Hello all.

On monday 28 dec, we had our last jihe of the year. It was also the last orientation prep day before we were going to build the real structures for yr1 orientation next year. We jihed in the morning at 8.20 together with the scouts. Then we went to the MRL and started our orientation prep.

For the kitchen tent, we first checked for any loose knots on the main frames. Then, we qi the main frames and adjusted the positions of the two main frames. When the positions of the main frames were measured and adjusted properly, 4 of us climbed up the tables and chairs to tie the connecting horizontal and diagonal hong2 and huang2 mu4s to connect the two main frames together.

After all the connecting mu4s were tied, we tied the 避雷针. Then, we had lunch. After lunch, we continued tying a hei mu to the highest point of the 避雷针. Then, we raised the 3 canvas sheets over the whole structure and tied them to the kitchen tent to provide shelter. We secured the canvas sheets by tying them to excaliburs that were hit into the ground. After that, we rafted the platform on the second level of the kitchen tent.

We did not manage to finish the whole kitchen tent that day, we were left with a bit more of the rafting and the attaching of the ladder to the kitchen tent. We were too slow in adjusting the positions of the main frames and also the tying of the connecting mu4s. We could have improved by focusing more and doing things more quickly. Also, the kitchen tent could have been improved by making sure the legs of the main frames do not fei1, spreading the canvas sheets out more evenly to ensure that there are no creases, shou1-ing the sheng wei and not overlapping our knots.

But overall, we had improved as we had managed to complete more of the kitchen tent than the previous jihe. We will complete the kitchen tent even better the next jihe and improve in tying of structures for other activities too!

Love guides :)

Hello guides.

We had our final jihe for orientation prep on the 28^th. Unlike the previous jihes, we did not have attire check. We split up into our orientation groups.

I was under Games. Firstly we moved tables and benches from the back of the hall to the library, and also hei mu. We planned our layouts for archery and Kim’s game and practised tying the gladiator game.

We faced a few problems while tying the gladiator. The knots were not very tight and had to be redone again. The hei mu were uneven and had to be switched around. We had to make sure the gladiator is stable and secure to ensure the safety of those who would be climbing on it.

In the afternoon we combined with the deco group and helped to hang up some posters and practiced our lashes. Afterwards we had a short PT session at the junior high block, which consisted of performing different tasks on each floor.

At the end of the day we were to clean up the rubbish, tables and chairs. However, most of us did not bring rags and took toilet paper from the school toilets to wipe the tables and chairs. This meant that we wasted a lot of toilet paper. It is important to save the school’s resources and not use them carelessly. Do remember to bring rags for the next jihes on the 4th and the 5th.

A lot of people stood around with nothing to do. More initiative could have been taken to help with the clean up at first, instead of our seniors having to direct us. After this jihe, I hope we can reflect on our actions and understand how they will affect “the big picture” instead of thinking about our own gain.

Orientation is coming very soon, hope that all of us will rest well and get ready for school. Cca Orientation is on the 6th, and on the 4th and 5th, there would be jihes to prepare for the big day.

Jiayou guides! :D

We had our second jihe for orientation prep yesterday at the red tile area in atc09 shirt at 8.20am. Same as the first session of prep on the 19th, we had a roll call for attire check first before we were being split into different groups with the scouts which included: Games, Structure, Decoration, Outdoor cooking and performance (Sheng Qiao and Fireman’s Ladder).

I was under decoration. We needed to tie different miniature structures, about three people is tying one. It was not as easy as we thought and it was the first time for many of us to see some very weird lashes, apart from square and diagonal lashes which are more familiar to us. We had no ideas how to tie them! Despite of the help from the instruction sheets that taught us how to tie the lashes step by steps, we still took a long time. We also need to make sure that the measurement is accurate, and the knots are tight, in order for the structures to be able to stand up right.

At 10 plus, about 4 or 5 of us from deco were called out to help to pack the goodie bags that will be given out to the parents for year1 registration at the office store in GO. I was one of them. Despite the loss of man power, the other guides still managed to finished building the structures and when we were back at 3pm,they have already started doing the souvenirs which will be give to the year1s. We pasted stickers that is being printed with the guides and scouts logo on the file and finished ahead of the time. Many people in deco also went helped out at the other groups.

At 4.15pm, we jihe back outside the library and watched the Fireman’s ladder performance and lastly we had evaluation and jiesan at 5.30pm.

Love guides!

Hi guides,

We had jihe yesterday for orientation prep. It was our first session of a total of three preps (19th, 22nd, 28th). We had attire check first; many of the guides were caught for low socks, long fingernails and for not pinning up hair. Pull up your socks, guides! Remember to always maintain proper standard attire, even if there is no roll call. We hope to see improvement for the next jihe.

Next we split up into our orientation groups with the scouts. It took rather long for us all to get into our groups, and soon we started doing our prep.

Personally, I was under Structures for orientation prep. There were 7 guides and 4 scouts in total to build the gateway, including the IC while the rest of the people in structure where tying other stuff. We took very long to even qi up the main frames, as we did not consider tying a temporary dingjiao for the A-jia, so we had to keep shifting the A-jias, open wider etcetc. For many of us, it was the first time tying a gateway.

Also, a lot of manpower was used into dinging the four corners, so only a few people were left to tie the diagonal hongmu onto the frames to secure them together. Initially, we were very behind time and only managed to finish the main frame by lunchtime. However, the rain during lunchtime seemed to have helped somehow, and we moved faster after lunch. We were done with the gateway by 2+. I supposed the problem in the morning was due to lack of experience.

For me, even though I am a sec3 it is still only my 3rd time helping to tie a gateway. I have learnt much from this experience and I hope that by orientation, we will really know how to tie a gateway of proper standard and is stable. It is of utmost importance that our structure is stable, as many sec1s will be going under it during orientation, 安全第一. During tying, a baimu dropped down and hit a guide on the head. It seemed like we were not prepared and did not take much safety precautions. However, after the incident everyone was told to wear helmets.

Overall, I noticed that both guides and scouts need to buck up on their lashes, not only for those under structures. Also, that people naturally tend to work slowly unless commanded to work faster, i.e. there was a lack of sense of urgency. Everyone moved slowly and some did not put in much effort in their work.

The year 3s hope that all of you guides will and continue to put in your best effort during orientation prep so that everything will move smoothly and more things can be done efficiently. Jiayou jiayou jiayou and continue to pia. We hope to see improvement for the rest of the jihes :)

Love guides.

Hello guides! Hoped that all of you are resting well after yesterday's jihe.
Here are the Camp Challenge photos :)

Baggage rack.

Shoe Rack

Patrol flag


Kitchen Dresser

Clothesline


Setting off for the amazing race.



At tampines mrt station.



Writing postcards, one of our tasks.



We had to take photos with 2 foreigners.











Tying our catapult.

Love guides :)

Hello guides :)

This post will be about Camp Challenge 2009. It was from 11th December to 14th of december where 8 of us participated in a series of activities. We had different competitions within the division and also with other divisions. Our patrol is called the Pikachu patrol and for identities we had pikachu caps and bags which we made ourselves :D We are in the east division with other schools, Geylang Methodist Sec School, Pasir Ris Crest Sec Sch, Damai Sec Sch and lastly Bedok Town Sec Sch.

On the first day when we got there, Miss Tang registered while the rest of us went to shift everything to the lodge. There was a briefing at Olave Hall which we were told our allocated campsite as a division and after that we started Camp Development at our campsite. We also got to see many creative identities and also meal bags.

As a division, we decided where the tents would be, where the kitchen shelter and division flagpole would be and etc. As the weather was good and sunny, we pitched the tents first. A few of our guides went to help Bedok Town with their pvc tents as they had only 5 people. The rest of us finished our canvas tent and went to help other schools.

We had a short break and after which we went to tie other gadgets such as our baggage rack, shoe rack, clothesline, patrol flagpole and the kitchen dresser which our school was in charge for.
It rained in the afternoon so all of us were tying the kitchen dresser under the kitchen tent.

Camp d ended right before dinner and dinner was another new experience for us. We had to sing Graces (which we usually dont do) and seat in a circle on small canvas sheets which were on the grass to eat with the other schools from the division. Also, different patrols had different duties to do everyday and we were the cooks patrol for day one.

After dinner we had time to bathe and after bathing time we had division activity in the lodge. The guiders wanted all of us to get to know each other better so we played blow wind blow. It was quite fun and after this game, all of us were numbered and split to different groups to get to know each other better and we had to say our groups' cheers after 15 mins. It was quite fun getting to know each other and i am sure all of us made more friends after the first night! :)

We had supper and briefing for the amazing race which was going to held on the second day. After everything, it was lights out and all of us went to sleep in the tent.

For day 2, we were the wood and water patrol so we had to wake up slightly earlier to chop firewood so that the cooks patrol could use the wood to cook and prepare our breakfast. We also had flag raising in the division. Our flag-raising was different from the one that we usually have among our coy so we learnt new things as well. We also had morning excercises which we did some simple warm-ups.

Soon we had breakfast and had some time to tidy up all our gadgets and to prepare for the amazing race. At 9am, everyone gathered in Olave Hall for the briefing for amazing race and we set off to Boon Lay Mrt Station after that. At Boon Lay Mrt station, we were given our first piece of clue. We had to set off to the food court of the biggest Giant hypermart in singapore. It was in tampines and we headed off quickly to take the mrt with Junie, a YAL who followed us the whole trip as Miss Tang had to leave.

The mrt ride took rather long and we waited for the shuttle bus to go to Giant at tampines mrt. At the first station, we had to find prices of some items and etc. We all split up as we had to finish finding everything within 2o mins. We managed to finish within 15 mins and soon we were given our next clue.

Our next station was at Changi Airport T3 and we had to write postcards, give them to foreigners and take photos with them. We completed the task quickly and headed to the Singapore Silat Federation for the 3rd station. We had to answer a question sheet there and we were stuck as there were some questions we didn't know how to answer. For the 4th station, we headed to Bedok stadium which luckily, was just beside the 3rd station. 1 person from the patrol had to run 100 metres in 15 secs and we managed to do it. Good Job! :)

We were given our next clue and we were stuck again as we did now know where Botanic Garden was. After around 15 mins we headed off to Botanic gardens and we had to go in by the Tanglin Gate to the Swan Lake. We had to answer a question sheet and find 5 items and take photos of them. There was some misleading items but we managed to find them all.

For the 6th station at Lucky Plaza we had to sell 2 tins of cookies. We managed to sell them within 5 mins and then we headed to our 7th station- GGS store at Little India Arcade. Over there, one person had to finish 2 indian snacks and another person had to do henna on a stranger. After finishing the tasks, we were given the clue to our last station- Vivo City. However there was only 20 mins left before the stations would close. We decided that we would rush there and at least try to reach the station on time. We ran all the way and took mrt. Even though we were slightly late by a few mins, we could still continue with the station.

After finishing everything we rushed by to camp christine as we had to reach there by 6.oopm. We were late as we missed the bus and for penalty, the marks for the last station was not counted.

We ate dinner and during COH, the rest of us went to bathe. After bathing, we had a short Singalong session with the YALs among the division. We learnt new songs and also steps to dance the Thousand Legged Worm which was quite fun :) Then we had supper and soon it was lights out.

For day 3, we were the orderlies patrol and we had to help to serve breakfast. After that there was time to washup and soon it was time for Challenge 2, in which the division would be divided to many different groups to take part in different competitions against other divisions. We chose Pioneering and First Aid.

I was in the pioneering group and so we had to assemble infront of the Camp Store at 9. We were shown pictures of catapults and also given a number of gadget poles to work with. Then we were given 20 minutes to brainstorm on how we would want to build our catapult. It was graded by Creativity, Feasibility, Stability and lastly the distance which the object would move when we throw it with our catapult.

We decided to build it with 2 improvised tripods and we finished everything within one hour. After which we tried testing it and improvised our idea. Then different divisions had to try their own catapults to see whose one could make the object move a longer distance. Even though ours did not move the furthest compared to other divisions, we got the highest for pioneering :) The other team that went for First Aid also got the highest. Good job everyone :D

Soon we had lunch and then it was singalong session at division level. We all had fun singing the campfire songs and there was a lot of laughters :) Then there was the non competitive telematch with other divisions and all of us took part in the 4 games. Then it was dinner and after bathing, it was the campfire. We sang many songs, watched skits and had fun together. After campfire it was supper and lights out.

For day 4, we woke up and started to chai all our gadgets except for the kitchen dresser and also the tent. After breakfast, 4 of us went to wash toilets as we were the health patrol and the other continue to chai the gadgets. At around 10 plus all of us striked the tents and had elevenses in the lodge. After that, we had the prize presentation.

Within the east division, we got 1st for best identity, 2nd for best flag, 2nd for best gadgets :D We were very surprised and shocked when we knew that we got 1st for inter-patrol competition among the other divisions :)

Camp Challenge 2009 was a very good and fun learning experience for all 8 of us. Even though there were some parts which we were tired, all of us pushed on and continued to support each other. We all got to know each other better, the year 3s and the year 2s and it was an eyeopener for all of us.

We are all very happy to be able to come to this camp, learn new things and make many many new friends. What really matters is not the result, but what is most important it that we enjoy the process and at the same time try our very best. Like what Miss Tang said, we go to the camp not to have winning as our only aim, but to help other patrols when they need help, have fun and bond together as a patrol :)

Thank you all the seniors that have came back to help to train us and advice us even though all of you were very busy. Thank you guiders for the support that yall have given us during this period of time. Thank you everyone for the jiayous and good luck, i am very sure all 8 of us appreciated it very much :D

Jiayou for guides and future jihes!

Love guides :D

Hello guides :)

Hoped that the holiday has been a productive one so far! While all of you take the time to relax and de-stress, do not forget to work hard too :D Also, there would be orientation prep on the 19th, 22nd and 28th of December. Details would be posted on moodle nearing the dates for preparation.

Good Luck to the Camp Challenge Team consisting of 3 year 2s and 5 year 3s who will be going for the 4D3N camp next friday. They have been working hard, so do cheer them on with just a simple jiayou or good luck :)

Enjoy your remaining holidays! :)

Post By Year 3:

Hey guides :)

Atc 09 has ended, and all the sec3s hope all the trainees have learned something valuable and will apply them in future jihes.

On day 1, we hear many sec1s being excited about the camp on the bus, perhaps thinking about how fun it will be. We hear sec2s worrying about the activities, camp development, manpower allocation etc. while us the sec3s, were just worrying about how smoothly this camp will go. When we reach camp Christine, everyone seemed quite blur and there was no sense of urgency.

Then, there was camp D which played a great part in helping sec2s to step out and learn to lead and give instructions. For tent pitching, some patrols needed the help of uncle salim while others were clear of what to do. This clearly indicated who read the notes and listened during the camp pitching course before atc and who didn’t. For those who did not, we hope you guys can remember what was shown and if you need notes, you can ask the sec3s for them. Do take note that all tents are supposed to face the company flagpole too, in neat semi-circular rows. Also, 照顾 everything. During camp D, the year 3s managed to kup alot of things, including 2 flagpoles and many other stuff like baisheng. Everything is important, TAKE CARE OF THEM.

The kitchen tents were done fast, which were good. However, they were quite saggy, which was obvious when it rained during outdoor cooking and the sec3s could sweep water down from the canvas sheet. The gadgets and flagpole were done quickly too, and your lashes have all improved greatly from before. The lashes are tight and quite neat. Good job :)

At night was treasure hunt cum PT, and it was good seeing all of you pia-ing even though you are tired. Some of the patrols are creative enough to draw out some of the items they cannot find, and we gave marks for that. However, not everything can be drawn out or else we only need 15 mins for the whole treasure hunt!

Then, it was bath, reflection, and campfire prep time. After that, it was night games. It is heartwarming to see patrol members taking good care of each other and their belongings. This is always the part which bonds the patrols closely together, mostly because they have no choice and they have to take care of those who are scared. The aim of our night games is to test for your observance skills and take care of each other, the latter which you trainees have achieved. As an actress for one of the stations, I tried kupping patrol members and ponchos but to no avail, so good job on that :)

On day 2, first was flag raising ceremony. Trainees do note that when you march, your hands are supposed to be clenched and legs should be 90 degrees. When in hanta kaki (marching on the spot), hands should be locked at the side and fists continue being clenched, legs always at 90 degree angles. From what we observed, most of you simply stamped on the ground as if stepping on ants, barely even lifting up your legs.

After that was inspection. My patrol is in charge of grading your tents and gadgets. Most tent doors are not rolled up properly and some tents are facing the wrong direction. However, most of the gadgets tied are tight and neat. Please also remember all shengweis must be tucked in! Also, take note of your attire and punch more holes in your belt if it is too loose, or your guides blouse keeps coming out when you pump.

After that was outdoor cooking. Some patrols kitchen dresser was too small and could not hold a lot of items, so next time open the tripod bigger and use longer mu to maximize space under the kitchen tent. The desserts were very tasty and appealing too, good job :)

After outdoor cooking and lunch was OJ. For my first aid station, it was not very well done. Maybe because none of the trainees went for the first aid course so you guys are not sure about doing CPR and bandaging an amputated hand, but skills like what to do for a leg fracture should be quite basic, yet none of the patrols could accurately bandage the casualty’s leg. However, I could hear you guys training while travelling even though my station is at the end of the road. Keep the patrol spirit high!

After OJ was flag lowering. For mass changing into guides u, 14mins were needed for quan tuan to jihe back, which is very bad. The time needed for mass change is 8 mins, max. Do improve on that, all of you can do it :) after that was dinner and campfire. By then, everyone was exhausted and morale was low throughout campfire. We hope you guys can be more enthusiastic, since campfire is supposedly the ‘slackest’ moment of the camp! Good job Songleaders, for practicing almost every day before ATC and giving it your best.

Day 3, we had night evacuation. Some patrols were alert and woke up their patrols when they hear the whistle while some continued sleeping until sec3s shook your tents. When you were told to chai your gadgets and bring all the mu to Olave hall, many of the patrol members stayed up there to chai some of your gadgets, leaving only one or two people to carry everything up or chai the remaining gadgets. This kind of attitude is selfish, and very saddening. We know that the distance between your tents and Olave hall is big, but what about your patrol members stuck at the tents struggling to carry everything up? Or those who simply don’t have enough manpower to chai the remaining gadgets?

Every time you think of your own benefit and try to push chor jobs to others, the more your patrol mates have to carry the burden for you. If everyone gives it all, you guys can and will make it within the time limit. One for all and all for one- we hope all trainees can learn from this mistake and never commit it again.

Then, there was barang pt. we know how shag it is for everyone, but that does not mean you can walk at the back when everyone is running in front of you. For the circuits, many of you need to improve on your pumpings, some also need to learn how to pump properly. Always remember, lock your elbows at your sides, knees together, go all the way down, and the rest is just practice. It is also at this stage when so many of you fell out. Are you really injured, or are you tired? Do you really cannot continue anymore, or do you just think so?

This camp is planned to push all of you above your limits, and most of you did. We really hope everyone of you understand the attitude guides should have, to pia dao di and never give up. For those who gave everything for this camp, we are really proud of you guys. After that was breakfast, area cleaning, mystery games, striking of tents and debrief in school.

Overall, it does not matter which patrol got first, which got last. Those are only numbers and scores which doesn’t last forever. What lasts forever is the attitude and bonding you have with guides. What is the most important is what you guys have learnt. From this ATC, we can see all your change in attitudes, moving faster, cheering more, being more responsible and mature. For this, all the sec3s are very happy and warmed. We hope all of you can continue loving guides the way we do. Even if we are far from perfect, that’s okay so long we are willing to improve. :)

With much love, sec3s.

Post By a Year 2:

Hello Guides :)

After days and days of camp prep., we had our pre-camp inspection on 6 Nov. ATC came soon after and it was just over on 11 Nov in mere 3 days and 2 nights. I believe all of us have benefited and learnt a lot from this camp.

It was a whole new experience for the sec 2s even though we had gone through ATC before, as it was our turn to lead our respective patrols. Giving clear instructions so that the other members will know what to do, making sure everyone's okay, allocating manpower for tasks to be completed in a fast and good manner, etc. - they were still quite new to us. Some of us may not be confident enough to speak up, but we all had our opportunities during this camp to try. Let's all remember what the seniors told us and jiayou for what lies ahead in the future!

Some parts of the camp went on very slowly and the morale was quite low. We should all improve on our sense of urgency too and run at all times, because if we do not run, then some other people will have to run for us! We are all working together, as a patrol, as a jie, as a company, so we should all run together! :) When you start feeling tired, thinking of others who are still pia-ing. They are tired too, but they still carried on trying and not give up.

Also, we should constantly baoshi so that everyone knows how much time is left to complete the task(s) assigned. Whenever we are done with our parts, we should take more initiative to help the others out so that everyone can finish the tasks on time! (Remember to kao long and dui jiao during jihe too!)

This camp has been a good learning experience. We have been pointed out to our mistakes and improvements have to be made. After having benefited from the camp, everyone has emerged stronger, so jiayou and let's pia harder for our future jihe-s! :)

Post By Year 1:

Hi (: We returned from ATC on Wednesday, and though we were really tired it was definitely worth it.

Day 1

We did camp D for most of the day. Our speed was really slow as we were very blur, with this being our first time at camp. We had to wait for seniors to tell us what to do before we did it and we did not take the initiative to ask them what to do. We didn’t ling cheer much and our patrol spirit was quite low. We bonded over lunch and got to know each other better.

After lunch, we improved somewhat but we knew there was still much room for improvement. By the end of the day, our camp site was set up. After dinner, we had treasure hunt, where we had to go around Camp Christine looking for items on the list but had to do punishment for every item not found. Though it was tiring, it was actually quite fun as we had to find creative methods to find the things on the list.

We bathed, and then had night games. My patrol became much closer over night games, where we had to work together and look after each other so that we would not get kupped, and could figure out the story. We had supper then slept in the lodge because the tents were wet.

Day 2

We woke up then did morning PT. We started off by running for 10 minutes. Through this activity, we realized the importance of cheering and pia-ing. When we cheered, we could forget our tiredness and just keep pushing on.

We had breakfast after PT, followed by flag raising then inspection. We took quite a long time to lay out our things and had to ask for time extension. We had outdoor cooking for lunch, and we were given campbells soup, instant noodles, vegetables and a watermelon. It took us quite long to get the fire going but the end product was still very yummy!

Then, we had OJ. For OJ, I felt that we could have done much better, pia-ed more, studied notes better and cheered more. Nevertheless, I’m grateful to our seniors for doing so much to lead us despite us lacking skills.

We had dinner then bathed, followed by campfire! Campfire was really fun, and the songleaders did a lot to make the programme as fun as possible. Also, the items put up by each patrol were really entertaining. Overall, I had a great time at campfire!

Then, we had barbeque for supper, where we were given fishballs, sausages and some other foods to cook. We slept in our tents after that

Day 3

We had night evacuation at 5 plus in the morning. Though we had expected it and were more or less prepared, we still took a long time to jihe and had to pump for chaosshi-ing. Then, we chai-ed our structures and had morning PT. The first part was to run 4 rounds with all our belongings. Once again, we learnt how important it is to keep cheering and never give up. PT may be tough but cheering can work miracles. After running, we did circuits.

We striked camp after that. Then, we had mystery games! For us year 1s, we played ‘telephone line’ first, where we had to ding different positions while passing messages like ‘hands behind your back when you jihe and put all belongings behind you’.

Next, we did several physical exercises, like crabwalk and ranger jump. Though it was quite tiring, under the year 4’s encouragement and cheering each other on, we managed to get through it. For the last mystery game, the whole company lay on the ground and rolled over each other. To me, that game was the most enjoyable as it was really fun. Then, we had company games, which was the most enjoyable part of camp because we were given the chance to bond as a whole company, from year 1s to 3s. After that, we returned back to school for camp debrief.

Looking back, its safe to say that we’ve learnt a lot from ATC’09. We grew closer as a jie and really learnt to give your whole heart and soul for everything. Though it was grueling, im thankful that we pia-ed to the end and kept going, and I really learnt a lot from ATC.

Hello guides, hope that all of you are resting well after ATC.
Here are some photos which the year 3s took! :)

Love guides :D