BEAVERS

Our Beavers started their year  of outings in October with a guided Walk around Ballinafagh Lake lead by Feargal McEoin who spoke of the history of the lake.  National Animal Awareness Day brought them to the always fascinating Dublin Zoo and this day trip earned them an Animal Awareness Badge.  In  November they received their Orienteering Badge following their Orienteering Evening in Donadea Forest Park as well as their historical day in St Brigids Kildare.

For some however, it was a  busy month when Investiture Badges were also awarded to the new members. Others received their Pink Badge. With December soon upon them it was time to enjoy their Christmas party.  While in New Year they were off to St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth for the pantomime – Pinnochio, in the Aula Maxima. 
Then in the Spring the Beavers participated in some interactive games with a Trocaire representative in terms of things they like and don’t like in this world.  They also enjoyed a Beaver Quiz in Allenwood and a Treasure Hunt in Donadea Forest  Park.  Here they divided into three teams, followed the clues to receive a Sweet Treasure for their hunting.
Their final outing for their year was the Planetarium in Armagh where one of the main features of the day was the launch of plastic bottle rockets filled with water and compressed air.  This was preceded by a science session where the Beavers formed teams to construct and launch balloon rockets and baking soda/vinegar powered film capsule rockets.  This of course made for a highly interesting day at The Planetarium. 

CUBS

Early this year our Cubs enjoyed an overnight  stay in  the Glendalough Youth Hostel where they took a Night Hike and followed by a morning of Archery.  A great time was had by all.  Their next trip took them to Kilmainham Jail and the
National Museum of Ireland where they saw the Viking Warship, the Sea Stallion.
Now that Summer has arrived and brought the glorious evenings our Cubs now meet in our wonderful local facility, Donadea Forest Park.  Here they have taken part in Wildlife and Bat Walks as well as Games evenings. Their final trip for this year will be to Castlecomer Discovery Park to enjoy another day of fun and adventure.

SCOUTS

Though we currently have a small number of scouts, this has been an active and enjoyable year for scouts and leaders.  We end the year with 7 scouts and 5 leaders.  All scouts will hold the Tracker and Explorer Badges by the end of June.  This patrol will focus on individual merit badges next year.

Key highlights of the scout section year have been
Out-of-doors cooking session at Ballinafagh in September.
In October we had a Friday overnight activity at Mountain Venture’s Hostel in Wicklow, with a night hike on the lower levels of the Sugarloaf and a good 10 Km hike on the Saturday. A train trip to Greystones and a hike from there to Bray.  All rounded off with a game of Bowling. Several senior scouts participated in training at County level in preparation for the County Shield. We sent a Patrol of seven to the Scout County Shield
Competition at Larch Hill (Scouting Ireland HQ) in May.  They were assessed on camp-craft, cooking, first aid, a short drama etc.  Our scouts did themselves and the Group proud, coming very close to the winning score.  Better luck next year.
Scouts participated in the local clean-up with Tir na Mona, picking rubbish in Donadea Forest.  The year will end on a high for the Patrol with a camping trip to an Tain Adventure Centre in Omeath. Scouts also plan a Bivouac (Bivvy) night under the stars before breaking for the summer and hope to hold a number of unique activities on the Centenary theme.

NOTES

Congratulations to all our Beavers and Cubs who received their Investiture Badges in November 2007.

A note to parents

In an ever changing world, it is important that our youth learn to acknowledge differences, recognise world issues and broaden their experiences so that they can embrace life. Through fun and adventure we aim to develop and enhance the  personal and social skills of our youth. We hope that your children enjoy their time in scouts as much as we enjoy their time with us. This year we have managed to secure a prefab from MDY Construction for storage purposes, we have re-organised our group so that some functions have been taken on by supportive parents, and we have also managed to secure some funding towards equipment from Kildare County Council.

To finish off the year we will be hosting a BBQ in Donadea Forest this Tuesday 10th June.  Beavers, Cubs and Scouts should be there for 7.15pm and parents are welcome to join us from 8.15pm.

Thanks to all our leaders for their time and dedication, to MDY Construction and ST. Kevins GAA for their support.

Group Council
Unit Leader: Paul Fitzgibbon Section Leaders: Catherine Doherty, Gerd Benndorf and Anne Smith.
Treasurer: Dolores Lynch 
PRO: Mary Fallon
Fundraisers: Breda Disney and Judith ni Mhurchu

Scouting Ireland is celebrating their Centenary  Year 1908 – 2008.