7th-8th January 2010

I had just returned from the Sarimbun Scouts Camp yesterday. As I was too exhausted, I failed to blog about my experiences there the day before. Before we departed from the school, we were introduced to the Camp Chief Rio and our trainers. Our class had Jay, a former pilot, and Leonard as our trainers for this particular camp. Well, when we reached the camp, it was quite muddy due to the rain that had fallen all over Singapore. I learnt that there was another school, which was St Margaret, in the campsite too. After a long welcome briefing by all the trainers, we headed to our respective dormitories. We had to sleep in a large classroom with boys from Class 1-03 and 1-07. Of course, I later learnt that the boys from 1-08 and 1-09 got to sleep on mattresses. I thought that was ridiculous and it could be quite unfair for some people.

After that, we played ice-breaking games like "Identity Hunt" and "Flag Making". This was how we began to adopt our weird but somehow interesting group name-The Laughing Barbarians. It was created for no particular reasons, though. Then, after the activity, we had lunch in the cramped mess hall. It was just fun and games after that. We had done absailing done the rock wall and the "Challenge Valley" before taking on Class 1-02 in the Rafting challenge. Of course, we lost due to the fact that we were not working as a team. I also failed to participate in the absailing as some people were late and lacked a sense of urgency. Fortunately, those who could not try the activity had either did that before or did not want to participate in the first place. Luckily, I had attempted it before when I was in P5. All of us got really damp in the "Challenge Valley" but that was arguably the best ride in the Sarimbun Scout Camp. The water was okay and it washed away some of the mud on my shoes and on me, of course. We also did the activity that involved some swinging car tires. I managed to get across it and I felt really satisfied with my achievement.

It was dinner time after that. I swear, the food at dinner time was the best compared to the meals tomorrow or at lunch time. I gobbled and wolfed down the sumptuous and scrumptious meal. Even though we had a regimented schedule and had only a little time to eat, I managed to finish almost everything on my plate. We had a song session later on before the highly anticipated Night Hike at 10 o'clock. My classmates and I were forced to sing Olympic songs like "One Moment In Time" and "The Power of the Dream", one of which had to be sung on our badge ceremony on next Friday. We also had to sing a strange song known as "Eppo E Tai Tai" with dumb actions. I had no choice but to follow them. I later discovered that the song was originally an insult before the lyrics had been changed.

Then came the Night Hike after 45 minutes of torturing music. Our class had to venture through a forest, possibly a primary one, in the darkness and without our torchlights. We could only trust our trainers and friends in front of us. It was even more muddy than expected and I emerged with a pair of mud-caked shoes and muddy track pants. I tripped halfway through but I escaped unscathed. We continued to follow the narrow and undulating dirt track until we reached the exit from the forest. During the activity, we encountered fallen logs and stuffs like that. Our class, unfortunatly, had to sit on stones and wait for the other classes to complete the hike in the drizzle. In the end, Rio, not to be mistaken with Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, explained to us the reason of this activity. He wanted us to know that in times of difficulty and darkness, there would always be our teachers and parents to guide us through. The only thing was whether we wanted to listen their advice. From this activity, I understood that teamwork was important and the key to it was simply trust. Rio also shared with me something I probably would never forget,"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is a process; working together is a success." I bet this would prove to be essential when I enter the big, bad society in the future. I reckoned that I would share with my siblings and other friends when I had returned back to my comfortable dwelling.

Everyone was given a shower and supper after that. However, there was no water in the water tank in the toilets we were supposed to use soon. Some people were covered in shampoo or soap when they realised the bad and unbelievable news. They were whining and crying like babies in the cubicles, stirring amusement and laughter from others. Well, it looked like as if this would haunt them in their nightmares in the rest of their lives. Indeed, I sympathised those SST students. There was also no water coming from the taps too. Sigh...I could not wash my face due to this. We had our lights off at 12 midnight after I had packed everything in my haversack. Well, it would be a long day tomorrow... ...

The next day, we had to go for our breakfast at 7 o'clock. Since I had woke up early, I had more than sufficient time to prepare everything. The breakfast was horrendous, with a tasteless sausage and some dry bee hoon. Soon, it was "Area Cleaning" time. We did our chores quickly and proceeded to our next activity-the CRC, otherwise known as the Challenge Ropes Course. There were high elements like Catwalk, Broken Bridge, Leap of Faith, etc. I participated in an activity whereby I had to climb three storeys high before walking on a rickety wooden plank. I could only hold the strings dangling from above for support. As I had a fear for heights, I tried not to look down at my friends. In the end, I finished everything and I felt pleased about this prodigious achievement.

After that, it was Team Building time. We had to complete three games as a group. Despite failing to complete the last game successfully, our bonds had already got tremendously better and we were giving everything we had. We had also developed a sense of camaraderie too. We could communicate better then and could be considered as the best team in our cohort. Soon, it was lunch time at Sarimbun Scouts camp. It was lousy but we had to eat it due to our growing hunger. Subsequently, we had the last activity involving water bombs at this campsite-the Telematch. All nine SST classes had to battle it out for the first place. Our team started quite well and we did our very best. In the end, we appeared victorious and got first place. Of course, we celebrated happily but hoped to keep up our good work. Our class vowed to strive in the future and I would be looking forward to it.

We had area cleaning again before a final evaluation and debrief. We were relieved that we did not have to clean the gross toilets with soap. Our task was extremely simple-pick up little on the ground and throw it into the trash bag. We had some time and had our last chat with our trainers before Mr Aurelius Yeo took over and talked to us about things on Monday. Finally, some prizes were given out before the end of the camp. In spite of our failure to receive a prize, we were already fortunate enough to have a class with close relationships. When we departed from the camp, I had mixed emotions-happiness and sadness. I was glad that I could finally return home and that I had learnt a lot of things which could be applied to my journey in SST and possibly, in society. I was elated that I would have tasty and homemade food when I return instead of disgusting and unpalatable food at the camp. However, I was crestfallen to depart Trainer Jay and Trainer Leonard. We were like close buddies in this camp and I would miss them dearly. I wished we could meet them again in our next camp.

Well, my MacBook Pro's battery is running out now. I will blog about my school experience on Monday. I hope there will not be a lot of tasks from the next week onwards. Sigh...it seems that I will have to persevere from now on.

6th January 2010

Today is my third day in SST. Well, let me blog about the long and arduous "Amazing Race" around Clementi precinct. There were indeed a lot of stations and we covered almost the whole Clementi neighbourhood. Before we ended the tiring yet fantastic race, there were a lot of arguments regarding which route we should take; however, we managed to overcome ginormous obstacles to finish 4th. I was indeed exhausted and my legs were quite sore. However, it was quite worth it-I got to know some of my classmates even better. Even though the race took more than 3 hours, I still thought it was quite meaningful as I had became more familiar with this place.

One of our school vision is "Expanding Our Learning Networks", which means that we have to gain knowledge in and also beyond SST. From today's activity, I realised that there were a lot of stuffs that I did not know. Therefore, I felt that I should widen my knowledge by reading newspapers and magazines. I thought this particular school value was quite important as we had to learn in order to find out what was happening around the Earth. It could also help us understand what had actually occurred in the Lion City. I feel that it can help me in my learning journey at SST. I could be more willing to face challenges and problems in the process of my learning; after all, that would give us the experience I really required. Oh yes, our form teacher also wanted us to think how we could contribute to this precinct. Zhi Chao had suggested placing ERPs to prevent heavy traffic. He also mooted repainting the old flats in the Clementi area. Of course, they were just simply outrageous. I feel that we should plant more trees and plants to improve the greenery in Clementi as well as reducing air pollution. I would also try to deter people from smoking so that everyone could enjoy the great environment in this place.

Well, this is really a superfluous blog but I believe the idea is quite clear. SST is trying to mould us into better persons. I will post another blog on Friday due to my 2-day camp at Sarimbun Scout Camp. I hope the high elements, along with the games there, are thrilling and enjoyable. If not, it would become torture. Sigh...I hope the camp will not turn out as a catastrophe.

5th January 2010

Today is my second day at SST. I arrived at the school, feeling indeed enthusiastic about today's programmes. I learnt something regarding "Forging Excellence", which was one of our school values. It simply meant we could give our "best", but that was not really our full potential. It also meant something like the will and desire to learn. After our assembly, we had an activity called the "Teambuilding Challenge". There were 3 stations and the purpose of this activity is to promote the relationship amongst us. Even though we did not win in any of the games, we did not care much as we were already better than expected. We had communicated quite well and given our 110% commitment. We were also very resolute and persevered despite losing eventually. I learnt that winning or losing was just a trivial matter; what mattered was that we gained knowledge from it. I felt that our team-work was quite marvellous and we should cultivate it in order to excel in the future. In the future, I would contribute by assigning roles to everyone; that way, everyone would have a role to play and no one would feel left out.

We had a debrief after that and we discussed about our performance earlier. We talked a lot regarding our strengths and weaknesses; we also thought of several ways to tackle them. We vowed to use the solutions on tomorrow's Amazing Race around Clementi and we certainly hoped that they would be very effective. Then, we had a MacBridge activity which involved the use of Google Maps. It was indeed very interesting and I thought it resembled Google Earth. Subsequently, we had an IT class. I had to do a presentation for SST's badge ceremony. Finally, at approximately 3.30p.m, we were dismissed by our teacher, Mr Aurelius Yeo. Well, I look forward to tomorrow's Amazing Race. I hope our class can win an activity for once. Sigh... ...

SST Task 1

SST wants us to post our feelings upon receiving a confirmation letter from SST in Blogger in our task. They also want us to describe the experience in creating our blog. Well, here are the answers:

I felt quite surprised when I discovered I had a place in SST. I was indeed privileged as only 200 students could enter the school. All in all, I was quite ecstatic and exuberant at the same time.

I thought creating a blog was quite exciting and enjoyable. I had another blog at Multiply but I would mention that the next time. I felt that blogging would be an integral part in my learning at SST. It could be used for discussions regarding a certain subject too.

4th January 2010

It is my first day of school in SST, which is located at Clementi. It is indeed very far from my dwelling. It usually takes an hour to travel to the school. In the morning, I gathered in the hall along with the other students. After I had understood SST's protocols, I was brought to my class S1-01. I realised that Zhi Chao was my classmate again. We began doing icebreakers before doing some activities on our MacBooks. After that, we had our recess in the small canteen. The food there was certainly expensive-two sandwiches cost a dollar! Nevertheless, everything there tasted okay.

After that, we had to design a moveable waterway bridge. We then had to construct it as a group after our 1-hour lunch. I feel that our team has worked quite well together on the bridge building project. We also did a fine job in interacting with one another. We were capable of voicing out our opinions properly too. I learnt that team-work is very important as everyone carried out their roles with gusto. In the future, I will particiate in group works actively and with even more enthusiasm. At first, I was indeed frightened and apprehensive about the project as I doubt that my group members could not communicate well. I managed to overcome my fears by giving suggestions to everyone.

Soon, we had to go home after a debrief on tomorrow's activity. I, along with Zhi Chao, went back home via the bus transport and MRT. I am now looking forward to tomorrow's activities.