Hi Guides! This year, our Year 1s and 2s, as well as selected Year 3s were involved in Contingent for Dunman High School's National Day Parade on 8 August. It was a proud moment when we displayed our Contingent skills.
Reflection by a Year 2 in P4:
In the week leading up to the school’s National Day celebration on 8 August, the Year 2 Guides and some Year 3s participated in rehearsals for the contingent. We practiced alongside St John Brigade, the National Police Cadet Corps, and the the Scouts. During the marching portions, we also had to follow the beat of the music that was played by the school’s Symphonic Band. As we were following a different timing than what we were used to, which was the timing of St John’s. However, we quickly got used to the different timings and practiced well. We also faced a few other issues with our contingent. Since we do not do contingent often, some of us were unfamiliar with some of the commands. Also, we were sometimes out of sync while marching forward and marching forward. Also, some of us were swinging our arms while marching on the spot and were lifting our legs. To help, the seniors from St John’s Brigade came over and told us what we were doing wrong, and how we should fix it. Their advice proved to be extremely helpful, and we were able to do much better during the rest of our practices. There were also a few changes to the contingent during the rehearsal itself. Some procedures were changed, and it took a while to get used to after practising the previous procedure multiple times. Practice was definitely tiring, but it was a rewarding experience and it was also fun to learn more about the commands, and timings and also interact with the other Uniformed Groups.
Reflection by a Year 2 in P5:
On 8 August, I participated in the NDP contingent with my batchmates and a few of my seniors. We had to go for numerous training sessions to ensure that we were extremely familiar with the commands. There was a lot of stress on us as we knew we could not make a mistake during the actual march-in. I was especially nervous as I was the right marker, the first person in the Guides contingent. Additionally, the Guides contingent was the first contingent to march in. That made me even more pressured as I had to march perfectly and start on the right beat so that others behind could follow. If I made a mistake, this would affect the people behind me. With this in mind, I felt extremely nervous as I was not only representing myself, but I was also representing the Girl Guides of Dunman High School, the proud Uniformed Groups of Dunman High. Nonetheless, I tried to put all my worries aside and looked straight ahead and focused on marching, hands ninety degrees with my head held up high. On the bright side, I got a lot of support from my peers, seniors, and juniors. When they saw me, they started smiling and even waved. At this sight, I felt truly proud to be a Guide. The marching went smoothly so I was relieved. My worry was for nothing! All in all, marching for the NDP contingent was an enriching and enjoyable experience. I would do it again as I enjoyed my time during Contingent.
Reflection by a Year 2 in P6:
I believe that the NDP contingent rehearsals were extremely helpful in helping us practice for the actual NDP day where we would march in front of the school. It was a good opportunity to check our understanding of each command and ensure that we were familiar with the actual procedures that would happen on the day itself so that we would not mess up on the day itself. During the NDP rehearsals, we had to be constantly reminded to listen out for the timer’s timing and ensure that we were all in sync such that we look organized and uniform. The various rehearsals helped refresh our memory before the actual march in. On 8 August, it was slightly stressful due to the pressure of marching in front of all the other students. Should we have made a mistake while marching in, it would have been obvious that we had messed up for the other students who were sitting down. We had to closely follow the beat as the band was playing and focus on marching in sync with everyone else. As we recited the pledge, we had to speak in loud voices so that our words would not be slurred and could be heard clearly. The process of marching out was less stressful as we had already passed the marching in which had gone smoothly, allowing us to feel more comfortable and at ease with marching out. I believe that a key factor in enabling the marching go smoothly was the rehearsals as they were extremely helpful. I am very grateful for the rehearsals and our seniors for overseeing the rehearsals and helping us improve. It was truly a fun experience.
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