Cubs Comic Relief night…

This Thursday, our cubs got into the spirit of...

Each Six did a short presentation about a charity involved in helping children from the UK or the rest of the world. They had done some research at home through the week. The Green Six presented about Children in Need, Blue Six about Comic Relief itself, Red Six about Oxfam, and Yellow Six about Barnardos. Some cubs had put an awful lot of work into this, which was really great to see! Well done!

Later, we learnt about the problems caused by landmines throughout the world. I’d hoped to show these two video clips… Landmines video 1 ... Landmines video 2 …but because of technical problems I told the stories portrayed in them instead! We learnt that Comic Relief spends some money clearing landmines, and some helping those who have been injured by mines. Then we played a blindfolded minefield game, putting a fun slant on this very serious problem.

We talked about what makes us happy, and what Comic Relief think kids need to make them happy, and we learnt some facts about Africa and child poverty.

Any Cubs who would like to donate some of their pocket money to Comic Relief can do so with their parent’s help by clicking here.

Ethan, Nathan and Wesley were presented with their Hikes Away 1 badge, which they earned in the Peak District recently. Well done guys!

See you all tomorrow for the Mother’s Day Service!

Spud

Beaver Quiz

Thanks to all who turned up last night. Our team did realy well (some of the questions had me scratching my head), but unfortunately we were pipped at the post by Darfield who were the eventual victors.

Synergise Centenary Camp

Cubs and Scouts are invited to attend the Synergise County-wide Centenary Celebration Camp.

It will be held on 4th to 7th May 2007 (May holiday weekend) at Hesley Wood.

This is a fantastic opportunity to try loads of exciting activities that we can’t normally offer because of Adventurous Activity Permit rules. It’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in a large camp with hundreds of other Cubs and Scouts.

The total cost including food is £45 for the 4 days. (The organisers have reduced the price since we last told Scouts.) As Ian, Spud, and Chill are the only Ardsley leaders able to attend, places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, and may need to be limited by adult to child ratios.

Reserve your place by returning the tear off slip from the note we give you this week, and pay your £20 deposit by Thursday 29th March 2007 at the latest.

Further info at www.synergise.org.uk – but please don’t book online yourself – we’ll book for you as a group.

Keep your eye on the blog for updates.

The Muddy Bike Ride!

James, Robert, Lewis, Ewan, Nathan, Daniel and Spencer all had a great time on the Muddy Bike Ride this Saturday morning. We started out nice and clean…


…but it wasn’t long before they got the hang of it (the clue’s in the activity name)…


…Lewis decided to do some stunts for the camera… although it was Nathan who crashed just after this pic!


And just in case any parents are still wondering why we asked the kids to come in old clothes…


For those of you who didn’t come, I’m sure we’ll be running a similar activity in the near future… maybe even a sponsored weekend ride! Anyone up for it!?

You Win some, you Lose some…

While our Scout PLs and APLs made it up Lose Hill a few weeks ago, last weekend it was Kieran, Ethan, Wesley, and Nathan who went hiking… and they made it up Win Hill!

While layers were stripped off on the way up…


…it wasn’t long before they were needed again! It was a bit blustery on the top (minus 11 with wind chill we’re told)…


…but despite getting a good soaking, spirits were high all day! (Ethan morphed into a zombie for this one!)


I’ll be trying to run another hike soon, so if you’ve got the energy for it, get your boots (and waterproofs) ready!

Beaver Quiz
Wednesday 14 March at Wombwell HQ. Drop off and pick up there. 6-7pm. Wear uniform. No money required. Come on Ardsley Beavers - let's win it this year!!

Cubs News
1. Matchbox Challenge.
In connection with our centenary activities each Cub is challenged to fill a small matchbox with 100 items. Each item must be different and the matchbox must be able to close. They have as long as needed to complete this challenge but the first one to do it will win a prize.
2. Global Challenge Badge
This week each Six chose a children's charity to research. Next week they will help their Six to present their findings to the Pack. If Leaders feel that the individual Cub has tried their best to contribute to this it will count towards the badge.

Welcome Liam H. Samuel C. Mason E. Spencer L. and Cameron to the Group.
Beavers and Cubs both now have a waiting list!!
Scouts welcomed Hayley, just up from Cubs.
Kim

Cyclocross

Thanks to all those who attended yesterday's Cyclocross on what was a wet and wild Sunday afternoon in the woods. We had 7 cubs, split into three groups: 8, 9, and 10 year olds. All three groups raced together after a staggered start. There were 31 cubs in all. Beth and Lewis started first, then Ethan, Nathan, Sammy, Daniel, then following up the rear was Matty Smith. The results were as follows, Nathan 2nd, Beth 8th, Lewis 9th, Ethan 15th, Matty 21st, Sammy 27th and Daniel T 31st. Unfortunately Matty ran most of the way due to mechanical failure. Lewis Johnson, our only scout entrant put in a brave effort against bigger opposition, finishing 14th out of 17. Not bad when you consider he had too much fun from the night before and no sleep. Eventually the heavyweight Hoyland ran away with all the trophies once more through shear numbers again. After all the excitement it was home for a well earned bath and bike scrub. The mud and sludge was hiddeous. I can speak for all (as I rode the course with the cubs with other parents), it was a gruelling course and everybody did very well. Well Done. Chill

Happy New Year…

Happy Chinese New Year to you all. Kim has worked very hard in the kitchen with Scouts and Cubs this week, and they’ve enjoyed cooking and eating noodles, rice, and stir-fry… some even managed to eat it with their chop sticks!

A big “congratulations” is due to Mini-Matt who has achieved his Level 5 Swimmer Staged Activity Badge at the age of just 10! Remember, those of you who didn’t complete everything when we were at Wombwell can ask an adult to supervise you swimming. If they write and sign a note stating what you have done, you can complete your badges. Check out what you need to do on the Scoutbase website.

For those of you who are interested in the Peak District Day Hike or the Let's Get Muddy Bike Ride, you can email me or see me on Wednesday or Thursday to reserve your place.

See you all next week,
Spud

Up and Coming Events for Cubs & Scouts

Flight-Sim Night
Sat 24th Feb
Open to Scouts who have booked a place with Thornton
Bring your overnight gear
Meeting at Ardsley Headquarters
Times: check with Thornton (overnight Sat – Sun)

Cycle–o–Cross
Sun 25th Feb
Open to all Cubs and Scouts
Bring a bike that is in safe working order (ideally a mountain bike), old clothes, old shoes, and a cycle helmet that fits
Meeting at Silverwood Campsite
Times: 1230 for 1300 until around 1530

Peak District Day Hike
Sun 4th Mar
Open to all Scouts and now to ALLCubs too!
5 places available (3 remaining, 23/02/07) on first come first served basis – inform Spud
Bring hiking boots, warm clothes, and plenty of energy
Meeting point to be confirmed
Times: 0900 – 1600 (to be confirmed)

Let’s Get Muddy Bike Ride
Sat 10th Mar
Open to all Scouts and now Cubs too!
6 places available (3 remaining, 23/02/07) on first come first served basis – inform Spud
Bring a bike that is in safe working order (ideally a mountain bike), old clothes, old shoes, and a cycle helmet that fits
Meeting at Ardsley Headquarters
Times: 0930 – 1230

A chilly weekend away…

Our Scout Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders were tough enough to cope with a hike and camp under canvas in the snow this weekend.

They climbed Lose Hill from Edale, and learnt some navigation techniques, as well as what to do in an emergency. Plenty of snowballs were thrown, and some thought it was the most snow they had ever seen! Leading the hike was a great experience for me too, as I’ve recently passed a hill walking adventurous activities assessment… so more hikes for Cubs and Scouts to come soon!

Here’s a couple of pics to help you feel the cold (minus 17 with wind chill apparently!)

A wee break en route…

But the snow had all been blown away at the top!!

Centenary Tree

Beavers made a Centenary Tree this week with named handprints and other prints that named things that were important to them such as lesssons at school, games, tv etc so that in 2017 other Beavers can look at it and see what 2007 meant to us. We welcomed Cameron to the Group and said bye to James K who's moved up to Cubs. Lydia and Luke were invested into the Group.

Cubs played various games this week in an effort to keep warm in our very old building. We had a great time!

Next week it's Chinese New Year so our activities will be on that theme.

By the way, I've eaten my way through more eggs this week and now have enough shells for our cress heads.

Any old boots?

Does anyone have old or out-grown hiking boots kicking around? If so, we could use them to start a troop “boots library”.

Kids out-grow hiking boots so fast it’s difficult and expensive to keep up, yet they’re an essential bit of kit for any serious hiking. Feel free to bring along any that you no longer need… all donations gratefully received! If we get enough, we can lend them out for activities and camps on a first-come-first-served basis.

On a more specific note, does anyone have a pair of size 9 or 10 boots that one of our scouts could borrow for the weekend of 10th / 11th February? I’m sure he would look after them and return them all sparkly clean! If you can help, please email me to let me know. Thanks, Spud.