Hi Guides!!
Due to the arrival of the EOYs, we have had a long hiatus from guiding, but now, we're back! With the end of the examinations, it marks the start of a very busy period for us, preparations for our Annual Training Camp and the camp itself, which, for this year, falls on the 3rd to 5th of November.
31st of November was the day of the pre-camp inspection, where the trainees laid out all their patrol logistics and we checked if they had what they need, an also that they do not bring unnecessary items. Below is a year one's and a year two's take on event.
From a Year 1:
For the pre-camp inspection, we had to move the tables for us to place our patrol logistics neatly according to the pre-camp inspection layout we had planned beforehand. We had to arrange the logistics neatly and make sure that the positions were standardised across the whole company. The pre-camp inspection was indeed a good chance to help the Year Ones familiarise with our patrol logistics since many of us are not very sure what the logistics are exactly made of and the meanings of certain materials and designs.
The inspection also helped to build patrol morale and enabled us to bond because we could try out our new cheers and songs. Similarly, it gave us an idea of the standards of ATC and helped us understand how ATC would be like. Through the time limits given, we learnt how important a sense of urgency was. We also learnt that we had to be more consistent and make sure that even small details were standardised among all patrols. We learnt about our mistakes, in order to improve on them next year. The punishments were important to ensure that we would not commit the same mistakes again, and also to help instill discipline in us. Overall, we learnt how important each patrol logistic was and bonded with our patrol during pre-camp inspection.
From a Year 2:
Pre-camp inspection was like a warm up for ATC. As we did not have meetings for quite some time, it was a great time to fire us up and prepare for ATC. :) Firstly, on that day, we had roll call and then we mass changed from our Guide uniform to PE attire. We also had to bring our styrofoam boxes and other patrol logistics from tuanbu to the third floor where the inspection took place.
My patrol was allocated the classroom 1A. In my opinion, I think we did not do very well for the inspection as we flipped the inspection layout, forgot to bring out and lay the plastic bags, laid out extra masheng and even forgot to lay out the mess tins and yuanzilu, which was “hidden” in the kettle. We also did not lay out the identities properly in neat rows and messed up the layout of several items. However, we also had our good points; at least our tables and chairs were arranged very neatly. This pre camp inspection also allowed us to practise our songs and cheers which the Year Ones have painstakingly come up with and bond as an ATC patrol as we got to taste our punishments together as a patrol. Here is an incident which I remembered vividly. One of our punishments was to run one round around the corridor. During our run, one of the Year Threes pulled out one of our patrol mates. The people behind thought that the senior wanted to talk to her. It turned out that we did not take care of our juniors properly, allowing the seniors to pull her away. From this incident, we took this lesson seriously. When the same thing happened again, we were alert enough to recover her back. This served as a reminder that we should always take care of our own things, patrol logistics as well as our patrol mates, especially with the upcoming ATC.
Overall, the inspection allowed our patrol to know one another better, kick start the atmosphere for ATC and serve as a reminder that our patrol mates are very important, especially that we are Year Twos and we should take good care of our juniors :).
