Valley Highlands Area: Scouts Canada                                         December 04

“Notes’N’News”

Volume One #2                                                     Editor Scouter Chris Tyler:                                                 FirstscoutKim@aol.com

 

When Jim asked me to set up this monthly newsletter, I was in some ways pleased that he imposed no restrictions, other than reasonable journalism, and that it be relevant to our clientele.  However, it would be a complete waste of everyone’s time if you do not read it, therefore we need to know from you, what you want to see here in the coming months.  I would appreciate your input by the fifteenth (15th Dec) of each month, the next months issue will be circulated by the 2nd of each month.  Please send your “Copy” to the editor at FirstscoutKim@aol.com

As Etta and I sit by the pool with margarita’s in one hand and ice cream in the other we are thinking about you and hoping that the weather is being kind to you.  But you know… sitting here for eight hours a day in brilliant sunshine and in temperatures in the high eighties, it is hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.  We wish you all…

                                “All the very best of the season for a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Near”

 

Commissioner Jim…

 

 

 

 

Useless Trivia… 

A gravestone in a Cleveland, Ohio, cemetery reads.  Once I wasn’t-Then I was-Now I ain’t agin

Another in Georgia reads simply-.  “I told you I was Sick.” And on an unnamed grave in Stowe, VT the epitaph reads- I was somebody.  Who, - is no business of yours!

 

Congratulations…

To each and every one of you who sold ‘Popcorn.’  Congratulations on job well done.

In case you have not seen the figures elsewhere, here they are: -

 

2nd/3rd Carlton Place

$5,185.00

2nd Smiths Falls

$3,430.00

1st Beckwith

$2,813.00

1st Pakenham

$2,304.00

1st Drummond

$1,544.00

1st Elmsley

$1,361.00

4th Perth

$1,065.00

1st Montegue

$-,745.00

 

A grand total of $16,123.00 was raised - Thankyou

And of course, special congratulations to the top Salesman – Patrick Garlick who collected a whopping $1,460.00

Patrick is a member of the 1st Pakenham Group.

Also to Michael Farrell (Mayne) from 1st Beckwith Group, who had sales of $1,141.00

                Zack Buffam from 1st Elmsley Group, with sales of $533.00

                Glenn Peckover from 3rd Carlton Place Group, with sales of $460.00

I will of course be looking for a Christmas Card from these Groups – Now that they have some spare cash.

Of course our congratulations would not be complete without a huge thankyou to Stephen Mayne who co-ordinated the program for our Area.  Thanks Stephen for a job well done.

 

Re-use - Recycle…  A true Story from Greensburg, Louisiana…  A thief had robbed a casino and the net was closing in on him so he decided to get rid of the bag containing thousands of dollars in banknotes.  Later his lawyer, hoping for a lighter sentence, phoned the sheriff and told him that his client had dumped the bag in a creek.  After hours of searching they found the money in a beaver dam.  The beavers had found the bag of money and stuffed the soggy currency in-between the twigs and brush of their dam. …  And they say… animals are stupid?

 

Upcoming Events…

Jan 5th 2005.           Winter Camp Skills.                             DAC Training, Scouter Roger Nuttall.

Jan 15th 2005          Kim & Keo Workshops.                     DAC Training, Scouter Roger Nuttall

Jan 20th 2005          Area Meeting.                                      Area Commissioner, Jim Britton

Jan 29th 2005          Camp Zero.                                            DAC Program, Scouter Ken Richardson.
 
Fundraising Idea…     

Talking of animals…  The Scout Association in the U.K. have joined up with

 The World Wildlife Fund for a mutual fundraising effort called “GIMME5”

                                                                It seems like a fun challenge.  You get to keep 25% of the funds raised, the next 25%

 goes to the Brotherhood fund, and 50% goes to the W.W.F.

Check out the web site for full details, Program Ideas, Stickers and Sponsorship forms.

Click on “Leaders Package” and fill in the name and address of the contact leader and

 the package will arrive in no time flat.

The Challenge runs from12th – 20th March 2005.

The Web Address is… www.Gimmie5.org.uk

 

                                                               

Program Ideas…

Plan a visit to a place of interest…  An A-Z listing.

Airport,  Art Gallery, Amateur Radio Station, Ambulance Station, Artists Studio, Bakery, Boat Builders Yard, Castle, Cathedral, Cinema, Clubs (archery, Fencing, football, gymnastics, Judo, Sub-aqua, etc)         Working Mine, Council Meeting, Criminal Court, Dockyard, (Train) Engine Shed, Factory, Fire station, Harbour, Historical site, Meteorological Station, Motor Garage, Museum, Newspaper office, Nurseries, Photographers studio, Police Station, Printing works, Scientific Establishment, Sewage Works, Signal Box, Stables, Swimming Baths, Tannery, Telephone exchange, Television Studio, Ten pin Bowling alley, Waterworks, Zoological gardens.

Or have them come to you…

Consider a few people who are experts in their field who might spare the time to come to your section meeting and give an interesting talk.  Animal Welfare, a vet or Cspca officer can give useful information on keeping pets … like crocodiles…

Archaeology, A talk on local finds with exhibits might be interesting.  Historian, the library should be able to give you the name of a local expert in the history of your community. The list is really quite endless…

At the rate of one a month the above list gives ideas for three and a quarter years of visits and talks…  So no youth should ever get a repeat performance.

Troop Specialist Badge…  Do take advantage of this.  It can be any subject not covered by the normal badgework.  But do make sure that your youth have a large input in the planning stages.

 

Useless Trivia…  A cup of tea…  The teacher, Nan-in, had a visitor who came to ask about Zen.  But instead of listening, the visitor kept talking about his own ideas.  After a while Nan-in served tea.  He poured tea into his visitors cup until it was full, then kept on pouring.  Finally the visitor could restrain himself no longer, “Don’t you see it’s full” he said.  “You can’t get any more in the cup.”  “That’s true” replied Nan-in, stopping at last.  “And like this cup, you are filled with your own ideas.  How can you expect me to give you Zen unless you offer me an empty cup.”

 

A Scouter’s Five…

          An owner of a Café in Milan, Italy became fed up with potential customers walking passed his humble establishment to dine at other Cafés and Bars along the street.  One day he hit upon an idea and placed a sign in the window which declared “FREE DINNER TOMORROW” The following day, the house was packed to capacity and as each client left, the owner charged them for the meal they had enjoyed.  Every client complained that they had expected the meal to be free, “Ah, said the owner.  That will be tomorrow.”  Again the next day the house was filled again with the previous day’s clients, again the owner charged them for the meal they had enjoyed.  Again the clients complained that they thought the meal would be free, citing the sign in the window, “Free dinner tomorrow.”  “Yes” said the owner “That is correct, but you see, ‘tomorrow’ never comes.”

Tomorrow is not promised to us, so let us take today and make the very most of it, the once we pass this way.

Just speak aloud a kindly thought, and do a kindly deed… and try to see and understand some fellow creatures need.

Tomorrow is not promised us, nor any other day, so let us make the most of it…  The once we pass this way. 

                                                                                                                                                                                Louise Mae Hogan.

What is Childhood?

Childhood is a time for growth…  a time to be extra sensitive to the wonders of the world…  to take pleasure in its beauty.

A time to grow at ones own speed…  to make new friends and to sort out new and conflicting ideas…  to explore the world inside the garden fence and to embrace the universe within the sandbox.  A time for reflection and privacy… a time to master tying a shoelace or skipping rope or riding a bicycle.  A time to glimpse wisdom beyond the years, to glimpse the man or woman that is to be.

Childhood is a time for discipline… firm, but gentle; loving, but purposeful…  A time for discipline free from anger… a time for the child to teach the parents that there is rarely such a creature as a thoroughly good or thoroughly bad child…  But rather a child doing a good deed or a bad deed… a time for adults to expect much, yet demanding only what is really necessary.

Childhood is a time for Love…  for loving and being loved.  A time to be loved for the child’s sake alone… not just because of what he means to his parents or what he has done or not done, but because he “is”…  A time to kindle the love that expands itself to include everything and everyone in a child’s big-small world.  A time to love boldly and to have a new best friend everyday…  a time love so intensely that there is no doubt in a child’s mind where and to whom he belongs, and yet to love patiently and tenderly as well, tasting the sweetness of it.  For if a child does not love… then he is unloving.  And if he does not learn to give love and to receive love, he will be nothing.

Childhood is indeed a time… because “to everything there is a season, and to every purpose under heaven.”  Childhood is a time to be guarded and guided and nurtured by all parents so that it belongs to the child.

 

 

Weather….  And how to deal with it.  (Part two)

            Can you read a weather chart, and follow a forecast?  Failing to anticipate bad weather is the most common cause of serious emergencies and accidents.

If you are an outdoor enthusiast, a camper, a climber, a yachtsman, a rambler, or a pot-holer, the weather will affect you, and you should be able to read the weather signs and anticipate their effect.

The Weather is made up of four parts:

1.        Atmospheric pressure, 2.  Temperature, 3.  Humidity, and 4.  Wind.

Atmosphere.  The earth is wrapped in a layer of breathable air called “the Atmosphere” roughly 100 miles thick, which is subjected to various forces the chief of which is Pressure, caused by the gravitational pull of the earth.

This pressure is variable but is measured in bars – from which we get the name for the measuring tool – Bar-o-meter.  At sea level the pressure of the atmosphere- that is the weight of the air on the earth’s surface- is about 14lbs per square inch.  This is shown as 1013 milli-bars or 29.9 inches depending on type of Barometer you have and is called Normal.  Any increase into the 1050-mb or 30+ inches or decrease down to about 950 mb or 27inches indicates a change in the weather.  However it must be kept in mind that this is for sea level, the higher you climb the Lower the pressure.  Pressure falls at the rate of 1mb for every 30 ft (9.25meters) of elevation, so at 3000-ft (923m) the normal pressure would be approximately 900mb.

Temperature.  This is measured, in the shade, with a Therm-o-meter.  Generally speaking we express temperature in “Degrees Centigrade” (Celsius).  This is a scale based on the freezing and boiling points of water.  These are 0°C & 100°C respectively.  For the outdoorsman, frost and chill on the one hand and high temperature on the other, need to be reckoned with.  Anything below 1°C (34°F) or above 25°C (75°F) must be taken into account in our expedition planning.

Air temperature falls at the rate of 3° with every 1000ft of elevation so if you go high enough what falls as rain in the valley could be snow at the top and sleet or hail in between.

Humidity.  The atmosphere always contains a certain amount of water vapour, when this vapour condenses we get different kinds of weather; especially dew, rain, fog, snow, or the most obvious – Clouds.  The air can only hold so much water vapour and when this point is reached the air is said to be “Saturated.”  Warm air holds more water vapour than cold air and it is when warm air is saturated (the air is too full of water to hold any more) and sweat cannot evaporate from the skin that outdoor people can get heat stroke.  Humidity is measured as a percentage.

Wind.  This can best be described as air in a hurry.  The two normal ways to express the effects of wind are SPEED – measured in Knots (nautical miles per hour) and Direction – Namely the compass direction the wind is coming FROM.

So a wind blowing from Florida to Alaska would be described as a southeasterly wind.  A long time ago Admiral Beaufort

Set up a scale that told of the effects of wind on a well founded ‘Man-o-war’sailing ship.  He used a scale of one to twelve.  Force one being hardly any wind at all and therefore the ship was becalmed, Force twelve was a full hurricane (64+ knots) and heaven help you.  This scale is still in use today.  A force one wind will make flags just about flap, whereas a force four wind will be a moderate breeze of 11 – 16 knots, making waves and trees sway.  Anything over this sailors  (especially canoeists) beware. 

Hikers and hill walkers should keep away from hillcrests and cliffs at winds (or Gusts) at or above force 5.

 

Next time…  Weather Charts.  (Part 3.)

 

It could happen to you…  A Series of short stories…  True stories… of problems arising over the years, which might just help you to prevent them happening to your youth, or indeed yourselves.

A Sunday in July…  

We had been in camp for about four hours, the tents had been set up and the patrols were busy getting their kitchens organized.  The leaders were busy getting the H.Q. site organized while Margaret and I were just about to leave to return the hired van and collect the milk and eggs order from the farmhouse a mile or so from the site.  Everything was looking good for our ninth annual summer camp.  The day had started well before dawn and we had driven a little over 400 miles from S.E.London to Cornwall, the scouts had been great on the long journey and arrived in the camp field full of vital energy.  For most of them it was to be their first weeklong adventure, for all of them a first at such a distance from home.

I had buckled the seat belt around our three year old son and latched the 1 year old babies’ carriage into it’s cradle in the car, and was now headed for the van.  One of the leaders called out to me and beckoned me to join him.  Apparently in the few minutes during which my back was turned an accident had occurred to one of the younger scouts.

This young lad had been asked by his PL to collect firewood from the nearby woods and having gathered a large armful had taken an axe from the Patrol Box to cut the branches into fire-size pieces.  He started to chop and the axe bounced off the springy wood and hit his hand, rolling the skin off the entire back of his hand from the base of his fingers to his wrist, revealing some very white sinews and few odd bones.

This being a Sunday….  With the local medical center closed for the weekend resulted in an eighty-mile, 6 hour round trip to the hospital…  And from that time forward large padlocks on the patrol boxes, to which only PL’s and leaders had keys.

                                                                                                                                                                                                Chris Tyler.

 

Useless Trivia…  Ontario Hydro reactors supply 85%of the cabalt-60 used around the world to treat cancer patients.

 

Family Literacy Day…  Here is an idea for a program event during the dull days of January…

Check out the web site…  www.abc-canada.org.  For full details.  Maybe you can help someone who is struggling with reading, writing and math.  But there is a lot more to learn here besides those three items.  Learn how to put together press releases and planning your event.  The date is January 27th 2005 just Click on the Family Literacy Day tab. You might even want to use “Penny’s Odyssey”…  Enjoy.

 

Night Activities…

Maybe the following diagram will help with planning hikes/evening/night activities outdoors.

 

                New Moon            First Quarter          Full Moon             Last Quarter          New Moon            First Quarter

 

 

 


                Dec 4thth                Dec 11th               Dec 18th               Dec 24th                  Dec 31st                         Jan 7th

A full moon is best for hiking, but you might want a new moon for widegames, you know stealth and all that stuff.

However seeing as the moon currently does not rise until after midnight, when you should all be tucked up in bed,

I cannot imagine why you would want to know this stuff… unless of course you’re up to no good.

From next month forward we will publish the monthly chart in the banner head, so look for it there.  Ok!

Want to see the sunrise?  …  All right we’ll put that up too.  Anything to please you.  J


Needless to say, If it is a cloudy night you will not see the moon anyway but the amount of moonlight filtering through those clouds will be help.  You will see the tree in front of you just as you slam your face into it, rather than after you wake up!

Useless Trivia…  Make some time….  To lose track of!

 

Moon Compass…  It seems that many of you were unable to open the microdot at the end of last months “Activities for Older Scouts… so here they are again.

                Instructions.  Cut out two discs; One about 4” Diameter (That’s about 10cm for the uneducated) the other about 2¾” (7cm) mount them on stiff card.  Cut out the small window in bottom (Smaller) card in illustration, (This card fits on top of the other card.)  Draw the compass points and moon phases onto the larger disc as shown in the illustration.  Fasten the two discs together using a brass paper fastener, making sure that they rotate freely.  To use compass follow these instructions.

 

                Set window to the phase of the moon, Rotate whole compass until time on small (Top) disc is in line with the real moon.  Compass is now set.  Allow for Daylight saving time!

Activity hikes…

                Hiking is one of those love/hate activities.  This is often because the hike is nothing more than a boring walk from A to B.

Perhaps the following ideas might help to change that into a worthwhile event for your section.

 

1.        Message following:  A message wrapped in around a stone is thrown into the meeting room just after opening, the scouts are instructed to form up in patrols and meet up at a local well-known landmark, say half a mile away, here they find another message directing them to next rendezvous and so on until they arrive somewhere where a treasure is found or soup and hotdogs await.  With transport to take them back home.

2.        Progressive Supper: Patrols hike out to various checkpoints where they collect items for their meal.

 

 

 

 

 


What about the Venturers?

            What about the Venturers>

                                    What about the Venturers?

What about the Venturers?

                OK!  What about the Venturers? 

Those few fine young adults in our midst (who meet under the guidance of an illustrious leader) have from time to time made themselves very useful at Scouting functions, for which we are forever indebted.  However, they are a very tight-knit bunch, about which, half the Area knows precisely nothing.  Who you are?  When and where you meet?  Or what you do when you do meet?  May I invite you to tell us all through the medium of this newsletter, the answers to at least some of those questions?  Here you can establish a voice for your unit(s) and get the message of Venture Scouting out to all our members and friends.  Especially those looking to join you in the fall of 2005

From other Venture Scout units around the globe, (Well – The U.K. Actually) here are some examples of what they get up to.

Stakes Hill Venture Scout Unit, from Hampshire, England.  Spent 75 hours up in the treetops of Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, to raise money for arthritis and rheumatic research.  Not only did they pitch their tent in the trees but also built a bathroom and a music room, connecting the trees by walkways.  The unit is now considering raising money for research into “Treeitis!”

As a result of Carol Singing last Christmas, Edinburg Venture Scouts were able to send a cheque For  £50.00 to “Help the Aged”.  A charity – which helps the senior generation.

Other units around the country have been engaged in stamping Bicycles with the owner’s postcode both as a way of raising funds and crime prevention.

The 9th Airedale V.S.U. spent the summer at Grinwald in Switzerland. Rock climbing and Paracending were the top activities

The 10th Belfast Unit won the Northern Ireland Venture Scout Soccer Competition.  (NIVSSC) for those who prefer brevity.

The themes for meetings cover an almost endless list of activity, Lacrosse, Barn Dances, Strawberry Tea’s, go-kart racing, Speaker from Voluntary Service Overseas.  Yoga, Long-distance three legged races, Screen Printing, Indoor games for the handicapped, Visit to local Courts, Car rallies, Talks by Euro MP’s, The greater London Bed Race, – all of which can be adapted for use here in Valley Highlands, not to mention working for the “Duke of Edinburgh’s Award” and of course Planning with Ken Richardson, the program for the Spring Camporee.  (hint!)

 

Yes Folks….  Venture Scouting is up and running, we just get to hear so little about what they are doing… perhaps that will change.

 

Safe online…

Since 1996, www.4kids.org has built its reputation on providing and encouraging safe experiences for kids on the Internet.  Many good organizations now exist to protect kids online.  Whether you are a parent, a teenager or a kid, you’ll find a site below to help you be smart and be safe online.

NetSmartz… www.netsmartz.org                      Safekids.com…www.safekids.com

SafeTeens…    www.safeteens.com            About Kids Safety…  http://kids.getnetwise.org/

For the Family …  www.fbi.gov/fbikids.htm

Internet safety for the Wired Generation…   www.fbigov/page2/sept04cac090104.htm

Although these are American sites the info applies just as well to Canadians.

 

Play is a child’s work…  What can you do to help your pre-school or kindergarten child succeed in school?

You can throw away the colouring books, Burn the workbooks, Shred the ditto sheets, Hide the battery-operated toys and unplug the television.  Each new generation rediscovers the world with delightful energy and inspiring wonder – But only if Adults don’t get in the way.  Children learn and retain information that is of interest to them.  Follow their lead.

Adults get excited when a child sings the ABC’s.  Children get excited when they see an Ant carrying a huge crumb across a crack in the sidewalk.  If you encourage the child to tell grandma about the Ant, he will develop more language, vocabulary, sequencing, visual memory and storytelling skills than he will ever learn singing ABC’s.

Ask your child to draw a picture of the Ant. (or tell you what to draw!)  Encourage him to “scribble-write” or dictate the story as you write the words.  Make a book with several pictures of the Ant.  Where is the ant going?  What will it do with the crumb?  Your child just wrote his/her first book.  She is an author and an illustrator.

Children should be able to draw a square, a circle, a cross and a triangle before ever attempting any letters.  Watch for these to appear naturally as artwork progresses from scribble to recognizable pictures. Children should be able to rhyme words and identify sounds that are the same and different before being introduced to letters.

Children crawl before they walk, walk before they run, Play is a child’s work.  Allow your child to rhyme before he reads and to draw before he writes.                                                               From Family fun√damentals – a “success by six” publication.

 

Children who enter kindergarten ready to succeed have listened to more than 7,000 stories; Children at risk of school failure have often heard only 25.  Tell stories as you drive, shop and prepare dinner.  Good beginnings never end.

 

Planning a trip? ….  The famous CYPRESS GARDENS has reopened its doors today, after being closed for a couple years… as an Adventure theme park.  Check out the parks web site at cypressgardens.com Their flyer, which arrived this morning, shows beautiful coloured pictures of activity venues and details of a huge array of artists giving concerts in the coming months, enticing the public to snap-up tickets, which at $34.95 for ages 10 – 54 and $29.95 for ages 3-9 and seniors, gives a second visit free provided that it is within six days.  Or an annual pass at $64.95  (also valid at Wild Adventures and Splash Island Water Park in Valdosta, Georgia.)  Gives unlimited admission to the parks and concerts. Car Parking is $7.00 per day or $25.00 for an annual pass.  Group discounts available.  Annual Passes purchased now are valid through the end of 2004 plus all of 2005.  The Botanical Gardens, The crinoline Southern Belles and Water ski shows will continue with the added attractions of an Animal Park and the Theme Rides with lots of new café style eatery’s and the concerts adding some fine new life into the original attraction.

And finally…

 As Thomas Stagg’s epitaph in St.Giles Churchyard in London, England, Reads,  “That - is all”

 

Until next month.