Sec3 Camp Reflection: A sense of belonging

It was a cold Monday morning and I got out of bed. I was filled with excitement and apprehension at the same time. For the past few days, I had been caught up in the excitement of preparing for a camp. However, to me, this was not just any camp. Being a student who had just joined St Andrew’s Secondary after 8 years of studying abroad, this was the first camp I was to attend in this school. This camp I am writing about is the Secondary Three Adventure Camp.

As I made my way to the school courtyard, the possibility that I may have forgotten something kept nagging at me. I shrugged it away as I reached the courtyard and sat with the rest of the class. I looked around as I did every day to see the faces of those around me. Typically, for the past several weeks, no one had shown their true colours yet. A sense of loneliness set in as I remembered the many friends I had left behind when I returned to Singapore and I felt like I did not belong here.

Nonetheless, morning assembly ended as quickly as it had started. The Sec three students were made to remain in the courtyard for a short briefing before we trooped to the waiting buses that were to bring us to Camp Christine. On the journey, I sat next to a boy I had not known in the past weeks. His name was Li Heng and we struck up a conversation to pass time. As we approached the road that led deep into an undeveloped landscape eventually ending at Camp Christine, I was amazed to see a vast area that had yet to be the foundation for business parks and skyscrapers. The scenery reminded me that Singapore was not completely, as people usually refer to it, a concrete jungle.

Shortly thereafter, we alighted together with our trainer, Mr Omar, who was to guide our class through all the activities in the camp. Each class had been named according to characters from the story and movie, “The Jungle Book”. Our class, 3ST, had been named “Banderlog”. In actual fact, Banderlogs are baboon-like primates with an aggressive nature. Later, we assembled in our groups on a large patch of grass under the scorching hot sun. Being typical city-kids, this was extremely uncomfortable and we realised we would have a lot of getting used-to.

Our first activity was something like a treasure hunt. We were given a list of things to find, including live frogs, crickets, and grasshoppers. We had a great time of fun the rest of the day in the warm weather. Through these activities I realised that I had chances to interact more frequently with those in the same group. I met another boy, Neville, who had transferred from Shanghai after two years. Slowly, I felt more and more relaxed as I started building friendships with very interesting people. By nightfall, we were exhausted. I longed for a hot shower, a good meal and a good night’s sleep. However, being an adventure camp, that was not to be the case. In fact, besides the rather delicious dinner, the remainder of the night was a nightmare.

We were only allowed to take a shower at 11pm. That too, there were not enough showers for everyone and the water was freezing cold. I thought I had suffered the worst already, but I was quite mistaken. Everyone had to sleep in tents and at least five people shared one tent. It was stuffy and the ground I slept on was hard. It was too hot to use a sleeping bag, so I used it as a pillow.

The next morning, I groggily woke up to realise I only had a few minutes before everyone was supposed to get up and get ready. With barely six hours of sleep, I shook my equally sleep-deprived tent-mates to wake them up. I freshened up and headed to the grounds where we were to meet every morning. Morning exercise commenced shortly after and the half-asleep campers began to come to life again. By now, I had learnt that my classmates had a ‘crazy’ side to their personalities as well, some termed by the trainer as ‘quai lan’.

The second day of camp was actually more interesting and we had plenty of fun. We also had the chance to get to know our trainer, a young man who almost always wore sunglasses and was well aware of the way a teenage boy would feel and think. There were many times when he would sit under a tree and we would all gather around him when we were tired.
The weather, however, was not as pleasant as the day before. While we were doing an activity, the rain came and started to drench the entire place. Our class crowded into the hall where we had meals every day.

After lunch, Mr Omar announced that we were going to do the ‘Nature Rumble’ which was a walk through the jungle and through mud. We had seen other teams come back from that activity and they reeked! Now, it was our turn. Fortunately, Mr Omar told us that after the ‘Nature Rumble’ we would straight away go and build our own raft so that we could wash ourselves in the sea.

That was a very appealing thought as we took our first steps into the jungle. I had been jungle trekking before, but I had never been through such a squelchy and scary trail. There were times when we had to walk through knee-deep mud and later through thick, black sewage water. Many times my shoes got stuck in the thick substances and I had no idea what was under the surface. To top this all off, it began raining. It seemed that all of nature was against us as the muddy trail became increasingly slippery and dangerous. The only way to keep going was to hold on to your classmates.

That is when I had to fully trust and depend on others around me. It taught me that I could not do everything alone and that we, as humans, are interdependent. The people each of us held on to were like a support that we used to pull ourselves up and on. It is interesting to think that the St Andrew’s motto had much to do with moving through the stickiest situations- getting up and moving onward.

After the rafting activity, we were wet and in need of a shower. Later, we assembled in the hall where we had our meals. The assistant instructor, Mr Hilmi, told us that we had to create a group cheer because we had to perform it during the campfire. Xavier introduced a very interesting move called the ‘Sexy Clap’. Everyone seemed to agree and we changed the lyrics of one of the FIFA songs and made that our group cheer. It was great fun and nice to see everyone feeling more open and free to express themselves.

Later, we trooped to the campfire site and sat on tarpaulin mats. Everyone was getting excited as the skies became darker and the music started. The camp instructors had set up two large speakers and Mr Omar was sitting at his MacBook controlling the sound system. Mrs Toh gave an opening speech about boys maturing into men before lighting the campfire.

The next morning, we gathered for announcements and our group was named the winner of ‘Best Group Cheer’. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning up and packing our stuff to go home. It had been a thrilling and challenging experience, but to me, it was worth it. I could take away so many lessons, experiences and memories that would last a lifetime. On the way back to school, I looked out of the window and I felt quite surprised to see cars, traffic lights, highways and tall buildings. It seemed that three days in the jungle made city-life so strange and yet I still prefer my bed and my hot shower. Nonetheless, I now have built friendships that I could not have made any other way and I feel a sense of belonging to the school.

Written by Abel George(2) 3ST

Reflection:Boys of Wisdom and Stature - Every Boy a SportsMan.

In my life , I have done quite a fair bit of sports . When we say sports , we refer to it as a form of exercise . But in the Sec 3 Camp , I learnt that sports played a crucial role during the camp and I gained unexpected experiences .

On the first day , the class started off with a Nature Hunt , which needed the class to hunt for plants and a few animals . Using the knowledge we gathered in sports , we managed to catch the animals . It was an immensely tiring job , but the class eventually overcame the difficulty and managed to deliver . As for the next few activities , we had to do activities which allowed us to bond together . Sports had a big part in these few activities .

Thereafter on the second day , the class went on a nature hike into the jungle . Although it was really muddy , the class endured the hardship they were going through and persevered on . During the hike , there were instances that needed our agility and balance to climb up road blocks . Some of us fell down on the way but picked ourselves up and pressed on . Eventually , we got out of the jungle safely . Following that , we went back to our camp site and headed for the waters . Once there , we had to make a raft using a few sticks and rubber tubes . It was tough . Luckily with the help of some scout members , we managed to build a raft that was stable enough to go into the waters . We managed to move through the waters using our hands and with the help of the strong currents .

The camp was a wonderful eye-opener for me as I had never done these before in my entire life . I will definitely take these experiences and use it in my sports life .

By - Bryan Quah (6)
3ST.

Boys Of Wisdom And Stature

→ Sense Of Belonging.

As I went to the Secondary 3 camp, I couldn’t help but feel that it was going to be a fun camp. As I got on the bus to go to the campsite, everyone was in high spirits. We knew that after this camp we would be able to wear our long pants.. finally! Eeter’s enthusiasm was overdone. The first day was long and tiring. We did many team building activities which were quite boring but turned out quite well. Eeter was going around shouting “Banderlog Oui!” while some responded, most told him to shut up, I guess this is some sort of team bonding? Everyone were from different classes, in the previous years, and our classmates from other countries. In the second day, we went on stronger bonding activities like the mud trail and rafting. We had to help each other if we were stuck in the mud, Han Qin was really helpful when we were at this part when we were swimming and had to climb over a huge log. During the camp, I’m very sure everyone felt a sense of belonging in the class, slowly as the camp went on. Everyone really bonded in the class, even someone who got kicked out of his tent. I’m sure, we all made new friends, and we will continue to bond stronger as a class as the years go by.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.”

By Joshua Ang, 3ST, (14)

Sec3 Adventure Camp-Sense of belonging

The Secondary 3 Adventure Camp was one of the most grueling yet fun camp I had ever experienced in my entire life.I would like to tell you of the various activities we had to go through together as a class and the obstacles we faced in the process of completing the activities.

The first few activities involved helping one another climb over wooden logs and going through hoops without touching the strings attached to it.It was tedious but we managed to complete it after a few attempts.The remaining activities involved swinging from tree to tree and even going through a trail of mud which some of us got stuck in. There was also rafting and it was pretty fun building a raft and rafting in it.

Throughout the entire camp,I had realized that we needed each other for support and that we bonded together as a class. We also got to know each other better.



Russell D’souza(8)
3ST

Secondary 3 Adventre Camp

Secondary 3 Adventure Camp
Secondary 3 adventure camp was the best camp I had ever attended. The camp had around 9 activities for us to go through. Each activity had at least one challenge to be down more like obstacles we had to overcome. The whole group had to overcome the obstacles without mistakes, if not everyone had to restart. Some obstacles made us swing from tree to tree and move from point A to point B with our legs tied to each other. This thought us discipline and teamwork.

The next two activities I am about to tell you about was the most fun filled ones. The first one would be the nature rumble. We had to walk through a muddy jungle, the deeper we walked the higher the mud. During the walk we were asked to waddle through a chest deep stream which was filled with snails and logs that we had to climb over. There were even times when we got stuck in a mushy pit of quick sand. But we also had our fun when we started to throw mud at our friends.

The next activity was rafting. First we had to build a raft together. Later on we had to raft in it. The only way to make our raft move was to manually paddle with our feet.

During the camp we had noticed one very important thing. It was the fact that nobody could overcome the challenges by themselves. When we got stuck in the mud our friends were the ones that pulled us out. While rafting we had to paddle together to move. We had to synchronize in all the things we did. This made us bond with each other more and have a sense of belonging to our class. We felt that our friends were not friends, but brothers.
Done by:
Daniel Vijay (9)
Nathanael Lucas(27)
Muhd Syazwi (26)

Secondary 3 Boot/Fun Camp

“From toddlers to boys, from boys to teenagers, from teenagers to men, that’s life’s story but it mainly depends on how we ourselves plan it to be,” Sathya Mathiyalagan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The shimmering lights from the sun seeped through the dark grey clouds of the blue sky. It was a long night for me packing my camping bag and we had to buy those stuff we need in the camp that I did not have. Still even though I was so sleepy I could not sleep, it was like I was in a sleeping disorder. This explained my sleepiness in the morning. When I reached school I was already late so I had to run with my FAT, HEAVY camping bag. It was an experience that I did not want to have again. The same old morning assembly was in action! After the morning assembly we were assigned to our trainers for the camp. Our trainers were Hillme a Malay Guy and Omar an American Malay, both of them were cool guys.   Our first look at Omar and we shrills ran up my spine he looked like a strict trainer who had never smiled in his life. Our bus…..really a first class bus, like the one we needed. It was a long trip to Camp Christine, close to the border of Singapore-Malaysia. Our ride there was truly scary. Lim Chu Kang was the first street I have seen with so many cemeteries. Camp Christine was not so bad infact it was nicer than what we expected. We were assembled in our classes. We were forced by the chief of the camp to sit under the sun for about 45 minutes while they were under the shade planning for the day. First activity is that we had to pitch our own tents. After pitching it we had to arrange it in rows. Next we had our lunch; we had rice, fish sticks, hotdogs and vegetables.                                                                                                                                                Our second activity was to catch grass hoppers, crickets and frogs alive; we also had to get dead fragments of a banana leaves, bird nest ferns, staghorn ferns etc….In this activity the frog catching was the most fun! But the biggest joke is that Justin caught a chameleon and accidentally let it escape in the Olave hall and all the students, teachers, trainers went screaming and running about. To tell the truth that was the slackest day. There was no brain cracking games or physical testing games in fact we cheated in most of the games especially the magic carpet. When Omar was looking away, we got off the carpet, flipped it and got on it again and he did not even know it. All the games were very fun, but I was expecting the next day for the nature rumble.                                                                                                                                             After the games, we had our dinner. The third activity was the night walk. It was as fun as all the games just that this one was scarier because Lincoln Peh started to shout as though he was possessed! Then i just had the feeling that it was bad, but the problem was that Lincoln Peh missed a step and his legs went straight into the drain! Then came the night. We had to rest as much as we could as the next day will be the most tiring. The next day morning we had to drag ourselves to our lodge. We had our breakfast: we had rice with fish cake and veggies. Then we went to our nature rumble. We had to walk in a trail of thick mud but it became worst for us because the rain had made the mud more wet and thick. And we also took a walk in a chest-deep river. Then we had to make it through the forest but we were lost in the forest after following a group of girls from another school. We were very angry at them for losing their way making us lose ours but eventually we found our way and we ran away from the girls. Our next activity was to build a raft and race with another group of friends. Our raft was a good and strong one but Joshua could not balance in it so we all toppled over and that was the last activity of the day. We also had the campfire but we forgot to make the cheer for it so 5 minutes before the camp fire we made our cheer and it went well in the fun and peaceful campfire. The next day we were in formed that we won the best cheer award in coming with the award was two bottles of coke. We were so sad of leaving the camp that we cheered for Omar all the way till we reached the bus because he made our camp as fun as ever.      

Every Boy a Sportsman

When you think of the word 'sportsman', what comes to mind? For many, a professional athlete or someone who behaves sportingly. For others, an athlete who is fair and generous in behaviour. But at the secondary 3 camp, we learnt a new meaning to the word - teamwork, and brotherhood.

In a game of football, each team has eleven players on the 120 yard field. And it is each player's job to deliver the ball to the opposing end of the field. If one player decides not to play, the whole team would probably lose. Each player has a role to play, no matter how small the role. Likewise, at the secondary 3 camp, if say someone decided not to participate in the Gladiator activity, his team would be at a lose. Each member of the team had a role to play, and everyone had to work as a team in order to succeed.

Brotherhood. At the camp, every single one of us had to spend two nights in the same tent, and three days of gruelling activities together. We had to endure the annoying sleeping habits of our tent-mates, and on the other hand, lend them a hand during the activities. If there's one thing we learnt at the camp, it would be brotherhood.

I think the camp was a total success. At the end of the camp, we learnt many skills like catching frogs and coping with the annoying sleeping habits of our friends. but also the feeling of kinship and closeness to each other. The camp truly bonded and gelled us together as one class, and cohort. And also gave us the true insight of what it means to be a saint.

-Neville Lee (19)