Sunday, 12 August 2018

Sunday, 18 September 2016

When we got there we had to wait for about ½ an hour before the other 6 Rosebank scouts arrived. Once everyone was there we put up the tents and then went for a swim as it was about 40°. We then went and had a tour of the hangers where we saw the gliders that we were going to be flying the next day and the winch which would pull the gliders into the air. Once we had finished looking at the gliders we went back to the club house and made hamburgers. We ate them on the veranda while watching the fire on the mountain. After this we had peaches and custard while being taught the different types of clouds. After we had finished dessert we then wrote some of our test with the knowledge gained from the tour of the hangers and from different posters within the clubhouse. After this we had a swim for about 5 min and then went to bed as we had to get up at around 5 the next morning in order to clean the gliders.

We had cereal and pancakes with syrup for breakfast and then went to the hangars and wiped down the gliders. We then took the two gliders to the end of the runway and the winch to the other side. It was then that the instructors started arriving and then we got into an order for flying. Matthew was 3rd, Martin 4th and I was 5th. The experience was unbelievable and at first I was petrified for takeoff but strangely enough when I was in the glider I had a feeling of complete calm. The view was magnificent and you could see for miles around. I got a chance to fly the glider for a bit which was rather exciting but not too difficult. The instructor then took control again and I got to enjoy the view. When we came in for landing it looked like we were going to land on top of the tractor but we landed after it. It was an amazing experience and I couldn’t wait for my second flight. The guy who went on the 7th flight, however, was not as lucky as the parachute on the winch cable, its webbing, broke and the glider was not yet high enough and so they had to land immediately. Luckily both the instructor and passenger were safe as well as the glider as they had managed to land with quite a bit of runway ahead of them still.

After everyone’s nerves were a bit shaken we had hotdogs for lunch and then the second round of flights began. For my second flight I got to sit in the front and my instructor showed me a few ‘tricks’ of what the glider could do. By ‘tricks’ I mean a sharp turn and flying up and then done in quick succession. But WOW you could feel the G force. After this we caught a thermal and rose 100ft higher but then we lost the thermal and then had to land again. Once everyone had had two flights we took the gliders back to the hanger where the instructors cleaned them off and packed them away while we returned to the campsite to take down the two tents. While we were taking down the tents my dad arrived and he went to go have a look at the gliders while we finished packing the tents away. Once they were down we left, having had an amazing time and experience. We all passed the badge and William, from Rosebank, said he will come drop it them off one Friday.

Friday, 16 September 2016

Die Bron Primary School Community Service Report

Bronwen Seagar 06/09/2016

9&10 July 2016, 2nd Somersert West - 1st Monte Vista – 2nd Kenridge – 2nd Bergvliet

Die Bron Primary school facilitates the education of approximately 475 students, all of whom come from incredibly impoverished backgrounds. Due to the circumstances of the community, the school is a part of a government feeding scheme which enables the school to feed the children.

The principal therefore expressed the need to have herbs and vegetables that could be added to help make the meals more interesting. The majority of the learners’ parents are illiterate and there is a high unemployment rate in the area.

There were three main projects that the scouts were tasked with completing: the planting of indigenous trees, construction of a swing set, and assembling of food boxes with the goal of growing fresh herbs and vegetables which could be added to the school lunches.

The food box project consisted of three aspects, the making of the food boxes, making seed packs that children brought home and planting herbs. For the first aspect, we built three food boxes which were 3m by 1m wooden troughs that were fixed into the ground using the four corner pieces. These troughs were filled with nutrient rich soil and we planted an assortment of vegetables in them. The vegetables included carrots, onions, beans, cabbages, lettuce and kale. The vegetables, once picked will be used in some of the school lunches.

In the second aspect, we made 100 seed bundles - which consisted of a packet of seeds and a booklet of planting instructions. 100 children from the school will be given them with the idea to plant them and start their very own gardens at home.

The third aspect was planting various herbs such as mint, rosemary and thyme in their planting pots so that they can use the herbs along with the vegetables in their meals.

Finally, the school was provided with 100 Food For Life booklets to distribute to the scholars in the hope that it will help them to provide for their families.

The second project tackled by the scouts involved the building of a sandpit and swing set for the younger children of the school. A swing set was designed and the necessary equipment sourced.

The third project involved planting indigenous trees on the property so that the future learners may have some shade to sit under during their breaks.

In conclusion, the projects were very successful and this would not have been possible without the National office for the opportunity to give back to the community and improve the lives of discount on all materials needed to build the sandpit, swing set and food boxes. The school was highly hospitable to the scouts and expressed that we would be welcomed back at any time.

We would love to hear from you! If you have anything you would like to submit and have published on our page, please send your request to squadportmagazine@gmail.com.

2nd Kenridge Air Rover Selected for SA Contingent to 15th World Scout Moot, 2016 in Iceland

Congratulations goes out to one of our Rovers, J-P Haarhoff, who has been selected to join the South African contingent to the 15th World Scout Moot in South Africa. He will be joining 3 other Rovers from the Western Cape, namely Ubayd Baboo (Constantiaberg District Rover Crew), Adeeb Abrahams (Constantiaberg District Rover Crew), and Emma King (1st Pinelands Rover Crew).

To follow the SA Rovers Contingent on Facebook, click here.

To find out more bout the 15th World Scout Moot, click here.

World Scout Scarf Day - Scouts South Africa Competition Winners

A huge congratulations goes out to our 3 cubs, Dario Consani (10), Lucy de Bruyn (10) and James de Bruyn (8), who won the Scout Scarf Day national photo competition.

Well done cubs!

If you want to see the full article, click here.

Thursday, 25 August 2016

Dutch Oven Cooking: Scoutmaster's Lasagna

Scouting and dutch oven (poitjie [poykie] as we like to call it here in South Africa) is very much like stars are to the sky, there is just no scouts without a good pot of poitjie. Check out this latest delectable we have just stumbled across. This sure is a camp meal that's worth going for seconds!

Trivia Night!

This is for all those in Cape Town, who really enjoy a good trivia evening. This is our troops annual fundraiser and your support goes a long way in terms of creating great educational programs for our cubs, scouts, and rovers. Come have fun while you help us raise a little at the same time.

Tuesday, 23 August 2016

The Clover-Leaf Lashing

Here is a really cool and handy lashing for those that want to tie more than 3 poles together. The article states that a figure of eight lashing is great for 3 poles, but if you plan on making an awesome 4-sided dinner table for example, then the Clover-Leaf is definitely the lashing to use.

This lashing really does unlock further pioneering potential; how cool would it be building a hexapod hour glass tower instead of the usual tripod? What would you build using a clover-leaf lashing?

Check out how to make it here

How To Pack & Organise Your Backpack

There is nothing worse than going on a hike with an incorrectly packed bag. Not only can it lead to great discomfort, but a poorly packed bag can become rather crippling and even deadly in some cases. Check out this link, which shows you exactly how best to pack and organise your backpack.

Saturday, 20 August 2016

The Honey Badger vs. The Scout

Nick Cummins, the Australian international rugby legend reckons he can do better than a scout. What do you think?

Upcoming 15th World Scout Moot 2017 Youtube Advert

Cardboard box rafts!

If you ever though it is impossible to make a boat out of cardboard think again! Here's an awesome activity for the cubs (and anyone else really), building rafts with cardboard.

Cardboard box rafts- Akela 2016