Rolling up to Camp-A-Lot

Ouch, get a chiropractor for this poor guy

We're now counting down the days both to Camp-A-Lot and the end of this year's Beaver programme.  At the upcoming meeting; our last regular meeting at the school, we will be decorating the groups Herald Staff that I am putting together from an 8' tall pole with a square piece of birch plywood...meaning it weighs next to nothing but is (hopefully) sturdy enough for the boys to take turns carrying it from activity to activity.  The boys will each be able to colour in a small medieval representation of themselves that they will be glued to the plywood and protected with a plastic coating.  This means that even if your child is not going to camp, well...they will still be there in their own way.

The Scouts are putting together a decoration scheme for our campsite that will enforce the Medieval theme.  Apparently there will even be a crown on our...er...throne (loo).

Drop-off at the Orangeville Fairgrounds is at 7pm in the area called Nottingham.  It's a very short walk to our campsite from there, which is E2.  Let us know if you need to come earlier or later than this time so we can have someone meet you.

  We will not be feeding anyone that night other than for a quick mug-up before bed so please ensure you've fed your child before drop-off. 

Pick-up will be 1pm on Sunday.


Here's a map to where you are going (give yourself just over an hour depending on traffic from Alcona):  Both 5th Line and Hockley Rd are nice drives.  Or you could take 89 west through Alliston to 10 and go south to Hockley Rd.  Just consider rush-hour traffic.

 

The Google Map is: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/247090+Side+Rd+5,+Mono,+ON+L9W+6K5/@43.9501039,-80.0786695,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x882b001515a5d40b:0x345a2fdd35d739ee!6m1!1e1?hl=en

 

 

I myself will not be at camp.  Tic-Tac will be our main contact during the event.

 

Any questions, please let me know.

 

Ringtail

All at once you're lighter than air

On Wednesday, we will meet at Innisfil Beach Park where we will learn about flying kites, weather permitting!  We will be supplying each Beaver with a beginner level kite...and if parents wished to stay to enjoy this great activity with their child they would be more welcome!



Following this meeting, there will be only two more meetings leading up to Camp-A-Lot....and at least one will include a craft.  If I could ask, could everybody try to collect an empty egg carton, which, time permitting we will create a small caterpillar friend from?  If we don't get to it, these could always be donated to a local kindergarten class for cut and paste, or they could be used again in the fall.

The other craft I was planning, more specific to Camp-O-Lot will be a Pool Noodle Lance, which the boys who will be attending can bring with them as part of the group's honour guard.  We will be supplying everything for that.

Next to last, our last meeting will be on June 3rd....which is planned for a bonfire / BBQ event to celebrate the end of the Scouting Year.  Location TBD.  Could everybody plan to bring something small to share, and please keep in mind we do have an egg allergy in the group so be mindful of that.
We will supply hot dogs and buns.

Finally, I want to mention some good news.  The price of registration for next year is dropping to $175 as an early bird price, to fit a Canada wide Scouting mandate.  After July 1st the price will go up to $190...which is still cheaper than last year.  The registration section of Myscouts.ca for 2015-2016 is now online...and we've already had our first new Brown Tail register just today!  As part of that, we will be looking for new leaders as at least three of our current leaders will likely be leaving us for differently coloured pastures.  I don't want to see a repeat of this years situation where we struggled to keep ratio up for the first while so if you've been thinking of possibly coming on as a leader, either full or part time to help us out please let me know.

Yours in Scouting,

Ringtail

Return from March Break...

We reconvene our regular meeting schedule this coming Wednesday, the 25th of March at St. Francis of Assisi, where we will enjoy a night of storytelling and games.

The leaders all got together last week to discuss the rest of the year, and reconfigured some of our schedule based on the feedback we received from the Beavers in the group.  Every single meeting is now completely worked out and I will have a schedule to hand out at the next meeting.

Some important dates to consider.

If you have not yet paid me your deposit for any Beavers attending our Camp-A-Lot camp in May, please bring it this week.  It's a $25.00 deposit or $45.00 for the full amount, unless I've spoken to you in advance about the refund from Winter Brr.

Naughty Raccoon

The White Tail Beavers have been invited to join the Cubs at St. Francis Catholic School on April 21st and April 28th.  These two Tuesday meetings will give the elder Beavers an opportunity to see how the Cubs conduct a meeting and hopefully whet their appetites for the exciting opportunities next year will have for them.  There is still no word on a White Tail camp...unfortunately the camp we normally used has suffered a massive amount of damage from wildlife (sorry, my brother raccoons were naughty), and our backup camp has been damaged by the terrible winter we've experienced.  As soon as a backup-backup has been decided upon I will let you know.

We are planning one more camp for early May...a one-nighter this time in a location at Big Bay Point.  We will have the date for that locked down soon.

YiS,

Ringtail

Winter Brr wrap-up and more

Most of the boys from 1st Alcona attended Winter Brr on Saturday, March 7th, and had a lot of fun playing in the snow.  They worked as a team to pull Rusty around in our specially decorated toboggan, and had an opportunity to meet two members from the Barrie Colts, who came out to help with hockey.  The texture of the snow was not completely cooperating with building snow forts, so that activity was replaced with a hybrid version of snow Soccer.  They also managed to work their ways inside for a snack and some hot chocolate to listen to me telling a fun story about a Bear, a Moose and a Beaver having a canoeing adventure called Up The Creek by Nicholas Oldland (highly recommended for your bookshelf).  It was a great day!

If you have not yet given me your boys sizes for T-Shirt orders, please drop me a note or come see me at the meeting on Wednesday.  These are being specially printed for our group (Scouts, Cubs and Beavers) with the 1st Alcona logo...and will be great as an addition to our uniform for group activities.  Our section is absorbing the $10.00 fee for this.

Camp-A-Lot is fast approaching (May 29-31), and I need to get a $25.00 non-refundable deposit (Total is $45.00) for those boys who will be attending the camp.  I also need final numbers this meeting to satisfy our Council's attendance records.  Please take the time to inform me Yes or No if you have not done so already via e-mail or in person.  I normally have a spot in the sign-in sheet for your convenience.

Finally, if you have not done so already, give a hearty welcome to Rusty and Chip, our two newest leaders.  Rusty has been with us for a few months but certain technology issues were stopping him from being official.  Well, they both are official now and we are delighted to have them with us helping out.

This meeting will be our last before March Break, and will be in the school.

Any questions, please let me know.

Ringtail

Next meeting: No Toboganning due to weather..back indoors...

Since mother nature is not quite cooperating with us, we will have our January 28th meeting back indoors at St. Francis of Assisi.  If all goes well, we will retry for an outdoor meeting on the following week.

I have the rest of the popcorn orders and will be handing them out at the meeting, along with crests for those who participated.  We raised quite a few dollars that will go towards other events in the year.  Great work!


We have been invited to join the 14th Barrie group and hopefully a bunch of our groups for a Mini Winter Brr on Saturday, March 7th (1- 4pm).  I would like to get some numbers from you as to who would be available at that time.  The location is at Westside Lutheran Church in Barrie (corner of Ferndale Dr. and Livingstone St.).

We will also be participating in the council-wide camp "Camp-A-Lot" from May 29th - May 31st.  It will be hosted at the Orangeville Fair Grounds (247090 Side Road 5).  Please let me know if you are planning on having your child attend.  A deposit of $25.00 is required.  We will be looking for a couple volunteers across all of our sections (Scouts, Cubs, Beavers) to help our Treasurer Bonny plan out our menu and grocery plan.  If you have some time to offer, please let me know!

YiS,

Ringtail