Values-In-Action @ GSSC, 31 May 2023

 Hi Guides!

On 30th and 31st May, Guides visited Good Shepherd’s Student Care Centre for VIA. Guides were split into different groups and conducted baking, craftwork and carnival games for the children there. We all had lots of fun and here are some reflections by our Guides!

Baking

Guides baked some cookies with the children. Through this activity, Guides were able to communicate with each other and bond with their new friends!

 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P2:

For our patrol, we did baking with the kids from Marymount Convent School as part of our VIA. Personally,I felt that it was a very meaningful and insightful experience. We arrived at the school earlier to prepare the ingredients for the baking of the cookies. During that period of time, I felt that there were a lot of things to improve on. Firstly, we could work with a sense of urgency. Even though the VIA was not a proper 集合 session, we could still have worked faster to measure and prepare the ingredients needed. Secondly, we could take the VIA more seriously. For example, during the actual baking session, there were some people who used their phones, went to another table to chit-chat and some wandering around with nothing to do. We should have taken the initiative to talk to the kids, try to make them feel more comfortable and make a memorable experience for them too, or if we had nothing to do, we could have helped to clean, wash and dry the dishes that were not necessary any more. In addition, something else that we could have done better was to be more familiar with the baking session before the actual day. Many of us were not aware of the two baking sessions that we would have on the actual day and were quite clueless. We should have watched the video thoroughly and carefully so as to be more prepared. However, despite the few things that we could have taken note of and improved on, there were definitely some things that we did well. This includes our enthusiasm and excitement to meet the kids and give them an exciting and fun experience. Overall, I felt that this was an experience that I will always remember and this experience also helped me to realise how blessed I am since some of the kids I worked with had some disabilities. I am touched by their resilience and enthusiasm to learn how to bake and I hope to be able to learn from them and apply these values to my everyday life as well.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P6:

On Day 1 of VIA from 0920-1245, we had a baking session with children aged 7 and 8 years old at Good Shepherd’s Student Care Centre. During this session, we baked with these children and were able to get a chance to interact with them. First, when we arrived at the Student Care Centre, we had to prepare 5 batches of ingredients. Since we were inexperienced and this was a new environment for all of us, we accidentally made a mess on the table while we were preparing the ingredients. This caused trouble to others and the ICs had to clean up the mess when we were making the cookies with the children. In the next round of preparing the ingredients, we were more careful and aware of our surroundings while we poured the ingredients in the bowl. We also improved from the first time as we realized that having one person prepare the same ingredients for everyone was more efficient and effective than each group preparing their own ingredients. Hence, through this, we understood the value of teamwork and effective communication more deeply. In the first round of baking with the 8-year-old children, I was working with my fellow batchmate, to teach the children how to bake. We had to teach 4 children, two of whom are on the quieter side and 2 are on the noisier side. The 2 more active children kept running around, causing ingredients to splatter on the floor. We had to take turns in looking after the 2 children while the other engaged with the 2 quieter children to prevent them from feeling left out. Though it was extremely tiring for both of us, through this, we learnt to be more patient while taking care of children younger than us and how to engage them. In the second round of baking with the 7-year-old children, we were allocated to 4 quieter yet understanding children. They were able to work together as a team and took turns stirring the mixture. My batchmate and I found this extremely heartwarming as they were already able to understand the value of patience and teamwork from such a tender age. At the end of this VIA session, we were heartwarmingly thanked by the young children for baking with them. The 4 children that we were allocated to us went up to us and thanked us personally. Both of us were extremely touched by their actions. This session is truly an eye-opening one and we learnt much from this experience. Knowing that we would be interacting with these children in the years to come, we would take this experience and improve on it, strengthening our connection with these children and ensuring that they would also enjoy the following VIA sessions in the future.

Craftwork

For this activity, Guides made flapping butterflies using paper, straw and tape as well as origami tulips. Guides were able to interact and guide the children on each step.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P3:

Our patrol went with Patrol 4 on Day 1 to do Craftwork together. Before that, we were asked to watch this video on how to make a flapping butterfly. It was quite complicated and I was scared that it would not work well. When we went there, the first thing we did was let the kids colour the butterfly however they wanted. We did not talk to them much at first since they were busy doing their own thing. After they coloured the butterfly, we then proceeded to make origami with them. This required more interaction with the kids as we had to teach them how to make the origami flower. The kids from the table I was at were very fast learners and quickly learnt how to make the flower. Since I brought origami paper with patterns, I shared it with the kids from my table and they were very happy to make a flower which was differently patterned from the other kids. One of the kids at my table was so interested in folding origami that she made 6 flowers! She also told me that she would be giving them to her parents, and I found that really sweet of her. We still had more time after that, and we taught them how to make a flapping bird. They found it hard to do so but eventually did it and were happy to bring them home to show their parents. I also folded a phoenix for them since I knew how to do so, and one of them brought it home. After that, we proceeded to complete the flapping butterfly. Since it was rather complicated, it was hard for us to teach them but we managed to do it in the end. Even though it couldn’t flap very well, the kids were still satisfied with it and went around the room to show their friends. Overall, this Values-In-Action (VIA) session was really fulfilling, and I managed to bond with the kids from my table a lot. They even gave us their own cookies that they baked earlier in the day, and it was really delicious. I am looking forward to our next VIA session with them. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P4:

For VIA, we went to Good Shepherd Service Center to look after a class of Primary 1 children. We taught them how to make a flapping butterfly craft. Before the activity, I was quite nervous about how we were going to teach the kids to do it properly as some parts seemed like they might be hard for them to understand. However, I was also looking forward to it. When we arrived in the room it was already interesting as the children were all very talkative and bubbly, even when they barely knew us. We had to balance between relating to them as young children and guiding them through the activity. At times, it was quite hard to get them to stay on task as some would keep getting distracted, but we tried our best to help them. As such the activity went by more slowly, but the good part was that the children would learn more than if we just helped them do everything ourselves. The distribution of coloured markers was also a problem at first as there was only a certain amount of each colour that worked and thus not enough to satisfy the children. My group had to ask them to take turns and be patient with them no matter how chaotic it became. In general, my main takeaway was to set a good example as their ‘caretakers’. The VIA was so fun and I think we all enjoyed getting to interact and know the children better. I found it slightly sad that they were in childcare during the school holidays, which is supposedly a time away from school to relax. Thus, I was glad that we got to brighten up their day in a meaningful way. I would definitely do it again if given the chance.

Carnival Games

For Carnival Games, a total of 9 booths were set up, A Cup of Water, Recreate the Photo!, Chapteh, Hula Hoop Human Chain, Stack Stacks Stacking, Twisting Tongue Twisters, 1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a fish alive!, Tic Tac Toe reinvented and Counting Ping Pong

Reflection from a Year 3 in P5:

For our VIA which was on day 2, our patrol and patrol 1 went to Good Shepherd's Student Care Centre to host a carnival for the students there.  We had a total of 9 booths, with a rewards redemption as well. When we arrived, we had to set up our booths and prepare ourselves to engage the students with our booth's activities. After we set up the booths, the students started streaming in. Soon, the carnival began. I was in Booth 1: A Cup of Water. My job was to refill water guns, tick the student's cards after they have completed the activity, as well as mop up the water surrounding the cups. It was stressful at the start as it was a new experience for me as I had never really interacted with children. The total time for the carnival was around an hour and a half, and it was overwhelming as we constantly had something to do, as the water guns ran out very fast. In addition, there were many children waiting to play and we had to change our plan and let multiple children shoot into the same cup instead of just one. This saved a lot of time and we were able to use all the water guns efficiently. However, another problem was that the floor was very wet. We tried our best to mop it but it was not drying in time, hence it was a dangerous hazard for the children as they might slip and injure themselves. Overall, it was a fun and new experience for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I felt that we could have interacted and engaged with the students more because I could tell that we were all overwhelmed with the tasks we had to complete and that we couldn't properly interact and engage them properly. However, one thing that we did well was our sense of urgency and perseverance. We were all stressed and overwhelmed with the number of kids and the tasks we needed to constantly fulfil. But we all worked as fast as we could. All of us wanted to let the children have a fun and enjoyable experience in that carnival and we tried our best to make it memorable for them.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P1:

On 31 May, my patrol and Patrol 5 had our VIA session at Good Shepherd Student Care Centre. All the students who participated in our carnival were primary school students from primary one all the way to primary six. There were nine stations in the carnival, and I was in charge of the station which required participants to stack a card tower with Uno cards. Another Guide was also in charge of the activity together with me. While setting up the stations, we had to move many tables to make way for stations, especially the ones that took up more space. For my station, because it did not take up too much space and we were going to use the canteen tables and benches anyway, we did not move the tables at all and went to help the other stations after setting up a card tower ourselves for the students to reference while they build. I think it was good that I went to help out, but I think I should have thought ahead more because later on I realised that we still needed to shift the tables because we needed to make space for the students to queue up. We then hurried to move the tables as the carnival was starting soon. When the students arrived, I was pretty excited because I had never helped with running a carnival before and I thought it would be fun. When the students started arriving at my station, I thought it would be difficult to maintain order and get them to queue up because there were so many people. However, after splitting the work with the other guide at my station, and thanks to the cooperation of the students, we had them lining up in neat rows in no time. While watching the students build the card towers, we also had to motivate them from time to time and sound friendly enough, so that they would be able to enjoy the carnival. From this experience, I have learnt that patience is important, when I was setting up the model of the card tower for the students to reference, I kept failing, and only when I had calmed down and became more patient did I manage to build the tower. Teamwork is also important, since without splitting work with the other guide assigned at my station, I would not have been able to manage the station so efficiently. This VIA session has been a very valuable learning experience for me.

Hope everyone made some new friends and enjoyed the VIA!

Published by:

Yuanxin

54届 Secretary

Skills Training, 12 May 2023

 Hi Guides!

Today is our last official 集合 with our 54th 届 Year 4s :( We had Mass Change to get ready for photo taking and after that, we sang some campfire songs to prepare ourselves for the 55th Anniversary Campfire!

Mass Change

Mass Change aims to get Guides ready for photo taking. They will also be able to train Guides on their sense of urgency and their 制服礼节s. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P2:

On 12 May, we were given 10 minutes for Mass Change to change into 全制 and 集合 back to GSL level 1. We combined with P1 for the mass change. We rushed to the Performing Arts Centre toilet, not realising it was the wrong toilet and we were supposed to go to the level 3 Year 1 toilet. However, since we were given a short amount of time, we just changed there. Since it was our first time changing into 全制, we were a little lost. While I was trying to put on my skirt, I realised I could not find it. My hanger had nothing on it. There were many skirts on the bench, hence I did not know which one was mine. I think a girl from Patrol 1 took my skirt as her hanger had a skirt on it after she put on a skirt. However, she insisted on it being hers so I just wore her skirt. After changing into her 全制, Yi Ting helped me with my scarf and belt to make it look presentable. After that, we rushed back down after putting our 全制 in 1L classroom. Overall, I think that though we could have been faster, my first mass change was a pleasant experience.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P3:

The Girl Guides Mass Change was an experience that I must admit I did not particularly enjoy. The chaos that ensued as we frantically rushed up and down, trying to change our attire, left me feeling mildly frustrated. While there were some positive aspects to the event, overall, there was definitely room for improvement. In my haste to change, I found myself fumbling over every little thing. From pinning my badges back on because they had fallen out, to struggling to fasten my hidden buttons properly, it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. I even managed to pin my badges wrongly, which was something I should not be doing as a senior. To make matters worse, I completely neglected the fact that there were junior Guides who may have needed assistance.  I somehow was able to overlook them fumbling and being confused about every single thing, or being clueless about where to go, what to do, what to expect, etc.  Looking back, I felt guilty for not providing much help to them and being only concerned about helping myself. My scarf also looked very weird as I did not iron the triangles properly. Due to all that chaos, we ended up 过时ing. We also got scolded for not being seniors that rendered assistance when our juniors needed help, instead only being concerned about ourselves. This was probably an event that I would remember for a long time.

While the Girl Guides Mass Change had its flaws, it also served as a lesson for me. It highlighted the importance of attention to detail, patience, and consideration for others. Moving forward, I will strive to be more organized and composed in similar situations, ensuring that I not only take care of my own needs but also extend a helping hand to those around me.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P6:

On our last 集合 on 12 May, we had our first Mass Change with the Year 1s. As Year 3s, we should have taken better care of Year 1s. We should have waited for them instead of rushing to grab our 全制s and running to the toilet which they might not even know where. This mistake of ours lead to several Year 1s being lost and not knowing which toilet they were supposed to change in, causing us to 过时 by a lot. Since it was the Year 1s' first time Mass Changing, they would need more guidance from the Year 2s and Year 3s. During Mass Change, I feel that our sense of urgency has improved but there is still room for improvement because we still had to ask for time extension. We need to make sure that at least one person from each patrol can ask for a time extension. When we Mass Changed back into PE attire, we remembered to wait for the Year 1s and asked for time extension on time. Overall, our sense of urgency can be improved and we should also 报时 more while we are changing to take note of the time so that we are able to ask for time extension on time. 

Campfire Songs

This activity aims to teach Guides campfire songs to prepare them for the 55th Anniversary Campfire. Year 1s will also be exposed to new Guides songs that they did not hear before.

Reflection from a Year 1 in P4:

During the Campfire Songs activity, we got to sing and dance with our patrol mates and it was an enjoyable experience. While learning the songs, we fostered stronger bonds with each other. After learning a few songs, each patrol had to perform the songs in front of everyone. The songs that our patrol learnt were Father Abraham, Thousand-legged Worm, My Side and Edelweiss.

Learning the songs was a bit challenging for us Year 1s at first, as we kept forgetting the lyrics of the song and the dance moves. But after a while of practising, we got better at it. When we were done learning the songs we had to perform, our seniors taught us other campfire songs and we had a lot of fun. During the performance, it was very exciting as everyone else watching would sing the songs along with the patrol performing. We would also cheer very loudly for the patrol performing so that they would not feel nervous. It was tiring but it was also very worth it. We learnt that we must always cheer the 团 on to help each other persevere and support each other. Although the campfire songs are a still bit new to us, we will continue to practice them and we hope to sing more campfire songs in the future.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P5:

Our Patrol was given two songs to learn, which are Red River Valley and Edelweiss. The first song we learned was Edelweiss. After we learned the lyrics and understood the meaning behind the song’s soft and humble tone, I started to like the song. The song was also accompanied by simple hand actions that I found fun to do. The singer praises the flower for its beauty and reveals the emotional attachment and love the character has for his homeland, which touched me and made me imagine how it would feel to wake up to such a beautiful scene that would make me fall in love with it at first sight. The next song, Red River Valley, is also another song that was soft and touching. The lyrics of the song depict a heartfelt farewell and longing for a loved one who is leaving the valley. It captures the bittersweet emotions of farewell and the heartwarming scene of two lovers bidding farewell to each other. It made me emotional as I loved that it represented our love as a patrol, but it reminded me of the sadness that we will be going through during PDP when the Year 4s would leave us. Overall, it was a fun experience as we not only got to learn new songs but also sing and perform them as a patrol.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P1:

For the 集合on 12 May, it was our last official 集合, and the section after photo-taking was the practising of campfire songs for the 55th Anniversary Campfire. For my patrol, some songs we sang were My Bonnie, BP Spirit, Guiding Light, and Chik Chik Gole. I had a lot of fun singing the songs with my patrol, and all of us definitely tried to make the most of it because it was our last official 集合with the current 领导层. When singing the songs, I realised that some of us were quite unfamiliar with some of the songs, especially our juniors. To solve this problem, we should use the lash training sessions on Wednesday mornings to help our juniors familiarise themselves with the Guides' songs and their lyrics. Another thing I think we had to work on more was the hand actions for some songs since we were unfamiliar with the small details. In the end, we managed to work those out. I think we worked together well during this activity and everyone was quite participative, which was great. When it came to the performance, I was quite proud because most of us remembered the small details of the actions and lyrics of the songs. One thing I thought we could improve on, however, was our focus when we were practising the songs, since sometimes some people would get a little carried away, and our seniors had to remind us to focus on practising the songs. Overall, it was a fun, enjoyable and very memorable experience. 

Hope everyone had fun bonding and learning new songs!

Published by:

Yuanxin

54 届 Secretary

Patrol Activity, 5 May 2023

 Hi Guides!

Today we had Patrol Activity and here are some reflections from our Year 3s!

Reflection from a Year 3 in P1:

On 5 May, we had our Patrol Activity. For my patrol, we had a joint Patrol Activity with Patrol 4. We had to build a stable structure that would secure our flag and make the flag as difficult for the other patrol to capture as possible. Then, we were given water guns to “wage war” on the other patrol, and whoever was shot would have to go to “jail”, which was the elevated platform for a minute. Before building our structure, we were given time to discuss what kind of structure we’d make. When discussing, I think we should have involved our Year 1s more, and been more creative with our ideas. We also should have thought that we could have made our structure more complicated, given the amount of time we were given to build the structure. Something I think we did well would be that during logistics collection, my patrol worked fast and managed to finish collecting our logistics faster than the given time. When building the structure, we could have had a better sense of urgency, because our structure was quite simple, but we took quite long to finish. We also could have 报时 more, because our seniors had to keep prompting us to 报时. During the game, I had so much fun and I believe everyone in both patrols did too. My patrol worked together very well, and I can confidently say that this was definitely one of the sessions I would remember for a long time. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P2:

During Patrol Activity (PA), my patrol did Creative Gadgeting of a drawbridge. We did a modified version of a drawbridge that the Year 4s did during their Patrol Leaders Training Camp (PLTC). I was the Patrol Leader (PL) of that activity and I was in charge of looking at the picture and making sure that the drawbridge was built correctly. Although it was quite successful and well functioning, I do think that we could have had a better sense of urgency instead of being distracted a lot. I also think that we should have 报时-ed and cheered more often to boost morale. The second activity we did was to make an interactive gadgeting structure with something significant to our patrol. We built a modified baggage rack with a horizontal at the top of the two A-架s. We attached a PVC pipe to the horizontal on top and tied a flower with bamboo on the PVC pipe to make it interactive. I think we could have worked a lot faster and made the gadget slightly more innovative. However, overall, I had a very enjoyable experience during this PA session especially since this is the last PA we will be having with the Year 4s. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P3:

On 5 May, we had combined Patrol Activity with Patrol 5, and we did Station Games. At the First Station, we did Creative Gadgeting of a treasure chest, in line with the pirate-themed storyline for the Station Games that day. I feel that during the Creative Gadgeting, I could have stepped up more and allocated manpower better, as there were many zuo bos due to the increased manpower. In the end, the structure was also slanted as we did not build the frames correctly from the start. Overall, there was much to improve on for this Creative Gadgeting. Mainly, we definitely could have paid better attention to detail. At the next station, we recapped how to start a fire. Some important points to note was that the newspaper had to be fully wet, in order to prevent fire hazards due to the embers from the signal fire. Afterwards, there was a station which incorporated Guides Knowledge and Physical Training. Through this entire Patrol Activity, I got a chance to bond with the other patrols besides my own, and also a reminder to brush up on my Guides Knowledge, especially on trekking signs. In the end, we even received drinks from the seniors, which was really relaxing after the fun-filled Station Games. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P4:

This Friday’s Patrol Activity (PA) was one of the most fun I have experienced before. We combined with P1, and each was told to build a Creative Gadgeting Flagpole. One of my juniors had been in Gadgeting committee for Orientation Preparation (OP), so she knew one way to tie a Creative Flagpole. I found that quite fortunate and was glad our patrol could make use of each others’ strengths to work together. We also learnt a new structure which we would not have learnt otherwise. While building the 

Flagpole, I think we did a good job of allocating manpower, but definitely could have 报时d and cheered more to raise morale.

Then came the most exciting part; we hid our Flagpoles at two ends of the block, and had to capture the other patrol’s flag while armed with water guns. This activity was very creative and certainly raised our patrol’s sense of unity and teamwork as we were actively working against another patrol. It also allowed us to strategise and communicate in ways we would not have in regular CCA sessions. Although P1 came close and took our Flagpole, neither patrol manage to get the others’ flag. Either way, this PA was both fun and fruitful, and I hope we can do similar activities in the future.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P5:

During our last Patrol Activity Session, we played Station Games as a Patrol and we started off with the Gadgeting station. We had combined patrols with Patrol 3 and had to tie the Creative Gadgeting structure together, the treasure chest. Originally, there was some miscommunication and some measurements were not taken properly which resulted in a few 飞脚s. However, we eventually managed to overcome our difficulties by thinking out of the box and using the frame with the 飞脚s as our base frame. Afterwards, we followed the treasure map up to GSL level 2 to start our own fire. We learnt how to extinguish the fire properly as well as the proper disposal method of our wet newspapers and 木麻黄. Following that, we went to the hostel to find different post-it notes that gave us different tasks to finish up. There was a few post-it notes testing our knowledge on Guides Notes as well as post-it notes that required us to do Physical Training and the singing of our Guides Songs. Through all of these activities, not only did we bond more with our patrol mates, we also managed to bond more with our batchmates from P3. This last Patrol activity has allowed us to get to know each other better and develop better synergy with one another.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P6:

On 5th of May, we had our last Patrol Activity. Our Patrol Activity was something akin to Station Games. Throughout the whole CCA session, we were tested on our Guides' knowledge and given the opportunity to teach our Y1s more about the hard skills that we learn in Guides. Throughout the session, we had to use our orienteering skills to get from one location to another, giving us the opportunity to teach our Y1s about orienteering. In the first station, we had to build a Flagpole. During the construction, I feel that we could have definitely improved on our sense of urgency and also prioritize getting the Flagpole up instead of 升ing the 旗. That way we could have finished the Flagpole faster. We also could have 照顾好人照顾好东西 better as some of our logistics were kapped. In the second station, we tried to make a real-life filter funnel for the first time. We should have revised more on the Guides notes as we were unable to name the logistics for the filter funnel without any hints. Moreover, this real-life application of the filter funnel taught me the importance of having clean water and that the filter funnel works. In the third station, we were tasked to sing 南屏晚钟 and recite our P6 cheer. We, as Year 3s should have been more familiar with the Chinese Guides songs and revised more on these songs. However, through this, we familiarized ourselves with this song and became fond of it. Moreover, the P6 cheer relighted our passion in the P6 traditions even stronger and also gave us the opportunity to pass this tradition down to our Y1s which we hope would keep the P6 tradition alive. In the fourth station, we were tested on our tracking signs and Guides' code. The tracking signs were carefully chosen by our seniors while the Guide's code contained messages that our seniors wanted to pass down to us. This station was an extremely sad one as the messages contain the love our seniors harbour towards us and our CCA. These messages would always serve as a reminder for us to take care of ourselves and keep the P6 spirit alive. Overall, this PA really reminded us of the importance of our Guides' knowledge and hard skills. Moreover, it portrayed our seniors' care and kindness as they were our guiding light throughout these tough three years. Overall, this Patrol Activity was a meaningful experience.

Hope everyone had fun bonding with their patrol!

Published by:

Yuanxin

54 届 Secretary