1st Stoke Row Scouts
1st Stoke Row Scouts

Beavers

Meetings

Our Colony Meetings take place at Stoke Row Pavilion at the Sports Ground, Newlands Lane on Wednesdays, term time only, from 5 – 6.15pm. We manage to spend half the year’s meetings outside, the rest of the year we are inside the pavilion.

 

Ages

We take boys and girls aged 6 and 7. There are a maximum of 20 Beavers in our Colony, coming from as many as 8 different local schools, and every week there are at least two uniformed leaders present and enough parent helpers to meet the requirements of the Scout Association regarding the adult:child ratio.

 

Key Principles

We must stress that becoming a Beaver is not like going to an after school club. Beavers are mini scouts and they have some key principles which are:

 

Having fun, making friends, trying new things, keeping the Promise, sharing, using a variety of groupings and making progress.

 

The Beaver Scout promise is:

I promise to do my best, to be kind and helpful and to love God*

 

The Beaver Scout motto is:

Be Prepared

 

Code of Conduct

The Beavers have drawn up their own Code of Conduct and signed it thereby agreeing to keep to it, to help make the Colony meetings more fun for everyone. Each Beaver will receive a copy and the Code will be regularly reviewed.

 

Uniform

Blue Turquoise sweatshirt is compulsory and must be worn every week at the beginning of the meeting for Register and Lodge Inspection. Turquoise polo shirt and navy blue Scout trousers are optional. The Group supplies the turquoise scarf, woggle and badges at Investiture which is normally just after half term. New Beavers can wear home clothes until they are invested.

 

Subscriptions

In 2022 they are £35 per term, payable at start of term.

 

Activities

We take full advantage of the wonderful neighbouring countryside and it is very rare for rain or snow to get the better of us!

Our varied programme of activities are interspersed with fun and games and include cooking and eating, visiting foreign countries, doing experiments and various art and craft activities, holding entertainment and fund raising evenings, singing, chatting, playing sports – football, mini rugby, cricket, tennis, going biking and swimming, discovering and looking after our environment and community - pond dipping, litter picking, orienteering and exploring, going on treasure hunts and tracking, scoutcraft – making camp fires and camping, visiting a wide variety of places, and having an interesting range of visitors.

A typical evening consists of quiet arrival activities followed by Registration and Lodge inspection and then the evening is interspersed with energy release games and quieter activities, ending with Handouts and the Beaver Howl.

 

Investiture

A new Beaver is invested once he/she has attended 5 or 6 meetings, so this Ceremony normally happens just after half term. By being invested, a Beaver becomes a member of the worldwide family of scouting as well as a member of our colony. It is an important Ceremony which we take seriously and we invite all family members of the new Beaver to attend. All the young people and Leaders say the Beaver Promise (see above) together and the new Beavers are awarded with the turquoise scarf, woggle and badges, having been prepared for the Membership badge. A blue ‘Badge and Awards Book and how to earn them’ is available for £4.

 

Badges

The Beavers can gain several badges, many of these will be earned by taking part in all the activities during our meetings but others can be carried out by themselves at home. When going up to Cubs at the age of 8, most boys/girls should have gained their Chief Scout’s Bronze Award. To obtain the Chief Scout’s Bronze Award, a Beaver needs to have obtained all six challenge badges, as listed below. We do one a term so over a two year period, a Beaver should have obtained all six.

 

Our Badges are: – My Outdoors, My Adventure, My Skills, My World, Teamwork and Personal – every element of each badge has to be gained in order for a Beaver to earn the Chief Scout Bronze Award.

 

There are now 20 Activity Badges and 14 Staged Activity badges – we do a couple of these each term at Beavers but many Activity Badges can be done at home.

 

Parental involvement

To meet the requirements of the Scout Association regarding the adult:child ratio, all parents/carers of Beavers are expected to help out at meetings twice a term and as they are in contact with young people they will need to complete a Criminal Record Bureau form and Scouting Association Reference Forms. This is a requisite for the parents of each boy/girl wishing to join our Colony. The term’s programme is issued near the start of each term and parents are asked to sign up on the Parent Helper Rota. Parents normally find this fun as well as rewarding – and they find out what the Beavers get up to first hand!

 

Regular Features

  •  Each Lent term we raise funds for a charity. Parents and families are asked to support this event and encourage their child’s participation.
     
  • Each summer term we hold a Colony Fun Day followed by Family Camp
     
  • A Beaver has to camp with a parent or appointed adult as he/she is under 8 years old.
     
  • On some occasions the Beavers can attend a County Event, e.g Singalong with Santa at the Scout Activity Centre at Youlbury, near Oxford.
     
  • Beavers are asked to attend the St George’s Day Parade in April and the Remembrance Service Parade at Checkendon Church in November with our Scout Group.

 

* A non religious alternative is also available.

 

Beavers

Robin Salter - Mufasa - Beavers Leader

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© Emma Alvey