From the

Courtyard

Issue 101

February 2016

In this issue

GSL’s Note Cubs.. Ongoing learning

Scouts.. Giving Direction

Ventures.. Valley Survival

Rovers.. Service with a

Smile And Some Physical

Exertion.

Memories.. The Centennial

Coming up 21-26 March

Easter Camp (Group)

17 April Annual Parade

From the Courtyard

SAC Scouts

Newsletter

Issue 101

February 2016

GSL’s note

A few words from our Group Scout Leader.

Newsletter This issue, no.101, marks the start of a new editor in chief. Emma Gauci will start to compile and is-

sue the newletter for the Group. I’d like to thank VSL Andre Brincat for his sterling work over the last

years and for the handover he provided to Emma. I hope all members and leaders will continue to

support the newsletter which we have been preparing over the last ten years.

Activities This month was a busy month for the Troop, Unit and Crew. A number of activities have been held

especially in view of Easter camp preparations. A lot of training has also been provided to members

to prepare themselves for camp.

We have also been preparing for the AGM which shall be held on 4th March. In the meantime prepa-

rations are also underway for the trip to Aosta in July. We have issued the final circular to collect the

remaining balance of €400 from participants which has to be paid by the end of March.

On February 28th, as in previous years we also assisted in the Malta Marathon. Twenty four members

attended and helped out with providing directions to runners and where necessary first aid too.

Easter Camp Easter Camp will be held at a new site this year. It is located in Wied is-Sewda Haz-Zebbug and we hope to take our members back to basics. It is not far off from our HQ or B’kara and Attard but ac-cess is not straightforward as one has to pass through some narrow country roads to get there. It’s only a fifteen minute walk from the Mriehel Bypass and the area is however very quite and cut off

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from traffic. From a logistical perspective we have nearly all aspects covered except for campfire.

The plan is for scouts to camp between March 22 to the 26th. The Cubs shall camp between the 22nd and

the 24th March. Campfire will be held on the 24th from 19:30 onwards. Former scouts are invited to attend

and spend the night with us under canvas as part of our 100 years celebrations.

Regarding campfire and parents’ attendance, we shall confirm in the coming weeks whether we shall in-

vite parents or not due to the aforementioned vehicle access problem.

Uniforms and Annual Parade

The annual parade will be held on April 17th. So far it seems that it will be carried out as in previous years.

The only issue is uniforms. As we have mentioned in the past the Association will be changing the uni-

forms soon and the present one is no longer available to buy (cubs and scouts). As an interim solution the

Leaders’ council has decided the following – All members will be allowed to attend even though they do

not have a uniform. Those that do not have a uniform must wear the blue activity t-shirt and college scarf

and wear their school uniform trousers (black, grey, blue, khaki etc) and clean black or blue shoes. They

shall march with the Group but in a separate formation from those in uniform. More details about time

and location will follow in due course.

Works next door

For all those that like me were starting to give up, I am glad to announce that works on the roof of the

room next door will start in April. They should take around four weeks and it is possible that we may have

to cancel meetings for safety reasons. We are not sure if we shall do so and shall advise you in the coming

weeks when and if meetings are cancelled.

GSL’s note

Part of the camp-site at Wied is-Sewda

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Our Cub section has been keeping busy learning about the past and preparing for the future.

Founder’s Day Activity

In all Scouting groups, on 22nd February Founder’s Day is celebrated. This day is special to the scouting

community as it celebrates the birthday of both Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of scouting, and his

wife Olave Baden-Powell. To commemorate Founder’s Day the cubs at SAC were given a talk about the

life of Baden-Powell by Raksha and this was followed by a quiz.

The cubs learned that Baden-Powell’s first introduction to Scouting skills was stalking and cooking ani-

mals, and that he joined the 13th Hussars in India with the rank of lieutenant. A large portion of the cubs

already knew that he frequently travelled disguised as a butterfly collector, and incorporated military

maps into his drawings of butterfly wings.

Raksha taught them that Baden-Powell was sent to Malta in 1890 as governor and remained here for

three years. In 1899 he published Aids to Scouting, and in the summer of 1907 he acted upon his ideas

and ran a demonstration camp for boys on Brownsea Island, UK. Twenty-two boys, from ages 10 to 17,

took part in the weeklong exercise, which consisted of camping, cooking, tracking, singing, and storytel-

ling. In 1920 Baden-Powell organized the first International Jamboree in London to celebrate the tenth

anniversary of scouting. He died on January 8, 1941 and was buried in Kenya.

The cubs listened intently, and were able to answer the majority of the questions in the quiz correctly, so

that the final results were very close. The cubs seemed to have enjoyed the session as it was quite inter-

active with them offering information of what they already knew and then having a very animated quiz

session. They should all now know much more about the life of Robert Baden Powell.

Megan Maistre

First Aid Scenario Cubs

The Rover Crew coordinated a first aid

activity dedicated to teach the cublings

some basic first aid. This helps them

know what to do if they ever faced

with that situation. The whole meeting

revolved around 5 different scenarios

which were: Burns, Cuts and Grazes,

Sprained Ankle, Calling 112, and Heat

Stroke. Each six was sent to a seperate

scenario from each other and after the

20 minutes time limit, sixes would go

onto their next scenario.Each stage

point gave a small lecture regarding the

Ongoing Learning

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topic of the scenario and how to treat it and after the cublings were given a small exercise to see what

they have learned. The activity was a good success, the cubs may actually remember a thing or two from

the lectures and also due to the practicalness required in each scenario. The Rover Crew hopes to plan

more feature activities for both cubs and scouts for further experience and learning.

Liam Curmi de Gray

Ongoing Learning

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Giving Direction

The Troop helped our in the annual Vodafone Malta Marathon.

Vodafone Malta Marathon 2016

On the 28th February, the SAC Troop helped out with the Vodafone Malta Marathon. This is the 30th time

the group has been asked to lend a helping hand to direct the runners in the right way. The group has

been assigned to manage the area of Ta’ Qali, as in the recent years. Although the attendance was quite

low in numbers, the troop still managed to man all the checkpoints. A huge thank you goes to all those

who helped out.

Over all, the marathon went well except for the sad tragedy when Michael Freeman passed away as he

was some 100m away from the finish of the half marathon. The Group offers Mrs. Freeman and her

family our deepest condolences.

Bernard Mainscalco

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Venture Leader Andre Brincat tells us about the latest venture activity which was a survival

themed camp.

Ventures Survival Camp

"We've just heard on the radio that a ship has just entered Grand Harbour and on it was a huge

swarm of mosquitoes infected with Zika Virus. Unfortunately the swarm has let the ship and is

flying this way. We have to get out of here as fast as possible and hide in the countryside where

the mosquitoes won't find us. That way we will guarantee a future to mankind on Malta!"

This was the dramatic introduction our Ventures got upon arrival at HQ on Saturday 6th February.

Soon enough they were preparing their backpacks to head off into the wilderness. Giving the boys

a chance of survival, two volunteers were selected and given just 1 minute to pick as much as they

could from a table which was prepared with all the equipment one could possibly think of.

At this point I should point out that although our Ventures do not undertake any special survival

training they do possess the key survival skill which is common sense. Although this skill is not

equally distributed among the members, as a team they always fare well with the wiser ones

guiding the rest. In the case of the equipment table, both Max and Craig chose wisely and if it

hadn't been for some panic in the last few seconds they could have carried everything away.

Instead they had to settle with the few items they picked, luckily being the essential equipment

such as a knife, emergency rations, survival kit, mess tins, some rope, lanterns etc.

Next the Unit set off to their destination which was the

nearby Wied is-Sewda campsite in Żebbuġ.

Along the way the boys kept an eye out for any scraps

they might find useful and in fact collected

some wood which they would use later for fire. Once at

the campsite, the Venture Unit was given a tour of the

place and some time to choose where they would set up

camp.

In a wilderness survival situation it is important to imme-

diately set some priorities to keep ahead of events and

always have the upper hand. Luckily, Max proved to be

quite the Bear Grylls aficionado and explained the priori-

ties to the rest of the Unit:

Positive attitude

Shelter & Fire

Water

Food

Valley Survival

Avant-garde photography on the way to the camp-site

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With this list in mind, the Ventures split up into groups and set off to their tasks. Craig and Lorin

searched the scrap heap for suitable material to build a bivouac shelter for the whole team whilst

Julian and Mike scavenged for food and were guided by our AGSL Mark in identifying edible

vegetables such as onions, potatoes etc. in the meantime, Luke and Johnny were busy finding a

way of obtaining water from the campsite's well and Max put his trap building knowledge to

practice.

As the afternoon turned into evening and the Unit had

gathered quite a plentiful stash of food

(including eggs found in a 'nest', bananas picked from an

olive tree and oranges from a cactus,

and two frozen chickens which were caught in the

traps!!), all joined forces to build a good fire on

which to boil water, cook and which would keep them

warm. Meanwhile Mark and Andre had

devised an ingenious spit roast in the hope of inspiring

the Ventures to be resourceful and creative with their

chickens.

Instead alas, hunger got the best of them and in an urge

to eat sooner, ended up burning the

chicken by cooking it on open flames. This nonetheless

did not deter our brave boys from eating

their blackened meal which still turned out to be nourishing.

After this hearty meal we spruced up the fire and gathered around as it was getting colder. By

some weird coincidence each Venture had managed to make or find a chair on which to sit...

Apparently comfort is a must in survival! As a reward for the day we had a round of scout smores

which went down as a delicious treat. We chatted and joked as the campfire faded away and we

slowly started nodding off. The cold soon brought us to our senses and in the bivouac we all

tucked into our sleeping bags and huddled together to keep warm for the night.

On Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of sneaky feet scavenging around the leaders' tent.

The Ventures were stealing our breakfast! By the time I got into my shoes and out of the tent, I

could already hear the sizzling sound of sausages and the ventures complimenting each other for

their bravado. This was short lived, as I took all that was not theirs and left the ventures with just

six eggs. Clearly the cold had really worked into their brains or they were still asleep, as they

couldn't think of a way to cook the eggs and the remainder of the food from the previous day. I

even had to tell them that they were to light the fire!

Valley Survival

The cooking fire

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February 2016

As they slowly came to their senses the Ventures got to work and quickly lit the fire using the flint and steel method. In no time, the sounds and smells of fire cooking could be felt

Once breakfast was sorted all hands were on deck at dismantling the night's shelter and clearing

the fire area. This was followed by some handiwork at clearing part of the campsite, in preparation for

Easter camp.

Next the Ventures were reminded of their last priority which was: being rescued. They all joined

forces to discuss the most effective ways of signaling for help and demonstrated a few such as

using a signaling mirror, smoke and fire signals and ground markings. Having been successfully

'rescued' the Ventures gave a final look around to see that the campsite was left in good order and

headed back to HQ after having survived the night at Black Valley.

Andre Brincat

No. 1 Priority—Warmth...all over.

Shelter for the night

Valley Survival

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As the group’s service team, the Crew took their role to heart, teaching the youngest members of the group and helping prepare the new camp-site for it’s first use.

First Aid Exercise

Ever since the members of the Rover Crew collectively renewed their First Aid Certificates, it was in our

heads that we should organise something and spread our knowledge to the youngest members of our

scout group; the Cub Section. This we did on the 17th February in the form of a set of First Aid Scenarios.

The crew was divided into 5 teams, each one of us having a scenario to deal with. Each six would then

have 20 minutes at each scenario; where the Rovers would first explain the treatment related to their sce-

nario, and then let the cubs treat the patient as

they would have been lectured to do so. The 5

scenarios were all based around anything that

may happen in everyday life; with the 5 topics

being these:

Burns

Cuts and Grazes

Sprained Ankle

How to call an Ambulance

Heatstroke

Organisation of this activity fell to Liam Curmi de Gray who was helped by Gabriel Rizzo in the making of

the scenarios, whilst Benjy Catania, Albert Galea, Matthew Zammit, Luke Maistre, Emanuel Lewis from the

Crew, Michael Psaila from the Venture Unit and Cub Leaders Emma Gauci, Joanna Ellul, Stefan Pullicino

and Illaria Zammit all manned the scenario stations.

The activity itself was deemed to be a success as all the Cubs seemed to pick up the concepts that we set

out to teach them, a notion that was con-

firmed by the relatively good scores that

the Cubs scored in all the scenarios when

we assessed them. This makes us, as a

Crew, very happy as it means that it was

worth the time and energy we put into this

activity and that the Cubs responded well

to us and to the way we went about teach-

ing our subjects.

Albert Galea

Service With a Smile

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From the

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February 2016

Wied is-Sewda Maintenance Amongst the recent developments at S.A.C. HQ has been the provisional loan of a field near Qormi for the

use of the members of our Scout Group for various activities, including the upcoming Easter Camp. A visit

to this area with the aim of carrying out some work in order to make it more useable for such activities

had already been conducted by the Troop section of our Scout Group, and not to be outdone the Rover

Crew set up their own one night camp, to take place between Tuesday 9th February and Wednesday 10th

February, taking advantage of the feast of St. Paul to conduct some further work in the area.

Accordingly, five available members of the Rover Crew, namely Luke Maistre, David Pace, Gabriel Rizzo,

Pierre Sant and Matthew Zammit, met up at S.A.C. Headquarters at around 6.30 Tuesday evening and

added a few needed supplies to their personal equipment. That done, all equipment was loaded into the

two available vehicles and fifteen minutes and some rather ‘undeveloped’ roads later, we had arrived at

our destination. With darkness having already fallen and most of us five being unfamiliar with the layout

of the field, the first priority was the setting up of our tents, quickly followed by the lighting of a fire and a

quick tour around the field to glean what information we could about our surroundings through the cur-

tain of darkness present.

The tour carried out, luckily with the avoidance of all but the most minor injuries, we retired to the

warmer surroundings of our fire, where each of us broke out the food we had ready and started to cook,

watched over scrupulously by Chef Luke Maistre, whose fire resistant fingers, honed by long hours of

kitchen work, were a source of amazement to us all. The food done, and eaten with an amount of relish

that would have flattered more well-renowned establishments than ours, we settled down by the fire and

discussed our plans for the next day, before one by one making our way to our tents and settling down for

a good night’s sleep, the effects of which would be needed the next day.

Day 2 – 10th February

A bright morning sun (along with a number of shouts from Rover Crew Coordinator Pierre Sant) awoke the

rest of us, and as we stumbled out of our tents we could appreciate the landmarks which had been con-

cealed from us by the evening gloom the previous night. In the typical fashion of Maltese fields, it con-

sisted of different terraces of differing shapes and sizes, with one corner occupied by a couple of rooms,

which we had utilised the previous night as a store for some of the bulkier items we had brought up with

us. Due to our number, we decided to concentrate on the area surrounding these two rooms, and thus set

about dividing different roles between ourselves. Gabriel Rizzo quickly claimed that arranging the walkway

around the rooms was an immediate priority. In this he was undoubtedly spurred on by his sense of pro-

priety, which insisted that walkways must at all times be flat and symmetrical, which this particular speci-

men most definitely was not, due to the ravages of time and tree roots. Accordingly Gabriel very content-

And Some Physical Exertion

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edly started prying up stones and commenced his plans to reorder them in a fashion which met his re-

quirements, and which put the constructors of the Via Appia to shame had they been alive to see his ef-

forts.

The four of us, with rather less exacting requirements but a similar determination to have a tangible physi-

cal result by the end of the day, set about our own jobs, with Matthew Zammit tasked with cleaning and

tidying up the roof of one of the rooms, Luke Maistre being tasked with starting yet another fire and Pi-

erre Sant and David Pace having been appointed to supply said fire by clearing out a patch of quite frankly

shockingly abundant weeds, commonly known as ħurrieq.

With the roof cleared and some changes of roles after an initial start, our modus operandi continued as

follows; Pierre Sant and Gabriel Rizzo applied their talents to forming an ever more exotic walkway, David

Pace and Matthew Zammit continued the systematic eradication of weeds, and Luke Maistre was content

to tend his fire and help out in any other area. After a few hours of work and some physically tangible re-

sults of our efforts starting to make an appearance, we took a break in order to cook our midday meals at

the site of the previous night’s fire.

Thus nourished, we fer-

vently reapplied our-

selves to the tasks at

hand so as to finish be-

fore the onset of dark-

ness. Admirable progress

had been made with both

field and walkway, and

the elimination of weeds,

for the next two weeks at

least, had taken place.

One last major task re-

mained at hand. The area of soil we had been working on had been located in a patch of ground enclosed

by a rubble wall, part of which jutted out at nearly the height of a human halfway across this patch. Find-

ing no discernible purpose in this we proposed to remove the topmost layers of the wall (reducing it to

about a metre in height) and use the stone to build a matching rubble wall on the opposite side, reaching

out to leave a narrow entrance – thus separating the field in two with the added bonus of partly sheltering

an old olive tree.

Not being admirably experienced in the art of rubble wall building, all five of us soon proved quick, and

dare I say, competent pupils, and our trial by error had a remarkably little amount of error considering the

‘greenness’ of the personnel involved. One minor miscalculation resulted in us not having enough stone to

Men At Work!

And Some Physical Exertion

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complete the wall as darkness was falling, but this situation was quickly remedied by Rovers Luke Maistre

and Matthew Zammit, who made a friendly wager to see who could bring in the largest stone to help com-

plete the wall. Although initial efforts were successful (with controversy over who had won the wager),

the effect on us both was such that it was amicably decided that another further such stone retrieval

would be done in tandem, with cooperation rather than competition being the motto for the day from

then on.

Darkness had already fallen by the time the wall was finished, and with a couple of satisfied glances our

handiwork, and buoyed by the complements of Rover Leader Timmy Zammit who stopped by for a quick

visit, we set off to dismantle our tents and have a quick clean-up of the campsite. Sped on in our efforts

due to the possibility of oncoming rain, we packed up quickly and, satisfied that all remaining items had

been cleared up and stored properly, we loaded everything into our cars and set off back to HQ. A quick

unloading took place, at which point we bade each other farewell and set off in our separate directions,

each with the common goal in mind of a long shower and a rest of tired muscles.

Matthew Zammit

The Finished Article

And Some Physical Exertion

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Cub Leader Ilaria Zammit talks us what the group’s 100 Year Anniverasary means to her. This article celebrates the first month of 2016. The year 2016 - a celebratory year of 100 functioning years of our SAC Scout Group. Lots to celebrate there! As a Cub leader and member of the Rover Crew, I have decided to dedicate some thoughts to the occa-sion. As an ex-St Joseph Dolphin and Brownie Guide, and an ex-Swieqi Girl Guide, I am honored to be part of the SAC Scout Group continuing my years of Guiding and Scouting. But what do I achieve by being part of SAC’s centennial anniversary? It is being part of the prestigious legacy that the group carries with it, and most importantly having been given the trust to serve the group and my country during a valuable time. This year brings a lot to the table – new beginnings, changes, and an opportunity to lead into faith and take on new opportunities. It bring along lots of hard work, dedication and time. Joining the Cub leading team and the Rover Crew a year ago has prepared me for such a time in which I aim to fulfill the group’s goals this year. Courtyard works had been started last year, in preparation for the anniversary. We also planned new adventurous and daring activities as a Rover Crew to keep aiming higher in what we do. With the Cubs we have continued working towards bring them up as boy scouts and men, by making use of meetings and coming up with new activities. Being part of the Rover Crew and a Cub leader is definitely an exciting role, as we practice what we teach to the Cubs, and we learn new things, which we pass on to the Cubs. We will always strive to keep on growing in our knowledge and abilities, and this will be passed down to our successors. It is a century of honor, a century of being prepared for the adventure, a century of serving other people and giving our duty to God. The flame has been lit for one hundred years, and it will be lit for one hundred more.

Ilaria Zammit

The Centennial