Sec One Level Camp 24-27 May

This is Mdm Tan. I would like to congratulates all SLs who have experienced probably the most precious leadership camp in their lives. The 17 SL I have in Sec One camp are:

1. Sanjay , Ameer, Radin Atiqah (camp chief)
2. Noella (log)
3. Wei Xian (Admin)
4. Rizwan(food)
5. Group leaders: Syahidah, Nurhuda, Amalina, Yuni, Raby, Wardah, Rahman, Arun, Khoiri, Atiqah, Farasha

About 70% of the Sl above are first timer leaders other than in their own CCA groups. The challenge of being a SL in school level camp is you do not gain respect easily from pupils who do not know you at all. To manage a class which is more playful can be a tough job. However, I do not have to remind these leaders how important is their roles as almost all of them are very responsible.

Every leader has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Below are my observation:

1. Sanjay- A patient, considerate SL, he has never vent his frustration to anyone even under the most stressful circumstances (remember on the first day we stopped all activities and he made all of us go under shelter, pupils were complaining loudly) too bad he was not feeling well and cant further show his leadership quality
2. Ameer- A resilient, responsible, dilligent camp chief, (remember how hard he worked during BBQ night). However, he needs to be more organised and try to plan ahead. I also like to see him to give clear instructions in front of all campers. Ameer, keep it up!
3. Radin Atiqah- A very decisive, efficient and meticulous leader. She will take down every words from Sky and teachers. What a responsible and organised leader. However, she tends to b frustrated easily and it may hurt others' feelings. Remember, treat others as if u like to be treated. Way to go, atiqah!
4. Noella- Cannot describe how hardworking is this Sl. She will work and work and work, till she dozed off whenever sitting down. Even tat happened, she did not want to take a nap even though special permission has been given by the great teacher (tats me ^_^). She is the best logistic SL I have ever seen, keep it up Noella:) Sleep well at home...
5. Wei Xian - A man who had undergone too much stressed by counting and counting and counting ppl ....He has to update everyday strength and report to teachers. He is always seen with a notebook in his hand, is tat the "death note"? haha just kidding... Wei Xian is a reliable and dilligent SL. He has impressed me as this is the first time I observed his leadership quality. WOnder if he still remember tat he was once a slacking chemistry rep in sec 2E4? haha
6. Rizwan- He made me recalled how hard Arun worked in FAS camp. The food in-charged has to work 4 times a day(breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper) when everyone is hungry ...including himself. He is always the last one to eat and sometimes shocked by the fact that he has forgotten to serve the great teachers(including me too)....haha Rizwan got to perservere and to plan ahead next time.
7. Syahidah- A Sl who impressed teachers and Sky, she managed to control her stress, emotion and exhaustion, finally she gave a very meaning debrief on "Managing emotion in camp". As a first timer in student leadership, I am really glad to see her improvement as a SL. Obviously she has got a lot of fans from her 1E1 class of campers too.
8. Nurhuda- A positive SL. Quite high popularity especially on 3rd day. She is responsible and hardworking. Serious during debrief and never sleep (unlike some of you...)
9. Amalina- A petite Sl with loud and clear voice. Her command is clear and her action is fast. Never underestimate this little gal, I am impressed tat she choose to lead in Sec 2 camp as well. Thought it will be too much for her. What a resillient SL. Keep it up, Amalina.
10. Yuni- I hv nvr c her being so serious before....Yuni has shown tat she can b a very responsible leader, however, would like to c u to speak up more. Be confident cos u hv wat it takes to b a good SL.
11. Raby- Same as Yuni, a "blur" look Raby is normally what I see in lessons. haha. However, pls refer to the pic I taken during high element(day 2). I hv never imagined tat Raby is able to belay for pupils who are bigger sizes than her!! Her eyes have not leave the climbing camper even at one second.Raby is actually a very responsible SL. Try to speak up more, u can do it!
12. Wardah- A resillient SL who had to manage a more playful class. She had faced defiant campers but she has never give up easily. However, to be a really respected SL, leader must try to build rapport with the playful kids. They are fun ppl, so they ll b very happy to work with ppl who can hv fun w them too.
13. Rahman- He is one of the top group leaders. Well-liked by 1E5 pupils, Rahman has never run out of energy, never give up, has always cheer the class up. He can take stress well too.
14. Arun- A hardworking SL with a kiddish face. I cant imagine how he looked when he was stressed during BBQ night. After going through 2 disastrous BBQ in camps, think he will hate BBQ food for quite sometime...haha. Arun still a bit shy when doing cheers. Open up ur heart and soul, boy.
15. Khoiri – A funny SL. He can always cheer the crowd up. Very popular among campers because of his great personality. Just hv to preserver more and never say die ok.
16. Atiqah- A cheerful SL. U can see smile on her face at all times. Never heard of her complaining about anything. A positive SL.
17. Farasha- A caring SL. She has been responsible in leading 1E3 with a girl who needs special medical attention. She has to monitor the girl to take medicine twice a day. A delay of time may cause the girl to have serious effect. However, she has never complained abt the special task tat is given. Just has to be more careful when a camper’s medicine is in your hand.

Generally, we need our SL to improve on the following:

• to understand that the campers’ enjoyment of learning lie in your hand, if u serve them everything and just feed them like babies, they are not involved and will not have the sense of belonging. This is part of the reasons why a lot of pupils cried and want to go home at night while waiting aimlessly in the basketball court. They have to know what is fun ahead of them and to be occupied with fun actvities so that they wont be homesick. Our SLs are not well-prepared with at least 10 team bonding games in hand tat can be played from time to time while waiting. We should have assigned 2-3 SL to act as the roles of “Programmers” or “cheer leaders” for all waiting time(looked at how the instructors cheer them up?). The initiatives and confidence in cheerleading is not observed yet. All these can be practiced and prepared.
• to communicate more effectively, give clearer instruction in a confident way. You can always break down long instructions into short phrases. Not to be too submissive to campers by saying:” I am begging you all to listen to me…” In this way, no respect will be gain. A good leader is firm yet respectful, you give instruction only when whole crowded is quiet by using, say, “silent clap” technique…a lot of skills can b picked up from the instructors. Try to observe how good leader talk.
• Not to do all the work by yourselves, there are a lot of campers with good leadership potential, u can use them to help u manage the class and to distribute the workload. In this way, more good leaders can be developed in JWSS!
• to be able to anticipate problems and have contingency plans way ahead starting of the camps. We got to prevent unneccesary problems and make the camp more successful and meaningful. One way of doing it is to have proper write up of "job description" of each position in camp, eg. A camp chief has to give clear instructions to SL before camps, have a few meeting to ensure preparation of SL have been done before camp starts. and so on.

I have never expect a perfect camp will be achieved while I have many inexperienced SL this time. However, you have met the expectation by giving ur best in this 4 days 3 nights. May u are inspired by the joy of being able to lead our very own JWSS juniors. They do respect and appreciate your effort and care. So do I, the great SL teacher i/c (hehe just kidding) who will always behind u, no matter under any circumstances. This memory will be in our mind from now to the end of our lives. Cheers, my dear student leaders!