Linking With Style

The Going-Up Ceremony should be a highlight in the life of a Joey Scout.

How many times is the now eight-year-old “advanced” from the Joey Scout Section and sent along to the Cub Scout Pack Meeting to be invested?

If this is happening in your Mob/Pack, take up the challenge to make any future Going-Up Ceremony a night to remember for the youth member - one who has been in your care for possibly two years.

Use the time wisely in your Group Council. Make plans with your G.L. and C.S.L. regarding any youth members who will soon be leaving your Section. Choose an occasion when it is possible for the entire Mob and Pack to be present. Each youth member should be able to remember his/her Going-Up Ceremony as different to the previous one ... try to make it a special occasion for each child.

Prior to the Ceremony

Plan the date and time to be convenient for family and friends to attend. Prepare Invitation Cards for the Joey Scout to give to his/her special guests.

Here are some ideas for when the Joey Scout is “moving” from the Joey Scout Mob circle to the Cub Scout Pack circle.

In your Hall

  • Make a line of hoops or rope circles ... J.S. jumps into each hoop, along the path from the Mob to the Pack.
  • Passing crepe streamers from one Joey Scout to another, weave a pattern across your Mob circle ... using scissors, allow the J.S. to cut his/her way out of the Mob in order to join the Pack.
  • Follow a “mystery trail” from a special JS area in your hall/yard … to join the Cub Scout Pack near their special area/Den.

Outside

  • Make sets of joey paw prints ... J.S. hops along them until he/she comes to a ribbon which needs to be cut ... J.S. then runs along wolf paw prints till he/she reaches the Pack circle.
  • Make use of any large play equipment in your grounds ... set up a short tabloid course ... J.S. climbs up and over a wooden A-Frame into the Pack circle (great for J.S. who wouldn’t go past bottom rung a year or two ago).
  • Other Scouters in your Group may also be involved in this ceremony ... how about a fireman’s lift, cross a rope bridge or swing on a flying fox into the Pack circle.
  • For those who love the water or belong to a Sea Scout Group ... J.S. may be taken away in a canoe (carried by Cub Scout Leaders), a small sailing boat (on a trolley), or be paddled along shore-line by Group Leader.
  • Caving into Cub Scouts ... make a hessian tunnel and send the J.S. off into further adventures (equipped with flashlight and helmet).
  • Continuing with the tunnel theme ... when the J.S. emerges he/she has to then jump through a paper-covered hoop ... Pack is waiting on the other side.
  • Follow a string or crepe paper trail … change colours from Tan to Yellow

Evenings

  • Plan an evening ceremony, when the J.S. is led to the Pack circle by way of a candle-lit path, using outdoor BBQ candles ( the type that are on tall bamboo poles).
  • Hold your ceremony at a special Group Campfire ... share this important occasion with all Sections and Parents.

Special Places or Events

It’s always memorable being outdoors and somewhere different, when it’s a special occasion for you.

  • On a Group Family Camp, involve many more in the making of a rope bridge for the J.S. to cross... that would certainly put a smile on his/her face.
  • A “coincidental “ meeting, when the Joey Scout Mob comes upon the Cub Scout Pack in a quiet bush setting.
  • A joint Mob-Pack hike along a well-known track ... J.S. walks along a log or climbs over a fallen forest-giant to join the Pack.
  • What a way to participate in a Group Billy-Cart Derby, than to include a Going-Up Ceremony.
  • Or on a Group Sports Day ... maybe a three-legged arrival at the Pack circle (J.S. and G.L.)!!!

This list is by no means exhausted ... be creative, share ideas, ask for ideas ... go in search of “something new and exciting” for those Joey Scouts that you have spent two years with ... watching them develop and grow ... physically, mentally, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. Make it an occasion that will be remembered! Good Luck in your search ... and have FUN!!