Scouts And Primary Curriculum
Ritesh Prasad,
Lautoka
Scouting has now being extended to the whole primary school year levels from Years 1 to 8. Now we are having the JOEYS from Year 1 and 2, cubs from Year 3 to 5, scouts from Year 6 to 8 as a co-curricular programme all year round. Apart from this we are also having venture scouting from Year 9 to 12 and rover scouting from Year 13 until the age of 26.
Minister for Education Mahendra Reddy is including scouts formally in the primary curriculum for Year 6 and 8 to ensure that all students transiting from the middle primary level to upper primary level and secondary level partake in a profound knowledge and understanding based activities. It is designed with vital life skills that scouting unveils as in Term 2 the curriculum coverage is completed giving a great opportune moment to use the rest of Term 3 in engaging students in scouting skills.
Year 7 has scouting every fortnight throughout the year just as Year 1 to 8 has it.
Fiji Scouts has numerous girls registered in scouting. In all our rallies we formally include girls. A girl scout went to Australia attending Australian Scouts Jamboree. We also have numerous female scout leaders in districts all over Fiji.
We are also proud of Scout Moms who support scouting.
In Fiji, we have termly school based camps after which we have cluster based camps moving on to the district rallies. We also have district cubs rally, district scouts rally, district venturer rally, district rover rally, district scout awards camp and Gilwell reunions. Now we also have district community outreach scout programmes.
We have an active green scouts movement in which the boys and girls help save mother nature by carrying out clean-up campaigns, mangrove planting, and putting up of scout billboards creating positive awareness.
There are hundreds of scout leaders who are well experienced, qualified and skilled. It’s a normal trend for the districts in collaboration with the Fiji Scouts headquarters to carry out numerous basic training courses leading up to the wood badge course.
Leaders are well equipped with first aid requirements and are skilled with swimming also. The scout leaders of Fiji are well experienced as they are equipped with local and overseas training.
Currently, there are four leaders in Australia getting scouting experience in the Australian Jamboree 2016. The scouting qualifications are not just a paper qualification for teacher advancement but a passion for scouting. All primary schools already have scout leaders.
In Fiji, the boys and girls in scouting gains experience of outdoor adventure, bush skills, and self-reliance. I thank Scouts Australia for their immense help, guidance and support to Fiji Scouts.
The senior education officer policy Satyendra Kumar and his team has developed a great Scouting and guiding policy for primary schools and are currently on a journey of a policy consultation workshops throughout Fiji. This is a commendable effort.
The Minister for Education Mahendra Reddy is doing a remarkably superb work to support and uplift scouting in Fiji through the Primary schools.
For decades, scouting in Fiji has come a long way through primary schools. This is the 102nd year of scouting in Fiji.
I am delightedly gratified of the current positive changes brought to the Fiji’s Scouting arena.
Reading culture
Avitesh Kumar,
Ba
With the fast paced technological era, certain things have totally or is in the brink of getting diminished.
One such thing is reading among school students. Nowadays students seem to be immersed in the latest gadgets and new and exciting games at the cost of their education. Reading used to be a hobby for many as people queued in libraries and bookshops to get their favourite books.
Reading not only enhances ones speech, it also develops ones vocabulary and comprehension skills.
Gone are the days when parents used to buy story books for their children and read bed time stories.
Today, every member in each household carries a mobile phone. What baffles me is that once a flourishing hobby is slowly dying out. The reading culture needs to be maintained in order to have a more confident and a more knowledgeable society.
I, for one, fondly recall my high school days, where we would be consumed into reading books during library classes. Reading really helped me and I’m sure it will help everyone if all embrace this magnificent hobby.
Team Rio
Shad Alfaz Ali,
Navua
Congratulations to Ben and brigade for reaching the final of the Singapore Sevens.
The loss to Kenya could be a blessing in disguise in our quest for gold at Rio.
It is an indicator to Ben that he needs to have the best prepared team with the availability of all our top players. South Africa with speed and New Zealand with strategy would prove to be a more than formidable opponents for our boys.
We must not limit our selection to local boys but pick the best available players based on form. New Zealand with the Ioane brothers, Savea, Ben Lam and SBW (if selected) would be hard to beat and favourites for gold. In addition to hunting Nemani Nadolo down we need to add Leone Nakarawa and Josua Tuisova to our ranks.
I wish all the best to Ben and the boys for the final leg of the sevens series.
Report fairly, accurately
Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa,
Delta, BC, Canada
The Speaker of Parliament Dr Jiko Luveni told those who attended the Parliamentary Masterclass training for journalists at the Tanoa Plaza Hotel in Suva that Parliamentary debates should be reported accurately and fairly.
To us the Fijian public who rely on the information released by the media, we want all media reports to be the truth and nothing but the truth.
What we read, hear and see is what we normally share with others and it is embarrassing to be caught sharing a lie, which we thought was the truth.
While we Fijians know that the Fijian media organisations can be trusted with its news reports; I have a laugh listening to Donald Trump’s election campaign rallies, where he would point to all the media cameras pointing at him saying, “Some of these media are a bunch of liars.”
To all Fijian journalists and reporters, thank you for reporting accurately and fairly and I hope that we, the public will never point the finger at you and use Donald Trump’s words.
Your past is history
Tukai Lagonilakeba
Nadi
Life is lived looking forward and learnt looking back, the two old Scholars Lelean Memorial School, Peni Veidreyaki and Epeli Lagiloa have been subjecting our super national 7s coach Ben Ryan to their 50 cents rugby tutorials in our local dailies as of late.
They are both former successful national 7s coaches in their own right, but that is past and is history now, good reading though master Epeli’s articles FS April 24 whereby he specifically articulates his thoughts which he feels can contribute better to the preparations of our current in form Ben Ryan coached team.
I would have preferred both of our former coaches to contact Fiji Rugby Union direct, so they both can make arrangements for the three of them to meet person to person and exchange ideas as our rugby can only win from such healthy constructive meetings, our current coach does not read and rely on media speculations as such.
Master Epeli must respect and understand that the current proven and tested team in Ben Ryan, trainer Cawanibuka and Cathy Wong put together simply outweighs master Epeli’s CV, but no disrespect to him. I would like to ask my old scholar teacher to please apply those tactics to your current Tokatoka Westfield Dragons team, because as of late, their current success record in our local tournament leaves less to be desired relevant to your professional recommendations.
In the composition of our many past and current Fijian 7s representatives, I must commend both Peni Veidreyaki and Epeli Lagiloa for their contribution and input to the developments of those many players that have made it through to the national teams in both 15s and 7s respectively. But right now leave Ben and his team alone, he knows what he’s doing and lets all stand by him, go get the Rio Gold Ben.