Patrol Activity, 15th August

Last Monday, we had Patrol Activity (PA) and here are some of the reflections for it! Enjoy J

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 1:

Last Monday, we had PA, and what was special about today was that we also had a new junior who just joined us this 集合. We split into two groups, one had to do Physical Training, while the other had to build a baggage rack. Both groups had to have an even mix of both Year 1s and Year 2s. Every 7 minutes, we had to switch roles. The first set of PT we had to do consisted of 10 jumping jacks, 5 burpees, 2 minutes of leg raise as well as 2 minutes of 站马. The second set was 15 jumping jacks, 2 and a half minute of站马, and 1 min planking. As we had to teach the new junior to learn the ropes, as well as finish the baggage rack, it was hard to complete the tasks within the time limit and thus we had to ask for time extension many times. Furthermore, since it had been quite a long time since we tied lashes and built structures, we couldn't recall some of the lashes and this resulted in our inefficiency. We were also worried as this was our first time leading the Year 1s in PA. Hence, we feel that we can improve more by practicing our skills more, having a better sense of urgency and also clarifying our doubts with our seniors. Nonetheless, I hope that after some time, we would be more familiarized with these skills and thus be able to better lead the juniors and be more prepared for upcoming camps such as ATC or PLTC.

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 2:

For the first part of our PA, we did orienteering with compass to find casualties, whom we had to treat with our first-aid knowledge. I think that through this, we have learnt many skills such as how to orientate ourselves with just a compass and some bearings. This activity also reminded us to study our guides notes well, especially for the first-aid section, which would help us be more prepared for the upcoming ATC. For the second part of our PA, we had to build a baggage rack to balance some balloons within 20 minutes. While building the structure, we had to modify the rack in order for us to store the balloons as well.  This activity not only taught us the importance of efficiently dividing manpower and time management, it also taught us that we have to be creative besides knowing the basic structures. Through this PA, which was also our first time leading the juniors, we learnt to work as a patrol to complete this task, and step up more as seniors to lead them. Although we 过时-ed by quite a lot, as it was rather challenging, I think it really helped us to hone our leadership skills.

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 3:

For Monday's PA, we had to build a kitchen shelter and flagpole. It was our first 集合 without the seniors, so we were quite nervous as it meant that we had to step up more. One challenge that we met with was that nobody knew how to build a flagpole as we had never built one before, so we had to get help from the Year 3s. I feel that we can use this as reminder to check and make sure that we know and are familiar with building the basic structures, and that if we were unsure, we should clarify it with our seniors. I think that it was also a great learning opportunity as well, because after 集合, we became sure of how to build it, and this would help with the upcoming ATC. As for the kitchen shelter, we took to long and kept 过时-ing. One area of improvement would be to work faster and give clearer instructions to minimize wastage of time, and also to ask for a time extension before the time is up. Reflecting back, I think that we generally got the basic idea of the kitchen shelter, but we forgot a few quite important details, such as how many pacings we needed to take, and that a mickey mouse lash was needed on top of the 红木. In addition, when we took the logistics in the beginning, we forgot to take the canvas sheet and 麻绳. This resulted in a lot of wastage of time, and we could be more responsible in the future. Furthermore, for the PA, I was the Patrol Leader and it was rather stressful but I still feel that it was a good experience for me to learn to step up more. All in all, the PA was a good leaning experience for all of us, especially the Year 2s, and although it may not have gone as smoothly as all of us had hoped it would be, it presented us with mistakes that we can make and learn to correct in the future before ATC.

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 4:
For this PA, the new batch of seniors were kind and understanding when we were unsure of how to tie certain knots, or the steps to building basha and baggage rack. Through the activity, the year ones found their hands turning red easily as they were guided through basic knots, just as I remember my batch mates did too when we just started learning the knots. Some juniors found the names of knots like the mickey mouse knot interesting. When we had a mini competition for the efficiency of tying a set number and variety of basic knots, I was relieved to find that us Year 1s and 2s worked together quite well, with the Year 1s having an improved sense of urgency as compared to the last time we worked with them. On the other hand, when I discovered that the tripod was opened wrongly, I found that some Year 1s did not dare to ask us when in doubt. Hence, in the future, we would step up more and help to guide and lead our juniors so that they would not be lost or left out whenever we have Patrol Activities together.

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 5:

On Monday, what we did first was to mass change. We had changed from our guides uniform to PE attire as a company, then later to guides uniform and back to PE attire later as a patrol. What this taught us was really being able to maintain the quality in what we do (e.g still folding our guides uniform properly) while being fast and efficient. Next, we revised our lashes with our Year 1s. It was good to refresh our memories and also point out where everyone could improve. Next was gadgeting with a trekking signs game. We had to split into two groups; the first group would start on the baggage rack while the second group would form a caterpillar and walk through the corridor, looking for sticky notes that contained trekking signs. After a while, we would swap positions. I feel that this activity was able to train many of our skills, mainly our gadgeting and knowledge of course, but also our teamwork and coordination. While we had our own areas of improvement, this week's PA had taught us Year 2s on how to step up and lead our patrol. It was a bit different from our last 集合s, seeing that usually we were the ones being led, but it was an overall good learning experience.

Reflection from a Year 2 of Patrol 6:

Monday's PA started off with collecting the logistics required for a baggage rack, basha and flagpole. Then, we were given 15 minutes to finish building everything. However, the twist was that a senior would wait at the top of half a flight of stairs, and for every 白木 we needed, we would have to run up to get it. We 过时-ed many times and thus were required to do a forfeit, which was 30 burpees. In the end, we spent 45 minutes building all the structures, as we were rather unclear and flustered since it was our first time leading the juniors. Therefore, in the future, we should communicate to the juniors in a better way. Nonetheless, the Year 1s were extremely cooperative and we felt grateful for it. Another area of improvement for us was also to allocate manpower properly as too many juniors were working on one structure, and to include the Year 1s more as we unintentionally neglected them in our discussions. Lastly, even though our baggage rack was not perfect and we needed help from the seniors occasionally, it was still an enriching PA and I hope to be able to be a better senior to my juniors over time.

Published By:
Chen Wei
48th Batch Secretary