Hi Guides!
For this Friday’s 集合, we had Creative Gadgeting and Contingent Training.
Creative Gadgeting:
For this activity, the patrol was tasked to come up with an interactive and innovative structure. We hope that through building creative structures, the Year 2s and Year 3s can step up and guide the new Year 1s into completing a structure as a patrol. This also gives the Year 3s an opportunity to plan out their own structure and carry it out within a stipulated time, hence they would be required to have good manpower allocation and time management. Lastly, getting different patrols to build different structures would show the Year 1s how we can actually use just gadget poles and 白绳 to build almost any structure they can imagine.
Reflection from a Year 1:
During the planning, our patrol decided to build a Basketball Game. Originally, our plan for the base consisted of four vertical 中长木 attached to horizontal 长木 as legs using square lashes, but we later realised that the structure was not stable and decided to add two diagonal 长木 to the base using diagonal lashes. The second component of the Basketball Game was the hoops. Those were made using four 短木 or half short bamboo, tied together using square lashes. One problem we encountered while tying the hoops was ensuring that the square lashes were tight so that they would be stable. At first, our plan was to attach the hoops to the main structure and to suspend them from the structure, but we later decided to use square lashes instead as we found them more stable than our original plan. Afterwards, we used some 白绳 to create the netting of the Basketball game. One of the main learning points we gained from this experience is that we should be adaptable and open to change in plans even after we have started. We should also tie our lashes tighter to ensure the structural integrity of the structures we have created.
Reflection from a Year 2:
We did Creative Gadgeting on Friday, 18 February 2022. We were given 50 minutes to build a creative structure. At first, we thought the 18 minutes were all for planning and that we had extra time to collect the logistics. However, it turned out that 18 minutes were for us to think of a structure and also to collect the necessary logistics. We definitely could have clarified the instructions with the seniors, so that we would not misunderstand the instructions given. I also think that my lashes could have been tighter, and I should definitely practise more. I think it was great that we could manage to include the Year 1s and encourage them to try to tie the lashes. I quite enjoyed teaching and helping them. We certainly could have had better time management though, since we only completed our structure after quite a few time extensions. I should also have shown the timing on my watch to the Year 1s to get them to try to 报时, instead of doing it myself all the time. Lastly, we should have thought more about the structural stability of our creative structure. Instead of using A-架, we should have used tripods, so that it is more stable, and would not keep shaking. However, I think we did well when it came to teamwork, and I hope we can improve a lot, so I hope we can do better in the next 集合.
Reflection from a Year 3:
During 集合 last Friday, we did Creative Gadgeting. We had to discuss together as a patrol what we wanted to build, and included our Year 1s into the discussion. We then had to explain the rationale of our structure to Jodi and inform her on the logistics we needed. This activity allowed us to bond with our juniors, especially with our new Year 1s, since they are quite shy and may not speak up as much. For this activity, my patrol created a floating platform where we built four tripods first before connecting the four tripods together with 白绳 and a ‘floating’ platform made out of short half bamboos rafted together. I believe that this activity allowed us to improve on our communication skills as a patrol as well as encourage our juniors to 报时 more often. We also allowed the Year 1s to tie some of the square lashes and diagonal lashes to recap on what they learnt from the Year 2s in the previous 集合s as these are some of the basic lashes in Guides. Overall, I enjoyed this activity as it allowed us to think out of the box and improvise when we had to think of ways to make our structure more stable, and I do look forward to similar activities during 集合s soon.
Contingent Training:
As the dates draw closer to the big day, World Thinking Day, it is crucial for us to be well prepared for the actual day’s procedure. As such, we conducted contingent training at the parade square with the Scouts.
Reflection from a Year 1:
On 18 February, we had our very first contingent practice. We 集合 at the Parade Square before breaking off into separate groups by levels. Firstly, the contingent taught us a lot about teamwork and coordination. We had to listen to the orders and commands given by the seniors and execute them together as a team. We had to do a lot of marching in sync which taught us about coordination. It was to make sure that our entire contingent looked neat overall. This contingent practice helped us see the meaning of the phrase “teamwork makes the dream work”. With teamwork, we managed to succeed and completed the practice even though it was the first time for a few of us. Secondly, the contingent taught us about perseverance. Even though we had to repeat the practice many times together under the hot sun, we persevered and made it to the end successfully. Lastly, the contingent taught us about time management. During our breaks, we had to 计时 on our own and make it back for another round of practice on time. This helped us learn more about time management and how we could plan and use our time wisely. I am proud of what our team has achieved together as one.
Reflection from a Year 2:
Today, we did contingent practice for the upcoming World Thinking Day. Firstly, we had to get into our respective batches and then stand in one straight line, by order of shortest to tallest. I was somewhere in the middle. Then, we numbered ourselves with either “satu” or “dua”. A few of the commands thus relied on this numbering. This was my second time practising, and the last was about a week ago. Therefore, I had trouble remembering the steps. Something I found especially hard was figuring out which leg to “check”, and oftentimes, I would do so with the wrong leg. However, I soon got the hang of it and the number of mistakes I made reduced as time passed. After our senior felt that we had enough practice, we then combined with the Year 3s and did the contingent practice together with them. The Year 3 timer was especially loud, which was something that I felt was impressive. Nevertheless, our timer did an excellent job as well, as it probably is not easy to remember the things to say at specific commands, not to mention that they have to remember the steps on top of that. The Year 3s steps were the same, but faster. Overall, I feel that contingent practice was pretty fun and enriching, as it showed the many aspects of Guides.
Reflection from a Year 3:
During the second part of the 集合 session, we had contingent training. It has really been a long while since we have done contingent training and marching, so even though we practised a while the week before, we were still quite unfamiliar because it has been a year. We also had to adapt quickly since some Guides from our batch had the booster vaccination and had to sit out. The timer for our batch also sat out so there were many changes in the timer for our batch. However, we managed to pull through and revised our knowledge again. Our seniors were very encouraging and even if we made mistakes, they were very kind and corrected our mistakes nicely. World Thinking Day is a once-a-year event, and since it was our second time doing the contingent, we were more familiar with the contingent. This practice session also allowed us to bond as a batch, and we became closer with one another. Overall, even though the World Thinking Day Contingent happens only once a year, we still felt that it is a very valuable opportunity to revise our knowledge and skills as well as bond as a batch, making us closer than before.
All in all, we hope that the y1s have gained some insights of what we do during Gadgeting, and everyone has managed to apply the basic lashes into building a structure. We also hope that everyone is looking forward to celebrating World Thinking Day!
Published by:
Pok Jing
53届 Secretary
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