Christmas Newsletter 2024

As the year comes to an end, we thought we should take this opportunity to reflect on the year we've had - and what a year it has been! 2024 has been the strongest year yet for the Basilisks, and we’re super proud and grateful to everyone who has made it happen!

New Members 👋
This year, we welcomed more new Explorers than ever before, reaching our largest numbers to date. At one point, we peaked at nearly 36! It’s been great to see the group grow, with new faces bringing fresh energy and enthusiasm.

The Program 📆

We've pushed hard this year to have our most varied programme yet to make sure that Explorers enjoyed every meeting.. We've been outside more than ever before, which everyone has enjoyed (even if we were a bit cold)! From our Jamboree Cooking evening, to our Shape Trading night and our legendary cleaning out the cupboard evening, it's been a great year for us and we can’t wait to see what next year has in store!

A Year of Adventures ⛺

We’ve had the opportunity to help organise and take part in four incredible camps this year! Each one has been unique and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended! The camps we had the opportunity to participate in this year were:

• Hike Camp: Our first camp away as an Explorer unit (joining 1st Highams Park). It was great to see everyone outdoors for the first time, and see the Explorers taking the cubs and scouts under their wing and guiding them through the weekend.

• Summer Camp: This was our first 3 night camp, and the first camp that was just the Basilisks. We were nervous to see how it went, but the Explorers made it their own and built the biggest fire I've seen! Rafting was an activity that everyone enjoyed, and a leap of faith tested everyone's nerves!

• Winter Camp: Our most attended camp of the year, with 19 Explorers attending and 5 leaders! It started off with a hike, where groups had to locate themselves and find their way back to the campsite. We also saw the Explorers build a bridge during pioneering, and learn how to make knot bread and naan breads in the evening!

• Kilmuir Trophy: The second time we've taken part as the Basilisks, and this year's team were as great as could be! With 35,000 steps completed on the Saturday it's a feat that anyone could walk on the Sunday. Kilmuir is always an intense weekend, and everyone really stepped up!

Each camp this year was a massive success, and we couldn’t have done it without the hard work of our leaders and the enthusiasm of every Explorer who took part. A huge thank you to all parents and guardians who helped make these adventures possible - whether it’s by providing transport, cheering us on or pushing your Explorers to take part in these events - every little helps!

Explorer Achievements 🏆

We’ve had several Explorers achieve great things this year, such as the Chief Scouts Award for Meritorious Conduct, and a couple Chief Scouts Platinum and Diamond Awards. We’re hoping to see more Explorers achieve these awards in 2025, as they work towards Duke Of Edinburgh Awards, Chief Scout Awards and Young Leader Awards - we want to wish them the best of luck in completing them!

Leader Achievements 🤝

This year has also been a huge development process for the leaders - we started out by welcoming Andrew P to the group, a much needed addition that’s allowed to run even better meetings and camps than ever before. On top of that, Cam and JB each achieved their Nights Away permit (huge congratulations to both of them), allowing the group to run even more overnight camps going forward. We were also proud to be able to support the 1st Highams Park Scout Group (our partner group) in gaining two more Nights Away permits for their leaders, helping them to run more camps in the future!

Looking Ahead to 2025 👀

As we look forward to the new year, we’ll be planning more exciting activities and opportunities. From projects to new challenges, there’s so much to be excited about (we’re planning at least 4 camps next year 👀) Keep an eye out for announcements in January!

A Personal Note From The Leaders 📜

We’d like to thank the Explorers for all they've given this year. Thursdays nights are always unique, and never fail to be a highlight in our week!. We’re immensely grateful for the time the Explorers give up to come to normal evenings and camps, for letting the leaders share the experience with them and being the outstanding young people that they are. We’re one of (if not) the strongest (and best) Explorer Units in Waltham Forest and don't plan to change that any time soon!

Finally, we want to thank you, the parents and guardians of the Explorers - your continued support of both us and Explorers makes being Leader all the easier! 

Seasons Greetings 🎅

Finally, all of the Leaders would like to wish the Explorers and all their families a Merry Christmas (and if you don't celebrate Christmas, a great festive break) and a Happy New Year. We hope your holidays are filled with joy, laughter, and time with loved ones. Thank you for all of the support this year - we couldn't have done it without you. Looking forward to 2025 we can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for the unit!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄

From

Cam, Andrew, JB & Andrew

The Basilisks Leaders 🐍