by Angela Mikaela Matundan and Cruzette Mejia
SUCCESS! Principal Murad explains how the school’s mantra is incorporated with their progress in gradual face-to-face classes. (Photo by: Cruzette Mejia)
Los Baños, Laguna – The gradual face-to-face classes in Los Baños National High School–Poblacion (LBNHS-Poblacion) that started last March 10 was a ‘success’ due to the system developed by the school, Principal Leonila Murad said.
She referred to the success of the gradual face-to-face classes to the fulfillment of the school’s mantra, “Karunungan, Kalinga, Kaligtasan: Angat Poblacion!”
‘Developed System’
The gradual face-to-face was ‘successful,’ garnering a total enrollee of 502, comprising 122 from Grade 10, 143 from Grade 9, 120 from Grade 8, and 117 from Grade 7, who all underwent the school’s process.
Two orientations were held by the school about the gradual return of face-to-face classes. The first orientation was conducted for the parents.
“After the parent’s orientation, one hundred percent of the parents stood up and signified their intention. After that long orientation, they strongly agreed that they really want to send their children. No more backout, or change of idea. And they will let their learners attend the face-to-face class,” Murad said.
The second orientation was for the students, majority of which complied and agreed to pursue gradual face-to-face classes.
Mrs. Dana Ghia Caoagdan, a teacher at LBNHS-Poblacion, discussed their daily routine aligned with the guidelines imposed. “Pagpasok pa lang nila [sa school], may temp checking pa lang sa guard house. Tapos pagbaba, may washing area. Tapos merong mga arrows na susundan nila.” Caoagdan said.
(Upon entering the school premises, students will have to undergo a temperature check at the guard house. After the temperature check, they will proceed to the washing area. There are also color-coded arrows, which serves as a guide for them to follow.)
PROTECTED! Health equipment used by teachers before allowing students to enter the class. (Photo by: Angela Mikaela Matundan)
The color-coded arrows signify the entrance and exit sites of the students on the school ground including the classrooms. Infographics and posters containing safety precautionary measures were also spread out around the school.
In case a student shows symptoms, an isolation area is provided for them and a response team would immediately respond and take action.
Other specific guidelines mentioned are the following:
- Class size: Maximum of 20 students per class (from Grades level 7 to 10).
- Learning approach: Group activities are prohibited inside the classroom.
- Teaching approach: There is a weekly learning plan from the teachers.
- Teacher workload: They work six hours inside the school institution; the remaining two hours can be done at home.
- Learning resources: Teachers returned from learning pockets and modules to using curriculum guides or ‘teacher’s modules.
- School activities: Few dancing activities were conducted in MAPEH but safety protocols are still followed.
- Vaccination: All students are fully vaccinated.
Throughout the preparation and implementation, the parents, teachers, military volunteers from Camp Eldridge, Local Government Unit, Rural Health Unit, National Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Department of Health, Department of Education, IATF, and other volunteers participated in the progressive face-to-face setup.
LBNHS-Poblacion’s Road to F2F
Initially, the pilot testing of the face-to-face setup of the school was set to start last August 2021. Due to the COVID-19 surge, it was immediately postponed.
The school has been preparing since June 2021. With the postponement, the school utilized the additional time to further prepare for the gradual face-to-face classes until it reached the month of March 2022.
“It took us a hard time to meet all the requirements set by the DepEd [Department of Education] or IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force], so we could be able to start our face-to-face classes,” Murad stated.
After the successful opening of classes of the Grade 10 section, this was followed by grade levels 9, 8, and 7, with an interval of one week each.
PRESENT! Grade 10 students attending Teacher Dana’s class at Los Banos National High School-Poblacion on April 28, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Los Baños National High School-Poblacion)
With the reopening of the school, Murad stated that no students have tested positive. She also advised the students and staff to refrain from attending school if they show COVID-19 symptoms.
Continuing the school’s progressive expansion, the LBNHS-Poblacion pursued to include Special Education (SPED) in the gradual shift of face-to-face learning. The said class will start after the election week, consisting of four batches with seven students each.
Two classrooms were allotted for the SPED students: one for academics and one for practicum. Murad mentioned that this will help the SPED students in honing their skills for livelihood and exercising their rights to vote as citizens.
She emphasized that this action is important as the SPED students have educational needs that should be addressed.