BRIGADA ESKWELA 2017

    

    School opening is just around the corner and to prepare schools for another school year, the Department of Education launches its annual Brigada Eskwela Campaign. With the theme, “Isang DepEd, Isang Pamayanan, Isang Bayanihan Para sa Handa at Ligtas na Paaralan,” this year’s Brigada Eskwela was met with heightened participation of our community and stakeholders.
    Actually, I didn't have a lot of things to clean up in my room. I only have two wooden cabinets and a steel cabinet enough to store all my things. However, what I love about Brigada Eskwela is the chance to ask my former pupils to visit the school to help. Though they may not have that a lot of things to do, the fact that I would get the chance to see them and chitchat with them is already a teacher's pleasure.
     I was glad that my batch SY 2014-2015 came and they were quite a lot. They actually didn't do anything and we just spent the rest of the afternoon talking about their lives being in high school. 
I even treated them to the nearby 7-Eleven just to continue our chatting. 
      After that day, I was actually all set for the opening of classes. But that night, to my surprise, the principal texted me that I need to vacate my room because of the increase in our junior high school enrolment. I was totally in a denial at that time. I thought it was just a hasty decision and perhaps it might be resolved with other means. But she was serious about it and as an obedient teacher, I have nothing to do but to comply.
      I tried messaging my former pupils once again and to my surprise, they were willing to help me again. I was moved to a small room previously occupied by Grade 1 learners. The walls and the ceilings were not painted yet, the floors not waxed, not to mention the things I need to move from my old room, and I didn't know if I still would have the time before the opening of classes. 
    To make it short, with the help of my beloved pupils, I was able to pull it off. I was touched by their mere gesture of helping me even in short notice. We painted the walls, the ceilings and even posted some decorations and bulletin boards. I was very thankful for them and perhaps I questioned myself if I am worthy of their goodness. I realized that they may not be the richest kids out there, or they may have not donated me materials things for my classroom, but their time and effort mean a lot to me.
    

Lakawon Island Beach Resort, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental

     

     Before we went home from Dumaguete, we made a side trip to Lakawon Island Beach Resort in the northern part of Negros Occidental, Cadiz City. We left Dumaguete at around 10:00 PM and arrived at Cadiz City at around 5;30 AM. While on the trip, I must say that the smell of sugar cane and molasses was nostalgic. When I was young, trucks from the province with sugar canes passed by our house and I can smell this scent while half-asleep. It was nice that though the trip was long, it brought back some of my childhood memories…hehe.

     When we arrived at Cadiz City, we were welcomed by their young and very accommodating district supervisor. He was very hospitable that he prepared breakfast for us and arranged our trip to Lakawon. From Cadiz City, it was a 30-45 minute ride to the dock going to Lakawon Island. And out of coincidence, the van driver’s wife, the former teacher of our good host, was actually my brother-in-law’s sister. At first glance, I saw a bit of resemblance with my brother-in-law. When she started talking that she actually is from Iloilo City, I asked her if she knew my brother-in-law. And to both our surprise, she was indeed his sister. It’s a small world after all! Now going back to Lakawon, we paid the entrance fee inclusive of the fare for the boat going to the island. I forgot how much but it was around 250 to 350 pesos since we also paid to go to their floating bar.

     The beach was great. The sand was white and powdery and the water was clear. It is indeed the Boracay of Negros. The amenities like CR and food canteen (the food was expensive) were present and there were also overnight cottages. They also have a floating bar for those who want to enjoy swimming and drinking at the middle of the sea.

     Though the beach in itself was very nice, I would still love to appreciate it if it wasn’t too crowded. It is understandable that tourists flock the island because it was peak season but I am quite worried that it will most likely be the same with Boracay being too commercialized. I hope that the owners and the LGU will think not just of the business aspect but also the environmental aspect of the island in order to preserve its beauty.

First Time in Dumaguete: Workshop to Finalize and Layout the 68 Alternative Learning System (ALS) Basic Literacy Materials (BLLM) Contextualized into 10 Major Languages

     Last April 24 to 28, 2017, I went to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental to attend the Workshop to Finalize and Layout the 68 Alternative Learning System (ALS) Basic Literacy Materials (BLLM) Contextualized into 10 Major Languages. This was managed by the Bureau of Learning Resources of the Department of Education. This workshop intended to finalize the contextualized (translated and evaluated both in language and content to suit the immediate environment of the learners) modules for production.

     The trip to Dumaguete from our place in Iloilo City was an hour-ride via fast craft to Bacolod City, then about 6 to 7-hour bus ride to Dumaguete. It was my first time to set foot on Negros Island. If in other place one can see vast lands of rice farms, expectedly, I saw a lot of sugar cane plantations given that Negros is the sugar capital of the Philippines.

     We arrived at Dumaguete at around 3:00 pm and immediately we were welcomed with work, as in piles of work. The sixty-eight modules were literally modules each with at least 30 to more than a hundred pages, all needed to be evaluated and finalized. During the first hour, some of us were quite hyped and enthusiastic about the work to be done. When it finally sunk in, we realized that it was no joke.

     For the past days, the job was divided between the editors and the layout artists, the brains and the hands. Unfortunately, I was assigned as layout artist and I must say the task was gruesome. It was a total torment to my hands and especially my eyes. Working from 8:00 am in the morning until we leave the venue at 7:00 pm, it was very tiring. And to be totally honest, I quite loathed it because I felt that the task was a bit depreciating for me given that I could have contributed more than just applying their comments and typos in front of the laptop. I felt that the editors were the architects, while we are the construction workers. Nonetheless, whatever the job is, either big or small, what we did is all for Filipino ALS learners.  

     We got the chance to look around Dumaguete at night since our pension house was a few blocks away from the venue. We went to their famous Boulevard, passed by Siliman University, tasted their delicious silvanas and sans rival and visited St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral.

     Overall, the experience was okay though I stated above that we did a lot of work. Anyway, we went there not for a vacation but to respond to the exigency of service dedicated for the Filipino learners. Hopefully, I will get a chance to go back to Dumaguete for a vacation to deeply explore what it has to offer.

 PS: This seminar has taken its toll to my eyes. I now wear eyeglasses because I have astigmatism.

Contextualized Lesson Plan in Math VI

     The trend nowadays is to make teaching and learning process contextualized. This way learners can relate and find meaning to the lessons presented to them. Here is an example of a contextualized lesson plan in Math utilizing the different plazas found in our city. Please forgive me if the figures are not present..hehe.. Hopefully you will still find this useful.

I. OBJECTIVES
A. Content Standards	The learner demonstrates understanding of rate and speed, and of area and surface area of plane and sold/space figures
B. Performance Standards	The learner is able to apply knowledge of speed, area and surface area of plane and solid/space figures in mathematical problems and real-life situations
C. Learning Competency/Objectives	Finds the area of composite figures formed by any two or more of the following: triangle, square, rectangle, circle and semi-circle
II.  CONTENT	Area of composite figures formed by any two or more of the following: triangle, square, rectangle, circle and semi-circle
III. LEARNING RESOURCES
A. References	M6ME-IIIH-89
1. Teaching Guide Pages
2. Learner’s Materials Pages
3. Textbook Pages
4. Additional Materials from Learning Resources Portal
B. Other Learning Resources
IV. PROCEDURES
A. Reviewing the previous lesson or presenting the new lesson	Ask: a)      Who have gone to different plazas in Iloilo City? b)      Can you identify in what district can we find the plaza in the picture? c)       What do you usually see in a plaza? Present the following problem: A plot in Lapaz Plaza is in a shape of the figure below: What is  the area of the plot?
B. Establishing a purpose for the lesson	In today’s lesson, we will learn how to solve the area of composite figures formed by any two or more of the following: triangle, square, rectangle, circle and semi-circle. We will also get to appreciate the beauty of our very own plazas around the city of Iloilo.
C. Presenting examples/ instances of the new lesson	Brainstorm among students what figures compose the plot. Guide them to realize that the plot is formed with a rectangle and a semi-circle. Provide other examples of composite figures formed by combining two or more figures.
D. Discussing new concept and practicing of new skills	Let students discover that to solve the problem, they need to find the area of the two figures composing the plot then add their answers. Area of the Plot= Area of the Rectangle + Area of the Semi-Circle Figure 1: Rectangle A= l x w A= 5 m x 3 m A= 15 m2 Figure 2: Semi-Circle A=  A=   A= 9.81 m2 Area of the Plot= 15 m2  + 9.81 m2 = 24.81 m2
E. Discussing new concepts and practicing new skills
F. Developing Mastery (Leads to Formative Assessment	Show the following picture? a)      What plaza is in the picture? b)      What figures do you think compose the flower plot? c)       What do you think is the area of the flower plot if it is in the figure below:
G. Finding practical applications of concepts and skills in daily living	Valuing: a)      When you go to a plaza, what do you usually do? b)      Do you think plazas are important to a city? Why? c)       How can plazas boost the economy and tourism of a district? d)      What should we do to maintain the beauty of our plazas?
H. Making generalizations and abstractions about the lesson	How do we find the area of composite figures formed by any two or more of the following: triangle, square, rectangle, circle and semi-circle?
I. Evaluative Learning	In Jaro Plaza, a gazeebo is hexagonal in shape.  What is the area of the gazeebo with the following dimensions:
J. Additional activities for application and remediation	In Mandurriao plaza, the local government plans to construct a concrete wall in a shape shown below: If it needs to be painted, what is the area of the wall?
V. REMARKS
VI. REFLECTION
A. No. of learners who earned 80% in the evaluation
No. of learners who required additional activities for remediation who scored below 80%
C. Did the remedial lessons work? No. of learners who have caught up with the lesson.
D. No. of learners who continue to require remediation
E. Which of my teaching strategies work well? Why did these work?
F. What difficulties did I encounter which my principal or superior can help me solve?
G. What innovation or localized materials did I use/discover which I wish to share with other teachers?

Prepared by:

JAYLORD S. LOSABIA

Teacher III

A. Bonifacio Integrated School

                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Uygongco Foundation Incorporated Scholars

     Hi there! Here I am again sharing my thoughts and reflections on another school year that has ended. 

     

     This year, I was assigned to be the adviser of the class in which majority are scholars of Uygoncgo Foundation  Incorporated. This foundation has been one of our school’s major stakeholders, and has given scholarships, provided feeding and educational programs and donated equipment and infrastructures to our school. One of the reasons why I decided to accept the advisership was the armchairs they donate to every class the UFI scholars are into. I was glad that they did donate armchairs for my classroom thus making it more comfortable and conducive to learning.

     This batch I must say was more manageable. I had less problems with regards to their absences and study habits since most of them are beneficiaries. Though the usual naughtiness was still there, I didn’t get stressed that much. Most of the parents were as well cooperative and were easy to deal with.

     This year, we also did some income generating activity because we planned to buy a TV set. We sold candies and fortunately, together with our PTA fund, we were able to acquire one. We were also thankful that the General PTA of our school sponsored the frame for our TV set to protect it from getting stolen.

     I am still teaching in a university after my class, so this year, I felt that my students were quite distant from me. This personal issue has been chronic and I have been thinking about this since last year. Before, I am used of having some students wait for me after class, but for this year, again, there were none. I actually had no time to stay at school after class because I needed to report to my moonlight class. I once again ended the school year feeling that I could have done this or that. I questioned myself if I have done enough, and if I really did leave a mark on their lives.

     If there is one thing that I learned for the school year is that the life of a teacher is a cycle. It goes round and round. Students come, students go. I have come to realize that I need to gradually accept this fact. This way, I won’t get saddened of my students leaving and at the same time embracing the idea that if they do move on to the next chapter of their lives, I myself must also move on.

P.S. Next year, I decided that I will no longer pursue my moonlight teaching job. Practically and professionally, the job was necessary, but personally, I felt unfulfilled. I hope I made the right decision and be positive for the coming school year.