Thursday, 14 January 2010
@ 8:21:00 pm
Hi!
On 8 January, we had the Secondary1 Orientation Campfire - a major event that we have been preparing since a long time ago. Thus, with this much effort, we anticipated that much enthusiasm during the campfire from the Secondary1s, PSLs and parents. Thankfully, we were not let down. In fact, we were blown away by the Secondary1's enthusiasm. It really caught us by surprise! :D
Ok, here are the details about the last preparation ..
We fell in immediately after assembly and Kai Li told us that we were going to have a briefing from certain teachers so we had to attend the briefing first. After that would be CE lessons so we were only to meet at the parade square after CE lessons, which was 8.50am. At that time, all the Secondary 3s and most of the Secondary 2s had gathered at the parade square so we decided to sit and wait for the PLs and the rest of the coy.
At about 9plus, everyone was present so the PLs fell us in and told us what time recess would be (9.50) and briefed us on what we were to do after lunch. We were also told to remove our pinafores and pass them to the PS of our patrol. She would then collect them, check that the belts were in the loop, fold them, stack them and put them in the Den for safe-keeping. After that, everyone got busy with intensive preparation. Although we had the whole day, we had to ensure that every single detail was perfect so we did not want to waste any time. However, recess time came so we went to eat our fill before starting on all the laborious work.
After recess, Natalie rounded up the Item girls and we did the usual - transport the podiums down. She wanted it to be done by 11 plus. Thankfully, we had everyone present so things were much more efficient than the previous meetings as everyone was very familiar with the procedures and such. After all the podiums had been brought down, we helped the backdroppers put up their backdrop with the help of Mr. Rashid, Uncle Francis and Mr. Tang on the 2nd floor. :) Then, we had to adjust the banner as we had to ensure it was parallel to the fire so we shifted it but then, we noticed the banner was not aligned with the stage so we had to shift it but later decided to get the firepitters to shift their firepit instead as it was so tiring shifting the stage so many times! :O
Following that, we finally started rehearsing, non full-dress 1st. We kept rehearsing till the Secondary1s made an appearance at the parade square so we had to shift our rehearsal location as we did not want them to see the performance way before the campfire. Before that, Mr. Tang was at the parade square too, checking the visualizer screens. Then, he advised us to paste 'red-white tapes onto the edges of the stage so as to prevent any accidents. Thus, we went to the hall but it was occupied as there was a NECIP talk going on in there so we just had to return to the parade square and wait for the Secondary1s to finish their activities.
By the time they were gone, the sky was getting dark so we decided to bring out the groundsheets to cover the stage lest it rained during lunch. By then, we were all tired so what we needed to do was to eat! Thankfully, it was lunch time already! We were released for lunch at 2pm and were told to caome back in 45min and were also adsvised not to eat too much as dinner time was around the corner.
After lunch we got back to work and guess what .. Qarissa was here to visit! :D Soon, while rehearsing, we felt raindrops and then, it started to rain. A drizzle started which later escalated to a heavy rain in no time. Everyone rushed to cover the stage with the groundsheets and cover the firepit with their cloth. Luckily, we covered it while it was still drizzling so .. no harm done. :) There was also very strong wind and this made the newspapers fly so we had to catch them. When everything was securely in place, we came back to the corridor and were all drenched from head to toe. All of us then made our way to the canteen to await our dinner but before that, we dried off. Those who were supposed to wear Guides uniform for the campfire gladly changed while the rest changed into slippers.
Although we were damp, our dinner consoled us as it was delicious! :P After dinner, we returned to the parade square and found that the speakers and IT stuff were already set up. The ground was wet and this made it impossible for anyone to sit so Mrs. Nicks brought out 2 GIGANTIC canvas sheets to lay on the ground. We, together with some councillors and Mr Daryl Chan helped spread it. Soon, it was time to do a sound check and the Item girls (especially Charis) could not wait to hear their lovely voices coming from the speakers and sounding everywhere. Haha. :D We did 1 last rehearsal while holding the microphone and was finally done. By this time, when all was done, parents were already starting to file in and our usherers politely brought them to their seats.
Just before the campfire started, Item girls said a prayer together and thanked God for the weather. An awesome group hug followed! <3>
After all the classes had performed, it was our turn, the Item girls, to perform our long-prepared-for performance! We were definitely nervous but we did well for both the skit and dance! Yay! <3>
Later, we fell in and were told to gather our bathing gear and wait in the canteen for further instructions. When all had assembled except the Firepitters who had to help with the firepit, the PLs announced that Dove and Flowerpecker were to go into the washroom and could start bathing when told to do so. The 'safe people' were to bathe on the right side while the injured and those who were having their ahem were to bathe on the left side. Safe-ers were given 3mins to shower and the others were given 5min. Firepitters were given 10min.
When everyone had finished showering, they either returned to the canteen for supper, stayed in the classroom to rest or helped to keep Ms Soh awake by sitting by her while she and sherwynn (who later went to shower) did the attendance checking and stuff. A few moments before we had to report to the Performing Arts Room for COH, the lights went off and I screamed. This sent the other girls screaming as well and I later felt very bad for frightening them so I apologized.
We sat in a circle during COH and Mrs Tan was present with us. We were firstly suppose to express our thoughts on that day and also state what we had learnt from that day too. Next, Mrs Tan gave both positive and negative feedback to all of us about the day followed by Qarissa giving her own feedback. Mrs Tan then wanted explanations for the mistakes that we had made. When COH was over, the PLs said that lights out would be at 11.30pm, 11.35 being the latest.
*LIGHTS OUT*
This is the end of the 1st day of the campfire. The next would be about our cleaning up!
Until then, Melissa! :)
SiYing; Chomel; Katrina; Meenatchi; Safila; Krystal; Christine; Siti; Rukaiya; Kalyani
Qarissa (YA)(not in picture); Sherwynn; Nicole (not in picture); Caitlin; Charmaine; Vanessa; Amanda; Claudia; Michelle