Quarter pole update

Hello Folks - just a quick housekeeping update as we creep up on the 1/4 mark on our Beaver calendar.

We've been pretty busy, and we've got some awesome things planned to do before our holiday break. For now, just a couple of quick bullets to keep things running smoothly.

Please Subscribe - email updates will no longer be provided

Hey Everyone - please 'subscribe' to this blog, via the form field below every post. It is hard to keep an email list current for our entire Colony .........using the blog to centralize and standardize all communications, will make for much more informed participants.

October 30th - Halloween

Last night was a lot of fun, what a Colony we have this year. This is the best we could do for a group shot, top one is dialed in ........lower one is not.

Remembrance Day - 2012

Hey Everybody, this is from an email that was routed to A Colony. It would be treat if we could participate this year, please see below for details. I'll be organizing this more as the date approaches.

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1st Manotick Scouting always participates in the annual Remembrance Day service organized by the Legion in Manotick. This year November 11th is on a Sunday so there is an opportunity for all youth and leaders to take part if they wish and are available. Details are as follows:

October 23

Regular meeting tonight in the Gym tonight.

Please remember your Popcorn forms!

White Tail Sleepover 2012

Edited November 7 For event accuracy as Colony coordination has occured:
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Hello White Tails!

........For those of you who do not know, Beavers is for youth ages 5-7. Each age has a corresponding color tail that should already be attached to your beavers hat. 5 year old Beavers have brown tails. 6 year old's have blue tails, and 7 year old's have white tails. Please note that this might be your child's first year in Beavers: the tail corresponds with age, not years of service.

Periodically through the year, White Tail's are provided with some special opportunities. Linking activities for example are things that your beaver will do with a local Cub pack to provide them with a better idea of what to expect if they choose to 'swim up' into Cubs (The next level of Scouting) next year.

Something else: The annual White Tail Sleepover at the Museum of Science and Tech. This event has been a marquee event for White tails from all over Voyager Council for the past 22 years.

Our participation at the sleepover, will be in conjunction with B, C, and D Colonies - Coordinated by Robin Tarbet of B Colony. Together, we'll make sure that all of our White Tails and their parents can partake in this memorable event.

If you are a parent of one of our 3 participating white tailed beavers that is planning on attending this event, please keep your eye on your inbox for further details.

Humane Society Visit

UPDATE: We had a fantastic visit. The OHS was very grateful for our unexpected generosity, the donations were very much appreciated. Awesome night A Colony, this should speak for itself;

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This week, we are going on a tour of the Humane Society! We'll be learning a little bit about animal care and about the important services that the OHS provides in our community.

The cost is $5/person. We will be providing Timbits and juice boxes for everyone after the tour. The tour starts at 6, and should wrap up at 7:30 or so.

For those who have not been, they have an awesome new facility on Hunt Club Road, clicking this link will open a new Google Maps window, that will help you get there..

Is anyone is interested in carpooling? Let me know. We could sort out a collection/drop off at St Jerome if needed, departing as a group at 5:45 or so.

The Wishlist: In their own words, "The animals at the OHS need your support; your donations of money and in-kind gifts of supplies and equipment are essential to our work in the community." .....If you or your Beaver would like to contribute anything to the OHS, please bring it along too. As a result of our Neighborhood Cleanup, we have a lot of cleaning supplies that we are going to donate. Anything else would be appreciated, but not required.

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Budget update on this one too, because it cost us money to attend. We collected $90, and the OHS charged us $66. I spent $23.04 on cookies and juice boxes. The balance will be deposited in the Colony account.

A Colony Lodges

Last week, we broke A Colony down into Lodges; smaller groups within our Colony that we use to organize games and activities. We may shuffle them slightly to even them out, but this is where we are as of last week.

The first task that we asked of each lodge was to pick an animal to represent them. Here are the results. Soon, each Lodge will be provided with a crest to sew onto their uniform.

•  A Colony - Tiger Lodge
• Joseph G.
• Alex C.
• Dylan A.
• A Colony - Panther Lodge
• Jack D.
• Leo M.
• Adam K.
• Leo C.
• Jakob P.
• A Colony - Cougar Lodge
• Peyton M.
• Noah S.
• Stuart K.
• Gabriel N.
• Luca C.
• A Colony  - Snow Leopard Lodge
• Owen C.
• Rowan C.
• Ethan S.
• Noah H.

As it turns out (For the first time that I am aware) each of our 4 Lodges chose a large cat to represent them.

A Colony Popcorn - 2012

Update - Thank you everyone for the awesome Popcorn sales. A Colony sold over $1700 worth of tasty popcorn treats. Delivery will be coordinated in about the 2nd week of November. We'll update this post with details.

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Investiture Campfire

Tuesday October 9th is an important date for your young Beaver, it is our 1st Manotick 2012 Beavers Investiture campfire. For those not familiar with Investiture, this link will explain what to expect. We plan to arrive at 6PM, and want to get the ceremony underway by 6:30.. We'll be done at 7:30, and will provide a hot chocolate and a snack for the walk back to the car (Please bring a mug!).

We'll be outside (Hopefully, if it rains we'll reschedule), and all three 1st Manotick Beaver Colonies will be in attendance......there should be close to 60 Beavers taking part.

The event will happen at Camp No'Chimik. If you have never been to No'Chimik, it is located about 10 minutes south of Manotick at 5943 Second Line Road (Google Maps link). Here is a PDF prepared by a local Scouts troop that will get you there too (Note: Driving from Riverside South will not start from Hunt Club, instead you will head through Manotick and connect to Bankfield or Century Roads). If it helps, This link will provide Google Map directions from Moncion's to No'Chimik.

TIP: There is a "Scouts Canada" sign on the 3rd lane past the bridge over the creek. That's the spot.

What should I bring? We're outside, and sometimes the ground at No'Chimik is quite soft. Rubber boots might be a good idea, though outdoor shoes should be fine. Parents will want to bring lawn-chairs for yourself and siblings, and we strongly recommend flashlights. The sun sets early and the walk back to the car could be dark. Bring a mug too, we'll have hot chocolate and rice-krispie snacks for all.

What about my Beaver? Please bring your beaver in full uniform, we'll be formally welcoming them into their Colony. It would be a good idea to practice the Law, Promise, and Motto too, we've been working on these during our meetings, they are a part of the investiture ceremony. It's not uncommon for beavers to bring  along a campfire blanket too, to keep warm.

Can I carpool? Yes, please do. Parking shouldn't be a problem, but less cars making the round trip the better.

Don't forget your camera, we'll see you at No'Chimik on Tuesday.

A Colony Apple Day - 2012

UPDATE: Grand total of donations collected ...(drumroll)....just north of $2900!! A huge thank you to everyone in A Colony (Parents included!) who helped make this year a huge success!.

Apple Day 2012 Badges will be provided to all who helped out!
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Apple day 2012 is almost here! Scouts of all levels have been participating in Apple Day activities in Canada for a very long time ....... in fact I remember going door to door as a Beaver and then Cub in Halifax, raising funds to support Scouting in Nova Scotia.

For the past couple of years, the good folks at Moncion's Independent have granted us permission to canvas in their store entrance. 2012 will be no different, A Colony will be joined by other local Beaver Colonies (And some Cub pack's) on Thursday October 11, and Friday October 12.

A Colony will be setup at Moncion's at 6PM through to 7:30PM, both nights. Just like a regular Tuesday meeting in our gym, we will be setup for Beaver sign in/out so you can drop off your child with us to participate in Apple Day. Hopefully you can find the time to join us on either or both nights, whichever fits into your family schedule best.

Don't forget, that we did some Apple day basket and tub decorating this week. We just got you started, the idea was that your Beaver can keep decorating at home.

Also, 1st Manotick is setting up on Saturday at St Jerome in the parking lot. If you would like to canvas the neighborhood, this is your chance. A Colony leaders may or may not be present on Saturday, so for this option Beavers are to be accompanied by a parents (i.e. no drop offs, no sign in/out required).  This link will provide more information about 1st Manotick's group effort.

Week 3

Regular meeting in the Gym tonight.

We'll be prepping for Investiture next week, making some Apple-Day crafts, and breaking down our Colony into Lodges.

2012 Community Cleanup - Summary

Thanks to all who came out and supported our 2012 Community Cleanup this past Saturday. It was a huge success. Not only did we have many Beavers and Cub's helping, but some folks at the park offered to help us out too.

The highlight for me, was the funny look of frustration on some of our Beavers faces later in the day. We combed the park so well, that some folks had a hard time finding any trash to pick up. Sort of frustrating, but at the same time, kind of awesome. .......now that's a clean park!

As a leading sponsor of the City of Ottawa's Cleaning the Capital initiative, a Rogers Community Cruiser showed up at around noon, with hot chocolate, coffee, and timbits for everyone. What a nice surprise that was.

Some pictures below, thank you once again to those who were able to join us.

The super clean forest, beside Mountain Meadows park

Smiles all around, thanks to free coffee and hot chocolate.

Almost 20 bags of trash, cleaned from our park.