Kincumber Festival, BBQ and Fundraiser

Avoca scouts we are having our major fundraiser tomorrow (Saturday 18th) and supporting the local community at the Kincumber Spring Festival. We will have a stand and BBQ being setup from 8am and operating all day from 9am-3pm. Scouts and parents, please support us, so we can support you! Fundraisers buy needed equipment, provide training for the youth members and adults, promote scouting and engender community spirit in our youth members. So please come down, see the festival, visit us, get involved, help out, send your friends and family along and buy a sausage or two!

Please wear your uniform neatly and fully if you can, so we function and appear as both a cohesive scout and organised youth group. Your assistance during or at any part of the day would certainly be appreciated. Have fun and be proud!

Musca

Gosford District Mud Bash

Avoca Beach Surf Scouts it's the Billy Cart Mud Bash this Sunday (12th Sep) at Kariong! A tough activity for sure over rough terrain competing against other groups for the prize, but I am sure the Avoca legends will be victorious. Details and the A1 have already been emailed out and linked on the website on the calendar for this activity. See you there scouts!

Koolang Observatory visit

For the Koolang observatory night this Saturday evening, 4th September, here are some more details below.

The A1 form is on our website in the calendar section also, it has all the details you need.

I understand this night goes ahead rain, hail or (moon) shine!
They do have other activities (observatory tour etc.) for cloudy nights.

The weather is expecting rain, but clearing Saturday night into Sunday, don’t panic, let’s just hope it clears early for us!

Astronomically if it does clear for Saturday evening then that would be the best circumstance as the rain pulls the dust out of the sky and the best nights of transparency and the darkest skies are always immediately following rain.

Family and friends welcome, if any of you scouts wish to bring a mate along you are more than welcome!

If you have not paid already then pay on the Saturday night at the observatory.

The observatory is located at: RMB 266B George Downs Drive, Bucketty, NSW.

I presume you have arranged transport/car pooling, if not and you need transport then please let me know ASAP as our district scout leader John Bradley who is also attending will have some seats available.

The details from the A1 form are:
Prices to visit Koolang are
$10 for children up to year 12
$15 for Adults
Pre-school children pay $10 if they use the telescope
Everyone is welcome to visit including parents and siblings
Please be at Koolang by 7.45 PM so we are ready to enter the Observatory at 8.00PM
The show starts at 8.30 PM and will conclude at 10.30 PM

Please note that it will take about 1 hour and 15 mins to drive to Koolang Observatory from Avoca

All scout members to wear full uniform and bring warm clothing for any outside activities at night

Directions to Koolang Observatory:
From the Central Coast - take the Peats Ridge exit off the Sydney-Newcastle Expressway at the Somersby Interchange (between Kariong and Ourimbah).
Follow the old Pacific Highway for 10 kms to Peats Ridge. Turn right onto George Downes Drive. 32 kms later you will arrive at Koolang Observatory. By car, it will take about 45 minutes to get from the Interchange to the Observatory.

See you there,
Musca

Avoca scouts excel at the recent state rally!

For an absolutely mighty effort, for scouts who have never been to a state rally before and in fact Avoca has not been for years, overall out of 756 scouts and 150 patrols, you guys placed 17th in the state, sixth in the region and 1st in Gosford district. Absolutely remarkable guys! Salvatore, you were also the equal 17th patrol leader in the state, equal to one of those PLs from 1st Caringbah, who ultimately did take out 1st, 2nd and 3rd position.
So with experience and some hindsight, imagine what you younger guys could do next time!
I am incredibly proud of you all, you did so well.
For a complete list of the state results they can be found on the web here: http://www.patroltent.com/rallysite/patrols2010.html
You can click on the top of the columns to change the sort order and determine rankings etc.
Bask in your glory!
Musca.

Bike Hike, on, so far...

At this stage, weather is good, Kyle's bike hike is still on! Only if it's pouring rain would we not do it. See you at Kincumber Mountain scouts, 8am.

Open day at our scout hall, Sat 20th March

1st Avoca Beach Surf Scouts are having an open day tomorrow, Saturday 20th March, at their scout hall at 227 Avoca Drive, Avoca Beach, to showcase scouting. See scouts in action! All welcome, particularly youth to find out what scouting may offer them and to have fun!
It's open from 1-4pm, come and walk along our rope bridge the scouts have constructed!

Musca.

Cubs are Back!

Cubs are back! This Wednesday 17th March, 7pm at the hall, don't miss it!
Just a reminder for any person you know who would be interested in this, existing cubs, perhaps younger siblings, friends or relatives, that our cub pack will be starting again under the guidance of Cara Taylor. If you know anyone who is interested in this excellent youth program for those between the ages of 7.5-11 years, then please invite them along.
See you then!

All the best,

Musca

Scouts this Thursday, not to be missed, it's fire!

Scouts are back at the hall this Thursday night the 25th Feb and this is definitely not a night to be missed, we will be making fire, Man vs. Wild style!

Yes, one for the pyros, making fire, but with a twist (really!), you will use no matches, lighters or accelerants of any kind, just natural materials which you will need to locate and bring with you beforehand.

If ever you are ever caught out in the bush with nothing, then this is a good survival technique that could get you warm, cook some tucker, keep the mozzies away and light a signal fire, knowledge worth knowing and could save your life!

Attached is a list of materials you will need to locate over the next few days to bring with you on Thursday evening. We will likely not have spares, so you will need to get these beforehand if you want to build the tool to light your own fire.

But in summary required is:
A small pocket knife, or knife capable of whittling off the end of a small stick.
Heavier, well dried sticks of about 300m long and 20mm thick which will be a source of ignition material, so, they need to be very dry and not green.
A less dried, greener and more flexible stick of about 400mm long and 15mm thick, which is capable of bending into a bow without snapping.
A length of braided cord about 1 metre long and 4mm thick, such as heavy boot lace or blind cord.
So you can apply pressure to a spinning stick with the palm of your hand, Dave suggests a strong sea shell (like a mussel shell) or perhaps even a steel bottle cap or soft drink cap may suffice.
Perhaps also bring a small amount of some dry tinder material such as dried long grass, coconut fiber or hessian that can easily ignite from a small spark.
That’s it, so get out collecting!

If you have some friends who might like to try out scouts, then invite them along as this will be a great activity for them to experience, but do let them know the list of materials to bring.

Lastly, not related to the fire making, but I would need to know who might be available and wishes to attend the overnight district camp at Kariong planned for the weekend of the 13/14th March.
So we can plan resources and equipment for this, I would need to have an idea of definite numbers of attendees this Thursday night, so if you could please discuss with your parents to determine availability if you wish to go and let your patrol leader know on Thursday, that would be great.

See you Thursday, oh, we will have some visitors too, so full uniform please (for those that are members).

Musca.

Founder's Day Sunday 21st Feb

This is our annual ceremony to celebrate our Founder, Baden-Powell.
There is a formal ceremony to start, flag raising etc. then activities will follow.
Most activities will suit the younger family members, cubs and younger scouts.
Swimming will be available later at the bush water hole, when supervision is made available.
There will be no swimming until leader supervision is present.

*** Due to the ceremonious nature of the occasion for all members attending please wear full uniform, properly please, no bright boardies or the like! ***

If swimming bring swimmers and towel. Full, enclosed footwear must be worn at all times (no thongs or bare feet!) I would recommend water shoes or old shoes for the swimming activity.

*** Slip, Slop, Slap, please bring a hat and wear sunscreen. ***

Bring a picnic lunch, all members of the family and friends, welcome and encouraged to attend!
Make a picnic of it, amongst the gum trees and have a wonderful day!
I do not believe there will be any food or drink available for purchase, so you will need to bring your own.
Have fun!

Scout Swimming Tonight Thursday 18th Feb

By PL request, we will be swimming this Thursday night at the Peninsula Leisure Centre, Woy Woy.
If you did not pick up the permission note at scouts last week (or lost it!) go to our website at http://www.avocascouts.com/calendar.html scroll down to the activity and click on the Permission Note link to open and print it.
Details of the activity are in this note, so please read it.
But please note the admission fees of:
Ages 5-16 $3.30 each.
Age >16 (adults) swimming $5.20 each.
All spectators, no swimming $2.40 each.
These are payable to the leisure centre on entry.
The time I have on the form is from 7-9pm, but we will have to be out of the pool by about 8.45pm as the centre closes at 9pm sharp.
All family and friends welcome and encouraged to attend, invite your mates along if they are at a loose end for a Thursday night!
You can of course swim earlier if you wish to, but you would need to be accompanied by parents as there will be no supervision from Avoca Beach scout leaders before 7pm.
There is also a small canteen there if you want to bring some spending money for a drink or whatever.

Avoca Beach Scouts make the front page news!

Wow guys, we're on the front page of the Community newspaper Coastal Tidings!