ozemu

At the jamboree in just over a weeks time I intend to run a forum for Scouts in my region. The topic will be the pro's and con's of forming a special organisation catering for Scouts 12-16 who need more challenges than younger Scouts. (trying to deal with drop out rates etc) I intend an OA/MOS/high adventure patrol / troop. The Scouts seem to want adventure and I want to tie in survival training / aboriginal culture as well. I am having some success using aboriginal icons etc in ceremonies. I am looking for advice about structure, meeting schedules, ratio leader:scouts, activities

At the jamboree in just over a weeks time I intend to run a forum for Scouts in my region. The topic will be the pro's and con's of forming a special organisation catering for Scouts 12-16 who need more challenges than younger Scouts. (trying to deal with drop out rates etc) I intend an OA/MOS/high adventure patrol / troop. The Scouts seem to want adventure and I want to tie in survival training / aboriginal culture as well. I am having some success using aboriginal icons etc in ceremonies. I am looking for advice about structure, meeting schedules, ratio leader:scouts, activities

crickey - wasn''t expecting that offer Dave. Don't want crossed wires with GS membership specialist. Will email you. Campfire fairy the not drinking of water is maybe not 100% accurate. Vaguely recall some rersearch that has koala's drinking but not very much or very often. And as for cute and cuddly. The can smell and have claws. Like possums they will climb people if you stand still and they are frightened but tghey are very timid and that doesn't happen often. Possums however can get very tame. I recall a Scout standing still wide eyed with a box of food and a possum on his big

Heck DS that is an ask. Would love to help. Have been to PNG twice on battlefield tours. Shaggy Ridge both times. Was an army adventure training exercise. Aust Army had a group based in Darwin in WW2 who set about finding downed airmen. Oddly they operated with US forces and made 300 or so rescue missions in the Pacific islands. They did not work with Aust Army (who knows why) and PNG was Aust Army mostly. Had they been available they would have been looking for your relative. Still turning up planes in those jungles. I did my survival training with a training unit based

wow - small world. I have been in email contact with GS of Macomb County - Otsikita Council Inc. and am waiting their try. They are being sympathetic and I hope for success. Is GS of Metro Detroit another council or a level up? I was very confused as I only had www to research and I dont really understand your structure. Actually thought her host was BSA for a while. Duh! The absence (I expect) of gum trees may have put Aussie to hibernation in MI. On a recent bike hike we saw a mum and bub koala. The patrol that was formed that weekend is led by a girl PL and they chose ko

Hi, we sent our mascot (toy koala0 on a long tour of the USA. Started Feb 02. It got lost in Eastpoint MI about Apr this year and was supposed to go to Red Feather as the last stop. She (GS ldr) stopped answering emails and even phone calls (Screening service) from Aust and US hosts. I have contacted Council HQ and they have their 'membership specialist' hunting down the GS leader responsible. Apparently she has had overstays with other mascots. No word now for a few weeks. Any ideas on what I might do next? Is Council the end of the road? Will Christmas cause a delay while Counc

I don't question SPL's youthfulness - he is quite mature and eloquent. I do believe that he is 14 - to his great credit as he carries it well. In fact I read certain posts with more than normal interest as they are young and thoughful - SPL among them. Must annoy the heck out of people such as acco describes. As to acco's reference to men being susceptible to immaturity I shall say nothing on the grounds that I might incinerate myself.

Dave I wasnt trying to say that we have done a great deal. Just that we try. Pls remember that my entire country numbers about the same as New Yorks population (and we have three tiers of government!) Our contribution is small but hopefully useful. We tend to focus mainly on our near neighbours which number amongst the poorest countries in the world - lots of our aid in the pacific and SE Asia. Hi Rooster. Sorry to have offended you. The way you chose to interpret is up to you. I was not trying to lecture. I thought it was an open forum and that I might offer a useful and interest

Thanks Ed, needed that. Have never experienced a howling down on the www. I am wiser for having witnessed the experience. My sincere sympathy to mrs red feather. I thought that your words were reasonable and the responses (read attacks maybe) are unwarranted and reactive rather than proactive. I am sure that SPL did not mean for his post to become what it is. Be proud SPL. Your country has achieved much and like mine it will continue to grow and be a useful force in the world. One battle that your quote missed is important to me down here. The battle of Hamel in 19

!

more time with family doing simple things expand my business - less time instructing and more time managing find a Scout Group Leader (or should I do that job myself?) camp with family week long scout camp on Fraser Island. (actually this is a PLC plan but it will be up to me to maintain the energy) start an OA / MoS type group for older Scouts

Try getting a Christmas themed pillow case. Stuff all of the presents for one person into it and tie the top with a ribbon. Do that for each person. Wash the pillow case and store for next year. I dont do this myself as my dear wife thinks that the traditional paper thing is essential. But I can dream cant I ?

Take yourself less seriously, put a lot of effort into listening and respect others more. (oh...and your wife will be drop dead gorgeous, compassionate, exciting, energetic and a wonderful mother but has a propensity for buying expensive nick-knacks so save young fella save!)

Fair enough KS. As a parent I am more rigid than I am as an SM. Any porn in my family would break me up quite a bit. Outside my family I can only force the law and parents stated or reasonably infered wishes. My foster son is 16. The penthouse is to be supplied to 18s and older. Guess who will be returning the magazine soon. However he is unable to rationalise as you and I and I am taking my time. (I do not want a relapse into the aggression displayed when his bio dad threw out his illegal flick knife two weeks ago) The porn that I confiscated was not returned in the

No OGE I dont think that our difference here is cultural. Rather I have become less able and less willing (separate issues to me) to pursue every Scout in achieving their ultimate happiness. The kids I am thinking of who do not have other plans want to stay at home with mum (sorry if that bites a bit) and be served upon without needing to do anything substantial. If they persist with Scouts until they grow out of that then we have a success but most find saying nah easier than saying I will. I recall the last meeting of last year. The highlight for 20% of the Troop was when the t

Respect. What ever they chose to do they should treat their partner with respect. There is also responsibility but that conotates, to many, that they have to do the right thing should someone become pregnant. Obviously it should start earlier with the decision to do the wild thing in the first place and then to limit unwanted consequences (disease and pregnancy I suppose). These things they should know from school sex ed etc. But respect is the thing that many young men seem to have no concept of. If they are looking at a playboy magazine etc they should do so with respect.

What are you going to do with your time now? If they have an immediate answer then I might dig for what they didnt get from Scouting. If they do not have and answer or one that really means nothing then I would wish them good fortune and not waste my time.

Ed - I respect where you are coming from. If I were in the boys Troop or either of the fathers I might view the boy differently but I know nothing about them and can only be detached from the horror of the situation. I certainly do not regard the issue as a sin. You will disagree with this maybe but to address the less contentious issue first. I understand that this boy has not lived up to his Oath but as for removing him from a leadership position I have some reservations. 1. Is that not punishing him for something that is being addressed (I suppose) by other, more directly invol

Heck Ed you make it sound like the Artificial Insemination bloke just made a mistake in the stockyard. She isnt a cow. Nor was she raped it seems. They made love - and they misjudged a few things. As for being an example I think the Scouts will discriminate more than maybe you suggest. What he does now is going to be planned. What he did then was an emotional (and therefore unpremeditated) error. What is Thanksgiving?

I read this this morning and had to wait until time allowed after work. Damn that time zone! I separate this from the previous post as it is a personal take that has little to do with Scouting. I spent the day doing initiative problems and games outdoors with three kids. One is a girl who, among other things gave $2 head jobs at school. She has no self esteem, no friends, no confidence and soaks up compliments and me pointing out her good qualites like a sponge. She is just a 13 year old doing the best she can with a bad start. She is punishing herself more than others can (and

Wow! What a question. We do not have chartered organisations. Here the issue is Scout only. Religious based morales have no play (here). Has he broken a civil law? Im not sure. Whether he has or has not is not a Scout issue to me - its a police matter. Let his church and the police deal with their issues. The Scout issue is based on Law and Oath agreed and none of us are perfect. He has done wrong but if it is mostly poor judgement and bad luck so what? Really what can we achieve that church and law cannot? We can add condemnation or we can offer support. Cultur

Nice hat rack.

Here we rarely camp for more than a long weekend although (partly due to this forum) I am now running an annual longer camp 4-7 days. Our weather is tentable all year round. Also there is the Jamboree every 3 years. My Troop has still managed 16 nights so far this year, 19 for those off to Jamboree and another two nights this month to wrap up the year. Three of those night were Patrol camps (three patrols out at different locations) without direct adult supervision. That is a camp every month excluding Jan and Dec (Our summer holiday). Not trying to boast here. Just wanti

Heres another one of those paradigm shifts. I forgot that the USA of pretty hooked on summer camp. The concept is familar to us only because of the number of US movies on tv. **** idea for new thread here!

37 this month. Birthday on a Scout camp (second time that has happened)