Welcome back I hope you have all enjoyed the summer break? I am sure you will agree that the last twelve months have been highly successful and the children have had lots of adventures and learnt many new skills. As we look forward to a new school year I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few things and to let you know what the future holds. Attached is a list of dates for this term, a more detailed programme will be issued later?
Uniform We are a uniformed organisation and as such we expect the children to attend in a uniform relevant to the section they are in. On more formal occasions the uniform needs to be supplemented with the bottom half of the school uniform.
Attendance Whilst we appreciate that it may not be possible to attend on every Saturday due to other commitments or illness we do expect a certain level of commitment. Prolonged absence or sporadic attendance makes it very difficult to ensure that all the children have the opportunity to take part in any of the activities. If your child is unable to attend or no longer wishes to be in our group please contact me.
Subs Fees are due on the first Saturday of each calendar month and are payable for the number of sessions in the month in advance. Currently it is taking the whole of the month to collect the fees in. Therefore starting from the first Saturday in October none payment will incur a surcharge of 25 pence per session. Planned absence or absence followed with a phone call will not incur this surcharge. Please note that we may at sometime in the future consider payment by standing order or direct debit if this situation doesn’t improve.
Badges Badge work is an integral part the scouting programme and is a way of rewarding the children for their endeavours. If your child is presented with a badge please ensure that this is sewn onto their uniform in the correct place.
Membership Fee Each year the Scout association request a census from its members and an annual fee is requested. This is currently around £25 per adult and child. Over the last two years we have paid this on your behalf. As you can imagine this is a substantial amount of money. Currently we are not in a position to do this for a third year and may have to pass some of this cost onto you. This cost can be negated by parents taking an active interest in the group and helping us fundraise.
Adult helpers Starting in January 2011 we aim to start a parental rota. We would ask that a parent would give up a couple of hours once or twice a year to be an extra pair of hands for the adult leaders. We have used this scheme successfully at other groups. As uniformed leaders we also have occasions when we cannot make a particular Saturday. An extra adult can make all the difference and can allow us to make sure an event takes place.
New Members To ensure the group continues we need to recruit more children. Please do everything you can to be ambassadors for our group and tell your friends and neighbours about us. Each child has been given a number of Flyers to distribute to their friends.
Older Children Some of the children have now passed the age when they must join Scouts (10 years and six months) As you are aware we currently only have a beaver colony and a Cub Pack. We would like to open a meeting for scouts, that immediately follows on from our morning meeting. The scout association will not allow us to run all three age ranges concurrently in the same room. Therefore from January 2011 we propose that the older children will meet on the Saturday afternoon. This will be subject to us having the correct qualified leaders available. Alternatively we can put you in touch with a nearby scout group. If neither of these options are possible then sadly we will have to say goodbye to these children.
Trips and outings We have a number of trips already booked for the coming year. These letters will be issued next week. It would be much appreciated if you could return the slips and remittance on or before the published cut off date and I am told of any changes to individuals wishing to go asap. As you can imagine trying to organise these events and dealing with all the health safety issues can be a huge task. Your help in this matter would be much appreciated and make my life a little easier. Coming soon a trip thru Blackpool illuminations and next year another visit to pgl
Finally we are busy planning for the coming year and have lots of exciting ideas in the pipeline. Details will be issued shortly. Traditionally scout groups become an integral and important part of the local community. For us to succeed we need you the parents and volunteers from the local community to help us in what ever capacity or level of commitment you can? Please help us to invest in your children’s future.
Join the Adventure
