Activities
For any activities keep the following in mind:
- Have I checked with the scouters beforehand that the activity can be run?
- Do I have enough time to plan it properly?
- Do I have transport arranged?
- Do I have enough scouts to make it successful (you need about 4 scouts per activity)?
- Do I have a permit (approved)?
- Do the parents of my scouts know about the activity?
- Do I have consent forms?
- If payment is necessary, have I accounted for the money accurately?
- Do I have contact details for parents of all the scouts participating?
- Do I know where the nearest medical facility is and do I have its phone number?
External examining
In First Class, the Patrol Camp and the First Class Hike are examined by Liesbeek District and not by the troop. The reason for this is that in certain troops, standards were extremely low and scouts were unable to pass Springbok. As a result Liesbeek District imposes a high standard for First Class. 1st Claremont supports the maintenance of high standards in scouting and we thus support Liesbeek District as examiners of these two important tests. This is not yet a universally imposed standard so you might find your scouting friends in other districts do less work for their camps and hikes. When you do your Springbok (or even in later life), you will see the benefits of the higher standard to which we adhere in First Class.
When working on your First Class camp and First Class hike, remember:
- You have to submit your planning to District;
- They will respond with required changes;
- You have to make those changes and resubmit your planning;
- Your planning is approved;
- Your permit is approved.
If your permit is not approved, your camp or hike cannot proceed. Make sure you submit your planning about 3 to 4 weeks ahead of the activity. The person reviewing it and the DC suffer from Real Life Syndrome and are not available to immediately review your planning and approve it. It is polite and considerate to give them time to do their work. If you do not hear back from them in a reasonable time, send them a polite reminder.
Getting commitment
To get commitment from your fellow scouts to come on an activity requires several things:
- Communication (remember?) with BOTH scouts and parents via email. For this you must use the troop email system.
- Communication with the scouts at the next meeting. If you do not do this you will not get commitment. You need to ask each one individually if they are coming and if not, why not.
- Time. You must give adequate (at least 3 weeks, preferably a month) warning of your activity. The less time you give, the less commitment you will get.
- Confirmation of who is attending and final arrangements via email to parents and scouts.
