Friday, November 20, 2009
Hey! This is not a post on any meeting. It's juz the CAMP KIT LIST FOR BONDING CAMP! :) Have fun packing! :) Haha.
Things to bring :
1. Sleeping bag / Foam Mat
2. Small inflatable pillow (Optional)
3. Full guides uniform including hanger, beret and gloves
4. School shorts (Enough for 2 days)
5. White school-based T-shirts (Enough for 2 days)
6. Dark coloured shirt
7. Bermudas
8. Sweater / Jacket (Optional)
9. Dry school socks (1 pair)
10. Undergarments
11. Torch
12. Water bottle
13. Stationery (Pencil case, coloured pens and foolscap)
14. Toiletries (Shampoo, Soap, Toothbrush, Toothpaste and Brush / Comb)
15. Slippers
16. Bath towel / Face towel
17. Medication (If necessary)
18. Sunscreen (Optional)
19. Logbook
Do NOT bring :
1. Food
2. Electronic games, walkman, etc.
3. Family heirlooms
4. Non-folding knives and fire-starting devices
5. Anything that might disregard the Guides law
Ok. Enjoy yourselves at camp! Have fun and really bond! :)
high quality ; 3:48 PM
Hello!
We had an unofficial meeting on Wednesday, 18 November from 7.55am - 1pm. This whole meeting would be solely for the final step to finishing the preparations for Secondary4 Farewell - FULL DRESS REHEARSAL!
We fell in at 7.55 and changed out of our pinafores. Then, we grabbed our props and costumes and headed to the Hall for rehearsal. PSes handed Kai Li the CDs which contained songs for the patrol items and had to go up to the control room to tell Kai Li and Nia when to play the CDs. They started out by familiarising themselves with the many buttons and trying to play the discs. Soon, the rehearsal could start but we were not going to perform with our costumes yet. During the rehearsal, Natalie commented on the people who had to use the microphones, namely the emcees and judge, that they had to either speak up as they were too soft and could not be heard or that they had to be more enthusiastic when they spoke.
When the rehearsal had ended, we went on to practice GOH. The PLs made sure we didn't fidget or laugh. Even Natalie went to everyone of us, trying to make us laugh! She did silly stuff like standing right in front of us, making sure the only thing we saw was her face and bobbing it up and down. I managed to keep a straight face by distracting myself from her efforts to make me laugh. How? I was singing 'ABC' in my head. Sounds silly but it works. Haha. :) Suddenly, there was a blackout in the Hall and the Badminton players came running out. Kai Li and Nia then had trouble booting up the system as it had affected the whole electric circuit in the Hall. They then had to call our IT technician to help us. However, I think it could not work so the rehearsal and Badminton training had to be postponed.
With some time left, we were told to go to an empty classroom to practice further. We started off by practicing the dance and when Nia saw us doing the 'Nobody' dance, she joined in and Joycelyn recorded her dancing. Haha! :) However, my group only practiced for awhile before getting tired. To get us to do something and not waste time, Joycelyn made us play 'Murderer'. It was rather fun except when Dorothy could not remember how many taps would determine our role so while Clara went around tapping our backs if we had a role, Joycelyn was busy chanting '1 tap murderer, 2 taps detective and 3 taps docter'. It was simply hilarious! :)
Soon, 1pm came and we fell in. While waiting for the wallets bag, Kai Li taught us 2 songs that she had learnt from the Secondary3 Adventure Camp. We were going to sing 1 of them tmw for the seniors. After that, announcements were made and we were dismissed.
Alright, i'm just left with Secondary4 Farewell to post!
May the force be with you, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 2:47 PM
Hi!
We had an unofficial meeting on Monday, 16 November from 7.55am - 5pm. I'm sorry for this late post. Time was really tight so I had no time to post because we had 3 meetings this week! :0 Alright. Now for the details ..
We fell in at 7.55 and then changed out of our pinafores. The first half of the meeting would be dedicated to the Secondary1 Orientation Campfire Preparation followed by Secondary4 Farewell Preparation after lunch. It was all about PREPARATIONS! Haha. We split into our components and headed to our respective venues. I was glad because on that day, we had more Item-ians present! :) However, Ada and I knew that it was going to be tough because Natalie was absent, due to an upside down tummy! Which somehow meant that there would be less discipline .. :(
With more people present in Item, it was definitely much more easier to rehearse as we could see how the real characters perform and correct them if they made any mistakes. Besides rehearsing the skit, we also choreographed a few new moves for the song 'Caritas'. This was because we were going to dance in groups of 3 as there were 9 Item-ians. After that, we tried to choreograph the dance for 'One Family' but we just could not. Eventually, we decided to ask Natalie if we could change the song. She said to put it on hold first and focus on the skit and 'Caritas'.
Later, while we were taking a break, Kai Li and Nia came into the classroom and they wanted to see us perform the entire package : skit and dance. We then performed for them and they gave their comments after that, such as 'needing more facial expressions' and 'having more precise dance steps'. When they left, we tried rehearsing again, taking into account the PLs comments. It was better. Then, YA came and she also wanted to see our performance so we performed again. This time, comments given were different from what the PLs gave. She said our performance was CUTE. Haha. She even said that Charissa looked like the younger version of Charis! :0 All in all, she enjoyed it and that was relieving.
We continued to practice and before we knew it, lunch time came at 1.30! Yay! :) We had until 2.30 to eat and relax before the next set of preparations began. Soon, we fell in at 2.30 and were told to go to classrooms on the ground floor to practice. We had only 1hr to rehearse before showing the PLs our performance. This year, there was going to be lesser performances as we would only be having 3 patrol items. This was because Flowerpecker had combined with Sparrow, Oriole with Mynah (to form OMG patrol which stands for Oriole and Mynah the Greatest) and Dove with Kingfisher. However, Dove and Kingfisher only decided to combine during the last 10minutes so not much rehearsing could be done and we had nothing to show to the PLs. :(
Performance time came and we soon fell in at the Parade Square. We were told to get our props and come back quickly to start the performance. The first combined patrol to go was Flowerpecker and Sparrow but they could only perform for the first 10minutes before it started to rain so we all gathered in a classroom and the performance resumed. When it came to Dove and Kingfisher's turn to perform, we told the PLs that we weren't ready as we had just decided to combine and apologized. Kai Li then told us to go to the next classroom and we spent the rest of the meeting there, discussin and practicing.
However, we soon ran out of time as it was already 5pm and we had no idea how fast time had flown! Everyone then fell in at the empty space next to the Parade Square. Announcements were made such as having to collect our Anti-Drug Abuse badge and certificate from the den and remembering to bring disposable plastic water bottles. After that, we were dismissed.
Okie. I'm done here. Still have 2 more meetings to post.
May the rain stop, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 12:59 PM
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Konichiwa! :)
Sorry, I've officially run out of ways to say hello so I have to resort to greetings in other languages. Haha. Anyway, we had an unofficial meeting yesterday (9 November) from 7.55 - 5pm. The reason behind why we needed so much time was because we were going to continue preparing for the Secondary1 Orientation Campfire and do mass testings.
We fell in at 7.55, changed out of our pinafores and split into our components to continue with our preparations. As Firepit had run out of kerosene, they could not do anything so they went to help Backdrop with the backdrop. :) Structure began tying their bridge and this time, the bridge was going to have a little twist. Instead of the usual, having the platform supported on poles, it was going to be SUSPENDED! :0 That's so cool. However, the Structure girls have yet to test if it's safe. Meanwhile, Item girls were busy rehearsing their skit.
Firstly, Natalie made us read out our lines and then she made comments like we had to have more expression and such. Then, we tried acting it out and again, Natalie corrected us time and again. It was so tiring! :( She went into details like focusing on speech, actions and stage directions. There are altogether 5 scenes and for each scene, Natalie went 'cut' a thousand times and we had to re-act. I then suggested that she video us acting so that we could see how we act. :) Although we got very tired, it paid off as we were more aware of our actions. Despite all these efforts, we knew we still had to re-do them as NO Secondary1s were present on that day so they would not know what to take note of and such. :(
Then, lunch time came and before going off, Natalie asked the understudies of the progress of their components. Later, we took a 1hr break before falling in at 2pm. From then on, we did mass testings. We went to a Secondary1 classroom and the PLs told us to get into groups of 3 and choose an article from the newspapers we had brought. Using that article, we had to write a summary of it and 2 thoughts and feelings. After that, a presentation of it was required and each person had to speak for 1 minute. Unfortunately, it started raining so the 'unlucky' ones had to raise their voices. Poorthing. :( Haha. When everyone had finished presenting, we went onto the next testing.
This time, we had to show 2 uses of a triangular bandage and a roller bandage. In addition, we also had to do a write up, answering questions such as:
1. Explaining the objective of 1st aid in today's society
2. Stating what we would do under given circumstances (accidents)
The total marks for this testing was 70 and the passing mark was 49.
After that, 5pm came and we fell in. Announcements were made and we were then dismissed.
Kay, I'm done. It's so late. Gotta sleep now.
With lots of sleep, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 9:27 PM
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Ello!
We had an unofficial meeting yesterday from 7.55 am to 1pm. The main objective for the meeting was to get one of our testings (to be done in groups) done. We fell in at 7.55 and then changed out of our pinafores. When we fell back in, the PLs asked us if we had brought our recyclable materials. Everyone except the PSes wore a puzzled look. Kai Li then asked us who did not bring them and everyone except the PSes and Kingfisher Patrol raised their hands. The PLs were very surprised and Sherwynn immediately said that Kai Li said the items were to only be brought by the PSes but Kai Li said no, that it was not true. So, everyone now had to share their recyclables.
Following that, we all headed to Computer Lab 1 and sat in groups of 6. The PLs then made sure that every group had at least 1 bag of recyclables. When all this was done, Nia briefed us on what we were going to do. We were going to either:
1. Pick an endangered animal and find out how it became endangered and what we should do about it
2. Save a particular resource
3. Find out about a substance that is harmful to our environment
My group did the topic on the endangered animal. We were told to create an advertisement poster using our recyclables to educate our audience on the chosen topic. We would have to score 70/100 marks to pass this testing. 20 marks for creativity, 30 marks for enthusiasm, 20 marks for use of recyclables and so on. We had until 10.30 to finish our poster and to discuss how we were going to present it. In the course of doing it, we were treated to entertainment - listening to songs by Westlife. Sigh, those good old days.
However, when 10.30 came and Kai Li asked if we were done, we said no. Thus, she gave us more time. Eventually, all groups finished their poster and the PLs collected it. Then, we practiced singing the Secondary 4 Farewell song before splitting into our patrols to further discuss preparations for this event.
At 12.55, we fell in and announcements were then made. After that, we were dismissed.
Kay, I'm done. This is the 1st time I've posted at such an early time. Haha. :)
Cheers, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 3:22 PM
Monday, November 02, 2009
Wassup!
We had an unofficial meeting today from a whopping 7.55am to 5pm! :0 Such a long time was needed as we had to prepare for both Secondary One Orientation Campfire and Secondary 4 Farewell. We fell in at 7.55 and were told to change out of our pinafore.
Secondary 1 orientation campfire preparation soon began. The various components went to their respective venues, ie: Item and Backdrop at canteen and Structure and Firepit at Parade Square. Everyone then started to get busy with whatever they had to do. The goal of Item was to finish making all the props, read through the lines and try to memorise them. Thanks to our hard work, we managed to achieve our goal. Yay! :) Backdrop was also getting along fine with their progress. Structure was busy tying Quadrapods and Firepit was busy soaking firewood in kerosene. However, as Firepit had run out of Kerosene, they spent their time helping Structure. How thoughtful! :)
Later when approaching 12pm, everyone was told to head to Computer Lab 4. There, we practiced the Secondary 4 Farewell dedication song with Kai Ying, ex PL of years 07/08. :) Firstly, she made us familiarise ourselves with the lyrics before getting each patrol to sing the 1st verse and chorus. Initially, we were shy to sing out loud so it took us awhile to break the ice. Soon, even without the music, we could sing without being shy about it! Progress! :) Lunchtime soon came at 1pm so we were dismissed from the lab and told that fall in would be at 1.45.
After we fell in when lunch ended, we went to an empty classroom on Level 4. There, we started with Secondary 4 Farewell preparation. Announcements were made by Nia such as:
1. Ask parents if they are alright with CCA going on when teachers are not present
2. Check if can attend both Secondary 4 Farewell and Bonding Camp
Then, we were given until 3.30 to rehearse before performing in front of the PLs. All patrols started planning their performances and some shifted to other vacant classrooms to rehearse too. However, as rehearsals took place, both Kai Ying and Eunice and her other friends came to request for volunteers for their project work. The volunteers would then have to dance randomly for 25 seconds. In an effort to persuade us, she even said that the video would not be posted on YouTube and it would be deleted after presenting. Soon, all the volunteers went to another empty classroom to perform. Getting everyone to dance and move was no mean feat. Everyone was so shy except for a few exceptionally enthusiastic ones. Eventually, it was only when Kai Ying and Eunice stayed then did we start dancing.
Following that, we had a little more time to rehearse before having to fall in at the open area next to the Parade Square. Announcements were then made, accompanied with comments from the seniors and YA before being dismissed.
As it was raining before, the knots of the structures that the Structure girls tied were extrremely tight. It took a lot of effort to untie them and on behalf of the coy, I would like to thank Kai Ying, Eunice and her friend Gabby for staying on to help us, even in the drizzle! :)
Ok. I shall stop here. Getting neck and back ache already. Haha.
Best wishes, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 8:55 PM
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Yoz!
Long time no post. Haha. It's been 50 days since I've last posted so I must try to get back to the normal posting tone. Alright, serious now.
An official meeting was held on 28 October from 2.30 - 5.30pm. We fell in at 2.30 and were told to change out of our pinafore. Then we had to get our stationery (pen and paper) and head to R401. Before we headed off, the PLs told us to brisk walk ourselves there without making any noise as there was an ongoing 'O' level examination.
We soon got to the classroom and found ourselves seats and started talking among ourselves. The PLs told us to lower our volume and we did..but only for a few seconds before it returned to its original volume. They repeated this for a few more times until Cheryl got mad and told us to SHUTUP! :0 This brought on a mini lecture from the PLs. Firstly, they asked us if we thought that we should be scolded but no one answered. Then, they told us the things that they were unhappy about :
1. Not greeting the PLS
2. Not having a sense of urgency
3. Not listening to the PLs
After that, we were informed that Secondary 4 farewell would be held on 19 November and the long awaited bonding camp would be from 23 - 24 November (which I can't attend). PSes were told to go to a separate classroom where a mini meeting was held. Kai Li, Natalie and Nia were present to talk to us. They first asked us what went wrong about an sms issue, our plans for the initiative, whether we had any problems with our patrol members and our opinion of the juniors (Secondary 1s). We then told them about whatever problems we were facing and Kai Li recorded all the important points in her trusty recording device (handphone). :)
Also, while discussing about the initiative, Natalie gave us some tips especially for activities which would be under organisations, namely SPCA and St Luke's ElderCare. She advised us not to set a confirmed date as the proposal would still have to be reviewed. Listening to our plans, both Kai Li and Natalie voiced out their opinions whenever they thought something had to be corrected. However, we soon had to move to another area as the janitors told us we were not allowed in the classrooms due to the examinations. Thus, we moved to the canteen.
Both the components, Item and Backdrop, were in the canteen while Structure and Firepit were around the Parade Square. Discussions and plans soon started and Item planned to finish writing the script by that day's meeting so we were racking our brains to come up with a good script. Meanwhile, poor Kai Li was having trouble getting the Backdroppers to do stuff. As they had already finished designing the backdrop, they had nothing else to do so Kai Li told them to do something but they did not want to so she got very upset. She came over to Item territory and complained to Natalie. Being a good friend and a strict PL, she scolded Backdrop and then split them into two groups before assigning duties. As they were taking their own sweet time to move, Kai Li started shouting at them. It was then that they all decided to hurry.
Soon, 5.25 came and we fell in at the Parade Square. Announcements were made and we were then dismissed.
Alrightie, this is the end. I'm going to zzz now.
Love, Melissa! :) *zzz-ing*
high quality ; 11:18 PM
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Hey!
We had an unofficial meeting on Wednesday (2/9), from 2.30 – 5.30pm. That was our last Guides meeting. :( The next meeting would only commence until after our examinations had ended.
We fell in at 2.30 but had to do so at the sheltered empty space beside the parade square as it was drizzling. Next, those who had not eaten lunch were given time to eat. However, we were told by the PLs that this would be the last time we were going to be given time for lunch during meeting hours. This was because precious time would be lost from time taken to eat lunch. The rest were then told to change out of their pinafores. That day’s meeting was fully dedicated to the preparation of the Secondary One Orientation. :)
The PLs first announced our groupings for the different components, as there had been a shuffling of the groupings. I was initially from Structure but had been posted to Item. (The PLs must have either thought I had a calling to the Arts or Item would have brighter prospects with me included in there. KIDDING!) :) Anyway, Ada and I were made understudies of Item, Brenda, the understudy of Backdrop, Dorothy and Estelle, the understudy of Structure and Sherwynn, the understudy of Firepit.
Thereafter, we were told to proceed to two empty classrooms. Item and Backdrop occupied one classroom while Structure and Firepit occupied the other classroom. As Mrs Helen Tan had instructed that everything be different from last year, much work had to be done. Backdrop had to think of a new design for their backdrop, Item had to think of a new skit and Structure had to think of a different structure to tie.
At 3.30, the PLs told Structure and Firepit to lay out the poles for them to be sunned, as they were wet from the earlier drizzle. After that, they returned to the classroom to carry on with their discussions. Then, at 4.30, Cheryl told Structure to keep the black-white poles, starting from poles that were the dirtiest and unsuitable for tying structures, to poles that were the nicest. Following that, the two Quadra pods were placed on top of the poles with the flag pole above them. The blue-green poles were still not able to be kept yet as they were still wet.
Later, at 5pm, everyone fell in and we did foot drills. YA was present with us and she corrected any mistakes that were committed, ie: we were only allowed to take dressing when the command, kekanan lurus, was given. Also, that command could only be given if the coy was facing the initial direction. In the midst of the foot drill, PSes were told to fall out so that we could keep the blue-green poles and a few Secondary 1s also came to help. :) After doing so, we returned to the parade square to fall in and were later dismissed.
Okie dokie. I am going to stop here. Best of luck for the examinations! Bye!
Regards, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 10:03 PM
Monday, August 31, 2009
Hello! :)
We had an unofficial meeting on Wednesday (26/8), from 2.30 – 5.30pm. We fell in at 2.30 and PSes reported strength. We then had the usual inspection before changing out of our pinafores. After that, we were told to go to the outdoor stage area. There, Natalie briefed us on the change in testings and some important points to take note about them too. Here are the important points:
1. Natalie and YA have made changes to the testings
2. Each guide must have a BLUE testings file
3. The file must have a contents page which Natalie will provide
4. Always remember to FILE TESTINGS
5. Checking of files will be conducted
6. Study testings before date of test
7. If testings are failed too many times, there will be a punishment
8. Do not do new testings yet, if you do, they might not be accepted
9. When the new requirements for testings are finalized, a copy will be given to PSes
10. Patrol members are to check with PSes for the new requirements
11. ONLY if there are important questions, ie: how to do testings, then can patrol members ask PSes for Natalie’s number
12. DO NOT PRANK CALL NATALIE OR ASK DUMB QUESTIONS
13. For individual testing, everybody must have a copy of their testing
14. For group testing, one group member can keep the testing (preferably a reliable one) but it is better if each group member has the testing
15. Hand in testings to either Natalie or YA (preferably Natalie)
After the short briefing, those who were in the Structure component were assigned a task. Each senior was to be paired with either one or two juniors. Then, she had to teach them how to tie a squarelash knot and a quadrapod. Clara, Nicole, Caitlin and Charmaine were told to teach others rafting. :) Blue-green poles and yellow-orange poles were taken out, together with the lashings from the den. Work immediately began! We were given until 4pm to teach the juniors how to tie both the knot and structure until which they would be tested. Sadly, in the midst of teaching the juniors, it began to drizzle so we had to shift everything indoors (the corridor of the classrooms). From there, we continued with our teaching. Soon, the time came for the juniors to be tested. At 4.45, we were told to untie the knots, dismantle the structures and keep the poles. We then fell in and did footdrills! This continued all till 5 plus and when 5.30 came, we were dismissed.
Whilst teaching the juniors how to tie both the knot and structure, I felt that it was a form of revision for me. As I was checking my facts and ensuring that I was passing on the right knowledge to the juniors. Since I had not tied a knot and structure for a long time, I admit that I had committed A FEW mistakes but it was fine because I made sure that I learned from them! :)
Alright-ie. I shall stop here. Bye!
With lots of love, Melissa! :)
high quality ; 10:44 PM
