Adiji Chief Scout 02 March 2024

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. The fleur-de-lis is an important symbol for scouting around the world. It has been used to denote the north point of the compass on a map, and shows that a scout knows the way towards creating a better world.

After the secondary scouts formed the fleur-de-lis symbol, there were still gaps to fill. Since our unit was one of the largest, we were called down to the field to assist. We sat on the field for a while, eagerly anticipating the arrival of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

When President Tharman Shanmugaratnam finally arrived, those on the field stood up, raising our right hands with three fingers up to recite the scout promise. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam then donned the scout scarf, which was followed by a lively lion dance and the appearance of a Scout Mascot Bear. As President Tharman Shanmugaratnam made his way onto the field, there was a rush of excitement as everyone eagerly sought to secure an autograph or even just a clap from him.

Afterwards, we gathered in the carnival area, though there was a slight delay as some students had wandered off to the gallery on their own. The cubs received a gentle reprimand, but soon after, we were divided into small groups and given the opportunity to explore the carnival attractions.

Later, we gathered in the stadium gallery, ensuring that all cubs were accounted for before boarding the bus back to school. Upon arrival at school, the leaders made some announcements before dismissing us to our parents.