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Adventure Training Camp 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 @ 7:23 PM

ATC
The Adventure Training Camp (ATC) is a training camp held once every year to let the secondary two cadets from different schools to come together to interact and put what they had learnt to test and to further sharpen their skills that they have learnt from NPCC. All secondary two cadets from all schools are suppose to attend this three day two night camp prepared for them by their Cadet Inspector (CI).

For this year Area 5 ATC, it was held from 22nd May to 24th May. The secondary two cadets attending this camp were quite nervous before the start of it as it was their first time attending to an area camp, where we will be meeting cadets from other schools. Everyone was trying to go through all the Do's and Don'ts during the bus ride to the jetty. After the short boat ride to Pulau Ubin, all the cadets have to fall in to wait for further instruction, before trekking to their campsite.

Upon reaching the campsite, the whole squad was separated into eight different groups, and the eight groups also compromised of the other cadets from other schools. And soon we were tested on our first skill of the day, team spirit and co-operation amongst group members, when we were supposed to pitch a tent that we were going to stay in during the two nights of the camp. We had to work with people we have never worked with before and this was quite challenging for us as we were so used to working with our own squadmates.

After tent pitching, we had to go for other activities like low elements, kayaking and many other fun activities which was meant for us to bond with our groupmates and learn to take the lead. The theme for the campfire was breaking boundaries and we were given one time at the end of the day to sit together to think of an item to present at the campfire the following night. We learnt how to tolerate and accept each other through our brainstorming together and came up with a performance. It really bonded us as a group as we got to know each and everyone better.

The following night, the secondary two and three cadets gathered together at the secondary three campsite to cheer together and see each others’ performances. The top 3 performances were chosen and given recognition. We truly enjoyed ourselves as we cheered through the night.

At the end of the ATC, we were very relieved to be reunited with our squadmates. The past few days had been very productive and we had learnt a lot and made several new friends as well. But this was nothing compared to being with our own squadmates. We proceeded on to trek down to the jetty, where the boat leading to home was, while cheering continuously throughout. We were all very relieved to get back with the unit, especially our squadmates and to see all those familiar faces again even though we were a little reluctant to leave the camp and our new friends.

Through the whole of ATC, we have learnt many valuable lessons and skills which will benefit us greatly. We learnt to have a sense of urgency at all times to be able to do things efficiently and to always maintain a good standard regardless of what we are doing. We also realized that everyone does not work alone. Instead, we have to have teamwork to succeed together when given a task to complete. We should always persevere to complete it even if we are having a difficult time. The new friends from other schools would be able to help us adapt to our surroundings so we should never criticize others or look down upon them. We should always cooperate with them and lead when asked for volunteers. Lastly, we would like to say that this experience has been great and unforgettable. It was certainly an adventure and it was different from our own AC as we get to interact with cadets from other schools as well as we can exchange the knowledge we have gained.

Secondary Two Squad
Cedar NPCC 2009

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NDP ' 09
Monday, September 14, 2009 @ 12:40 AM

National Day is a joyous occasion celebrated on 9th August yearly by all Singaporeans to mark Singapore’s nationhood. Schools also celebrate the special occasion by putting up various performances relating to Singapore’s success as a thriving independent country over the years. Every year, in Secondary Schools, the uniform groups would first start with the National Day Parade.
The National Day Parade contains 4 contingents of the different uniform groups, NPCC, NCC, RCY and Girl Guides. The uniform groups, NCC and NPCC, will take alternate years to be the Guard of Honour Contingent. This year, NPCC was the Guard of Honour Contingent. The whole parade was led by Sergeant Zunairah Seron, the parade commander, from NPCC.
Cedar NPCC unit have been doing extremely well and has sustained the Gold award for the Unit Overall Proficiency for the past eight years. Every cadet trained very hard for two weeks to ensure a perfect National Day Parade. The trainings were held twice weekly where all the contingents would have to pay careful attention to the commands given and continue with their drills as sharp and precise as possible in sync with the concert band’s rhythm. It was not very easy as all the drills had to be done by the time the concert band stops playing. We had to move even faster and at the same time coordinate our movements.
With a short period of time to train, cadets involved in the parade had to attend extra training sessions so as to ensure a high standard performance on the actual day. Everyone put in a great amount of effort and persevered and endured through the tiring and tough practices. Everyone cooperated with each other and did their drills with much involvement and perfection. When sometimes a few drills did not turn as well as we expected, we practiced more on them.
On the real day, we did our drills with great amount of effort and pride. Although we had minor mistakes we managed to carry on with the parade as perfect and precise as possible. Our hardwork did pay off. We had a sense of accomplishment after the parade was over.
From this experience, we have learnt that cooperation, perseverance, endurance and being alert is important in order for a contingent and a squad to do well. With such values, definitely a squad would be able to do well in everything they do in their NPCC life.

Guard-Of-Honour Contingent
Cedar NPCC 2009

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