F.A.Q's

Meetings    Joining    Activities    Badges

What is this Site?
This Site is a work in progress for several of the Scouts in the Bishopdale-Harewood Scout Group.  Guided and assisted by the leaders who are learning just fast enough to keep ahead of the Scouts.  The pages are uploaded at the end of each session in whatever state the Scouts have got them to!  So expect links to be missing, not work, the pages not load properly, look odd whatever.
Enjoy the following the learning experience as the Scouts build this site up.

Where do we meet?
Our 'Homebase' is the Den / Scout Hall, Raleigh Street, Bishopdale, Christchurch, New Zealand. Just across the carpark from the Bishopdale Public Library in Bishopdale Shopping Centre. But on many nights, Scouts especially, will be found outside in one of the many parks and reserves in the city. Check the programs elsewhere in this site for current and future activities.

When do we meet?
Our Group has seven scouting sections in action. Two Kea Clubs, Two Cub Packs, Two Scout Troops and One Venturer Unit.
Each meet at different times during the school term.

How do I join?  
Usually children will attend for a minimum of three sessions before having their investiture. This allows the child to decide if scouting is for them and gives parents time to find those awkward questions that no-one has the answers for right now! (but we'll get back to you).
After these few sessions, the child will be Invested into the Worldwide Scouting Fraternity. This involves making a promise to the rest of the group to try their best at all they do. Presentation of scarf, woggle, group, Zone and World Scout badges completes the ceremony.

At what age can someone join?.
To join Keas you should be in School Years 2-3 (6 to 8 years of age).
To join Cubs you should be in School Years 4-6 (7.5 to 11 years of age).
To join Scouts you should be in School Years 7-10 (10.5 to 15 years of age)
To join Venturers you should be in School Years 11-13 (14.5 to 18 years of age).
There is some flexibility for Cubs, Scouts and Venturers depending on the outlook and accomplishments of the child wanting to join.

Can girls join? 
Of course! Girls can do Anything! Currently there are several girls in each section of our group. Any child interested in our activities is welcome.

How much does Scouting cost ?
Each section has different fees to reflect the different costs of materials they use. Additional charges can also be made if the group does some activity with entry fees. Current fees can be found here.

What are the Uniform requirements?
The uniform for Scouting in New Zealand is a green polo shirt embroidered with the Scouting New Zealand logo plus the Scarf, woggle and associated badges presented at a child's investiture. The shirt is available by mail order from Scouting Direct (Wellington) or from the Aoraki Region Office at 11 Retreat Road, Avonside.

In addition Bishopdale-Harewood Group provides for all children joining our Group a sweatshirt at no charge.

There is also a significant amount of other clothing available; jackets, sweatshirts, vests, shorts, skorts, pants etc officially endorsed by Scouting New Zealand (with the Scouting Logos) that can be purchased from Scouting Direct.

Who do we contact to find out more?
You can contact the Group Leader at Group.Leader@Bishopdale-HarewoodScouts.org.nz for joining information or turn up to the Den to one of our meetings (hope we'll be there!).

What sort of activities do we do?
Scouting provides a great range of fun activities for children of ALL ages (this frequently includes the leaders and many parents!). Check out our recent activities pages and programme for ideas of present and past activities. In addition to the regular activities that are a normal part of Scouting, there will be opportunities to try many other activities like abseiling, rock climbing, camping, tramping, canoeing, and many more. Don't forget our scouting links to some of the other exciting things Scouts can do.

How do Parents fit in this group?
Parents are an integral part of Scouting, without parent support many activities would not be able to be offered. Parents can offer their special skills for activities for the scouts, enriching all. Parents are welcome to join in on any activity should they want to. At times, parents are expected to assist the leaders in keeping a safe adult/child ratio for activities. This is primarily for the safety of the children but who knows, the activity might be just as much fun for the adults! Most of our leaders are also parents, many with their own children somewhere in the Group. For committed parents warranted leadership in the Scouting Movement is always available and we are ALWAYS looking for leaders!  Training for Adult Leaders is provided by ScoutingNZ and the skills you can learn are as varied as the opportunities offered your children.

The Program?
Click here to see what we are doing/planning this term.....

Keas	Cubs	Scouts	Venturers	The Group
Monday	Monday	Tuesday
Tuesday	Thursday	Wednesday

What is happening in news?
Links to Newsletters here

What badges can we earn?
All Scouting Sections have a 'Progress Award Scheme', promoting the core Scouting precepts and each badge in these schemes marks a step in the Scout's skill and knowledge.  For Keas and Cubs this is driven by the Leaders and simply by attending youth can usually complete the requirements.  At Scout and Venturer level the motiviation is passed to the youth and they are given the opportunity to learn goal setting, planning, leadership and teaching skills (in addition to 'traditional Scouting Skills').   However, the motivation to achieve comes from the youth, not the adult leaders.

There is a personal Award record book for each Section's scheme.  Keas and Cubs need to purchase their books through Scouting Direct.  Scouts and Venturers have electronic documents available here.  Bishopdale-Harewood group does provide an inital printed copy for Scouts at investiture.

Additionally there are activity badges for events, personal and group challenges (Patrol or Six based) and many personal interest/challenge badges. For Personal Badges the children are expected to motivate themselves to achieve, though sometimes a leader may choose to take the entire group en masse through a badge (eg swimming). Patrol (Scouts) or Six (Cubs) Challenges are designed to make the children work together to achieve a goal as well as gain new skill or knowledge through fun, adventure and enjoyment.

Click these links for more information about Kea, Cub and Scout Badges.

Where do the badges go?  Currently there is no 'official' placing for badges, except they do not go on the uniform polo shirt. Vests, Sweatshirts, Campfire blankets are all acceptable. Scouting New Zealand is in the process of producing a 'preferred' badge layout but at the moment there are no official requirements. Bishopdale-Harewood Group provides a sweatshirt to members but does not enforce children to use it for badges except for the badges presented at investiture. If the sweatshirt is used for badges we recommend this layout to our Group.

Plenty of Room for more questions!!