Summer is nearly here, days are getting longer and the weather is warming up. Summer is where we like to do much more Scouting outside, where we should be, and we have lots of activities & events coming up to tell you about. In this newsletter:

  • Renewal of Promise
  • Band Night
  • HM The King’s Coronation
  • Summer Term Membership Fees & Personal Details Checks
  • Summer Camp
  • Easter Hillwalking Trips

Renewal of Promise Parade

Sun 14 May @ 10:30-12:00

On Sunday 14 May, we’ll be renewing our Scouting promises as a Group to Do Our Best for the upcoming year, as well as commemorating the Scouters who made a huge contribution to 3rdCB and are no longer with us.

We’ll meet by the cockle sheds, under the flyover into Old Leigh at 10:30 in full uniform, then march to Strand Wharf where we will gather to renew our promise together as a group, then march back to The Den to finish at around 12:00.

All Beavers, Cubs, Scouts & Explorers are expected to attend (this is one of the few events we ask all to be there for), and parents & friends are very welcome to watch the parade and service.

All are welcome to join us at The Den afterwards for tea & cake.

Summer Band Night

Sat 27 May 2023 @ 19:00

One of the hottest social events of the summer is back: the 3rdCB Band Night. On Saturday 27th May, you can celebrate the start of summer in Old Leigh and watch the sun go down as you dance the night away to some great entertainment, including the fabulous Big Yellow Suitcase live on stage. Gates open at 6:30pm. We’ll have an on site bar available, including great cocktails and soft drinks, or bring your own drinks & snacks for the evening.

All proceeds go towards supporting Scouting and activities for young people at 3rd Chalkwell Bay.

Tickets are £12.50 (or £7.50 for children 12 & under. Under 5’s go free). You can buy your tickets online now at 3rdCB.org.uk/bandnight.

Last year’s band night was a sell out event, and great fun for all involved, so don’t delay, book your tickets today.

The King’s Coronation

The Coronation of King Charles III is just around the corner, and the sections have got a variety of celebrations planned. Whilst we’re not doing anything at The Den over the bank holiday weekend to allow people to have fun with their families, we will of course be dressing our HQ for the day.

Scouting has released a new badge to commemorate the occasion, which we’ll be issuing to all members as soon as they arrive. These go on the left breast of your uniform, above the world badge and joining in badges, and can be worn for the rest of this year.

Summer Term Membership Fees

This term’s membership fees are due on 1 May. If you’ve not set up automatic payments you’ll receive a separate email reminder, and can pay through Online Scout Manager’s Parent Portal.

If you’re a UK tax payer, please also consider signing up for Gift Aid. It costs you absolutely nothing, but we can claim an extra 25p in every pound collected in membership fees, which makes a huge difference to the activities and facilities we can offer – last year this was over £7,000 of additional income! You can opt in for Gift Aid in OSM (link on the left hand menu), and it only takes about 5 seconds.

Personal Details Checks

As the days get longer and weather improves we’ll be doing a lot more of our Scouting outside this term, and getting more adventurous. As such it’s important that we hold accurate details for our youth members so we can support them better on their Scouting journey and keep in touch with parents along the way.
Please take a minute to log in to your child’s OSM record and check/update the details we hold for them, especially any medical/dietary information, and have an emergency contact nominated that we can call if we can’t get hold of their parents. You can do this on the OSM Parent Portal.

Summer Camp 2023

The highlight of the Scouting year is just around the corner: a week away learning new skills, making new friends and memories that will last a lifetime for the first week of the summer holidays, based at Haughley Park in Suffolk. The dates are:
Beavers: 22-24 July
Cubs: 22-27 July
Scouts: 22-29 July

You should all have received an email with details of how to sign up, but if you haven’t then you can do so in the Events area of the Parent Portal

The Explorers will be stretching their wings this year and heading to Holland over the same week, for some international camping and sailing on the continent. Please talk to Matt or Jack for signing up, rather than through OSM.

Easter Hillwalking Trips

During the Easter Holidays, the Scouts and Explorers headed off separately to Derbyshire and Wales for our annual hill walking trips.

39 Sea Scouts, accompanied by 11 leaders, headed north to our favourite village of Castleton for a week of hiking and activities in the Derbyshire Peak District. The weather was very kind to us, with sunny days for most of the week, meaning a great week in the hills brushing up on hiking and navigation skills, along with high ropes challenges, cycling, swimming and lots of games. Photos of the week will be on the members Facebook Group shortly to give a taste of what we got up to.

Over the bank holiday weekend, the Explorers headed west to Wales and Snowdonia for the ESMAT Easter Weekend, pushing their skills even further in challenging mountainous terrain and learning new skills with other Explorers from across Essex.

Activities Roundup

More photos of our adventures on our Instagram: @3rdcb.