Each year on 15 Febuary, we commemorate Total Defence Day, which marks the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942.

Total Defence Day reminds us of the importance of self-reliance in our defence and the role that everyone plays in it.

We learnt about Mlitary, Civil, Economic, Social and Phychological Defence at national and individual level. We are ask to do some projects to earn the Total Defence badge(bronze,sliver).

We sure learnt alot about Total Defence Day.

~Shawn Tang Yeow Kiat

1st day of SE meeting in 2012

On the first scout meeting in 2012, 7th Jan, most of us had activities in school so we met at 12:30pm. We helped to pack up the scout den, serpent bought a new shelf to store scout stuff such as our camp equipment, ropes. instant noodles, etc. There is also a section in the cupboards where we can hang our uniforms! we stored the kerosene, and firewood above the cupboard.

Soon, it was time for lunch, serpent had ordered pizza for us, each patrol also shared two bottles of drinks. After lunch, we decided to strengthen our bonding as we had not met for over a month, so we played rollick, we had 2 "guessers'' from each patrol, and the rest of the patrol will be the "actors". the game was kinda like charades but just that there are more "actors". The two patrols had a challenge,serpent held a card with words on it, and we had to try to act out whatever was printed on the cards. But sadly (for me and my patrol) the Eagle patrol won.

After the competition, some of them played munchkin while the rest of us continued playing rollick but we were the "actors" the two ventures, Sampson and Dominic challenged, in the end Dominic won, we played til 5:30pm and we were dismissed.

after that day, we sure got close again, pheraps even closer than before.

~Dayton Leem Hong Ying

Compliments of the Season!

Wishing all a blessed Christmas and happy holidays filled with lots of good cheer and laughter!

Background Information:

The Soaring Eagle Award is given by Woodlands Ring Primary School to one graduating pupil each year who has outstanding achievements in both academic and CCA.  Ryan is the 4th Cub Scout in the 14-year history of WRPS to have received the award.

I have been Scouting since I was Primary 3 back in 2008.  My Scouting journey for the past few years made me a better person on the overall.  Activities and community service held in Scouts played an important role in helping me attaining the Soaring Eagle Award and strengthen my character.

Scouting has given me numerous opportunities to grow in terms of knowledge, skills and values which normal classrooms lessons do not teach.  Through Scout activities such as going on hikes with students from the MINDS school and looking after them, through building a chariot with my fellow team mates at the National Cub Scout Challenge, I have learnt how leadership is about responsibility and service to others and having good communication skills and respecting others are crucial ingredients to successful teamwork.

Friends play an important role in my past few years of scouting. They have brought me cheer and laughter. having friends in Scouts to share good and bad times with has indeed made me a stronger and better person.   My parents have also gave me numerous opportunities by allowing me to go for many Scout activities. Without their constant support, I would not be able to attain the Soaring Eagle Award.  Lastly I would like to thank my scout leader, Mr Clarence Hoe.  He was the one who gave me encouragement in times of fear. Without his nurturing, I would not be who I am today.

Appreciation Citation for Mr and Mrs S.R. Nathan by Sampson Choo, Scout Representative

Our Guests of Honour Mr and Mrs S.R. Nathan, Council Members from both Girl Guide Singapore and the Singapore Scout Association, distinguished guests, fellow scouts and guides, ladies & gentlemen;

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts and sentiments on scouting and my special thanks to Mr S.R. Nathan.

I have been a scout since Primary 3 and have spent the last 7 years in scouting.  I thoroughly enjoyed many of the fun-filled yet purposeful activities in scouting.  Indeed, scouting has made me a better person.  I used to be playful and ill-disciplined.  However, through Scouting, I learnt responsibility, discipline and leadership.  I have also picked up a lot of outdoor skills which were put in good stead when I moved around with my friends and peers in an outdoor setting.  For example, I am particularly blessed with outdoor cooking skill.  I could start a fire easily.  In my interpersonal relations, I have learnt how to be at ease even with strangers.  Scouting has indeed helped to enhance my interpersonal skills.

During the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden (27 July – 8 August) which I participated, I was involved in a plethora of scouting-related activities.  I thoroughly enjoyed almost all the activities.  In particular, badge trading, a traditional activity in Jamborees.  Through the badge trading, I learnt persuasion skill and my interpersonal skill was further enhanced in a multi-racial setting.  It also afforded me many opportunities to interact with participants from many countries.  There were about 40,000 participants in all.  I learned so much more about scouting in other countries within the two-week period.  During one of the unforgettable activities, I chanced upon a Scout from Belgium.  As a result of playing together, we developed the bonding and our friendship grew through regular exchanged visits to our respective campsites.  Now even months after the Jamboree, I still maintain my friendship with her through the social media.

I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr Nathan.  Being a recipient of his generous sponsorship, I was given the rare opportunity to travel to a far away country in Sweden.  Above all, I was so well mentored by the adult leaders which were exemplary and served as our good role models.  I had in past only able to afford a simple travel to usually some neighbouring countries.

Scouting also teaches me to do my duty to God, my country and to help other people.  One of the best ways for me to give back to society when I will be in a position to do so is to sponsor similar Jamborees.  In particular, I would like those who have no opportunity to travel far and take part in jamborees like me to be blessed with my sponsorship.  I would like to give them the opportunity and encourage them to do so through my sponsorship.

I conclusion, I shall not shy away from sharing with others about Scouting.  I believe my positive experience will serve as a good testament of the benefits in Scouting.  My peers who witness the positive changes in me have encouraged me to persuade others to join Scouting too. 

Thank you once again.  My deep appreciation to Mr Nathan for making a difference in my life.

Sampson

Standard Camp + SHAPE Up Camp 2011

21 October - 23 October was the rite of passage for us Cub Scouts moving on to Scouts.  We were not joining just any Scout Group.  We were joining Soaring Eagles Scout Group and to do that we had to attend SHAPE Up Camp.  This year however, was a little special.  We joined the rest of the group for SE Standard Camp which was more affectionately referred to by our seniors as "Tekan Camp".


I was very excited and also curious of what I would do in the camp.  Unbeknownst to me, I was about to be hit by a series of tough and vigorous challenges.  At the start of the camp, Serpent spoke about the two meanings of standard.  The first being to attain a certain standard.  The other is being the same which equates to discipline.  He emphasized the great importance of standardization before splitting us into two temporary patrols at the start point which was an unnamed MRT Station.


We did a quick layout, bought raw food to cook that night for outdoor cooking and set off towards our first checkpoint which was a mere 2 km away.  Easy peasy.  Took some photos and were off to our second and final checkpoint for the night another 1.5 km.  We took less than an hour in all, but nonetheless, I heaved a sigh of relief when the hike was over.  Upon arrival at the checkpoint, we were immediately ordered to do another layout, this time with more standardization. Much to the Ventures’ disappointment, it was not done satisfactorily.  The dreaded followed.  -.-


Humourous Coyote gave us a second chance to perfect our layout.  This time it was slightly better.  Without delay, we dug a pit and searched for firewood.  Starting the fire wasn’t an easy task as noobies, we spent almost 3 hours just to get it going with only 25 matchsticks for the whole patrol.  By the time we started cooking dinner, it was already 11 pm.  


We had a quick powder bath before settling into our tents to sleep for the night.  Before sleeping, Serpent requested that each of us share what we did to lived up the ideals of SE: iSPARED. Unfortunately I thought our responses were quite lame and Serpent looked rather disappointed.

The second day started at about 7:05 am.  We had woken up early to strike our tents before the Ventures woke up.  At the 7:29 am time check we panicked and were told by our PLs to fall in.  Needless to say, we had totally forgotten about standardization.  Our bags were all over the place, so the inevitable happened followed by PT.  Many of us were already on the brink of giving up.  Serpent gave us a chance to.. but we didn't.  We pressed on.


We were given the next set of MGRs and that led us to Seng Kang Recreation and Sports Club, which was approximately 5 km away.  We had bread breakfast on the way but had to make many stops to rest as we were very tired.  We clocked in 1 h 30 mins.  To our surprise we the leaders and Ventures were already waiting for us in the pool.  We were going swimming, one of the criteria for the Standard Camp.  We had a lot of fun as we went down the water slides with one another. 

At noon, we were given our third set of MGRs, this time, 20 km to Endeavour Primary School in Sembawang. When we heard of this, we were astonished and were taken aback by the distance.  It was a criteria, so we had to push ourselves to our limit, walking under rain and sunshine, crossing countless traffic lights and roads, we persevered throughout the whole hike.  


Swift was the first patrol to arrive had hot dinner first and a shower first.  Eagle patrol kicked in at approximately 9:15 pm and had to work a little harder for our dinner.  More layout and PT.  


At 11:30 pm we watched an episode of CSI: Miami (Season 10).  Serpent said it was just shown in the US last week.  The night was concluded with a reflection of the show.  We saw iSPARED in action and we agreed that we had to show iSPARED in order to be the best Scout Group.  We went to bed, still thinking about the precious lesson.

The next morning and everybody woke up and changed into their PT kits for their morning exercise. The morning exercise was vigorous but it was necessary to keep us in shape.  After devouring the breakfast Serpent prepared, we cleaned up and struck camp.  


The camp was fabulously tiring but it was a wonderful experience.  I know we became closer brothers, if not anything else.


~ Seah Yi Hong

World Scout Jamboree Report

Sampson Choo Meng Yew
World Scout Jamboree 2011
Singapore Contingent
Puma Patrol

This has been a very meaningful and unforgettable trip for me.  Many of the valuable experiences were new to me and as I move on from them, they are held close to my heart.  One of the most special experiences was camping in the wild.  While I had camped in Singaporean "jungles" before, camping in the wild in a foreign country with countless scouts from all over the world gathering together made it exhilarating.

I was initially reluctant to go for this trip.  The main reason was because I would be the only person from my troop going and I am not a naturally outgoing person. My Group Scout Leader encouraged me to go, telling me that it was not only a rare occasion, but it would be an eye-opener as I get to see what Scouting is like. He assured me that it would be a very good experience.  As I thought of the third scout law, I decided to give it a shot. I also made a decision to be more sociable.  I was determined to be able to learn something new, and to enjoy myself.

(Day 1)
It was almost a full day of flight. I slept in countless sleeping positions on the rigid, straight seat which caused my neck to ache. We arrived in Finland after 12 hours and hopped on the next flight to Copenhagen.  It took another 2 hours which was followed by a 2 hour bus ride.

(Day 2)
Today, we arrived at the huge campsite in Sweden and met a myriad people from countries all over the world, some I have never heard of before.  We moved quickly to settle down and develop the Singapore campsite.  We setup our campsite - pitched tents, flagpole and perimeter barricade.  We were unfamiliar and had difficulties finding the toilets.  Fortunately everything went on smoothly, despite the unexpected weather change almost every hour. We finally got down to prepared simple meal of sandwiches and orange juice. The sun finally set at about 10:00 pm, a stark contrast with Singapore.

(Day 3)
Woke up at 8:00 am and continued with campsite development.  We built the gateway and erected the flagpole.  It was my patrol's duty to prepare lunch, so in preparation for that, we went for some grocery shopping.  We attempted to cook rice but ended up burning it.  In order not to waste food, we salvaged whatever we could and cooked fried rice with it.  Lunch was a disaster but quite a learning experience.  We had pasta for dinner which was much better than lunch.  As the sun began to set, we proceeded to the Official Opening Ceremony.  The names of all countries present were mentioned.  The ceremony reminded me of the Olympic Games.  There were performances, some singing, dancing and such.  After that, we went back to our campsite to rest.

(Day 4)
We registered and participated in workshops with some people from Belgium and Portugal.  It was a really fun workshop.  It was so easy to connect and talk with them.  Before we know it, the conversations were punctuated with lots of laughter.  We cracked pots and fixed them back together again. I made some very good friends, most of them from Belgium.  As evening dawned, it was our patrol's turn to make dinner again.  Rice was coincidentally bought for our patrol again.  The initial plan was to cook chicken rice, however, our second attempt of cooking the rice failed, again.  This time, we decided not to salvage the burnt rice as we were expecting guests from Finland for dinner.  We quickly switched to noodles and in a short time put together what our Finnish friends actually found great.  

We played some games together, and talked at length about the local delights in our respective countries.  I learnt that Finnish people eat potatoes most of the time and on a daily basis - as their staple food, while ours was rice and noodles.  We had a great time exchanging information about our cultures and learnt some Finnish words such as "kidoshk","alehuva","untaxi","mitang", "moi!".  Darkness fell and we went for a night hike call "Dream".  It was a really tiring experience and I was literally falling asleep, swaying to the left and right while walking. Immediately after the hike, we went back to the campsite and fell asleep instantly.  I could hardly even able to keep my eyes open for a second.

(Day 5)
Today we had a special breakfast prepared by our leaders. This was followed by our free time.  We went to the Jamboree Shop to have a look.  I bought some souvenirs.  A jamboree shirt caught my eyes and I wanted to buy it but my size was out of stock.  I was asked to wait a few days more for the new stocks.  We explored other parts of the campsite and did some badge trading.  Later in the day, I felt sick and went back to my tent to sleep.  I slept for 5 hours!!  By the time I woke up, the sky was dark again.  I had slept though lunch and dinner.  I took my first shower in five days before going back to sleep again comfortably, feeling fresh and clean.

(Day 6)
Today was spent attending the Earth Module.  I met some Czechs while attending the module, talking and taking some photos together.  I learnt a new Czech word from them "zdayak sephriur" (if I'm not wrong).  I spent the rest of the day trading badges while sight-seeing yet another part of the campsite. We never seem to be able to finish exploring the campsite!

(Day 7)
We attended Quest Module today.  Somehow it felt like PT to me.  The obstacle course was tedious, involving physical crawling, climbing, balancing, jumping, running, sliding and such.  I enjoyed it so much, and had so much fun that I went through it twice!  It was hilarious to see other's tired face. After that, we played some mini-games like tossing of mallet for accuracy, throwing of horseshoes into a square, blindfolded having only friends to guide how to toss, and such.  After that, I went elsewhere for some fun balancing.  This place involved a tricycle, a wooden board with a cylindrical object below having to be able to balance on top of the wooden platform.  I went back to the quest area again for the closing.  I spent the rest of the day doing badge trading again and eating some super nice and delicious ice-cream.

(Day 8)
We woke up early today, packed our bags and set off to Camp-in-Camp.  It started with canoeing in the lake to the open and settled down at a rest point before swimming!  It was really fun as we ran along a jetty-like structure and jumped off the end into the freezing cold water.  Today we met some Saudi Arabians and Swedes.  We started to wrestle and play around, trying to pushed each other into the water.  I lost most of the time, it's far too slippery!  I fell down and knocked myself onto the edge of the wooden jetty which resulted in a bruise.  A while later we set off back to the campsite by canoeing again. Played frisbee with the Saudi Arabians and the Swedes.  Our Swedish hosts, then taught us a game called Chaos.  The game us having to form teams with people of different nationalities.  Then we had to roll the dice, and search for the number on a card in the woods.  The card will have some instructions on how to finish of the first stage, followed by the second, third and so on. Some of the cards have forfeits like make a human wheelbarrow, make a human stretcher with someone lying on that person walking a distance and such.  It was pretty cool.  My team was the "Ah-noose" team, so whenever anyone found the card with the correct number on it, we will shout "Ah-noose!!" as a signal for all our group members to gather to see what we were supposed to do. 

After the game, we by played Monopoly Deal.  After a while the sun starts setting and time for bed.  It was then that I realised that my foot was hurting. It was swollen probably due to the impact on the edge of the jetty.  My caring leader rubbed some ointment for me as I screamed out in pain! Ended of the day with a good sleep, such bonding with others can hardly be found back at our own campsite.

(Day 9)
The weather was great today.  Everyone overslept so we could not prepare our own breakfast.  Thankfully the kind Swedish hosts, served us breakfast instead.  Went on to handicraft, using recycled materials like unwanted bicycle tyres and beads.  Made a fine necklace and gave it to one of my friends, he actually liked it so much, he wore it throughout the Jamboree.  After a while we set off back to our own campsite.  This has been the most memorable part of the Jamboree for me.  Back at the main campsite, I went to do badge trading again along with ice-cream hunting too.

(Day 10)
It was Cultural Festival Day!  Everyone dressed in their traditional costume and prepared some Singapore traditional food.  We played "chap-teh" together, some of the people from other countries joined us.  After a while, I went around trying different countries' traditional food.  It was so delicious!! The Saudi Arabians persuaded me relentlessly to go and try their food.  This was when I found out that Saudi Arabians have a very weird tradition - eating with no utensils.  I had to use my hand and they splat a scoopful of beef stew on my hand.  It was a nasty feeling on my palm but the taste was really good. After that, I played chess at a cafe before going badge trading again. It was really a great day.

(Day 11)
Today, we did the People Module. Followed by last minute shopping at the Jamboree Shop.  Unfortunately, the Jamboree shirt I wanted was still out of stock, no size for me.  We had our lunch back at our campsite before going for some top quality ice-cream again!!  So delicious, and I just can't get enough.  Today's trading time is special because I did it at the trading market.  I also played the horse racing game at the other side.  It was quite challenging yet so fun. For dinner, my patrol went over to the German campsite for some dinner. They served pasta, it was delicious but a tad too sour for me. They laughed saying that they had added too much vinegar.  After that we did a few activities together before going for some soccer.  As the night falls, we went back our campsite.  Time has really flown by so quickly.  Today was the last day of activities, and the closing ceremony will take place tomorrow.

(Day 12)
We struck camp this morning - the gateway, flagpole, kitchen tent and sleeping tents. After doing so, I went for the last badge trading session. Came back and carried on with packing.  After hours of doing so, we proceeded to the closing ceremony.  It was lovely.  The ceremony was mostly singing by the different artistes of Sweden. The King and Queen of Sweden were present at the ceremony too. I favourite part of the ceremony was the end, because it was the fireworks!!! It was beautiful, even though it was raining, it didn't stop us from continuing the ceremony and fireworks.

(Day 13)
Woke up earlier than usual to do our final pack up and getting ready to leave the campsite, and journey on to Copenhagen, Denmark.  The freezing raindrops landing on us as we proceeded to the bus area.  Seeing everything taken down, makes me feel really upset, cannot bear to leave the place. It was quite a long walk, dragging our heavy luggages and rushing so as not to miss the bus.  When we arrived at the bus bay, we found that the buses had been delayed because of the rain. We had to waited in the freezing rain for almost an hour. I seized the opportunity to finish my unused credits in my cash card by buying chips for the long ride in the bus.  Quickly, we all moved along into the bus and carried on with our trip.  Eating chips, while playing cards were quite a time killer.  After a while, we all fell asleep until we arrive at our destination at Danhostel in Copenhagen City. As we attempted to check in, we found out again that our rooms had been delayed for 2 hours. 

When we finally settled our belongings, we went for lunch at Hiko's Pizza Cafe nearby.  We crossing a river that looked like Singapore River except wider.  The scenery and cool breeze there is just breathtaking.  Thinking about how hot Singapore was right then.  They actually use a small part of the river for recreational activity like swimming.  Some of the Scouts volunteered to be taught by a dancer to dance.  Watching them dance was hilarious!!  After that we went back to our hostel and into our respective rooms.  The scene from my room was beautiful!  We went for our free time to do some window shopping!!  Most of the shops were closed except some cafes and restaurants.  We heard that the shops there don't stay open for long so around 4-5pm onwards, they will start closing. Bought a heavenly ice-cream over there again. After long walk round a bouts. We went for a dinner at macdonalds, it's all beef. I'm starting to not like it. Everywhere I go I see beef!! Settled down with a quarter pounder and went back after that long day. Easily, I fell into a deep sleep.

(Day 14)
Woke up, did some wash ups and went on for hunting! Hunting for a place to have breakfast, found a cafe recommended by the staff of the danhostel. Settled down and had huge plate of food. We ran back to the meeting point late as the cafe we had breakfast at was pretty far. After which, we proceeded to the tivoli theme park! Had so much fun there, the rides, ups, downs, left and rights makes me feel nausea. Went for the spinning top and unfortunately it rained, we were freezing cold up in the air. Wanting to enjoy the great view from on top but the heavy and cold rain kept my eyes tightly closed and shivering all over. Until then the sky starts turning dark, went on to the restaurant "great china" to have dinner. The rain starts getting smaller, went for a short window shopping and went back to rest afterwards. Awaiting the next day.

(Day 15)
Woke up late today, did a quick wash up and headed down to a bakery shop for breakfast.  Afterwards, we headed to the Scout Shop under the freezing, heavy rain. Went there to see what a Scout Shop in Denmark looked like. It had two levels with many outdoor adventure equipment, so much more compared to the one in Singapore. Went on to walk around town in search for a place to have lunch.  We finally settled at an Irish restaurant.  It was huge and the food was delicious. After that, we gathered back at the hostel and took a hike to the Scout centre where we celebrated Singapore's National Day.  Embarassingly, we got lost half way enroute to the Scout centre. By the time we arrived, we were served local-Vietnamese food for dinner.  There were Scouts from Costa Rica and had so much fun interacting with them. We had wanted to have a small campfire, unfortunately, it rained halfway through so we went indoors and did some singing and games.  We took a group photo together before heading back to the hostel.  The day passed by so quickly, I was looking forward for the next.

(Day 16)
We had to skipped breakfast as we had to wake up early but ended up waking late.  Headed off to Legoland!!  We arrived after a long bus ride.  Took some pictures around while waiting for the tickets to be ready.  I was so excited as I entered but it was a little anti-climax because the rides were not as thrilling as I had imagined.  It was more suitable for younger children.  We went on for some rides and shopping.  I bought some souvenirs and a slush bottle.  Awhile later, we got bored and went to have lunch at the buffet restaurant.  We finished the day off and head back to the hostel by bus. Pack up in preparation for the next day.

(Day 17)
It was our last day here in Denmark, packed up and brought our belongings down. Settled the luggages in a room before going off to the shopping mall to do the final shopping.  We ate something simple, bought chocolates, and some clothings from H&M.  It was time to leave.  Sadly we made our way to the airport for our flight to Finland.  When we arrived in Finland, we received news that our flight to Singapore had been delayed by 2 hours!!  It was somewhat a good thing, as we got to stay together a little while longer. We chatted and reflected on how much we did the last 2 weeks.  As I looked back, time had really flown by very quickly.  How I wish it could be stopped at the happy moments.


This trip has given me a very good exposure to people from all over the world.  I've learnt how to save the Earth in many ways like recycling and such, and have learnt how people like us pollute the world, putting ourselves in whole lot of danger in future.  The activities helped me understand what our world is like, currently, compared to years ago.  Our climate is changing and becoming warmer, an example is Singapore, and even cold climate countries are getting warmer. 

Through the Jamboree, made many friends.  I am glad to report that Istill keep in contact with one from Belgium. This trip had also taught me alot about the many other cultures of people I had met from other countries.

This trip had also somehow changed my perspective of Scouting.  It is not simply about aiming to get achievements and awards, instead the aiming was simply to have fun.  I can say with confidence that if I had only one word to describe Scouting, it can only be described as FUN.  I must thank my GSL for believing in me the last few years.  Without him and his passion in guiding me through the years of Scouting, I wouldn't be who I am today.  Scouting in Soaring Eagles has moulded me to become a more responsible and disciplined person.  I am appreciated for who I am and my strengths.  I do not need to focus only on academic skills such as writing reports or doing math.  I can excel in outdoor skills and having fun.  I am also thankful because without his encouragement I would not have gone to the WSJ.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the many people who made our trip possible.  To Chief Scout, Mr SR Nathan for his kind contribution and sponsorship without which, this experience would never be possible at all.  I thank the WSJ Contingent Leaders for their hard work, sacrifices and sleepless nights - taking care of us and coordinating this was such a huge endeavour.  Words can never be enough to express my heartfelt gratitude.

SAMPSON CHOO

August Cohesion

We have not had cohesion for some time.  Morale is starting to return after GSL's "Pest Control" pep talk.  We gathered at the Den in EDP at 1700 hrs for a floorball match.  We had a lot of fun even though many of us were fasting.  The ventures joined in the teams and we battled each other until one of the teams won.

We also played another game called "Ali Bom".  The objectives of this game is that "Ali" has to seek out the other players who are hiding.  When he sees them, he boms them by shouting the name and quickly running back to tap the ball he is protecting.  He does this to capture each player till all players are caught.

When it was time to break fast, we started our barbecue.  The food was cooked with both an electrical grill as well as a charcoal barbecue pit.  The food was good.  We were joined by Ms Wendy Lee as well as Mr and Mrs Chay who told us true ghost stories of Singapore.

Hope to have the next cohesion soon!

Caught By Straits Times

What a pleasant surprise... this photo was spotted in the Straits Times today by our friend, Bernard, CSL of Temasek Raccoons. 

We have also recently been listed by The Green Corridor as a supporting organisation.

Walking Down Memory Track

On 24 May 2010, the leaders of Singapore and Malaysia agreed that the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB station) should be moved to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint by 1 July 2011, and will co-locate its railway Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility there. Furthermore, Tanjong Pagar Railway Station Passenger Terminal building and the old Bukit Timah Railway Station building at Blackmore Drive, given their historical significance, would be conserved.

In September 2010, Malaysia agreed to accept the land swap offer by Singapore for four land parcels in Marina South and two pieces in Orphir-Rochor in exchange for the land parcels of KTM land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji, Woodlands and Bukit Timah.  This gave the Singapore government freedom to develop the entire railway land after 1 July 2011.

Before the land is closed for the removal of the tracks, Singaporeans from all walks of life wanted to walk down memory lane by hiking along the tracks.  SE was no exception.  We started that morning at bus stop B17 near Sugei Kadut and ended our hike at the Old Bukit Timah Railway Station.

It was an interesting hike with a lot of different things to see.  From enjoying nature to learning a little about the people who kept the place going when we explored whatever buildings that were left.  We had a great time bonding.  This was also one of the rare occasions when Serpent and the Ventures hiked with us.

Our day was finished off with a late lunch at McDonald's at King Albert Park.  It was a really hot day, but we were glad to have covered 6.4 km in 5 hours.

More photos on FaceBook here and here.

World Kids Colouring Day 2011

World Kids Colouring Day 2011 is back at IMM and the charity supported this year is YWCA.  The event officially kicked off at 1030 hrs.  We were there early and had some free and easy time to tour the shopping centre.  At about 1015 hrs, everybody gathered back at the event ground.  The Scouts were deployed to run the event while the Cub Scouts from Canberra, Endeavour, Temasek and Woodlands Ring found a comfortable spot to start our art work.  The theme this year was "Moving Hearts With Art - Happiness".

While everybody was concentrating on drawing their best piece of art, parents were also doing activities run by the Temasek Raccoons and SE Crew like Counting the number of Cats, Nintendo Mathematics Magic, Tile Painting and Clay Modelling.  The drawing competition officially stopped at 1200 hrs and everybody handed up their pieces of drawing.

It was free and easy time again and the Cubs headed to McDonald's for lunch.  We were back to catch some performances by Clementi Primary School while waiting eagerly for the prize giving ceremony which was held at 1300 hrs and the day was concluded with the collection of goodie bags.  All the Cubs received a goodie bag through a special line and left tired but absolutely happy.

More Photos in Facebook:  Album 1, Album 2.

SE in the Community

SE (Open) was recently featured in "Cashew - Our Home, Where We Belong", a publication by Senja Cashew Community Club. We are honoured to be considered a part of the community in Senja Cashew where we have served the last 3 years.

The photo as an inset on Page 18 shows our Scouts engaging in a conversation with Vivian Balakrishnan before the start of Community Emergency Preparedness Day 2011.

Sixers Training Camp 2011

I was excited, as this was my first Scout Camp.  I have been looking forward excitedly to STC2011 for weeks now.  We assembled in the canteen of Endeavour Primary School and were quickly split into our 'Six' before moving to the field to have our opening ceremony. 

Next, we were asked to pitch our tents.  It was very tiring because it took about 30 mins to pitch the tent and we were sweating profusely as the day was very hot.  After that, we changed our clothes then we had our lunch. Before we ate our lunch Serpent taught us how to do the 'makan cheer'.  We must do the 'makan' cheer before we eat any meal. While we were eating our lunch it started raining heavily. More cheers and songs followed after lunch and then we started a discussion on our campfire gang shows. It was hard to do as no ideas were coming into our minds.

Next up were four learning base stations.  We learnt Track and Trail, Knotting, Map and Compass as well as First Aid in detail.  This would be tested on Day 2 during the wide game. After the long learning sessions, we had dinner and changed our clothes, ready for the long awaited night walk.  Many of the campers had heard about this famous STC night walk from previous participants.

We also sprayed insect repellent all over our bodies as the night walk was through a real jungle, known as Serpent Jungle!  The jungle was so dark you cant even see your own hands. The night walk was scary but one simply had to ignore the surroundings, and imaginations; focus on the guiding lights and the path before us and we will get to the end without much difficulty.  However if we allowed our imaginations to get to us, we will scream.  Some did, but some did not.

We got back to camp at about 11.30pm.  It was so tiring that no one could pay attention to anything. The facilitator debrief what had gone wrong and what had gone right. Then, they let us bathe, brushed our teeth and go to bed in the hall because our tents were flooded. The day ended - it was tiring but a whole lot of fun.

Day 2 began at 6:30am in the morning . We didn't get a chance to bathe so we just changed into our scout uniform ready for flag break. After breakfast, we proceeded to JellyTown harbour Park where we had an interesting Wide Game called the JellyQuest.  This was a treasure hunting quest which required us to use the four skills we learnt on Day 1.

After lunch, we proceeded to Yishun SAFRA for the Canopy Challenge Walk (CCP). It was so scary because it was like about 5-6 level above the ground. Our legs were shivering when we reached the top. We wore the full body harness, Daisy chain, helmet and gloves and were ready to take on "Broken Bridge" or "Monkey Vines".  Some fell down but carried on, others gave up.  We also had a chance to tie our own Turk's Head Woggle.  It was a very fun day. 

The campfire came after dinner.  We shouted until some of us lost our voice.  Our facilitators also put up a gangshow item during the campfire. We also watched a movie and did some reflection on the movie before going to bed.

We woke up at 7:00am on Day 3. After breakfast and flag break, we proceeded to do area cleaning before Wet Games. The games were very, very FUN . The camp concluded with a prize giving ceremony during which each Six was given a Best Sixer Award which was a personal First Aid Kit.  Best Camper was awarded to Shawn from MINDS and Best Six was given to Baloo.  We really enjoyed the camp - if only it were longer!!  Anyway, I hope we can do this again.

More photos on Facebook here,  here, here and here. 

2011 Earth Hour 60+

This was to be the third year running that Soaring Eagles Scouts would be part of the WWF Team at the Annual 2011 Earth Hour 60+.

After getting confused between the event being at Marina Bay and us alighting the train at Raffles Place, we met Serpent somewhere along the underground passage which linked Raffles Place with Marina Bay Promontory.

When we finally reached the venue, we were amazed by the unique objectives of the different stalls! There was a Scout stall which sold some merchandise such as badges to raise fund for the contingent going to World Scout Jamboree 2011.  The stall that amazed me most was the Nokia stall, which allowed you to recycle your old phones or chargers.  Another stall explained how many people do not have access to proper toilets which amazed me as they are trying to break the taboo on toilets so as to make people realize how important your toilets are, so cherish your washrooms!

After a few hours of fun at the stalls and a group of amazing soccer players who were able to do fantastic moves which even our soccer addicts in the group couldn't do, the main event was finally about to start, Earth Hour 60+!!!!

The hosts and special guests of the event gathered together on stage and shared with the crowd what they will do to minimise their carbon emissions. Our Chief Commissioner, mr Tan Cheng Kiong was there too!

Finally, at 2030 hrs, the lights went off but I was a bit disappointed as I expected a more epic Earth Hour as I had imagined the buildings around the area to be totally blacked out - but while the external lights of the buildings went off, lights in the rooms in almost every building were still on.

The Scouts joined the Night Walk around Marina Bay whereas I stayed to watch a screening of an award-winning documentary named "The Age Of Stupid" which had quite an impact on me by the way the documentary tells how the Earth began to increase in temperature as resources began to dwindle with oil reaching the US$200 cap.

The day ended with a debrief by the Ventures and Serpent.

Job Week At Petir Park Opening

We were honoured to be invited to do Job Week at Cashew CC during the opening of Petir Park.

We were stationed at different places while participants had a Mass Walk which commenced at 0900 hrs.  It ended an hour later with a performance at Petir Park.  We got coupons for lunch and we could choose from Nasi Lemak, Mee Siam, Yam cake and Carrot cake.

We were then deployed to assist with crowd control.  After lunch most of them had already gone home and some kids went to the carnival and others went to get helium balloons after that we went home.

Job Week 2011

The cubs from Soaring Eagles (Casuarina) performed their Job Week at Caltex, Tampines. This is a yearly collaboration between The Singapore Scout Association and Caltex Singapore. Cub Scouts are sent to the various Caltex petrol stations around the island for 3-hour shifts to perform simple tasks such as opening the doors for customers, rearranging the shelves etc.

Faiz and Javier

Ian and Kar Mun

Coen and Sean

Educational Tour with Cashew Zone 3

It all began this morning, Soaring Eagles Scouts had a thrilling experience on an educational tour hosted by Senja Cashew CC. We stopped at four locations, a Chee Cheong Fun & Yam Cake Factory, Lingzhi Singapore & Health, a Chocolate store and a Bird Nest Factory.

Our first location was Chee Cheong Fun Factory. We learnt how Chee Cheong Fun was made and had bought small food products sold by the employees there.

At our second location, Lingzhi Singapore and Health, we had tasted their herbal honey juice, herbal chicken soup, herbal dates and got a free tube of herbal toothpaste. We learnt about how to diffrentiate between man-made herbs and natural herbs.

The third location which is a Chocolate store was not so much of a learning point instead, it was a pit stop for we tired souls. We bought hundreds of chocolates there at a discounted price.

At our last location which is a Bird Nest Factory also known as Fortune Palace Bird's Nest, we sat down in a fancy room filled with trophies of karaoke singing and expensive bird's nest products while eating cups of jellies and listened to karaoke entertainment.

Centenary Silver Medal

Our heartiest congratulations to our leaders on being conferred the Centenary Silver Medal for their contributions towards the success of the Centenery Celebrations 2010. From L-R:

• SE Open ASL Eugene
• Casuarina CSL Edgar
• SE GSL Clarence
• SE Open SL Cong Sheng

Founder's Day @ EDP

Endeavour SE Cubs marked Founder's Day together with EDP Brownies who marked Thinking Day with a simple commemoration ceremony after the National Anthem.  We are deeply honoured to have our supportive Principals read the speeches.

EDP SE Cubs also finally launched their pack scarf that day.

Frank Cooper Sands (2010) awarded 2011

Congratulations to Casuarina Soaring Eagles Cub Scouts and Soaring Eagles (Open) Scout Troop for attaining the Frank Cooper Sands Gold Award!

The award is named in honour of the father of Scouting in Singapore, the Frank Cooper Sands, and is awarded annually to sectional scout units for unit excellence.

The assessment for the award centres on Unit administration, Unit participation, Training and Development, International participation, Unit finances and Unit Initiatives.  The award is also known as the Best Unit Competition under the Co-Curricular Activities Branch of the Ministry of Education.

We would like to specially mention CSL Edgar, SL Cheetah, ASLs Beaver, Coyote and Eugene, Ventures Seal, Possum, Zebra, Whale and Scout Stallion for their excellent work and contributions towards this achievement!

Yaska, yaska, yaska!!

Community Emergency Preparedness Day

We were tasked to help organise the Bukit Panjang Community Emergency Preparedness Day which was held Senja Community Club.  We arrived rather early, had a quick uniform check and was briefed by ASL Eugene on our duties.

When Dr Vivian Balakrishnan arrived, he requested for a photo with us.  We were very honoured. Less than an hour later, people started to arrive by the hundreds!  They looked so excited to kick start the event.. which started with a joint Civil Defence and Police demonstration of how they work with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to mitigate a terrorist attack within the community.

A car bomb was set off resulting in the outbreak of a fire and the collapse of part of a building.  Of course, the good will always triumph over the evil, the the police arrested the terrorist with the help of the community.  The programme also demonstrated the use of first aid and many more.

Soaring Eagles Scouts got an apportunity to fight a small fire, under the supervision of the Civil Defence.  We also got a sneak peek into the various parts of a fire engine called PL441, carried a hose, and posed with the Red Rhino.

The day ended for us with free lunch sponsored by the CC and then SE Cohension at the swimming pool.

More photos on our FB Page.  Visit and like the page!  ;)