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Read all about it
Last term was a busy tome for us all. Thanks go out to all the Leaders, helpers and organisers that made it all possible.
Below you will find a reminder of what each section got up to last term. Everyone seemed to enjoy the varied and interesting activities and we look forward to another fun packed term ahead of us.
This amount of activity would not be possible without the commitment of our leaders and helpers. From time to time we do need additional help for a variety of jobs. There is nothing difficult about helping and you get the chance to see how much fun the children are having. If you feel that you could offer some assistance please either speak to a scouter or give Wendy Macdonald a call on 533718
 Monday Beavers
We have been very busy in this short term.
Christmas cards were recycled to make jigsaw puzzles. We completed Beaver crosswords.
We made pancakes with several different toppings. Some looked quite sickly with the amount of syrup on them.
For the Chinese New Year the Beavers learned the 12 animals used for the years and which year they were born in.
We looked at Fair Trade goods. We peeled potatoes.
We have been reading one of the Beaver story books.
We looked at different screw types and screwdrivers.
For Mother’s Day we made cards, which I believe were kept well hidden by the Beavers, and also wrapped chocolates and bath oils.
We enjoyed an evening of Trading Post, thanks to Brian and the other extra helpers. Tracey Dowson’s team won. We finished the evening with a biscuit and a drink of blackcurrant from a drinks fountain.
Different types of flying objects from Vortex, copters, dart and aeroplanes have been made and our Beavers learned about different aircraft. The Air Activities badge was completed with a visit from Phil Jones in his pilot’s uniform, giving the Beavers a talk on what it is like to fly an aircraft and answering their questions.
Eddie Johnson, our County Commissioner and acting District Commissioner visited us one evening and he presented the Beavers with a trophy that they had won jointly at the Water Fun Day last June.
For Easter we made cards, chocolate bunnies and nests with mini eggs and chicks.
We have worked towards our imagination badge, making different things from Lego and writing a story using stickers.
I should like to thank everyone who has helped, Julia, Stephanie and Tracey, Explorers Jo, Matthew and Trina and parents.
Julie Tulloch and her team.
Tuesday Beavers
The Tuesday Beavers have had a busy time since Christmas. We have invested five new Beavers and another four will be invested on the first meeting after the Easter break.
We have been working on the Faith badge, which links into the Promise challenge. We have also worked towards the Air Activities badge, and particularly enjoyed making and flying paper aeroplanes. We have also completed the Health and Fitness badge.
On Pancake Day we had a pancake race (the pancakes weren’t recommended for eating before the races and certainly not afterwards!) Mrs Cummins provided delicious pancakes for us to eat at the end of the meeting.
We enjoyed a shared talk with Tuesday Cubs, about the work of St. Luke’s Hospice.
Five Tuesday Beavers had fun at the Beaver challenge at Alderley Edge.
In March some of the Beavers attended the group church service, which links in with the Faith badge.
During the summer we are looking forward to the Creative challenge and to completing Hobbies badges.
We enjoyed a frantic evening competing in the Trading Post. Thanks to Brian Dear and all the extra helpers that evening.
Thanks very much to all who have helped with Beavers this term – Margaret Weeks (‘Keeo’), Debra Cummins, Sally Corrigan, Kate Woods and Vicky from Explorers. Also thanks to the parents who have helped – Jo Dooley, Sarah Rodgers, and Simon Cummins.
Nicky Gilsenan
 CUBS
We had an exciting start to the New Year with the opening of the Croco Pack. The opening ceremony and inaugural flag break were conducted by our Cubs and James Halliburton, a local entrepreneur who aims to be a millionaire by the time he reaches 30. He gave a very interesting talk about his invention – the Water Buoy – answered questions and enjoyed helping us cut (and eat) our special cake.
Our focus for the first half of the term was our Promise Challenge and we covered a lot of the sections required for our Chief Scout’s Silver Award. It also gave us an opportunity to revisit some of our more traditional Cub skills - knotting and tracking signs.
The prayers that were read at our recent Church Parade were written during an evening of Scouts Own preparations and have been used to close our meetings.
We have made a link with St Luke’s Hospice in Winsford and were given a very interesting presentation about the work of the Hospice, the people it helps and how much it costs to run. We discussed how we could help. We made collages of a full size Beaver and Cub to display in their Daycare Hospice. The Cubs had many fundraising ideas and we are working on these – we now run a Tuck Shop. We held a chocolate tombola (thanks to Mark Peart) and a very successful table selling all kinds of things and raised £100.00. Each meeting the Duty Six picks Cub of the Week, who takes home a St Luke’s Hospice collecting house for small change. This has raised over £21.00 so far.
We continued our Promise Challenge by inviting a Jewish family member, Peter Broxton, to talk to our Cubs. He brought a lot of Jewish artefacts that the Cubs were allowed to look at and even taste!
During half term we held a five-a-side football training session at the Leisure Centre and this was well attended and much enjoyed. There will be further training sessions during the Easter Holidays too.
Lizzie Broxton, Francesca Cannon, James Barratt and Mark Peart took part in the District Swimming Assessment and we came away with three Stage 2 badges and 1 Stage 4 (well done Mark).
The ladies from the Ceramic Experience in Congleton came and brought tiles for the Cubs to decorate as a unique Mother’s Day gift. These were taken away and glazed and they were all superb.
We held an evening cooking pancakes and I am not sure whether it was the cooking or the eating that was enjoyed the most!
We were very lucky to have an evening of Astronomy organised by our Explorers, Rob and Sam. There were various activities such as looking at the stars, a 3D presentation with commentary, lying in the office and looking at the stars on the ceiling and looking at the actual night sky and recreating some of the constellations.
The Dane Pack took part in the Trading Post and had a great time making some very interesting works of art! The Croco Pack did not take part due to a school event so those who did come met at Church for the parade rehearsal, then went on an Easter Egg Hunt finishing up with a stop at the chip shop
Thanks to all those that attended Church Parade and especially those that took part.
We had a great visit to Chelford for the Alderley District Cub Quiz – we took 4 Cubs and a Beaver and they successfully competed against teams of 6 Cubs to gain joint first place and were rewarded with medals – well done Aaron and Monica Corrigan, Oliver John, Lucy Wakefield and Lizzie Broxton.
Our term ended with work towards the Road Safety Badge and Cyclist Badge.
Thanks go to all those who have helped with both packs this term.
Alison Wright
 SCOUTS
We have had a busy few months since Christmas, and done some challenging and fun activities, despite the cold and damp weather. Both Helen and I were really pleased to welcome David Thirtle as another Assistant Scout Leader, he has experience of climbing and we look forward to making use of this skill soon! We have also introduced a points chart for the troop. A trophy will be awarded to the winning Patrol at the end of the summer.
January
The year started with an interesting talk and slide show from James Mitchell and Michael Buckley, two Explorers who attended the World Scout Jamboree at Chelmsford. It all looked very exciting. Hopefully some of you will get the chance to attend the next one in Sweden!
We had a talk by St Luke’s Hospice about their work, the Scouts asked lots of interesting questions, and it was good to get a better understanding of what goes on in this great place.
Saturday 26th of January was the District Scout 5-a-side football competition. Not only did all those involved show great sportsmanship (and sportswomanship Ellie!), but the A team did us proud by coming 3rd overall - our best result to date!! The B team showed great promise too, and we hope to keep the training up with a couple of sessions this term. We want the trophy next year!
Mixed in with all this we brushed up on compass, grid reference and knot tying work, which should come in handy for walking and climbing soon.
February
Lots of pancakes were made, eaten and enjoyed on the 8th. The other leaders and I had to taste the best offering from each patrol…and we are still here to tell the tale!
I introduced the troop to a game called Colditz on the 15th. The Scouts had to escape from the glare of the leaders’ searchlights by hiding behind obstacles in the dark (and it was very dark!) All the scouts enjoyed this, it’s always a firm favourite.
We finished February off with Trading Post. Many thanks go to Brian for another great night, the Scouts all showed lots of ingenuity and were very competitive!
March
We went out for fun, games and cowpats in the dark on the 7th and followed that with a sleepover in the scout hut! What could be better? The Scouts cooked their own breakfast in the morning (I went for the safer option of a croissant). They even cleared up after themselves (I wish mine would do that at home!).
9th March was Parade with a good turn out, and all were complimented on their good behaviour.
14th March was another great outdoor cooking challenge at the Mortlocks’ field (many thanks to them for letting us build a fire and run around!). Eggs in tins or sausages in banana skins anyone?
Finally 22nd March was bag packing at Booths, I was very proud of all the Scouts who attended, they were helpful and polite. I received many lovely comments from members of the public about all those there. No doubt this was why we raised so much money! Well done one and all.
Another great term, thanks to every one who has been involved. Next term looks like being a packed one, with lots of outdoors activities planned and camp to look forward to!
Jane Jennings (ASL)
 EXPLORERS
As usual, last term was full of the usual weekly activities. These included indoor caving, dancing (don’t ask !), the eating contest (definitely don’t ask !), Trading Post and many others.
In addition many Explorers are working towards their awards. Expedition training is underway with practice hikes for both the annual Cheshire Hike and the Gold DoE. Basic principles are being re-learnt i.e. every ounce does count when you are carrying on your back and Derbyshire is not flat ! The DoE Expedition for real is being run by Cheshire Scouts in Snowdonia in August. As well as Expedition work, the Explorers are also helping some of the junior sections in Holmes Chapel and Goostrey. We are running Young Leader Training and members have already attended the introductory session and a day of first aid.
Looking forward, the annual Expedition will be in the Lake District where our new canoes will hopefully be put to good use once they have arrived from Canada (Well where else would you get Canadian canoes from ?!)
Steve Buckley
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