Skills Training, 26 April

Hello Guides!

For this 集合, the Year 3s were away due to Patrol Leader Training Camp(PLTC), so only the Year 1s and 2s were present!

Physical Training(PT)

We began the 集合 with circuit PT, which consists of:

1. 15 burpees
2. 20 jumping jacks
3. 2 minutes 站马
4. 2 minutes leg raise

5. 1 stretch of lunges along the GSL

Treasure Hunt
For this activity, post-it notes were pasted around Block F, levels 1 to 4. On each post-it note, a riddle or a question related to Guides will be written. There will be a letter and a number written on the corner of each post-it to indicate the riddle or question numbers. The Year 1s and 2s will be going around these 4 levels to look for the post-it notes and solve them. They are not allowed to take down the post-it notes. However, there will be no point system, as this is meant to check the juniors’ level of understanding on things about Guides, while allowing them to have fun. After the treasure hunt, the answers to the Guides-related questions will be shared so that the juniors can clear any misconceptions or reaffirm their understanding.

Riddles

Number	Riddle	Answer
R1	There is a green house. Inside the green house, there is a white house. Inside the white house, there is a red house. Inside the red house, there are many babies. What is it?	A watermelon
R2	There is a one-storey pink house. Everything in the pink house is pink. The walls are pink, the doors are pink, the floors are pink, the furniture are all pink. What colour are the stairs?	There are no stairs, as this is a one-storey house!
R3	Take some out of me, and I become whole. What word am I?	Wholesome
R4	I am the difference between a grieving wife and a view into the outside world. What am I?	The letter ‘n’
R5	What comes once in a year, twice in a week and never in a day?	The letter “e”
R6	I can be cracked, I can be made, I can be told, I can be played. What am I?	A joke.
R7	The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?	Footsteps.
R8	What has a head, a tail, is silver/gold, and has no legs?	A penny/coin.
R9	When does Christmas come before Thanksgiving?	In the dictionary.
R10	What has many keys, but can't even open a single door?	A piano.

Questions

Number	Question	Answer
Q1	What are the logistics needed to build a Kitchen Shelter?	Canvas sheet, 1 深蓝木, 2 红木, 4 青木, 8 arthurs, metal mallet and 麻绳
Q2	How do you make a signal fire?	Start 3 fires that are equidistant from each other (i.e. in an equilateral triangle)
Q3	Name the 6 patrols in our company.	P1 Bougainvillea, P2 Ixora, P3 Jasmine, P4 Orchid, P5 Sunflower, P6 Morning Glory
Q4	State 3 Guide Laws.	State any of the 3 below: 1.A Guide is loyal and can be trusted. 2.A Guide is useful and helps others. 3.A Guide is polite, considerate and respects her elders. 4.A Guide is friendly and a sister to all Guides. 5.A Guide is kind to all living things. 6.A Guide is obedient. 7.A Guide has courage and is cheerful in all difficulties. 8.A Guide takes care of her own possessions and those of other people. 9.A Guide is thrifty and diligent. 10.A Guide is self-disciplined in what she thinks, says and does.
Q5	What is the Guide Motto?	Be Prepared
Q6	What are the logistics needed to build an 8-men tent?	1 8-men tent, 20 tent pegs, 白绳, rubber mallet
Q7	What is the order of materials placed in a bottle filter column?	Charcoal, fine sand, coarse sand, pebbles
Q8	How do you treat a muscle cramp?	1. Gently stretch the affected muscle in the opposite direction 2. Massage the area 3. Hold the stretch until the cramp is relieved
Q9	State the importance of water	1. Unclean water results in dysentery and other diseases 2.  Insufficient water results in heat stroke 3. No water results in death
Q10	Name 3 suitable sites for building a shelter	1.Reasonably flat and free of rocks 2.Away from swampy areas 3.Medium ground 4.Close to food and water supply 5.Avoid solitary trees 6. Look out for bees or hornets nest

Capture the Flag

After PT, the Year 1s and 2s engaged in a game of Capture the Flag. They were separated into two teams, with roughly the same number of members. The two teams would place their flags on different floors and the playing area was limited to just those two floors. Each team will get either a duct tape or masking tape, taped onto the sleeve of their shirts. When the opposing team manage to tear of the tape on a member’s shirt, the member will have to go to the “jail”, which is “guarded” by the station masters. Members in “jail” will have to stay put. If they answer the question correctly, they will be allowed to leave with a new tape. But if they fail to correctly answer the question, they will have to wait for another minute before they have a chance to answer another question. At any one point in time, not more than 4 people is allowed to protect their own flag ie 3 metres from their flag. Should anyone be seen engaging in rough play, the Y4s will send them to “jail” as well.

Questions	Answers
When is World Thinking Day?	22nd February
What does WAGGGS stand for?	World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
What is the importance of a shelter?	Protection from natural elements, protection from wild animals and personal privacy
What is the treatment for a sprain?	1. Rest the injured part. 2. Ice the injury to reduce swelling 3. Compress with thick layer of soft padding 4. Elevate and support the injured part to reduce flow of blood to injury, minimizing bruising to the area
Name one area where a large arm sling can be used.	Any of the below options: Forearm Upper arm Shoulder blade Elbow

PDP Performance Planning

As Passing Down Parade(PDP) was coming up, we decided to give the Year 1s and 2s some time to plan out what they would do for PDP so that they could prepare in advance.

Creative Gadgeting

For creative gadgeting, each patrol had to build something that they felt represented their patrol. As PLTC was ongoing at the same time, there were limited logistics that they could use, which added an extra challenge for the patrols as their structure had to be simple, yet effectively convey their message.

Here are some reflections from the Year 2s on the 集合 as a whole!

The skills training 集合 on 26 April was a really different experience for me. It was pretty nerve wracking to not have my patrol’s Year 2s and 3s to help, since I was not very experienced. When the year 1s and I did gadgeting to create something to represent our patrol, we ran out of time quickly for we did not manage our time well and spent too much time on discussing how to make the structure. This led to our lashes ending up loose and the entire structure becoming shaky. I’ve learnt that it’s important to work efficiently such that we have sufficient time to build our ideal structure. We also had physical training which I felt I lacked fitness in, and capture the flag where I got to work with the my fellow Year 1 and 2 Guides in teams to capture the flag. It improved and strengthened the bond between us and the year 1s, and I’ve understood how important it is to work as a team with fellow guides and listen to their opinions well so that we don’t end up in arguments. This 集合 benefited me in ways such as discovering more to teamwork and working efficiently.

We did PT and completed 2 sets of the PT that was required to do . We kept our morale up by cheering all the way through. I feel that the PT session has made the Year 1s and 2s improve their stamina and endurance because although we were tired, we still managed to continue on. After the PT session, we played capture the flag, in which we had to take one another’s flag and return it back to the home base. Initially, we started small and played on the opposite sides of each level , but we then moved on to play on both levels 5 and 6 and on each level there was a flag of the opposing team. It was a fun game that allowed us to relax. This activity also helped the Year 2s to bond more with the Year 1s and know them better as we had to work with them to take the flag from the other team. We were given some time to brain storm and come up with ideas to represent our patrol for creative gadgeting. Although we were limited by the little 木 available, we were able to come up with creative ideas. We had to introduced it to the other patrols, together with the rationales. I felt that coming up with ideas were rather difficult given the limited mu and the amount of time and we had to change and alter our ideas several times when building our gadget. However this was the condition that helped us exercise our creativity and adapt to the situation with the limited mu and build a structure that was satisfactory. It also trained our quick thinking as we were given little time to think about what we were going to build, thus training our sense of urgency. Through this activity, we have also bonded with the Year 4s as we had opportunities to talk to them when they were seeing over us and it was great fun.
During the 集合 without the Year 3s, I felt the responsibility on us. We had to lead the Year Ones and help them when they were not sure what to do. This provided us with the opportunity to step up and hone our leadership skills, responsibility as well as put the skills we learnt through our guiding journey to the test because the year ones were depending on us. This 集合 also provides us with the opportunity to bond through games which were very interesting. All in all, I am very happy that gained a lot of experience during this 集合.

Hope that the Year 1s and 2s found this 集合 meaningful!

Published by:

Hoong Yu Ning

50th Batch Secretary

Patrol Activity, 15 April

Hello Guides!

On 15 April, we had Patrol Activity(PA)! Here are some reflections from the Year 3s of each patrol!

Reflection by a Year 3 of Patrol 1:

On today's PA, the Year 3s and Year 2s were supposed to teach the Year 1s the steps to build a baggage rack and an emergency shelter. We took a longer time than expected to complete the building of the baggage rack and emergency shelter due to two main reasons, specifically because of the fact that we took the wrong type of logistics and that we have to also ensure the fact that the Year 1s understood the procedures to build the baggage rack. I have learnt the importance of allocating manpower more evenly so as to complete building of numerous items at the same time. Afterwards, the Year 3s and Year 2s also taught the Year 1s on the steps to build a dome tent. I felt that it had also served as good practice for us Year 3s as we would be going for PLTC the following week and it would thus be beneficial for us to brush up on our skills to build a dome tent which will be our sleeping accommodation during the camp. In conclusion, I felt that this PA has allowed me to brush up my hard skills just in time before PLTC.

Reflection by a Year 3 of Patrol 2:

On 15 April, we did Outdoor Cooking with P4. First, we built an indoor fire altar. We lacked in our sense of urgency and did not manage to build it in the expected amount of time, reducing our time we had to set up the fires and cook our food. Furthermore, we did not pick the correct type of twigs and thus had a very hard time starting and sustaining the fire. We were quite frustrated in our futile efforts and was quite disappointed in our performance. We ended up not able to set up our fires and overall we did not perform very well.

Reflection by a Year 3 of Patrol 4:

On Monday's PA, we had outdoor cooking! It was very fun teaching the Year 1s how to do outdoor cooking as it was their first time. However, we 过时ed for the building of the fire altar, and also forgot to retrieve some logistics, resulting in time being wasted. I think this is something crucial to be improved as it helps to save time and ensure things are going according to plan. When we first started the fire, it was difficult to sustain it as many of the twigs were waxy. However, this helped to remind all of us that we should not pick purple or waxy twigs as they do not burn well. Other than that, the Year 1s has the chance to try sustaining and lighting the fire, as well as roasting marshmallows over the flame. We even cooked instant noodles, where we boiled it in a mess tin. Along the way, we taught the Year 1s some details and things to take note of such as to add the twigs in an ‘X’ shape and to not suffocate the flame. Overall, i was glad that we had fun and bonded as a patrol during this outdoor cooking session.

Reflection by a Year 3 of Patrol 5:

My patrol had a combined PA activity with P3 to build structures with spars. We were split evenly into two groups. My group was assigned to build a kitchen table, while the other group was assigned to build a kitchen shelter. However, after we have gathered our logistics and started building the frames, the lightning alert sounded. We were hence forced to move indoors. Because of the limited space and height of the indoor venue, we were forced to improvise to solve the problems we have encountered. For the kitchen table, one of the tripods were too tall to fit in the indoor area. We had to retie that tripod. However, after we had tied most of the parts of the kitchen table, we realised that that tripod was extremely loose, but we have done most of the tying and there was not enough time to take down whatever we have been tying for the past hour and to rebuild the structure. Hence, we improvised by tying 木 strategically to that loose tripod. In the end, even though our structure was not exactly stable, it was much more stable than before. Through this, i have learnt the importance and necessity of improvising, as the weather is something that cannot be controlled and that it would affect any outdoor activities we would be conducting. Hence, for the activity to continue, we would need to know how to improvise to make use of the time we have left.

Reflection by a Year 3 of Patrol 6:

On Monday, my PA was to build a kitchen shelter in 50 minutes. After gathering all the required logistics, we began. For the first 25 minutes, I personally felt that I worked too slowly with little motivation. In addition due to the lightning alert, we had to move our kitchen shelter elsewhere, which was pretty tiring considering that we had more or less finished our mainframe. During the next 25 minutes given, I was glad that I had a greater sense of urgency and completed the structure more efficiently with good quality. Overall, I was quite disappointed in myself for this PA. Although I did improve in the end, my working speed and attitude could've been much better as a whole. This is one of our last few PAs and I should have put in more effort to make it more memorable.

Hope that this was an enjoyable PA for all!

Published by:

Hoong Yu Ning

50th Batch Secretary