The SAILs held their first meeting of the new Pathfinder Year, welcoming new members and staff, reviewing plans for the year, and getting in some hands-on skills and team building. This year, just before the meeting starts, we have knot time - a chance to practice and learn new knots, hitches, bends, and the like. For the first meeting, we reviewed knot and rope terminology (the fundamentals), and threw in a handy little stopper knot - the figure eight.
Our opening exercises were a bit modified, as our new flags have not yet arrived, but we did have a brief devotional from our new club chaplain. We then discussed some of the plans for the year, including our five planned camping trips, our community service projects, and our theme work for the year focused on bats, birds, and butterflies. We held an around the room to allow new and returning pathfinders and staff to introduce one another, with Pathfinders recounting their favorite experiences from previous years.
As a way to engage in problem solving and working together in ad hoc teams, the SAILs held a paper tower competition, with points awarded for both height and the ability to hold weight. Some focused mostly on height, some mostly on stability for weight, and a few tried to split the difference. It is always interesting to see the different approaches to the project, the way designs evolve, and how team members learn to interact, take leadership, and find compromise. After the tower challenge, we separated into our IA classes to plan our approach for the year.
We concluded the meeting by making arrangements for our upcoming World Pathfinder Day program and activities, checking uniforms, and reviewing the basics of standing drill. Our club drill master has great plans for the club this year, building on the perfect score in competition at Camporee last year. Overall, it was an active and fun meeting, there is a lot of excitement for the new year, and the SAILs are ready to venture forth to face new challenges, engage the community, and strengthen mind, body, and spirit.
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