Car wash reflection

We had a car wash this year to raise money for our job week. We were supposed to be asking our teachers to support us by letting us wag their cars. However, most of that work was done by our scout leaders. I feel that we should be more initiative and participative when it comes to such activities as it is our job week and not our leaders'.

Before we started the car wash, we were briefed to not pour the water over to car to get rid of the soap. Instead we were told to rinse our rags and then wash off the soap. Unfortunately, this rule was broken by many of my fellow scouts as they were playing with the water. When we carried out this activity, we were in the middle of a dry spell and the need to conserve water was extremely high. I feel that we should be more responsible in conserving water, a precious resource, and not waste it as Singapore has limited resources and there could be a day when we might have a lack of water.

Many of us were playing as we washed the cars and were not serious in our work. In my opinion this is a very selfish behaviour. This shows that we do not care for things that do not belong to us. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the car owners, we too would not wish for others to damage our precious belongings.

I also learnt the power of teamwork through this activity. When we worked together, we were able to get the job done quicker than working in separate individuals in order to simultaneously wash the cars at the same time.

HK scouts exchange programme

My thoughts about the programme:

First of all when we arrived at Telok Ayerand went to the temple. Un fortunately, our facilitators were unfamiliar withe route and we got separated with the first half of the group and got lost. Furthermore, it did not seem that they were sure of their end destination. The movement of the scouts was very disorganized and had to conastantly stop for various reasons.

The transport was also not ideal. I know it was requested by the Hong Kong scouts to take the MRT, however, it was very troublesome - the HK scouts had to buy their cards everytime we rode the train. Adding on to the inconvenience of taking the public transport, when we stopped at a hawker centre, wasting a few hours there and missing out on a few activities. If we had taken a coach, it would be able to pick us up regardless of the weather and we would not have to cancel the activities. Even if we did not take a coach, I suggest that the HK scouts make use of the extra time and plan for what they wanted to cook for the cooking competition later instead of just sitting down there and then not knowing what to buy inside the NTUC, thus wasting time and overcrowding the NTUC.

I also feeel that the waiting time between activties was too long.

In my group, the Singapore scouts and the HK scouts were separated and the interactions between us was little. I suggest that we had a few icebreaking games on the first day to help us know each other better and increase the chances of interaction between us.

Camp reflection

The best part I liked was the archery. I feared that the string might hit me or snap and so I restrained in pulling it back. However, after a few times, I regained my confidence and started pulling back all the way.

A lot of people disliked the food. But I think that we should not complain about the quality of the food as there are many more starving children and people out there who do not even have food to complain about. We should be grateful that we at least still have food to eat.

Then we played some team bonding games. One of our team members was extremely uncooperative and just wouldn’t listen to commands. My group really needs to work on our team spirit.

Planning the gang show was the worst. Like I said, my team had ZERO bonding and when it came to planning things everything just fell apart.

The first hurdle we had to cross was to decide what we exactly wanted to do. Some of them wanted to do one thing and the rest of them wanted something else so there was a lot of commotion. In the end, we carried out a vote to decide.

The second difficulty we faced was practicing. You see, many of our leaders were inexperienced and newly appointed, as a result, they were not able to successfully control and teach what they have in mind.

I find that we REALLY need to improve on our co-operation otherwise we will turn out like that and just as expected, the gang show was badly performed. 

  

Sixers Council

11-04-13

Today the sixers gathered to plan for the games. We had been reusing some of the old games as we had run out of ideas. But even without having to think of a new game for the cub scouts to play, it was still extremely difficult for us to decide on a game as all of us were over enthusiastic. True, we should take pride an interest in whatever we do, however we should not let that enthusiasm come in the way of showing respect to one another. We should take turns to speak in order to make everyone feel important and give them the respect they deserve. Furthermore, by not taking turns, we are decimating the number of ideas we have for the games and as such, making it boring for the cub scouts.

09-05-13

One of the sixers was quite excited today. In fact most of the time, he is very enthusiastic in scouting. However, he lacks the ability to communicate with his friends – he thinks that by shouting, he will get the attention and respect of the scouts. In my opinion, he is being silly. Nobody likes to be bossed around and when you yell at others, not only will they not listen to you, but they will also dislike you. Shouting drains your energy and affects your voice and after all of this you don’t get what you want! So as a sixer, we must come out with innovative ways to get things done. For example, Serpent taught us a few hand signals that we could use to signal to the cub scouts what we want instead of yelling at them.

Despite all of this, I still want to help this sixer become a better person so I try to understand things from his point of view. Maybe around him people have been raising their voices at him due to his behavior and he thinks that this is the only way to lead others and so he picks it up. Maybe I myself have been too harsh on him I shall change and try to be nicer around him instead of always blowing my top once my limit of tolerance has reached.

28-03-14

Jethro, our Senior Sixer has come up with over 100 scout games to play. He has shown a great amount of effort and passion in leading and scouting. He commitment has inspired me to push my self even further and has shown me that it is indeed possible to juggle between my CCA and school work. I hope my fellow sixers can also learn from Jethro’s actions.

Writer

Continuous Writing

            I burrowed deep into the sand just as the sky brightened. It bled red as the sun crept over the horizon, like as silent murderer. The cool night breeze took its final breath of life just before the burning heat of day took over.

            Snuggling into the warm moist pits of the sand, I prepared to hit the hay, or sand in this case, after a long and exhausting night of scavenging for morsels of food. Unfortunately, my lucky stars were not shining that day.

            My consciousness was ebbing away and with each clash of the salty waters and sandy shores, which was music to my ears, I stranded further into slumber land. A harsh screech of tyres that reverberated through the beach dragged me from my groggy state. Opening my eyes a slit, I peered out from the safety of the sand and what I saw did not please me even in the slightest. A school bus full of children appeared before me and I instantly knew that my plans to recharge had gone down the drain.

            I sighed as the pestering kids alighted from the bus. Some of them seemed excited while others looked like the walking dead. But one thing they all had in common, there was no such thing as “consideration” in their dictionary. All of them talked at the top of their voices, eradicating any last hopes I had left for sleep.

            I felt completely helpless, like an empty paper bag, drifting only where the winds brought me. What could I possibly do? I was just a creature of lesser creation in the eyes of a human. As dangerous as my pincers were, the humans outsized me a hundred to one. I had no choice but to wait out.

            So I began to wait, attentively scrutinizing the movements of the humans, just in case I had to take aggressive measures. A tall authoritative-looking figure convened the children before him and started to give instructions, I presumed, for I could only see his mouth moving. Then the children jumped into action.

            The only thing I felt for these humans was annoyance, but now fear was mounting up. The humans had armed themselves with humongous plastic bags and “metal pincers”! Are they here to catch me just like the ones that took the lives of my brothers and sisters? Once that thought had entered my mind, there was no leaving.

            Fear, like a python with a prehensile tail, throttled me, leaving me breathless. My heart palpitated heavily against my shell, and the drumming of my heart ringed in my ears. After the shock, I had only one desperate thought left – hide. Using my two last legs, I burrowed frantically, determined to stay out of even the peripheral view of the humans.

            A boy wearing a cap walked towards me, he wore a notorious grin on his face. “Finally, a pathetic animal to bully…” was all that I heard before the boy pulled me by my glorious gleaming claw, which must not have been buried, out from my peaceful home.

            Anger fuelled me. These so-called “advanced-life forms” dare disrupt my sleep, try to catch me and now treat me like a play thing! That was the last straw. I clamped my claw tightly around his little pink finger. I guest the humans have no outer protection as the boy ululated out loud as affliction grew in his little pinky. He tried to shake me off but I clamped tighter. Some compassionate humans looked at him with concern but others guffawed at the boy’s misfortune.

            The tall figure who was talking rushed to him and tried to prise me off. I held on for a few seconds longer before deciding that I was satisfied with my sweet vengeance and made my way to the sea. Luckily, the humans fixed their attention on the boy. As the blessed waves washed over me, I smiled with satification.

An Accident

           

My birthday. It is the day where you are supposed to rejoice being brought into the world. It is the day where you receive presents from your close friends and families. However, it is a day where all those painful, painful memories come back to me. No matter how hard I try or my father reassures me, I just cannot let it go. How could I? After all the blame weighed on me.

            A year ago, on my birthday …

            The sun was shining brightly in the azure blue sky, which was dotted with white puffy clouds. I was impatiently waiting for my mother outside a shop in a shopping mall. I was staring at the dolls – their long blonde golden hair and their big blue eyes, in the display window, just yearning for my parents to get me one as a present. “Where is she?” I thought irritatingly, my mother’s snail-like pace was like an itch I could not reach. I fished out my phone and thumbed a message to my mother, rushing her to reach me.

            After another ten minutes or so of adoring the dolls, I heard a deafening screech of tyres that reverberated throughout the street. I swiveled round and instantly, my world froze … no, it shattered. My world shattered into a million pieces which could never ever be put back together. The cars on the road came to an abrupt halt, blocked by a black Mercedes, blood staining its hood. A few metres away, my… my mother who was clutching a plastic bag, lay motionless on the ground.

            I could not breathe, I tried to scream but all that came out was a squeak. I felt like I was on water, the pain, the shock and the fear pulling me down, dragging me to my watery grave, I could not live without my mother. Only the thought that maybe, just maybe, my mother was not dead would pull me out of the water.

            I made my way towards my mother. Every step I took, I kept praying my mother would be alright. My mother loved me and she was the one that I had always turned to in times of both happiness and sadness. She had taken care of me from young and we had a special affinity. At night, when I had bad dreams it was she who comforted me. She could not be dead.

            My eyes must have deceived me. I could feel my doubt increasing ever so rapidly, but I ran faster, determined to prove myself to myself that my mother was not the person lying downwards.

            Once I inched nearer, I could see the dark red liquid that ran in rivulets around the body, seeping into the road. Squatting down, I saw familiar-looking face, the kind eyes that always contained love for me were now staring lifelessly into space. There were deep bruises and dents all over her body.

            “No! Mum!” I shouted as I picked up my mother’s lifeless body, hugging it close to my chest.

            I tried to stem the blood from her wounds with my hands, hoping against hope that she could still be alive. However, her body was limp like a rag doll. I kept touching her face and screaming out for her but for the first time in my life, she did not respond to my cries. Blood stained my pristine shirt as I continued wailing.

            Eventually, the police prised me from my mother’s body. It was only then did I notice the plastic bag. What could have been so important that my mother gave up her life? A flattened birthday cake greeted me. A wave of realisation struck me. The message. My mother must have been late buying the cake and after she saw my message, she rushed and the Mercedes … and … and … I felt as though I had been stabbed in the heart, the pain was unbearable. Tears poured down my cheeks.

            And now, I feel horrible, horrible about myself, horrible about my impatience, horrible about typing THAT message. A little waiting would not have killed me, but a little hurrying killed my mother. I would never be able to forgive myself.

            Every year on my birthday, I would pay my respect to my mother. The accident was indeed a terrible one for me, however, it taught me how to treasure the time I have with people around me and learn to spend more quality time with my remaining kins, my father and my sister.

Continuous Writing

           

The afternoon was hot and humid. It was one of those days when being outside under the scorching sun was sheer torture, sending one running to seek refuge within the cool confines of any air-conditioned enclave. I had just been dismissed from school on one such afternoon when a short walk to my block left me streaming in perspiration.

            I trudged across the dry, solid cement floor, protected from the sun’s rays by the shelter of the void deck, my elephantine bag slowing me down. Even though the temperature was just as high, it was infinitely much better than being under the direct wrath of the cruel sun. The sound of muffled sobbing snapped me from my ruminations about school and all of my thoughts were replaced with one – where was the sound coming from? Curios, I explored my surroundings like a detective until I reached the source of the sounds. I was utterly stupefied when I saw my classmate Jane with her head down on the stone table, her hair worse than Medusa’s – totally disheveled, and her whole body shaking with heavy sobs.

            Should I leave her alone? Or should I ask her what was wrong? I pondered over the questions and sat on the fence for a while before I decided to approach her.

            In a low and gentle tone, I asked,” Jane, are you alright? What is wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”

            Jane lifted her head and my heart instantly went out to her. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and tears streamed down her cheeks like Niagara Falls. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. I patted her back and gave her some time to calm down. After a while, she told me through sobs and tears which I had difficulty making out, “I … found out this morning that … that my mother has cancer. I’m just shocked as Mother has always been healthy and now she has …” Then, she broke down again, this time howling out her pain like a werewolf.

            I was dumbstruck by the shocking new. I did not know what to do but put my arms around her shoulder to offer some comfort. I felt tears brimming in my eyes too, waiting to be dropped like bombs. I had never felt so helpless in my life. Jane’s gradually crying and for ten minutes, we sat in pin-drop silence.                  Eventually, I broke the silence and told her, “Jane, I’m sure the doctors will do their very best to treat your mother. You have to stay strong.” That was all I could think of to make her feel better. I wished I could do more to comfort her.

            “Jane? Jane! Where are you? I need to take you to the hospital to see your mother,” came Jane’s father’s voice in deep extreme sorrow,” for the last time.”

            I could see her tears coming back as she stood up to follow her father. She mouthed the words “Thank You” to me and left. I realised my simple act of kindness might actually come a long way to helping Jane get across this traumatic obstacle. She will know that there will always be someone by her side and she will not be alone.

Wildlife In danger

Wildlife in Danger

1) Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus)         Condition: Endangered                                     

Habitat:

Asian Elephants inhabit grasslands, tropical evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests and dry thorn forests.

3 sub species:

- Sri Lankan Elephant lives in Sri Lanka

- The Indian Elephant lives in mainland Asia: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsular, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China

- The Sumatran elephant lives in Sumatran and Borne

Threats:

Competition for living space has resulted in the reduction of Asian elephant numbers to between 25 600 and 32750animals in the wild

Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

The Asian Elephants’ habitats are shrinking fast and wild elephant populations are mostly small, isolated and unable to mingle as ancient migratory routes are cut off by human settlements.

Large development projects (such as dams, roads, mines and industrial complexes), plantations and spreading human settlements have fragmented what was once contiguous elephant habitats into small fragments.

Illegal Hunting and Trade

Selective removal of tusks for their ivory and poaching elephants for their meat causes a decrease in the number of Asian elephants.

2) Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis)       Condition: Critically Endangered

 

                           

Habitat:

Black Rhinos are mainly found in grassland-forest transition zones, but are present in habitats ranging from desert in South-western Africa to Montane forests in Kenya

The species is usually restricted to areas within about 25km of water sources.

Threats:

Poaching of black rhinos for their horns escalated from 1970s and remains the greatest threat to black rhinos.

3) Hawksbill turtle ( Eretmocheys imbricata ) Condition : Critically endangered

Habitat: Priamrily found in coral reefs

Threats: They are much sought after throughout the tropics for their beautiful brown and yellow carapace plates.

Sportsmanship

Community youth sports programs serve kids from preschool through teens. Games that were once played with few spectators now draw dozens of parents, grandparents and friends to the sidelines, cheering and chanting. Unfortunately, we find much too often, berating of officials, coaches and even players. Competition can be intense and coaches feeling the pressure to produce victories, may find themselves behaving in ways they later regret.

Today the concept of good sportsmanship has been lost. Sportsmanship is a manifestation of our own ethics in real life. Sportsmanship like ethics reflects both the character and the actions of a coach. The image a coach projects on the field is usually a product of his or her character.

The following are good sportsmanship rules:
· Apply the golden rule - do unto others as you would have them do unto you
· Have an understanding and an appreciation of the rules
· Enjoy yourself and encourage enjoyment of others
· Take responsibility for your actions
· Exhibit respect for the officials - umpires are impartial arbitrators who perform to the best of their ability to make sure the game is played fair and within the rules; mistakes made by all those involved are part of the game and must be accepted.
· Do not tolerate bad behavior from your teammates.
· Shake hands with the opponent before and after the game, regardless of the outcome.
· Cheer in a positive manner
· Accept all decisions [of judgment] by officials without question.
· Applaud good plays by both teammates and opponents.
· Applaud at the end of the contest for the performance of all participants.
· Encourage all surrounding people (fans included) to display a sportsmanlike behavior.
· Show concern for an injured player, regardless of the team.
· Win with class, lose with dignity.

The following are examples of unacceptable (unsportsmanlike) behavior:
· Use of disrespectful or derogatory comments, cheers or gestures.
· Referral to any opponent by name, team name or position. “Pitcher choked”
· Criticize officials in any way – or displays of temper over an official’s call.
· Display of temper when you or a teammate is not successful.
· Refuse to shake hands or recognize good play.
· Laugh or name call to distract an opponent.
· Criticize other players or coaches for the loss of a game.
· Use profanity or display anger.