themedallion EMPOWERING THE PEN
Volume IX, Issue No. IJuly 2024 - December 2024
The Official Publication of San Jose National Highschool - DLS Bagong Sikat, San Jose, Division of Occidental Mindoro, MIMAROPA REGION
PISA preparation starts in SJNHS
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| VANESSA TRICIA F. VIAÑA
Honestly, the results have it— for me it’s taking into account the “trend”—pangit sabihin pero ‘yun ang trend na hindi talaga—wala na tayong pag-asa sa PISA Ferdinand Masangcay
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tudents aged 15 in San Jose National High School (SJNHS) underwent a mock test in preparation for the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). In the 2022 PISA, the Philippines ranked 6th lowest among 81 countries that participated in the study, which according to DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara indicates that Filipinos are falling behind in terms of Science, Mathematics, and reading, and would require special attention. SJNHS conducted a pretest for 563 students aged 15 across grades 7-12 on October 8, 2024 and a posttest on December 12, 2024.
The pretest results show that the highest average scores of the takers range from 30% to 35%. In dismay, Ferdinand Masangcay expressed his disappointment with the result. “Honestly, the results have it— for me it’s taking into account the “trend”—pangit sabihin pero ‘yun ang trend na hindi talaga—wala na tayong pag-asa sa PISA,” he said. He added that no matter what national assessment the country takes, it will continuously fall into the same category if no action is taken. However, he reassured that they are doing everything they could to help educate the students at least in SJNHS for the upcoming PISA.
“‘Yang pretest na ‘yan ay para masubok ang nalalaman ng estudyante sa mga PISA related questions. Ngayon, dahil mababa ang nakuha nila, gumagawa ng paraan ang school para maturuan sila, para sa posttest, at hopefully sa mismong PISA, mataas na makuha nila,” Masangcay explained. Masangcay added that SJNHS received over P92,000 from the Regional Office of MIMAROPA to be spent for PISA related activities. “‘Yun (the budget) ay gagamitin sa printer at pag-pi-print ng mga materials para magamit sa mga klase para maturuan ang mga estudyante,” He followed.
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WHAT’S INSIDE
BEYOND INCLUSIVE
CHALLENGED BY THE SYSTEM: Edzel P. Vito, a Grade 9 learner with special needs, rests his head on his arm during class.He appears to be less engaged entering challenges in understanding lessons that are not fully adapted to his specific learning needs. Photo by Rachel Faith V. Felicitas This photo is published with parental permission.
4 OPINION
Resurfacing the undeniable demands
SJNHS teachers call for SNEd professionals BY SHAINE ALMOGELA
Source: DepEd Order No. 022, s. 2024
“underdeveloped”. According to Ma’am Gladys L. Foja, adviser of Grade 9 Dove, her students used to have a hard time paying attention to class due to not being able to comprehend complex topics. “When my student was still attending classes, she refused to participate in discussions because she could not understand what the topic was about. When you ask her a question, she does not answer,” said Ma’am Foja. Hence, she started buying coloring books to facilitate reading and having individual discussions with her student to assess what she had understood from the day’s lesson. “It is hard, but with perseverance, there is nothing that can be done,” she added. Sir Arnel Makiling, the school’s SNEd coordinator, stated that despite the scarcity of training and resources, San Jose National High School can still provide quality education to its learners with disabilities. He believes that developing the 21stcentury skills of learners with disabilities is a crucial aspect of Special Needs Education as it provides the essential traits that an individual needs to survive in the real world. During Monday and Wednesday, LWDs conduct their cooking classes while the deaf have their FSL lessons every Friday only. “A room for the non-graded and learning materials would be helpful for their education,” said Sir Makiling. As per records from SJNHS Registrar’s Office, the number of students tagged as LWDs increased from 28 in school year 20232024 to 66 in the current year.
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SIGNAL NO.
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SIGNAL NO.
Classes for preschool are automatically suspended.
Vapes: Sugarcoated Cigarettes Face-to-face classes are suspended for preschool, elementary, and junior high school are suspended, but they must do modular distance learning.
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12 SCI-TECH
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stablishing a Special Needs Education (SNEd) classroom as well as hiring a Special Needs Education Teacher (SNET) for Learners with Disabilities so their needs can be given professional attention by those who are equipped with training, experience, and sufficient knowledge is the tune of San Jose National High School teachers regarding the situation of LWDs in mainstream education. According to the results of a distributed survey, teachers have stated that despite teaching LWDs in their classes, they are not knowledgeable of Filipino Sign Language (FSL). “The thing is, aside from not having the training, we were also unprepared when they told us that we would be handling LWDs,” said Ma’am Rona Mae Estepa-Jalandoni, adviser of Grade 11 Charity. However, in order to cope with this gap, some teachers try to learn FSL through attending FSL trainings held in In-Service Training (INSET) and practicing it themselves to teach to students at classes. “I tried to learn sign language, even if it is only the basics. I tried to practice how to sign this certain phrase and that certain word so that I could communicate with them. The feedback that they give me is also crucial because it means that they can also understand me,” Ma’am Rhan added. The survey also showed the number of students not being able to understand the lesson during the discussions- 80% of the respondents stated that most of these said learners were tagged as “slow learners” or
Revised Suspension Guidelines
9 FEATURES
Recalling the path to Liberation
SIGNAL NO.
Classes and work in all levels are automatically suspended.
TROPICAL CYCLONES