Tag Archives: Jamboree

Election Day BBQ Fundraiser – Huge Success

The NSW Election has been run and won and the people of Mt Colah have been well fed thanks to the efforts of the Scout Group.

Bacon and Egg Rolls flowed from 7.30am quickly followed by Sausage Sandwiches all the way through to 3pm.

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Our wonderful community of families filled the roster and the BBQ was roaring all day with over 150 Bacon and egg rolls and 400 Sausage Sandwiches sold.

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All money raised goes straight back to the group to help purchase much needed equipment for each section as well as assisting our Scouts that are attending the Jamboree.

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Thanks to everyone involved !

 

2010: Highlights, Congrats, Thankyou’s and Farewells

Mt Colah Mt Kuring-gai Scout Group have achieved so much thanks to the dedication and commitment of our Youth members, our Leaders, our Committee, and our families.

The Jamboree has to be one of the highlights of 2009/2010. This year has been particularly good as it has been one of the largest contingents we have been able to send in recent times. The impending Cuboree will surely be another highlight.

The actual construction of our new Scout Hall and near completion before year end would most definitely be the biggest highlight. For Greg, Peter and other  Hall Reconstruction Members, past and present,  will no doubt breathe a major sigh of relief as they pinch themselves and put the headache to bed, and hopefully begin to actually enjoy the dream, now a reality, of our new hall. After 6 years of frustrations and red tape they, and the Leaders, deserve to be congratulated for not giving up when the going got tough and the light at the end of the tunnel was barely visible. On behalf of all the youth members and families who believe in the scouting movement, we thank you.

Of course it would be remiss of us not to thank Asquith and Berowra Scout Groups who have long supported us in our time of homelessness. Who knows where we would’ve been without their generosity. It’s been a positive outcome for the once defunct Berowra Vennies, who under our influence, are once again a strong unit combined with  Mt Colah. It will be hard to go their separate ways in the new year. We must also thank Hornsby Gang Show for allowing the Scouts  and Venturers to use their premises at Hornsby South in our hour of need  back in 2004 – 2007.

There are many people that have made this year as successful in Scouting terms as it has been. Foremost amongst these are the Leaders, who selflessly donate their time to the development of the future of our society.  Secondly, there are the Committee Members who  also donate a great deal of their time to this worthy cause. Ultimately, all these excellent men and women are in turn supported by their wonderful  partners and families, who give them the freedom to contribute so much of their time.

A special mention and thanks must go to  Greg McKinnon, Group Leader,  for his tireless efforts into bringing the construction of our  hall to fruition and a reality. Everyone’s voluntary contributions exemplify the best of being Australian.

Cub Leader, Gary Binskin, has also moved on…but not very far. As he steps out of Akela’s shoes and welcomes Jeff Argent to fill them,  he moves to scouts as ….

2011 will see Mt Colah Mt Kuring Gai full of enthusiasm as we consolidate our dispersed sections back to a cohesive, cross-supporting Group, in turn allowing us to provide even higher quality programs for our youth members. Embrace yourselves for the wave of excitement yet to come.

As always. Greg McKinnon(Wombat) is always available to be contacted at any time for discussion on any subject, especially on ideas on how you can contribute to youth development in your society.

Scouts: A Year in Review 2010

Well it  has been a fun packed year so far. Here we are with 6 weeks to go and then Xmas.

The year began with  Jamboree, AJ2010 in January at Cataract, for eight scouts and three Leaders. After  many months of  preparation to qualify and then followed by numerous shakedown camps and  meetings, the boys  were ready  for the adventure  that lay ahead. Two weeks later they  returned completely exhausted, and as the dust settled they were left wanting more.

Easter District Camp, in April at Crosslands, was just what they had needed.  Competitively we improved on last year coming 2nd in the Troop competition to Waitara and received a 5th and 6th place in the Patrol competitions. Waitara filled the 1st to 4th positions, so next year we go for gold!

Scouthike in May saw 11 scouts and 1 Leader head for Wingello State Forest. 1200 Scouts fend for themselves in the forest whilst Leaders oversee the activities. A very draining but worthwhile weekend as always.  We then  settled down a little and regenerated our energies.

In term 3, we had our most senior scout go on to become a Venturer scout thus making way for others to step up and lead. We sent 8 scouts to the Leadership course, and 9 to the Construction course. All with the view to better the boys skills and knowledge.

By the end of 2009 we lost 8 senior scouts to either Venturers, Cadets or sport.  Our numbers naturally decline until the older cubs make their way to us. Now we have 15 scouts invested, with two cubs coming through and another new scout to the troop giving us 18 on the books by the end of November. With these numbers, the troop has now created 3 patrols again, enabling us to promote scouts to new rolls of Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders. They will do a good job going forward, and we expect big things next year.

Recently we ended term 3 with a night hike around Mt.Colah as a warm up for summer, as many of the scouts need to plan hikes as part of their achievements. Ventout is coming in November so details are now coming out about that. It’s a fun activity, run for Scouts by our Venturer Scouts, under Leader supervision.

Thankyou to our scouting families who help out when we need them, it does make a big difference to our  Leader’s work loads.

Yours in scouting
Koala / Cougar / Bluey