Hello fellow guides! This is a late post, but on 6th March, Monday, we had Patrol Activity (PA) as usual with our individual patrols. Here are some reflections from the juniors!
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 1…
On Monday, we brought down kindlings to the General Science Lab(GSL). After which, we were instructed to bring down the logistics required for Outdoor Cooking. At first, our structure was incomplete so we had to rebuild the entire structure in a shorter time period. However, I felt that the lashes for our second structure were actually less tight as compared to the first one. The Year Fours(Y4) then taught the Year Ones(Y1) how to start a fire. However, the kindlings were wet and despite many attempts, we were unable to keep the fire going, so we switched to using 原子蜡 instead. Finally, we were able to roast marshmallows over the fire with the limited time we had left. All in all, I feel that we need to pick our kindlings better and to make an effort to dry them if they are damp, so that we will have an easier time starting the fire.
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 2…
For Monday’s PA, we were tasked to build creative gadgets which included a signal tower and a baggage rack. For the signal tower, we were fortunate to be given a proposal to follow. Thus, it was rather easy to build and the design is cool too since the quadpod lash was tied in the middle of the gadgets poles instead of tying typically near the top of the gadget poles. As for the baggage rack, we had to make some modifications based on certain criterion. Firstly, we had to make use of ponchos and secondly, we were not allowed to build it with an A-架, a quadpod or a tripod. This not only got us thinking of how to build structures out of the norm, but also tapped on our soft skills which we had developed over time in guides. However, the structure that we built was very shaky. From this, we learnt that we should add a lot more diagonals to stabilise the structure, especially since the main frame was not very steady.
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 3…
For PA on Monday, we built an indoor fire altar followed by outdoor cooking. As we had already built a fire altar many times before, we were sure of how to build it and managed to build it within the time limit which I feel was a good improvement from the past PAs, so we were able to have a good start. I feel that we should really keep this up as it helps with efficiency and allows us to have more time to do other things. For outdoor cooking, we made butter chicken, cheese sausages and banana smores. One challenge we faced was that the kindlings picked were wet as it had been raining for the past few days and this led to us spending too long trying to start and sustain the flame, which eventually led to our chicken being uncooked and inedible. As seniors, I feel that we could have been more proactive and reminded the juniors to dry the kindlings. Nonetheless, this was a good learning point as it taught us to not overlook even the minor details as they are equally important and crucial. Finally, when the flame was stable enough to cook the sausages and warm up the bananas, it truly felt like a triumphant moment. Although not everyone got to taste the food, I believe that we did a good job with the cooking (besides the raw chicken). All in all, the PA was enjoyable as we worked well as a patrol together to get the job done although there were certain unexpected bumps along the way.
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 4…
Monday's PA ended a little late because of the rain. During PA, we went through some basic structures like the baggage rack before we started the fire and prepared the food for Outdoor Cooking. Since I was not involved in most of the process as I could not go near fire, I washed the cutlery and prepared the food instead. This time, since the proposal and food were done and bought by the Year 3s, this gave us a taste of what it was like doing a proposal and putting it into action.
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 5…
On Monday, we did several activities. Firstly, we built a baggage rack with a meaningful improvement of rafting half bamboo so that items could be placed there. To me, this was symbolic as it was the first time we had the Year Ones do creative gadgeting with us so it was quite cool! After that, we had to run around Block G to find post-it notes with the guides code written on them. Then, we would have to decipher the code (which had items required for inspection written on them), after which we would be able to send one person to 团部 to take 5 items. After we had collected the items, we did inspection. During the first round, the Year Ones and Twos were blindfolded and the Year Threes were not able to actually layout the items but had to direct the Year Ones and Twos to do so for them. To me, it was quite challenging as we did not really know how to go about handling this or how to direct them. From this, I felt that we could have had better strategy in terms of how to go about leading the inspection. Lastly, we had to do certain activities based on a scenario where we were stranded, dehydrated and some of us were injured. So, we had to build two dome tents, treat three people and make Milo. I feel that this part of PA was considerably well done as were able to complete the tasks on time.
Reflection from a junior from Patrol 6…
For the first part of PA, we had to build a baggage rack in 40 minutes, according to the proposal drawn and with the 木 we had collected. As the PS of this activity, I felt that I could have done a better job to step up and help the PL in leading the patrol, instead of communicating with the PL through whispers. It was rather chaotic initially, as we had forgotten some crucial points, such as 对-ing the 脚 of the main frame to the curb, and ensuring that both main frames were exact copies of each other. It was also due to our poor time management and poor manpower allocation that our structure did not turn out stable. We had spent too much time completing the main frames. As we were too focused on completing the task, we also did not manage to maintain a high patrol morale, which may have resulted in us working slowly. Next, we had to build a volleyball net in 10 minutes, according to a proposal, for our volleyball activity. I was assigned as PL for this activity. I felt that I could have done a better job in giving out firm instructions to every individual so as to prevent people from slacking off. I could have also spoken up more, instead of letting the PS lead the patrol entirely. Furthermore, the structure did not turn out stable as the A-架s were not spread wide enough. As we were in a hurry, I had neglected the netting of the structure thus resulting in the netting being done wrongly. Despite all this, one notable point is that the juniors tried their best to cheer loudly and 报时 constantly, which made me feel really grateful. However, regretfully due to time constraints, we were unable to play volleyball. Lastly, we had to build a dome tent. However, the twist was that everyone, except the PL and PS, had to be blindfolded. After a few minutes, it was clear that the PL and PS were struggling, so the Y1s were allowed to take their blindfolds off. I felt that since I was blindfolded and had nothing to do, I could have taken the initiative to cheer for the patrol, since the PL and PS were preoccupied with guiding the others. This would have boosted the patrol morale and we could have completed the dome tent at a faster speed. All in all, it was a fruitful PA session and I'm glad to have picked up some tips from this experience.
Published by:
Chen Wei
48th Batch Secretary
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