Hi Guides!
To start this year off, we collaborated with the Scouts to prepare for this year’s Year 1 CCA Exhibition! This year, we had Orientation Preparation for 3 days to make sure everything was up to standard. Here are the following Committees where our fellow Guides are involved: Pioneering, Gadgeting, Games, Decoration, Souvenir, Presentation.
We 集合 at 7.00am for flag raising and to finish up preparation work. Afterwards, the first shift of ushering started at 8.30am.
Pioneering:
For pioneering comm, they planned and executed building the Pioneering Ship structure to showcase our creativity in Pioneering.
Reflection from a Year 2 in Pioneering:
This was my first time helping to prepare for a CCA orientation so I was not very sure what to expect. When I found out we were building a ship I was pretty excited, but I did not know if we could finish it in three days. It seemed like a good challenge nonetheless.
We first got to work on the frames and the masts, tying a lot of diagonal lashes, measuring and retying. I found it hard to maintain tension in my lashes and had to retie most of them. Over the three days, I got much better at it. Pulling at the 麻绳 so hard for hours was not easy, but it was satisfying when I found that the lashes were tight. I also helped with the ladder, which was made up of square lashes which I was much more familiar with.Our ICs were very good with making sure everything got done properly and smoothly. However, I also found myself standing around and not doing anything useful sometimes, so I should have stepped up more and asked my ICs what I could do to help instead. When we finally assembled everything, the structure started to look more like a ship. We decorated the masts and put them and the ladder up. Then we put the floorboards on the top so someone could climb onto it and secured them with clove hitches. But this was actually quite difficult because we had to pull the string from between the boards and the 木. On the day of the CCA orientation the ship was fully decorated, and I was surprised to see how professional it looked and felt like our efforts had paid off. I would definitely have considered joining Guides if I saw that as a year 1. Overall it was very fun to work together with everyone to build.
Reflection from a Year 3 in Pioneering:
For Orientation preparation this year, I was in the Pioneering Committee and the role I played was a senior to the year 2s as well as a junior to the year 4s. During this year’s OP, I felt that I had another chance to contribute to the CCA as Pioneering structures would be a main part that attracts juniors to join the CCA. I got to experience what would be expected from us next year if we were to be leading a committee. From this experience, I also got a chance to practice my pioneering skills so that other pioneering structures that I would build in CCA would be up to standard and stable. I did not know that pioneering could be used to build such creative structures such as the ship we built this year so this was also an eye-opening experience for me. However, I feel that I can also improve on the tightness of my lashes as we had to 重抽 the lashes many times, which we would not have needed to if the lashes were already tight in the first place. Another thing that I can improve on is also my sense of urgency and the time I use to tie my lashes. Because we did not tie the lashes quick enough and also because we had to 重抽 many times, we were behind schedule most of the time. Hence I think that I could improve mainly on my lashes. Lastly, I think that this year’s OP was very fun and enriching, as well as tiring. However, since I was in the pioneering committee for two years already, I hope to be able to join another committee next year so that I can get to experience different opportunities in my Guiding journey.
Gadgeting:
For Gadgeting comm, they built some of the standard structures which represented the memorable experience we have in Guides. Some of the creative gadgets, like the Ferris Wheel, also reflect our PLTC journey.
Reflection from a Year 2 in Gadgeting:
For this year's orientation preparation, I felt that it was fulfilling as I learnt how to build many new structures and met many new people from Scouts as well. For my group, we built a dustbin and a shoe rack. Although we did not manage to perfect and complete the structure, I definitely learnt a lot about the design and the Gadget poles used to make the structure. These activities have allowed me to familiarise myself with different lashes and structure. Even though I was only there for one session, I had fun and also hoped that the y1s had fun looking at the unique structures we made. I found the OP session quite enjoyable and interesting and I felt that the y1s would definitely be intrigued by our structures! However, we did face some challenges along the way, which included not having enough Gadget poles or taking the wrong length of Gadget poles. We overcame it along the way and learnt many new skills. The session might not have been the easiest but we all enjoyed it and learnt many new hard and soft skills, etc. We got to practise tying our lashes and also learnt about teamwork and communication as we had to work with Scouts we had never met before. I also learned to be more patient since the structure was slanted and we had to keep readjusting it and making sure that it was straight. The seniors were also kind to us and constantly gave us helpful feedback. They set a good example for us and I really admired that. I hope that next year’s OP would be better than this year and I hope I could participate more as I was not available for most sessions. Most importantly I hope that next year’s OP will be as successful as this year’s!
Reflection from a Year 3 in Gadgeting:
Orientation preparation 2022 was fairly familiar in some aspects and yet a brand new experience we could learn new hard and soft skills from. As this is the second year I was assigned to the Gadgeting comm, there were certain procedures I knew before, and the prior experience proved useful to leading my Year Two juniors to complete structures. However, the creative structure my group was assigned to this year was vastly different from what we were familiar with and it took us four to five attempts of trial and error to finally complete the presentable structure. We were assigned to build the dustbin, but as the dustbin is a rectangular structure, unlike the tripod or quadpod, measurements had to be very precise in order for the structure to be stable and look like a box. We eventually learnt this through carbon-copying the frames and assigning Gadget poles of the correct length to ensure there is sufficient Gadget poles of sufficient length for the whole structure to prevent adjusting and 重抽-ing repeatedly. This taught me much patience and resilience, to look into past mistakes in order to improve and become closer to success. Apart from that, the seniors were also very helpful to us, especially since our group lacked manpower. This inspired me to become a senior in the future who is able to teach my juniors and allow them to grow without spoon-feeding but at the same time providing adequate support, resources, and planning. Furthermore, one area for improvement that I could work on would be stepping up and giving clear instructions to juniors so they would not feel lost. This way, we can work faster as a team and prevent over-running as a way of cooperating with our seniors as well. Nevertheless, OP’22 was an overall enjoyable experience and I look forward to next year’s OP. I hope we will be able to plan and carry out an OP as successful as this year’s.
Games:
For the Games comm, they designed some innovative games which definitely made the year 1s fascinated about how we apply our lashes into building something impressive.
Reflection from a Year 2 in Games:
Orientation Preparation’22 was fun and exciting as it was my first time working together with the Scouts and having the Young Adults as mentors. During OP, I helped out with the building of the Games’ structures, and the game booth. The process was enjoyable but tiring at the same time. The seniors had high expectations of us as all of us wanted OP’22 to be a success. Throughout OP, I remembered vividly that we had to tie a lot of square lashes as well as diagonal lashes on our structures. I felt that this was indeed a good chance for me to improve on my lashing skills. We also did lash training midway through OP as our lashes were not up to standard and not tight. The seniors were extremely patient with us and they taught us new techniques to tighten our lashes such as 抽-ing tighter, wrapping the 麻绳 or 白绳 around our hands and pulling tightly, and holding tensions to ensure the 麻绳 or 白绳 does not get loosened. I believe that I have benefitted a lot from OP experience. These benefits include learning new techniques to tighten my lashes, developing new friendships with my peers in Guides and learning soft skills like teamwork and communication. However, there are always two sides to a coin. Although I have gained new insights and benefits from OP, I felt that there were also multiple things that I could improve on. In future, I want to improve on tying my lashes tighter as well as speaking out more and taking the initiative to do the next thing. I also learnt that I should 报时 more and when I 报时, I have to be more confident and 报时 louder for the whole 团 or patrol to hear. I hope that next year’s OP will be a success and that all of us will step up more and have a more positive attitude in helping out with OP.
Reflection from a Year 3 in Games:
In this years' Orientation Preparation, I was mainly grouped with the Year 2s and had to teach some of them the basic lashes when trying to tie the catapult or the Basketball games in the Games Comm. It felt different as we were no longer the youngest taking part in OP. Hence, being the older batch we have to be there to guide the Year 2s. There has been a significant improvement from my standards last year but I can still definitely improve on them. I feel like I have tried my best to 抽 some of my lashes and have become more confident after the lash training with the Young Adults. I have definitely benefited from this year's OP as I have learnt how to tighten the lashes on the spars for pioneering and received some tips from the Young Adults. Other than that, I have also benefited as I learnt what it felt like to have to teach the Year 2s more and it gave me a sense of what becoming 领导层 would be like. I feel like I can still improve on my lashes, especially my A-架, tripod and quadpod lashes, on both Gadgeting poles and spars.To do so, I could borrow 木 from 团部 more often then bring them home to practice. I also was reminded multiple times by the Year 4s and hence I have learnt to 报时 more often, and I feel that can try to improve on this point. I should not wait for the constant reminders and can 报时 more on my own, taking initiative to remind my patrol mates if they forget. I am definitely excited for the next OP at the end of this year as it means that we could have more collaborations between the Scouts and Guides. However, I am equally worried as it means that we would have to plan and supervise the entirety of OP as we would be the ICs for the next OP. I feel like most of my batch is still not as confident and ready to be given such a huge responsibility, especially since this is what we would be showing to the Year 1s next year. All in all, I feel that this year’s OP has been very rewarding as a whole.
Decoration:
The Decoration comm was in charge of making the structures look aesthetically pleasing to attract their interest to our structures. The committee was mainly in-charge of designing the respective signboards and the welcome board.
Reflection from a Year 2 in Decoration:
In Decoration comm, I helped to decorate the boards by painting and writing on it and also helped to make crepe paper flowers. I think two things I have benefited from Orientation Preparation is teamwork and clear communication. I think they are very important as it helps us to complete our roles efficiently and correctly. At first, because of some misunderstanding, we accidentally painted the patrol flowers in the wrong colour. In the end, we had to redraw them and paste the drawings of each flower on top of the initial work that we have done. It wasted quite some time doing the same thing twice and we could have done more things and helped out more if it was not for that mistake. Hence, we learnt that clear communication is very important. Teamwork is also necessary in Decoration comm as we need to split the roles accordingly so as to finish our job in the least amount of time but at the same time do a good work on our part. I learnt how to bond better with my batchmates and made friends with them. I think I can improve on doing a better job in my role, like for example, learning techniques on how to paint properly so that the board could look more presentable and more appealing. I would want to be better at drawing so I could help to draw the flowers and help the seniors. I could also work on efficiency and be able to finish my work faster so I could lend a helping hand to those who are rushing their boards. I hope that next year’s OP can be as fun and as enjoyable as this year as I definitely loved the experience and I look forward to OPs that has to come!
Reflection from a Year 3 in Decoration:
This year, for Orientation Preparation, I was put in Decoration comm. I played more of a follower role, as I am not the best at art. For day 1, I mainly did the folding of crepe flowers, and helped paint the banner that was on the pioneering ship. For day 2, I helped with the drawing of the various components of the signboards, as well as the waterproofing of them. On the last day, I helped with the final assembly of the display signs. With this experience, I managed to learn more on how the preparation of the decorations was made for CCA exhibition. I also learned how the decorations were done. It also was an eye opening experience for me as I managed to learn to be better at art and how certain types of art were done. For example, before the activity, I did not know how to fold a crepe flower or how to decorate a plastic board. However, after Orientation Preparation, I now know how to. I also have a better understanding of the process and the steps that are taken. However, I think I can also improve in quite a few areas as well. For instance, the sense of urgency. For the drawing of the letters on the signboard, I took a long time to draw them out. Moreover, when tying the tripod, the middle 木 was not tight enough and had to be retied. I feel that the slow pace of working could be because we did not 报时 enough, and for the lash, I could have held tension better. I also need to work on my artistic skills, as I am not good at drawing or sketching, which would contribute to the slow progress made. Finally, for next years orientation, I hope that we would be able to do an equally good job as the year before.
Souvenir:
For Souvenir comm, they made souvenirs such as goodie bags to give out to the Year 1s which would get them excited about our CCA. They also designed pamphlets to help the Year 1s learn more about Guides, so that they can make an informed decision about whether to join the CCA.
Reflection from a Year 2 in Souvenir:
During Orientation Preparation, I felt that we all had to work together as everyone had to pack the goodie bags as a team. I feel that being in Souvenir comm has allowed me and my comm members to strengthen our friendship. I also managed to get to know the other Guides and Scouts whom I might not have met before. I feel that OP has also taught me that teamwork is important for us to be able to complete our tasks on time but with standard. We managed to work together and split the workload equally amongst each other. I feel that we can improve on 报时 to allow us to better manage our time and not 过时. We also need to ask for a time extension when we need it. Even though we were not constant with our 报时, the seniors were patient and did not scold us but instead reminded us. I feel that we can also speak more in our groups while doing the work to allow us to know each other better as we were too quiet. I am excited for next year's OP as I would like to know more of the other Scouts and Guides as we rarely spend time together doing anything. I think that this is a good opportunity to make more friends beyond our patrol and beyond our CCA. I think OP is also a good chance to allow us to play our part as seniors to welcome the Year 1s to our CCA. OP was also an eye opener as we do not usually do the stuff we do in OP during normal CCA sessions. For example, we had to wrap books and pack goodie bags. We also learnt how to make key chains for the Year 1s.
Reflection from a Year 3 in Souvenir:
Being in the Souvenir comm was really fun as I got to work with people from different patrols and even the Scouts as we usually do not have CCA with the Scouts. I was really happy that other people in Souvenir worked really fast because we finished everything on time and sometimes even earlier than planned. I am glad the seniors continuously managed to find something for us to do because when it was day 2 we were running out of stuff to do since we finished a lot on day 1. I also learnt a lot through Souvenir comm as I now know how to use 白绳 to make nice keychains and I learnt how to make bookmarks using ribbons and paper. It was undoubtedly fun to be in Souvenir comm because I had an opportunity to draw designs on paper bags, pack them as well as wrap books. Another thing i learnt in souvenir comm is using different ways to fit objects into bags as we had some trouble storing the souvenirs after making them. However, the seniors managed to find ways to fit them into the small bags we had which was very smart of them. I am also really glad we managed to finish everything up before day 3 was over. The seniors led us to other committees to help out, but unfortunately the other committees had sufficient manpower.
In my opinion, it was still a very fruitful day. One thing that we can improve on is that we should 计时 more often. Because we did not 计时, we often 过时 and also forgot to ask for time extension. Other than that, we could have also socialised with other people from different patrols and the Scouts too. In a nutshell, being in OP was a fun experience for all and I hope to contribute next year too.
Presentation:
The presentation committee was tasked to share more details about our CCA for the year 1s to consider. They help to provide more information about what we do during our CCA, our CCA dates, etc.
Reflection from a Year 4 in Presentation:
Being in Presentation comm was a great opportunity. It was a chance for me to improve my presentation skills, for me to be able to bring forward my point to the audience better, and for me to be more confident. Even though I felt that I messed up the presentation a lot of times, I felt it was a great learning opportunity. From the presentations, I was able to tell that when I mess up my script, I would panic, and this would lead to me forgetting my script, and not being able to be confident. I hope that I will be able to overcome this weakness, and not be scared of making mistakes. I was rather sad that we were not able to practise during OP, as I wanted to make sure I was able to present without worries, but I was happy to be able to present at least once to the seniors, to receive feedback. I am very happy to be in Presentation comm.
We hope that everyone had fun preparing for this CCA exhibition, and in turn fostered stronger bonds between the Scouts and Guides. We also hope that more Year 1s would be interested in joining our Guiding family!
Published by:
Pok Jing
53届 Secretary
No comments:
Post a Comment