the heights THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF E. RODRIGUEZ JR. HIGH SCHOOL
ERJHS Alumni hosts chess simul with Masters Torre, Young
SPORTS12
Soaring Horizons to serve new information
Sept. 2022 - May 2023 Issue
A
ERJHS SWITCHES TO BLENDED LEARNING TO AVOID HEATWAVE By BEA CANJA
M
rs. Gina Labor Obierna announced during a flag ceremony on May 2, 2023, that E. Rodriguez Jr. Highschool (ERJHS) will adapt blended learning to ensure the safety of students and staff. Due to the intense heat wave, we are experiencing. The school’s authorities surveyed students, staff, and parents on whether they prefer blended learning or faceto-face classes. The survey helped them to further analyze the situation, and to find out if the students have the capability and resources to participate in asynchronous learning. Based on the responses they had decided to continue with blended learning.
92%
“I prefer face-to-face, kasi sa blended learning defeated yung purpose like asynchronous, hindi lahat ng students nakakapagsubmit. Mas okay face-to-face may nagsusupervised na teachers sa mga outputs ng mga bata and bihira ang bata na nag seself study.” said by Mr. Jojo Cataylo in an interview. (I prefer face-to-face because in blended learning the purpose of asynchronous is defeated. Face-to-face is better because there are teachers that supervise the outputs of students and only limited students can self-study) Mr. Cataylo is a grade 9 mathematics teacher-II at ERJHS. “For me po I prefer face-to-face, kasi [because] I can clearly understand the topics that the teachers teach us.”
said a grade 10 student from ERJHS, Nathaniel Oropilla. Most students still prefer to continue the face-to-face classes, because it’s easier for them to learn the topics with the guidance of their teachers that’s with them in class. In April, ERJHS did full face-toface classes. However, from the first week until the fourth week of May, blended learning was implemented. Now in the last week of May, it has been announced that ERJHS will go back to in-person classes again. ERJHS chose to prioritize students’ and staff’s safety and health, by shifting to blended learning because of the increasing temperature in the Philippines.
of ERODIANS prefer old school year schedule
Transpo strike disrupts ERJHS classes By ANGELA PALOMAR
OPINION06
10 + 2 = ?
FEATURE15
SCIENCE16
Is it really the time to change the K-12 curriculum?
Review the rich culture of La Loma’s Lechons
Can your body handle the heat?
Manibela President Mar Valbuena announced on Tuesday night March 7, to suspend the transport strike and go back to servicing commuters starting March 8, as Pres. Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr. agreed to keep the livelihood of our Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators. Valbuena apologized to the riding public that they had to do a transport strike so that their voices and plights could be heard, he added that they will make sure that the “king of the road” will stay even with the development and change. A student from E. Rodriguez Jr. High School quoted that “As a student and one of the affected
people of the strike, it was a bit hard to commute during the strike since jeepney is the main vehicle I ride to get home, but I do understand the driver’s demand.” The Department of Transportation (DOTR) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) were ordered to review their guidelines, the administration also thanked Manibela for putting an end to the transportation strike. The Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) is responsible for making sure that everything under the program is taken into consideration, including the complaints of the drivers and operators.
Erodians return to f2f classes after 2-year distant learning By YHASH FLORES After almost 2 years of blended learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, E. Rodriguez Jr. High School (ERJHS) went back to face-toface classes, last August 22, 2023. The Department of Education (DepEd) Order 34 of 2022 by Education Secretary Vice President Sara Duterte stated that starting November 2, all public and private schools in the country must transition to five days of in-person classes and after the said date no school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning although exemptions can be given in specific areas. Furthermore, there are no conditions set by the government requiring vaccination against the deadly virus for the return of the students to the old mode of learning.
“There should be no segregation, no discrimination for the unvaccinated learners because vaccination is not mandatory,” said Duterte on July 14, 2022. The DepEd order also contains that it will give schools sufficient time to slowly transition to five day inperson classes. ERJHS adapted to this transition by having few changes this school year. The academic year started with full face to face but then changed to ‘set a & set b’ set up on September 12. The schedule of Grade 10 students was then changed to afternoon classes on November 2 because of overcrowding and lack of classrooms, students are now facing flactuating blended schedules due to the ongoing summer season.