Beatty Beaver Scout Troop

7th National Patrol Challenge 2011

2011-12-01T01:28:00.000+08:00

The highly intense and competitive 7th National Patrol Camp held once every three years had just been concluded at Sarimbun Scout Camp. This 5 Days 4 Nights camping competition has been billed the Mother of All Scouting Competitions since the first camp of this latest edition started in 1997. To the glory of Beatty Beaver Scout Group, our 8 boys - 4 Sec 3 Scouts, 2 Sec 2 Scouts and 2 Sec 1 Scouts as per competition minimum requirements - have returned home yesterday evening on 28 November 2011 triumphant exceeding expectations - they were awarded the SILVER AWARD for this 2011 Camp.

To put this in perspective, their Senior Beavers - the old boys / the alumni in the 6th National Patrol Camp got Bronze in the year 2008 whereas in the year 2005, Beatty Secondary School did not participate. Furthermore in the year 2003 and the year 2001, the Scout Group only got Certificates of Participation. It is often said that the past laid the foundation for the present to build on for a better future. As such, this 7^th NPC had drawn its motivation from the past Beaver participation in NPCs and Beatty Beavers will strive to use this accomplishment to aim and plan for the future 8^th National Patrol Camp tentatively scheduled for 2014.

Our winning Beavers are as followed:

Goh Jing Lun – Patrol Leader (Sec 3)
Terence Chew – Asst. Patrol Leader (Sec 3)
Loh Chuanjian – Camp Cook (Sec 3)
Lee Jun Xian – Asst. Camp Cook (Sec 3)
Pak Jun Wei – First Aider (Sec 2)
Md. Shafiq – Asst. First Aider (Sec 1)
Ang Chun Yang – Quartermaster (Sec 2)
Low Yong Lin – Asst. Quartermaster (Sec 1)

During this 5 Days 4 Nights competition camp, our school's Scouts were pitted against 49 other school's Scout Groups to compete in the following categories (with weightage for scoring):

1. Camping Standard (15%)

2. Campsite Development (15%) – here Beatty Beavers have probably hit on a potentially successful campsite model that could be wholly Beaver to carry on the successes of its predecessor patrols.

3. Gateway (5%) – here we are reminded of the importance of having some basic design elements when constructing the gateway such as form, function and colours.

4. Pioneering (12.5%) – the theme for this section was Play and our Beaver Scouts had constructed a slide for the general public to view during the Open House.

5. Backwoodsman Cooking (10%) - here we are at 20th position out of 50 Scout Groups and one of the judges complimented the Scouts on its maintenance of hygiene while preparing food for this competition components. Personally the Beavers have the TPY District Camp Cooking Competition to thank, for helping lay the foundations for this success.

6. First Aid (7.5%) – scenario was given to the participants and they had to explain as they demonstrated to the judges why they chose and applied certain correct First Aid techniques.

7. Fire-Setting (2.5%)

8 Campfire Skit (2.5%) - here we are the 1st position in our Sub-Camp D and selected to perform at the Campfire-cum-Award Presentation Ceremony on the last night of the NPC together with the other three 1st in their respective Sub Camps (Yuan Ching Sec for Sub-Camp A, Catholic High for Sub-Camp B and Anglican High for Sub-Camp C). Our Scouts were very enthusiastic in performing this item in front of Chief Dragonheart, our Chief Commissioner Tan Cheng Kiong.

9. Orienteering (7.5%) - here we are in 8th position out of 50.

10 Scoutlore Quiz (7.5%) – here is where the knowledge of the Scout Movement is tested

11. Camp Cook (5%) – Patrols are tested on their daily meal cooking, in the outdoors, with pre-determined ingredients handed out by the Organizers. They are judged on their creativity in using all the ingredients to cook a wholesome and delicious meal for 8 person. The Scouts have learnt well, not only to cook at home, but also in the outdoors, less the comfort and luxury of home setting.

12. Scouting Elements (10%) – here is where team spirit and patrol unity done in the spirit of the Scout Law and Promise played a very important part in scoring points with the judges.

Beatty Beaver Scout Group had two preparatory camps for this National Patrol Camp. Both camps took place after our school’s End of Year Examinations ended. The Beavers were both relieved that the examinations were over and all of them had passed and got promoted to the next level. They were also happy that their fellow Sec 2 brother Scouts in the 7^th NPC Patrol largely got streamed into the Sec 3 classes of their choices. This was a stirring testimony to the fact that Beaver Scouts should always work hard first before playing hard.

About the two camps, the main aim was largely to prepare us for this major Scout camp which is held once-every three years. The first camp was held on the weekend of 4 November – 5 November 2011 while the second camp was longer and it was held on 11 November to 14 November 2011. The camping ground for these two camps was in our school compounds, using the little green courtyard surrounding the classroom blocks and the Food Labs. Participating in these two camps had seriously strained and tested as well as stretched and challenged our physical, emotional and mental limits of our physical selves as well as reminding us of the importance of being enthusiastic and active in taking part in the Beaver Scouts’ weekly Scout training in notching up incremental levels of Scouting skills; to be ready for any challenges that come their way.

To end it off, as our volunteer Scout Leader always says, “Scouting is not about what you do, it’s about who you are, and what you become to be”. This National Patrol Camp, has certainly impacted our Scouts, in the way they look at their own lives, and how they should set their target high, so as to achieve their full potential.

Reported by,

Mr. Alexander Choy (Teacher in Charge)

District Outdoor Cooking Competition

2011-09-30T15:37:00.000+08:00

The District outdoor cooking competition was organized by St. Andrew's STAR Scouts on the 10th of September at the Woodleigh Park, amidst the lush greenery. The cooking competition was a great opportunity for the Scouts of Toa Payoh to come together and live the Scouting Spirit, over a friendly competition that served well to prepare the Scouts for the upcoming National Patrol Camp.

A total of 13 teams came prepared that morning, with their pots, pans and cooking ingredients. Through thier ingenuity and creativity, each team came up with their own version of home-cooked dishes in the outdoors. Beatty Beavers sent 2 teams led by PL Terence Chew and PL Loh Chuanjian. We are very proud of the following Scouts, for clinching the 2nd and 3rd placing in the competition.

1st Runner Up: Ang Chun Yang, Terence Chew Hong Wei & Muhd Syafiq

2nd Runner up: Song Chi, Loh Chuanjian & Low Yonglin

National Exploration Challenge 2011

2011-08-01T14:58:00.000+08:00

This is the second of the series of National Exploration Challenge, after 2005. The competition organized by the Scout HQ, aims to challenge the Scouts' idea of Adventure, Challenge and Exploration.

The event saw Scouts from various schools challenging themselves to complete as many checkpoints as possible over a five hours window, which saw them traveling from CBD area up to the heartlands of Bishan. In each checkpoints, Scouts are mentally challenged on their Scouting skills, before they are are allowed to proceed to their next destination.

Beatty Beavers had sent 3 teams, and all returned home with a Bronze Award. Congratulations to the following Scouts.

Team A: Lee Jun Xian, Padre Lim, Muhd Shafiq, Louis Quek & Tan Yoke Juan

Team B: Md. Syafiq, Ang Chun Yang, Song Chi, Low Yong Lin & Tan Teng Shin

Team C: Loh Chuanjian, Joshua Ong, Avion Goh, Pak Jun Wei & Joshua Trisnandi

Perth Goodwill Camporee 2011

2011-06-29T06:06:00.000+08:00

Beatty Beavers ventured Down Under for its annual overseas expedition in June 2011 in response to an invitation from the Scouts of the Swan Valley District, Perth, Western Australia to participate in its annual District Camp. Beavers ventured to the Great Southern Land of Australia on the wings of a Flying Kangaroo Qantas flight QF72 leaving Singapore on 2 June 2011 and never to return to the Lion City of Singapore until 8 June 2011.

Upon arrival at Perth, we quickly loaded up our camping gear onto a trailer which was attached to our coach and embarked immediately on a 100km plus journey up north to our campsite at Wannamal which was supposed to take about two hours. But it ended up being longer than that due to an accident along a two-lane road causing a jam on both sides as Australian traffic police controlled the movement of vehicles around the accident vehicle which had ended up in a ditch. So it was already becoming dark very fast by the time we arrived at our campsite.

Over the next three days, Beaver Scouts learnt that Scouting in Western Australia is largely community-based and we the leaders hope that the Beavers will learn that everything has its purpose and function in society when they saw how the Australian troops recycled materials such as refrigerator cooling pipes to supply piping hot water for thirsty Scouts in the dry and chilly Australian winter in June and how each patrol is really responsible for planning its own daily menu to the extent that if one member forget to do his duty in getting the patrol’s rations, his patrol members will go hungry or have less food to eat that particular day or meal. It was truly a Three Musketeers moment of ‘one for all and all for one’ affecting some Beaver Scouts as some Australian patrols truly have more to chow and enjoy than the other patrols.

I personally encountered this firsthand at Bellajura Scout Group which was where I joined two of our boys Qing Lun and Terence Chew for the first day of getting to know our brother and sister Scouts from this part of Australia. We were fortunate that the patrol leader that took in Qing Lun and Terence prepared lots of food as compared to the other two patrols in Bellajura.

Willerton was where Chuan Jian and Dean were attached to. Morley Scout Group was where all the Muslim Scouts were assigned to, Beavers such as Syabil, Syafiq and Azfhar together with a Peirce Triace Scout. Australian hospitality Scouting-style truly shone when one realized that Morley is the home base of the Swan Valley District Commissioner himself Mr Steve Hunt as he ceaselessly ensure that we the Singapore Scouts were well-fed and made to feel at home with them.

Joshua Ong was adopted by Bullsbrook Air Scout Group whereas Emerson was in Breechboros. Chun Yang & Pak Jun Wei were assigned to Gingin Scout Group which will be coming to Singapore in January 2012. Overall, it was a good experience for the various Beavers to be assigned to different Australian groups as they get to learn and understand some differences in the way Scouting is being carried out between the two places. More importantly they learn how to enjoy themselves by immersing themselves in the activities such as clay shooting, mud baths and of course, the pioneering project of building the ballista which is a form of giant catapult launcher. Kumanan and I also truly enjoy ourselves as well in helping to build and blasting our friendly opponents at the other end of the playing field.

On 6 June 2011, we were taken to the award-winning Caversham Wildlife Park located on the Tumbulgum Outback Farm within the spacious Whiteman Park on 6 June. Here we had a personal guided tour showing us the farm facilities and the animals, of which two of the most popular animals such as the kangaroo and the koala bear. We even saw albino kangaroos and we had fun feeding them. During the popular Farm Show, Kumanan had a blast at trying out in being an expert in lashing out the whip.

We also visited the Headquarters of the Western Australia Scouts – a lot of us went a badge-buying spree when we saw the bounty of Australian Scout badges on display and for sale. Some hot items were Scouts Australia’s memorabilia of its 100^th Anniversary of Scouting celebrations such as coins, mugs and of course, badges.

We also had a chance to be shown around the Scout HQ Museum, which was just above the Scout Shop and that visit was an eye-opener chronicling both the myriad activities and achievements of the Scouts of Western Australia.

We visited King’s Park and Botanic Gardens by taking a CAT Bus to the nearest bus stop from where we proceeded on the top of the park by walking briskly. The park is nicely set on a hill overlooking two rivers making certain spots along the walks good spots for taking photographs by the various Scouts.

The trip to Fremantle was a chance for the boys to catch a few winks save for some inquisitive souls who were seen gazing out of the windows of the big coach that took us to this bustling port city of Western Australia.

Fremantle grew up on maritime trade and services and evidence abound of this link with the seas. Of particular interest to me what the Fremantle Maritime Museum. Needless to say, the highlight of this was the guided tour of a Australian Navy submarine, the HMAS Ovens which is housed in a separate enclosure of the Museum.

No Scout trip overseas is complete without shopping for non-Scouting products. Likewise on 8 June 2011, our designated shopping day, the Singapore Scouts managed to squeeze in a fair amount of shopping time in the outlet stores just down the road from the Scout HQ. It was an eye-opener for some of the boys to see some of their favourite brands on sale in outlet stores at Harbour Town as such shops for products like PSP game cartridges were practically non-existent in Singapore. We also went for a jaunt along and around Hay Street and Murray Street Mall where we saw interesting shops and major department stores such as David Jones and Meyer.

That night, we had a scrumptious buffet dinner at a nice and cosy restaurant started by a Malaysian Muslim. It was a nice time of fellowship as we also took this opportunity to thank our Australian hosts for their kind hospitality in taking care of us while camping with them.

We departed for home on 9 June on Qantas flight QF77 leaving behind great new friendships forged during three days of camping in the Australian wilderness. New friends such as Corri Hoffman of Bullsbrook Air Scout Group who came to Perth Airport to send us off with some Cadbury chocolates and a promise to visit Singapore one day in the near future.

Frank Cooper Sands Ceremony 2011

2011-05-22T15:15:00.000+08:00

Beatty Beaver Scout Troop has once again done it! We have achieved the Gold Award for Scouting Year 2010. This is our second consecutive year receiving the GOLD award. We are especially proud to be the only Uniformed Group in Beatty Secondary School to be receiving GOLD.

Mr. Chia Waihan, Teacher-in-Charge, receiving the award from President of Scout Association

Earth Hour + 2011

2011-03-31T20:13:00.000+08:00

This year’s Earth Hour was held on the 26^th of March. It is a global event organized by the WWF (World Wide Fund) and the purpose is to raise awareness on climate change by encouraging organization as well as individuals to switch off their lights for one hour on 26 March 2011 at 8.30 pm local time.
As the Singapore Scout Association is one of the key partners for this event, Scouts are also involved as volunteers. Beatty Beavers volunteered for this year’s Earth Hour+.

We arrived at Marina Bay Promontory; where the event was held, at 4p.m. Our whole Scout Troop was there to support the event, with the Sec 3s and 4s playing a crucial role as volunteers to make this event a success.
As we arrived early, we got some free time to ourselves to explore and soak into the atmosphere. Booths were set up by various organizations, comprising of WWF booth, Singapore Scout Association, Nature Society of Singapore, World Toilet Organisation, Singapore Kite Association, Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES), Ben & Jerry’s, Coca Cola, The Body Shop, Nokia, The Marymount Ladies Group, Simply Living Lifeshop and Artz Heaven.

We were given our early dinner soon after; McDonald’s. At 6.30pm, the volunteers were gathered for a briefing. Each one of us were given a placard emblazoned with “Earth Hour Night Walk” and had to stand at checkpoints assigned by the organizers. The 3.5km night walk starts and end at the Promontory. Our Beavers’ role as placard volunteers was to ensure we guide the Public who have signed up for the Night Walk in support of the Earth Walk, doesn’t get lost amidst the huge shopping crowd.

All the volunteers were led to walk the actual trail of the walk. Along the way, we were assigned our checkpoints. Everyone was stationed at their own designated checkpoints before 8.30pm, ready for the start of the walk. However, those who did not take part in the walk were not neglected. The movie; The Age of Stupid, was screened at the Promontory for those who did not join the walk.
At 8.30pm, lightings of buildings in the area such as the Esplanade, The Fullerton Heritage Hotel and Marina Bay Sands were turned off or dimmed in support of Earth Hour, also signalling the start of the walk.

Although Earth Hour is an event that encourages the Public to switch off non-essential lightings and electrical supplies for an hour, the message it aims to bring home is much deeper. If every person can make just a small effort towards Environmental Conservation, the multiplied effect would be much greater.
Nature is an integral part of Scouting. Its through the natural environment that Scouting aims to educate our young people on character building, and its the responsibility of us Scouts, to support any effort that propagates the message of Environmental Conservation.

Reported by,

Lee Jun Xian (Troop Scribe)

Toa Payoh District Campfire 2010

2010-12-24T15:27:00.003+08:00

A month long of preparation and extra meetings combined with lots of hardwork and planning. It all culminated on 20^th November 2010, when Scouts, Cubs, Leaders of Toa Payoh District gathered round the campfire for a night of rekindling brotherhood and Scouting fellowship. The Campfire was jointly hosted by Beatty Beavers Scout Group and First Toa Payoh Eagles Cubs Pack guided by our Akelas and Scout Leaders.

It was a very busy day for the Cubs and the Scouts, making sure all things prepared a month before were all in place ready for the evening. Gateway construction; Firepit installation; Backdrop; Performance rehearsals; Refreshment preparation and the list goes on. We arrived early in the morning, and everyone were busy on their work till evening. After much sweat and effort, the sun was about to set, signaling the arrival of our District mates and the commencement of Campfire soon enough.

Although the official time for our guests to arrive was 7pm, some early birds were already waiting outside the school gate as the clock hit 6.30pm. With our energy recharged after a Pizza dinner, the Scouts were ready to march the final mile. As the main gate opened, Scouts from different Troops began to flood in. Our ushers got cracking and started to guide our Scouts through the fire trail to the gateway bridge.

As the sky turned dark, our guests were all seated as it appears to be. Before the Campfire was declared open, Mr Ong Shun Hua, Toa Payoh District Commissioner, took a moment to give everyone a welcome yarn. After an inspirational yet loooong yarn, he declared the fire open. Unfortunately, the fire seemed to be in a more dampened spirit then the Scouts were, after a weeklong wet weather. Nevertheless, the campfire proceeded, with our Campfire Leaders, Nikki Alexander from FTPPS Cubs and Song Chi from Beatty Beaver leading the way.

Just like any other campfire, every Scout Troop present had to give their Troop cheer. Roars, shouts, and screams, all you can think of in a cheer was heard by different schools. Enthusiasm was definitely present in the atmosphere. With all the Troops making their presence known, it was time for some Campfire singing. Songs like: ‘Campfire’s Burning’, ‘BP Spirit’, ‘Gako the Frog’, ‘Father Abraham’ and ‘Silvery Moon’, for example, were sang one after another. All of which are commonly sung and heard in most campfires. Not to forget the opening performance by FTPPS Cub Scouts. Their dance to ‘I’ve got a feeling’ got the audience all hyped up on thier feets.

Troop Performance by Maris Stella Scouts, Pei Chun Cubs & FTPPS Cubs (L – R)

There were a total of 4 performances/games in the programme list, with some songs to sing in between each ‘interval’. Next up, we had Cub Scouts from Pei Chun Public School dancing to ‘Nobody’ by Wonder Girls. The teacher-in-charge, Mr Salleh, even got everybody to stand up and dance along. By then, our spirits were all high.

With performances and games that got our Scouts and Cubs out of their shell and into the mood, it was certainly a night to remember. This line has been said countless time: “all good things come to an end”. Every campfire ends with souvenir presentation. Toa Payoh District Commissioner, Mr Ong Shun Hua, was called up on stage to present the souvenirs to different schools. The souvenir came in the form of a ‘scarf’.

As the campfire that leaped upwards came down and the ashes were formed on the fading ember, the District gathered around the Campfire for the final moments before the evening was closed. Soon after everyone left the compound and head home, with some still in the canteen enjoying the refreshments, the Beavers’ spirit was still at the top. All the current (and old) beaver Scouts came together, and cheered the Beaver Cheer wholeheartedly. That includes the graduated batch with about ten people. This eventful night will be etched in our memories, forever.

Signing off,

Lee Jun Xian

(Tiger Patrol)

Pictures by Alvan Ho, Sham Hao Meng, Jacqueline Lau & Kumanan

The Quartermaster - Inaugural E-Newsletter Issue of Scout HQ

2010-11-27T03:17:00.008+08:00

At last after a 10 years hiatus, the official newsletter of The Singapore Scouts Association is out with a BANG. Refreshing, youthful and exciting is what we can describe about this new and bold initiative undertaken by the ICT Commitee of Scout Association. Kudus to the team, and Happy Reading!!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More ssa

National Badge Patch Carnival 2010

2010-08-19T20:15:00.001+08:00

On the morning of 14^thAugust 2010, 19 Beatty Beaver Scouts met at the Scout HQ to participate in the Badge Patch Carnival. A badge patch carnival is a chance where badge collectors in Singapore come together and trade their badge, or so I thought initially. But I soon realized, badge collecting is a traditional hobby, which every Scout would have been involved, in one way or another. Not only did I see the older Scouters involved in trading, but some Scouts who just returned from Nippon Jamboree were seen enthusiastically trading off their badge collection.

Not only were Beavers just participating, we also registered 3 games booth, to provide the fun needed to keep everyone happy. Each stall was taken charge by a Sec 2 Scout and mentored by a Sec 3. Jing Lun was tasked to lead the “Crossbow Carnival” stall, mentored by Benjamin Teng and Mao Wei. Terence led the “Avalanche Escape” stall, mentored by Zhi Rong. And for myself, I was tasked to lead the “Chopsticks Mastery” stall, mentored by Jason Tan. Our Scouts arrived in HQ by 8a.m, with whatever materials we needed to set up our booths. After an hour or so, we got all the preparation done, booths set up and ready to welcome everyone!

Our game booths were going on pretty fine. Many Scouts and Cub Scouts went over to the “Crossbow Carnival” stall, to try their marksmanship skill with the crossbow. Of course, others had fun playing the game at Avalanche Escape and Chopstick Mastery too. The queues to all 3 stalls we set up were weaving like a worm, and the crowd kept us occupied for hours. It was almost 1p.m when most of the other Scouts started going back. At that point of time, there were not many ‘customers’ left and thus, we decided to close our booths and go for lunch.

The 19 of us, along with Mr Chia, Aru & Kumanan Sirs headed for the McDonalds nearby. Although it was crowded there, we eventually found ourselves all a seat. After the whole morning of hardwork, the lunch was definitely enjoyed in the company of fellow Scouts and Patrol mates. We left McDonalds and went back to HQ to reopen our booths after our lunch at approximately 1.45p.m.

As part of the event, each participant was to play in at least 5 games stall and answers questions pertaining to Scouting History and Programme. With all these completed, each participant will be able to redeem his 4 “award” badges. We too, were given a quiz form to fill. With all that done, the booths were closed and we all went up to the hall.

As this is a Badge Patch Carnival, quite a number of trading posts were set up in the hall. Concurrently, many rare badges were displayed too, by serious badge traders. Rover Ashok and our Scout Leaders also set up 2 trading posts to trade-off many of their priceless badges that they collected from past Jamborees. The rarity and the variety of their collection attracted many keen Scouts and collectors alike.

There were a few German Rovers who attended the event as well. Jing Lun even went up to them and requested to exchange his scarf for theirs. Only after him did other Scouts requested to exchange as well. Soon after, the second auction started. All the badges in the auction were donated by fellow Scouts & Leaders. Unit badges, Jamboree badges were available on auction. All starting from $3. A few Scouts among us had tried their luck in bidding too, with Jun Wei paying $5 for a badge that he bid and won. We took a group photo using the stage after the auction ended.

At the end of the event was prize presentation, and our Troop won both the first and second prize for the most popular games booth. Hooray!Seeing other winning schools doing their cheers, we did the same. We let it all out and cheered wholeheartedly. A short debrief ensued before we were all dismissed.

It was an interesting to see the whole of HQ come alive with all the chaos and excitement coming from the participants. It was really a fun day indeed, at the same time tiring. Definitely, a good experience for all of us and an event that many Scouts would eagerly await for the next time round.

Signing off,

Lee Jun Xian

(Tiger Patrol)

Congratulations, to our newly minted Woodbadge Leader

2010-08-07T19:33:00.006+08:00

On behalf of all member of Beaver Scout Group, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to, VKK Arumugam, on his Woodbadge Investiture. He was invested with the Woodbadge symbols, by Asst. Chief Commissioner Mr. Lester Lee on 7th August 2010 at the Scout HQ. In attendance were the Leaders of South Area and Beaver Rovers.

VKK Arumugam started Scouting in 1994, as a Cub Scout in Jing Shan Primary School. It was as a Cub Scout in 1998, that he received his District Commissioner’s Award from then Mayflower District Commissioner, Mr. Lester Lee. 12 years on, nothing has changed, and it seems like déjà vu.

He moved up the sections, to become a Scout at Beatty Beaver Scout Group in 1999, and held the Senior Patrol Leader position and achieved the First Class Award. In 2003, Aru joined the SRJC Sapphire Rovers and later joined the Serangoon Eagles Crew. Having achieved his Baden Powell Award and Scout of the World Award in 2008, he retuned back to Beaver Scout Group to start up our own Beaver’s Rover Crew.

There is a saying, “Scouting for Life”, and very aptly, Aru’s journey through Scouting, since his first Investiture as a Cub Scout, seems to define it very well. May we all wish him the very best in his future endeavours, in Scouting and beyond.

___________________________________________________________
What are Woodbadge symbols?

Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement. The first Wood Badge training was organized by Francis "Skipper" Gidney and lectured at by Robert Baden-Powell and others at Gilwell Park (United Kingdom) in September 1919.

On completion of the course, participants are awarded the Wood Badge beads to recognize significant achievement in leadership and direct service to young people. The pair of small wooden beads, one on each end of a leather thong (string), is worn around the neck as part of the Scout uniform. The beads are presented together with a taupe neckerchief bearing a tartan patch of the Maclaren clan, honoring William De Bois Maclaren, who donated the funding to purchase Gilwell Park in 1919.

Adapted from Wikipedia – Woodbadge Page [Last Reviewed 1 August 2010] Additional Reading: The Origins of the Woodbadge

Eco-Adventure Trip to Vietnam 2010

2010-08-06T02:30:00.015+08:00

On the 9th of June, Beatty Beaver Scouts embarked on a trip from Singapore to Hanoi, Vietnam. We were there to learn about the Vietnamese culture and their way of life, as well as to take the opportunity to commune with Nature through Adventure.

We had to reach the airport by 6:30 in the morning and most Scouts, who were not willing to part, came with their parents. By 7am, all the Scouts had already arrived and the Scout Leaders brought us to check in our luggage. Soon, we walked through the gates, got our passports stamped and were eagerly waiting to board the plane. We boarded the SIA plane and which took off soon after. It took 3 to 4 hours to reach Hanoi from Singapore and there was a 1-hour time difference between the two countries. The food that the plane serves was okay and there was even ice-cream.

We reached Vietnam at about 11:00am, Vietnamese time and met up with the tour guide after checking out of the immigration. The tour guide introduced himself as Mr Ling and we boarded the tour bus which brought us to a restaurant where we had some traditional Vietnamese noodles. The soup was salty but the chicken was cut into small shreds and was very tender. After lunch, we visited a temple which used to be an university for the royal family, which the Vietnamese takes pride in being the first university in Hanoi. Currently, it serves as a temple for Confucius believers and also as a popular tourist attraction.

The next place we went to was the Ho Chi Minh Memorial. We were not able to enter the Memorial but we knew that many tourist as well as Vietnamese came to pay their respect, to the late freedom fighter that brought victory to the Northern Vietnam communist during the Vietnam War. We visited a Shrine known as Lotus Temple and learnt about the story behind it. In order to go to Sapa, the next destination we are going, we had to spend a night in a train. The train ride lasted for 6 to7 hours and there was only one toilet in each carriage. We had a sumptuous dinner before boarding the train which left at about 9pm.The train arrived at 6am the next morning and we boarded a bus to a hotel.

Unfortunately, we were not staying in that hotel as we were only there to bath and have breakfast. We had to eat as much food as possible as we were about to trek 14kms to a village for home stay. We started trekking soon after breakfast. The Sec 1s were not experienced and they had trouble keeping up so the seniors had to rush them and keep a watchful eye to ensure our juniors don’t get dehydrated. While trekking up the mountains, the cool fresh breeze and the great green scenery kept us company all the way. Of course, fatigue kept us company too, but we managed to overcome it in general. As Vietnamese depend heavily on agriculture, we saw many rice terraces along the way. Hills were cut into rice fields and pipes made of bamboo were used to transport water to enable good irrigation for the land.

Although it was a very challenging trek throughout, with some of the trails rather narrow and muddy making it easy to slip and fall into the mud, we managed to finally reach safely the house that we were supposed to stay in, at around 12pm. We washed our shoes and feets before placing our bags next to the beds we were sleeping. The bed was simply a mattress with a mosquito net above to keep out the many insects that fly into the house at night.

The next thing we did was trek to the river to have a good swim in fresh pool. The water was extremely cold and the current in the middle of the river could sweep anyone of us away. But under the watchful eyes of our Scout Leaders, who were ensuring our safety, we had a refreshing swim and went back to the house to bath again in hot shower, just before nightfall. For dinner, they served us traditional Vietnamese food. Most of us have not eaten Vietnamese food and were not use to it. After a Scout’s Own led by the Scout Leaders, we were ready to sleep.

We woke up the next morning at 6:30am and had a simple breakfast of bread, biscuit and, coffee or tea. We packed our bags, thanked the host and left for the next village. As it had rained the previous night, we were lucky to be able to walk on a road rather than the planned path which was too muddy to walk on. We trekked about 9Km, learning new campfire song as we walk and looking at the scenery. We stopped for lunch at a picnic ground and had sandwiches. We had to prepare the sandwich by ourselves with the ingredients that were given to us, such as eggs, cheese and chicken. After lunch, we continued our journey to the next village. We took a shortcut which was filled with mud, on which some of the Scouts slipped and our shoes became very dirty. We finally reached the house at 4:30 pm and had to wash our shoes with a pipe and a sponge. After a bath, we walked around the village; to see what was village life in Vietnam was like, before trekking to another waterfall nearby the village. . We did not swim in that river but rather, clean our shoes and socks in it. Thereafter, we were served dinner which consisted of the same Vietnamese food we had yesterday but we had French fries made with butter as well. It tasted saltier than the normal French fries and had a buttery taste (obviously!!!). We had our usual Scout’s Own before going back to our bedside to pack our bags and sleep.

We woke up early at 4:45am the next morning in order to catch the train back to Hanoi. We had Vietnamese noodles for breakfast which were rather salty. A jeep came to take our bags and the Scouts sat in a coach. The ride was bumpy but the views of the mountains were great. We reached a hotel next to the train station to have dinner. There were plenty of Vietnamese in the hotel as they were watching the world cup in the restaurant that we were having dinner. The food was better than the past few days and we had a great time. We boarded the train and spent a night in it just like the first day. We arrived at the Hanoi station at 5:00am and had a walk around a park with a huge lake. We had the same traditional Vietnamese noodles as the first day and after breakfast, we visited a market. The market sells things like coffee filter, bags, shoes and Vietnamese coffee. You can bargain for the price you are willing to pay and the shopkeepers give special discounts when you buy more of their goods. After shopping, we went to the airport, bid farewell to our tour guide, and went back to Singapore.

Reported By,

Jason Tan

Troop Scribe

CCA Open House 2010

2010-01-30T05:08:00.002+08:00

On the 9^th January 2010 was Beatty’s CCA Open House. It was on this day, that our newly arrived Beattyians will go around to see the many interesting displays put up by all the CCAs, and choose the one that they are going to be with for the next 4 years. Certainly not an easy decision to make, especially so when there are plenty of CCAs in a school.

As the Beavers wanted to do something special and captivating, we decided it would only be wise to plan well ahead. Scout are always Prepared. Plenty of weekdays were spent together in December, planning and preparing our stuff, so that we can showcase the best of Scouting to our Sec 1s.

In the end, we planned to build a gateway, a clothes rack and a tower for the students and parents to see. We had drawn the designs, figured out where to place them and how to decorate them. A week before the CCA open house, we started building the clothes rack and gateway. Most of the Scouts did the gateway as it was very big and it required a lot of manpower to build. Not an easy task you, you know. Two other Scouts and I were appointed to build the clothes rack. Our Scout Leader, Kumanan Sir, printed for us coloured brochure to give to Parents and students during the CCA open house. Want to know how it looks, well just go download it at the left hand side of this Blog.

On the actual day, all of us had to arrive in school by 7.30am to prepare before the Parents arrived. We started putting up the banners, placing our awards and cleaning up the place. Our booth was located next to the Koi pond and so we had plenty of space to place our structures. The Rover Scouts came back to Beatty to help us, which we Scouts deeply appreciate. Reminds me of the Scout Law, “A Scout is Loyal”. Our Patrol Leader, Xuan Jie, even brought a radio to play the many Scout songs we have. We also build a billboard which some of the schools wore to advertise scout. We were all very excited about this recruitment!

The Parents arrived at 9 am, at the entrance of the school; we handed out brochures and told them to visit out booth. The Parents and students then proceeded to the hall for a briefing about the CCAs available in the school. Some of the Scouts helped to distribute water bottles to the Parents who were watching the performance by different CCA groups, all so that we would be visible.

When all the Parents and students left the hall, most of the CCA groups line up in front of the hall to promote their CCA and to give out pamphlets. We wanted Parents to check out our booth and let their children experience what Scouting is all about. So, we too tried our best to lure the Parents and son. While the Parents were at our booth, the Seniors gave each Parent a tour and showed them the benefits of being a Scout.

As the process of meeting and marketing Scouting went on for each Parent/son duo, we realized that quite often, Parents have this stereotype that Scouting is all about Adventure and Outdoors. Which is of cause, a positive stereotype. And of cause, there were those who thought Scouting was all about knots only. But in general, we did manage to pull in the right type of students into our booth. Those who were keen in Outdoors. These were the kinds we wanted too.

At the end of the day, when all the parents had left, we went to dismantle all the structures we build. Though tiring it was the whole day, we enjoyed very much, because we knew we put in our very best. We were not so much worried about the numbers of Scouts we would get.

As a “Well Done” token, Mr. Tham, our Auxillary Volunteer Leader, bought us lunch from KFC. We had a grand lunch that day, eating chicken and drinking soda. Tired but satisfied, we felt proud of what we did. Beatty Beavers Rockz!!

Last but not least, on behalf of the Scouts, I would like to thank all Rover Scouts, Old Beavers, Former Teacher Mr. Koh KM, Mr. Tee & Mr. Tham, Mr. Kumanan & Mr. Aru for their time and effort that they took to be there with us, to give us their support and guidance.

Reported By,

Jason Tan Troop Scribe

Kayaking 1 Star Course

2009-11-29T23:59:00.008+08:00

On the 7th of November 2009 (Saturday), 14 Beatty Beavers Scouts went on a Kayaking 1 Star Course at Sembawang Sea Sports Club located at Sembawang Park.

Now, let's talk abit about the place. Sembawang Park is a 15 hectare park situated in the north of Singapore facing the Straits of Johor overlooking Malaysia. It is located at the end of Sembawang Road, where the former Sembawang Road End Bus Terminal is. The place was also once the home to the British Air Base. Sembawang Park gets its name from Sembawang Tree Kayea ferruginea. if you're observant like a Scout should be, you would notice that there is a Sembawang tree at the centre of the car park C1 close to the Sembawang Bus terminal. The Sembawang Park has many interesting connections to Singapore's historical past. But hey, I'm ain't going to give you a history lesson today, so if you are keen in knowing more, check this link out. It's really interesting.

Mr. Vanga was our kayaking instructor. Incidentally, he is also a Rover Scout with our affliate unit, the Beaver's Rover Crew. He is an interesting guy who cracks lots of jokes to kickstart the day. As with all outdoor activities, we were briefed on safety as safety is never compromised in any activities. You'd rather be safe then to be sorry, won't ya? After a short and clear briefing on the dos and don'ts, we started carrying the kayaks to the shore from the shed at the Sea Sports Club. And here comes the Beavers for our Adventure through the mini expedition!

And for those who think it's easy, it sure wasn't. Tiring it was, to carry kayaks down to thhe beach. But hey, we Scouts are courageos in all difficulties.

Rover Vanga first taught us how to enter the kayak in the proper manner so that we will not capsize even before we launch off. Thereafter, he taught us on the capsize drill. Well, why do we learn capsize drill? Simple! So that we know how to react and respond when it happens at the sea. Scouts are always ready, cos Be Prepared is our motto. It seemed to be quite easy task but it wasn't. It turned out to be quite scary, and almost all failed for the first time, except Glenn which he appeared to be proud. Eventually most of us passed the drills!

Thereafter, we started learning on how to paddle forward and backward; paddle left to turn right; paddle right to turn left; and gaining confidence in handling the kayak.

G Vanga: Pitch up! ( Now that was the cue for something delicious...and no, it's not what you're thinking)

Soon, it was lunch and we went to wash up and gather at the ‘canteen’. We had a delicious meal, after the meal, we had lot of time to rest, so we end up lying on the floor, trying to sun dry ourselves. Reminded me of how my mom dried salted fish....which we seemed like. Haha

After lunch, we headed back to the sea to practise our new found skill of steering a sea craft, in this case a kayak. The day soon ended with us carrying the kayaks back and placing them on the floor, to dry it under the sun.

The whole Kayaking Course was an exciting and memorable experience for the Beavers! I just can't wait to get myself signed up for Kayaking 2 Star and 3 Star course to learn more new stuff in year 2010.

The Sun, the Sand and the Sea will always be with us...

Signing off,

Koh Zhi Rong
Asst. Patrol Leader
(Tiger Patrol)

Macritchie Reservoir Hike & 56th Investiture Ceremony

2009-06-05T20:28:00.008+08:00

On the 30th of May(Saturday), Beatty Beavers went on a hike to MacRitchie Reservoir at Thomson Road. All the scouts who were going to this excursion gathered at school just before 9am. A school bus ferried us to Thomson Road and we alighted at the car park of MacRitchie reservoir. There were about 12 of us scouts who went to the HIke, together with Scouter Huda and Scouter Kumanan.

Here is a little information about MacRitchie Reservoir. MacRitchie Reservoir was constructed in 1867, by a donation of S$13,000 by philanthropist Tan Kim Seng. In 1891, the reservoir was extended and the enlarged impounding reservoir was renamed as Thomson Road Reservoir in 1907. Then, in honour of the Municipal Engineer, James MacRitchie, who designed and built the reservoir, it was renamed again as MacRitchie Reservoir. The park area is approximately 12 hectares and it was opened in 1967. The park has a food kiosk, an exercise station and several shelters and benches that face the scenic reservoir. Knowing all these information really made me appreciate the place even better, since its the oldest resevoir still in existence in Singapore.

Since 2 Patrols were involved, Scouter Huda guided Tiger Patrol lead by PL Alvin, and Scouter Kumanan guided my Patrol (Lion Patrol) lead by PL Xuan Jie. Together as a Patrol, we embarked on our trek along Lornie Trail. Unlike the other trails I've trekked elsewhere, the path was not covered with proper concrete and leaves from the trees filled the path. Shortly after we started walking the Lornie Trail, Scouter Kumanan pointed us to a variety of jungle flora and fauna. One such flora of Macritchie was the Wild Pandan leaf. This plant has two flat edges and in the past, it was use to built attap houses after it had dried up as it was hard enough. Unlike its domestic species, this plant did not have the unique smell. After hitting the end of the jungle trail, we decided to take the wooden board trail next to the water. While trekking, we saw plenty of water skaters, dragonflies and small fishes. We even spotted a kingfisher, which Scouter Kumanan said was a Stork-Billed Kingfisher or otherwise known as Common Kingfisher. There were also some fascinating plants like the Jering plant, which the seeds can be eaten and are use for medicinal uses and the facinating thing about this tree was it's fruit. The fruit of the tree looked like a pocupine, dangerous enough to hurt you. But later we realised that it a way for the fruit to bear the impact on the ground when it falls, just like the durians.

Although we took a bus to the reservoir, going back home was different as we had to walk back to School for the Investiture Ceremony. On the way back, our Scouters instructed us to work together as a Patrol, to budget and purchase rations for our lunch, which we were to cook ourselve. The challenge behind this was that, we had $20 given for a patrol of 7 and had to make full use out of it to cook the most number of dishes for lunch.

As we walked back to school, we decided to cook Chicken, Fish, Chye Sim, Rice and Soup. Well doing marketing at the wet market was certainly not an easy job, especially so when it came to choosing the right fish. Hence, we decided to purchase our groceries at Shop and Save, to save all the hassle.

If buying groceries for lunch was a headache, cooking it was a challenge. Thankfully, my PL (Xuan Jie) and APL (Mao Wei) were both Camp Cooks for NPC 08'. That saved my Patrol slightly, since they were good in instructing us on what to do for cooking. Without them, I guess we probably would end up eating half-cooked food. The food may not be that delicious but we were so hungry that we just gobbled down everything in an instant. Altough cooking as a Patrol was in a state of chaos, since most of us cooked for the first time, I felt it certainly brought our Patrols together well, and I enjoyed every bit of funny moments that happened during the activity.

The day soon ended, with a simple ceremony, which is the Group's 56th, to welcome the tenderfoots into the Worldwide Brotherhood of Scouting, as newly invested Scouts. The Sec 1s took their Scout Promise and were adorn with the Scout Scarve, an identity synonymus with Scouts. The whole ceremony, though short and simple, reminded me of my very own back in Sarimbun Scout Camp just about a year ago. Looking back, it truly has been an eventful first year for me in Scouting.

Reported by,

Jason Tan
(Lion Patrol)

Eastern Coastal PCN Cycling Trip

2009-03-20T20:01:00.006+08:00

On the 19th of March, Beatty Beaver Scout Group organized a Post-Jobweek activity for our Scouts who had worked hard for the past week canvassing Singapore for jobs and raising funds for their Scouting activities.

The Scouts gathered at Changi Point for a sumptuous breakfast at the coffeeshop, which is famous for its Changi Nasi Lemak. Thereafter, Mr. Clement from Changi Cycling Services, helped us out to pick suitable bikes for our height. With a Safety Briefing conducted shortly thereafter, we started cycling along the Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network at 10.45am.

The entire network is a total of 42km with connections to 7 Park Connectors. But since all of us were new to this, the Rovers Scouts headed by Rover Isa, planned the shorter loop which measured 32km instead.

32km?? No kick la !!!

Gosh...No one told I'd got to carry this bike over me

The first league of the loop, Coastal Park Connector, was one of the more scenic route, as we passed by lush Casuarina Forest by our left, and the ascending/descending airplanes of various airlines. As we soon approached the East Coast Park section of the route, we took a short break at the National Sailing Centre, where the other Rovers joined us.

At our next pit stop, at Sun Plaza Park, we were all tired and drenched, but still our spirits were very high. No matter how tired you can be, when you see your fellow buddy being in the same state as you are, you just put up a brave front to cheer each other up. At this pit stop, all of us topped up our bottles and had a mid way point stretching. Sure it was good to strech those tired muscles. Rover Venga also enlightened us on how to ensure that our cycling seats were of the correct height.

Erm, are you taking a picture of me? Should I smile?

What's that on the ground? Why everybody looking down?

Smile for Candid Camera !!!

Well the secret is this. When you want to cycle, you must make sure that your cycle is high enough, such that when one of the paddle is at the bottom most point, you leg should be fully stretched and not bent. This will ensure that you do not use too much force while paddling and get yourself easily tired out.

As we approached the end of our route along Changi, we passed by some war time building such as the old Changi hospital and the Old Commando Barracks. The downward slope was also another high point of our journey. The entire journey of 32km took the whole Scout Group roughly 5 hours to complete. Well that's not too bad after all, since many never had such an experience of cycling such long distance.

Rover Parry, are you sure you know how to start fire?

Fire's up. Time to BBQ

Eh, i think you're looking at the wrong angle bro. Camera is here !

When we reached Changi Beach at 3.50pm, we were all hungry and ready to start our BBQ Lunch. Did we have trouble starting fire? Well, sure not as you can always rely on a Scout to do the best job of firestarting in BBQs. As soon as we started the fire going, we began BBQ-ing the satays and chicken wing, as these were what took most time to get cooked. The Rovers as well, joined us in giving a helping hand, while we had our lunch.

Is it HOT???

Food Glorious Food....Yum Yum

After our very late Lunch that we had, we cleared up at around 6.45pm. Of cos, we did not forget the Scout's Code of cleanliness. We never forget to leave a place cleaner then it was when we used it. We quickly made a quick brisk walk from where we were to the tip of Changi Beach Park to catch a glimpse of the Sunset. Well, how fantastic it was can't be described by words. See the pictures below to see for yourself.

Old Beavers' Founder's Day Gathering

2009-03-02T23:43:00.011+08:00

Founder's Day is celebrated by all Scouts from all around the World on 22nd February each year, by renewing their commitment to the Scout Promise and Law. As such, the Scout Group wanted to provide the opportunity for former Scouts of Beaver Scout Group to gather in true Scouting Spirit and renew their Scout Promise that they made when they were first invested as a Scout.

The gathering which was organized by Rover Ong May Lwin, Rover Afiq & Rover Parry Lim was held on 28th Feb at Beatty Sec Sch. The theme for the gathering was, "A Night of Thousand Scarves". A total of 45 old Boys, 40 Scouts and Leaders gathered at Beatty which started off with a tour around the Beatty Heritage Gallery.

Though the weather wasn't too kind on us, that did not leave our spirits dampen. The planned campfire for the Old Boys was moved indoors, and every one enjoyed the many Scouts songs that they used to sing when the were Scouts, together with the sumptuous dinner. The gathering was another successful event for the Scout Group in bringing together the former Scouts of the Unit, and in providing them the opportunity to renew their ties with the school.

Beaver Batch of 2000s

Come, lets discuss about the Group

(L-R) Hao Meng, Kok Rui & Kian Yong

Beaver Batch of 1970s

Sec 1 CCA Orientation 2009

2009-01-12T11:05:00.007+08:00

Beatty Sec Sch had its CCA Orientation last Saturday morning, and i must say that it was a very quiet event this year. We certainly did not see as much Boys and Parents as compared to previous years. Maybe the school statistics are inclining towards the girls population.

Nevertheless, the Scouts had done a great job of putting up a wonderful booth display. The team headed by PL Nicholas Loh, did the usual stuff but added a new item this year. They had put up a mobile Movie Screen behind the booth to showcase our Adventure videos.

The event was quite a noisy one, espcially so, since we were stationed next to NPCC and NCC. But still, we managed to speak to a couple of Sec 1s and their Parents who were very keen in the Program that we offered. The Boy's Bridage & Girl Guides Booth was also quite a nice one, and we hope that they would have a good recruitment this year as well.

Whatever may be, all Scouts,Leaders & Rovers had done their best to showcase Scouting. Sec 1s will join us if they are keen in the Outdoors and in our program. Let's just wait for the numbers to be confirmed. Thank alot to Mr. Wong Sung Kok (Chairman, Beatty PSG) who turned up at Beatty in his Woodbadge Scarf, in support of Scouting.

Sec 1 CCA Recruitment Part 3: Why Join Scouting

2009-01-10T18:56:00.002+08:00

Hi Friends,

Thank you very much for visiting the Blog of Beatty Beaver Scout Group. Let me welcome you to your new school, and we really hope that the past week had been a fresh and interesting start into 2009 for you, with new friends and environment.

Well, I'm sure you had visited all other CCA Booth on Saturday, and had heard quite alot from many people about their own CCAs, and I'm sure you would have heard about Scouting from them too.

We hope you would take your time to go through our Blog, and see the Recruitment Videos and the Pictures of our activities in 2008. This blog should give you a rough idea of what Scouting is about, and if you want to get a better idea, come on down for our first meeting on 16th January 2009, at the Scout DEN.

In a Nutshell, let us tell you, WHY JOIN SCOUTS?

You get to go Overseas and expose yourselves with the cultures of the World
You get to make Friends with Overseas Scouts as well
Scouting makes your boring school life more Adventurous
You get to meet lots of Girl Guides when we go Campfire
You learn how to be a Good Leader, which prepares you for Army & for you LIFE
You get to make new Friends from other Schools in the District when we go Camping

Sec 1 CCA Recruitment Part 2: Why Join Scouting?

2009-01-10T18:47:00.003+08:00

Scouting is a lot of fun. You really have to try it for yourself to understand why. Scouts offers you challenges and skills that will help you when you grow older. It can even help you get a job! But more than anything, it really is a lot of fun getting to make a whole bunch of friends along the way. Every Scout Troop is different, but we are confident in our program and we have had a lot of smiling faces over the years to prove it.

Scouting is one of the most exciting experiences a boy like YOU can have. You can go camping, travel across the border to meet new friends, challenge yourself with adventurous activities that develops you physically, build your own "playground" with Pioneering Poles and ropes, and many more stuff that many other friends of your may not have the privelage to do.

Sec 1 CCA Recruitment Part 1: Why Join Scouting?

2009-01-10T17:38:00.010+08:00

Scouting attracts a lot of members, each with his or her own reasons for joining. Some come willingly; others have been convinced to join. Let's look at some common reasons young people join Scouts.

1. Fun and Friendship: Boys like to have fun with friends. The camaraderie of Scouts is one of its strongest draws. Boys can enter a friendly environment to play sports and games as part of a team. The Scouter is like an older brother or sister, offering friendship and security in a different way than parents and teachers.

Scouting provides an alternative to sports and other clubs that put competitive pressure on young people. Scouting offers them the chance to succeed as a member of a group.

2. Setting and Achieving Personal Goals: Boys like to challenge themselves. They find satisfaction in reaching small goals--earning a badge, for example, or learning a new skill such as firelighting. Then they can set larger goals-surviving a first hike or camp or canoe trip. Later, they may want to earn the Chief Commissioner's Award or set personal standards for their own lives.

Their goals are guided by their interests and hobbies. After awhile, Scouting itself may become the hobby. Whatever a young person's goals, Scouting can provide a way to meet them.

3. Independence and Responsibility: Boys want to become adults. Scouting gives them the opportunity to take small steps towards independence. When they join, they may be breaking away from parents for the first time, and the experience can be fun or lonely.

As they progress in Scouting, they are ready to take larger steps by planning activities, outings, and camps and learning from their experiences, good and not so good. If they become patrol leaders, they become even more responsible members of the group. Perhaps the leadership role is an important goal in itself, something through which they gain confidence and esteem.

Adapted from The Leader

Launch of New Recruitment Posters

2009-01-06T10:06:00.005+08:00

The Scout Group has launched a set of 4 posters for this year's Recruitment, to better reflect the changes in the Unit's focus in Scout Program, as well as to bring out the message of Scouting and it's benefits to the new students of Beatty Secondary School.

This year, the Group would also be heavily publicizing the Scout Movement through it's Blog and also through these Posters, ahead of the CCA Orientation Day on 10th January 2008.

We hope that the initiatives this year would help us get more Sec 1s to strengthen our Unit Membership.

Happy New Year, Beavers

2009-01-01T02:44:00.007+08:00

Hello Beavers,

The year 2008 had been a very eventful year with plenty of events organized to celebrate our 55 years of existence in Beatty. As we march forward into the year 2009, may i wish everybody good life and health in the coming year. Always remember your Scout Promise and do your best in whatever you embark on, and your good deed everyday. Let us look back at 2008, and reflect on our path taken over the year and learn from our mistakes and set ourselves new limits to reach.

In 2009, some of our major events would include:

Founder's Day Campfire & Investiture (FEB)
Annual Jobweek 2008 (MAR)
Scout Skills Camp (APR - Tentative)
Vietnam Scout Exchange & Service Learning Trip (JUNE)
4D3N Group Camp 2009 (DEC - Tentative)

With these events to look out for, lets work towards a better future for our Scout Group and all.

Yours in Scouting,

Scouter Kumanan

Recee to Abandoned Railway Track

2008-12-25T23:30:00.009+08:00

Many of you may have heard about the Malaysian Railway that runs between Tanjong Pagar and Woodlands. But what many are not aware of is the Abandoned Railway Track that is more than 50 years old. Where is it? How it looks? And why is it abandoned?

These were the questions that were running in the minds of the 3 adventurous Patrol Leaders, who decided to explore into the mystery and have their questions anserwed. Well, of cos, they didn't go alone. They had their friendly guide, Scouter Kumanan, to guide them through the trek.

The trek started of with us walking alongside the Malaysian Railway, trying to find the slip track that goes away from the main track. Having trekked this route before, Scouter Kumanan was quite familiar but somehow, the overgrown bushes had hid the slip route. Finally we managed to find the route and proceeded on into the thick jungle. As soon as we entered the forest, we started seeing reminence of the Railway track in its original condition.

Throughout the trek, we were faced with plenty of obstacles and challenges. Crossin over thick fallen trees, and navigating ourselves away from thorny Palm trees were a constant turn off. To top all these off, came our biggest challenge of having to cross the dark tunnel that was filled with, god knows what. The whole tunnel was muddy, slippery and wet. You can see frogs and fishes jumping occasionally and giving you a shock at times. Even after crossing the muddy tunnel, we had to bypass knee deep water drains to cross over to dry land. The rest of the trek after that was very much dry and clear. Except for occasional weird calls of birds that we had not heard before at all.

As we drew closer to civilization, right before our eyes was a old bridge (probably over 50 years) crossing the Ulu Pandan River. It certainly looks majestic, compared to those that we see in MRT. Crossing the bridge, over the river was a mind challenge posed to Zhen Jie who was afraid of heights. Not only had we got to cros once, but twice.

In overview, the trek was great one with God's blessing, as nothing bad happen especially in terms of weather. The trek ended with us having a lecture from Scouter Kumanan on how to do a proper Programme Planning for our Patrols and what to look out for when we bring them out for such Outdoor Trip. Oh yea, we learnt about RAMS as well.

National Patrol Camp 2008

2008-12-07T02:32:00.004+08:00

The results are out for the National Patrol Camp 2008, and we are glad to announce that the Patrol of 7 we sent had clinched a Bronze Award, despite the tough competition and high standards posed by other established Units. The Scout Group had previously sent Patrols to the NPC 2001 & NPC 2003, but this would be our first time clinching an award.

We hope this award would motivate the Scouts of future batch to outdo their seniors in the next NPC in 2011.

Meanwhile, no awards or medals come without any sweat. The Patrol consisting of the following Scouts had trained tirelessly over the entire month of November coming down to school to train hard. They had to go through 2 Pre-NPC Camps totaling 7D6N to prepare themselce well enough for the Competition.

Goh Wei Yuan (PL)
Choo Xuan Jie (Camp Cook)
Chua Zhong Han (QM)
Alvin James Ting (Welfare I/C)
Yip Keen Wah (First Aider)
Ang Mao Wei (Asst. Cook)
Koh Zhi Rong (Asst. QM)

Well Done Beavers !!!

Aiming for Bull's Eye: Archery for Scouts

2008-09-28T14:05:00.001+08:00

Who says Scouts don't learn the skills of using weapons. Has the picture on the right given you some proof. Well, the Scouts may not be armed with dummy pistols and wooden rifles, but we sure can prove how good our skills are using a Bow & Arrow.

The Scout Group had organized for a 8 week Archery Program for our Sec 2 Scouts and above, giving them a 20 hours of Archery skills learning and practice. Throughout the 8 weeks, the Scouts sure had lots of fun becoming a young Robin Hood in the making.

At the end of the course, all Scouts had achieved their Master-At-Arms Proficiency badge and also completed their Skills component for the National Youth Achievement (Bronze) Award.

Centra Area Scoutlore Quest 2008

2008-09-01T03:52:00.002+08:00

Well Done Beavers !!! We have clinched the Gold Award for the Inaugural Central Area Scoutlore Quest 2008 held on 30th August at the Raffles Institution Campus. Beaver Scout Group was competing against two other teams, both from Raffles Institution, the school with the best brains of our nation. RI 01 came in as Champions and RI02 came in as the 1st Runner Up. The team led by APL Chua Zhonghan had many "Happy Reading" sessions in preparation to the Competition.

Team Members:

PL Nicholas Loh Kian Seng
APL Chua Zhong Han
APL Choo Xuan Jie
Scout Abdul Gader

The Scout Lore is a body of tradition and knowledge that has evolved with the Scout Movement since it’s founding in 1907. The Scout Lore Quest aims at creating an awareness of the Movement’s rich past among its members. It is also a platform for scouts to learn how the Movement has contributed to the progress and development of a harmonious and peaceful, albeit diverse society that we live in today.

55th Anniversary Beaver Chikalaka

2008-08-25T20:29:00.000+08:00

Beaver Scout Group is celebrating it's 55th Anniversary this year, ever since its inception in 1953. Therefore, the Scout Group decided to celebrate this occasion by organizing a Campfire and sharing our joys with our fellow Brothers & Sisters from other School.

This year's Campfire was entirely planned and executed by our Rovers from our new Rover Crew, and it was headed by ASL Arumugam. The Campfire was well attended by over 400 Scouts & Guides from 19 schools. We also had our Brothers from St. Micheal's Instutition, Ipoh who came down to Singapore just to attend our Campfire. They were sure a hit among our Scouts and Guides as many approached them to take a picture.

The Guest-of-Honor for the Campfire was our District Commissioner (Toa Payoh), Mr. Lai Kwok Chin, who kindly accepted our invitation. The campfire was attended by other Leaders from the District and Area. We were also delighted to see our Parents Supporters, who enjoyed the Campfire together with thier Family, and seeing the work of their son's tireless preparation over the 1 month. Thank You Parents.

As there was another Campfire in Catholic High on the same day, many of the schools which were invited had to make a choice between Beatty or Cat. High. We're thankful to those who chose to attend our Campfire, and our most sincere thanks to you and your Group.

It was indeed a very blessed evening that day, as the Scouts and Rovers were very worried with the weather, having seen it turn bad during mid-day. Thank God and Nature, for allowing us to enjoy the spirit of Scouting under the clear skies and warmth of the Campfire.

The Campfire was a success & an achievement to the Scout Group, considering the fact that it was prepared and executed by just 32 Scouts and Rovers. Well Done Beavers, for putting up a good show despite the manpower constraint.

Hougang Rangers have proven the Scout's ability
to salvage used items.....look at their creativity

Lightning Scouts sure knows how to have FUN

What is this Scout "Awww-ed" by ????

Our dear Scouting friends from Ipoh

Winners of the Best Item -
Yeung Ching Scout Group

Scouts in Shades, Aren't they just looking cool?

Water Conservation Badge Visit

2008-07-07T12:50:00.001+08:00

Last Friday, 23 of the Beaver Scouts visited the NeWater Plant at Bedok as part of their Water Conservation Badge Scheme requirement. As part of the visit, the Scouts were informed about the water resources of Singapore and out 4 main National Taps of Water.

The visit was well-guided by the PUB full-time staffs who brought the Scouts around the Plant showing them each step of the Water Recycling System. Through this visit, Scouts would have learnt better on how to manage our water resources more efficiently and responsibly both at work and home.

At the end of the NeWater plant visit, the Scouts had to submit a report on Water Conservation and the things that they learnt through the visit, in order for them to earn a Proficiency badge on their sleeves.

Toa-Payoh District Sabah Adventure Trip

2008-06-20T04:18:00.002+08:00

Communing with Nature through Adventure, was how you could describe the Eco-Adventure Trip that 31 Scouts and 5 leaders (Maris Stella, Beatty, RI 01, Bishan Park) from Central Area went on from 10-16 June 2008. This year, TPY District Leader, Mr. Kumanan, planned and organized a 7 days journey to Sabah, The Land below the Wind. The trip to Sabah was meant to challenge the Scouts’ perspective of adventure and give them a greater outlook into International Scouting.

The Adventure aspect of the journey, saw the Scouts engaged in activities such as White Water Rafting @ Kiulu River and Snorkeling @ Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Most of the boys truly enjoyed the experience of seeing fishes swimming right in front of their eyes in the crystal clear waters and the exhilarating moments of going down the rapids and crashing through the white waters of Kiulu.

Our Scout also learnt about the ecology of the endangered Proboscis Monkeys and the Orang Utans during their visit to the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre.

Our arrival at Kota Kinabalu International Airport was warmly received by the Sabah Scouts and Commissioners with loud bangs of the ‘Kompang’ and Cheers from them. It sure was a culture shock for our Boys who have never experienced such a warm welcome upon the arrival at another country.

During our visit, on the second and fourth day, we were hosted for a goodwill night by the Kota Kinabalu Scouts and Sandakan Scout. At Kota Kinabalu, the Commissioners and Scouts put up a night full of dance and songs with lots of great local food. The Singapore Scouts did as well show them some of our Campfire songs and dance.

At Sandakan, the Local Scout Council hosted us for a Seafood Dinner and Campfire. The whole atmosphere of the campfire in total darkness under the shimmering stars and the light of the moon was an unforgettable one for the Scouts who dwell in an urbanized society like Singapore.

In overview, the trip was a great opportunity for the Scouts to know each other from different Units and was a good way to apply the Scouting method of Learning through Nature into the Programme of the Scouts.

" As the trip progressed, I actually found myself enjoying it as I managed to get away from the stressful life in Singapore. Looking at it from another point of view, I was actually “playing” for a whole week! The trip offered everyone a chance to learn more about the wildlife and habitats over in Sabah, and gave us the opportunity to bond with each other and make new friends within the Units of Toa Payoh District. I would like to thank the Teachers and Scout Leaders for taking their time off to organize this trip. "

Nicholas Loh Kian Seng

Patrol Leader of

Beatty Beaver Scout Group

55th Investiture Ceremony 2008

2008-04-30T17:20:00.020+08:00

The Tenderfoots this year were very lucky indeed. Usually the Investiture Ceremonies were held in school but this year, Scouter Kumanan decided to have at Sarimbun Scout Camp for a change. What better way could there be to induct the new Scouts into our Brotherhood, then to do it at a Scout Camp that holds many Scout's memories.

The event kicked off with the arrival of the Parents and TPY District Commissioner, Mr. Lai Kwok Chin. Before the Investiture Ceremony, the Parents were invited to a Parents' Pow-Wow with the Scouters at the Session Room. The attendance of the Parents was simply tremendous despite the long journey they had to travel.

At the session, the Scouters shared with the Parents some of the highlights to 2008 Program and the Parents as well, shared with us their opinion of how Scouting has made significant changes in their son. The session was not only attended by Parents of Sec 1s, but also those of the PLs & APLs. It was indeed a casual session which helped to bridge the Scout Unit with the Parents as stakeholders.

After the Pow-Wow, the 5 new Scouts were invested in the presence of Scouter Kumanan, and the incoming Patrol Leaders & Asst. Patrol Leaders took their Oath of Responsibility upon receiving their Certificates of Appointment. The Ceremony ended with our DC, Mr. Lai , giving the new Scouts and appointment holders some words of wisdom.

Group Photo of our Parent Supporters of Scouting

How was the night hike, son?

Mr. Lai's words of Wisdom

Group shot of the Wong & Yip Family

So how has Sanjay been doing in Scouts?

Rites of Passage Hike & Camp 2008

2008-04-26T12:23:00.009+08:00

On the evening of 11th April 2008, the Scouts were gathered at Beatty Secondary School to embark on their Rites of Passage Hike. The Hike was initiated by the Leaders, to allow the new Patrol Leaders to lead their Patrol in their first challenge, and also for the Tenderfoots to complete their final challenge before they were to take their Scout Promise to become a full fledged Scout.

The hike route was planned in such a way, that the 3 Patrols moved from Beatty to Sarimbun Scout Camp in the North, North-West and West directions. Each Patrols had to walk through the night for 25km before they reached their final destination. Of cos, not all league of the Hike was on foot, as the Patrols were allowed to take public transport at certain times of the night.

It was very heartening to see the Senior Scouts taking priorities over the younger ones, making sure that they were well taken care of. The hike served as a good way to forge closer Patrol Bond and it certainly was a new experience for our Beaver Scouts, to hike through the night.

Hiccups during the Hike was for sure to happen. Patrols lost their way, confusion arised and responsibilities questioned. But overall, the Patrols still managed to keep a good spirit and completed their Hike the next morning.

The hike really served its objective of challenging the Scouts mentally and physically throughout the Hike, and the Scouts emerged stronger after the Hike, feeling happy that they had completed something they would not have thought of or done before.

As the Patrols streamed into Sarimbun Scout Camp, they looked simply tired, and they needed nothing more then a good sleep before the Investiture Ceremony in the evening.

Annual Jobweek 2008

2008-03-28T17:48:00.004+08:00

This year's Annual Jobweek had ended with quite a good note, especially so, since we have earned slightly more then our total earning in 2007. After the week long Jobweek, from 8th - 14th March, the total count for the Group's collection for Jobweek is $4770.58

And here are the Top Earners:

1. Sanjay Selvaraja	$401.00
2. Jerrold Chan	$225.50
3. Yip Keen Wah	$221.00
4. Wong Heng Shon	$217.50
5. Abdul Gader	$201.55

Footsteps: History of Beaver Scout Group

2008-03-10T21:12:00.019+08:00

1953 – THE 56TH BEAVER SCOUT GROUP WAS FORMED BY MR. SYED ALWI WHO WAS THEN THE GROUP SCOUT MASTER AND ROVER SCOUT LEADER. THE GROUP WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS THE VICTORIA SILVER ARROW SCOUT TROOP WHEN IT WAS FUNCTIONING AT VICTORIA SCHOOL, AND SERVING THE SCOUTS OF THE AFTERNOON SESSION.

1960 – MR ONG TEONG WAN TOOK OVER AS THE GROUP SCOUT MASTER, HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY BEEN A ROVER AND A SCOUT.

1964 – BEAVER SCOUT GROUP PRODUCED ITS VERY FIRST QUEEN SCOUT AWARD RECIPIENTS, MR. WONG YIP HENG & MR. TAN CHUE TIN. THEY RECEIVED THEIR AWARDS FROM OUR YANG-DI PERTUAN NEGARA, ENCIK YUSOF BIN ISHAK AT THE ISTANA

1965 – SCHOOL HEAD PREFECT AND TROOP LEADER, MR. KHOO TENG HUAT BECAME THE THIRD RECIPIENT OF QUEEN SCOUT AWARD. HE LATER SERVED AS THE ASST. SCOUT MASTER AND ASST. DISTRICT COMMISSIONER OF KALLANG AND BECAME A COLOMBO PLAN SCHOLAR. MR. CHIN KWEK CHONG SUCCEEDED AS THE GROUP SCOUT MASTER.

1972 – SCOUTMASTER, MR. ANDREW LIEW INTRODUCED THE SEA VENTURE UNIT. THE VENTURES BUILT THEIR FIRST 6 SEA WORTHY CANOES AND SET ON A ROUND ISLAND TRIP WHICH BECAME A YEARLY AFFAIR.

1974 - MR. YEO YONG HUAT BECAME THE FIRST PRESIDENT SCOUT AWARD RECIPIENT OF THE 1504 BEAVER SCOUT GROUP. HE RECEIVED HIS AWARD FROM THEN PRESIDENT BENJAMIN SHEARES.

1976 – MR. CHAN KAI SOON RECEIVED HIS PRESIDENT SCOUT AWARD FROM PRESIDENT BENJAMIN HENRY SHEARES AT THE ISTANA

1978 – MR. CHIN KWEK CHONG WAS APPOINTED AS THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER OF KALLANG DISTRICT. MR. ANDREW LIEW TOOK OVER AS THE GROUP SCOUT MASTER

1982 – MR. QUEK JUN KIAT & MR. SIA WEI SEN RECEIVED THEIR PRESIDENT SCOUT AWARDS FROM THEN PRESIDENT DEVAN NAIR AT THE ISTANA.

1983 – MOVED TO TOA PAYOH NORTH AND RE-REGISTERED UNDER TOA PAYOH DISTRICT AS 05 BEAVER SCOUT GROUP. BEAVER SCOUT GROUP BECAME ONE OF THE PIONEER ROVER CREWS IN SINGAPORE TO ADMIT FEMALES IN ROVERING.

1986 - SEA VENTURE UNIT CONVERTED TO LAND VENTURE UNIT. MR. HO SOO TIONG BECAME THE GROUP SCOUT LEADER

1989 - HIGHEST RECORD OF MEMBERSHIP = 103

1990 – MR. LIM BOON SENG BECAME THE FIFTH PRESIDENT SCOUT AWARD RECIPIENT OF BEAVER SCOUT GROUP. HE RECEIVED HIS AWARD FROM PRESIDENT WEE KIM WEE AT THE ISTANA.

1995 – FIRST FRANK COOPER SANDS GOOD UNIT AWARD RECEIVED. MR. KOH KAR MENG TOOK OVER AS THE GROUP SCOUT LEADER

2001 – BEAVER SCOUT GROUP FORMED THE ‘BEAVER’ CHAPTER WITH THE SINGAPORE SCOUT GUILD. THE CHAPTER BECAME A PLATFORM FOR OLD BOYS TO MEET UP.

2002 - ACHIEVED THE SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (UNIFORM GROUP) FOR THE SCHOOL TOGETHER WITH NCC (AIR).
BEAVER SCOUT GROUP SENT 11 SCOUTS TO THE 20TH WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE, WITH TREMENDOUS SUPPORT FROM THEN PRINCIPAL MR. GOH AIK CHOON, FOR WHICH HE RECEIVED THE BRONZE VANDA AWARD FROM PRESIDENT SR NATHAN. THE SCOUT TROOP ACHIEVED FRANK COOPER SANDS GOLD AWARD.

2004 – PL DENNIS LEONG REPRESENTED SINGAPORE IN THE NIPPON INVITATIONAL PROGRAMME HELD AT JAPAN

2005 - ACHIEVED 10 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF FRANK COOPER SANDS AWARD

2007 – ASST. PATROL LEADER SANJAY SELVARAJA REPRESENTED THE TROOP AT THE 21ST WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE IN UK TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF SCOUTING.
ASST. SCOUT LEADER ARUMUGAM WAS THE PIONEER BATCH OF ROVERS IN SINGAPORE TO RECEIVE THE SCOUT OF THE WORLD AWARD FROM WOSM IN JAPAN WHEN HE REPRESENTED SINGAPORE AT THE 5th APR YOUTH FORUM.

2008 – BEATTY BEAVER SCOUT GROUP CELEBRATES IT’S 55TH ANNIVERSARY. BEAVER ROVER CREW WAS RE-ESTABLISHED WITH 8 ROVERS. ROVER SCOUT MUHD AFIQ REPRESENTED SINGAPORE AT THE 38th WORLD SCOUT CONFERENCE IN KOREA.

AS PART OF THE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, AN OLD BEAVERS' GATHERING WAS ORGANIZED WITH TREMENDOUS ATTENDANCE OF OVER 76 OLD BOYS & GIRLS TURNED UP. THIS WAS A FIRST EVER GATHERING ORGANIZED IN OVER 20 YEARS.