Warning about potential school job actions

As many of you may be aware, the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, which is the governance body over St. Francis of Assisi has been involved with job action for a good part of this year.

As a result, we have been warned that the availability of the school could change at any time...possibly even with very little notice.

I will be watching the website and following their twitter account as often as possible so that if a cancellation does occur I can give you as much warning as possible...but I welcome you to do so yourselves as well.

The noted letter is here .

Their twitter account is at: @smcdsb

Depending on the weather, if a cancellation to the school does occur, we will do our best to replace our indoor activity with an outdoor one.  So, it will always be a good idea to bring along suitable clothing for outdoor wear...just in case.  As we say in Scouts...Be Prepared.

Ringtail

End of October Updates

Popcorn orders.  If you have any and have not provided your forms and money to me, please reach out ASAP.  The rest of the group leaders and myself will be aiming to put all of our orders together tomorrow night.

For our Halloween meeting this coming week we invite all the Beavers to dress up in their favourite costume for the meeting.  We ask though that if the costume involves a mask or a weapon to please leave those at home.  We are going to enjoy a family friendly movie together at the school, projected on the wall.  If you would like to bring some treats for the kids please be aware that we do have an egg and nut allergy in the group.  Going with wrapped products instead of fresh ones is likely safest if you are not certain of the contents...as that will allow Malek to inspect...but if you know how to make a fresh egg-free treat we would not turn it away!

Our investiture is planned for the following week.  Due to the large amount of youth (and hopefully some leaders!) we expect this will likely take the entire meeting.  We invite all parents to attend to cheer their youth on and take lots of pictures!

Apple Day - October 16-17th

Apple Day

Apple Day is a fundraising tradition that started right here in Canada.

 

This is annual event provides our Scouting youth with an opportunity to show their appreciation to the general public for their support throughout the year. Our youth distribute apples as a way of saying “Thank You” to the community. Donations are accepted in exchange, but apples are not sold.

 

Any money raised during Apple Day goes towards improving the Scouting program by provided more outdoor Adventures for youth, camping equipment, training and many other endeavours.

 

Each Group has a designated area to canvass including neighbourhood stores and other public areas. This year 1st Alcona's Apple Day weekend is happening from October 16-17, 2015.

 

Please talk to your youths Section leader to sign up for a spot.

 

Ringtail

Kids making you climb walls?

At the Scouters club last night, a leader from 1st Alliston approached the other scouters with an amazing opportunity.  Rock and Chalk in Newmarket is offering a special price of $20.00 for 3 hours of Indoor Rock Climbing on February 20th, 2016.  They have wall sizes for all ages...even Beavers!  This price includes all rental supplies.  Normally they apparently charge $20/hour.
They are anticipating running two sessions during that day, with 150 people total per session (it's a large facility).  Even family members are welcome (though they will need to sign a separate waiver - all Scouting youth are covered).

Even at 300 maximum, I have a feeling that spacing will go fast.  Please let me know if you are interested.

Ringtail

WoodBadge 1

Woodbadge 1 Top Up on November 7th 9am-9pm at St. Georges Anglican Church, 9 Granville St, Barrie, ON   $30.00
Pre-Requisite is module 1 & 2 online

For our new leaders, though only module 1 is a requirement before you can be counted as ratio, the entire WoodBadge is required within one year to remain as a leader.  This is a wonderful opportunity to network with other leaders and really get the gist of what being a Scout Leader is all about.

This course is a hybrid.  Our trainers have recognized the advantages and disadvantages of online and in-person training.  In short, on line training is very helpful in covering the drier subjects, however it fails to adequately build the skill base of our scouters so that they can support a strong program.  Traditional residential, in-person training helps scouters develop the network of relationships in scouting, provide them with hands-on, practical skills they can bring back to the group, and increases retention of scouters (a.k.a. less likely to leave scouting!).  However the drier content limits the time available to do the more program-related training.  So, by relying on the online training to deliver modules 1 & 2, and focusing our in-person training to those aspects that will build their skills as scouters and make them want to stay in scouting, the trainers have come up with a great model for WB1 training!
With respect to the program itself, the training will have a strong emphasis on the Canadian Path; as we have to all adapt to it this year, this training is very timely and the more scouters you have trained on the Canadian Path, the easier it will be for your group to make the transition.
One of the fringe benefits of this is that the time required for the training is less than before (one day), and accordingly, the cost is much less as well.  Scouters who take this training will greatly benefit your group!  This applies to new scouters to a section, as well as scouters who completed their online training previously but do not have residential WB1 training.

Ringtail

Popcorn All Around

Since 1989, Canadian Scouts from all across the country have sold over $100 million of Scout Popcorn, with 60% of funds raised have gone directly back to local Scouting activities such as: summer camps, Jamborees, canoe trips, group excursions, and to help subsidize registration fees. Since the inception of the program, local Scouts have raised nearly $60 million dollars in support of their local activities making the Scouts Popcorn program one of the top fundraisers in Canada.

The fundraiser has a high return rate with 60% going back to support local Scouting. That translates to $60 million raised since the program's inception.
In 2013, Scouts Canada had sales of nearly $9.5 Million dollars that returned over $5.7 million dollars to local Scouting.

Local Scout groups decide how they will allocate their funds raised, such as supporting camping and international trips or purchasing camping equipment.

The 2011 top seller was an 11-year-old girl from British Columbia who sold $17,038, raising $10,223 for her Group and earning herself $1,022 in scholarship funds towards her post-secondary education.

Rewards can be seen at: http://www.scouts.ca/popcorn/rewards.html

Post-Secondary Scholarship Program

Through Scout Popcorn sales, Scouting youth have the opportunity to participate in a scholarship program and raise money for their post-secondary educations.

Scouts who sell $2,500 of popcorn in a single year will receive six per cent of their total sales for that year and each year going forward, to be invested into an account to be applied to future education expenses, including tuition, books, housing and other fees.

Through the scholarship program, $54,000 has been given out to 77 youth across Canada for their post-secondary education expenses.

There are currently 915 Scouts in the program.

Canadian Forces

Customers can also choose to send a gift of popcorn to Canadian Forces bases in Canada and overseas.

Gifts come in denominations of $30 and $50 and are delivered in bulk in the New Year.

Occasionally, people may wish to pay by cheque.  If so, please have them make those out to Scouts Canada.

Safety Information

• NEVER enter anyone's home
• NEVER sell after dark unless you are with an adult
• NEVER carry large amounts of cash with you
• NEVER give personal information
• NEVER sell in front of stores or malls without permission. A responsible adult must be present
• NEVER sell at stop lights or street corners
• NEVER go to dimly lit areas or places where you are not clearly visible
• ALWAYS walk on the sidewalk and driveway
• ALWAYS sell with another Scout or with an adult you know
• ALWAYS notify your parent or group leader of any strange activity immediately
• ALWAYS walk away from any dangerous or uncomfortable situations
• ALWAYS fundraise in areas you know
• Make a list of friends, family, relatives, and neighbors to contact instead of selling door-to-door.

Benefits

Popcorn sales have other life learning benefits too. In addition to raising money, youth develop valuable business skills and learn about financial responsibility, marketing strategy development and time management while also increasing their self-esteem and confidence in the process.

Youth also have fun as they engage in friendly competition, vying for the coveted top seller spots and the fantastic prizes.

Any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

Ringtail

Food Drive - Success!

This week, the 1st Alcona Scouting group worked together to raise food for the Innisfil Food Bank and are very pleased to report that between the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts we collected 850lb of food which was dropped off to the Innisfil Community Church on Thursday evening.  We want to thank all of the homeowners who graciously opened their doors and cupboards to us over the nights of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Overall it was a very positive experience for the boys and girls of the group who learned that much more about the importance of community involvement and how they can make a difference.

From l-r: Dylan Slade, James Austen and Riley McMullen from 1st Alcona Scouts sit with the pile of food the group has collected.