Summer Break

[BoroGrecian]

Originally Posted by Raksha

No, sorry - Bushy Wood in East Sussex!
Have a great time.

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The Following Was Added to the post within 60 minutes of posting the above
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I would agree with you, but - some groups let their facilities to other Groups for camping,
Some have small leadership teams who perhaps due to their family commitments need to take family holidays in the School holiday periods.
Our own families need a break from Scouting too - especially if they are not taking part in a Section. My own Thursday night is a mad rush on Section night and my family deserves a break from that madness if only for 6 weeks - well 4 if you take out camp and prep/return from camp.

Oh I see where your coming from and I understand totally, but I do think the six weeks break is a little too long when scouting is needed the most. Perhaps it's a good oppertunity to have group meetings on a Saturday instead of a usual weekday, makes the most of the day and parents can get involved as well if they want to.

I understand the need for breaks, I am always glad of my two weeks a year from cadets (they get two weeks at christmas, otherwise Cadet forces groups run year round) and for family time, but the summer period can be a time for flexiblity and doing things which would never normally be done.

[Akela@4th]

We usually close during school holidays as we meet in a school.
We are however having a camp during the school holidays and may have a hike as well although time is looking tricky for that now.

[cbKernow]

Originally Posted by BoroGrecian

Perhaps it's a good oppertunity to have group meetings on a Saturday instead of a usual weekday

its the weekends of the summer holiday I most cherish!!

[Testarossa]

Originally Posted by BoroGrecian

I am always glad of my two weeks a year from cadets (they get two weeks at christmas, otherwise Cadet forces groups run year round) and for family time, but the summer period can be a time for flexiblity and doing things which would never normally be done.

I never did understand how they can force squadros to run all year round. Ours only closes Christmas week and they meet twice a week. It must be a killer for the Leaders. Are they not volunteers too?

[BoroGrecian]

we are volunteers yes, but for us the summer is the only time we can get cadets onto the water (in the sea cadet cases) and get their boating qualifications. Also in the summer period numbers are lower because of holidays but we still manage to run a unit night. we can still have breaks though, we are allowed our own holidays

[Chris Lambert]

I think a break is important however I'm not sure the summer is the best time to have it. Personally I'd prefer to continue through the summer (except for summer camp) but have a longer break at Christmas when it's harder to get out and do stuff.

[nele]

We have a 2 month summer holiday as schools here shut for all of July and August. We have no choice but to close as we meet in the school and the venue is unavailable.
We do have summer camp for scouts every year, however that only attracts about 1/3 of the scouts even though we give 6 months notice of dates. Most expat families spend as much time as possible out of the country visiting family and on holidays, so any attempts to continue scouting mean very poor attendance.
To illustrate, my sons DofE silver expedition team of 4 doesn't have 1 week in the whole 2 months when all of them are in Brussels.

[Doug in Canada]

We're the same as Nele. Schools are closed for two months and most of the kids are off at summer camps or on vacations so we do not meet during July and August. We do usually hold a one week camp around the start of August and get pretty good attndance (~70%). However, this year we couldn't get the leaders available so we held a shortened version at the end of June!

[Testarossa]

Originally Posted by nele

We have a 2 month summer holiday as schools here shut for all of July and August. We have no choice but to close as we meet in the school and the venue is unavailable.
.

We don't have that issue, but even if we did, it wouldn't make any difference as we don't meet at the hut over the summer anyway. It's a great time to be outdoors lighting fires, cooking, hiking, building shelters etc. We haven't set foot in the hut since June.

[nele]

Originally Posted by Testarossa

We don't have that issue, but even if we did, it wouldn't make any difference as we don't meet at the hut over the summer anyway. It's a great time to be outdoors lighting fires, cooking, hiking, building shelters etc. We haven't set foot in the hut since June.

We had loads of outdoor meetings in June too, but the school doesn't allow us in the grounds during holidays and its illegal to light fires, cook or build huts in the local park/forest. So it would involve a trip to the nearest campsite every week (a 20 minute drive) which we would have to pay to use or a lot of hikes etc.. which aren't exactly popular with the kids. Or a lot of ingenuity arranging other things. I have thought about offering badges, or geocaching trips etc, but never quite got there as yet.. usually glad of the rest.
Given that we might just get 5 or 6 children attending stopping is the better option and gives me a time to sort out the training needs for next year!

[CSL.Sarah]

We break over the Summer - 6 weeks of peace and quiet - but both myself and my ACSL agreed that we wanted to do something over the summer, so we're holding a Cub Sleepover this weekend. First one I've done by myself, could be interesting.

x

[Liz72]

We have met all through the 6 weeks, sometimes not for a normal meeting ie 26th July pack was at Junior Peak for the day, August 30th, we are coming back from camp.Otherwise we have gone to a local park for a family meeting, played human monopoly, went for a walk down the canals at Trent Lock to show the Cubs how to use a lock (we got to actually let a barge through, they loved helping!) this week we are going on a bike ride.We have at minimum half the pack there (17 out of 34) and the leaders are there that can be.

[richardnhunt]

We carry on, although a bit more relaxed. Gets us and the scouts out on the water. Mind you with 3 sections running week long camps this summer, it seems to be going in a flash!

Rich

[Fox (Guider)]

We don't meet in the summer holidays and we have 3-4 weeks off Christmas and Easter. However we (Brownies) meet fortnightly on a Sunday night so we meet in half terms (otherwise we'd miss a month). I try and organise something a bit out of the ordinary so the girls who don't go to Croatia-is-lovely-in-May-dahling or February-is-the-only-time-we-can-ski get something to do while their friends are away.

The families are very good about it, one girl made her parents come home early from family camping to go swimming with us!