RECRUITS TRAINING CAMP

Saturday 22nd January 2011

The morning started brightly with Akela rousing the new recruits, a good sized haul of 26 boys and 3 girls with his usual cheerfulness, under the watchful eyes of anxious parents.
Recruits assembling at the KidZone at the start of the camp

Not knowing what to expect

Fun games and introductories to the respective sixers did the ice breaking and the kids warmed up happily to what is turning out to be a meaningful induction into the Brotherhood of Scouts.





Recruits in their respective Six preparing for their yell

In the meantime, our Sixers were busy preparing for the skit to be performed later in the day and also during the campfire in the evening.

Chil put the boys and girls through some foot drill. As a uniformed group, it was important to instill discipline through foot drills. Discipline was important to ensure the Cubs safety, especially with a large unit of more than 100 children.

Tze Hao, an ex-Pelican Scout, gave the recruits an interesting introduction to yells, which had the recruits in stitches and allowed them to expand their pent-up energies.

Lunch soon followed. It was a sumptuous spread of rice accompanied with chicken, fried egg, vegetables and fish ball. It was quite apparent that some recruits were not saying the magic words of 'please' and 'thank you' and were soon reminded to do so.


Singing before eating

After lunch, Baloo discussed the founding of the Scout Movement and Scouting in Singapore. He also revised the Scout Promise & Law. Baloo explained the significance of the Scout Salute and the Left-hand Shake.

Recruits were taught Scout songs in preparation for the campfire later in the day. It was a challenge for many recruits to learn all the songs in such a short period of time.

It was soon time for outdoor cooking. All recruits were excited about this activity. For many, it would be the first time they tried their hand on boiling water and cooking instant noodles! Under the guidance of Scouts from the 23rd Eagles Scouts, recruits lit the solid fuel for the first time, and boiled water to cook their instant noodels. Noodles never tasted so good!

The main Cub Pack arrived at 1800 hrs, and Baloo revised Scout songs in preparation for the campfire that was to follow soon.

Our Guest-of-Honour, Mr Ng Teng Joo, Principal of HPPS, graced the occasion and declared the campfire open. With the flames shooting high, lighting up the courtyard in the fading light, Pelican Cubs, together with Cubs from ACS Barker and Greenridge Primary raised their voices and sang enthusiastically, with Baloo orchestrating the evening as Campfire Chief.



Skits and games added variety to the evening's session. A favourite was 'Limbo Rock', accompanied by the song of the same name. How low can you go????

Narrating the story

Warriors getting ready to do battle



Dancing the YMCA
Didn't quite make it!

How low can you go???
Winners of our Limbo Rock contest



As the flames of the campfire began to die down, the campfire came to a close with the singing of the Scout Hymn.

Refreshments followed, as recruits reunited with anxious parents.

After hugs and kisses, parents left, and recruits proceeded to play 'water bombs'.

Looking like drowned rats, recruits were sent off to bath and prepare for bed. It was a satisfying and tiring day for everyone.



Sunday, 23rd January 2011

After breakfast, Cubs packed up their sleeping bags and readied for the day's activities. Akela quizzed recruits on the previous day's lessons, about the history of Scouting, the Left Hand Shake, and about the virtues of a Pelican, our unit's mascot.

Recruits had a wonderful time playing a game. Each recruit was given a number. Akela would throw a ball up in the air and call out a number. A recruit with that number would then have to catch the ball. Everyone would then have to stay stationary while the recruit with the ball would throw and knock out one recruit.

Comments

Akela Joy said…
Great blog! .... and yes, you are more than welcome to join us here in South Africa at our pack meeting and bring all 100 cubs! .... We would love to have you!.... what a great programme we could run!
Yours in Scouting
Akela Joy