Website on small-scale mining wins grand prize at 3rd DPSA Learning Challenge

“Taliwala sa mga Gilak sa Bulawanong Yuta”, a website about small-scale gold mining in barangay Tambis, Borobo, Surigao del Sur, won the grand prize in the 3rd “Doon Po Sa Amin” Learning Challenge.

Designed and developed by a team from Barobo National High School, the website presents the facts on the history of mining in the locality, the entire mining process and the problems associated with it.

In two new DPSA contests, a team from Naga City Science High School came up with the winning video blog featuring the Bicolano dish Kinalas for “Ano ang Kwento Mo?”; while elementary students of Banaue Central School created the winning blog site on how junk food wrappers can be made into a variety of products for the DPSA Quest.

Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA) is a community service project of Smart Communications, Inc. that encourages schools to use computer and Internet technologies to contribute web-based information and educational materials about their respective communities.

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Student from Davao City is national oratorical champion

March 6, 2011—A student from Davao City won first prize and became the first national champion of the recently held Voice of the Youth—National Oratorical Competition sponsored by the Department of Education, National Youth Commission, and STI Foundation. The competition aims to develop critical thinking and English communication skills among students.

Joshua Ferrer from Southpoint School Davao bagged P100,000 and P800,000 worth of computer laboratory package for his school, while his coach, Pauline Anne Ferrero, was given P30,000 worth of school-related prizes.

A total of 12 finalists delivered speeches based on the theme “Change I Want To See Begins With Me: Becoming the New Filipino” to a panel of judges composed of veteran broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez; associate professor Dr. Celia Bulan of the College of Arts and Letters in the University of the Philippines; and Mike Walters from the Debate Society of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Besides Ferrer, Charles Andre Cadiogan from Baguio National High School won first runner-up and Patricia Mari Mijares from Bacolod City National High School came through second runner-up.

The other participants from the regions were Cryshielle Mae Osorio and Emman Christian Olpe,  National Capital Region; Ven Guiller Allavado, Region I and Cordillera Administrative Region; Renz Victor Picache and Lourlly Jane Garcia, Regions IV and V; Immanuel Nico Dioneda, Regions VII and VIII; and April Dyan Gumanao, Regions XI and XII.

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Student from Davao City is national oratorical champion

March 6, 2011—A student from Davao City won first prize and became the first national champion of the recently held Voice of the Youth—National Oratorical Competition sponsored by the Department of Education, National Youth Commission, and STI Foundation. The competition aims to develop critical thinking and English communication skills among students.

Joshua Ferrer from Southpoint School Davao bagged P100,000 and P800,000 worth of computer laboratory package for his school, while his coach, Pauline Anne Ferrero, was given P30,000 worth of school-related prizes.

A total of 12 finalists delivered speeches based on the theme “Change I Want To See Begins With Me: Becoming the New Filipino” to a panel of judges composed of veteran broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez; associate professor Dr. Celia Bulan of the College of Arts and Letters in the University of the Philippines; and Mike Walters from the Debate Society of the Ateneo de Manila University.

Besides Ferrer, Charles Andre Cadiogan from Baguio National High School won first runner-up and Patricia Mari Mijares from Bacolod City National High School came through second runner-up.

The other participants from the regions were Cryshielle Mae Osorio and Emman Christian Olpe,  National Capital Region; Ven Guiller Allavado, Region I and Cordillera Administrative Region; Renz Victor Picache and Lourlly Jane Garcia, Regions IV and V; Immanuel Nico Dioneda, Regions VII and VIII; and April Dyan Gumanao, Regions XI and XII.

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US embassy names delegates from Dumaguete to youth leadership program

DUMAGUETE CITY, Feb. 15 (PNA) - Five students and a teacher from Dumaguete City were chosen as this year’s delegates to the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP) of the United States (US) Embassy, said Mark Raygan Garcia, information director of Silliman University.

The six delegates are scheduled to leave for the United States in April this year, and will undertake a program that includes engagements in activities of US high schools, community organizations, and youth groups in different US locations.

For the student category, the five participants are Abigail Cabonita and Iphraim Cabristante of Silliman University, Kathleen Dawn Young Ricardo of St. Paul University-Dumaguete, Jesmar Lawanan of Foundation University, and Albertus Nikolae Cena of Foundation University High School.

A teacher from SPUD, Ryan Jay Riconalla, was selected for the adult category.

This year’s delegates were personally interviewed by US Embassy Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer Joseph Tordella and Thomas Jefferson Information Center Deputy Director Pong Aureus during their visit to Silliman on February 3 to 5. In the same visit, they donated books to the Dumaguete City public library and a local public high school.

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UP student wins top prize in international poetry contest

February 4, 2011—A student of the University of the Philippines (UP) won the top prize in a poetry contest for Filipino students held by the Embassy of Chile and UP.

The "unlikely" winner, Rene Calunsag, an Industrial Engineering student of UP, can perhaps relate to what Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's once wrote: "Poetry arrived in search of me."

"I really love Math, but I started writing in third grade, and after that was a cascade of writing," said Rene Calunsag, who was awarded the first prize of 1000 US dollars for his poem entitled "The 34th Miner."

"I realized that when there were 33 miners, there was supposed to be a 34th because at the time that the 33 miners were freed, the rest of Chile will also be freed. So the 34th miner is the rest of Chile," explained Calunsag.

His poem begins:

"This cold, dark mine; it’s silent noise
The piercing fear from Death’s grim toys
The hard, course ground I slumber in
They strangle me—I cannot win"

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Philippine senator tells UPCAT passers to join in nation-building

MANILA, January 5, 2011 (PNA)—Senator Edgardo Angara on Tuesday challenged the new University of the Philippines system scholars to take part in nation-building.

"They must not waste this opportunity to learn from some of the country’s finest educators," Angara, a former UP president, said.

Around 13,000 graduating high school students recently made it into the UP System for Academic year 2011-2012 after taking the notoriously difficult UPCAT last August, earning them entry into one of the 12 UP campuses around the country.

The results of the UPCAT (University of the Philippines College Admission Test) were released on Monday.

“These bright young minds deserve this chance to get good education. This is why we are working hard to improve the academic programs and facilities not just for UP, but for all the state-funded colleges and universities” said Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

According to Angara, students of state-run universities are in a unique position to help the nation.

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Students read books not matched to their reading level, study reveals

MANILA, December 16, 2010—Reading is the foundation of academic success and lifelong learning, but the brutal fact remains that a majority of Filipino students do not possess the ability and motivation to read. In 2007, the Department of Education reported that 70% of our nation’s learners are incapable of reading within the expected level.

This is the situation of reading achievement in the Philippines as evaluated by Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. For the past four years, Scholastic-Philippines has been emerging as a leader in educational technology and literacy education as it has been working to address the mismatch between readers’ ability and the level of reading materials students are required to read.

Scholastic’s Assessment and Enrichment Program for Reading (AEP-Reading), a supplemental reading program that aims to change the paradigm across the academic community, is now being used by 40 schools in the Philippines. The program helps schools enable readers and develop their love for reading.

Frank Wong, president of Scholastic Asia, reveals that Scholastic has been helping children around the world for 90 years now. “Reading is such a fundamental skill, and if you can get the kids to enjoy reading, the battle is half won,” he states. “Our Philippine office has achieved much success in this reading program, and now more Filipino students are reading better than they did before.”

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Mapua students bag gold at architecture competition in China

MANILA, December 2, 2010—Students from the graduating class of Mapua Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture, Industrial Design and the Built Environment (ARIDBE) bagged the gold award at the International Competition for Sustainable Architecture and Design (ICSAD) last September. Participating were 20 schools and universities from across the globe, with two entries coming from MIT.

Geared toward housing problem of the urban poor, ICSAD encourages a creative and multi-disciplinary approach in designing sustainable city development of the future. The competition called for entries for pro-poor and eco-efficient housing solutions using local materials and vernacular traditions in a modern context.

Rio Cielo F. Velasco, the representative of the team “Fusion”, presented the design solution to the panel of judges during the final leg of the competition and later received the award. Angeli-Kathryn Jalla, the representative of another team finalist under Archt. Albert S. Zambrano, likewise received their certificates as finalists.

The winning team, together with adviser architect Junar P. Tablan, received a one-week free accommodation at an environmentally friendly resort in Palawan, the chance to be involved in the design of the Zero Carbon Cottage for the EU co-funded “Zero Carbon Resorts” project, and publication of the entry in the journal Architect in Japan.

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25,000 Bihar students to participate in English Olympiad

PATNA, December 29, 2010—As many as 25,000 school students from Bihar belonging to Standard II to X are expected to participate in International English Olympiad (IEO) being organized jointly by `The English and Foreign Language University (EFAL)', Hyderabad, and Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF).

According to SOF state coordinator Vishal Daftuar, while the one-hour joint test would be held on January 29 in the state, the last date for registration to participate in IEO has been extended, and the full details could be had from the mobile number 9973119416.

He said that 25,000 students belonging to 200 schools would be participating in the IEO. Of them, 6,500 students would be from the schools at Patna alone, Daftuar added.

The SOF has collaborated with EFAL, Hyderabad, which is the only internationally known institution and university for English language in the country. The one-hour examination would have questions aimed at testing students' knowledge in word structure, reading and spoken as well as written expressions, Daftuar said, adding that the All India English Language Testing Authority ( AIELTA) would frame the questions.

All the participating students would get Participation Certificate and their respective English Quotient reports, while 500 most successful students at the international level, each from every class from Standard II to X, number 4,500 in all, would also be honoured.

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