2020 back outdoors now Zooooooooming into 2021!

Like everyone else Scouting at First Woodcutts is having to adapt again to Lockdown, we had just got used to meeting face-to-face again although that had its own problems in as much that the young people had to meet outside and could only go inside under

Naomi Booth :: Wednesday 25th November 2020 :: Latest Blog Posts

Group Update from Skip

Like everyone else Scouting at First Woodcutts is having to adapt again to Lockdown, we had just got used to meeting face-to-face again although that had its own problems in as much that the young people had to meet outside and could only go inside under extreme conditions or circumstances they also had to be in bubbles of 15 and ideally fi ve people which had to have at least three leaders in attendance to supervise, this was okay in the early days as the Beavers and Cubs could complete their program in the light of day, whereas the Scouts and Explorers had to fi nish up in the dark, with the advent of the clocks going back all sections had to contend with working with the loss of light, I am pleased to say that the Leaders and the young people coped admirably, it was getting to the stage that the younger members were increasingly fi nding the outside conditions diff icult, especially with keeping warm, in one way the Lockdown came as a blessing in disguise, meetings will now be on Zoom and social media until this latest setback comes to an end, one thing is for sure the Leadership Team will not give up or be beaten, we will always be there for our young people. Hopefully, at the end of this Lockdown, we will be able to resume face to face meetings but we will have to find some way for Beavers and Cubs to be accommodated, hopefully, the Scout Association will recognise that meeting out of doors in the winter is not suitable for this age group and allow them inside, Scouts and Explorers are made of sterner stuff, whatever we will find a way.

We have just held our Annual Group Scout Council meeting held on Zoom where our Officers and Committee Members were all elected en bloc, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank them for standing again and for their support in the background, mention was also made of our President Mr Richard Adlem for the support that we receive from him, I would also like to pay tribute to our amazing and dedicated team of Leaders, they never fail to amaze me with their commitment, we are very lucky to have them at 1st Woodcutts. You may have heard rumours that for the safety of our young people we were planning to move car parking away from our building and that we were attempting to purchase the field adjoining our Headquarters, unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement with the landowner and had to withdraw from negotiations, we had already submitted and paid the fees for a planning application for a change of use, we have decided to let the application run its course and are awaiting a decision.

Beavers

Following the resuming of face to face Meetings which are socially distanced, the Beavers have been working hard towards our Disability Awareness Badge. During the Deaf Awareness Week, we were able to invite one of Woodcutt's Explorers, Ben, to teach us some sign language including the Beaver Promise. During Harvest Festival, we created some great pictures which were painted with vegetables (some homegrown) which gave some surprising textures. Some Beavers even learnt what some vegetables were. A great Scavenger Hunt in Garston to make some Nature Crowns encouraged the children to explore our great woodland finding lots of fungi etc. Celebrations of Diwali found us making some lovely clay lamps which were decorated in jewels and some Beavers continued when the lamps were dry to paint them which added to the effect. Halloween was also celebrated by making spiders and milk bottle ghosts which were really scary!! With another 4 new members after half term, we decorated pebbles with Poppies for Remembrance which were placed on the Memorial before Remembrance Day. Lockdown - hasn't stopped the Beavers, we are continuing our Meetings via Zoom and working towards our Communicator Badge. If you wish to join our fun and games, please contact us to join the waiting list.

Cubs

Cubs had an amazing autumn completing their Artists badge by making models, tin-can lanterns, clay green man faces and joining one of our Explorer volunteers as he led us in an art evening called 'Funny Faces' which the Cubs engaged with fantastically. This half term we have started our Scientist badge - so far we have completed evenings called: Rockets, Snot: What is it good for?, The power of vinegar and May the force be with you. For each session, Cubs have individually built rockets, bows & arrows, and completed experiments. This badge was started in the HQ and has transferred really well to online practices with a little supervision from parents (and probably a lot of tidying up afterwards!)We have also been working with our more senior Cubs on their leadership skills and look forward to them running games, teaching skills and leading the pack forum before Christmas.

Scouts

Scouts had a good autumn with plenty of outdoor socially-distanced activities including chair football, pyrography, outdoor cooking, whittling and pumpkin carving before lockdown. Now on Zoom, the Scouts really enjoyed an escape room - needing all their mental skills and teamwork to complete the challenge. Next, they are going to take on their Digital Citizen badge and we look forward to seeing their digital creations next week!