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/

Oct 02 2025

Joel’s Springbok Community Service at Oude Molen

  • 02/10/2025

We had a lot of fun at Joel’s comm serve at the Oudeom Molen food garden.  In the week that we spent there we built a water feature, some birdhouses, we painted some signs for the garden, we constructed

a chicken coop, we painted the shed, we moved piles of bark and had a lot of fun. It was nice to see a how much of a difference we had made by the end of the week. It was nice to spend time with all the scouts who were on Joel’s Comm serve

-Christopher

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3_jf_commserve/

Oct 01 2025

Kestrels Litter Cleanup

  • 01/10/2025

The Kestrels Scout Patrol of 1st Claremont organized a cleanup event on August 10th to clean up litter in four local parks.

We planned our cleanup over two weekends and visited four different parks in Claremont:

Keurboom Park: This park had quite a lot of small rubbish, but there were also a few big bags of chips. We then walked from Keurboom to Rondebosch Park and had a quick drink at a restaurant nearby.

Rondebosch Park: This one was a bit more challenging. We found a lot of orange peels and a lot of large cardboard pieces and cigarette butts in a small area. Our patrol leader’s mom then drove us to the Tractor Park because it was very far away.

Tractor Park: We walked around the park and found lots of small pieces of rubbish and almost zero big pieces. 

In the end we collected 4 bags of litter in the four parks. It was shockingly more than I expected.

-Declan Van Pallander

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/ss2025q3_kestrels_cleanup/

Jul 25 2025

Smoke Signals Q2 2025

  • 25/07/2025

The theme for Scouts SA in 2025 is “Heritage”, and this issue of Smoke Signals (PDF) focuses on the families and adult leaders who form such an important part of building the group’s heritage.

Please visit the photo album featuring Daniel le Jeune who has stepped down as Troop Scouter. He leaves a legacy of excellence as he hands over the role to Simon Bean. We will feature Simon in a future edition.

We also pay tribute to John Webb, a former Scout, Scouter, father of Ian and Jonathan and grandfather of James and Julia, who passed away in May, and whose time at 1st Claremont spanned 70 years of the group’s history.

Of course we also feature the Meerkats (hunting bugs, geo-caching and even visiting the UK), Cubs (Kon-Tiki and more) and Scouts (Upton Shield, Kon-Tiki, Julia’s Discover hike and more), who have continued their exciting programmes.

And finally we invite you to join us at the hall for our “Rugby on the Big Screen” on 16 August (Boks vs Australia from 4pm). Not only is it a great event for the family, it’s also an important fundraiser towards our aim to own our own Scout Hall.

Read Smoke Signals for Term 2 of 2025 as a PDF or browse the article links on the website.

Thank you to Megan from Bats Patrol for the cover artwork.

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/smoke-signals-q2-2025/

Jul 25 2025

Rugby on the Big Screen!

  • 25/07/2025

After the great success of our rugby viewing fundraiser last year, we invite you to join us on 16 August for the Boks vs Australia! Doors open at 4pm, kickoff at 5:10pm.

Boks vs Aus Rugby at 1st Claremont Scout HallDownload

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/rugby-on-the-big-screen/