Cane Festival Preparation

Last night was a craft night dssigned to get our display for the Cane Featival Parade. Ths theme is Queensland Heritage, and we were focusing on our love of Cars.

Some of the cubs created cardboard box cars and have done a pretty good job too.

It was during a visit to Ably Schwarz house that he presented a set of folders that contained a heap.of old newspapers. An idea came to me that we could use the.old adverts m, blow them up and create placards. Those cubs not on cars last night were inside highlighting some of the text, as being old and yellowing, some of the text was too light. They did a terrific job and were so focused.

It gets me how somethong so simple can keep them.so occupied, and quiet.

The Cane Festival starts at 12pm, weare assembling at the rear of Red Rooster and then walk down the Kent street start point. Water is being provided again for all youth memebrs so please no camel packs or drink bottles. Collection will be at showground arena after parade, once the float has been packed up. Please attend it is our way of getting out and showing off our great group and those that turn up each week.

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Boomerang work clarification

Please be mindful that if cubs are working on the boomerang badges at home, that tbey understand tge terms.

The term MAKE, is used to have cubs ceate something. Now we are looking for more then just a simple drawing. Take make a compass. We actually are asking the cubs to go away and research how to make a very simple one. A quick search on Google will help and all they really need is a cork, 4 pins, magnet and a cup of water. It does work.

Also, we understand that cubs may struggle with knowledge retention, so we have no problems if they jot down points and bring along to help.

We dont make it difficult, but we need to challenge else we would just give the badge away. It all leads to personal acheivement and sets them on lifes true journey.

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Boomerang Age Brackets

One of the key things in Boomerang Awards is it is based on age. The brackets are:

BRONZE: 7.5 to 9
SILVER: 9 to 10
GOLD: 10 to 11
GREY WOLF: completion of GOLD level, but can work towards it while working on GOLD.

Their is a little room to start these no more than 6 months before the age bracket, but they will not get awarded the bafge until they turn the age bracket. Their is a lot in the boomerang work and to ensure enough time to complete Grey Wolf is why we allow the early start point. However, they must have completed the previous boomerang level first.

Also, if they do not complete all 10 sections by birthday, they will not acheive the badge. Again, if they are close to completing, say one or two weeks, we will allow it, but if they come two months later than they lose that badge and must start next one.

The GREY WOLF award can be worn on their shirt in Scouts, until they earn the Pioneering Badge.

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Cub chat about badgework

One of the things that we had to do this week was talk to the cubs about badgework and why we do the cool activities each week.

With so many new faces and young joeys in our section it was time to explain our badgework strategy. Each week the cubs are expected to bring along their yellow books, and place in a green bin by the door. This is done so that if we complete Boomerang Badgework on our nights we can sign it off.

Now we do test our cubs, we dont just sign it off. Each time we add a Boomerang section to our den night, we include challenges to reinforce that learning. As long as they show they understand and do their best we will sign off. But, and it is a big BUT, it is up to the cubs to bring along their yellow books and add to the bucket/bin. No book, no sign off. We know who attends and keep a record of sections completed so that we can sign off in a week or two. Any longer and we will ask that cub some general questions or ask them to demostrate they have retained the knowledge.

If a cub has Acheivement badgework, they need to place yellow book in bin, and write name on whiteboard at front of den. This way we can see they need testing as we dont target acheivement badges, unless we decide to, it is something the cubs have to do for themselves. It gives them great pride when they acheive a badge on their own.

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Navigation and extra bits

This weeks focus was again on Navigation. We continued on wth compass work from last week, only this week we had the cubs set coordinates and and find items around the grounds.

Cubs were taught that once you have set your compass and have turned the direction you want to go, they then need to lift their heads and tell me the first thing they saw in that direction. Allowing that some cubs were two or three steps left and right of the set point they got the idea. Basically when a coordinate is set, the person setting it will focus on a static object in the distance and walk towards it. This way they dont need to check compass bearing all the time. Plus if you are slightly off course and need to recheck constantly, it could see you heading off on a different direction.

The next base was trail signs. This was about showing the standard signs for home, left, right, danger, and river ahead. It is all about safety in the bush and what you might need to do if you get lost or in a difficult to navigate location. The cubs enjoyed this challenge.

The final base for the night was to get the cubs to roll their scraves properly, and to learn how to roll the flags at the end of night. Most of our cubs are new and it was important to teach them to roll scarf as it is an important part of our uniform and as most have been showing little care in dressing for parade, we felt it was time to address the matter.

Folding the flag is an important duty each, and if it is not done correctly, when time comes to open the flag it does not always open. Can be a little embarrassing when we have guests on parade ;-)

There was one more session but that is another quick update .....

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Cuboree 2012 Update

Cuboree 2012 is only 13.5 months out. The event will be June 29 to July 3, 2012 and will be held at Rockhampton. The theme is 'Magical Mystery Tour'. For your cub to attend they must be:

<ul>
<li>9 years to 11 years at time of Cuboree starting</li>
<li>Have completed Silver Boomerang</li>
<li>Attend 2 camps with a minimum of 2 nights away from home.</li></ul>
Based on this, 90% of the cubs in Beenleigh will be eligible to attend, but it is up to them to ensure they acheive their Silver Boomerang Badge.

I have been advised that the price will be around $350 per cub to attend. This will include transport to the event and home again. The bus trip is one of the many activities they will participate in, as they will have set tasks to do for every pick up they do along the way. The trip is estimated to take 10 hours.

At Cuboree 2010 we had 13 cubs attend and 5 helpers. We expect that again for Cuboree 2012 based on the numbers we have, and the cubs that can qualify for Silver Boomerang status. Our programs are centered on Boomerang work, but we expect the cubs to bring along their Yellow Books each week to ensure they get things signed off. No book, means reduced chances of getting to Cuboree. We do however register who attended but the Cubs have to take ownership of getting badge work signed off.

As a result of the costs, we need to fundraise to help bring down the impact for everyone. This event is one the Leaders have to pay for as well, there are no exceptions. Fundraising last Cuboree saw most cubs get some discount off the event. For Cuboree 2012, we have to complete with Scout Jamboree Fundraising, as a result it has been decided Cubs will fundraise from now until End of Year, to ensure we do not cut into each others fundraising needs. The following Cuboree Fundraising events will take place, I encourage you all to get as many people to come along as the money raised will benefit your cub.

Events:

<ul>
<li>July 10 - Beenleigh Sunday Markets </li>
<ul>
<li>Bring along your unwanted bits from home so we can take to the markets to sell. Deadline for goods will be End of Term 2.</li></ul>

<li>July 23 - Family Trivia &amp; Bingo Night
<ul>
<li>Come along for some serious fun. $10 a head or $50 a table of 6 - extras on a table will be $10 a head (12 on a table $100)</li>
<li>Sausage Sizzle and Drinks available</li></ul>
Oct 29 - Family Halloween Trivia Night

<ul>
<li>Get dressed up for another fun filled night. Same price structure as pervious event</li></ul>
Dec 4 - Family Car Rally

<ul>
<li>$20 a car </li>
<li>Start at Den, end - who knows where.</li></ul></li></ul>Outside of this I we would like to put on Movie Sessions at the Loganholme Cinemas. We are looing at CARS 2 or KUNG FU PANDA 2 in 3D on July 3. Cost is $20 per adult and $17 per child. Includes Small popcorn and Drink. This saves around $5 per person if you went as a family of 4. We will be passing this to schools to see if we can get them to attend also. I hope we can run a couple of others in the next 6 months with a family theme.

To add your family and numbers to the Movie Session, send an email to register and once I have numbers to move forward I will advise on how to pay and redeem tickets for the session.

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Jupiter, Venus and Mercury

Hi Cubs, this week I have news on being able to see Jupiter, Mercury and Venus all in a rowin the eastern sky. Best time to view os 5am and you wont need a telescope to see them shine bright. They will be visible for the next few days.

http://i.space.com/images/i/9445/i02/four-planets-together-mercury-boston.jpg?1304620968

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Our Heritage Badge - RSL Visit

The Beenleig RSL have agreed to hosting our cubs on Monday, June 6 at 6:30pm to complete their Our Heritage Badge requirements for 2011. Part one of the badge is our invovlement in the ANZAC Day March.

Normally we ask a Veteran to come and speak, but tjis year the Beenleigh RSL acquired a Tank and it is on display. As well as this, the cubs will get to see other items in their collection, and a veteran will also speak with them.

Parents did not object to the Monday nigt, but as we had little option in days it was pleasing to get the ok tp lock it in.

As a result their will be no Cubs on June 7, in lieu of June 6.

C3's out next week.

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Navigation night

This week the focus was on compass skills. Compass skills is one of the core boomerang award items.

The night started off with 2 cubs being promoted to Seconds - Gavin and Daniel. These boys are the quiet ones in our pack, but they have done enough to be noticed and be rewarded for their efforts and team work. Well done both of you.

Two of our seconds were promoted on camp and returned their promise forms and completed the promotion process by reconfirming their Cub Scout Promise. Well done Ashley and Kaleb.

Our first activity was a N.E.W.S game, where cubs have to run in the direction called. Get's them going.

Activity two was to learn about the points on a compass. They were also given a question on what long TV show is named after a compass? And it is not ' Compass' or 'The Great South East', it is much simplier. Can you figure it out?

We then progressed onto grid work. He cubs are given a piece of paper with a grid 20 x 20 and from a designated point have to navigate the squares based on the directions provided - 2 x NE, 1 x N. The goal is to create a picture at the end. However, it doesn't help when Bagheera gets the coordijares a fraction wrong. :0). The object is to reinforce directions and to make sure they are listening attentively. Well we got close!

Then came the toughest test. How to use a compass. In the end most of our cubs had never used a compass and it proved to be a big challenge to simplify the use. To start I had the cubs tell me which way North was based on the compass needle. We did this 3 times facing different positions.

Stage 2 was to explain the pointers on the compass, the large red or blue arrow on the base of the dial and the arrow on the base at the top of compass. This proved the real challenge. We had the cubs move the dial to 80° and then they had to place the compass on their stomach to provide a steady compass, and to force them to turn their bodies to point in right direction. So the key was to explain to line up the needle and the red arrow, which always shows North, and then the way they were facing would be 80° from North.

In the end we decided to make next week navigation Part 2 to help them understand. This skill will be needed for our day in the park next term and for Region camp in October.

They did well, but next week we will split into smaller groups to help with the teaching.

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Cuboree 2012

Cuboree 2012 will be in June next year and will be held at Rockhampton. The theme is 'Magical Mystery Tour' and there is now a Facebook page for this event.

Bagheera is corrdinatingthe communications for this event as part of his portfolio for AJ2103.

Please connect to find how your 9 to 11 year old can attend what is going tobe a great event - AND DRY!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/QLD-Cuboree/201410229895480

Mother's Day Night

Last Tuesday saw the second Mother’s Day night for our Cubs. This is our night to celebrate Mum and this year the theme was about pampering her and providing a chance to say what is so special about her.

The night started off with a game that saw The Queen of Hearts make some tarts (Tennis Balls in a bucket) and the knaves of Hearts steal them all away. Trying to come up with games that are fast and fun for Mum and cubs is one of those challenges. This was a take on ‘Raid the Nest’. The Queen of Hearts were given 5 seconds to start emptying the bucket of ‘tarts’ and then had to protect them once the ‘Knaves’ went to steal them.

Unfortunately we had one group of Mum’s who were not playing nice and were using height advantage and thinking outside the square to protect the ‘tarts’ They used a flaw in the rules to their advantage. The poor cubs were getting upset at the ‘cheating’ going on! However, in the end everyone had a great deal of fun and many Mums’ loved the fact they had to steal them back from the ‘Knaves’. One of those games where you are not sure if it will come off, but by the end they were all smiling!

Heading inside, the cubs then had all of the Mum’s sit in a circle, on chairs, and the cubs in the front of them on the floor. The idea was to give Mum a foot massage and rub down with Peppermint Foot salts. One half did this and the other half were challenged with a back and neck massage. There were attempts by the male leaders to infiltrate the night with a ‘Mud pack’ and make up session but they were vetoed!!!!!!

By the end the Mum’s looked relaxed and enjoying themselves.

The last thing that the Cubs did for Mum’s was to each stand up and say one thing that makes Mum special.

We got;

• Helps with Homework


• Takes me to school


• Cooks dinner


• Because of her loving smile


• Because she does things with us.
  

We had one Mum get emotional; fortunately we have a basket full of towels on hand just for the occasion. There were buckets too just in case it got too overly emotional , but it didn’t get to that stage.

Finally all cubs made Mum supper and they got to be the first to see the Cub Camp DVD. They were very impressed, and Rama did a fantastic job on this.

I would like to thank Kanga - our Regional Cub Scout Leader for coming along and enjoying the night.
Till Father’s Day with the traditional Father’s Day activity and we will also be holding a Grandparents night or afternoon in November to celebrate Grandparent Month.

Cub Camp 2011 - The wrap

Thank you to all those that assisted on the camp and help prepare. We wouldn;t do such a great job if we weren't a great team.

The feedback has been very positive and I have been told they all slept well the on Sunday!

For me, I like to take a day or two to reflect on the camp, this did come together inthe end, but there was a time that I had thought the theme was not going to work. It was a challenge to get the mix right, the concept was ok, but it seemed difficult to piece together.

In the end, we have had a fantastic camp, all the cubs have gone home saying they had a great time and when it all boils down, that is what it is all about.

Bring on 2012 - Life's a Beach!

Cub Camp 2011 - Day 3

Final day of Camp, all actors were pulled from bed at 6:30am, and at 7am put through a rigorous PT session again.

Traditionally Day 3 is a lot quieter and we do tend to slow things down a bit. So once parade was over, all actors had to pack up thier 'Dressing Rooms' and sweep them out. I would say that this was the first time that all were ready before breakfast. It did end up cuasing a hole in our plan, but never fear there is always something to do!

Breakfast was full on, Pancakes, toast, Bacon and eggs, cereal and juice.

Once done, The actors headed off for reflection time and a Scouts own, then a craft session where they were to produce a DVD cover for thier movies. They had to create a title, and the best was 'Rocker Slayer'. A rock start hat used a ukelea and song to slay the evil vampire bandit and minions.

We were fortunate this year to have a birthday on Camp, and we celebrated this with those who had brithdays recently with a huge cake at morning tea. All birthday actors and producers were then showered in party popper streamers. A birthday they wont forget!

So it was at this point where we head a gap in our program. It was decided to take them on a ramble. The ramble was long and we meet ohter scouts, sang loudly, learnt about trail signs and made the slow pokes fromthe day beofre, march in front to set the pace. It was fun, but by the end they were all spent!

As like all good partiew, things have to end. The program then went into quieter time where we held an awards ceremony and handed out to each actor a gold star with their make up photo on it. The producers the night before had sat down and picked 6 actors to be the most outstanding for the weekend. We had Most Creative, Best Stunt, Best Make up, plus 3 other categories. The awards were fantastic and we have to thank Ably for that effort. The final award, the Donkey award, went to Rikki from the actors.

To wrap up we had a traditional camp photo, which now hangs on the wall, and final parade. It was here that we sent off two of our Cubs to Scouts, as they had completed linking activities and were ready for Scouts. It sad when they leave, but you know when it is their time, they have outgrown us. I have to thank Haathi, Nathan and Brent for coming out to take our cubs off.

It also meant that we had to shuffle our pack again, promote 2 to sixers, 2 to seconds and change the balance. I belive some cubs have already been in all colours! We never say you shoudl get too comfortable in your six as we like to mix it up.

So the camp was officially over, the only thing left is to have a Premiere movie event - that's Tuesday!

Cub Camp 2011 - Day 2 - The Evening

So what do you do with 24 actors and 11 producers on set when it goes dark. You go to dinner in your best outfits. Yes we had an awards dinner. The majority of our actors and producers got dressed up for the occasion, Some were just stunning in their 'designer' gowns and attire!

Each actor had to escort or be escorted with a partner into the dining hall and then seated. Once seated they all preceded to dine on:

• Homers Lasagne


• Tacos


• Walt Disney Danish


• Fruit


• Ice cream bars

Once done, they were then sent back to the 'Dressing Rooms' to change out for campfire.

This was the first Campfire without Rann, and i think Dingo and myself did an ok job for the first solo run. All actors were given a skit to perform and all did them very well. The producers also had to do a gross skit!

By the end, our actors wre done, and we sent them to bed for the day. The 'Revenge of the Producers' had taken it's toll from the late night and hard day. Day 3 would be a lot quieter!

Cub Camp 2011 - Day 2 - Part 2

Once after the first round of academy training, the actors were sent to 2 more academies prior to lunch, and then swapped after lunch.

Academy 3 was centered around an obstacle course and army training, and Academy 4 was on stunt work.

Academy 3 took the actors on a small ramble to the Badger Trail, where an obstacle course was available to use. The actors had to run through tires, climb a wall, walk on a unstable plank and then a stable plank. All crossed succesfully and without injury. It was then decided they would go on a ramble through the scrub. This was a fun activity, and we have a fantstic spill from one of our actors as he lost footing in the slippery conditions. It was good fun and they all did extremely well.

Academy 4 was put togehter to teach the actors how to fall, have play fights, get shot etc when making a movie. we have a couple of mattresses that they used to fall onto. These actors are mad buggers as they all liked to fall and were very good at it. Once the basics were taught, they then had a chance to think how to use them in their movie.

Lunch was served during the bases and the menu was hamburgers and fruit.

Once the actors had completed the basic training, they were then sent away to begin filmingthe scenes for the movies. Each casting agency was provided a 'Clapper Baord' to help edit the film - not that they were used correctly, but we did get some cool outtakes!

I was sure by the end of the movie making session we were going to have Vampires 1,2, 3 & 4. But luckily they were all different and once came up with a very neat title the next day.

They were certainly inventive our actors.

Once this was over, it was time for play. This was where headed off for the Flying Fox. We had a ramble for 15 minutes to the site and then, due to time and having to put on harnesses, we got our actors through one flying fox ride. Even some of our Producers got brave and headed across the dam.

Once all was done we headed back to 'Set' and got prepared for the evening.

Cub Camp 2011 - Day 2 - Morning Session

So after an intersting night, what did the Producers have in store for our misbehaving actors!

Well every actor must look their best in the morning, so revellery was at 6:30am, with a 30 minute wake up time. At 7am the Producers put the actors through Physical Training. This was a 15 minute minute session of knees up, running, strecthing and ball throwing.

The actors were then sent to parade, here they were assigned to 'casting agencies' - the Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Shrek and Yoda agencies. This was their actor grpup for the weekend. Once parade was over, the agencies were assigned to become Secret Agents and to earn breakfast they had to locate around set, several code pieces and decipher it with a Morse Code template.

All actors got fed that morning!

Once breakfast was completed, the actors were all sent off to one of 2 academies to furhter develop their skills for movie making. At the academy 1 was Brainstorming - what kind of movie would we make, and academy 2 was Make Up.

Academy 1, saw the actors have to think tank the type of movie they would love to do. Inthe end they all ended up having some kind of vampire theme to the movies. Some actors were very well organised and could relate what they wanted, while others sat back and let it happen.

At Acamedy 2, the actors were taught how to apply make up and wehy make up is used in movies. In the end all had a great time at applying the make up and coming up with some cool looks.

The agencies changed over after morning tea to complete the first round of training.

Each agency was provided a video camera to capture their deeds for the day. Our producer/editor Rama, was very busy with all the footage and started to create a movie during the course of the day.

Cub Camp 2011 - Arrival

Well the 2011 May weekend is over, and so to was this years Cub Camp. The theme this year was around Movies. The cubs were assigned the challenge of creating their own movies in groups of 6.

So how did the Camp start, on Friday upon arrival at 'Set', the cubs were assigned 'Trailers/Dressing rooms', which were each marked with an actors name. A challenge had been set for our 'Actors' prior to coming to camp to investigate the names, see the Camp Ahead post. Once settled into the 'Trailer/Dressing Rooms' the actors then headed inside for a tale and old movie night. Traditionally we would go for a night ramble, but we were rained out and had to head in doors. This ended up being working against us later that night.

Once inside, the actors were asked to present information fromthe Camp Ahead challenge and most had done the work. Some even tried to walk John Wayne, and yourself truly showed them how Charlie Chaplin walked!

After a story, we sat them down for the Charlie Chaplin - 'The Tramp' silent movie. Thanks to YouTube we could get it online, even thought he 3G connection dropped a couple of times. The actors were fascinatated with the movie and even laughed at the slapstick comedy. We explained to them the the music would set the tone and that as there were no words, the actions had to do most ofthe work - Movie Lesson 1 - even though they did not know it.

After this we attempted to put on a Lou Abbott and Bud Costello Movie, but the actors were not interested. It was at this point that things did not go to plan and it ended with the actors heading to the 'Dressing rooms' earlier than expected. Problem was they were not tired and they were up most of the night. It always gets me how the toilets become an excuse to get out of the 'Dressing Rooms'.

All I can say is the Other 'Producers' were looking forward to a very busy Day 2 on 'Set'

New Cub Email Account

Hi Everyone,

Please note Cubs ha ve a new email address. To send an email click onthe Beenleigh Cubs Contributor link and select the Email link.

Regards
Stephen