Henry Park Pelican (Cub) Scout

Written by: Nicole Yee, Assistant Senior Sixer & Scribe The recruits slowly inched their way into the kid zone apprehensively. As I walked towards the kid zone, I remembered the very day, 5 years ago, when I skipped to my very first scout camp as a P2 girl. Recruit's camp is definitely a huge milestone in every Cub Scout's journey, as it teaches us to be independent and gives us a chance to stay away from our parents for one night. As a sixer, I was able to join the camp as a service scout, so that we could help out during the camp. After a briefing from Baloo, the recruits were assigned to their respective sixes, while the assistant sixers took on the role of duty sixer for the camp. Then, the service scouts and recruits parted ways; the service scouts went to practise our skits, while the recruits followed Baloo to go and play some games. At  11:30am , we decided to stop rehearsal for a while and help the recruits cook their instant noodles. The smell of the steami...

Written by: Sarah Njauw, Sixer & Scribe “Beep! Beep! Horseshoe!” The Senior Sixer blew the whistle as the scouts (and recruits), quickly lined up into the Horseshoe formation as the recruits lined up behind the scouts. Today, I was very excited about this week’s meeting, because,today we are going to do an activity: lantern making! We were told to bring red packets, tassels staplers and small decorations. Before the activity started, the recruits were assigned to their six (but it is not permanent.) , and we sat in a circle to get to know each other better, like introducing themselves, and sharing experiences and opinions. At last, we started making the lanterns. We had to fold the lantern into a “diamond” shape. Then make one more and staple both together. The instructions may sound simple, but it was quite tedious and it takes a lot of time. I’m not a person who could to do crafts nicely and neatly, especially when it comes to folding paper. After minutes of hard work, we fin...

Written by: Chong Min Wenn, Senior Sixer & Scribe The first 2 weeks of the year had flown by and it was finally time for the first scout meeting of the year. Everyone was excited as to see what the year had in store for us. This meeting was very different as we had recruits joining us! After colour party, the recruits were brought somewhere else to do some activities while the scouts sat on the floor, waiting for Baloo to give the first command. “Let’s start with campfire songs!’’ Baloo suggested. Everybody started chanting, “BEE SONG! BEE SONG!’’ Baloo wanted to do the bee song last, therefore we revised quarter-master store and Baloo taught us a new song “Down by the station”. After all that was done, we eventually sang the bee song. Everybody was laughing their heads off as we changed the last sentence from “to go down to the paddy field” to “to go to HELL!’’. Before we knew it, the meeting was over and the recruits joined us for sunset party. This meetin...

Written by: Jesicca Koong, Sixer & Scribe Leader “Mic test! Mic test! ” It was the Akela Award ceremony and I was the emcee, together with Zi Kiat. On one hand I was extremely nervous because I was afraid that I would make a mistake! On the other, I was extremely happy to have earned the coveted Akela Award. I was over the moon when I was selected as an emcee! Standing on stage in the hall at St Joseph Institution Junior, my hands were clammy and my legs had turned to jelly. There were many scouts and the atmosphere was electrifying. Most of the scouts were chatting with one another in small groups, obviously excited for the ceremony. The Akela Award is presented by the Singapore Scout Association to outstanding cub scouts in recognition of their excellent performance in outdoor challenge, adventure challenge, sharing together and helping to lead. This award is the highest personal award that a cub scout can achieve. “ Step forward! Salute! First handshake! Receive! S...

Written by: Daniel Por, Assistant Senior Sixer (2014-2015) & Scribe (2014-2015) It was a silent morning. No Senior Sixer whistles, yet the entire P6 cohort of the Henry Park Pelican Scouts gathered to have one last outing. Friends were reunited by their love of Scouts as they recited the Scout Promise, and then boarded the bus to go bowling! They warmed up their fingers and took up the bowling balls, bowling them towards the pins. CLATTER! Pin after pin fell down as the Scouts yelled in delight as they bowled a strike. When their turn was done, they feasted on chips and drinks as well. Luckily enough, they had two whole rounds to play. But, when it was done, there were groans that it was too short and could they have another round? But it was refused as they lined up to do their parting gift to the Scouts, a video compilation of words of advice to their juniors. Then, they took a photo, with many ‘mermaids’ on the floor! Then it was off to Pandan Valley for a BBQ p...

Written by: Jessica Koong, Sixer & Scribe Leader “ Cubs, today we will be doing… SECRET CODES! ” Mdm Kerina exclaimed. One could tell that the atmosphere in the room immediately shot up. “ We will be doing 3 codes today! ” There was a roar of excitement from the cubs and everyone started discussing what codes there might be. After we had received instructions on the activity, we immediately broke up into our sixes. Each group was given three sheets of paper. These sheets contained explanations on the International Morse code, gibberish code and alphabet code, a word search and three secret messages to decipher. My six, Wallaby, had an amazing time trying to decipher all three codes. Working together enthusiastically, we figured out the messages and completed the word search in no time! The word search contained 14 words from the Scout Promise. I am very sure that all the other sixes had a fun time, too. The next activity was more challenging and mysterious. Each six ha...

Written by: Nicole Yee, Assistant Senior Sixer & Scribe The day had finally arrived! This week, we were going to Labrador Park to have a little hike. We had some ‘special guests’ to guide us during the hike—the 01 scouts! After taking attendance, we proceeded to the two buses which would bring us to the park. After about a 30 minutes’ drive, we reached the park, where Chil briefed us about what was going to happen. First, we had to combine sixes into six groups. Then, each group was accompanied by two 01 scouts to learn map reading. I was apprehensive yet excited. Map reading? Sounds fun!   I joined the combined six Wallaby and Wombat as my temporary group for the day. Our group got Justin and Dailon as ‘teachers’. They taught us how to find bearings, how to find checkpoints with some clues, and most importantly, how to plot a route. When we had more or less mastered what they had taught, we were given a booklet with a map. We were supposed to find our ...