The NW Scouters' Club is a co-operative of Scout Troops. Representatives of member Scout Troops gather to share ideas and experience, plan joint activities, and pursue other projects of mutual benefit.
The group reviewed this year's program. There were twenty-three participants. The comments that came back were all positive.
The program will be based around the Scoutmaster's Junior Leader Training Kit, published by the BSA. This program will be reviewed and detailed planning will be done on Saturday, October 14 at 15:00 at NW Scout House. Anyone interested in helping with this is welcome to attend.
In order for the PL Workshop to be fully successful, Scouters need to understand how to put their newly trained leadership to use. A junior leadership checklist given to Scouters could help with this.
The group watched a video segment then discussed the program. Scouters thought that it looked like a good program. It can be expanded upon and added to to create a weekend-long program.
The members discussed the problem of the Court of Honour in a small group. It may be better in that circumstance to have a group council. Some of the members felt that we should have a role play and a discussion about the Court of Honour.
The members also felt that it would be helpful if Liam Morland demonstrated sample session from the BSA program material that he has mentioned. It would give everyone an idea and feel for what it was all about.
Scouters should register their Scouts soon since 16 Scouts are needed to make the event financially viable. Ted, Pierre Michiels, Ken Arnett, Mark Wilson, and John McCuish have indicated that they would like to help with the event.
A total of 30 youth participated, representing 13 groups in our district. We had a staff of five plus about four leader helpers. The youth were divided into four patrols. The Emu Patrol had seven Scouts, the Cheerio Patrol had eight, the Evil Penguin Patrol had seven, and the Zulu Patrol had eight. The patrols were well balanced and as a whole worked well as units. We experienced some discipline problems which out staff dealt with effectively. The instructional staff provided an interesting and informative program. They made great efforts to conduct the session outdoors. By the youths' indication, it was very enjoyable.
Ted Claxton, Mark Wilson, and myself provided the sessions. Vince Simon and John McCuish judged the youth's participation and co-operation which helped us provide the appropriate recognition to the youth.
Ken Arnet served as the quartermaster for the weekend in addition to providing invaluable help in the kitchen. Our principle cook was Alex Krynicki, a Venturer with the 38th Kitchener. We all enjoyed the great meals.
Income Participant fees (30 x $35) $1050.00 Total $1050.00 Expenses Rental of Wheeler Lodge $200.00 Food $539.36 Supplies $56.14 Prizes $98.65 Total $894.15 Surplus $155.85 The $35 fee can remain if we can continue to have a minimum of 16 participants.
Scouters discussed various aspects of the weekend program. Liam and Jay described a PL training program that they have been using in their troop. The program, which is designed specifically for Scouts, uses a series of modules. Each module consists of a short video segment, a related activity, and a discussion of the leadership experiences of that module. The entire program take six and a half hours, including a lunch activity and an hour-long service project. This program could be part of the full weekend PL training. The group decided to discuss PL training in more detail at the January meeting as the Pentagon session.
Pierre will coordinate this year's PL workshop. All Scouters are invited to attend and assist with the program. Ted will create the flyer and application and post it at NW Scout House. The completion of the Event Planning Form will be expected. Scouters should remind their Scouts that Wheeler Lodge is not heated and that they must come prepared for cold weather.
There were 28 present for the entire weekend, plus one Scout who was only able to attend Saturday. We ended up using the Barn because we had to give up the building that we had booked. It actually turned out to be a good move. We were able to hold the Friday evening sessions. The Weather was changeable. We were able to take advantage of both the indoors and the outdoors. In the evaluation the Scouts thought that the use of the Barn was a good idea. It was close up weekend so things were shut down after lunch. We will obtain and post the program outline.
Scouters decided to ask Pierre Michiels to coordinate a PL workshop for November 7-9, 2003, with catered food. Scouters would like the full curriculum published on the web.
This was a terrific weekend for the 27 participants who were divided into four patrols. There were no incidents and good behaviour observed throughout the weekend. The leadership team consisted of Pierre Michiels, Tony Skells, Ann MacDonald, Cam Mudie, Mark Van Dyke, and John Ferguson. The assistance of Scouters from South Waterloo and of Scouters Paul Frieburger and Kevin Donovan was most welcome. Ann MacDonald and John Ferguson held things together when Tony Skells was sidelined by injury.
Staying at Lions Lodge made the event better as accommodations were more suited to the numbers. The Scouts were satisfied with the food. The $30.00 fee was deemed appropriate as each participant got their own handbook copy of Scouts Canada's Patrol Leader's Handbook.
It was decided to run this event next next. Proposed date is November 7-9, 2003. It was decided to book Lions' Lodge for next year. Pierre Michiels will look after that immediately. The Club will consider a fee of $35.00 next year as costs have been rising.
Pierre will book Lions Lodge for next year's workshop, which is to be held November 1-3, 2002. The fee will be $30; $35 for late registrations (cut-off date to be determined). This should encourage advanced registration.
Scouters discussed the PL Workshop. Pierre said that the course can be run for $30 per participant. This price includes a copy of Scouts Canada's Patrol Leader's Handbook, which itself costs about $10. Pierre will investigate to see if the cost of renting a cabin at Camp Everton would be borne by NWD's training committee. Scouts would camp in tents. Twelve Scouts are needed for the event to break even. Ben said that they would have as many participants. If there are more than the maximum number of participants, 24, Ben would run their own course at Peacehaven.
After much discussion, it was decided to hold a weekend workshop for Patrol Leaders and Assistant PLs on November 2-4, 2001. Twelve participants are needed and there is room for up to 24. The workshop will be lead by Pierre and Tony. Ted will lead a workshop for Scouters on the Saturday where they will learn how to make use of their patrol leaders.
Proposed sessions for the weekend are: Intro to Court of Honour, What is a Leader?, Environment, Rights and Responsibilities of Patrol Leaders, Role of the PL and APL, Decision Making Skills — Consensus, Patrol Planning, Working with Challenged Youth, Discipline, Planning Scouts' Own and Campfires, Games, What's Next — Venturing.
Pierre described the PL workshops that they have run in the past. These have been weekend camps which cover much of the Pathfinder Leadership badge and are based on Scouts Canada's new Patrol Leader's Handbook. The camps have been in a cabin at Camp Everton, usually in the fall. Pierre finds that weekend long PL events provide good opportunities for bonding, and sufficient time to do scenarios and to cover the large amount of material in the Handbook.
Some Scouters felt that a successful PL workshop could be conducted in a Saturday, perhaps at Camp Mohawk. This could be combined with a workshop for Scouters to help them make better use of their patrols, in particular by using the Court of Honour. It was decided to run a PL event on the last weekend in September, 2001 and to discuss the nature of the event at the next meeting.
