For this week's 集合, the Year 1s and 2s worked on initiatives, also known as Badge Work, while the Year 3s and 4s completed a WAGGGS Activity!
Badge Work
The Year 1s and 2s earned their Speaker's Badge, Entertainer's Badge and Writer's Badge!
Speaker's Badge
Only the Year 1s worked on this badge, and were given a passage, and 5 minutes to prepare before reading it out loud to the Guiders. They were also given a topic to discuss with the Guiders about for around 3 minutes.
Entertainer's Badge
Each patrol came up with 2 different performances, each lasting at least 5 minutes. They could perform anything they wished to, as long as it was entertaining.
Writer's Badge
They had to write an original story between 1,000 to 1,500 words. The Year 1s and 2s were also tasked to write 10 minute skit that could be performed for the school, a short poem in recognised verse form, an article or campfire yarn of about 250 words or an essay about a Guide, whom need not be famous, but someone present in your Guiding life whom you admire. Both tasks were to be completed within 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Reflections from a Year 2:
During this badge work activity, I wrote a performance with the year ones that consists of two separate performances lasting around five minutes. for the first performance we did a song and for the second we did a skit about an arm wrestling contest. As most patrols didn’t meet the five minute criteria, we had to perform a Chinese Guide song. We split ourselves into two groups and sang two separate songs. For the last activity, I wrote a 1000-1500 original story and a poem. Overall, I enjoyed badge work as I got to bond with the year ones. Along the way we faced some challenges such as what performance to come up with as not all of us listen to the same genre of songs and thus don’t have one that we all knew. so it was decided amongst the batches, as we all faced a similar problem, that if any of us sang any guide songs, everyone would sing along a song most of the year ones didn’t know any yet. Another problem I faced was that I didn't know what story to come up with, as writing original stories on the spot is quite challenging. In the end I managed to think of one that I wrote as a kid and tweaked it so as to add more description and content. I enjoyed this part as I do like writing stories and this activity helped to push me to make use of my creativity within a short span of time. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience that I would love to have again.
World Thinking Day 2020 Activity Pack
The theme for this year's World Thinking Day is Living Threads: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Diversity refers to the level of difference represented within a group. Inclusion requires people to value, respect and accept diversity. Equity refers to fairness and equality in outcome although barriers exist for different groups of people.
Living Threads Set-Up Activity
First, we played the Living Threads Set-Up Activity. After being split into 2 groups, the Guides sat in a circle. While music was playing, a piece of 白绳 was passed around the circle. At the 3 minute mark, the music would stop, and the person holding the 白绳 was to share with the group something they want to celebrate about what makes them who they are, or something that makes them unique. Next, we discussed the meaning of diversity, equity and inclusion, and what the following quote means to us:
“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their colour.”
We talked about how these matter to us, and how our differences are valuable and contribute to the world.
Diversity Activity: The Unique Sound
The Guides were to pair up, and each pair had to create a unique sound that they share with one another. Then, the pairs were separated, and one person would close their eyes. The other person was to make the unique sound, and the person with their eyes closed had to find their partner just by listening to the sound.
Inclusion Activity: Petit Poisson Rouge (Little Red Fish in French)
In a large group, one person was chosen to be the "Little Red Fish" The playing area was a big area known as the Red Sea. The little red fish would be at one side, facing the other participants who will be the fish. The fish would stand on the opposite side of the playing area, side-by-side. The goal was for the fish to reach the designated end line behind the little red fish. The game started when the other fish asked the little red fish if they could cross the Red Sea, saying: “Little Red Fish, could we please cross the Red Sea?”
The little red fish then responded with a statement that only allows certain participants to cross.
For example, the little red fish could say: “Yes, but only if…
...you are wearing the colour____”
...you were born in the month of ____”
...you have your ears pierced”
Once they finished their statement, the little red fish could move freely in the entire playing area. The participants for whom the statements were true crossed the Red Sea in peace, without being tagged by the little red fish. All other participants needed to try to reach the other side of the Red Sea without being tagged. Any participants tagged by the little red fish joined the Red Fish team and helped to tag other participants in the following rounds. The last person who was not tagged was the winner.
Equity Activity: Chains
A team member was chosen to stand away from the group. The group had to form a big row/chain to ‘help’ their friend. They were not able to reach their friend by just linking arms, and were required to use items whatever they could (eg. using their bottles) to make the chain bigger.
In Our Hands
Firstly, we reflected on the activities we had taken part in, and their significance. Then we created bracelets using threads by weaving them together. This bracelet represented the Guiding journey we have been on and how we are connected with those around us.
My World Thinking Day Haiku
In smaller groups, we created Haikus about diversity means to us. Haikus are a form of short Japanese poetry with the following structure:
- 5 syllables
- 7 syllables
- 5 syllables
These activities have allowed us to reflect on what diversity, equity and inclusion means to us as Guides and as members of the world. We learnt that our differences are what makes us unique and that we should put aside differences to include everyone, hence celebrating diversity in the community.
Reflection from a Year 3:
On last Friday’s 集合, we were tasked to do different activities to celebrate World Thinking Day. In the first activity, we were tasked to pass around a 白绳 as music played, and when the music stops, we had to share an interesting fact about ourselves. I feel that this activity was relatively interesting, because this activity allowed us to know more about our batchmates and seniors and gave us the opportunity to bond with them.
Another memorable activity during the 集合, was the game called “Little Red Fish”, where the chosen little red fish had to state conditions/rules and people who are not categorized under these conditions would not be able to cross the red sea and had the possibility of being caught by the little red fish. This game stood out in my mind as it was not only entertaining, but we were also able to learn many things from it. From this game, I understood the important of equality in a society. When people are not given equal rights just for being different from the vast majority, they really do struggle to live or even survive. They do not receive fair treatment and are being ostracized. Hence, we need to learn and understand that others may be from greatly different backgrounds and help and support them, regardless of our differences.
Finally, we also made diversity bracelets with string which we have brought. We were given much freedom in choosing the type, colour and design of out bracelets; hence everyone came up with many different bracelets. This activity was very insightful. It taught us that while many people may seem to be different from us, at the end of day, we are all still humans and everyone should be treated with love, equality and kindness.
Reflection from a Year 3:
During this 集合, we all got to learn more about Girl Guides through the World Thinking Day activities. Firstly, we had to discuss among our groups on what a diverse society is. We all came up with different ideas and contributed an idea each but eventually we decided that it meant not to ostracise one another. After that, we played the game called Little Red Fish. In this game, the little red fish would tell us that only a certain thing we have would allow us to cross the red sea. If we do not have this certain feature, we would have to run across without being caught. I found this game especially fun. Even though the red fish is “ostracising” the other people, the rest of us worked together and eventually most of us managed to cross the river without being caught. This game allowed me to better understand the meaning of a diverse society. Following this, we got to discuss what defines us and continued to play a game called Haiku in which we had to form words with the given syllabus. This game allowed us to bond and share our different ideas with each other. Adding on, we also played this game where we would have to find a way to reach two other people that weren’t in our group without linking arms. Luckily for my group, we had a 白绳 ball with us so it was easy for us to reach the other two people. As for the other groups, they all lied down and used the items they had with them to combine together. All in all, I feel that this 集合 was very fulfilling and it made me understand about our society better.
Reflections from a Year 4:
After participating in this WAGGGS Activity, my perspective on bring inclusive towards everyone in society has changed. Although these games may not directly linked to the true learning objective, I think that most of us understood the true meaning behind playing these games and carrying out these activities. The Little Red Fish game was fun, but I also learnt that we should advocate for those who do not feel included in society just because they are part of a minority group, as they have the rights to be part of our society. I realised that although I myself may feel pretty included in society, it does not mean that there aren't others out there who struggle to fit into society. Hence, we should appreciate one another's diversity and learn more about one another's cultures and include everyone despite our differences. After sharing more about ourselves while sitting in a circle, I learnt more about my juniors and batchmates, as well as what makes them feel special and the fact that we are so different from one another in our own unique way shows that we all have our differences, which can be put aside to create a diverse, inclusive society. Overall, I have gained much insight about what we can do to make the lives of people around us better and make them feel more welcome.
We hope everyone learnt something and had fun!
Published by:
Heather
51st Batch Secretary
