DHS-psyCOYlogy!

Hello guides.

On Thursday we went to Camp Christine for pre-camp training. The Year 2s were taught how to pitch a tent and the proper procedures of tying a kitchen shelter and a fire altar by Uncle Gastali. For the tent pitching, after a once through demostration, we combined patrols and each pair of patrols pitched a tent.

Being the first time the Year 2s pitched a tent, we were still not so sure of the procedures, such as standardizing the baisheng, much less allocating the manpower to pitching the tent. However, with mistakes our seniors corrected us, we gained more experience. A few pointers we learnt are to not leave pegs stuck in the ground as they will be hard to find, how to make full use of the manpower and allocate manpower wisely to save time, for example, assign someone to do all the hammering of pegs and another person to give pegs as needed.

We were very behind time for our first tent as we did not make full use of our manpower. We could get the help of the seniors and other patrols who have finished their tents, instead of trying to complete the tent by ourselves. Uncle Gastali also commented that we lacked teamwork. With this briefing, we were sent back to strike our tents and have a lunch break.

After lunch, Ms Ngau assigned the Year 3s and Year 2s to pitch and strike two tents in 1 hour and 1 1/2 hour respectively. For the Year 2s, having learned from our mistakes in pitching our first tent, we allocated our manpower appropriately, like assigning 2 patrols to each side to the tent. We were also much more certain about trivial stuff like where to insert a peg and how to stretch the tent to its maximum size. Coy 2 finished first, so they helped Coy 1 with their tent. However, the tent Coy 1 pitched was better than Coy 2's tent as their tent was stretched to its maximum size. In total, the Year 2s spent 50 minutes on both tents, a huge improvement from 2 hours to pitch a tent earlier.

Afterwards, we revised on tying the fire altar and the kitchen shelter. Seeing how Uncle Gastali tie the fire altar and kitchen shelter showed us how quick thinking and a simple change of plans can save time, instead of trying to stick to the original plan. For example, when we could not hit the pole into the ground, Uncle Gastali simply shifted the fire altar to softer ground, although we had the lay everything out again, instead of forcing the pole into the ground, which we tried for 5 minutes.

After this quick revision and a few more extra tips from Uncle Gastali, the bus came and we had to go back to school.

Ms Ngau commended us on our huge improvement on the pitching of the tents, but she told us to brainstorm and plan on how to allocate manpower on the actual ATC. We were only able to succeed pitching the tent efficiently on the second time. The Year 1s, who will be like us on our first try, confused and unsure of what to do. With a group of people with no previous knowledge of pitching tents, it will be harder to pitch a tent in a short time span, so we must plan our time properly and explain to our juniors clearly so that they will be able to perform their roles smoothly on the actual day. So this is what the Year 2s must ponder about after the tent-pitching at Camp Christine.

Jiayou all! :)