This has been a blessed year in Girls Brigade 34 th Company and we are seeing a season of growth and change amongst the girls. This is a special issue as the Editorial team consists of girls and we would like to thank them taking up the responsibility to produce this newsletter. Also, the recent overseas service learning trip was helmed by the squad leaders who tirelessly spent their holidays on rehearsing, planning and conducting the various programmes in Batam. Thank you, Leaders! We are also grateful for every word of encouragement and feedback that all have given us and we pray that GB 34 th Company will continue to scale new heights in the coming year with God s blessings. Thank you, St. Hilda s School, Chapel of Christ the Redeemer Church, Parents, Volunteers and Senior Girls for all of your contribution and support as we journey on to mould our girls into Esthers and Sarahs. Gold Company Awards Lastly a note of encouragement to all of our girls: How much all of you have grown! I am thankful for each of you. Continue to excel academically and step up in your role as a GB girl. To the graduating girls: You have come so far, press on till the end and I am sure you can reach the sky. A quote for all of you GB girls, "Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress." All the best! In HIS LOVE, Overall-in-charge, Mrs Lee-Lim Hwee Hoon Christmas Performance at Church of the Good Shepherd, Indonesia Batam
2014 Issue 2 Company Bonding Day Ice Skating This was an exciting day for all the girls as it was a time for all of us to bond as a company. We had 2 hours of pure fun and laughter as we watched one another stumble around and even fall as we tried to get used to the slippery ice. It was also a platform for us to get to know our new recruits, the Sec Ones, and feel closer to our squads. All in all, it was a fun and enriching time. Holding on to each other as a GB family Our Sec 1 girls say I felt really happy throughout the whole activity, skating with my friends and seniors. Normally, I m not really good at socializing but because of the Bonding Day and the seniors friendliness, I felt so much closer to the seniors compared to the first few GB meetings. The seniors were really nice and friendly, constantly starting conversations with me and accompanying me so that I don t feel left out. Pte. Shu Xin During the whole activity, I felt that I slowly got closer to some of the seniors in GB. Some seniors even guided me through the ice skating as I was afraid to slip and fall. I felt grateful towards them as they were very patient with smiles on their faces. It was a really great experience. Pte. Janice Pun Easter Day Programme Easter Day is a day for us to remember when Jesus was crucified on the cross to pay for our sins. This year, the squads had to use edible ingredients marshmallows, bread, cake & snacks to recreate a scene of the empty tomb which signifies Jesus resurrection. The girls managed to come up with many creative decorations that we have never seen before. Hannah squad won the first prize for their amazing and accurate biblical visualization of the empty tomb scene. It was truly a memorable and definitely yummy experience! Hannah Squad s Winning Entry
2014 Issue 3 Sec 1 CCA day & Orientation CCA Selection day is when the Secondary One students get to select the CCAs they are interested in. We had to set up our own booth to let the students know more about our CCA. We decorated our booth excitedly; some of us even prepared sweets and balloons to attract the students. We displayed some of our awards and trophies to let the students know the various competitions we participated in. We went around explaining to students about our CCA. The company celebrated and welcomed the Secondary Ones to our family during the first GB meeting. The seniors planned exciting games like Running Man and the Donut game. The Donut game required us to communicate with one another by discussing strategies to win. On the other hand, the Running Man game is played with interlocked hands and moving as a squad to complete missions. Then, they have to go to different station to complete their mission. Hence, it builds up teamwork and through these games and we managed to bond and foster stronger friendship in the company. Sec 4s with their GB Photo Wall Collage Team Bonding Games Annual Camp This year s annual camp is a combined event, organised by the CCR members. The amazing Camp Commandants, Amos and Angel did such a good job in organising 3 amazing days jam-packed with fun and games. Together, we learnt to step out of our comfort zone and meet new people and to work together with our individual groups. Even though not all of us won, each one of us certainly brought home the best prize - wonderful memories! Reflections It was fun to be able to promote our CCA to people and encourage them to join our CCA. While going around, I told them about the activities and benefits of joining The Girls Brigade and briefly on how the CCA runs. Personally, I think that I should be more relaxed as I was nervous and shy to interact with them that day. -Lcpl. Qian Hwee I think that the Secondary One Orientation is really meaningful, as it helps us to bond like a family. This is a special occasion where we, the new batch of Secondary Ones join the family. The games planned were really interesting and it managed to hook my interest. I m really looking forward to 2015 s Orientation Day! -Pte. Trelyn Tan
2014 Issue 4 The annual GB Fortnight this year was successful once again as our company managed to raise $5 632. Part of this amount would be used to fund HQ activities while the remainder would be used for our company's activities such as our annual service learning project. The girls were given two cards each for two weeks to ask for donations. They also planned on the types of food to be sold to CCR church congregation to raise more funds. In preparation for GB fortnight, Ms Wen Xin, a church volunteer from CCR, conducted a baking workshop on how to make yummy banana cake, walnut cookies and chocolate muffins. On that Sunday, the church was extremely generous and bought many items from the four stalls set up. We thank the church members for their continual support! A fun way to earn badges through an outdoor activity - rock climbing! The Sec Ones were given a rare opportunity to learn a new skill and at the same time bond and get to know one another better. This is definitely one of the many opportunities for them to enjoy the different physical activities which train them to endure and persevere! Good job, Sec Ones! This year, Mrs Mary Tan, Patron of The Girls Brigade Singapore, was the Guest-of-Honour at the GB Friendship Day on 19 July 2014. The annual event continues The Girls Brigade Singapore's initiative to connect GB girls and officers to special segments of the Singapore community, to serve and befriend the lonely, the elderly, the needy and those with special needs (LENS). For this event, all the GB companies from Singapore came together to hold a carnival especially for the LENS. Our girls picked up the elderly from Golden Pines to the venue, interacted and accompanied them throughout the entire event. The girls have proven themselves to be responsible, kind and caring leaders. Those who helped in either balloon sculpting or serving of food also proved themselves to be great servant leaders. It was certainly a memorable event! Overcoming our fear of heights Sec 1s baking their yummy banana cake I was very thrilled to try rock climbing with my batch mates. We patiently helped each other when belaying to ensure safety. I felt that this activity was very meaningful as we learnt how to be supportive and help one another. -Pte. Hui Yan Lcpl. Qian Hwee & Lcpl. Amelia with their Golden Pines Folks The balloon sculpting team
2014 Issue 5 The GB enrolment is an annual event which is significant to all GB girls. For the new recruits, it is an event which inducts them as GB girls officially. As for the Sec 2 to 4s, it is an event which promotes them to the next rank. It is an event to recognize the girls for the whole year of hard work, effort and contributions to The Girls Brigade. The new recruits receive their enrolment cards whilst the rest of the girls receive their ranks. It is a really meaningful event. In addition, there is also the presentation of the D.I.R.T. awards for the best girl and best squad. This year, the winner of the Best Girl award goes to Sergeant Cheryl Pek and the winner of the Best Squad award goes to Hannah squad. The graduating batch of Hannah Seniors (from the left) Sgt. Charmian Chan, Sgt. Hui Yun, Sgt. Kelly Wong, Sgt. Ginna Koh & Sgt. Tang Xin To get the best squad award, a squad has to show D.I.R.T which represents Discipline, Integrity, Responsibility and Teamwork. I am very proud to say that every member of the Hannah squad displayed these traits. Receiving the award made me feel proud and I was pleasantly surprised. I feel that other squads are equally deserving of this award. However, I am glad that my squad was recognized for their efforts. -Sgt. Kelly Wong (Squad leader of Hannah) Being Best Girl has been my greatest honour. Throughout my 4 years in GB, it has equipped me with many lifelong lessons and moral values which I will never forget. It moulded me into a confident person whom I am today. I never thought that I would be able to lead my squad and serve GB in other aspects. Through the mission trips organized, I have learnt to be more appreciative of what I have. The leadership camps have taught me to be more disciplined and responsible. Lastly, GB enabled me to build lifelong friendships that I will always cherish. All in all, I am very honored to receive the title of Miss D.I.R.T 2014 and I m thankful to everyone who has contributed to my success. - Sgt. Cheryl Pek -
2014 Issue 6 This year, the Sec 1 and 2 girls participated in the Pupil-Led Assembly or PLA for short. PLA is a platform for non-aesthetic CCAs to showcase their talents by performing in accordance to a given theme. This year, the theme was 'Kampong Spirit'. Our performance consisted of a short skit and a cheer routine. As there were over 20 girls and it was not possible to have all of us on stage, some of the girls were involved in the making of the pom poms. Both the pom pom and the performing teams worked hard to make the performance a great success. This performance has indeed helped the girls to be more bonded and broke the ice between the seniors and juniors. This was a bittersweet time for all of us. It was a time for us to celebrate what our seniors have done but also a time for us to say goodbye to them as they stepped down. We will not forget what our seniors have done for GB throughout these years! Sec 4s, we wish you well for the O Level examinations and do visit us frequently! The caring batch of graduating Sec 4 Seniors Sec 1 and Sec 2s practising for their Cheer dance performance Sec 4 farewell was very meaningful as it brought back a lot of memories for me throughout my 4 years in GB. It gave me an opportunity to thank and appreciate my juniors, teachers and seniors who had gone through so much with me. - Sgt. Juliet Pun
2014 Issue 7 From 4th to 8th December 2014, 19 of us went on an Overseas Cultural Immersion and Service Learning Project trip in Batam, Indonesia. A few weeks prior to the trip, we spent much time planning and organising projects that would meet the needs of the community in Batam. On the first day of the trip, we put up a Christmas Special entitled "Whose Birthday is it?" for the kindergarten children in the slums. We were very encouraged by the children s enthusiasm. Despite living with only the bare essentials, they were very happy children. Through this experience, we learnt to appreciate what we have instead of complaining about what we do not have. The next morning, we painted two murals for the kindergarten. We were very thankful to God for giving us a sunny day so that we could finish our work on schedule. Although we were tired from painting the murals, we felt a great sense of achievement when we saw how much joy our artwork had brought to the children. Perseverance and determination indeed taught us a good lesson that day. The next day, we gave out food parcels to the less privileged in the community. We feel very fortunate because our parents provide us with all that we have and we lack nothing. We have learnt to empathise with the less privileged and also learnt humility by serving others. That same afternoon, we went to Harris waterfront for a game of paintball and in the evening, we shot some fireworks. It was a new experience and we had a lot of fun bonding with one another. We also learnt some skills like making flowers out of Gong Gong shells and foot massage. Through this trip, we have learnt many valuable lessons and gained many wonderful experiences which we cannot learn in the classroom. It was an enriching and fun trip not to be missed!
2014 Issue 8 Thank you, Ms Sim, for your contributions to 34th company and being part of this big family. All of us had such a great time together especially during the Batam trip. I would like to thank you for those words of encouragement from you before our gospel skit that means so much to me. Do come back do visit us! I wish you all the best and may God bless you in everything you do. - Cpl Ethel Oh I hope for GB 34th to bring out the best in every girl. To be a place where friendships are forged, and where girls grow into future leaders with great initiative, team spirit and a caring heart. - Ms Sim Welcome Baby Thaddeus and congratulations to his proud mum, our Captain Mrs Jasmine Yee Being an old girl of the Girls' Brigade, I'm very happy to be back to where I belong. I wish for every GB girl to have an enriching and meaningful journey as you grow to become a God-fearing woman. I look forward to knowing all of you! Welcome Baby Sarah and congratulations to her proud mum, our Officer Mrs Lee-Lim Hwee Hoon Ms Kuan