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 :).
After pre-camp inspection was over, there was a couple of day's break, where no activities were allowed to be carried out, so as to give everyone ample resting time. The arrival of the camp was awaited with much anticipation. Here is a year 3's thoughts on the entire camp, which we, as the leadership batch, had spent much efforts in planning.
From a Year 1:
Our seniors have stressed to us again and again that we should not think lightly of ATC. Even though we're only year ones and do not have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, we are still extremely nervous. Many of us year ones encouraged each other on facebook days before ATC. The importance of ATC was proved to us during the preparations when we had to meet up work on our various projects(banner, etc) we saw our year twos drawing up comprehensive proposals which made us even more worried.
ATC was challenging to me even though our seniors told us that this year's ATC was not that tough after all. However all the Year ones were relieved when the camp was over and also surprised that we managed to 'survive' the camp. This camp was not tough compared to last year's as the year twos and threes have experienced. It was also because we did not have any night evacuation.
For my patrol, we were starting to feel a little less zealous about the activities on the second day but were spurred on by our year threes. This year's ATC was also made much easier because of the inclement weather where we do not get sunburns and headaches from the sun.
However, many people fell sick due to virus spreading around, but the mystery games and our cheering still managed to keep our morale up. We managed to remain sanguine even though manpower was low as the Year Twos have a way of getting things right somehow.
The Year Twos had accepted punishments when it were the year ones' fault and sometimes we do feel guilty. However many of us year ones have promised to stay prepared, enthusiastic, help our year twos in whatever way we can and not be lax in our performance. This ATC was a wake up call for me, I had been too slow in my movement for many of the jihe s this year.
Last but not least, I enjoyed the night games and company games alot, the night games were thrilling and quite scary and the company games allowed us to lose our inhibitions and bond well with our mates! :)
From a Year 2:
I felt that the Annual Training Camp was an enjoyable experience and the time for us, year twos, to lead the year ones. Throughout the camp, I think we could have more sense of urgency as many time extensions were asked during the activities. We should also take good care of ourselves and our fellow patrol mates before and during the camp as many fell out during the activities due to the flu bug that was circulating around. The commendable thing about my patrol is that we care for one another and we had zero casualties. :)
The camp started off with camp development part one and we were not very efficient. My patrol did not managed to build finish most of the structures needed, but we moved faster during the second part on the next day. We were a little disheartened but we did better during the obstacle journey at the Bukit Timah Hill. We bonded during the obstacle journey too and we had a fun time together. We navigated around using the compass, so this was the best experience for everyone to be familiarized with the orienteering skills. Night Games was fun as it was the first ATC Night Games experience for both year ones and twos. My patrol did quite well during the Night Games as we took good care of our belongings.
On the second day, there was inspection, outdoor cooking, pioneering, physical training and campfire. Our sense of urgency improved but we could have worked even faster. Inspection could have been more standardised across the patrols and have more communication. Outdoor cooking and pioneering was quite good. Even when we were met with difficulties, we managed to think of new ideas and modify it quickly. Our structure was very stable. We could have done much better during physical training and cheered more as our patrol morale was quite low at the start. The campfire was fun but everyone should participate more.
On the last day, it was morning exercise, clear up and company games. The year twos cheered a lot during the morning exercise and our morale was high throughout. Clear up was done quite efficiently as it was already the last activity of the camp and thus encouraged everyone to put in their best. The company games were fun and it was the time for the company to bond.
Overall, I think it was a good effort put in by everyone. Let these memories last forever<3
The 2011 Annual Training Camp was held from 3rd November to 5th November. This year, ATC was held in school compounds, instead of Camp Christine, thus providing trainees a familiar environment to work around during camp. In addition, Obstacle Journey was conducted at Bukit Timah Hill, with the intention of trainees being able to bond with their patrols, and utilize the skills they had learnt in a different outdoor environment.
The theme for ATC was “Lights, Camera, Action!” because ATC was one of the major opportunities given to the trainees, especially the Year Twos who would be taking over next year, to display and optimize their leading potential. ATC was a stage for every single trainee to be noticed, instead of trainees merely following the Year Threes’ instructions and not developing their potential. Throughout ATC, the Year Twos were given many opportunities to be the Patrol Leader and with the guidance of the Year Threes, they led the patrol well. It was their time to shine, and they made use of the opportunities given to display their leadership, as well as learn from their mistakes.
Throughout the camp, much improvement was made amongst the trainees. On Day One, many trainees were feeling restless, probably because they were afraid of ATC. During goal-setting, it was evident that the Year Threes were the ones who were talking to their patrols, instead of the trainees taking the initiative to do so. Also, during Camp Development, the trainees moved rather slowly and required time extension despite a long timeframe given to build the required gadgets. Even the Patrol Leaders were unsure of what to do at a certain point, thus confusing the entire patrol. However, safety was noted and there were no injuries from the heavy spars, which was a good start to the camp with objective of zero casualties.
Patrol morale during Obstacle Journey was very low. Also, the Patrol Leaders at different points in time did not take good care of their patrol members. The trainees’ attitude during Obstacle Journey was not correct too; everyone should be putting in their best for the activity, instead of playing around with patrol mates. Undeniably, not taking the activity seriously might equate to strengthening patrol bonds, however, ATC was a training camp in which trainees should have been serious in all activities, especially Obstacle Journey which was the core activity, to train their physical stamina. Obstacle Journey was also a great reflection of the Year Two’s leadership skills especially when a sudden situation arises.
The last activity for Day One was Night Games, an activity to test trainees’ courage and ability to take good care of patrol mates as well as belongings. Also, Night Games was conducted with the intention of trainees being observant about their surroundings so that they could answer the questions posted. Probably it was the first ATC Night Games the trainees experienced, thus they did not know the rules to Night Games. Everyone was to keep silent at all times, and not do anything when Year Threes tried to grab belongings away. Unfortunately, some trainees just shoved the Year Threes away. This was a shocking sight and trainees should learn from this Night Games that they are not supposed to disrupt the plot.
On Day Two, there was slight improvement made. Sense of urgency had increased which was a good start to the day. Inspection was a good activity to observe communication within the patrol. Several patrols communicated well enough for all patrol mates’ belongings to be lain out neatly. However there were other patrols that failed to lay out their items with standardization. Also, belongings were not taken care of despite numerous warnings to take good care of them. When punishment was given to the trainees, some of them just could not accept the punishment and did the punishment indignantly. Such attitude was intolerable and trainees ought to know that punishment was only given if the layout of belongings was not up to standard in terms of speed of laying out and neatness of layout.
Outdoor Cooking was quite successful in that every patrol was able to set up two fires quickly. Trainees had fun during Outdoor Cooking, and cooked unique deserts and snacks. A group of Year Threes also cooked some pancakes for everyone to share! Outdoor Cooking was conducted to see how trainees ignited a fire and it was truthfully not a physically demanding activity, preparing trainees for Pioneering. In general, trainees were quite fast during Pioneering, probably owing to the pre-camp Pioneering practice they had. Patrol Leaders allocated their manpower appropriately such that time and manpower were both maximized—optimum situation. However, trainees should learn to follow the timelines they painstakingly planned. The purpose of the timeline was to judge how much time should be spent on each component of the structure, but few patrols remembered their timelines. In the future, trainees should stick according to their timelines to better prepare for the activity.
During Physical Training, a number of patrols put in their best and cheered loudly to boost patrol morale. Even though it was tough, trainees did not give up and continued throughout the 90 minutes of Physical Training. This was the attitude and behavior all trainees should maintain throughout the camp, to never give up and keep striving for the best.
Trainees were however not enthusiastic enough during Campfire. Campfire was a relaxing activity for everyone to go high but some trainees were on the verge of sleeping. The day was long indeed, however nonetheless it was Campfire and everyone ought to sing loudly and enthusiastically. Campfire was after all one of the last activities of ATC. On the other hand, the song leaders did a great job in entertaining everyone so good job!
On Day Three, there was clear up. Sense of urgency was the highest during this activity and trainees were observed to be putting in their best in bringing the logistics to the given venues. It was a long distance between the field and the basketball court but most trainees were running throughout the entire activity. In the end, all logistics were cleared up properly, owing to the trainees’ efforts. Lastly, Company Games was the last activity of ATC and all trainees had fun during the Games. Every trainee should have brought that smile of theirs throughout ATC and believe that every single effort put in was worth it, instead of complaining that ATC was extremely tough. ATC was honestly manageable and as long as trainees believed they could do it, they could do it.
All in all, ATC was a great learning experience for everyone, including us Year Threes. It was the first ATC for the Year Ones, but they should have known that sense of urgency was very essential, especially during a training camp. Some of the Year Ones were not putting in their best which was very disappointing for their PLs. However some of them really carried on although they were already very tired; thumbs up! For the Year Twos, all of their skills were good, which was what was expected of a Year Two. However, Year Twos should have spoken up and given louder and clearer instructions to their patrols instead of doing all the work. A patrol works together as one, and every single patrol mate should be doing their part for the patrol, instead of leaving all the work for a single trainee to do. Nonetheless, the Year Twos did a great job in striving throughout ATC despite some of them having sicknesses. As for the Year Threes, it was great seeing all plans evolve in reality. Although some activities did not go as well as planned, on the whole everything went on smoothly. Also, we learnt to give instructions more clearly to the juniors to prevent confusion within the company. We will definitely continue planning good activities for everyone.
ATC is over, but being a Guide is for life. Reflect on your strengths and mistakes, and improve upon your mistakes before the next activity. Guides is about bringing our company to greater heights, but as an individual the first step is to bring yourself to greater heights. As a company we work together and as long as everyone puts in her best, Guides will shine.
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