Hello Guides!! (: It was
the long awaited East Division Day (EDD)! All the respective committees have
worked hard over the past weeks and today our efforts will finally be paid off!
We headed to Changkat Changi Secondary School for the competition, where we
were welcomed warmly with a few songs. The competition then kicked off and
everyone headed to their respective venues around the school. The following are
accounts from guides of different committees:
Performance…
EDD is
really an eye opener especially since it’s the first time I am taking part in
such intense competition. Our group met up for quite a few sessions in order to
prepare for the performance. We had to work on our volume, and the moves for
some of the songs. Throughout the practices, I have learnt many skills-
teamwork, courage, and creative thinking. On the performance day, I was really
nervous before the performance. However, the other members of the group
encouraged me. With their support and help, we managed to perform the skit,
dance and songs as planned during rehearsals. Although we did not win any
prizes, the experience itself was enriching and rewarding. I have learnt many
skills which can be applied in future competitions or even in my daily life.
From this competition, I have also made many new friends. We had lots of fun
rehearsing for the competition. We could have improved by making more props. I
will definitely strive harder to win for the next competition.
Recycled Fashion Show…
For me, I
was selected to be in the Recycled Fashion Show competition, the model, with my
senior planning my outfit and the materials to be used at every step of the
plan. We were given one and a half hour to make the finishing touches and show
it to the judges. The theme for this year was "Singapore: Back to our old
Kampong Days" and my senior had crafted out a dress, the top would be
folded and opened up to give that layered effect, made out of newspaper. The
skirt, in addition, would also be made from newspaper and would wrap nicely
around my legs. However, the skirt had a catch - which was to add palm leaves
on the outside to make it fall nicely and give that "waterfall"
effect. My senior also attached two strings of twigs connected by 白绳, and it was stuck on my belt. This was all designed to show how people
living in the kampong back then did not lead luxurious lives, and hence had to
resort to using these materials to demonstrate their creativity. The twigs
represented their resilience and the colourful newspaper showed how people of
different races and personalities came together to form one Singapore. It was a
very innovative way of expressing our appreciation for Singapore through this
dress, and even though it was a backbreaking process to prepare for this
competition, Dunman High still did not win and we were quite upset. It was
tough to be honest, because the other contestants had very nice costumes too.
We did not win for both years, but it was a very fruitful experience where I
learned how to make use of my time wisely, and made some new guide friends from
other schools. Looking forward to next year's EDD!
Mini Gadgeting…
For Mini
Gadget Team 2, we built in total 5 structures, respectively a stilt house,
double storey house, boat, swing and a bridge. All of which are key
aspects of what life is like in the kampung. During the prep dates, we would
start off with introducing the structures to the juniors and allocating who
would tie what. Slowly, with more practice, the timings would
improve and so would our lashes. Even though at timed we would feel like giving
up, but with the support of each other, we persevered on and when all of
us saw the overall design when we pieced every structure together, the
satisfaction was great. Looking back at the preparation we did for this
EDD, I feel that everyone had done their best and winning or losing is no
longer of utmost importance but the process is the one that matters when
everyone helped one another to ensure that they complete the structure within
the time given. However, all of us had the goal in mind which is to win
the first and second of the Mini Gadget's competition and true enough, we
achieved it.
EDD Food Committee…
Our team made Pulut Inti , which was a nonya
kueh desert extremely popular in the past. When we reached the venue, we
immediately started to prepare our ingredients. First, Louisa took out the glutinous
rice and prepared it for steaming. However, we faced some problems as there
were limited power plugs and hence we had to travel a distance before reaching
the power supply. When we were about to steam the rice, we were horrified to
find that the power plug was damaged and that we could not turn on our electric
stove! Thankfully another team allowed us to share their extension plug and
things went well. However, this was not the case for long.
While I was checking the time for steaming, my
junior was cutting up the banana for making the tropical smoothie. After around
16 minutes, the power supply was cut off and everyone was flustered. We adapted
to the situation and worked with other items first, such as the preparation for
the smoothie, the plating, etc. When the power supply was back on, we
immediately started steaming our rice, preparing our coconut and blending our
smoothie. Finally, we made the Pulut Inti with banana leaves and the dish was ready
for presentation! :)
Next, the other team was going to make a dish
called mango chutney pai tee and teh c. However, we did not add the mango last
minute as it was too sour and did not complement well with the other
ingredients. At the start, there was already another team from another school
breaking their rice cooker. This added to the tension and nervousness we felt
and of course, we told ourselves to be more careful. While i was chopping the
onions and garlic, our senior was preparing the mangoes while our junior took
charge of the electrical appliances. Thankfully, we did not face any problems
throughout the whole cooking experience except for the flooding of the sinks,
the tiring cleaning up and a shutdown of electricity suddenly that caused us to
panic. Despite all these, our seniors still took care of us, helped us out and
of course, we managed to complete the dish in time! To me, it was my first time
yet i felt it was a well done job. Although
we didn't win any prizes, it was a fulfilling and fun experience to be cooking
traditional food for EDD.
Booth…
We went
up to the hall for the welcome speech before being assigned to our booth area.
At first we went up to the library thinking that we were allocated that area
due to a communication misunderstanding. After further clarifications, we were
assigned a spot near the courtyard where we had a clear view of the telematch.
We laid the table and arranged our games pieces neatly. In the first half an hour,
our booth was pretty empty and many of us were very free. We even had time to
run over and watch the performance team rehearse. Soon, the crowd streamed in
and our booth was very crowded with brownies. We demonstrated the games to the
brownies and they were very excited to try out the different games. After about
2 hours, we were called back to the hall for prize presentation. Though we did
not win many prizes, I think we still did great and everyone had fun. At first
I wasn't very keen on being in booth as I felt that it was very mundane and
boring but after this experience I realised that booth is actually quite
exciting and not as boring as I thought it would be.
Here are pictures from other committees!
In all,
we achieved one Gold, one Silver and one Bronze! Good job DHSCOY! We will
continue to do our best and achieve more awards! (:
Cheers,
Michelle
47 Batch
Secretary
