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The Lighthouse -- Sept/Oct 1998Scouts Canada -- Whitby District Newsletter |
Whitby District is proud to present
Group Committee Training
When: November 7 and 8
Where: CLOCA Offices, 100 Whiting Ave, Oshawa
Time: Saturday: 8:30-5:00, Sunday: 9:00-5:00
Lunch: provided both days
Cost: $30.00
Course Leader: Karen Granville, (905) 668-0306
No. of participants: Max 20
Why take training?
Register today by calling Karen before October 24. As of the start of October, there were only three people registered. It would be a shame to cancel the course. Everyone who attended last year found the sessions very beneficial, and this year's version promises to be bigger and better than ever.
On behalf of Whitby District I would
like to welcome all scouters and youth
to a great new season, I hope you all
enjoy and have fun in this season. I
am looking forward to helping out in
any area I am needed in, and I will do
my best.
I have received a lot of phone calls asking for more youth to be placed and so far we have been able to accommodate all of these requests. So far we have placed over seventy youth. I would like to see us get over 100% of last year's membership figure this season like we did last season.
There has been a lot of talk about the police check, and, yes, it is true all leaders in the district must get their police check done before they can be registered. Any adult involved with Scouts Canada must now have this police check done every five years. Most of the group committees will reimburse each person the ten dollars for this report. No, it doesn't take a lot of time and the turn-around for this is within a week, just go to any Durham Region Police Office and they will look after you.
Last season there was a concern regarding the loss of the water charge certificate. At the last Council meeting I did pass out some forms to help the groups out. If there is a group in need of help, Jack Welsh has informed me he will assist you. As soon as we get a syllabus for the water activity course we will look at putting on the course if it is needed.
I would like to thank the leaders that took the time and came out to "Intro to Scouting", we hope this Intro enlightened you a little on the Scouting movement, if you have questions and your contact leader can't answer you, call your service scouter. I am sure they can help you out.
Beaver, Cub, and Scout Leader training (Woodbadge Part I) will be offered over at Camp Samac by Oshawa District and by Owasco District. Now is the time to get trained for the section you are going to be working in.
The District invites all leaders to a Christmas Dinner. On Sunday, December 13, 6:00 p.m., Whitby District will hold a Christmas dinner at Honey Garlic in Ajax. Last year there were around forty participants at the dinner. This year I would like to see more if possible. This is a non-uniformed adult event. What a great time to get to know other Scouters in our district! Hope to see you there.
Yours in Scouting
Larry Webb
Scouts Canada now has a new insurance company and broker. If you still have any of the old insurance "incident report" blank forms, please destroy them. They are the ones that say Marsh & McLennan at the bottom.
Since there was no volunteer to coordinate the Apple Day this year, groups are asked to stay in the plazas that they were assigned to last year. Remember that it's your group's responsibility to get permission from the stores concerned.
Registration is not going too smoothly this year with all the new forms and procedures, but initial registrations are supposed to be into the regional office by October 15, so please get all remaining forms to Viola Tebble as soon as possible. Groups are reminded that all leaders (including long-time existing leaders) must have a police record check done before they can be registered this year.
Any adult who is regularly (say more than 5 times per year) attending group functions (such as meetings, camps, and outings) should be considered a leader and must be a registered member. Adults are not eligible for recognition for years of service except for the years they were registered. There have been some disappointed volunteers in the past due to neglect of registration. Also, leaders cannot take Scout training courses until they are registered and are not eligible for recognition of completion of courses until after their initial 3-month probation period has passed.
At last check, only a few Beaver colonies still had space for new Beavers. Contact the ADC for Beavers if you need for find space.
You should keep your partner (formerly known as sponsor) organization up-to-date on what you are doing. Check to see if they are receiving bulletins and/or minutes. It's good to keep lines of communication open. Maybe you could do something for them in the future and they could do something for you. Partnerships are beneficial when both members together can accomplish more than each member can do separately.
The popcorn sale is now underway. This is an vital source of funding for our regional office as well as a great source of revenue for your own group. If your group didn't manage to get involved this time, watch for the next one. You're missing out on a good thing.
A new batch of district badges have now arrived. They are now $1 each (no tax), as are the regional badges if you get them from the district treasurer, Viola Tebble.
For those of you who are new to Scouting in Whitby, you can read back issues of The Lighthouse on our district web site. The site may be changing location soon. Be sure you are using http://pobox.com/~scouts to ensure continued access to the site. A full list of training opportunities for the 1998-99 Scouting season is now available on the site (our apologies for the delay). Also, be sure to take advantage of the message board, ScoutTalk.
![[Join-in Logo]](joinito.gif)
Only few Scouts in Whitby district will have the opportunity to actually
attend this year's world jamboree in
Chile, but you can do complementary
activities at your meetings and camps. There are wonderful activities
available by mail or on the World Wide Web. Speak to
Neil Wick if
you want details.
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