Hi all, You can download a consent form that needs to be filled out for every youth member and handed back to their Leader at their next meeting or their first meeting back, (whichever comes first) to allow for activities in 2022/23.
The group have organised an activity day in Cuskinny Court activity centre for all our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Ventures.
Activities will include archery, climbing wall, grass sledging, zipline, squirel trail, forest maze, some activities have an age limit. We will also have a combined age games event, so lets hope the leaders can keep up!!
Gear to bring:
Knapsack lined with a bin bag.
Rain gear (coat and waterproof pull-ups)
Boots or old runners
Old clothes
A change of clothes and shoes
Lunch
Water bottle
Sun hat
Sun lotion
A compass, if they have one.
Mobile Devices: Leaders will not take responsibility for any devices brought to the event and there are no charging points at the centre.
As mentioned at the last meeting the section are competing in the Cork South Shield Competition this year on the 6th-8th of May at Kilcully Scout Campsite.
In preparation for this we are going to Fota Scout Centre on the weekend of April 8th – 10th. This weekend is not limited to those who wish to attend the shield. All scouts are welcome to attend, the more the merrier.
Scouts attending must have an activities consent form completed and returned to us and also have paid the annual registration.
Securing a place is subject to a non-refundable deposit of €10 and can be paid at the next meeting (30th March).
Arrive: 7:30pm on Friday 8th April
Depart: 2pm on Sunday 10th April
Accommodation: Tents
Cost:
Cost is 40 euro per scout (including deposit). This will cover accommodation, food and programme for the weekend.
The full amount is due on Wednesday the 6th of April.
Gear List:
Uniform not necessary but neckerchief is a MUST.
Old/worn clothing is best to be used for this weekend
Sleeping bag
Bivvy bag
Full raingear (jacket and leggings)
Warm hat and gloves
Hiking boots
Tea towel
Unbreakable cup, bowl, plate
Knife, fork and spoon
Two complete changes of clothes
Towel and personal wash gear
Water bottle – at least 1 litre
Torch and spare batteries
Directions:
Please DO NOT pack ANY electronic devices or mobile phones or bring any such devices on the weekend. Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage caused to electronic devices or mobile phones while away on this weekend. Leaders WILL NOT ‘mind’ ‘take care’ ‘watch over’ any electronic devices or mobile phones for Scouts on this weekend
Should you have any further query please do not hesitate to contact me at seantaaffe@douglasscouts.ie
Hi all,
You can download a consent form that needs to be filled out for every youth member and handed back to their Leader immediately to allow for activities in 2021/22.
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New year as best you could given the circumstances.
Since our last update before Christmas a lot has changed and the situation with Covid19 continues to develop and unfortunately escalate around the world.
Following todays announcement by Scouting Ireland all Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group indoor meetings and outdoor activities are suspended until further notice and our return to regular Scouting is going to take longer than expected.
The leadership team are however looking into the possibility of running virtual meetings or virtual activities where possible.
The constant negative news articles and the waiting to hear the daily numbers are putting a huge amount of pressure on everyone but there is light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines beginning to roll out and we will look back on this eventually and know we came together by staying apart.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting myself by email at vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie
Yours In Scouting,
Vickie Swanton Group Leader – Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group
As we watch the flames of 2020 fade away we wish all our members, scouters, family and friends a very Happy New Year and welcome 2021 with a renewed spirit.
Scouting certainly didn’t go the way we expected in 2020, some sections did manage a few local activities and even a few online meetings.
Thank you to our members for continuing to show us your support. Thank you to all our Scouters for doing what you could in running activities and online meetings.
Roll on 2021 where we’re sure we’ll meet around a campfire once more!
2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone and for Scouting it has been no different.
We hope to return to Scouting of some form shortly and continue on in January for all our sections. This of course can change and will depend on Government, HSE and Scouting Ireland guidelines.
The Group Secretary sent out an email to all our parents on Monday last to ask for confirmation if your child will be returning to Scouting with us so we can plan for the coming months.
We would appreciate it if you could let us know by replying to dsfgroupsecretary@douglasscouts.ie as soon as possible and if you could please mention your childs name and the section they are in when replying we would appreciate it.
If your child does not currently wish to return but changes their mind in the future we will of course welcome them back.
Since our Return to Scouting was published back in August the situation with Covid19 continues to develop and unfortunately escalate around the world. It is up to each Group to do what they feel is safe and in keeping with the various Government, HSE and Scouting Ireland regulations.
We have taken a decision to suspend all indoor meetings and outdoor activities until further notice. At this time, with the rise in numbers around the world, across the country and here in Cork we feel we should do our part and play it safe for the health of our Youth Members, our Scouters and our Community.
We want to thank you all for what you are doing, especially those of you who were able to take part in an activity or either an indoor or outdoor meeting since we got back to Scouting and we are sorry that we have to pause this journey again.
Our sections will look into the possibility of running some virtual meetings or maybe virtual activities and will let you know in due course. We will look back on this eventually and know we came together by staying apart.
If you have any queries you can contact your section leader or the Group Leader Vickie Swanton by email vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie
Hello everyone: it’s been a while so here is an update for all our members.
The Group Council prepared our ‘Roadmap to return’ and this was shared with our Scouters at a virtual meeting on July 28th.
Following on from the government’s announcement on Tuesday evening the Group Council must review our plans regarding our return to regular Scouting.
At the moment and in line with our own roadmap we will continue to permit planned outdoor activities but now with the revised numbers of 12 youth members and 3 leaders and only with our Covid19 declaration completed in advance.
Resuming our regular weekly meetings is still under review but in line with government guidelines these will not occur until mid September at the earliest
Changes to the Group Council of Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group have been made and we’re thrilled to announce that Vickie Swanton has been appointed as our Group Leader.
Following Eoin Fields decision in January 2020 that he would step down towards the end of this Scouting Year the Group Forum met virtually in May and unanimously agreed that Vickie would be nominated for the position of Group Leader of the Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group, this decision was ratified by the Group Council and Eoin officially stood down on June 8th. The County Commissioner has been informed and Vickies details will now be forwarded to Scouting Ireland for approval.
Up to this point Vickie had held the role of Group Secretary and also that of Assistant Cub Scouter.
Vickie has been a member of Douglas Scouts since 2008 and has previously held the roles of Beaver Leader, Assistant Scout Leader and Cub Scouter. Vickie comes from a Scouting family and her fiancee Mark, her mother Wendy, her father Nick and her brother Cian are all current members of our Group.
The Group Council, the Group Forum and the leadership team of all our sections wish her well in her new role and look forward to supporting her and helping her to lead Douglas & St. FinBarres into the future.
Sean Taffee was duly nominated and elected to the role of Group Secretary and we extend our congratulations to him also
