Henry Park Pelican (Cub) Scout

By Emu Sixer Zhe Yuan When I arrived at school, I was warmly greeted by a group of my friends. After we recited the scout promise and law, we were divided into two groups: Year 1 and Year 2 together, while Year 3 formed the other group. The Year 1 and 2 scouts were learning how to set up a tent, while the Year 3 group focused on building a basha. I was part of the Year 3 group, where we learned about the knots needed for the sides and the purpose of a basha. Meanwhile, the Year 1 and 2 scouts engaged in a friendly competition to see who could set up their tent the fastest. After their competition, we held our own race to see who could build the basha the quickest. However, Ikki decided to join in and built his basha by himself, finishing it faster than all of us, despite there being six people in each of our groups! After all the excitement, we were instructed to tear down our bashas and return to a single line, known as “Indian file.” I reunited with my cubs and was thrilled to learn ...

By Kangaroo Sixer Jeremy Today, I attended my weekly scout CCA, where I reunited with my fellow scout members, and we chatted happily together. We started the meeting with a color party, which set a cheerful tone for the day. Next, we gathered to listen to our leaders' instructions about the activities planned for later. After that, we moved to "Six Corner" to discuss our upcoming art and craft projects. We were tasked with creating two items—Item A and Item B (I won't spoil the surprise for the P6 seniors!). Half of my group worked on Item A, while the other half focused on Item B. We poured our best efforts into both projects, and we felt proud of the final products. We were confident that the P6 seniors would love what we made! Once we finished, we tidied up the area, as there was some rubbish on the floor after our activity. We then headed to the library, where we practiced singing campfire songs with our leaders. It was a fantastic time filled with laughter and c...

By Koala Sixer Ng Kye At the start of our meeting, after the flag-raising ceremony, we took a few minutes for "Six Corner," a dedicated time for goal-setting and discussion. This allowed us to reflect on our objectives and share our aspirations with one another. Following this, we divided into two groups: the first-year scouts and those of us in our second, third, or fourth years. The first-year scouts were led to the 1B classroom, where Hathi went through the requirements for the Bronze Arrow, and many began working on their Bronze Arrow. As part of the more experienced group, we moved to the 1A classroom, where we engaged in a SCDF Crime Prevention test aimed at earning the Crime Prevention badge. This session was both informative and practical, equipping us with essential skills for recognizing and preventing crime, which are valuable not just in scouting but in our everyday lives. Once we completed the test, we switched places with the first-year group to participate in b...

By Deputy Senior Sixer Zeqi  Today, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with elderly guests from AWWA. To prepare for the event, we brought mooncakes as part of the celebration. The day began at 9 a.m. with a briefing from Hathi, who outlined the agenda. Grey Wolf then explained the rules for the game we would play with the seniors, demonstrating with the help of the sixers. The game involved each of us sitting opposite an elderly participant, sharing two ribbons with them—one end of each ribbon held by us and the other end by the senior. The objective was to transport a balloon from one end of the table to the other, passing it through a goalpost. Due to the limited number of elderly guests—35 in total—not all cubs could pair up with a senior. Consequently, some of us functioned as gamekeepers or gamemasters in separate groups. When the seniors arrived, we escorted them to the canteen, where we had set up the area for our activities. The game was a hit, and both the cubs a...

By Echidna Sixer Theodore Pillay At the start of the meeting, we were split into three groups: Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 cubs, with each group proceeding to a different skills station. Year 1s learned basic knots, including the Reef Knot, Clove Hitch, and Round Turn with Two Half Hitches. Year 2s learned the Clove Hitch and Square Lashing, while Year 3s focused on Square Lash and Tripod Knot. I was in the Year 3 group, where we learned some lashings to tie sticks together. Rama taught us how to make square lashings. After tying one lashing each, we combined our respective lashings to try and make a cube. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and couldn't complete it. Next, we built a tripod using sticks and a figure-of-eight knot. We combined two tripods and a stick to make a cooking stand/pull-up bar, which is known as pioneering. Afterward, we regrouped according to the different Progress Badges. The leaders of each progress badge guided the cubs on the requirements for each badge. ...

By Bilby Sixer Andre On 17 August 2024, it was Games Day! I arrived early at around 8.30a.m. to sign off my badges. I was eager to start the meeting as I wanted to take part in the activities with my friends. As soon as it was around 9, the scouts got into our horseshoe formation. After that, we got into Indian file as fast as light. Then, Rama explained the activities we had to do that day. There were 4 stations. Firstly, standing broad jump. Secondly, shuttle run for 50m. Thirdly, we had to skip for 50m and lastly, we had to sprint 50m. There was a point system: you get a maximum of 3 points per station and the lowest was 0. You must get at least 10 points out of the 4 stations to get a gold badge. For silver, we needed 8 points and for bronze, we needed 5 points. Next, the pack was split into groups. My group, Bilby, was paired with Echidna. We were then sent off to do the stations. Firstly, we did the standing broad jump which was pretty hard. The highest anyone got was 195cm. I go...

By Bilby Sixer Dmitri Tay On August 3, 2024, the scouts had their second hike of the year. All scouts were instructed to arrive at school early. I was very excited and eagerly looking forward to the hike, so I made sure to arrive early. At around 7:30 am, two huge buses arrived. Chil, the adult leader in charge of the hike, gathered us in front of the school library to check our items before we set off. By 8:00 am, we had arrived at Rifle Range, where we eagerly began our hike. The weather was perfect—not too sunny or rainy. After walking for approximately 2.5 km, we stopped at a very tall and large tower. The leaders asked us to ascend the tower in groups of six. When we reached the top, we were greeted by a breathtaking view. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. Afterward, we continued walking for a few more kilometers until we saw a large waterbody. Finally, we reached our destination—MacRitchie Reservoir. The leaders instructed us to take a break and have a small picnic. We...

By Deputy Senior Sixer Zeqi Today, we visited the fire station and police station. We met at 8 am, but due to the fogging, we gathered in the library first. There, we went over safety rules and made sure we were hydrated by drinking and refilling our water bottles. We were then divided into two groups, each assigned to a different bus. Soon, we reached the fire station, which was impressive in its height and presence. Upon arrival, we went through a bag check at the entrance and were led to the waiting area where we had a great view of the fire engine and ladder. It was tall and majestic. Then, we were greeted by the fireman. We were instructed to split into three groups. Each group was led by either a fireman or a police officer. We took turns to visit each station. My group followed along the fireman who explained the purpose and history of the fire station. We also observed the various lifesaving ambulance. Then, we went to see how fast the firemen could put on their gears. The targ...

By Deputy Senior Sixer Ang Yi Chen I woke up at 7:15 a.m. and got myself ready for Scouts. I had to reach the meeting point by 8:30 a.m. to attend the Akela candidates' briefing. After that, I signed off my badges and helped carry the flagpole. Zac, the Senior Sixer, then gave the command for us to gather in a horseshoe formation. After that, we lined up in an Indian file and took attendance. Last week, Ikki mentioned the importance of being on time and said there would be a penalty for those who were late. So today, those who were late had to lead us in singing and dancing to a song. For the orienteering theory lesson this week, we were split into three groups. The Year 1 cubs had a track and trail sign refresher. They also learned about compass parts and map parts. The Year 2 cubs learned how to estimate distances on a map using a scale and how to read coordinates. The Year 3 cubs had a revision on how to estimate distances on a map and read coordinates. They also learned an inte...

The Akela Award represents the highest honor a Cub Scout can achieve, marking the end of a challenging yet rewarding journey. There are a total of nine recipients from HPPS. These students have shown dedication to scouting and held various leadership positions. Every recipient has invested tremendous effort and faced numerous challenges to reach this milestone. This journey is far from easy, and many Scouts have given up along the way. Parental support has been invaluable in helping these Cubs succeed, especially as they dedicated countless hours to completing their online journals. These journals capture their years in scouting, reflecting on every year they participated, every arrow they earned, and each milestone they achieved. Congratulations to all the Akela Award recipients. You have truly earned this honor, and we couldn't be prouder of your accomplishments.

By Senior Sixer Zac Loh On July 13th at 8:45 am, I arrived at the Kidzone for our meeting, eager and ready. To my surprise, the P6 Akela candidates hadn't arrived, leaving us without Senior Sixers and Sixers. Despite this, we proceeded with the flag break and then engaged in a team-building game. Our challenge was to move the entire Six from pillar 10 to 11, delicately balancing a ping pong ball on a spoon. If it fell, we had to start over. Two of us could go first by one holding the spoon and the other holding shoulders. To bring more people, everyone had to hold onto the spoon handle. The first two rounds were normal, but in the third round, only the Sixer wasn't blindfolded. Then, in the fourth round, we had to stand on one leg while holding onto each other's shoulders. After the game, we proudly awarded badges and certificates to the new Assistant Sixer, Sixer, and Senior Sixer. Just as suddenly as they had been absent, the P6 Akela candidates arrived, surprising us all...

By  Senior Sixer Ewan Tan Today was a big day. We were going to attend the Akela Award ceremony and receive the award. I was super excited as we would finally receive the certificate! We got on the bus and headed to Zhong Hua Primary School, where the ceremony was held. When we reached the school, the place was bustling! I saw many Scouts there and also many familiar faces I recognized from the Akela interview. When we got to the hall, we sat down and took a group photo. There were a lot of Scouts and guests. We waited for a while, and finally, the ceremony started. We were excited to finally receive what we had been working for. Soon, a few teachers told us to stand up and go to the side of the stage where our school name would be called. After waiting for a bit, our school name was called. We straightened ourselves up and went up onto the stage to collect our certificates. Our vice-principal, Mdm Chua, was there to present the certificates to us! We are so thankful that Mdm Chua ...

By Duty Senior Sixer Ku Zeqi We woke up at 6:30 a.m., although some of us were up even earlier to prepare. We changed into our full scout uniforms and gathered in a horseshoe formation, aiming to assemble by 6:45 a.m. Surprisingly, most of us were ready by 6:43 a.m. Next, the senior sixers led the color party, and then we lined up in Indian File. The leaders instructed us to pack everything into our bags, but unfortunately, many cubs didn't do so. The senior sixer had to collect the items left behind from all the groups, which took a good twenty minutes to complete. Afterward, we headed to the canteen for breakfast, which consisted of noodles with various toppings. Following breakfast, we participated in a mass cleanup, ensuring that every area we used was left cleaner than we used it. Some cubs focused on cleaning sinks while others gathered rubbish. Starting from one end of the canteen, each group lined up in Indian File and walked to the other end, picking up any litter ...

By Duty Senior Sixer Ang Yi Chen Waking up from our tents at 6:15 am, we brushed our teeth and changed into our full Scout uniforms. Forming a horseshoe, we carried out a sunrise party. We then ate noodles and drank hot chocolate for breakfast. We went to Kidzone 1 in Indian file, grabbed our bags, and headed to the lower ISH for inspection. As a Duty Senior Sixer, I had to complete my inspection first and then walk around to help others. I felt inspection was tedious as everyone had to lay out their things and repack them. We repeated the task about six times before we could pack within the short time given. Though the repeated packing and unpacking felt challenging, it was a great exercise in precision and teamwork. After that, we carried our bags back to Kidzone and changed into PE attire. I then gave the command to line up in Indian file. We went back to our groups and proceeded to the four stations manned by alumni and Scout leaders. There were three Sixes in one group, and we rot...

by Duty Senior Sixer Zac Loh One rainy Saturday, I was with my mom in the car, heading to school for the North Area Leadership Training Camp. As we approached the school, I saw a bus door open and Cub Scouts getting off. Seeing the new faces made me excited because I knew this camp would be very different. When I went into Kidzone 1, I saw students from different schools sitting in rows. When it was time, Kaa made an announcement. She called our names one by one, and we were sorted into groups for the three-day camp. Next, we formed a horseshoe and did the flag break. Then, we sat in Indian file and were assigned roles: 12 Sixers, 12 Assistant Sixers, and 3 Senior Sixers. I was the duty Senior Sixer for today. Our next tasks were to build tents for the night and complete four stations of tasks. We were exhausted by lunchtime, but our bento set was delicious. In the afternoon, we tackled another four stations. As dusk fell, we prepared for dinner. We learned how to start a fire and cook...

By Senior Sixer Donald Or I arrived at school at around 8:30 am and immediately reported to the hall. It was the most exciting event of the year for me! I was looking forward to it as it was my last Amazing Trail. Most of the Scouts had already arrived and were chatting excitedly in the hall, with their parents sitting at the back. Other schools in the North Area had also joined us. I got my Amazing Trail t-shirt from my facilitator. When I saw the design, I was very excited. It said, "Amazing Michelin Hawker Food Trail!" I like anything about food, so I knew today was going to be great. I was in the Kookaburra six, and I talked to my juniors about the Amazing Trail. Soon, it was time for the briefing. Ikki briefed us about the starting time and when we needed to report back to school. He also told us about the point system and optional tasks. The part I was most excited about was that we needed to take videos and photos to combine them into a video. After the briefing, we we...

By Senior Sixer Ewan Tan “Yes!” I exclaimed to myself. Today is the Amazing Trail. It has been a beacon of my memories in Scouts. Every Amazing Trail provides an opportunity to lead, make friends, and have fun! I woke up and quickly got ready for the long day ahead. Upon arriving at school, I was greeted by a sign instructing us to gather in the hall. At the hall, I waited for the other Cubs to arrive. This Amazing Trail was a little bit more special because HP Pelican Scouts had invited other scouts from the North Area. I was excited to know this year’s Amazing Trail theme. It was themed around Michelin Hawker Food. We changed into our Amazing Trail shirts and set off for the long journey ahead. It was tiring and challenging, but Scouts don’t give up. We took it on and overcame the difficulty. But most importantly, we had fun. Back at school, the Sixers and I welcomed the guest of honor for our gala dinner. Our hard work had paid off! We scurried onto the stage—we had won the Amazing ...

By Platypus Sixer Evan Li Today, we did a fire lighting activity. We were taught many useful tips and how to light and sustain a proper fire. The 1st year cubs were taught how to light up a match stick safely. The 2nd year cubs were taught how to light up a solid fuel with a match stick. The rest of the us used dried leaves as tinder for our fire and used matchsticks to light the leaves. After lighting the leaves, we put the sticks and twigs on top to sustain the fire for longer. After the sticks caught fire, we put our largest pieces of wood onto the fire to sustain it even more. Making a fire is an important skill that all scouts should know. Fire keeps you warm and can help you cook, but we must learn to be careful with fire. We all learnt how to be safe around fire today. After the activity, we went to the music room to practice the dance for the amazing trail dinner. The scouts did well and are looking forward to the amazing trail next week.

By Wallaby Assistant Sixer Zeqi Today, we learnt how to do basic household chores. The day started early in the morning when the Akela candidates headed off for their interview. Then, cubs started piling into the KidZone when it was eight thirty. At nine, we started the meeting. Since there was no sixer and senior sixers, assistant sixers had to take over their job to conduct the flag raising. Yichen and Dinesh was our acting senior sixer, and the rest of the assistant sixers were acting sixers. After the flag raising, Ikki told us the plan for the day. We were learning basic household chores. At first, many of us were not interested in it as they thought that they would never use this skill in their life. However, we soon came to understand the importance of this meeting. Before he briefed us on the stations, Ikki introduced three alumni to us. They were Abram, Miao Xin, and Luke. Luke was the one in charge of the clothes folding station, while Miao Xin took on the responsibility of o...

By Possum Sixer Favian Poh When we were done with the sunrise party, we got into Indian file and Ikki told us to bring our first aid kit. Then, Ikki went through what we must bring in our first aid kit and use other people’s first aid kit and show what is right and what is wrong. After that, we got split into groups for first aid - the 1st year cubs, 2nd year cubs, 3rd year cubs and the P6s. The new scouts learnt about basic first aid. They covered cuts, bruises, stings. They also learnt how to disinfect a wound and put on plaster. The 2nd year scouts recapped on how to disinfect a wound. They learnt how to tie an arm sling and a figure 8 bandage. The 3rd year scouts recapped on how to tie an arm sling. They learnt how to tie a head bandage. They also learnt how to immobilising a limb. During the P6 first aid, we recapped the head bandage and arm sling and tried to do it on our own. It was quite challenging for some of us but we managed to do it after many attempts. Then, we learnt a n...

By Bilby Sixer Zeyu The first hike of the year was very exciting as we explored a beautiful nature reserve. The trail was only 4km long, so we thought it would be easy. But as we went further, we realized it was more challenging than we expected, and we discovered even more amazing things in nature. Our expedition commenced at the picturesque Windsor Nature Park, where the air was filled with a sense of adventure and camaraderie. As we set off on our trek towards Upper Pierce Reservoir, the allure of the unknown and the promise of encountering diverse wildlife kept our spirits high. The initial leg of the hike unfolded smoothly as we meandered through the dense foliage of the nature reserve. The tranquil surroundings echoed with the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves, creating a serene ambiance that invigorated our senses. Along the way, we were fortunate to witness a variety of animals, from playful monkeys swinging through the trees to colourful fish gliding gracefully in t...

By Wombat Sixer Ray Neo Today, everyone had to gather around 7.00 am for a special event, we were going to welcome our new chief scout, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. At 7 plus, we left school and took a bus to a stadium. The bus took us into the HDB estates, and we had to walk to the stadium. Upon reaching the stadium, there were a lot of other scout unit seated and there were people preparing for a carnival. We seated at the end around the area of the carnival. Eventually, we were directed to the stadium's gallery, where we endured the sweltering heat, despite some complaints among the crowd. We patiently waited as time passed. After waiting for awhile, there was bread and a canned drink given out to our unit, there was a lot of spillage after getting the canned drinks and the leaders had to help us clean up. Additionally, we enjoyed snacks that we had brought along. Later on, the secondary scouts were called down to the field to assemble into the iconic fleur-de-lis symbol. T...

By Platypus Sixer Evan Li The Akela Award candidates embarked on their first aid test, while the remaining scouts participated in an orienteering activity. Dr. Koong and Mor (Dr. Ho) oversaw the first aid test, which comprised four components: CPR and AED, triangular bandage application, identification of first aid kit contents, and a multiple-choice test. Candidates arrived early to begin the test, which proved challenging but ultimately rewarding as we celebrated passing it. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack engaged in the orienteering activity led by alumni. New cubs familiarized themselves with the eight compass points and various trail signs, while older cubs learned how to orient a map using a compass and measure distances accurately. Following the test and activity, we held an investiture ceremony for the new recruits. Led by their Sixers and Assistant Sixers, they recited the Scout promise and were presented with their scarves. It was a profoundly significant day, particularly fo...

By Kookaburra Sixer Jun Chen On Saturday, we were supposed to come and celebrate Chinese New Year with the old folk and play games with them. Since the leaders were preparing for the arrival of the old folk, they couldn't conduct badge testing, so I could come later. When I arrived, they were about to blow the whistle and start the colour party. Following the colour party, we were instructed to wait for the old folk at the bus bay. After a while, the old folk still hadn't arrived. They called, informing us of a delay, unable to arrive on time. Consequently, we proceeded inside, where Greywolf informed us that we would play a game with the old folk involving throwing table tennis balls onto an egg tray. The objective was to line up the most balls in a row, column, or diagonally to win. Soon, they arrived. The bus carrying the old folk parked in a parking lot, and they disembarked, making their way down from the bus. We guided them into Kidzone 2, where the games were set to take...