $79.35 so far.

Hike at CampJJ

Hi everyone. Please note that this weekend's hike is at campJJ NOT Petrie Island. I know Akela gave a handout to this regard but I noticed that the web calendar was still showing Petrie Island. Sorry for the confusion.

View our maps section on our website for more info on CampJJ. We'll talk about it more at tonight's meeting.


YIS
Shere Khan

Scout Popcorn and a few quick notes

Take a look at the group blog for info (links and all). Just a reminder that we've set a challenge for our pack that each child will sell AT LEAST 3 items (regardless of the value). This is a very easy and achievable goal.

Car Wash:
Well are our car wash went quite well. We've raised approx $500.00 which will help us out alot for the winter camp. Thanks to every one who showed up to wash and who brought or supplied some baked goods. We had a gorgeous day. Maybe I'll remember to post a few pics.

Investiture:
We had our pack investiture last Tuesday. I think it went very well.

Pop Cans:
We've raised $54.00 so far. Not bad. Actually this is quite good. :o)

(sorry if I'm not very loquacious ... I'm quite tired) :o(

YIS
Shere Khan

Car Wash Bake Sale

Don't forget the car wash bake sale this saturday at city hall at 9:00am.
It will be a bit chilly in the morning but things will warm up quite nice as the day progresses (click here for a forecast)

Have your child wear rubber boots if possible. Please bring in some baked goods to sell.

Here's a picture of last year's event:


Click here for more pictures.

YIS
Shere Khan

INVESTITURE ALERT

Next week's meeting will be at Scouter Bill's place (Akela) NOT at the school. He's located at 350 McDermitt drive in Rockland (near Cathy Cain park). Click here for a Google Map.

Please come with a cub shirt and sash (available at the Scouts Shop). Your child still a "tender pad" will become a cub. He/she will receive a necker and epaulettes.

Please try to come a bit earlier. Say 6:30pm. We'll have a fire, the formal ceremony, sing songs and lots of fun.

YIS
Shere Khan

Odawa Fall Cubaree

What a blast !! This year's Odawa fall cubaree was tons of fun. It was held at the Apple Hill Scouting Reserve in Apple Hill Ontario. (see previous post for location info).

The event was organized by Scouter Bill Cain (1st Rockland's Akela) but certain tasks and duties were delegated as needed. Thanks Scouter Bill.

Other thanks to Scouter Jeff (Rockland's Group Commissioner) for manning the kitchen. Many thanks to scouter Joanne from ? (can't remember which group she's from) and to all others who helped (leaders and parent volunteers). (please don't take offense if I forgot your name). Without that kind've help and commitment events like this would never happen. Oh I almost forgot to thank the kids for being understanding, patient and smiling (despite the weather).

The camp was from Friday September 22nd to Sunday September 24th.

Friday was to setup, get acquainted and synchronize the weekend. The kids had a snack, there was a small informal campfire and they played "flashlight tag". It did not rain but the night was a bit chilly.

Saturday was the big day. We basically woke up to a downpour but fortunately the temperature was quite warm. The youth were separated into groups and sent off to the various activities: leather craft (bracelet), relay race, fossil hunt (real fossils) and the obstacle course. Based on some "informal" surveys, the fossil hunt and the obstacle course were the top activities. The fossils were real marine life fossils and the obstacle course featured a rope bridge that spanned across a pond. Here's a pic of the rope bridge:



One "unofficial" activity was grub eating (giving literal meaning to the term : lets get some grub). We got this idea from an arborist who happened to be on site that day. He told us about a grub that lives inside the stem of the golden-rod plant. This grub eventually turns into the "goldenrod gall fly". He mentioned that the grub is edible but also eatable. After trying it and showing it to some of the kids, it became quite a hit (yes they actually ate the grubs ... they have a nutty taste to them)

Other than eating grubs, breakfast comprised of pancakes and sausages. Lunch was chicken noodle soup with sandwich and supper was spaghetti with cesar salad. Mmmm salad ... :o)

We had the traditional camp fire at night. The groups did various songs, cheers and skits and Scouter John (from 1st Rockland) did his 'scary' story. (I'm forgetting the name of the Scouter who MCed the camp fire ... sorry about that but thanks alot for your efforts). :o)

Sunday was the time to pack, have breakfast, have a scouts own and play a little bit. The sun was finally out but boy was it windy.

Here are some numbers:

65 youth
18 leaders
5 parent volunteers

Groups that were present:
1st Greenwood (white fang and red fang)
2nd Orleans
92nd Ottawa
1st Rockland Scouts

Again, thanks to all who helped. Hope you had fun.

YIS
Shere Khan

2006 Odawa Fall Cubaree info

Okay, I won't bore you with an intro. I know you're looking for more info. Here it is:

(note: you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read some of the files. If you can't read the files, download Acrobat Reader by clicking here)

• Downloadable documents (camp activities, maps, rules, etc...) can be found at: http://www.1strocklandscouts.ca/cub-handouts/2006-2007/Fall_Cubaree/

• Another image showing a map to Apple Hill can be found here: http://www.1strocklandscouts.ca/maps/applehill.gif

• Another way to find your way is to use maps.google.ca and type "Apple Hill, Ontario" in the search field and then click on the Search Maps button.

• Directions from Rockland: There are many ways to get there but here's the route I followed last year (for a map see item #2 above):

• Follow Landry (route 8) to Bourget
• Keep on following route 8 all the way to the 417 and cross the 417 (you go over or under ... I can't remember)
• After you cross the 417 route 8 becomes highway 138. Continue on the 138 all the way to highway 43
• Turn left on highway 43 towards Alexandria
• Next, turn right on highway (or route ??) 20, also called Apple Hill Road

• Once in the town of Apple Hill, turn left on Kenyon Concession 2 (there might be a firestation near by) and follow until you see the signs for the camp.

• Stuff to bring can be found in your cub duo-tang handed out last night. Please use common sense. Look at the weather channel and send appropriate clothing. Better a bit more than not enough. Cub uniform/necker needed.

• If you have any questions or concerns please look at the "contact-us" page and give one the leaders a call.
  

YIS
Shere-Khan

PS: You can get extra info at the Apple Hill Scouting Reserve Website

1st Meeting

The 1st Cub meeting is just on the horizon. I think we'll have another good year. We'll have a good mix of returning and new cubs. Our new Akela (formerly Chil) has been busy all summer planning the year (it's basically all planned right down to the individual weekly meetings) good work Achila (haha .. inside joke). Myself (Shere-Khan) and Kaa are returning cub leaders. We have a new (cough cough) double-duty leader: Scouter Christine (Rack-Shaw). I say "cough cough" because she's not really new, she was the Akela a couple of years ago. And I say "double-duty" because she's also a scout leader.

Stay tuned for typical activities like our fall camp (coming up soon), Apple Day, hikes, etc...

MAJOR things that are new this year:

• Fundscrip ... A new way to raise money for our pack .. more info to come.
• Duty Six ... The weekly six that will be in charge of setting up at the start of each meeting.
• Sixer's council ... Sixers and maybe seconders to participate in program planning with the leaders.
• Sixes Points ... A scheme for attributing or deleting points per six. Sixes with the most points get rewards.
  
• Cub duo-tang or binder ... Just like at school each cub will receive a duo-tang so he/she can keep handouts and other info at hand. No excuses for not getting the info anymore. :o)

There are other things that we will be doing differently this year but the above covers the major points (plus I'm getting tired of typing ... ha ha)

All in all I think the kids will have fun while respecting each other. That is what we emphasize : RESPECT (and fun of course).


Okay here's my chance to be "deep" ...

Parents, as leaders we are not perfect. We are not paid nor formally trained to deal with youth as teachers (for example) are. We do have training available to us that is program specific and most of us are parents so we have "on the job" training so to speak. Every leader is different and brings a different perspective in life and the way things should be done. This is bound to create conflict eventually but that's what makes this world fun. (sort've, ha ha). Anyways, I think that all the leaders in our pack have an "open door policy" where you can approach any of us if you have questions, concerns or whatever. Don't be shy. It could be on any topic: camps, meetings, your child, another leader, the weather, body odour (joke), this blog, the website, it doesn't matter. All right enough is enough .... sorry for blabbing too much.

Please have fun this year.

YIS
Shere-Khan

2006-2007 Season

Hi everyone,
Hope you all had a good summer. Well this new season promises to filled with fun. Registration is coming up Sept. 7th and 9th at the arena (see our registration page for more details). After that there will be a main group opening camp fire at Tucker House. We are also going to have an area wide fall cubaree at Apple Hill again this year but this time in September instead of late October. Please keep checking our calendar for more details.

Our website if full of info. Please check it regularly. This blog is a great way for us to provide you with reminders and important news but it will also be a way for us to share our thoughts and experiences at camps, hikes and other outings. Each section will have their own blog so if you want cub related news check the cub page.

Another way we share information is via the web calendar. This should give you an "at-a-glance" view of coming events. This calendar is shared by the whole group. To help differentiate between other sections, Cub events will be highlighted in bright yellow.

Throughout the year we will be uploading Cub pack newsletters and other handouts to the website too. Therefore take a look every now and then to see what's there.

If you child misses a meeting, it is up to you as parents to find out from the leaders what happened and if there is important info you need to know (ie: bringing in money, fill out forms, etc...)

As parents we value your opinion. If you have any comments or suggestions please pass it by one of the leaders at a meeting, by phone, email (see the contact-us page). You can event leave a comment on the blog if you want.

Test Post

This is the infamous 1st post test. :o)