Parade Meeting - 23rd March 2008

Today, most of the form 3 members were absent as they are having an Excel test on the incoming week. They were excused from turning up. L/Cpl Augustine was the parade commander today. He wasn't able to call out the command properly and everybody went fooling around. However, our captain had a uniform check with us. He checked for the boys who didn't wear proper mufti, he checked the belts, shoes and socks. NCO's were punished in a heavier way compared to non-NCO's. It was a long time since we last had such uniform check and most of the boys were not too concerned about this matter. If the uniform inspection is conducted regularly, the company's discipline will improve in no time.

After that, Captain Raymond had a briefing with the boys who are going to KK for PESTA 2008. He told us the do's and don'ts which we have to pay attention to. He also reminded us the things needed to be brought over to KK during the camp. Furthermore, he stated that he was worried of the band as the current condition isn't too encouraging. The drill wasn't too good neither. Well, let's wish all of us good luck so that we can present our best in the PESTA.

We had our drill practice after the briefing. The boys didn't know commands like "hormat ke kanan", "pandang kanan", "jadikan skuad" and "tukar haluan". It was a good opportunity to teach them those.

After that, we had our praise and worship session. Today is Easter Sunday and a very special programme was planned. Rev. James showed us the preview of "The Passion of Christ" through the LCD projector. The scene in which the prisoner was crucified was very scary. He told us that Jesus had undergone the same process. This showed that how much Jesus had sacrificed for us.

He added that Jesus passed away on Good Friday, and was resurrected after 3 days. This is why the following Sunday is called the Easter Sunday. He asked whether the members believe in the resurrection of Jesus. He showed us examples such as the invention of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, which was initially considered impossible. He said: "If you can believe in such technologies, why not believe in the resurrection of Jesus?". We had a really great time with Rev. James during the praise and worship session. After that, we had some refreshments and another drill practice session.

This time the boys drilled slightly better. Corporal Siah tried the whole set command out and most of them were well done. However, there were some minor confusion in the command and Captain was there to help and solved his problems. After that, we falled out and went back home.

I hereby wish the PMR and SPM students who are going to sit for the Excel test which starts tomorrow good luck. Hope that all of you can pass with flying colours.

Parade Meeting - 16th March 2008

As usual, today the Boys falled in at 1.30pm, and went into the classrooms. The Basel church members came to have a discussion with the BB and GB regarding the recruitment issue. It seems that the new students are not willing to attend the Sunday parade meetings and our Captain had issued this problem. Finally, the meeting was held. The BB and GB captains and senior NCO's with Young Leaders were told to attend the meeting.

Ms Yap Pak Shun, and Mr Moo Fah Lin, who are ex-principals of SM Sung Siew also attended the meeting. Both of them are awesome leaders. They managed to tell us the actual school policy, especially the co-curricular marking scheme which we were not clear with. We were able to sort things out properly.

They found that the students are often told the wrong information. Take for example, Sergeant Kevin Wong kept giving informations and was not able the tell the information source. This makes the matter even confusing. Sergeant Kevin made another mistake by mentioning the word "gangster". He actually meant "naughty boys" in the BB meetings at school, and used the wrong word.

Mr Moo reminded him to be careful when it comes to the usage of terms as the wrongful usage may eventually hurt other people's feeling. In the whole meeting, Mr Moo said that the BB and GB Body lack communication with the school's teacher advisers and therefore miscommunication often occur. He encouraged the members to show a good example to the new students so that they will be more interested to join the meeting on Sunday. Sir Alex was efficient enough to plan the recruitment programmes on the spot~!

Next, the boys were asked to practice their drills. Corporal Siah Boon Kiat was the commander. He is going to lead a number of 12 boys in the PESTA Drill Competition. We didn't really do well in our practice, and Sir Andrew asked us to do push-ups. He introduced a new system in which whenever a commander punishes the members, he himself has to be punished too. Therefore, he did push-ups with the boys. I believe this is a very good method to train the boys to be have the spirit to drill well as the commander himself is showing a good example.

After that, the Boys and Girls gathered in the badminton court in Wisma Basel. We had our very first praise and worship session of the year, and this is also the first time we are having it using live band. Our new chaplain, Rev James Wong who had just been transferred from Tawau gave the members an exciting talk on faith. He mentioned that faith is required in each and every one of us in order to succeed in whatever we do. God will only love and care for those who are faithful, and that's why we should to have faith in everything we do!

Talking about chaplain reminds us of Pastor Ngui, who has been transferred to Tawau. We miss her very much and hope that we can see her again. We wish her all the best~~

After the session, the BB captain made an announcement saying that the due date for those who still wants to join the PESTA is next week. Entries after next week are not going to be accepted. For the GB, the captain announced that next week is Easter Sunday and the girls do not need to come for meeting in their uniforms, they come in their GB T-shirts.

Awards & Band Course

On the 10th, 11th and 12th March, 2008, a course has been held for our boys. The main aim for this course is to provide chance for the boys to achieve either the First Aid or Nature Awareness award. Our band instructor, Mr Leong turned up for both 11th and 12th for the band course.

First Day-10th March 2008

The boys reached Wisma Basel at 9.00am sharp. Our captain, Sir Raymond Wong gave us a talk on this activity. We were then separated into two groups- the first aid group and nature awareness group. Sir Raymond added that Mr Leong will be there for the band practice in the afternoon.Sir Raymond first walked into the first aiders' classroom and explained the requirements to get the award, that is to pass a paper test, a practical, to attend a course in the Red Cresent Centre, and to be present on all the three events. He

then introduced us our instructor, Preacher Lo who was an Ex-Staff Sergeant. He then passed the class to Preacher Lo.

Then, Sir Raymond went to his own class, that is the Nature Awareness class. The requirements to pass the award are abo ut the same, that is to pass the paper test, hand in assignments and not to be absent on all the events. He then drove the boys to the jogging park in Taman Tshun Ngen, to collect leaf species in groups. It was a great chance for them to explore the park's widths and lengths. The boys were asked to jot down all the characteristics and the uses of the plants. They actually had fun besides learning about nature =)

At the same time, the first aiders were taught the basic principles of first aid, the simple sicknesses, their signs and symptoms together with the ways to treat them. We were taught the common sicknesses such as shock, internal bleeding, external bleeding, burns and scalps.

A case demonstration was held too. Preacher Lo asked for a few volunteers to demonstrate the case. 5 boys volunteered! *claps* The case was like, a boy acts as casualty, and another one acting as a reckless driver while the other three will be acting as the first aiders. So, it went like this..
The boy : Dexter Wong
The reckless driver : Lee Han Wen
The first aiders : Chin Haw Wai, Philip Voo, Sebastian Chen

It wasn't too successful as the boys involved panicked but at least they've tried. Preacher Lo pointed out the mistakes made by the boys and called it a day.

In the afternoon, Sir Alexander, who is our full-time officer, bought us chicken rice as lunch and expected us to get ready for the band practice. It was really great for him to drive all the way down to Mile 1/2 and to get us our lunch *Thanks a lot, Sir Alex! You're the best!*
However, our Sergeant Kevin Wong had cancelled the practice because he thought that the senior trumpeters weren't around and the boys couldn't do without the absentees *that's too bad , huh?* This is a very wrong concept and i believe all of the members wished that he can continue the practice. Sir Alex wanted them to proceed with the practice, however he was too late as the boys had contacted their parents and were ready to go back. Sir Alex then asked the boys to call all of the band members to attend practice the next day. He even drove som e of the boys home by using the church van! *Once again, THANKS!! =)*

Second Day-11th March 2008

Once again, the boys were in the Wisma Basel at 9.00am sharp. Sir Andrew came into the class. He taught the boys how to identify human bones and uses of different types of bandages. He found out that most of the boys do not know how to tie a reef knot, therefore he taught us. He added that in order to become a first aider, one has to know how to tie a reef knot. The boys tried and tried but at last, all of them knew how to do it. *That's our boys!* The lesson today was more to external injuries in which a casualty was hurt and h ow a first aider is able to treat him.

For the nature awareness award, Sir Raymond drove the boys to where they went the previous day. This time they w ere told to observe the pitcher plants and jot down their characteristics. Pitcher plants were one of the categories that boys had to put into their scrapbooks, which is one of the group works assigned by Sir Raymond. It was, again, another great chance for them to have a look at those rare plants. The boys wer e really excited and they had a lot of fun learning about the nature!

Both the classes were ended at 11.00 am and Sir Andrew bought us lunch today. It was "mixed rice". Everyone was hungry so they ate everything and were given a short break until 12.00 noon. They moved their band instruments to the school for the practice, as the Girls' Brigade were having their Young Leader Training Camp and the band will cause disturbance if they have their practice there. The boys were supposed to have their practice at the grandstand, however the school drama team occupied the stage and they had to move over to the junior block and practise there. Mr Leong came at 1.00 pm. We were given the opportunity to play the songs that we are not familiar with before we were taught the new ones.

Mr Leong left at 3.00pm. Although the practice was supposed to end at 4.00pm, we were dismissed earlier on by Sergeant Kevin.

3rd day-12th March 2008

Today is the last day of all the courses. The nature awareness group went to the library to do some research on the data's collected du ring the last two days while the first aiders were taught by Sir Alexander on bandages. They were asked to read a text. The first aiders had a very brief lesson and revised what they have learnt on the past two days. A Q & A session was held.

In the afternoon, the boys were allowed to go downtown for their lunch. They boys walked all the way from Basel Church to downtown! *claps* They were told to come back by 1.00 pm and all of them did. However, the band course was postponed for about half an hour as the band storage room had its key stucked inside the lock. Luckily, brilliant Corporal Kwan Lik Jing had the crazy idea to climb inside the room from the "balcony" to open the door from inside and the door was unlocked. Thanks to the bravo's (Kwan Lik Jing, Nicholas Syn and Chung Vui Lam), they risked their lives!! And, we managed to open the door.

Practice went normal today. As the drama team wasn't there, we had the chance to use the grandstand. We played the songs which we are going to play in the PESTA repeatedly, and were not too satisfied with our standard.

As a conclusion, we wish that the old boys who left BB can come back and support the company. I believe everybody can do well no matter who the band major is. After all, if everybody does his own part, the band will surely be able to play well in the competition. However, the current condition doesn't seem too encouraging, so i hereby announce that we are in urgent need of experienced members for the PESTA, and for our further company activities, so, to the ex-BB boys, you are most welcomed to come back and help out. It'll be much appreciated.

SM Sung Siew Sports Band

On the 28th and 29th of February 2008, our school, SM Sung Siew had held its 48th Sports Day at Sports Complex, Sibuga, Sandakan. It started at seven o’clock in the morning to 5 o’clock in the evening. The Boys' Brigade members were involved in the march past ceremony, which was held at the 29th of February.

We had our rehearsal in the morning, at 9.00 am before we were allowed to go for the noon-break. After that, everybody came back at 1.30, getting ready for the ceremony. The sports day was officiated by the guest of honor, Datuk Chu Vui Fai.

This is a very good experience for all the Boys, especially the private boys, which joined the 2nd Sandakan for no longer than 2 years. The whole band will be going to the PESTA this year which is going to be held in KK and we believe that this is indeed a very good start for us!

2nd Sandakan Boys' Brigade Coy

Welcome to the 2nd Sandakan Boys' Brigade Companyy official website. This website is newly created since the old website has an outdated layout. Readers are most welcomed to visit this website and drop your comments.

The activities which took place last year were summarized as follows. They include Basel 100th church anniversary, Company Camp, nature awareness award trip and community service award trip, just to mention a few. These are some of the photos taken during the activities: