3rd November 2006: Water Rocket, Matchstick Rocket and Documentary Film

The holidays were coming towards an end but everyone was still in their lazy holiday mood. The last meeting was nearly a month back and as a result everyone was out of touch about scouts and their respective patrol activities. We needed a meeting before school to regroup, and this meeting definitely served that purpose right.

This was undoubtedly one of the best meetings which have taken place this scouting year. The meeting was supposed to start at 10 am instead of the usual 2 pm meetings. But the meeting did not kick off on the scheduled time of 10 am as the SM’s arrived a bit late. As soon as Khoj came speeding into the school compound on his bike, Apurva called rally and the patrols assembled in their respective patrols and recited the prayer song. Ajit arrived soon after that and the meeting activities finally got underway at around 10:30 am.

Half an hour was given to us for preparing water rocket, an activity which the PL’s were informed about and they had to come prepared for a competition as well. The water rocket was preferably made out of a standard 1 ½ liter soft drink bottle, a valve, cycle rubber tube, PVC pipe as the launcher and a bicycle pump to pump air (AND OFF COURSE, water!!!)

All the patrols (except P1) came up and experimented on their respective rockets. Finally it was time for them to be tested. The rockets had to be released simultaneously and the rocket which would launch the fastest and would go highest would be the winner.

The patrols 2, 3 and 4 launched their rockets. By the time P1 came with a PVC pipe the competition was already over and hence they were declared as losers in this competition, invariably coming last.

STANDINGS FOR THE ROCKETS:

P4
P2
P3
P1

Some more time was given to us to prepare matchstick rockets, but since no one succeeded in making them, the activity was scrapped.

We then headed to class 12 A, where, on Khoj’s laptop, the documentary films would be shown.
The theme for the film was how the small shop owners and the local market has been affected due to the increasing number of malls in Pune city. Each patrol had to shoot this film preferably on a handy cam and then present it in the from of a CD or any other suitable medium.
By the time Ishan went to bring the extension board, the laptop and speaker settings were done. The viewing of the films then began.
P1 was first, and they made a short but well edited and well shot film interviewing the shopkeepers on MG road on what they felt about this increasing fad of shopping malls and how it affected them. They also highlighted some very important points through this documentary. It also contained some music, some shots taken of some malls in Camp
And ended with a message conveying that though malls affect small time owners, these small time owners can remain in competition if they resort to some measures.

P4 was next, and it started with a lot of text, and the recording too was unclear, maybe also because of the weak speaker settings. Of whatever I understood, it consisted of interviews with mall shop owners and some small shop owners and what harm they think malls can do to other competitors in today’s shopping business.

P2 made the same film, as in, they and P$ recorded the film at the same time, so invariably the film too was same. But the recording was much better and the film was much shorter as compared to P4.

P3 did not make a film due to some confusion within their patrol.

This was the last activity of the meeting. The meeting ended with a council meeting.
SCORES TO BE UPDATED LATER.

-Ishan Sadwelkar