A.W.A.R.E. Kids

We had fun this year on each of the school holidays blowing bubbles with kids from all over the country!







The PADI Bubblemaker and Discover Scuba Diving experience programs were conducted for kids ranging from 8 to 15 years of age.



It is a great reward to teach kids.

Their sheer enthusiasm, their eagerness to learn and their absolute innocent impatience to get on with the experience made for exciting sessions on their own.



The fun did not stop there!

The kids also learned about their local environment and animals they can find there, and each group of 2 kids 'adopted' an animal like dolphin, turtle, shark, stingray amongst others. Besides mastering skills underwater, they gladly remembered underwater signals for the animals and some even mimicked how the animal moved underwater!







This was a great start to having the kids continue their underwater adventures with the PADI SEAL TEAM programs, where a Critter I.D. dive is one of the AquaMissions completed as a Master Seal Team member! We look forward to the kids and parents who have signed up!



Recent groups had the opportunity to be introduced also to a new kids program from Project A.W.A.R.E. called AWARE Kids!





AWARE Kids

(for quicker processing, please sign-up at Sea Hounds or directly to Project AWARE-Asia Pacific, instead of the address indicated on the website above)



This is a fantastic program for kids to keep exploring the underwater world, yet create and take action. Having kids act is important for protecting our wild water planet and a great way for them to start caring for our blue planet!





Click on photo to view album



Parents can sign up their kids at Sea Hounds. It's FREE!

Your kids will be sent mailings to keep them involved.

To start their program, an AWARE Kids Activity Book will be given for a S$3 donation to Project A.W.A.R.E.

Proceeds will help fund worthwhile conservation projects around the region. www.projectaware.org



Don't leave the kids with a nanny, bring them along!



* Special Thanks to Michael Tan, PADI Divemaster 474011, for making the Bubblemaker sessions possible, and to Johnson Chua, PADI Rescue Diver, for arranging for his students at school to Discover Scuba Diving.



Kids & Parents, show you care by signing up for the PADI Bubblemaker program! You will automatically be involved with Dive In to Earth Day 2005! Email us for more info: scuba@seahounds.com



Beaver

PADI MI 99087

A New Breed of Dive Leaders

"Cool shades, board shorts..dangling cigarette in the mouth."

"Suave and a sweet-talker."

"Has all the right gear but no idea what he's doing..and lost us underwater."

"..no comment on my impression of a divemaster or instructor."



These are just some of the comments we've heard divers make on their general impression of dive leaders in our industry.



Public opinion rarely differs from the truth in many ways. These negative conclusions must have come from an accumulation of unpleasant experiences over time. Word gets around, good or bad, the same way Singapore Zoological Gardens earned its reputation as the Best Zoo, or a new restaurant gets stuck with a bad rep after opening night was a service disaster.



So guilty or not, it only takes a few bad eggs to spoil the basket. This is one of our greatest motivations to work even harder, and be even better.







Being a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center for Sea Hounds is not a fancy rating with a colourful sticker pasted outside our dive center. It is a reason and a means to facilitate proper training for dive professionals. Why bother? Because everyone deserves good dive leadership, for training or leisure.

Refraining from talking too much on the "peanuts..monkies" expression, our objective for each and every one of our professional candidates is to ensure they possess the appropriate Attitude, Skills and Knowledge to become a professional educator.

Our dive center is there to constantly provide Education, Equipment and Experiences to keep you diving and loving the sea!



We welcome onboard our instructional crew, new and recently upgraded:







Vincent Chew

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor 481069

Emergency First Response/Care for Children Instructor







Sabine Henkel

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor 477759

Emergency First Response Instructor

DSAT Gas Blender Instructor







Kenneth Wong

PADI Instructor Development Course Staff Instructor 472165

Emergency First Response/Care for Children Instructor



* Special Thanks to Eugene Sim, PADI Course Director 89366, for his invaluable guidance during each of the PADI Instructor courses.



** Sea Hounds Instructors are also trained Decompression/Trimix divers and we will be working hard to make available to you the DSAT TecRec courses very soon!

See previous post "eXpLoReRs"



Our congratulations and encouragements to all of them for taking the initiative to continue their education. They are testaments to our belief that the learning never stops. We look forward to them sharing more of their experiences with our divers!



**In addition to PADI Standards & Procedures, Sea Hounds Instructors and Divemasters also adhere to the National Operational Code of Practise, governed by the Singapore Underwater Federation, and pledge to follow practises of an eco-operator.



Refer to earlier post:

Open Water Movie



Beaver

PADI MI 99087

Dive In to Earth Day 2005

Earth Day Takes a Plunge to Rescue Threatened Marine Resources Worldwide: Dive In To Earth Day 2005 Celebrations Under Way



San Francisco, CA – How can you make a real difference in helping protect your marine environment while having fun and making new friends? Look no further! Dive In To Earth Day offers tens of thousands of water lovers the chance to celebrate Earth day with an underwater twist. Join celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Tanya Streeter, William Shatner and Stan Waterman in this international marine conservation event!



This year marks the 6th anniversary of Dive In To Earth Day, which engages volunteers in hands on marine conservation activities during Earth Day week, April 22nd. Over 200,000 participants from 89 countries and territories around the world have taken part in 1,200 Dive In activities over the years. Activities, from beach cleanups in Florida to reef monitoring surveys in Oman and mooring buoy installations in Costa Rica, greatly benefit the health of the world’s oceans, coral reefs, lakes, rivers and other aquatic resources. To date, Dive In participants have removed 200,000 lbs of trash from coastal areas, educated and inspired children to care for water resources, supported coral reef areas and much, much more.



“We now know that the oceans are home to 80% of all living organisms on earth, and that coral reefs support a quarter of all known marine species,” comments Susan Sarandon, Hollywood actress and Dive In Host Committee member. “Still, our oceans are under serious stress from pollution and trash, destructive fishing practices and uncontrollable tourism. Dive In To Earth Day is a great and easy opportunity to take action and help raise awareness on urgent marine conservation issues. We all share this responsibility, and we have to start believing that each and every one of us can make a difference.”



Henry Arismendi from the Guacharo Scuba Club, Venezuela, recounts the incredible impact his Dive In 2004 event had: “During a beach-clean in a bay nearby a fishermen community, one little boy, son of a poor fisherman, was curious about what we we’re doing”, explains Henry. “I explained in simple words that not littering their beach was very important. He used to think that things thrown in the sea would vanish forever and not damage the fish. Several minutes later he and his friends were running along the beach cleaning and helping us because they wanted to protect THEIR beach. I hope we have planted a seed in their minds so that they will grow up as ecologically responsible citizens.”



Dive In To Earth Day was launched by The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) in 2000 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. CORAL is a non-profit coral reef conservation organization based in San Francisco, California. CORAL coordinates the event in partnership with Project AWARE Foundation and with the support of West Marine, Earth Day Network and the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN).



For more information about how you can participate visit: www.coral.org/divein



Sea Hounds is your regional representative for Dive In 2005.

Watch out for program/event dates during the week of April 22, 2005!



HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Fish Surveys

- Pulau Hantu (STARTS NOW!) & Pulau Tioman (Starting March 7th). Fish counts and positive identification starts every time you enter the water. Make this FUN activity a worthwhile one as well!

2. Reef Checks

3. AWARE Kids

- PADI Bubblemaker and Discover Scuba Diving incorporating information on how to protect reefs even from far away and fun games to share the message of how pollution & rubbish affects the survival of our marine life.

4. Underwater/Beach Clean-up

- Pulau Hantu (STARTS NOW) & Pulau Tioman (Starts March 7th)

Supported by:

Email us: scuba@seahounds.com to find out how you can get involved NOW!



Beaver

Sea Hounds: PADI NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Dive Center

It's finally here in Singapore and Sea Hounds is your very first PADI National Geographic Dive Center!







PADI National Geographic Dive Centers are PADI's elite dive centers with highest customer standards and product offerings. PADI Instructors who wish to conduct the program and participants alike must use a local PADI National Geographic Dive Center to participate in the exclusive National Geographic Diver program.



The program is availale as an entry-level (Open Water Diver) course, as well as open to certified divers.



As a National Geographic Diver, you join an elite group of explorers, adventurers and conservationists. The insight and training you gain during this program will broaden your awareness and take your diving skills to a new level. You'll learn to observe and explore like an underwater scientist.







Most PADI Divers are fascinated with the aquatic world, which inspires them to learn more. Because you have already learned the theory and skills of diving, the National Geographic Portal gives you the opportunity to build on your dive experience to learn about new adventures, exploration and conservation opportunities.



Our facility will be set up within the next 2 weeks, and our instructional crew will undergo training as well as planning to provide you a fun and exciting program to look forward to! As most of you know our local islands house reefs and animals only a true explorer can discover so it's a perfect place to start during these months! Watch out for it!



To find out more, go to www.padi.com/ng



Beaver

PADI MI 99087