Latest News

Preparing for London

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 19:43:19 GMT

Participating in the London Monopoly Run requires some preparation.

Laying the Course, Going Places -Being Prepared! was our recent meeting's theme as preparation for our expeditions and London trip! The question 'Why do we route plan?' was put to the Explorers and a great discussion ensued. With the answers they came up with, they certainly saw why we emphasize its importance!

The Explorers also learnt about London's Underground and tackled London's tube map. It was certainly an eye-opener for some!

Archery and Tomahawk-throwing with SHAPE

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:23:51 GMT

What a fantastic start to the new year for Sonian Explorers! A great first meeting back with SHAPE with archery, tomahawk-throwing, making paracord bracelets and games led by one of our older Explorers.

Season's Greetings

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 07:56:53 GMT

Helping the local community and fundraising

The festive season saw our Explorers, helping customers pack their purchases at local supermarkets and sometimes, assisting elderly customers take the heavy purchases to their car.

They spread quite a bit of good cheer with their lovely smiles and enthusiasm - and the Christmas hats and antlers received positive comments! The supermarkets were happy to have them liven things up following the sober atmosphere over the last few years due to the pandemic.

Despite the exam period and other activities, our young people shared their time for the good cause with others doing longer hours to help out fellow Explorers. It was a great opportunity to help our community and fundraise for their journeys and other exciting programmes.

Many thanks to all and wishing everyone a joyous holiday season and a smashing 2023!

Remembrance Day Service

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 18:01:21 GMT

Some of our Explorers and Leaders attended the Remembrance Service held this beautiful morning at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Heverlee.

Remembrance Day

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:43:15 GMT

A fantastic Explorer-led evening!

2 of our Explorers led the meeting with various activities. One gave us a presentation about his beloved country, Poland, after which, he taught everyone how to make a simple Polish salad.

Our second Explorer presented on Scouting and WW1 (and the meaning of the different coloured poppies in relation to Remembrance) as preparation for Sunday’s Remembrance Service and taught the Explorers how to make poppy pins which those who will be going, can wear on Sunday!

Chocolates!

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:38:41 GMT

Chocolate Indulgence!

A funtastic Chocolate Evening at our last meeting before the holidays!

We had a lovely guest come in to teach them how to make chocolate and they then had a go at making some yummy chocolate creations before playing a Chocolate Game - they discovered that cutting up chocolate with a knife and fork, wearing an oversized coat and garden gloves was quite challenging!

The Explorers also presented their Chocolate findings in teams (Chocolate history; Chocolate benefits and Fairtrade chocolate) after researching, making their posters and taste-testing at a previous meeting and we finished off with the Bronze team doing a run through of their report to the others.

Autoworld

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 13:35:06 GMT

Our Explorer giving a guided tour of Autoworld.

Today, some of us were given a tour of Autoworld by one of our Explorers whose suggestion was one of the top items voted for at our Unit's programme planning.

He did brilliantly leading a 2-hour tour, imparting his extensive knowledge to the others. With Autoworld celebrating Ferrari's 75th Anniversary, we had the opportunity of taking in the 15 exceptional Ferraris exhibited including the Ferrari Monza SP2 which was in our Sonian necker colours! Of course, we took the chance of posing with it!

Bronze Award Expedition - Massive Well Done!

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:52:41 GMT

Our Bronze Team completed their Qualifying Journey with flying colours!

Hunt and Plane Spotting

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 15:40:36 GMT

Last Sunday, our Explorers put their GPS tracking skills to the test to track down a 'notorious' villain at the request of the farmer whose maize field disappeared overnight and our Explorers who were initially supposed to visit the labyrinth there could no longer do so!

Then, together, they hiked to the spotting point for some plane-spotting where one of our young people who has a good knowledge of planes and is working on his DofE Award on the subject, imparted his knowledge and experience on how to distinguish between an Airbus, a Boeing and a pigeon!

Day out in De Kluis

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:54:30 GMT

Last Sunday, many of us at Sonian Explorers met at De Kluis for a fun-filled, adventurous day out. We started off by welcoming a couple more new Explorers and we began the day with a moment of reflection on the loss of our Patron, HM The Queen and did a reading.

Then, it was time for shelter building, where we managed several shelters which held up well in the rain (thankfully)! This was followed up with an exciting tree-climbing session and a couple of games filled with friendly competition, including a fast-paced game of forest golf (!) that truly brought out our team spirit!

After that, we did a couple of pioneering projects - first, one without lashings, and second, one with lashings. To our surprise, constructing a pioneering project without the use of lashings may have proved even more challenging than doing so with lashings, as it is much more difficult to ensure that the project stands when there are no ropes holding it together.

We certainly felt a sense of accomplishment when our projects held while our fearless leaders bravely tested them out - and no words can describe the satisfaction one experiences when one is finally allowed to topple the fruits of their work!

Finally, we worked on some fire-lighting and cooked our dinner, which everyone agreed deserved a thumbs-up.

- A Sonian Explorer

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 06:15:47 GMT

Sonian British Explorer Scouts extends its deepest condolences on the death of our patron, monarch and sovereign - Queen Elizabeth II. As we remember Her Majesty, we give thanks that she has been Patron of The Scout Association since she came to the throne 70 years ago. We also recall with gratitude support she has extended to Scouting throughout her long reign.

Most especially we remember her strong commitment to duty and service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Our sympathy and prayers are extended to the entire Royal family. The loss of such a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother will be deeply felt.

Welcome (back) Explorers!

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 06:08:49 GMT

Our Explorers had their first meeting back last night and it was jam-packed!

Everyone received the brand new neckers (winning design by one of the Explorers following a design vote by the Explorers - the colours represent the colours of the forest leaves based on our new name Sonian (from Sonian Forest)) which we are all terribly proud of.

The Unit awarded 2 Chief Scout's Diamond Awards and 1 Chief Scout's Platinum Award.

We welcomed new Explorers and had a birthday celebration, Unit Forum on programme planning by the Explorers and fun tasks from our leader Taskmasters!

And of course our first night back would not have been complete without a few fun games!

Congratulations, Silver Team!

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 10:05:43 GMT

Our Silver Team successfully completed their Qualifying Journey.

Congratulations to our Silver team who finished their journey with great success!

Through a time of strengthening their team spirit, working together, encouraging each other and pushing themselves, they completed approximately 67km and accomplished their goal.

The team also send a shout out to their friends who were in their thoughts and who are going on the next journey!

And they're off!

Sat, 27 Aug 2022 10:00:21 GMT

Ready for a new Silver Award Qualifying Journey!

And our Silver team are off on their Qualifying Journey. Wishing them lots of success!

Sonian British Explorer Scouts is FOS Unit 153

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 05:58:13 GMT

Sonian British Explorer Scouts is now a member of FOS Open Scouting .

We are 153rd Sonian British Explorer Scouts .

Looking forward to a great cooperation!

Sonian Explorers became a member of FOS Open Scouting.

Challenge 100

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:11:35 GMT

Sonian Explorers raises money for Challenge 100

When the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation called out for a fundraising challenge to help continue the work of the Founder and continue his legacy by raising funds to help less fortunate young people to achieve the Award, our Explorers thought of a challenge based on the number 100 and decided to hike a distance of 100km collectively, each carrying a packed rucksack of about a quarter of their body weight to mimic the adventurous journey hike at the end of 2022. The wrote and sent the following text to possible contributors:

"We at Waterloo Explorers are doing Challenge100 - A fundraiser that financially helps and encourages young people to join the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Programme to help them develop life skills.

Our Explorer Unit will do a collective sponsored hike of 100 km, each carrying approximately 15kg rugsack, mimicking an adventurous journey hike. If you would like to support our charitable effort, you can donate here:"

On 28 June 2022, some of our Explorers and Leaders completed the Challenge100 sponsored hike of 100km with packed rucksacks, mimicking an adventurous journey hike.

The Explorers worked hard and raised €500 for the Foundation. Well done, everyone!

Bronze Awards Ceremony

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 18:48:11 GMT

Award Participants received their Bronze Award

A big congratulations to our 5 Bronze participants who completed their Bronze level and were recently presented with their badges and certificates at the Awards Ceremony with their families present (one participant was unable to attend the ceremony)! Many thanks to BSO Area Commissioner, Nathan Prince, and Deputy Area Commissioner (Programme), Howard Nelson, for their uplifting and motivational video messages which made the ceremony extra special!

Congratulations as well to one of our 5 participants who also gained the Chief Scout's Platinum Award last weekend and to all our Bronze and Silver for completing their Emergency Aid Level 5!

Summer Fair at ISF Waterloo

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 18:26:35 GMT

Doing more. Sharing more. Being more.

Sonian Explorers (Belgium) is growing in more ways than one! Our Young People continue to thrive and stand united as a scouting family - working together and supporting each other as well as helping our local and wider communities.

Some of our Explorers and leaders recently did their bit at the recent school Summer Fair to help the school with equipment they needed. The Explorers, despite many being in the midst of exams, baked various treats and sold them at the fair. They also took turns running a treasure hunt which was designed by one of the Explorers and the hunt was well-received!

It was a great turnout and Leaders and Explorers had a great time.

Sonian Explorers

Belgium

Bronze Qualifying Journey

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 18:35:55 GMT

DofE International Award Adventurous Journey – A Review from our Bronze Participants, 1st Waterloo Explorer Unit

“Now that I can feel my shoulders again, I’m happy to say that doing the Adventurous Journey was fun, exciting and well challenging. It’s also a very satisfying achievement and it was great getting to know the others better through these journeys.” – FW

On the weekend of 23-24 October 2021, we, the first group of Duke of Edinburgh International Award (Bronze) participants from 1st Waterloo Explorers, completed our Qualifying Journey of the Adventurous Journey section of the Award.

Before embarking on the journeys, there was a series of essential training sessions to undergo which covered topics such as first aid, cooking with a Trangia, using (packing and carrying) a rucksack, navigation, teamwork and more. Afterwards, there were preparations and planning sessions for the Practice Journey – from route planning and emergency procedures to menu and programme planning and preparing a food budget. It was a journey in itself! We learned a lot and were excited to get going!

“It was quite fun, quite scary at the beginning but afterwards it was fine. I had fun with the group, helped with the food, camp, hike, and map-reading. The food was quite nice. And keeping warm is important!” – JE

The Practice Journey shed light on both successes and potential improvements we could make to learn from our mistakes and we also discovered that as participants who did not know each other very well to begin with, we were finding out a lot about each other! After this first journey, we made the necessary adaptations for the Qualifying Journey.

“The teamwork was exceptional and unique.” – OP

In many ways, the Qualifying Journey showed how much we had learned while completing this Adventurous Journey section. Although there is always room for improvement, we were able to adapt whenever a situation needed us to change our plans; we could agree (or do our best to!) agree when making decisions and most of all, we were able to maintain a positive attitude even when things became more difficult (and our backs ached under the 15-18kg rucksacks, not to mention when our feet felt like they were on fire!).

“Although some of us liked walking at a slower pace and others faster, the ABBA songs motivated us to all go at the same pace to achieve our goal and reach our final destination.” – AP

Now, we are on the final leg of our Adventurous Journey – our Group report which we are preparing for our Assessor which will include the research we completed for our aim, the preparation and planning we did beforehand, the challenges we faced and how we felt overall.

We are grateful for the opportunity to do our Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award with 1st Waterloo Explorers, especially since most of us do not attend international schools where the Award is offered. We would never have been able to do it without the support of our Explorer leaders, our Supervisor, our Assessor, our families and all those who have made this journey possible. Thank you!

And from our team leader… “No matter what’s going on in your life, there’s nothing a long hike can’t fix.” – MB

How I Completed the Young Leaders' Scheme

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 18:16:08 GMT

How I Completed the Explorer Scout Young Leaders Scheme –BSO’s Online Training andSupport from the Leaders.

In June 2021, I completed the Explorer Scout Young Leader Scheme. This involved the completion of 11 training modules and 4 missions which were practical tasks I had to carry out with the Cub pack I am working with. I had started on the Scheme in November 2020, and did all but first aid which I completed separately, in the first series of online YL training sessions. These sessions ran every fortnight from February to June 2021 and were very helpful in helping me progress with the training modules and working on the Scheme, especially since completing the training would otherwise probably not have been as straightforward during the pandemic.

Although the pandemic and lockdowns limited the physical contact for a while, these challenges were overcome through online meetings and training, and I found that no obstacle can be discouraging. There will always be a way if you set your heart and mind to it.

I am also very thankful for my Explorer leaders, who encouraged all the Explorers to do the training and assist in a section and helped me to persistently work on the Scheme and become a fully qualified Young Leader. In addition, I am very grateful to the Cub leaders I have been working with for almost a year now, who are always very willing to help me with the training and made it possible for me to complete all the missions and gain more experience. I am also grateful to my family for helping, supporting and encouraging me throughout this journey.

Faith W.

Sonian Explorers

Young Leader, 1st Brussels Churchill Cub Pack