Slamboree's on again!

Remember the great fun we had two years ago?
It's back...



SLAMBOREE 2008

Saturday 16th February 2008

Slamboree is on again!
16 February 2008

Join hundreds of other NSW Scouts to watch the final game of the NBL season: Sydney Razorbacks take on the Melbourne Tigers at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre! There will be plenty of pre game activities and the chance to mingle with the Razorbacks post match.

Date: Saturday, 16 February 2008 Venue: Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre

Cost: $25 per head

What your ticket price includes:

- Special pre game Entertainment and activities
-1x Ticket to the West Sydney Razorbacks vs Melbourne Tigers
-Pre game sausage sizzle snack
-Post game Activities
-Slamboree collectors cloth badge
-Autographed Razorback poster and giveaways
-A chance to sit on the bench with the players

Activity

*Check in opens 2:00pm

*Pre game activities start 2:00pm

*Pre game sausage sizzle snack will be served at 5:00pm

*Doors to Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre open 5:30pm

*Check in closes 6:00pm

*Game Starts- Game Concludes 7:30pm-9:30pm

*Post game entertainment 9:30pm-10:30pm

Musca.

2008 - Year of the Scout

Scouts Australia NSW is turning 100 this year and there are many exciting events and programs on offer that will offer all Members that opportunity.

1st Avoca Beach Scouts will be Celebrating “The Year of the Scout” and the Australian Centenary of Scouting. We will be incorporating many of the Centenary events into our program for this year so please make sure you join in.

This is a fantastic year to promote and celebrate Scouting in Australia, to engage your local community, demonstrating the value of Scouting to young people and adults.

All Year of the Scout Centenary Information relating to State Events can be found on this page - www.nsw.scouts.com.au/centenary. It will be updated regularly, so be sure to visit it often.

I wish you all the best as we prepare to celebrate this very important year.

Watch this blog to find out more!

Musca.

2008 - Welcome to the Year of the Scout !

Welcome to 2008 and what a big year it will be for scouts in Australia!
This year is the Centenary of scouts in Australia and the declared year of the scout.
Look where our flag is flying!



From New Year’s Day, the Scouts Australia flag is proudly flying from the western flag pole on top of the Harbour Bridge to mark 100 years of Australian Scouting.

To recognise the significance of this special Centenary year, NSW Premier Morris Lemma fully supported this initiative. The Australian Government has declared 2008 to be the ‘Year of the Scout’.

Grant De Fries, Chief Commissioner for Scouts Australia NSW, says that the opportunity to fly the Scout Flag from such an iconic location is a great way to start the many planned events throughout the year, such as the Australia Day Spectacular at Darling Harbour, and the 100 Good Turns Initiative.

“We have a lot to celebrate this year and our Centenary is a wonderful chance to share the benefits of Scouting with the young people and their families of NSW’, he said.

Get ready to share in the Centenary fun with a lot of great activities planned during the year. Now is a great time to be in or join scouts now. Come and join in the Centenary fun with 1st Avoca Beach Scouts now!

Musca.

Scouts! - JOTI this weekend @ Avoca

JOTA/JOTI - The World's largest Scout activity!

Centenary of Scouting 50th Jamboree On The Air / 11th Jamboree On The Internet 20-21st October 2007

Everyone in Scouts Australia can make friends, exchange experiences and cultures and have fun in the largest activity in World Scouting. JOTA and JOTI gives Youth Members the awareness that they belong to a Worldwide movement which has 26 million members.

Avoca Beach Scouts will be running an activity at the hall for all scouts and cubs from 2 - 7pm on Saturday and Sunday afternoon the 20th & 21st October for JOTI. All members, friends and visitors are welcome to attend and participate. We will have a number of PCs in operation for you to join in on JOTI and contact fellow cubs and scouts from all over the world. If you attend please wear your uniform as there will be opportunities to take some digital photos and exchange them with other scouts worldwide. Let’s show them who Avoca Beach Scouts are!

All members who participate can earn a great looking JOTA/JOTI badge to wear !

More information can be found at: http://www.avocascouts.com/ click on the JOTI logo on the main page for information and how you can also do it at home.

Cya there, Musca.

JOTI at Avoca Beach Scouts this weekend

This weekend (20/21st Oct) is the annual JOTI activity.
This year will be a special year for JOTA/JOTI, as with all scout activities this year it is of course the Centenary of scouting, but in addition it is the 50th anniversary of JOTA. More information on JOTA/JOTI can be found at:
http://www.international.scouts.com.au/main.asp?iMenuID=9071085

Note scouts can do this activity at home themselves if they have a PC with internet access, details are in this link. In the past though scouts and cubs have had a lot of fun doing this together as a group activity. This activity is also being conducted by the Hunter & Coastal Region at Camp Kanangra, Nords Wharf.

Locally, with the kind sponsorship of the local Telstra Countrywide office Telstra will again be providing the Avoca Scout hall with Broadband access for the weekend. At this stage we would probably use a similar format as per the previous years. That is setup a dozen or so PCs with internet access for use of IRC chat on the Scoutlink channel, plus web access, email etc. We would also have a couple or more "high-end" PCs setup with multimedia/webcams for use on MSN for live video chat with scouts around the world.

Again, this weekend will be available to all Avoca Beach scouts and cubs, open to all scout groups across the Gosford district and you are all invited and encouraged to attend if you wish to. Depending on people's availability etc. we would probably start around the middle of the day on Saturday going through to Sunday afternoon. However given when people can attend amongst other activities and commitments on a weeekend, we will not necessarily be there for this whole time, so please, if you are planning on coming get back to me with a suggested time so I can be sure people will be there to conduct the activity and the Hall is open.

Given all our required hall upgrades are now complete we may also plan with the scouts a hall sleepover for the Saturday night, but this will up to the patrols as to whether or not they want to do this. We will at least have a BBQ on the Saturday evening and anyone is welcome to attend if they wish to.

I planned to have also a small display of scout memorabilia (some books, badges, uniforms) from around the world to add to the international theme of JOTA/JOTI. I have a collection of items which was used in the recent Gangshow which I will bring down to display.

Please pass this information on to your respective section leaders and if they are interested in attending please have them contact me to arrange suitable times to visit.

Again thanks to Telstra for the broadband access and to ADC Krone for the use of network LAN equipment and PCs.

All the best,

Musca (Rob).

Total Lunar Eclipse - Evening of the 28th August

On Tuesday evening the 28th August a total eclipse of the moon will occur across all of Australia. Fortunately for east coast observers this will happen at a very convenient time early in the evening. The partial phases of the eclipse will begin at 6.51pm, totality will commence at 7.52pm with greatest eclipse at 8.37pm where the moon will be relatively high in the sky at 38º making observing easy. Totality will end at 9.22pm.

A Lunar Eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon passes into the Earth's shadow. Lunar Eclipses (unlike Solar Eclipses) are completely safe to observe with the unfiltered and unaided eye - no special equipment is needed. The full moon will appear to go dark and turn a deep blood or coppery red.

Use of a telescope or binoculars can help improve the view, giving you more magnification and intensifying the colouration.

Sometimes a Total Lunar Eclipse is best viewed without any optical aid, just lying under the stars watching the change as the Moon first gets slightly darker and eaten away (partial phase), finally turning deep red as it enters totality.

Whilst you can watch this event (weather permitting) from any location where you have a clear view of the moon, Avoca Beach Scouts will have an eclipse viewing evening at their hall which all Gosford district scout members, their family, friends and public are welcome to attend and view jointly. Bring a friend! We will set up some telescopes for viewing to enhance the experience. We can also show you how to find south, identify constellations, whilst watching the eclipse up close! All of which can count towards achievement of your astronomy badge.

The Avoca Beach scout hall will be open from 7.30pm to 9.00pm during the lunar eclipse totality period. A light supper will also be available for a gold coin donation, and/or bring your own or something to share!

Note there will be no organised or supervised activities by Avoca leaders on this night, just casual observing, so all youth members attending would need to be supervised and accompanied by their parents and leaders. All members attending please wear your full uniform so we at least look like scouts. If you have your own telescopes and binoculars of any sort, please bring them to enhance your experience of this rare event!

Note this evening is weather dependent, if it is heavily overcast or raining it will be off. If in doubt call me at my number below. If you plan to have significant numbers attending please let me know so I can be prepared!

Even if you can’t come to our viewing night, go outside next Tuesday and take a look!

Robert “Musca” Milne – Group Leader, 1st Avoca Beach
Mob: 0403 333030
www.avocascouts.com

Happy Birthday to Us !

Happy birthday to all scouts worldwide, 100 years today !!

Musca.