Captain Musick Air Group 64 Pigeon Mountain Road PO Box 82166 Highland Park Ph: (09) 534 2877 Web: www.captmusickairscouts.org

Welcome come to Captain Musick Air our Group was formed in July 1981 for youth wishing to be scouts but with an interest in aviation. The building we now meet in was completed in May 1992 and we have been from this location since.

Scouting Activities Throughout the year Scouting New Zealand provide a program to each section to follow which is aimed at getting each member through their sections Award Scheme. Most meetings will be held at the den on the sections allocated day, but there are some activities that require being away from the den. You will be notified when these have been organised.

Camps are a regular feature of scouting and are organised at various time through the year either as a section, whole group or zone event, there will be a charge for these.

Weekend day activities are also organized at various time through the year either as a section, whole group or zone event, there will be a charge for these.

We also do fundraising during the year through various events, such as our Annual Sponsored Walk held in conjunction with the Garage Sale in October, sausage sizzles and car washes etc. each family is expected to help out up to 8 hours per year

Section Meetings Keas - ages 6-8 – Monday Nights 6:00 to 7:15 pm Cubs – ages 8-10.5 – Tuesdays 6:30-8:00pm Scouts – ages 10.5-14 – Wednesdays 7:00-9:00pm Ventures – 14.5 – 18 Thursdays 7:00-9:00pm

When you are dropping your children off:  Please ensure you are not arriving too early as leaders will be busy preparing the evening and do not have the time to watch your child at this stage.  Ensure there are two leaders at the den before you leave your child for the evening  Keas and Cubs leaders may require you to sign in your child to ensure they are aware who is present.

When collecting your child:  No child will be left at the den by themselves so please ensure timely collection  Please make sure you go into the den to collect your child they will not be allowed to meet you in the car park Captain Musick Air Scout Group 64 Pigeon Mountain Road PO Box 82166 Highland Park Ph: (09) 534 2877 Web: www.captmusickairscouts.org

 Keas and Cubs leaders may require you to sign out your child to ensure they are aware of who has collected your child.  If notices have been handed out please make sure your child has handed them to you  Should your Scout be taking themselves home please ensure that the leaders are aware of this and this should only be done in day light hours

Communication The main way our group keeps in contact with our families is through Online Scout Manager.

Online Scout Manager is a tool used by groups to help them with their administration. As a parent, you will be invited into this system via email by your leader, and you are required to follow the link in the email create an account, then fill in in all the required fields on your child’s personal information page.

Once set up you will now be able to see what your child’s sections program is for the term and any special requirements needed for certain weeks, you will also be able to see what badges your c hild has. You will also be invited to special events though this system please ensure you reply if you are going or not going to attend the events you are invited to as this ensures the event numbers and paperwork are correct .

Please ensure that your details are up to date at all times.

We also have a Facebook page where we put up some fantastic pictures of activities each of our sections do. This group is a closed group and you will need to be invited to join. Upon submitting a request to join the group’s page our group admin may ask you to confirm which section your child belongs to.

Remember communication is encouraged in both directions should you have any questions you can either email or telephone your leaders regarding the subject or if you wish to speak in person please try to speak to your leader at the end of an evening as usually at the beginning of the evening leaders are rather busy setting up of the evenings meeting.

Uniform Our uniform standards are set by Scouting New Zealand and are as below:  Shirt – this is a blue short sleeved Air Scout shirt and can be purchased from www.scoutingdirect.co.nz  Scarf – this is issued upon investiture to the group  Trousers/shorts – these must be black  Footwear – black Captain Musick Air Scout Group 64 Pigeon Mountain Road PO Box 82166 Highland Park Ph: (09) 534 2877 Web: www.captmusickairscouts.org

 Footwear – NO jandals, Crocs, sandals etc (open toed footwear) are to be worn at any time.  Badges – these must be sewn on as per the Scouting New Zealand guidelines, please see the pictures on each sections cupboard.  For camps/nights where uniform is not required please ensure a purple Adventure Plus t-shirt is worn these can also be purchased from http://www.scoutingdirect.co.nz

Please note if your child comes with open toed shoes they will miss out on some activities

Fees As with any other activity group we need to charge fees to cover our expenses even though the leaders are all volunteers and only get paid with the smiles and laughter of our Scouts.

Our fees are currently set at $260.00 per year New members have a $20.00 joining fee this is a onetime charge that covers admin and investiture

Fees can be paid annually (our preferred method) or termly and you will be invoiced directly by the Groups Membership Manager

Our preferred method of payment is directly to our bank account (12-3089-0138738-01) using your child’s name and section and ‘fees’ as a reference i.e. Joe Blogs, Keas, fees

Should your child require a term off scouting we can discount your termly fee by half but we need to be informed of this BEFORE the start of term.

Cleaning Roster As part of keeping our fees as low as possible by joining our group you will be rostered to clean the den – two families each week will share the cleaning, you should be only rostered about twice a year. You will be contacted directly by our Cleaning Manager regarding this.

Leadership All our leaders are volunteers and give their time willingly. Leaders undergo relevant training so as to deliver the National Programs issued by Scouting New Zealand in a safe and age appropriate manner.

We are always looking out for new leaders so should you feel you have something to give and advance our group please ask any of our leaders or contact our group leader direct

Captain Musick Air Scout Group 64 Pigeon Mountain Road PO Box 82166 Highland Park Ph: (09) 534 2877 Web: www.captmusickairscouts.org

Committee The Group Committee meets twice or more times per school term but may meet more often if this is considered necessary.

The main functions of the committee are to:  provide the Group with sufficient Leaders  arrange and maintain the meeting place for Keas, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers  control and administer the Group assets and finances  provide adequate equipment and property to support the Section programs  assist the Group Leader with liaison between the Group and the community  encourage social activities to assist the Group  assist the Leaders with camp arrangements, and if members have the skills, with technical or specialist instruction where necessary  hold an Annual Meeting

Our AGM is held in early December each year and we would request that at a least one member of each family attends as this evening we hand out annual awards to each section

Should you feel like you would like to be more involved in our group but do not have the time commitments to be a leader being a member of our committee is a fantastic way to do this.