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Showing posts with label Day 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day 2. Show all posts

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Closing thoughts for the day...

Dear parents, it's 1.00am now.
The Sec 1s have all been sent to bed and are resting soundly after a long day.
Kudos to the Senior Leaders (Sec 4s) and Junior Leaders (Sec 3s) for being good role-models to the new Sec 1 boys

Don't you agree that they deserve a treat?
Yup, so our Camp Commandant, Miss Sheikha has ordered pizza for all the leaders for a job well done!
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As for photos, I have more than 1.5gig worth of them- there is no way for me to upload them all during this time but we will upload them to our schools website photo gallery at a later day once we have settled in back in school.

In less than 12 hours, your sons will be back in school.
Please pick them up OUTSIDE the school compound after 12.00pm

Good night!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Archive of 'Live' Feed for Campfire

Dear Parents, our campfire has just ended.

If you missed the 'live' feeds via Qik below, here is archived footage of the event:

1) Dzafir's Count-down


2)VP(Acad) Mr Anith Kumar delivering the Opening Address and Lighting the Campfire


3)Various performances by Sec 1 Classes








4)Camp-fire MCs trying to do 'stand-up' comedy


5)Performance by 'Red Shirt' Junior Leaders


6)Performance by Black Shirt Senior Leaders


7)Victorian Anthem and Closing of Campfire

EDGE Sec 1 Orientation CampFire 'Live' Feed

Coming to you 'Live' at 2000hrs

Guest of Honour: Vice-Principal (Acad) Mr Anith Kumar

(Click on the 'Qik' icon in the lower left of the frame to see earlier clips from the campfire)

Some reflections ...

VS was one of the first schools to utilise MOE Changi Adventure Campsite.
It's proximity to the school and good facilities made it an ideal place for us to run our camping programes.

In 2006, when we first used this campsite for our EDGE Orientation Camp, the PE Dept's resident photographer, Mr Tan Chong Kiat took some priceless pictures which I thought I would share with you:
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Stay tuned for tonight's Camp Fire starting at 2000hrs

Dinner at last!

The boys have finished all the outdoor activities for the day, and they are now queuing up for dinner.

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Despite their tired faces, you can see the smiles of them as they wait anticipation for a well deserved meal.

Even more suprising, I'm sure many parents will be glad to see their sons washing their eating utensils themselves-- for some this may be the first time in their life :)
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As Victorians, we believe that all our boys will one day grow up into strong, independant individuals.
So parents, be comforted- because the day your son can take care of himself you know that in time to come, he will also be able to take care of you in future.

Nil Sine Labore

Sunset on yet another beautiful day

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As the sunsets on another beautiful day, we count our blessings for the good weather this year. Initial forecasts had predicted showers and storms for us on Fri and Sat but we kept our fingers crossed and trusted that our determination and enthusiasm would touch the heavens.

We have wrapped up all our Outdoor Activities for the day and the boys will be having their dinner soon.

For Kayaking, apart from some boys capsizing (sometimes, I suspect they do it on purpose also just to get their friends wet) and having to climb back on their kayaks, the only other issues we faced were a number of boys who got sea-sick.
All have rested and are now eating their dinner.

No accidents or incidents during the Confidence Rope Course, Rock Climbing or Zipline.

We have 2-3 students that have complained of headache, stomachache, labour pains, etc.... these have been diagnosed as symptoms of home-sickness and now with a strong injection of the Victorian Spirit they are now too busy chatting with their friends to be interviewed by me. :)

Stayed tuned for more updates after dinner and our grand finale, the campfire!

Close up on the Rockwall ...

Here's some close-up footage of one of our Sec 1 boys, Lau Ming climbing.



The goal of Rock Climbing ISN'T about making it to the top, the goal of rock climbing is to reach out and test your limits; to make each climb better than the one before.

General Stations- Tire and Pole

Another classic General Station and definitely one of the most challenging-- The Tire & Pole Station:


The important learning lesson for the boys in these activities is for them to learn to communicate with each other and learning to solve problems together.

Here is a classic picture from 2005's Sec 1 Orientation Camp:

It inspired me to see how the boys carried each others weight- These boys just graduated last year. Time flies and we are proud to have been able to be a part of their lives in VS.

Back to our courageous team- did they manage to overcome the challenge?
Let's see:

Confidence Rope Course- Burma Bridge and Single Log

Apart from Rock Climbing, the boys are also engaging in another series of rope activities from the Confidence Rope Course.

Here we have Kia Meng from 1B crossing the Burma Bridge, side by side we have Clement attempting the Single Log.

In both instances, their task is to traverse from one side to the other.

We can see that in the span of a few days, the boys are actively responding to our activities and exploring areas of development outside their usual comfort zone.

That, we believe, is the mark of a Victorian-- the constant desire to be SOMETHING MORE!

General Stations: Nitro Crossing

The General Stations are a series of low rope team-building elements that are manned by student leaders.

Here each team has a specific task to accomplish.
In this clip, we see members of 1B attempting to complete Nitro Crossing.

The aim is to get the members of their team across a 'toxic swamp' using a rope swing and fit everyone on the 'safe' platform there.

Return of the Mummy....

Hi remember our one-armed die-hard Victorian hero from yesterday, Matthew?

Well, it's abit hard to kayak and rock climb with your arm in a cast.
But we were really impressed with Matthew's positive spirit and decided to see what we could do to get him more involved in the activities.

So we first got Matthew to get his arm and cast fully wrapped up in plastic so that his cast would not get wet.
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Matthew then joined me on my kayak as my camera man, while I paddled the 2 of us out to sea.

Our first segment was to capture footage of the boys who were going through the water confidence drill. This drill familiarises boys with the use of their life vests and to be comfortable floating in the sea beyond heading out in the kayaks.
So while Matthew and I stayed nice and dry, we saw the rest soaking in the cool, cool waters of the sea:


Next we head out to where 1D was rafted together to catch footage of them.
As you can see, most of our Sec 1s need to develop better sense of direction-- especially when they start crashing into Mr Siow and his camera man *sigh*


Apart from the good view of the sea, sun and there is something else you can get a good view of at Changi Coast. This is the best place to see planes:


My brave camera man, Matthew and I managed to catch footage of one of the kayak groups successfully rafting up and even STANDING UP on their kayaks!
Well done, boys!


Although the weather looked cloudy, let's hope the sun comes out again. Will update after lunch.

A Big hand to my cameraman, Matthew!

Beyond the call of duty...

Here we see Instructor Pandian from Camelot Adventure, our partners in this camp.

Despite having to hobble around for the past 2 days from a knee injury, Pandian has dutifully continued to dispatch the Sec 1 students throughout the day despite the pain.

Staff and students of Victoria School would like to commend him on his spirit and dedication.
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I am sure the boys have benefitted from your selfless example in learning to be more resilient and determined.

Cleaning our lifevests after kayaking

One of the basic tenents of camping is to always take care of your equipment after use.
This prolongs its service lifespan and ensures that your equipment keeps you safe.

Here we see the boys rinsing thier lifevest with fresh water after kayaking to clear off the sea salt.

How do they feel after kayaking? Let's ask them:

Learning to overcome

What happens when you reach an obstacle in life?

You learn to move around it, you learn to overcome it and you learn to keep trying.

Let's see how Viknesh does it while climbing the Rock Wall:

Zip-line!

Zipline descent....



WHEEEEEE!!!!!!

VS Unite!

No camp, no VS event is ever complete withtout 'VS Unite'


Here are the student leaders- affectionately known as Red Shirts (Sec 3s) and Black Shirts (Sec 4s) leading the Sec 1 Campers in the cheer:)

Morning PT!

Rise and shine campers!
Good morning, Good morning, Good morning!!!!


THe sun is bright, the mood is right!
VS, VS, fight fight fight!

So we beging with running on the spot:


Followed by some tuck-jumps!


Then we got everybody's favourite, PUSH-UPs


Already, we see the boys moving out their shells and starting to gel with their friends and seniors.
Watch out for our Camp Fire finale at the end of the day!

Its a NEW DAY.........

GOOOOOD MORNING.............!!!!!!!
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Welcome to Day 2!