By: Alice Feng
Sunday, June 23rd, 2013, marked the conclusion of an eventful and productive for the 28th Terra Nova Scout group. One of the most remarkable feats that we have accomplished over the course of this past year was the fulfillment of our recruitment target for this group. Through collaborative recruitment efforts, we have have successfully increased the membership of the 28th Terra Nova Scout group by 15%. We now have a total of 58 members in this particular group. To celebrate our achievement and to end the year with a cheer, a fun-packed afternoon with an outdoor BBQ lunch at Spul’u’kwuks Elementary School’s event field was held instead of the regular weekly meeting.
This event allowed kids from all age divisions of the Scout group to participate in games and programs together as a cohesive unit. Parents were also afforded the opportunity to mingle amongst themselves and with the leaders as they were also invited to participate. A sense of community was built and bonds strengthened.
Although rain drizzled throughout much of the afternoon and the skies remained overcast, we still enjoyed a remarkable turnout for the event as leaders, parents, and kids braved the weather. Leaders arrived at the site at 11am to set up the different activities and stations for the day. Parents and kids started pouring in shortly at noon.
The event kicked off with a traditional opening ceremony and broke off into wide games for the kids shortly thereafter. In an opening ceremony, Scout mottos and traditions applicable to each age group are recited and enacted in ascending order according to age. Wide games are games that take up the entire width of a field and where kids from all Scouting age groups can play together. Together, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Venturers of the 28th Scout group, played wide games such as the Human Knot, Capture the Flag, and Postman. For lunch, freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs were served with a side of chips, and an assortment of beverages.
After lunch, the kids were also encouraged to participate in various table activities that had been set up for them. Stations included face painting, ice cream making, lint fire starter construction, color sand making, and a toothpick and marshmallow activity station. One of the most popular stations was the ice-cream making activity. The majority of the kids made a beeline for this table after the wide games ended. They were amazed that with just a few simple common household ingredients (sugar, cream, ice, and vanilla extract) they were able to make their own delicious frozen treat.
To conclude the BBQ, the last closing ceremony of the year was held. While we won’t see our Beavers till the new scouting year in September, our Cubs, Scouts and Venturers still have an array of summer scouting activities to look forward to.