Patrol Activity, 19 July 2021

 Hi Guides!

The following are some reflections from the various patrol members for this week’s Patrol Activity. 

Reflection from a Year 2 in P1: 

On Monday, our seniors had planned for us to do lash training on spars, play volleyball and build a fireman ladder. But we did not manage to do everything due to some problems. Four out of the six of us showed up, because of circumstances. With a lack of manpower and poor communication, it took us 18 minutes to gather our logistics, which should have been 12. Not only did we skip lash training, but we missed physical training, which was volleyball. Our seniors decided to move the agenda forward, thus we started on the fireman ladder. It took us 30 minutes to tie our lashes, but I believed it was worth it for our lashes were tight and the spars could not move. Although we still had some problems, like certain spars being too far away from each other, everyone managed to have a go. It was quite scary, but all we needed was trust in our patrol mates and the last push to jump off. Overall, although we did not accomplish what we were supposed to do, the fireman ladder was a unique experience to top off Patrol Activity, and it served as a valuable lesson to have trust in one another, even if the fireman ladder shakes.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P2: 

During this week’s Patrol Activity, we did Creative Gadgeting. We had to build a weapon, then another structure of our choice. We planned what to build quickly which saved us time. However, I could not help to build the structures as I took my vaccine, and two out of four of us could not help carry the logistics. However, my patrol mates did a great job at building the structures. We built our catapult and emergency shelter rather quickly, considering the number of our manpower. I felt we could have finished the structure more quickly if we had allocated the manpower slightly better. We also could have 报时 more. After Gadgeting, our patrol played a guessing game with cards. It was very fun and I felt that it helped us to bond more. I enjoyed this Patrol Activity a lot. 

Reflection from a Year 2 in P3: 

This Patrol Activity session was the first session that we had in semester 2, and also the first Patrl Activity session that we were alone, without any seniors to help us with the building of structures and collecting logistics. I felt I could have improved in certain areas. Firstly, on Guides knowledge. When we had to say the trekking signs, especially for months, it would often turn into a guessing game as  we were not sure. In the previous jihe, I also realised it was the case. This would be because while we studied the trekking signs, the precision was not there. Same with the remembering of logistics for standard structures. To improve from there, I think we could split up and rotate the roles on what to read up more. That way we could focus on a particular part more and remember it clearly. I would also not have to cram a lot of information and pray that I could remember all of it. I also felt we could improve on the tardiness of the structure and the tightness of the lashes as there were a few loose lashes. However, that being said, I feel that our sense of urgency was good as we could finish the structure without time extensions. It was also the first time we managed to complete a baggage rack also. We also generally did quite good in 照顾好东西 as we had little to no logistics being kapped.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P4: 

For this Monday's Patrol Activity, Patrol 5 and 4 were tasked with a treasure hunt in which we had to find post-it notes and solve the riddles and trekking signs on the post-it notes. Although we did not manage to find and solve all of the riddles and trekking signs, I think that we still did a good job as we managed to solve most of the post-its. We were also told to build a baggage rack, shoe rack and a creative structure within 50 minutes. Although we managed to complete it within the timing, I still feel that there are many ways in which we can improve. For example, we should have allocated manpower properly so that we would not have taken 30 minutes to think and complete the creative structure. Other than that, we could have 报时 more, without our seniors always asking us to 报时 throughout the entire Patrol Activity. I think that this Patrol Activity was fulfilling as I am now familiar with building structures and I get to bond with P5 and become closer with my batchmates. In conclusion, while I think that we did well, there were still areas in which we can improve on.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P5: 

During Patrol Activity on Monday, the seniors had planned a treasure hunt and Gadgeting activity for us. For the treasure hunt, we had to find post-it notes around the Media Resource Library and try our best to solve the riddles and trekking signs on them. Although we did not managed to solve or find everything in time, I feel that we did quite well as we managed to solve most of them, tried our best to include everyone and 报时 regularly. For Gadgeting, we had to build a shoe rack, baggage rack and a creative structure representing Dunman High’s 65th Anniversary. In 50 minutes, we managed to complete the baggage rack and shoe rack, however we did not manage to complete the creative structure. I feel that our sense of urgency could have been greatly improved and we could have looked at the bigger picture more often and 报时 more constantly. Our lashes could also have been improved as some of them were not tight and had to be tied again. I feel that this Patrol Activity was a good opportunity to brush up on our knowledge on standard structures. 

Reflection from a Year 2 in P6: 

During Patrol Activity today, my patrol did Gadgeting and Creative Gadgeting. During Gadgeting, we were instructed by the Year 3s to build a baggage rack. Even though we did not manage to complete building the baggage rack, it definitely helped us Year 2s and the Year 1s brush up and recall our Gadgeting skills as we did not have any 集合s or Patrol Activities for about two months. Also, the rest of the Year 2s in my patrol and I guided our Year 1s with the specific steps and communicated thoroughly with them such that they would not get confused, and I believe that this will also help to strengthen the bonds and ties between us. For Creative Gadgeting, we were told to create a structure that was never seen before in Guides but it must be inspired by a baggage rack or a shoe rack. Hence, my patrol decided to create a table and use netting to act as the table top to hold items that people would use to eat food. Creative Gadgeting allowed me to communicate more with my patrol mates and cooperate better with them. 

Hope y'all had fun for this week's Patrol Activity, and managed to bond with your patrol members!

Published by:

Pok Jing

53 届 Secretary

Skills Training, 16 July 2021

Hello Guides!

For this week’s 集合, we played some Station Games and did Gadgeting! 

Station 1: Finding Post-its

Patrol members are required to find and solve as many post-its that the station master had hidden in a classroom. Questions on the post-its are Guides-related, and for every 4 correct answers, a Guides code will be given for patrol members to decode. 

Reflection from a Year 2: 

The first station game for 集合 on Friday was the post-it station where we had to find post-its all over the classroom and subsequently solve all the questions on the post-its about our Guides knowledge, after which we would be able to get a Guides Code that we needed to decode. It was important because we have not had CCA for a rather long time, so to be able to recap our Guides knowledge like survival skills and trekking signs was a good refresher. My patrol and I had read our Guides Notes in advance so to be able to use it and apply it was very affirming and encouraged me to read my Guides Notes more as it would pay off. I was able to see what I needed to learn and memorise more and what I was confident in and that I knew. Although we have played many such games before, this post-it game was different as it tested us on more obscure Guides knowledge and also about Company-related knowledge, like naming the Patrol Leaders of the 53届. In a nutshell, the Post-It station allowed us to revise and apply our Guides knowledge and also made us learn about our Company more.

Station 2: Photo Taking

Patrol members are required to recreate as many pictures, provided by the Station Master, within a certain time. This station aims to allow patrol members to bond more since we have not met each other physically for a period of time. 

Reflection from a Year 2: 

We did photo taking for one of the Station Games on Friday. There were printed reference photos for us to imitate and we had to recreate as many poses as possible within 12 minutes. At first, there wasn't much sense of urgency and the coordination was very messy. But as time went by, some of us started stepping up more and everyone quickly finished recreating all the photos. We even managed to do an extra pose as we had extra time. This activity promotes teamwork, good leadership and communication skills. We managed to bond during this activity and look forward to more of such activities in the future.

Station 3: Lash Training

Patrol members are required to tie some basic lashes, like square lash and diagonal lash, within the standard time. This station aims to allow patrol members to make sure they are clear of how to tie the different lashes. 

Reflection from a Year 2: 

Station 3, which was lash training, allowed us to revise our lashes which we had not done in a while due to the CCA stand-down. We were given the standard timings of the lashes, square lash and diagonal lash, to individually tie the respective lash. After tying, the station master would give us feedback on our lashes. I felt that this way of lash training was a great decision as it was not as tiring and stressful as ordinary lash training, and we could get personalised feedback about our own lashes, not generalised feedback for the entire patrol. However, we could have 报时 more in order to keep everyone on task and to remind each other of the time we have left to keep us all working fast. I was able to find out the commonly made errors while tying my lashes, such as accidentally overlapping the 白绳 or having one more or one less 白绳 than required on each side of the diagonal lash. In this way, I would be more cautious when tying my lashes next time not to make the same mistakes. Station 3 was one of the more intensive stations, but I felt it was necessary and helpful in making an essential Guides skill better.

Station 4: Emergency Shelter

Patrol members are required to build a standard Emergency Shelter. The assigned PL and PS should step up to lead the patrol. Hence, it trains their leadership skills to look at the bigger picture and allocate manpower well.

Reflection from a Year 2:

During 集合 last Friday, one of the station games was to build an Emergency Shelter. I was assigned the role of the Patrol Leader for that station. Hence, I had to speak up much more and guide my patrol mates in the building of the Emergency Shelter, giving them instructions on what they were supposed to do. However, I am not very outspoken, so the Year 3s had to prompt me to suggest something to change about the structure and I plucked up my courage and continued to lead my patrol in completing the Emergency Shelter. Also, since we did not have 集合s for almost two months, this station game allowed us to recall how to build an Emergency Shelter, which is a crucial skill in Guides. When my patrol and I were building the Emergency Shelter, we also had to take note of the time that we spent on finishing each part of the Emergency Shelter and have a greater sense of urgency. Overall, I think that this station was very meaningful to me as I had the opportunity to step up and lead others. 

Station 5: Signal Fire

Patrol members are required to light a signal fire, and everyone has the chance to try and start the fire. This is a good learning opportunity especially for the Year 1s as this is their first time lighting a signal fire. This station will help the Year 1s and Year 2s to be more familiar with how to light a signal fire.

Reflection from a Year 2:

On Friday, one station that stood out amongst the rest was the signal fire station. For one, most of my patrol were afraid of fire, so we were hesitant and did not practice our sense of urgency at first. Since we were on a time limit, we picked up the matchsticks and tried lighting the 木麻黄. One obstacle was not lighting the fire easily, as the matchsticks would get extinguished. After a few tries, we managed to light the 木麻黄. Another obstacle would be 清理场地 as we and other patrols before poured too much water on the newspapers. We could only sweep the water into the drain nearby to ensure it would not splash when other patrols behind us complete this station. Overall, I believe this station boosted our confidence and courage as well as helping us recap on how to handle fires.

Station 6: First Aid

Patrol members are required to perform standard first aid on their Patrol Leader, for example arm sling, head and jaw bandage and ankle bandage. This station helps patrol members to familiarise themselves with first aid skills and allows them to try bandaging others by themselves.

Reflection from a Year 2:

The last station, First Aid, was my personal favourite out of all the 6 stations. This is because my batch mates and I had prepared very thoroughly for our First Aid knowledge and tried our best to remember it. Thus, when we were able to put our knowledge to the test and apply it to a “real-life” situation, it was very fulfilling as we were confident of our abilities and we knew exactly what to do, like the Head and Jaw Bandage, Ankle  Sprain Bandage and the Arm Sling. To be able to do something well due to our hard work was highly worthwhile and gave us the encouragement to read up more on our Guides Notes. Not only could we get to apply our skills in real life, not just in theory, we were able to get valuable feedback from our seniors. For example, for the head bandage, we could have tucked in the excess a little more so that it would not be sticking out and be uncomfortable for the casualty. Without getting the opportunity to use the First Aid knowledge in real life, we would have never found out about the hidden problems and issues that may come with it. Overall, the First Aid Station was very meaningful to my patrol as we could complete the tasks of bandaging and checking for response quickly without exceeding the time given.

Gadgeting (Indoor Fire Altar) 

This activity aims to allow Guides to practice their lashes through building a structure they rarely did before. This is a structure that is usually used for outdoor cooking. We hope that even without carrying out outdoor cooking itself, the Year 1s and Year 2s familiarise themselves with this structure. 

Reflection from a Year 1: 

Making the fire altar was rather challenging at first. If I remember correctly, there were a lot of square lashes. There was also a zinc plate, something I have never seen before. I think there were areas for improvement too. We could open the tripods wider, tie the 中短木 to the zinc plate higher so it is more functional to cook and attach the zinc plate to the 中短木 first before connecting the 2 tripods with 长木. I hope that we can improve on this in the future. I also think that the Year 3s have helped a lot as they looked for areas we could improve on. I felt quite happy that we were almost done with the fire altar and we only had the zinc plate left to fasten when the time was up. I think that we worked quite well as a team as we managed to get most of the things done. We also managed to prevent our things from getting kapped by our seniors.

Reflection from a Year 2: 

The building of the Indoor Fire Altar was an eye-opening experience for my batch mates as it was the first time for all of us to be leading our juniors to making a structure all by ourselves without the Year 3s. At first, I felt quite helpless and confused as we had very little experience making an Indoor Fire Altar. However, my patrol and I were able to overcome this and we worked together and tried our best in completing it. Although we were not able to finish the structure, it was a valuable lesson for all of us because we had not yet faced this kind of fast-paced, mass gadgeting while leading our Year 1s at the same time. I felt that it was quite difficult to get the Year 1s to 报时 as some of them were rather shy; thus, I realised that encouraging them and pushing them to 报时 more would be an effective way to get them to do it. Personally, it was because of doing it many many times that made 报时 something that came very natural to me, so I believe that it would be a good way to help the Year 1s 报时 more frequently and louder. We also learnt the importance of working quickly and with a sense of urgency, as we exceeded the time limit and yet were not able to complete the structure, something I feel rather regretful about. Overall, the building of the Indoor Fire Altar was a lesson in not just Guides hard skills like lashes, but also a lesson in soft skills like communication and a sense of urgency.

Creative Gadgeting (Catapult):

This activity allows the Year 2s to step up and lead their patrol in building this creative structure they never did before. We hope that this would be a good opportunity for the Year 2s to improve on their communication skills.

Reflection from a Year 1:

The catapult was so fun to make! It was my second time building a catapult. I liked tying the square lashes but I think I can work on making them tighter. It was fun working with everyone to make the structure even though we didn’t end up finishing it. I think that we can improve on working faster because then we would have time to finish it up. The hardest part was remembering to 报时 constantly. I can also work on my diagonal lashes as I always forget how to do them properly. The skills used to build the catapult are also handy to use in real life which adds more value to building this structure. Overall I think the catapult is a very interesting thing to build. It was fun to make and I would definitely want to build something like this again. I was glad to experience this.

Reflection from a Year 2: 
Building the catapult was a unique experience as it was a new structure that we did not build before. We were quite lost sometimes but building the structure under my patrol mate's instruction was still fun and required lots of teamwork. It was a great chance to recap on our hard skills. I think that we could have worked faster and our lashes could have definitely been more tighter. We also could have asked our patrol mate more questions on the details of the structure so that we would be more efficient in building it. We could have allocated manpower better and made sure the Year 1s had a chance to 报时 and build more of the structure. I hope that we can finish the structure next time if we have the chance to build it again. I'm sure that playing with the catapult after we finished building it would be enjoyable.  

We hope that everyone had fun while refreshing on their hard skills and soft skills from today’s 集合!

Published by:
Pok Jing
53届 Secretary