Skills Training, 28 July 2023

 Hi Guides!

Today, as most of the Year 2s and Year 3s were preparing for the National Day Observance Ceremony, there were only Year 1s and a few Year 2s present during today's 集合. Firstly, the Guides there had gadgeting lash training, followed by the building of a few standard structures, and lastly the Year 2s taught the Year 1s a few Guides songs that we usually sang during campfires or other activities. 

Lash Training:

To hone the lash-tying abilities of the Year 1s, they were to do lash training. They had to tie lashes such as square and diagonal lashes and time themselves. Afterward, they would have to let a Year 3 check their lash for its tightness and also to receive feedback. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P6:

For Lash Training during 集合 on Friday, we were able to learn more and improve on our lashes and find out what we did wrongly when we tie our lashes. First, when we tied the square lashes, I learnt that I would be able to make my lash tighter by holding tension and ensuring that my frapping does not overlap. I also learnt that I should take note of protrusion. When we were tying diagonal lashes, I realised that I was taking a long amount of time to tie my lash and that next time, I should ensure that I tie my lashes faster. My diagonal lash was also loose and could be improved by ensuring that I 抽 tightly and remember to hold tension. Also, I had gotten the number of rounds around the 木 wrong. It was supposed to be 4,3,2 but I accidentally tied it as 4,4,2. When we tied A-架, I also realised that I was tying my lashes really slowly and that my lashes were not tight enough. I learnt that I could improve on my lashes by remembering to hold tension. I had also forgotten to tuck in the 鸟绳. Through this lash training on Friday, I learnt how I could improve my lashes and not repeat the same mistakes again.

Reflection from a Year 1 in P3:

The lash training that took place during 集合 last Friday was incredibly enriching. I feel that I have learnt how to make my lashes neater and tighter, and I have also learnt how to work at a faster pace due to that lash training. This is mainly because I had to tie my lashes under strict timings, and also because the Year 3s gave me very in-depth feedback, allowing me to greatly improve the standard of my lashes! An example of the constructive feedback that they gave me that really helped me tremendously in my goal to tie tight lashes was when they informed me that while my lashes were neat and had no overlapping, it was not tight enough. They told me that this was mainly because I did not hold tension. My Year 3 seniors then proceeded to show me how I could hold tension, such as by wrapping the 白绳 around my palm and tying it as quickly as possible. I am thus very thankful to my seniors, as in the end, I think I have improved greatly in terms of the tightness of my lashes. However, I did face some difficulties during the lash training as my 木 was too long and I would accidentally hit my head with the 木 when I was not careful enough. Nevertheless, I overcame that challenge and managed to finish tying all my lashes within the standard time. Through this lash training, I also got the opportunity to improve my time management. I made sure to 报时 consistently which helped me keep track of my timings for my lashes. I believe that this lash training will prepare me for future 集合s, where we need to tie tight lashes for a steady structure that will not shear. This lash training allowed me to understand my weak points and how to improve on them. Thus, I am happy to have had this lash training, where I was given the opportunity to improve my lashes! 

Building of Standard Structures:

After Lash Training, the Year 1s were split into 2 groups and each group was to build 1 shoe rack and 1 baggage rack in total. The Year 1s were also tasked to assign 1 PL and PS per group. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P5:

On 28 July, my batchmates and I built baggage racks and shoe racks. First, we collected our logistics. As it was our first time depending on ourselves without our seniors' help, we were confused and did not remember the logistics needed once we arrived at 团部,  causing us to keep asking the Year 3s to repeat the logistics. Our entire batch was split into two groups and each group had to build one baggage rack and one shoe rack. Most of us did not know the exact steps to build the structures hence wasting a lot of time. When we started building, manpower was not allocated properly and most of our manpower was focused on either one of the two structures. At the end of the time given, we were not finished with our structures so we kept asking for time extensions. We also did not 报时 frequently hence lacking in a sense of urgency. For the netting and rafting for the baggage rack, only a few of us in our batch knew how to do it, so we had to rely on the same people. Moreover, when we were done with our structures, the lashes were not tight enough causing the structure to be unstable. Through this activity, I bonded with my batchmates and learnt more about building standard structures and pointers to take note of while building.

Reflection from a Year 1 in P2:

On Friday, the Year 1s had a batch activity to build standard structures. We had to build 2 shoe racks and 2 baggage racks. After collecting the logistics, we were split into two groups, P1, P3, and P6 were in group one, and P2, P4, and P5 were in group 2. Each group needed to build 1 shoe rack and 1 baggage rack and we were firstly given 50 mins. But due to a lack of manpower and a sense of urgency, the PL and PS had to ask for time extensions after time extensions. Most lashes were not up to standards too, hence we had to retie many lashes, also wasting a lot of time. When we were about to finish, the time extensions were up and Samantha told us to suggest a time for the very last time extensions for us to complete the structures. Thankfully we were able to complete the structures. The baggage racks were not stable at all and could be rocked from side to side with just a little force. Samantha gave us tips on how to improve by making sure the 定脚's diagonals are tied very tightly so the structure will be steady and also making the spacings between the netting smaller to hold things better. For the shoe racks, Samantha said that they were not squares but rhombus shaped. We can improve this by making sure people are 定-ing the quadpod sides while tying so the structure will be a square. Though we got scolded by Samantha, Natalie, and Yue Yao many times, we learnt a lot, like stepping out to look at the bigger picture, 报时-ing constantly, and also allocating manpower better.

Teaching of Guides Songs:

During this activity, the Year 2s that were present had the opportunity to teach some commonly sung Guides songs to the Year 1s, as most of them were unfamiliar with Guides songs and were mostly unable to sing along during the 55th Anniversary Campfire. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P4:

The singing of Guides songs helped us bond with our batch mates and seniors, despite the fact that there were only a few Year 2s and Year 3s. One of our Year 4s also came and sang “Peace like a River” along with us. The singing of Guides songs lifted our morale after our previous gadgeting activity and it was fun to do the actions while singing, especially after the 55th Anniversary Campfire when we got to know them. The singing of campfire songs, especially ones that are supposed to boost excitement such as "Father Abraham", made us happier and more relaxed, along with everyone else. Time passes by when one is having fun, and it felt like only a few minutes had passed when we were told to 集合 again. Many of us enjoyed the song "Ging Gang Goolie", because of the lyrics, the clapping, the different parts we had to sing at one time, and the catchy tune.  All of us enjoyed this activity, and it made our 集合 a lot more enjoyable. We hope that we can sing more Guides songs in our future co-curricular activities (CCA) sessions, as it makes us more excited and it helps us bond with our batchmates and seniors more, which is important in a CCA where we have to work together often. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P1:

During Friday's CCA session, the Year 2 seniors taught us how to sing and dance to several Guides songs. Some of the songs included “Peace Like a River”, “Father Abraham”, “Ging Gang Goolie”, “My Side” and “BP Spirit”. Before each song, they would demonstrate the actions of the song, after which we would attempt it together. It was an entertaining and enjoyable session for everyone as some of the actions were very funny, and it allowed many of the quieter Year 1s to step out of their comfort zones and have some fun too. It was also a rare opportunity for our seniors to be teaching us Guides songs, and everyone had a whale of a time learning new songs. At the same time, my batchmates and I got to bond and know each other better. I feel that it was a good opportunity for the Year 2 seniors to interact with us as Year 1s as well since many of us previously did not know them as they were not our own Patrol seniors. As Guides is a sisterhood, this was incredibly valuable to us all. In conclusion, my batchmates and I really enjoyed this CCA session and hope that we would learn more guides songs.

Reflection from a Year 2 in P3:

It was an exhilarating experience. Due to a previous activity, those from my class had only arrived for Guides at 430pm, causing us to be dismissed after a short time as there was already enough manpower. Undeterred, we politely asked the seniors if we could help with anything else, and to our delight, they sent us to where the Year 1s were having lash training. After a while, the Year 3s suggested we teach them some songs for the rest of the time until dismissal. We sat with the Year 1s in a circle around us and started with the song ‘Ging Gang Goolie’. Throughout, I tried to get some of the quieter Year 1s to join in more enthusiastically by staring intensely at them and looking down at their hands while waggling my eyebrows suggestively. I struggled with coordinating my body through the song ‘My Side’, and then—as we should have done all along—the Year 2s moved outside the circle so that we could observe everyone at once. ‘Father Abraham’, ‘Peace Like a River’, and ‘BP Spirit’ flew by; before I knew it, it was all over. During the intermissions between each song, I remember worrying that we weren’t leading the Year 1s well enough. Were they all properly engaged? I reflected on such questions. Truth be told, as I noticed my friends interacting with Year 1s around them only, I had the creeping sensation that we could do better—by also valuing the enjoyment of those who are not close to us. Having previously noted the Year 1’s downtrodden spirits from the group corner, I wanted them to end the session with a reaffirmation of their sense of belonging to Guides and their Patrols. I tried my best to introduce potentially novel songs to them. Alas, I was hindered by nervousness throughout, which dampened my mood overall. However, I still enjoyed the experience greatly. I got to gain a better understanding of everyone I interacted with, including myself and the Year 3s, as I watched them in action. This experience motivated me to revise my Guides songs and improve my leadership skills among others.

Hope that everyone present during 集合 today learnt something new or gained a new experience today and mostly importantly, had fun with their batchmates and seniors/juniors!

Published by:

Chin Yan Tong

55届 Secretary

55th Anniversary Campfire, 15-16 July 2023

Hello Guides!

This year, Dunman High Girl Guides celebrated our 55th anniversary, and to commemorate it, we held the 55th Anniversary Campfire on the 15th of July. Months of preparation were put into this campfire, with the YAs starting to plan for this campfire since last year. The theme for this campfire was "Our Blazin' Spirit", 重燃 and the tagline was 重点灯火，再次燃烧. The theme represents DHSCOY's hope for the Guiding Spirit to shine brightly forever for the generations of Guides to come, even in the face of unexpected challenges. Meanwhile, the tagline symbolises a new beginning for DHSCOY as this is the first major Guides event planned and held ever since the Covid-19 pandemic. 

However, behind the scenes of the successful campfire was the hard work put in by Guides and YAs from the various committees: Programmes, Construction, Decoration, Booths and Logistics, with the logistics committee only consisting of YAs. 

Programmes

The programmes committee comprised 2 YA ICs, 2 emcees and 8 song leaders. This committee was in charge of keeping the audience hyped up throughout the campfire through, with the emcees hosting the campfire and the game shows involved and the song leaders performing sections intermittently. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P6:

For our 55th Anniversary Guides Campfire, we started the Campfire preparation months before the event. In Programmes, we learnt a wide range of songs, some of which we never heard before. Besides learning the lyrics of the songs, we also had the chance to make actions for the pop songs that we will be singing. For the Guides’ songs, we also learnt the dance for the songs and it was a very fun and enjoyable experience for us. Through this experience, we got to know a lot more actions of 领歌 songs that we can sing and dance during 领歌 in 集合s. On the actual campfire day, we had several dry runs in the morning and afternoon. Around 6.45 pm, the guests started to arrive. At this time, we started feeling more and more anxious and nervous. However, we continued to keep the morale high by cheering each other on and keeping each other calm. As I was on stage for the first section of the campfire songs, I was nervous and scared that I would not do well. So much could go wrong, like not singing the songs at the right speed or messing up the lyrics of the songs. Thankfully, everything went well and we were able to do our best on stage. After we got down from the stage, we were proud of ourselves for putting on our best performance and making the audience happy. Afterward, we were standing in front of the audience below the stage to guide the audience through the different dance moves. We all did a great job in leading the songs and dances and we were satisfied to see the audience enjoy themselves. Overall, I think we did a good job and we really enjoyed ourselves being song leaders and being in Programmes.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P1:

The 55th Anniversary Campfire was definitely one to remember, with exhilaration and of course some difficulties. For Programmes, the camp preparation sessions were all rather smooth sailing. Though in the last preparation session, the pressure was definitely building up. We were all rather worried about messing up in front of such a large audience but we all comforted one another and made the promise to just try our best and have fun. On the day itself, we also had many adjustments that needed to be made, such as setting up the stage during various segments and the arrangement of song leaders. Not to mention that one of our song leaders fell ill and the emcees had to substitute in. These all increased our nerves, especially when nearing the official campfire. However, I think we all found comfort in one another and our countless hours of preparation. The Young Adults along with the alumni mentors also kept encouraging us, reminding us that it’s okay to make mistakes, we just have to have confidence in ourselves. Backstage, our Programmes YAs in-charge were also doing their best, giving debriefs on our performance and briefing us on the segments that had to be cut out due to time constraints. Although the campfire segments had a lot of last-minute changes, I think we all adapted very well to it. For me, I was very comforted by the fact that I had a capable partner to emcee with me as it provided a safety net for mistakes. Overall, the campfire was a huge success and one to remember. The actual campfire was memorable as standing on stage, and seeing everyone sing their hearts out really let the guiding spirit shine bright and reminded me that Guides is a home, where generations can come together after decades to have fun and celebrate. But even more so, the journey of preparation was immensely heartening, enjoying one another’s company, going through songs over and over again, synchronizing dance actions and just having fun together.

Construction

The construction committee was the largest committee with a large amount of manpower from all batches. Their job for the campfire was to build the gateway, in which hung laminated photos of past and current Guides activities, and the 旗杆, which was used for 升旗 and 降旗. 

Reflection from a Year 1 in P6:

The 55th Anniversary Campfire is my very first campfire in Guides. During the close to 40 hours of campfire preparations, I think we can say that this campfire was a huge success. At first, I was not used to being in the sun and doing Pioneering for 10 hours but over the few months, I learnt to adapt to the hot weather and doing Pioneering under the sun. Although we did have some overruns and were worried that we might not catch up with the planned timeline, we got back on track and could reach our goal. During the campfire, I felt very excited that I was able to experience this wholesome campfire, from singing songs and screaming my lungs out during the cheers. I was able to bond with my batchmates better. I think the guests that joined us in the campfire made the campfire even more memorable and we got to usher them and give them our tasty roasted marshmallows. My favourite part of the campfire was singing campfire songs, I thought that it was very wholesome. Seeing the final product of our structures, I think that the Construction Committee did an amazing job and I am happy that we were able to pull this off. After the campfire, it was also my first time sleeping overnight in school. I got to experience sleeping in a sleeping bag and showering quickly. Although I could not get much sleep, I am still thankful to experience this. I think that we were all exhausted from the preparation sessions and the actual setting up of the campfire. I am not used to preparing for campfires but I think it was a very fulfilling few months of preparations. I realised how much our Year 5s and Year 6s had to plan just for the few hours of our final product. This was definitely a fun and enjoyable experience and I cannot wait for the next camp!

Reflection from a Year 2 in P1:

The Guides 55th Anniversary Campfire included long preparation sessions leading up to the overnight stay in school. For the construction committee—which I was a part of—we spent preparation time learning and practicing Pioneering structures meant to be used at the campfire itself, such as the Gateway. Progress was impeded by unforeseen circumstances, however—such as the renovation of the basketball courts, which were near backstore, where we retrieved Pioneering spars from. During the campfire stay, we spent the larger part of the day Pioneering under the sun, as well as setting up the campfire site. This included moving a hundred benches from the canteen to the field, which was decidedly tough. Suffice to say, that part of the process was rather exhausting and physically taxing. We pushed ourselves to the limits, however, and managed to make good time for our structures. We also had to keep our eyes peeled for any signs of redness on our skin—lest that became peeled too. Upon lathering and slathering my skin with sunblock, I was displeased to realise that a tan was still coming on. Nevertheless, our hard work and endurance paid off on the campfire night. It was truly a moment of sisterhood and warmth when we all huddled together to jump around, sing, and dance. I had so much fun. As a participant in the games segment as well, I can say that it was rather creatively planned, and we all had a meaningful time. Afterward, most, if not all the patrols grouped together to take patrol photos. That night, although I do not think we slept very soundly, overnight stays in school are certainly not common, and it was definitely an experience. The second day was mostly spent cleaning up the campfire area and disassembling our structures. Overall, I think those doing construction, myself included, were very tired but fulfilled after the camp. It was certainly a memorable experience.

Reflection from a Year 3 in P6:

During the campfire preparation sessions, we tried constructing the 旗杆 and a gateway. Through the campfire preparation sessions, the Y1s to Y4 constructed the structure while the Y5s gave us instructions and improved on the structures from one campfire preparation session to another. Although it took a lot of effort to finish building the structures, it felt really rewarding to see our structures being completed. During the day before the actual day for campfire preparation, we had already finished building most of the 旗杆 and were left with the gateway. The gateway consisted of two main frames with 红木 and 黄木 with 黑木 as the internal diagonals. After that, we built the external diagonals to stabilise the structure. In the structure, there was also a quadpod to add to the stability and aesthetics of the gateway. After we finished building the structure, the deco comm then added fairy lights and decorations to the gateway. As for the 旗杆, I realised that I still have much to learn regarding the types of lashes as I did not know how to tie a butterfly lash. Even though this was already the last time we were able to work with the Y4s, we were still able to learn so much from them. When dusk arrived and guests started streaming, I felt a sense of accomplishment as I saw the alumni and guests being in awe of the structure that we built. Moreover, my batch was able to take a photo in memory of the 55th Campfire in front of the gateway. Overall, I feel that everyone had worked hard for this 55th Campfire Anniversary as on top of the construction of the structure, we had to move logistics and stay long hours under the hot sun. Not to mention the other committees who also worked hard in their comms. All in all, although this was an extremely tiring 2-day 1-night camp, I felt that it was an extremely rewarding experience. 

Decoration

For the campfire, the decorations committee was in charge of the aesthetics of the campfire. This included mini-gadgeting, cutting out stickers, packing goodie bags, designing the gateway built by the constructions committee, etc.

Reflection from a Year 1 in P4: 

Before the actual day of the campfire, the decoration committee had to prepare all the decorations for the campfire. On the first campfire preparation, we went to school from eight in the morning until six in the afternoon. During the session, we painted all the banners that we had to put up such as the booth signboards, the stage decorations, the phoenix for the entrance, and the giant banner at the entrance that said "Our Blazin' Spirit". Even though it may sound like an easy job to do—just sitting on the floor and painting, we did have our setbacks and issues. When we first tried to sketch the picture of the phoenix onto the cardboard, it was really difficult to get the dimensions right. Some parts of the wings had to be parallel to each other so that they would look realistic, and the feathers had to curve nicely. It was really frustrating trying to get it right but when we finally did, it was such a relief. Throughout the few other sessions after the first, we had a list of other things for us to do!! We had to make other decorations like phoenix origami, sort photo albums, make goody bags for the guests, stick photos together to make a photo gallery at the entrance, and many others. After many days of hard work and preparation, it was the actual day of the campfire. It was quite a rush for the decoration committee as we still had to make the photo gallery and hang all the decorations up before the campfire started. The photo gallery kept getting tangled up and it took very long to untangle them again. It was very frustrating for us as we knew that time was not on our side. When we finally untangled them, we hung them up at the entrance made by the construction committee. The phoenix, the banner, and the patrol boards were all hung up there. When enough people were doing one job, the rest had to go carry canteen benches up to the second floor with the booth committee. It was very tiring work and some of us needed two people to carry the benches. Even then, it was still very hard. We persevered, however, and managed to carry all of them up. Following that, we had a mass change and the seniors gave us just 10 minutes to change into our 全制. We had to rush to the crowded toilets, and it was hard to change there as there were too many people. When the mass change was completed, there was an attire check before the flag-raising ceremony. We gathered at D'Area, and formed a horseshoe formation. Our Assistant Company Leader raised the flag, and we watched her. When it was done, we still had a few more minutes before the start of the campfire. We explored the booths and admired all the structures and decorations while the ushers ushered the guests to the D-area. When the campfire started, we could sing songs and dance and even to interactive games with the guests. My favourite parts were when we sang "Style", and "Night Changes" and when we danced "The Thousand Legged Worm" and hopped around the campfire. The campfire ended at around 10 and we took a group photo with all the guests and our batchmates and patrol mates. They gave us until 11.30 pm to shower and eat supper and lights out was at 12. I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately. This 55th Anniversary Campfire was exhausting but I enjoyed it a lot. It was a good experience for me!!

Reflection from a Year 2 in P3:

Being part of the 55th Anniversary Campfire’s Decoration Committee has been an interesting and enriching experience for me. We did activities that varied from our normal 集合 sessions, such as drawing, painting, cutting, sticking, and tidying photo albums. I remembered during our first 集合 in our Decoration Committee, everyone was unsure as to what our task was and we all stood around looking at each other hesitantly. However, the Young Adults explained to us our task and, after going through various 集合 sessions of us preparing the decoration, I feel that we have all improved so much on the various arts and crafts work. Despite this, I feel that we still have room for improvement in our time management. We could have worked faster and finished our work quicker. Although having a few hiccups here and there, we still managed to pull through. A memorable part of the preparation was the painting of the stage phoenix as I had never worked on such a large piece of artwork. Although we spent hours on the painting and were exhausted after, I still had an incredible time and loved every second of the painting process. It was heartening on the actual day to see our decorations being hung up. We knew all our hard work and efforts had been put into those decorations, and we all felt very proud of ourselves. It also made me realise how much work is put into hosting a 3-hour campfire programme. It was obvious that it was not just our committee who had put in a lot of effort, all other committees did too. The Construction and Booth Committee’s structures were well-built, and I absolutely loved the henna booth. It was also interesting to interact with the alumni and hear about their guiding experience. I especially loved the campfire at night, where everyone was singing and dancing together. It was so special and joyful, and I truly felt that we were just one big family. I hope that the scouts and visitors also enjoyed the campfire because I remember it was mainly us Guides who were screaming and singing along to the songs. Overall, the campfire has been a very memorable experience for me. It was tiring and made my back feel like it was about to break, but all of the months of hard work were definitely worth it when I experienced the campfire and the wonderful atmosphere of it. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P3:

For the first few sessions of campfire preparation, we painted banners and the phoenix board. We could definitely improve on our urgency and could have taken it more seriously as we had to repaint the white banner. Then for the rest of the camp prep, we cut stickers and pack the goodies bag for our guests. On the morning of the campfire, we laid out the banners that needed to be hung around the gateway and took all the other decorations down. I think the Year 3s should have done a better job to allocate manpower better as there were many zuobos doing nothing outside 团部. After we took the decorations down to D'Area, we started hanging them around. One difficulty that we faced was tying the gateway phoenix onto the gateway, as the structure was very tall thus hard to stabilise the phoenix. The seniors were adaptable to the situation and wrapped the phoenix with 白绳 onto the gateway. I think that we should learn from them in times of difficulty. Not only that, the strings for the photo wall tangled together we definitely could have worked faster to untangle them and also taken it seriously as even though we had 过时ed but nobody went to ask for a time extension. In the end, we managed to overcome the difficulties and did our best to make this campfire a memorable one for everyone. I feel that the overall experience of camp prep and the campfire itself was very fun and I realized the amount of hard work needed to plan the campfire and also to execute it in order to make it a successful one.

Booths

Last but not least, the booths committee was in charge of manning the game booths, outdoor cooking booth and the henna booth. The game and outdoor cooking booths were made from scratch by the booths committee with cardboard and gadgeting materials.

Reflection from a Year 1 in P2:

Before the actual day, we had many campfire prep sessions, so the booths comms painstakingly polished over 50 trophies using sponges and water, and did the gadgeting structures until the Young Adults were satisfied. We had to 重抽 the mini gadgeting structures many times in 团部. We also helped to whip 白绳, which in our opinion was quite difficult as the string was very thin and hard to see. We had put in a lot of effort in the campfire prep and we were very proud of the results, and were in eager anticipation for the actual campfire. On the 15th of July 2023, it was the day of the actual campfire, after many camp prep sessions, of building mini gadgets and preparing for the actual day of the campfire. After we brought the logistics from 团部, we started tying the structures and improving them. Some examples of the structures were the Ferris wheel, the shoe rack, and the baggage rack. We built the baggage rack and the shoe rack. However, we faced a few difficulties, we forgot to look at the bigger picture of the structures so the protrusion was not equal and the whole structure was slanted at one point. However, due to our collaboration and teamwork, we efficiently 重抽 the structures and overcame all the challenges we faced. After making sure that our structures did not have any flaws, the Young Adults made us re-tie the loose lashes and replace the ones that were not as nice and neat with the new 白绳 that were whipped by us. Then we had a very well-deserved lunch break. After lunch, we were finally done with our structures, so we carried all our remaining logistics back to 团部, and the structures to D'Area. After that, we arranged the mini gadgeting structures, albums, and pictures, and also set up the outdoor cooking booth and the henna booth for the guests. After that, we had mass change. After the mass change, we had an attire check and 升旗礼. We 集合ed at D'Area and 排马蹄, which is standing in a horseshoe formation. Our Assistant Company Leader raised the flag while we watched her. Then, we had to continue with our respective duties, such as ushering the guests and introducing our structures to the guests. We also roasted marshmallows and watched the sun set as we gathered around the campfire with the scouts, young adults, and alumni. At 7 pm, the well-anticipated campfire started, and the emcees and song leaders came on stage. We sang many songs and played games for us to bond as one. The most memorable songs for me were “Style” and “The Night Changes”, as we sang that during the last 集合 with my seniors. At 9.30 pm, the campfire ended and we all went back to our rooms to shower and eat supper. 

Reflection from a Year 2 in P5:

The Campfire Preparation that led to the 55th Anniversary Campfire included 8 am to 6 pm days that were fruitful and tiring, yet after all our preparation, it paid off as the actual Campfire was well organised and the guests enjoyed the whole Campfire. During the Campfire Preparation Sessions, we had to learn how to tie different creative and standard structures to showcase to guests on the actual day. We experimented and tried different ways to tie the structures so as to perfect them for the actual day. Then, the requirements for our lashes also increased as it neared the actual day, and we had to work harder and faster to meet our seniors' expectations. As such, we always managed to keep to the timeline and sometimes even finished earlier than planned. Thus, we helped other Committees like Construction and Decoration and helped to set up the chairs and structures on the field for the actual day. Carrying the chairs was actually one of the most memorable moments on the day of the Campfire before the guests arrived as it required everyone to work together and we did a relay. It was heartening to see how despite all of our aching muscles, we were still trying to cheer one another on and helped one another persevere. Soon, the blazing sun had set and although there was no longer any unbearable heat beating down on us, we were still anxious for the guests' arrival as we were unsure if we could please them or if the whole programme would run smoothly or not. To our joy, the guests enjoyed the performance and enjoyed the booths set up for them to feast their eyes on. The standard structures such as the baggage rack and shoe rack were on display for guests and other structures such as the Outdoor Cooking booth, Table Soccer, and Maze were interactive structures for guests to engage themselves with. As I was in charge of the Outdoor Cooking booth, I had to make sure that the fire does not die out so that guests could enjoy toasting their marshmallows and enjoy them. I felt satisfied with my work despite all the heat and having to breathe in a lot of smoke as it made the guests elated to be able to try out toasting their marshmallows with the OC structure that Booths made from scratch. The guests also enjoyed playing the games at the Soccer Table booth and Maze booth, and as both were multi-player games, the guests had to call on their friends to play it together, and it definitely would be etched in their memories as they had a whale of a time playing the games. Overall, the Campfire ceremony was memorable and one of the most thrilling experiences I have had in Guides. 

Reflection from a Year 3 in P5:

During the campfire preparation sessions, the Booths committee mainly did gadgeting to build the standard structures as well as the games. These structures included a baggage rack, shoe rack, maze structure, table soccer, and a Ferris wheel. During the first few campfire preparation sessions, we often took a long time to finish building the structures. The structures would also look messy, and our lashes were not up to standard. However, we eventually familiarised ourselves with the different structures, and we managed to complete them much quicker and of a better quality. Other activities that the Booths comm did were to 重抽 all the loose lashes for the mini gadgeting structures as well as wipe the trophies, so that they would look presentable to the guests on the day of the campfire. On the actual day of the campfire, we all felt very excited and we made sure to put in our best effort for our last preparations. While fixing the structures and setting up the booths, we constantly encouraged one another and maintained high morale. After that, we moved all the structures to D'Area and built an indoor fire altar there for the Outdoor Cooking booth. At the same time, some of us brought the mini gadgeting structures and photo albums down from 团部, and we arranged them neatly on the tables. After setting up the booths, finally, the guests were arriving. We felt a sense of pride as the guests came over to look at the booths and play the games, and we felt that all the hard work we had put in was definitely worth it. We were delighted to see the number of people that came over to the booths, as we could showcase the things that we do in Guides now, as well as let them walk down memory lane and look back on the precious memories that they had made. Overall, the campfire was an unforgettable experience that made all our time and effort so worth it.

Through this campfire, we hope that Guides have learnt something new and gained new experiences from working with different people in their respective committees. We hope that all the guests and alumni who joined us to celebrate the 55th anniversary of DHSCOY had fun at the booths, admired the structures built by construction committee and decorated by the decorations committee, and lastly enjoyed themselves to the fullest during the campfire led by the programmes committee! We thank everyone present at the campfire for helping to make this campfire a successful and special one for all of us to remember. Till the 60th aniversary campfire!

Published by:

Chin Yan Tong

55届 Secretary