Hi Parents, as we restart scouting in the fall, there are some changes that we want you to be aware of.
Version Date: 2020-09-19 8:30 pm
Date, Time and Frequency Change AGAIN
To avoid having our meetings be conducted in the cold and dark, we will be moving our meeting times to Saturdays from 1:30-3:00 pm. Because of the restriction mentioned in the next section, we will need to stagger the sections, so any one section will meet once every 3 weeks through the fall.
MANDATORY WAIVER FORM - Pack & Colony Only
We will have the option of meeting at Willingdon church's outdoor field, called the secret garden, the daycare play area, or the northeast corner of the parking lot. Willingdon requires us to fill out a waiver EVERY TIME we meet at their facilities. Scouts Canada and our provincial health authority also require us to keep attendance with enough information to support contact tracing. Therefore, we are going to simplify and always use the Willingdon Waivers, but only for pack and colony. There is one for adults and one for youth (anyone under 19, including youth scouters).
Here is the waiver form for adults
Here is the waiver form for youth
Note that for youth, the PARENT MUST SIGN AND HAND IN THE FORM IN PERSON.
Willingdon cannot take the forms electronically, they must be a paper form.
Scouters will need to fill in these forms as well.
We need one for every youth, scouter or parent sticking around, every time we meet.
Socially Distanced Drop-off, Pickup
The picture below gives you an idea of what the drop off would look like:
Note that the lines in the parking lot are a bit more than 2 meters, so we'll use them as a guide. Please do not park on the east side in the south-east corner if we are using Willingdon. If we are meeting somewhere else, we may be asking you to eyeball social distancing.
No youth will be allowed in until at least 2 scouters are present, in order to meet our 2-scouter rule.
Don't Come if You Are Sick!
I think everyone understands this. Please note, as a parent, you know if your child's allergies or asthma are normal. If there is a sudden uptick and you are unsure, please keep them home. We will trust your knowledge of your child. If there is a sign-up requirement as noted below, and you have signed up, but cannot come, please let the scouter in charge know as soon as possible so someone else can get the spot.
If a Youth Gets Sick During a Meeting
On MyScouts, you are prompted to provide several phone numbers. It is imperative that you provide us with at least 2 numbers that are likely to be responded to. If a youth starts showing symptoms of illness during a meeting, we will isolate them and call you. YOU MUST PICK THEM UP! I will not allow you to come until you have provided 2 phone numbers on MyScouts or by some other means.
Outdoors Only
Scouts Canada has mandated all in-person meetings be outdoors only. We do not need to meet at Willingdon, we can plan and do any other outdoor activities that allow us to be socially distanced and safe, and can use different locations for this. This includes hikes, rambles, whatever. This is true for the Scouts Canada stage 2 that we will need to observe at first, and for stage 3 if they allow us to transition to it.
Maximum 16 Youth
Scouts Canada has mandated that we open in their stage 2. Within 4-6 weeks of school opening, they may allow jurisdictions like ours (BC) that are in federal stage 3, to move to their stage 3. Under stage 2 the maximum number of youth who can attend any one outdoor meeting is 16. This means that we cannot have colony, pack and troop meet at the same time. We may also need to have a sign-up for some sections and you may find yourself wait-listed. If that's the case, you will be given instructions for that sign-up.
Note, if you sign up and don't show up, and other are on the wait-list, you will be automatically wait-listed for the next meeting. If you cannot attend, let the scouter in charge know.
Once they move to Stage 3, this restriction will go away and all members of a section can attend, with a total limit of 50 people, including youth and adults present.
Note that the secret garden space is not big enough for more than 20 total people; this won't change with stage 3.
In past years, our limitation on group size was based on number of scouters and ratio. Until Scouts Canada moves us to their Stage 3, our limitation is 16. It has nothing to do with ratio and scouters. We have new scouters willing to join, but we may be waitlisted for their youth and I cannot open the group up. If our numbers are close enough to 16 then a signup system may result in a workable arrangement.
The other limitation we have is that Willingdon has a cap on the number of people they will allow in the secret garden space. Even if we move into stage 3, this may put a cap on our section size, or limit how many scouters we can have present. Until I know how many have truly signed up to return, I cannot completely plan this.
Lodge, Lair, Patrol System
To ensure that we have a small bubble for your youth, we will be dividing the youth up into small lodges, lairs or patrols. I'll call them all patrols. Each patrol will be a self contained bubble. We will avoid any activities that require patrols to interact with each other. While we will attempt to keep social distancing in mind with our activities, we recognize that youth within a patrol will likely have some closer interaction from time to time, especially in the younger sections. Scouters will attempt to maintain social distancing with youth except in emergencies or exceptional circumstances.
At this point we have few enough beavers to probably have just one lodge. We will likely need 3 lairs and 3 patrols in the older sections.
Significant Changes, For Now
Here are some things that we are not going to do for now or that will be different:
- No scout handshake - we'll do the scout or cub sign instead, at distance
- No sharing food - where a snack makes sense, youth will need to bring one and possibly take their garbage home
- No dues - avoid handling cash
- No campfire time - our health authorities have indicated that loud singing or prolonged shouting can aerosolize droplets and spread the virus further than 2 meters, so Scouts Canada has recommended no singing
- Grand howl, and any other activity that requires youth to run together in a lump will be modified to maintain social distancing
- Fund raising
- Popcorn sales will not take place this fall as it would not be safe in a pandemic
- Scouts Canada has come up with alternate fundraising opportunities that can be done safely (online) and we will provide more information as we receive it
- Contact games will need to be modified: e.g. Use pool noodles to ensure that tag is done at 2 meters distance
Overnight Camping
Scouts Canada has rescinded allowing overnight camping for stage 2, so it is not an option for 2 reasons.
While Scouts Canada does not prevent overnight camping, the BC Health Authority has prohibited overnight camping for non-family groups. If they lift this, then we can camp in accordance with Scouts Canada requirement. Under Scouts Canada's stage 2, only senior sections (scouts, venturers, etc...) can camp, and there are significant restrictions. If they move us to their stage 3 and the Health Authority lifts their prohibition, then we can consider camping. Note that even under stage 3, all in-person activities must be outdoors, which means we cannot camp in a lodge or in cabins. It must be in tents. Under Scouts Canada stage 2, beavers cannot camp and cubs only in exceptional circumstances.
Required to Bring
Mandatory:
- A signed waiver, handed in by a parent - colony and pack only
- A water bottle with your name on it
- A backpack
- Clothing appropriate for the weather
- 4SW necker (we'll supply one for new youth)
Optional:
- A folding chair (not for hikes or bike rambles, of course)
- Rope
- Snack (we will not supply any at this time)
- Mask
- Uniform
Masks
Scouts Canada does not require the use of masks. Our public health authorities do not recommend it for outdoor use where you are able to do social distancing. Masks are optional, but highly recommended for scouters. I am requesting my scouters to have a mask, and if they need to get close to a youth for any reason, to stop and put the mask on and wash or sanitize hands first, unless it's an emergency situation that requires immediate action.
A mask is NOT a substitute for the standard measures: Social distancing (bigger spaces), social isolation (fewer faces), good hand hygiene.
All of the safety measures we employ work as a system to reduce the risk of infection.
Scouting is Relatively Safe for Several Reasons
- Outdoors is better, and scouting has always had a strong focus on outdoors.
- Smaller groups are better, and scouting has always had a patrol model, called lodges for beavers and lairs or sixes for cubs
- Scouting has had a growing emphasis on safety through recent years
- Scouting is one of the safer alternatives for getting your youth active with other youth
Registration & Try Scouting for Free
For those who are registered with Scouts Canada, you have until September 15th to let them know that you intend to return this fall. Many of you have NOT done so, and some may think you have but the system is not showing you as active. You need to do this and you may need to click the big SUPPORT button on the top right.
If you fail to do this, by September 15th, you will join the ranks of those signing up to "try scouting for free". There are a few who plan to register a new youth for the try scouting for free option. You will be able to do this starting September 16th. There is no cost to try this out until December 31st.
Emergency Numbers and Addresses
Every year, I print out the member listings from Scouts Canada, and discover parents who have put the same phone number in 3 times or have left all but one number blank. I have also found out that parents have address and phone information from when they signed up their Beaver, who is now a scout, and that information is no longer current.
Please update your MyScouts profile carefully, and provide us with this information for all of your youth:
- Correct Address
- 3 Good phone numbers
- Medical information - don't have us guessing if your youth is allergic to sugar, please tell us!
