My Kiwi

by Sarah-Ann

(Gold Arrow: Creativity Item 3 - Writing)

My kiwi looks like a small oak-colored egg in a white nest, my napkin. When I pick it up and turn it over in my hands, it feels soft and squishy, and its skin is furry and rough. 

On its surface is hair, prickly and coarse. On one end, there is a bump where the kiwi was once connected to the rest of its plant, and on the other end, a sticker the supermarket tacked on. 

As I slowly peel off the sticker, it unwillingly detaches itself from the brown skin of my meal, leaving little web-like strands of sticky glue still holding on to the kiwi. The sticker gives his friend one last goodbye handhold, before finally letting go and enfolding my index finger in paper and plastic and glue.

I rub my thumb and second finger together, causing the glue to flake off so I can brush the sticker into the rubbish bin. The sticker casts me a look of betrayal, then falls resignedly into his grave.

When I puncture the kiwi’s skin, a pungent aroma wafts from it and the taste buds on my tongue bristle. The kiwi’s seeds form a dark, mysterious wall, encasing the pale center of the kiwi in ray-like rows of black splendor. My spoon carves into the inside of the fruit, scooping out pale green flesh and making itself slimy and wet. 

The taste of the kiwi is sweeter on the outside, but it flows into sourness as I get closer to the middle of the fruit. Its small, round, oval black seeds stick to my teeth. My tongue flicks the seeds out of the tiny crevices between my teeth, and I crunch them and swallow. 

The sourness makes my tongue sting and my eyes water, but after the first bite I am thirsty for more. The sweet aftertaste makes up for the kiwi’s sour beginning, like a criminal trying to right his previous wrongs. I continue to eat, digging my way through the lime-green mush with its beady black eyes, scraping the insides of the skin. 

When the last of its insides have been devoured, the kiwi skin falls deflated onto my napkin. It looks lonely after being robbed of its flesh. Two old companions are gratefully reunited when the kiwi too, is released into the dark, dirty pit along with my napkin.

Sports & Hobbies

by Sarah-Ann

(for Gold Arrow)

The Day of a Lazy Slimeball

By Sarah-Ann 

Gold Arrow (Creativity)

Camping Comic: How to break a curse during Scout Camp!?!

By Zhou Peien 

 

Good Wood

by Zhou Peien 

When Sam was about to be born, his father owned a large piece of wood. It was very Good Wood. He sawed and trimmed and nailed and glued, until he made a nice, Good Bed for Sam. When it was finished, and newborn Sam slept peacefully in its embrace, his father looked on with an admiring eye, saying:

“That’s a Good Bed, made from Good Wood!"

As Sam grew older, his father saw that the toddler bed became too small for him. So, he took the Good Bed and sawed and trimmed and nailed and glued, until he had made a Good Mini Shelf. Sam received this Good Mini Shelf on the day he turned six. He was very pleased, and his father was pleased too, saying:

“Sam, that’s a Good Shelf, made from a Good Bed, made from Good Wood!”

The shelf was daily decked with books, but as Sam grew, the number of books grew too. One day, his father got him a bigger shelf, and the books were removed from the Good Shelf. Then Sam’s father took the Good Shelf, and sawed and trimmed and nailed and glued, until he had fashioned a Good Storage Box. He gave it to Sam as a birthday present on his twelfth birthday, to store his sundry and curious items. Sam was delighted, and at once heaped it with his boyish treasures. Sam’s father stood amused, and remarked: “That’s a Good Box, made from a Good Shelf made from a Good Bed, made from Good Wood!”

Sam continued growing. Years passed by, and his family increased. They moved to a bigger house, and Sam had a bigger room. He had large shelves stacked with books. He had a big and comfortable bed. He had wonderful storage boxes. He no longer needed the Good Box, so it was stored away in the storeroom. 

More years passed by, and the Good Box remained untouched. Dust and grit set on it, and it grew musty with age. Yet it remained the same Good Box until… …

One day, as eighteen-year-old Sam racked his brain on a birthday present for his father, he suddenly remembered the Good Bed he had had as a toddler. What had become of it? He thought hard, then recalled into mind that it had changed into the Good Shelf, holding wonderful books to which he had approached to gorge in. Then what? It was some time before he could remember the Good Treasure Box which had been his boyhood’s chief delight. Then it had become a…a…

Hard as he tried, Sam could remember nothing. But a thought struck him: that Good Wood must be found! He searched around the whole house, and finally came to an old and musty box. Eagerly he brushed away the dirt and grit. He smiled at the box in his hand. It was Good Wood!

Sam went into his own room. He sawed and trimmed and nailed and glued. On his father’s birthday, Sam handed him a piece of wooden board, with fine carvings on them. It showed in large letters: GOOD WOOD. Sam’s father hung it proudly on the wall. His eyes shone softly as he turned to his son. Sam said:

“Father, that Good Board’s made from the Good Box, made from the Good Shelf, made from the Good Bed. And that Good Bed is made from real Good Wood!”

-THE END-

The Victorian Crowned Pigeon

by Zhou Pei En

Gold Arrow > Science & Nature > Wildlife in Danger 

 

1.     DESCRIPTION

 

The Victorian Crowned Pigeon is a type of very rare bird. It’s a kind of Crowned Pigeon which is becoming increasingly rare due to habitat loss and excessive hunting. It is a maroon and slate-blue coloured bird with a crown of plumes on its head.

 

2.     HABITAT

 

The Victorian Crowned Pigeon lives in lowland and swampy forests around northern New Guinea and surrounding islands. It prefers living near sea levels, occasionally flying to higher areas.

 

3.     NEEDS

 

The Victorian Crowned Pigeon is hunted frequently for its meat and colourful feathers. Due to its lack of agility to escape captivity, its population became extremely rare. Loss of habitat due to logging has also affected its population greatly.

 

4.     CONSERVATION ACTIONS

 

Hunting the Victorian crowned pigeon is now illegal and many parks, such as the Jurong Bird Park, have organised breeding programs to try to breed more of these birds, hoping they will survive in captivity.

 

 

 

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/victoria_crowned_pigeons

Endangered Species: Common Thresher Shark

by Zachary Tay

Also known as Atlantic threshers, common thresher sharks are easily distinguished by their extra long upper tail fin.  They can reach 20 feet and their tail makes up around half of their length.  Common threshers are migratory and live in many seas around the world. They favor the Pacific and Indian Oceans, especially at the continental shelves of America and Asia. But the exact habitat, again, remains largely a mystery. Thresher Sharks love open and deep waters, they are also found in shallow waters near coastal areas. They are generally not found deeper than 500 meters (1,640ft).

They regularly move to higher latitude areas to head into warmer water.  Common thresher sharks are strong, fast swimmers and eat mainly bony fish.  They use their long tail to strike and incapacitate their prey.  Common threshers are caught by commercial fishers as they are highly sought after for their meat.  They are also a valued prize by sport fishers due to their power and the fight that they put up.  Common thresher sharks are a vulnerable species due to fishing pressure on populations.  

Silky, bigeye thresher, common thresher, and pelagic thresher sharks are in particular danger. Overfishing in targeted shark fisheries, by-catch in fishing gear targeting other species, and high levels of illegal and unregulated fishing have caused drastic reductions in their populations wherever they are found. International protection measures are piecemeal at best. Management measures need to catch up to the scale of the problems facing these sharks before it is too late.

Unfortunately, no international measures are in place specific to common thresher sharks. However, as a result of increasing concern about the plight of thresher sharks, Sri Lanka has proposed that the common thresher sharks be added to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which would greatly restrict global trade in thresher shark products – limiting it to fisheries where harvesting is sustainable. This is appropriate as the large fins of thresher sharks are typically exported to Asian countries with a taste for shark fin soup, where they fetch a high price.

Constructing with LEGO!

by Cheong Jing-Yu

SPORTS & HOBBIES: Make a 5 min slideshow or show and tell presentation to tell your leader and Six about one of the hobbies or sports you regularly engage in. Explain what inspired and led you to the hobby or sport and what you have done recently to improve or develop it.

One of my hobbies is building with LEGOs. I have made many models over the years. To see a presentation about how my model building has evolved, and some photos of my favourite creations, click HERE!

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SCIENCE & NATURE: CONSTRUCTION KIT: Build a model with a construction kit of any type and explain how the model works.

Here is a LEGO model I made of a construction crane!

Science and Nature:6. Conservation Project by Kayla Ng for Gold Arrow Award

 

- NIGHT- 4. Reporters - Poem by Kayla Ng for Gold Arrow Award (Creativity)

 NIGHT

When the sun goes down at the end of the day 

And mothers call children back from their play

When birdies towards their nests they fly

The sacred moon takes her place in the sky

The doors are locked, the lamps are snuffed

The curtains, drawn, the pillows, fluffed

The stars show up in pictures bright

Stories, they tell throughout the night

The kids fast asleep in a snug room

Magnificent dreams, their minds do loom

The kitchen cat stirs to the squeak of a mouse

The big black dog guards the door of the house

The silent veil of peaceful air

Broken only by howls from the wolf in his lair

A mother hushes her baby's cries

As an owl hoots near, with lamp-like eyes

A bat that soars through the night with wing

Finds enough food to feast like a king

As midnight draws near, twelve times the clock strikes

The darkest of hours, the middle of nights

The milky way shines, a splash of blue light

Its sparkles and beauty keep hope in sight

The moon calls out loudly, her silent voice heard

"Dawn is approaching, but please rest assured

Tonight we'll meet again just like before

For now, go to sleep and please rest some more"

And saying so she sunk out of sight

So thus ending the rule of the night

THE LIFE OF A MARSHMELLOW - Camping Comic by Alexis Ng revisiting the good old times

 For Silver Arrow

Camping Catastrophe!

A Viking Cub Scout comic strip by Ian Ng

CLICK for more panels!

Wildlife in Danger: Pandas

by Ian Ng

Giant pandas first became endangered in 1990 due to poaching and deforestation. China’s government set up 13 panda nature reserves. Some farming fields were left to grow back into bamboo forests. Trees and bamboo grow back well, and pandas’ habitat is recovering. Pandas are given reintroduction training to get them ready for release into the wild. Once training is complete, pandas are sent back in their habitat to let the species continue.

Taking Photographs (Silver Arrow)

A digital slideshow by Ian Ng.

 

Report on a local event: First Giant Panda Cub born in Singapore!

 by Zachary Tay

Soupfin Sharks in Danger!

 by Colin Ng

Viking's Aeroplane Competition 24th January 2021 by Kayla Elizabeth Ng

 

On a cloudy day on the 24^th of January 2021, the Viking Cub Scouts held a paper aeroplane contest at Admiralty Park. There were three events, the first event was flight duration, the second event was distance and the last was accuracy.  As the pack separated into their Sixes, it began to rain but nobody got wet as we were all in the shelter.

Each Six discussed among themselves, choosing which aeroplanes to use for which contest. Some cubs were distracted, as there were many annoying mozzies.  After everybody was done folding and choosing their aeroplanes, the contest began. Some cubs were excited while others were nervous. The first round was try-outs, each cub had a chance to do every event and see which Six had the most points. After that, each Six chose a representative to do the event. The competition had begun!

The representatives of each team each had their own specially designed aeroplanes. The adults helped determined who was the winner. The winner of that round had an aeroplane that when he threw it upwards floated lazily around and around before drifting to the ground and having a record of 5 seconds. In the second event the winner had a very thin dart plane that when thrown it pierced through the air like an arrow and had a record of 6metres. In the third event, the winner had good aim and won herself 10 points!

Although not all the Sixes won an event each, they all learned which paper aeroplanes worked best and how to win and lose graciously.  The winning Sixes were thoughtful of the other Sixes that didn’t win and gave some of the treats that they had earned to them. Everybody had a fun time.

Practice making a paper aeroplane below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54noZe-0B1c

Urban Navigation (Helping to Lead) by Haley Tay

On the 7^th of February 2021, I planned an activity called “Urban Navigation” for my fellow Vikings Cub Scouts. The activity was simple. Each Six would be given a map that covered parts of Bishan, Ang Mo Kio and Marymount. Using the map, each Six would have to locate and get to several planned locations. At each location, each Six would have to complete a planned activity. Points will be given for each completed activity. The Six with the most number of points would be the winner.

 

I had to consider the following when planning the activity – the location, the amount of time to get to each location, the distance between each location, the stamina of the Cubs, safety considerations when getting to each location, the difficulty in navigating to each location, the activity, the weather, the number of adult chaperons available, the attractiveness of each location and suitable prizes. 

 

I encountered the most difficulty when planning the location. I started the planning by consulting Google maps on the distance and time needed to reach each location. But when I actually walked the route, I found that it took much longer than expected. It was also a challenge getting to some of the locations as there were obstacles along the way, such as dangerous road crossings and road works. Some locations were also not sheltered and near to roads, making it unsuitable for the planned activities. Based on my walk, I eventually decided on 5 locations - Bishan Active Park, Bishan Post Office, Singapore Scouts Bishan HQ, Marymount Community Centre and Bishan Woodball Club. I chose these locations as they could be safely and comfortably reached and completed within the 1.5 hours allocated for the Urban Navigation and had suitable spaces to hold the activities.   

 

Awarding the prizes also turned out to be quite challenging. The plan was to award the prize to the Six with the most number of points. However, when the activity concluded, I realised that it was important to also recognise the kind and helpful acts shown by the Cubs during the activity. I therefore decided off the cuff, to award a prize each to the Six who displayed the most kindness, the Six who was the most helpful, the Six with the most initiative and the Six who best looked after the younger cubs, in addition to the Six with the most points. This resulted in every Six getting a prize. I was glad about the choice that I made, and how it reinforced the Scouts promise to do our best in all that we do.

 

 I am glad that I was given the opportunity to plan the Urban Navigation activity. The difficulties I encountered taught me to not ignore problems but to try my best to solve them. It also taught me the value of dry-running a plan and not to rely on desk-top research. It also taught me that it is ok to keep improving, even if it means having to deviate from the original plan on the fly.

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有一次，在二月七日，我在童子军组织一个活动叫城市导航。这个活动是非常有趣的。每组会拿到一个地图，地图里面包括璧山，宏茂桥和马里蒙特。每组需要利用地图来找不同的目的地。到了目的地，组员就要玩一个很精彩的游戏。如果成功完成游戏，就可以得到分数。积分最多的小组就会获胜。

当我在计划这个活动时，有很多东西值得我考虑，比如，地点，时间，地点之间的距离，组员们的耐力，活动，天气，礼物， 还有最重要的是组员们的安全 。

当我在计划时，我遇到很多的问题。最大的问题是选适当的地点。一开始的时候，我用了手机上的谷歌地图来查地点之间的距离。可是当我亲自走路线时，我发现地点之间的距离会比谷歌地图所说的跟远，需要更长的时间才到达。当我在走路线时，我也发现路线有很多障碍比如，危险的道路交叉口和道路工程。有些地点又没有庇护所，也有的地点是在马路旁边。这样一来，就不可以安全地举办活动。考虑了很久后，我终于选了五个地点，璧山活跃公园，璧山邮政局，新加坡童子军璧山的总部，玛丽蒙特社区俱乐部和璧山木球俱乐部。

当天，我的童子军成功的完成活动。大家都玩得不亦乐乎。我很感激有这个机会举办这个活动。看到朋友们多么开心，我也很开心。俗话说，助人为快乐之本，在这次经历之后，我学到了这句话的真正含义。

Some Haikus written by Kayla Ng (Dragons) for Writer Badge 2021

Sushi                        

At my Auntie’s house                          

I make delicious sushi                         

One hot afternoon.

Nighttime

In the dark night sky
the bright stars are twinkling
As the moon rises.             

Morning       

In the bright daylight
I see the sun is shining
As I wake from sleep.

Kayaking

Along the river
I’m kayaking very fast
With relatives near.

Love                           

Love will never end                               
Shining through the darkest night      
There’s plenty to spare.                        

Seasons

First it is snowing
Then it’s blooming, next is sun
Now leaves are falling

Freedom

The bird in a cage
Watches flying butterflies
Wishes he was free

Water Safety

By Gloria Teng