Oct 06 2025

The Cub Pack

  • 06/10/2025

Jars of hope have become a popular way for 1 st Claremont to involve the cubs in ‘giving
back’ on a day when many South Africans do the same in their communities. We had fancy
labels and everything! We spent some time discussing what Mandela Day is about and why
it’s an event in SA. The jars went to The Hope Exchange in Roeland Street again, where they
are always received with gratitude. That’s how we started the term and it only got better.

A joint meeting with Constantia Naruna Cub Pack had the cubs in stitches while they blew
huge bubbles using dye, some special chemicals and plastic bottles. 1 st and Naruna have a
special bond after trying to dye each other also!

Over time we have tried to instill a sense of ceremony during the opening and closing Grand
Howl. This means getting cubs to stand respectfully (for just ten seconds!), making sure
shirts are tucked in and hats and jackets are off, and to observe the proceedings quietly in
stillness. On 01 August, which is also Scout Scarf Day, we ran a programme on the Cub
Promise and Law, and cubs spent the whole programme in their sixes. The point is to get
cubs to think about how we can live the Cub Promise in our daily lives, and how this would
look (age-appropriately of course!).
Quite a lot of time was spent on the Cub Archaeology badge – two and a half programmes
later the cubs can tell us what this big word means, what someone who is an archaeologist
does, about artefacts and about 10 amazing World Heritage Sites in our very own country,
which they all now want to go and visit. They got to walk around a ‘museum’ and learn
about a few historical artefacts, discover an artefact for themselves by ‘digging’ for one and

listened to a real live marine archaeologist, who gave us a fascinating talk on his chosen
profession and patiently answered about a million questions from our enthusiastic cub pack.
They loved him even more when he gave them Zoo biscuits at the end! Well done to those
cubs who have achieved their badge.

And we ended the term on such a high note with a Heritage Day programme, where the
cubs created excellent entertaining skits using an object associated with our heritage (e.g.
an SA rugby T-shirt). We could actually hear the cubs this time!
Special mention about our very own Neema Galetta, the first member of Scouting to have
gone through Meerkats and Cubs and who has just gone up to Scouts. Go check out the
write-up about his journey. Proud Scout moment!
For more entertainment, read the article on our very successful sleepover as well as that of
the District Campfire.

Here’s to the last term in 2025! Thank you to our cubs, who make every Friday evening so
much fun, and to our dedicated team of leaders!

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/cubs-smoke-signals/2025q3_pack_report/

Oct 06 2025

1 st Claremont Pack Sleepover

  • 06/10/2025

On the 22 August 1 st Claremont Cubs held our annual Pack sleepover and it was
once again a huge hit! This is an important event on our calendar as many of our
Cubs have either never slept in a tent before or have never slept away from their
parents before.

We pitched our Scout bell tents inside our hall, explaining to the Cubs the different
parts of a tent and tent etiquette – how to care for them and how to behave in and
around a tent. Dinner was simple hot dogs followed by hot chocolate and getting
ready for bed. The Cubs were excited to sleep in tents with their friends while
knowing that their Cub Leaders were sleeping in the middle between the boys tents
on one side of the hall and the girls tents on the other. Once everyone was settled
down in bed, we enjoyed some bedtime stories in the form of South African folk
tales. Our Cubs are really enjoying the National Challenge theme of My Heritage!

Heavy rain in the night meant that everyone slept all cozy – glad to be camping
under a roof! 7am Saturday morning we set of for a 1km at Scouts Pace through the
neighbourhood before tucking into muffins and fruit for breakfast. Next it was packing
up (dry!) tents and cleaning up so that the Meerkats could come into the hall at
8:30am for their meeting!


One parent shared: “I just wanted to share how incredibly impactful these sleepovers
have been for our boys. After the last one, we saw a noticeable boost in their
confidence, not just in sleeping away from home, but in how they approached new
experiences overall. These moments might seem small, but they’re huge steps in
helping our kids grow into resilient, capable young people. Thank you for creating
such a safe and supportive space for them to take these steps. “

-Lucy du Toit, Pack Scouter

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/2025q3-packsleepover/

Oct 06 2025

1st Claremont at WC Orienteering Competition 

  • 06/10/2025

1st Claremont entered four teams for orienteering this year which was held  at a wine farm near Franschoek. The four teams were: 

  • Axel and Sudi (team A)- senior team,
  • Zoë and Claire (team B), 
  • MK and Reza (team C)
  • Christopher and Declan (team D)

Orienteering is running around following a map to look for checkpoints and involves running through bushes, streams, and up over hills. It’s generally very fun. The aim of it is to find control points which are like a square piece of plastic on top of a wooden or metal pole stuck into the ground with an orange and white flag. The plastic on the top of the control has a hole in it and so when you get to it you can put your emit in it. An emit is a sensor you strapped your finger to. There were 90 teams from around the Western Cape competing in the Scout Orienteering Event. At the end  team (A) got 80 points, team (B) got 11O, team (C) 10 points and team (D) 120 points and came third in the Junior Division.

I really enjoyed the event and would like to encourage more Scouts to do it. 

By Christopher

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3_orienteering/

Oct 06 2025

Matthew’s Cooks Meal

  • 06/10/2025

The Cooks Meal with Matthew and Declan was a lot of fun. We made naan bread with two dips to start, then homemade burger patties that turned out surprisingly good. For dessert we baked a chocolate cake and some chocolate chip cookies, which everyone enjoyed. The food kept us busy, but it was worth it in the end.

Matthew hosted the event and Seb was our judge, which basically meant he got to eat everything. He was really nice about it and gave us good feedback. The best part was that we all worked together, had a good laugh, and enjoyed the food we made. It was a great time for everyone!!

~ Diya D

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3-matthew-cooks/

Oct 06 2025

First Class Community Service 

  • 06/10/2025

For my first class community service we went to the Christine Revell Children’s Home. This is a home for children ages 0-6, the children here are placed here under court order.

We went on 2 days to the home, on both days Christopher and Axel went with Group C, which is children ages 4-6. They read all the books to them and played with ball pit balls, somehow Christopher managed to get them to throw the balls at Axel! Later they went outside to the playground and played on the swings. The second day they spent most of the time paying outside in the playground as it was better weather.

Saskia and I went with Group A on both days, which is children ages 0-18 months. We helped feed them their breakfast and then took them out to play in the playground area. We played with miniature hoola hoops and bouncy horses which they loved. We also played with soft little balls and helped them walk around the room. Later we took them back to their room to feed them lunch. This was quite messy! We were covered in what could only be butternut gloop. After that they were put to bed for nap time and we went to go feed the twin babies who were only a few months old. 👩‍🍼🍼👶

It was an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding experience as we watched the children play and learn new things. One of them even learnt to crawl in between the 2 days we went there!

– Juliet D’Arcy-Evans

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3_jde_commserve/

Oct 06 2025

Laura Owens’s Springbok Camp

  • 06/10/2025

Lauras camp was a banger. The day started off with us not being able to get to the campsite due to some dire flooding of the river (RIP Lucy’s license plate).

We continued the first day with some campsite construction and some yummy food. We did a short knowledge relay with knots and skills. We had quite a cold night and there was quite a bit of rain so we all put up some rain protection the next day.

The next day started bright and early (it was completely dark when we woke up) with PT. We then had a few activities for the day such as stalking and tracking and a rope burning competition. Then it was time for one of the most memorable parts of the camp which was the survival auction in which we won some quite odd prizes.

For dinner that evening we did backwards cooking which was eventful. And then we all started preparing for the iconic campfire that was run by Oliver and Simon. The only rule was no invisible bench but of course we had to twist the rules. The campfire although it took quite a long time to light was extremely fun.

Some of the seniors ended the day with a few cards games which some of us gracefully lost. The last day we spent the morning packing and loading the trailer. Getting back to the hall we realised we had to put up all the tents and traps which was quite a process.

Overall the camp was a great experience that I will remember fondly.

– Bridget

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/laura-owenss-springbok-camp/

Oct 06 2025

Joel Foord’s pioneering project

  • 06/10/2025

The aim of Joel’s project was to make a big tower. There were many people, lots of delicious snacks and cake, and lots of pioneering, it took us a while to finish the structure and then we had to haul it up, it took lots parents and help but we got it up and almost everyone be went up. We then let it down and disassembled it. It was overall very fun and cool.

– Oliver van zyl Smit

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3_jfoords_pioneering/

Oct 05 2025

Troop Report Term 3

  • 05/10/2025

Term 3 this year was, as usual, one of our busier terms (I’m sure you are all tired of reading/hearing this statement or an iteration of this statement by now, but it is simply just true..  

The term started before the term even began with both Laura and Joel running their community services and Laura her camp during the June/July holidays.  These were both very successful events and I was very happy to see so many of our scouts participating in multiple of these activities.  Following on from this, Joel then ran his pioneering project during the term.  This was another hugely successful event.  The tower itself, being very intricate in its design, was raised and stable enough to be climbed.  These types of constructions usually get up, but are often unstable and unsafe to climb, so it was really great to see Joel get his up.

As you all know, the troop also took part in a few competitions throughout the term.  Starting with Doc Trophy on the first weekend of term.  We sent two teams on this still relatively new and, therefore, small district training competition.  Both did really well, coming 3rd and 4th out of 5 registered teams.  Then, a few weeks later, we sent three junior and one senior team to the regional orienteering competition.  Again, our teams did very well, with one of our junior teams placing 3rd in the junior category and the troop placing 8th overall.  Finally, on the last weekend of term, we sent two teams to Gordon’s Shield (the regional camping competition).  It was great to see both of our teams doing really well again in this competition (placing 5th and 25th out of 37 registered teams).  In terms of competitions, it is great to see our troop doing so well.  Everyone who took part in these competitions and even those that did not (who still played a big part in getting the troop to the necessary skill level needed to do so well in these competitions) deserves a massive congratulations.

Finally, this term was filled with many patrol events happening almost every weekend.  These ranged from First Class Community Service Projects to First Class Camps and a few general patrol and discoverer activities.  A big well done to all our patrol leaders for running said activities (many of whom were running these types of activities for the first time).

Before closing off, I should also mention that it was great to see our incredible scouter team taking part in so many courses and competitions that were run throughout this term.  From pioneering scoutcraft to pioneering interest, survival interest and, as usual, a few first aid courses.  All our scouters deserve a big well done and thank you for finding the time to run and be involved in these regional events as well as be involved in such an active troop.  

That is all from me for now, but I don’t think any article from TS would be complete without a final reminder to check emails/WhatsApp for information on upcoming events and sign-up forms.  After the success of this term, I am very much looking forward to another successful term ahead.

– Simon Bean

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/scouts/ss2025q3-troop-report/