Patrol Secretary Graduation, 23 June 2025

Hello Guides! As our Passing Down Parade nears, the Patrol Secretaries have penned down our thoughts on how it was as a Patrol Secretary thus far, and hence stepping down from our Patrol Secretary Duties! 

Let's take a moment to listen what some of them have to say:

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Reflection by a Y3 Patrol Secretary from P1:

My Secretary journey for P1 has been very fruitful. My seniors entrusted me with the role of the Patrol Secretary, where we are required to relay information of reflections to be done about 集合s that we attended. This is important for everyone to look back on what we have learnt and could do better. As a Secretary, we have to coordinate between us to prevent overlapping of reflections and distribute the reflections among ourselves equally so it is fair for everyone, and edit reflections from our Patrol mates. Even though it was not easy to manage many reflections at once, I managed better and it became easier each time, and was always able to submit my reflections before the deadline. In this role, although it was an additional responsibility, it taught me to manage my time well as since we have to edit the reflections, we cannot leave it to the last minute. We also have to check the reflections for wrong word phrasing carefully and standardise between reflections. It also made me realise the importance of planning beforehand, as we have to fill in a spreadsheet to indicate who is doing which reflection. I also have to give my Patrol mates early submission deadlines to prevent late submissions of reflections and give myself enough time to check and edit the reflections. I am grateful for this opportunity and have enjoyed this journey in the past year.

Reflection by a Y3 Patrol Secretary from P4:

Being a secretary for P4 made me learn many things along the way. At first, the workload of being a secretary may seem overwhelming at first. A list of reflections needed is sent and we have to edit a spreadsheet regarding the reflections. This made me realize the importance of communication and coordination as we need to ensure every secretary from each patrol have a fair share of reflections to complete. We have to make sure there are no overlapped reflections and organize our tasks accordingly. Able to manage your time comes in handy while being a secretary especially when you have to adhere to the deadlines. We also have to be detailed when checking our juniors’ reflection for wrong words or phrasing and ensure they hit the word count. Being a secretary made me learn how to take on a responsibility for my patrol and ensure that the juniors have clear understanding on how to do proper reflections. Thus my secretary journey has been a fulfilling one, even though there were challenges like not meeting the deadlines or some slight miscommunication it taught me values to become responsible and how to work better with others as well as a sense of time management and organization.

Reflection by a Y3 Patrol Secretary from P5:

My secretary journey has been a new and enriching experience. When I first got appointed as secretary, I was nervous as I was unsure of what to do. I was constantly worried that I would disseminate the wrong information or that I would forget about the reflections all together. However, overtime, I got more comfortable with being a secretary as I got used to my new role. Being a secretary has taught me the importance of organisation, especially when there are a lot of reflections to handle. Secretaries have to constantly keep track of which reflections were submitted and which were not. Additionally, we have to read through the reflections and check for any spelling, grammar or formatting errors. Thus, in order to account for all the reflections, I gradually adopted ways to sort out the reflections, such as creating folders or checklists. Being a secretary has also taught me the importance of punctuality and time management. When the tasks are given, many times people wait until the last minute to do and submit. As a secretary, I learnt how important it is to complete our reflections and tasks as soon as possible and ask for time extensions early so as to not trouble anyone. I also understood that completing reflections early also gives people time to thoroughly check them, improving the overall quality of the work. All in all, being a secretary allowed me to understand the importance of organisation and punctuality, providing me with an opportunity to learn new values and skills that can be applied in the future. 




Thank you so much for your help, Secrataries! As you venture down a new path soon, I hope your time as secretary will prove helpful!

Published by

Chan Zi Xuan

56th 届 Secretary

Values In Action @ GSSC, 2 June 2025 and 3 June 2025

Hello Guides! We are back from our yearly VIA at Good Sherpard Student Care Centre! We have gone there every year to organise activities as part of the girls' school holidays'programme, and we take much pride in seeing them light up at the activities we plan for them! We found it so meaningful and we can't wait to come back next year!  


This year, we did Craft Work, Baking as well as planned a Carnival for the girls at GSSC to enjoy! Here are some of our thoughts.. And a paper rose gifted to us by the girls at GSSC! 

From a Year 1 in P2 on Craft Work VIA:

The Crafts VIA session we had on the 2nd of June at Good Shepherd Student Care Centre was a very enjoyable and meaningful experience. My Year 2 senior and I were assigned to a group with three energetic little girls. Our task was to teach them how to make a Habit Hero badge, which we had only just learned to make ourselves. At first, I felt slightly nervous about guiding them, as I wasn’t sure how well they would follow the instructions or respond to us. The girls seemed a little distracted at the beginning and were very quiet and distracted with reading. However, our Year 4 seniors joined us and helped us. After some encouragement and friendly conversation, they slowly began to settle down and pay more attention. They gradually picked up the steps and were able to complete most of the craft on their own, which made the experience smoother and more enjoyable for us. I did face a challenge when I tried to stick the card stock paper to the badge, it wouldn’t stay in place no matter how much I taped or how hard I pressed. After seeking help from my Year 2 senior, I finally managed to get it to work. We also folded some paper stars during the session. To my surprise, the girls already knew how to fold them, which made that part of the activity much easier and more fun. Throughout the session, I also got to know them better, one enjoys swimming, and another loves playing Roblox. Overall, this VIA taught me a lot of things, such as patience and how to better connect with younger children. I hope the girls had as much fun as we did, I learnt a lot and I am really looking forward to the next VIA session next year.

From a Year 1 in P5 on Craft Work VIA:

During the VIA craftwork activity at Good Shepherd Student Care, I had the opportunity to guide Primary One and Two students in making their own habit badges. This experience was very meaningful to me because it allowed me to engage with the younger students and also help them to make good daily habits through a fun and hands-on activity. At the start, I was a little nervous because I did not know whether the children would find the crafts interesting and was worried that they would not understand the instructions that I gave them. I was also unsure if they would listen attentively. However, as the session went on, I noticed that they were very enthusiastic, energetic and eager to tell me about themselves, and they were also excited to make their own colourful badges. I really enjoyed listening to their stories and demonstrating the crafts such that they could follow the steps well and quickly.

A challenge I faced was explaining the instructions such that everyone could follow without confusion. They were confused at first, but I learned to be more patient and give simpler and clearer explanations so that they could understand what to do. In order to keep them motivated, I did not rush through the explanation and instead showed every step clearly and carefully, and also repeated the explanations when they were unsure or forgot what to do. I also encouraged and complimented them throughout the session, allowing them to continue putting in their best effort in their craft. Through this experience, I not only got better at communicating with children, but also improved my leadership skills. In the future, I will continue doing my best to guide them and will try to make the craft activity even more engaging and easy to understand for them.

From a Year 3 in P1 on Baking VIA:

My VIA baking session at Good Shepherd Student Care was a meaningful experience. When I first arrived, I was quite nervous about meeting the children. However, after getting to know them better, I was more at ease and casual. As my partner arrived late, I had to start by myself first. I first instructed the children to take turns pouring the ingredients into the metal bowl accordingly. They were very energetic and all wanted a turn to pour the ingredients in. As soon as everything was poured in, we began mixing the batter to achieve a smooth mixture for the vanilla cupcakes. It was quite chaotic as they all wanted to stir the mixture, and so they took turns doing that, but they stirred a little too vigorously, causing the batter to almost spill out, and I needed to remind them to stir gently. We then proceeded to pour the batter in the cupcake moulds. They started doing math to see how many cupcakes each of them would get, and as they were pouring, batter started spilling everywhere, which we cleaned up after that. Some even wanted to try to make heart shaped cupcakes but it did not work. Since we still had some extra batter left, we decided to make another batch of cupcakes. Finally after pouring two batches of cupcake batter, we were able to put them into the oven to bake. In the meantime, I sat them down to do the reflection sheet. They were very creative and managed to draw all kinds of cupcake designs, and with some guidance, they managed to reflect and write their responses on the paper. After about 15 minutes, the cupcakes were finally done, so we set them aside to cool down before eating. The children were very excited to finally eat their cupcakes. When it was cool enough, I brought it to the table and distributed it to them. After splitting the cupcakes among themselves, they tried their cupcakes and were all very proud of what they had made. This VIA session was very fulfilling as we got to interact with the children and patiently wait with them for the cupcakes to be done while we chatted with each other. I hope to see them again next year for the next VIA session.

From a Year 3 in P3 on Baking VIA:

On 3 June, I had a fulfilling time at Good Shepherd Student Care. Together with the students there, my activity was to bake some simple and delicious cupcakes. As I was allocated to the later shift in the morning, when I had reached, the cupcakes were already ready to serve. Thus, I took the initiative to help wash the cupcake trays and the various bowls and utensils used during the baking process. The process of washing the dirty cupcake trays was surprisingly challenging for me, as much of the stains and batter drips had hardened, and thus was difficult to scrape off using my bare fingers. However, after a while, it got easier for me and successfully, I finished washing and cleaning all the cupcake trays alongside a Year 4. And soon, it was time for the next batch of students and my shift to begin. Before the actual baking process, I remember feeling slightly nervous as I am not a very talented baker, and having to teach it to the students who were much younger than me, felt daunting. I was afraid that I would not be able to interact with them and guide them well. However, my worries soon dissipated as the baking began. I was allocated to a table of Primary 5 and 6 students. They were extremely enthusiastic and lively, making me feel more comfortable and confident in guiding them. Throughout the baking process, I guided them as they combined and mixed the ingredients together. Furthermore, I engaged in meaningful conversation with them, talking about their hobbies, interests and family. As we talked as a group, I got to understand them better and be able to interact with them more comfortably. Easily, we bonded together and got to know one another better. Afterwards, we baked the cupcakes and they turned out well, making our baking process a success! The students each took a few cupcakes home with them after completing their reflections and more casual chatting with me. Towards the end, I had gained such a meaningful experience from the activity, being able to put in my contribution and being a part of the successful Values In Action session. 

From a Year 2 in P6 on Carnival VIA:

We went to GSSC to help to organise and carry out a carnival for the children there. We first arrived and met up at Cadelcott MRT station. Once everyone had gathered, we all started to make our way to GSSC. For my patrol and the people who signed up for extra sessions, we had to split up into groups of two or individually, and set up our booths. There were the game booths, like “Beanbag Toss” and activity booths, like “Charades”. The children were supposed to get eight stamps from eight different booths, and after collecting the stamps, they could exchange their card for prizes, like Oreo cookies and a packet of cute erasers. I was in charge of the “Poster-making” booth, and our goal was to ask the children to draw and write a poster, showcasing five of their good habits. However, as we were on a time limit, me and my partner quickly decided to adapt to the instructions, and instead of five good habits, we decided to let them write and draw one to two habits. The children were quite adorable and creative, but at certain times, some if them got a little confused by how to spell some words, and we just gave them a helping hand with their spelling. It was understandable, as most of the children who needed our help with their spelling were at the Kindergarten 2 or Primary 1 age. There were a lot of laughter, and i sincerely hope that we did a good job to help put a smile on the childrens’ faces. I hope that they enjoyed the “carnival” that we set up for them. We did have to clean up after that, and later the children said a nice “Thank you” to us, which i felt was really cute and sweet. Overall, this was an engaging and eye-opening event that I have learnt from.

From a Year 2 in P4 on Carnival VIA:

On the 2nd and 3rd of June, a VIA Carnival was held for the primary school children at GSSC (Good Shepherd Student Care). I was stationed at Booth 6, the poster-making station, for both days. The task at this booth was for the children to create a poster on the topic of good daily healthy habits. They were asked to draw, write, and colour five healthy habits they could practise every day, making the poster as colourful as possible. As the carnival started at 1320, the patrols reached the Caldecott MRT at 1300 and made our way there earlier to start preparing for our respective stations. On Day 1, the flow of children was smooth and manageable. We communicated well and divided the work effectively, to make sure both of us weren’t too burnt out. However, Day 2 was more challenging. I was the only one stationed at Booth 6, and with the large number of children coming by, I had to repeat my instructions many times and manage the crowd alone. This required patience, resilience, and quick thinking, but it also gave me the opportunity to step up and practise leadership and self-discipline. Although tiring, it was heartening to see the children putting in their best effort. Some even shared that they had just learned about healthy habits the day before! It was a joy to see their interest in drawing and how naturally talented many of them were. Time passed in a blink of an eye as I became fully engaged with the activity and the children. Towards the end, many children went to the redemption booth to collect their prizes. Surprisingly, the eraser packets, as they were food themed, were so popular that they eventually ran out! It was rewarding to see the children excitedly working through the stations to earn their Oreos and eraser packets. Throughout this VIA experience, I saw how meaningful interaction and encouragement from the heart can foster positive relationships, even in a short amount of time. Although we were not allowed to ask for their contacts, we still enjoyed ourselves and created lasting memories. All in all, this carnival not only gave me the chance to connect with primary school children, but also helped me grow in time management, independent problem-solving, and adaptability.

We've had so much fun at VIA.. Don't forget us, GSSC! We will be back soon!

Published by

Chan Zi Xuan

56th 届 Secretary