Klodi

Well, it's all over now! It was pretty hard job to do, but reactions are fantastic. In 17 days we had more than 7000 visits on our site. Parents, friends, relatives were online all the time. Great publicity! There's a funny story to tell. One of our scouters, third day of the camp broke her leg, so she had nothing else to do for the rest of the camp but just sitting around. So we made a column for her where she reported her view every 5-10 minutes. Every day, starting around 8 AM, finshing in late evening. Well, she made parents really adicted to web! :-) We were joking that she had set up "CNN" standards that just can't be beaten. So we are preparing a baseball bat for her leg for the next summer camp. :-) It's important to notice that kids were practically unaware of computers, so for them it was normal, not "hi-tech" camping. They wrote their reports and messages on paper, and all the "dirty" job was done by adults.

2006 summer camp started for Scout group Marjan from Split, Croatia. The camp takes place in Scout center Rakov jarak Fuzine , and it will last 17 days. It would be just another camping in our 50-years history, but this year we anonunced something completely new: Camping on-line. On our Groups website www.sk-marjan.hr , parents have possibility to see daily reports on whats going on in Camp, with lots of photos, daily schedules, place for leaving messages and many other useful things. All reports are written by scouts applying for Journalist badge. The site is all in Croatian, indeed, but you can drop-in just to get the picture. If youd like to make a comment, sign in as gost, password gost, and look for Guestbook - Knjiga utisaka.

Well, for the rest of Europe I don't know, but in Croatia it is a common practice. It's among the most respected scout skills and a regular part of scout competitions. We have two types of competitions: - Scout Olympics for age 11-14, and - Orienteering races for 15 up. Teams are patrols. Scout Olympics consists of: - Semaphore signaling (30 letters on 50 m distance - speed & accuracy) - First Aid - Making a shelter and cooking a meal - Setting fire - Tying knots - Short orienteering race - Setting up a tent as quickly as possible (and in a correct manner) In an Orienteering Race you got to: - find control points on the map (6-8 of them), using various constructing methods - find them in the nature using map and compass, the whole hike is usually around 20 km long - make several topographic drawings (sketches, profile) - send a message with semaphore - send a message with Morse code - make a shelter - cook a meal - First aid and there are several other less interesting tasks. These competitions in Croatia became a kind of sport (popular only among the scouts, indeed), so we even have the Croatian Scout League, a series of competitions all around country, with the final winner at the end of the scouting year. I hope it's clear now why kids all practice those skills and try to do their best. Even we, old scouters, do some practice occasionally and attend some competitions. It's fun. And yep, 30 letters semaphore we still make in 48 seconds :-).

Just to show what am I talking about, see the banner on our Group's web http://www.sk-marjan.hr/marjan/ Neckerchiefs are always on. The site is in Croatian, so you won't understand anything, but if you're looking for some photos, try under IZBORNIK/Ljetopis(This message has been edited by Klodi)

So strange. Just as @ozemu from Australia says, it's the same in Croatia. For us scarf is the most important part of the uniform, and every scout wears it proudly. For example, on summer camps, during the day, when we wear only T-shirts, almost everbody wear their neckerchiefs, even they don't need to. We just like it this way. Wearing worn-out clothes and the scarf around the neck is being "tough scout".

There are several scout organizations in Italy. The biggest are AGESCI and CNGEI. Look for AGESCI uniform here: http://www.fabriano1.org/uniforme.htm And CNGEI here: http://www.scoutcampobello1.it/scout/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=9&page_id=7 Badges in Italian are "distintivi". Both pages are in Italian, but if you speak Spanish (and I suppose you do), it will be understandable to you. For further googling, look for "uniforme scout", or "divisa scout".(This message has been edited by Klodi)

Thats what I needed. Youve been most helpful, thanks again

Yeah, 3 troop/1 patrol meeting, just the opposite as we do in Croatia. But I think you are right and we are wrong. I talked with other scoutmasters and we agreed that we expect to much of our PLs. We expect them to make yearly and monthly plans, to plan every meeting in details considering all details of scouting method. While some of them are able to do that, the vast majority isn't. Kids as PLs are usually able to carry out specified tasks, but not to do such an abstract thing as leading a patrol well, in a good scout manner. And 90 minutes, yep, that's it! And of those 90, how much for the Troop, and how much for the Patrols?

Thanks for your answer EagleInKY. Yes, that BSA "template" seems the best. It matches my experiences. In my old Troop, we used to have patrol meetings weekly, and a troop meeting once a month. But patrol leaders were much more experienced scouts, so they had knowledge how to work with a patrol, they had a role model in older scouts. Everything we're lack of in our new Troop. Regular patrol meetings and occasional troop meetings is a common system in Croatia. But browsing around for other's experiences (thanks God for the web!) I realized that you in BSA have troop meetings, giving part of time to the patrols, am I right? Well, I must say, I've started to like that idea, it seems more effective. I've already adopted it in my Troop, and I'm going to propose it to other scoutmasters. Our meetings last 60 minutes, and that was fine for patrol meetings, but in this combination it seems a bit short. I'm thinking to make that 90. I'd like to know what would be an "ideal" schedule in minutes? And activities... What would be the "right" measure between troop and patrol activities?

Hi all, I'm raising a new troop and looking around the web for good scouting resources I've found this most interesting forum. Having read some topics, it seems there's bunch of experienced scoutmasters to get some advice from. Just to introduce myself, I'm 40, and scout for 30 years. I live in Split, Croatia (country in Europe, next to Italy, just across the Adriatic sea, for those who don't know). With a group of friends, all old scouts, and our kids and their friends, we've formed a new scout group a year ago. In Croatia, scout group is unit made of several troops. So we have 4 troops: beavers & cubs, scouts & guides, venturers, adults. Well, I'm in charge of scouts and guides. (Yes, in Croatia groups are mixed, while patrols are not). So I have a patrol of 6 girls, and 2 patrols of 6 boys, all aged 11-13. My problem is that my PLs have almost no scouting experience at all. I mean, they have learned lot of skills past year, but when it comes to leading a patrol... When I was kid, first I was a member of my patrol, I gained experience, so when I became a PL, I knew exactly what to do (and I had a PL's training, of course). My PLs have had training but they lack of experience in how a patrol should be led. So, having realized that, I started having troop meetings instead of patrol ones. I planned to show them how a meeting should be conducted, and gradually set more and more responsibilities on PLs. Ideally would be if I conducted each patrol's meeting separately, but that's impossible, considering my job and family duties. Well, the problem now is that conducting a meeting with 18 kids seems mission impossible. Ceremonies, playing games and so, works fine, but when it comes to more serious work (although I try hard always to make it fun), not to say making arrangements for overnights, for example - it's nightmare. They're just so restless. And I don't want to be severe... My next step will be having part of the meeting, the funny one, altogether, and the serious job in patrols. Of course, I tend to go towards complete patrol method, this phase I consider just transitional. I'd like to hear from you what are your experiences in conducting meetings? What's the measure between work in troop and work in patrol? Who conducts meetings? Well, as you see, I'm interested in any experiences, advices... considering meetings. Thanks in advance P.S. Sorry if my English is a little broken