Hello! :)

After months of hard work doing proposals and carrying out campfire preparation, 12 July (our big day!) finally arrived. It was the day of our 46th Anniversary Campfire and this time the theme is "Girl Guides - The Tie That Binds". From having a total of only 50 guides in 1968 when Dunman High Girl Guides was founded as 19th Coy Easy Company to a total of over 100 guides today, Dunman High Girl Guides has come a long way. Though the activities we have may change over time, the sisterly ties we forge with our fellow guides will only grow stronger, having gone through so many things together.

Months ago when campfire preparation just began, we were split into 4 big committees - Programme, Pioneering, Publicity & Deco/Souvenirs, with  each committee being managed by a Y7 YA and the other YAs being split into various sub-committees. During this period of time when we had campfire preparation, we brainstormed for ideas to have a great campfire, practised tying our structures under the hot sun, soaked firewood, edited performances, sourced for decorations, hand-made souvenirs and more. It was not easy but we managed to do it and the campfire was really successful. :)

 On 12 July, we arrived in school early to begin setting up and preparing for the campfire. We were all very excited!

some of the programme YAs! featuring our campfire pit (:

Y3 Guides practising for their dance performance :D

The guests started arriving in the evening, when they could take a look at the various exhibitions, take photographs at the photobooth and more. Many of the old guides came and this was a great opportunity for them to catch up with their fellow guides and  reminisce about the good old times and smile! (:

our campfire walkway!

at the campfire walkway :)

P1 Dove reunited (:

At around 7pm, the campfire officially began with Dr Foo giving a speech as one of the Guests-Of-Honour and the lighting of the campfire by Dr Foo as well as some representatives from the old guides using fire torches. We had 6 sections of songs in total led by our 16 amazing songleaders, with performances by the Y3 Guides, Y1/Y2 Guides, Scouts (who put up a great lion dance performance) as well as exciting games and activities (such as Limbo and Kim's Game!) which some people from the audience were invited to participate in in between. Everyone had a lot of fun watching the performances, participating in the games, and just singing along to the songs. In addition to the usual guides songs which we always sing together (be it during jihes or campfires), we also added in other popular songs such as We're All In This Together and Let It Go, bringing a fun twist to the campfire!

campfire's burning~

To end off the campfire perfectly, we had Ms Tang, one of the guiders who have been with Dunman High Girl Guides for a very long time and watched the company grow, give the campfire yarn, as well as a segment for presentation of gifts to the other Uniformed Groups who attended our campfire and to our beloved guiders as a token of appreciation for loving and supporting us all the time and helping us to grow, followed by lastly the closing ceremony.

After that, everyone was invited to go to the canteen for reception and to mingle more with their old friends before it was really time to say goodnight.

P3 Jasmine reunited!

44th & 45th batch of bougainvilleans from P1 (:

And here are some thoughts & feelings of some YAs! :)

"Planning this campfire was an extraordinary experience. It wasn't like any other event that I had planned before. From the initial planning stage to executing the plan on the actually day, we faced many problems. Being part of the pioneering committee was really difficult for me as I had never been in the pioneering committee for any past events. Having to work under the sun and rain for every preparation day was tough yet fulfilling when i saw the guest taking photos with the structure. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the guides in my committee for the great effort for all the preparations. Even with my lack of experience, being able to build such a structure was greatly because of the great juniors under me. I really couldn't have done anything without them. Lastly, to my 10 lovely sisters, these 6 months was like a roller coater ride. But I know that no task is too hard so long as we work together. I'd like to acknowledge that Guides is like no other CCA. Through this CCA I met 10 of the most greatest girls and i wouldn't give up this friendship for anything. All in all, I hope that this spirit can continue to stay with the company. May this legacy continue to pass down to generations to come. I'm proud to be a Dunman High Girl Guide and I look forward to attending the 50th anniversary campfire :)" -Cheryl Lee

"The 46th anniversary, to me, was a long process. We started planning since the start of the year with multiple proposal submissions, wrecking our brains to find a way to make it into a spectacular one. Sometimes it does feel a little unsettling, the way months and months or planning effort is just put into play within the span of three hours. And as cliche as it sounds, it's really times like this where you truly sense the meaning behind “台上十分钟，台下十年工“. And it's such experiences that make me truly appreciative of the behind the scenes work that goes behind every event. It's the way you wonder if people realise the designing that goes behind every structure that stood proud and tall in our school field, the hours that goes into building the structure; it's the way you wonder if people realise the amount of hard work that goes into the braiding of each and every souvenir, the time taken to paint each and every decoration and prop put up for exhibition. It's realising that each and every tiny little thing seen at the campfire is the reward of a person's effort. And that is what makes me so proud of this campfire because in a certain sense, we realised our theme: Girl Guides - The Tie That Binds. With every effort put into the campfire, regardless of how big or how small, the collaborative effort created a product of celebration, of memories, of a tie that binds us all together." -Rhonda Toh

All in all, the 46th Anniversary Campfire was really a great success! I couldn't be happier that all our hard work paid off and that everyone had an enjoyable time. May Dunman High Girl Guides continue to grow, may our burning passion and love for guiding never fade, and may the sisterly ties forged between us only grow stronger with time. I'm truly proud to be a Dunman High Girl Guide <3, and I can't wait to attend the 50th, 55th, 60th... Anniversary Campfire, in the years to come. :) Because 一日童军，一世童军.

44th batch, 2010-2013

Labels: 46th Anniversary, Campfire