Vol XLI No. 1 | S.Y. 2024 - 2025
TOP STORIES
NEWS
OPINION
FATAL FUN
Perpetual Fray
SSLG takes action on rising rugby use among students PAGE 03
PAGE 06
Reflections The
The Official Student-Community Publication of Zamboanga del Sur National HIgh School - REGION IX
Dry Taps, Dirty Restrooms
BREAK-IN POINT COVER STORY
Nationalians dare school admin to end persistent classroom thefts, call for heightened security by JUSTINE JAY M. TABO
T
The ZSNHS Break-in Crisis
223%
Rise in break-ins (2019-2024) Break-in Incidents by Year
2019
3 incidents
2020
2 incidents
2021
2 incidents
2023
4 incidents
2024
7 incidents
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he recent consecutive ransacks of multiple classrooms in Zamboanga del Sur National High School have urged the teachers and students to challenge the school administration to act and end this perennial problem. Records show that the school has been the target of thieves for several years, leaving the issue unresolved. Despite continuous robbing incidents, the school has failed to address the issue that encouraged the culprits to return without being identified and apprehended. The thieves have spanned several weeks recently, with all 24 classrooms in Building D being robbed on weekends and weekdays. According to reports, the unidentified culprits had robbed the research rooms and classrooms at the DOST and JICA buildings a week before the massive ransack of Building D. The robbers have taken cash, personal belongings, and other easily transportable items but notably left behind appliances such as televisions, printers, and other large equipment, leaving staff and students concerned about the ongoing security issues, as the targeted thefts appear to focus on items that are quicker and easier to carry. “Our savings for our Christmas party were all taken away by the thieves leaving my students sad and disappointed,” Mrs. Geraldine O. Angus, one of the class advisers occupying Building D, said. Teachers also aired the hassles of keeping their things in place after the culprits messed up and destroyed them. In addition to the stolen cash and goods, the suspect left behind traces of beer at the crime scene, suggesting that they were drinking. Amid numerous complaints filed with the school, the actions taken were insufficient, and these issues remained unresolved, resulting in the same problems recurring repeatedly. LACK OF CCTV CAMERAS Dr. Fe A. Bibanco, the school principal, stated that the school has installed 16 cameras across the campus, but this needs to be improved due to its large size. “The school plans to add more CCTV cameras, especially to the buildings prone to these types of incidents,” Bibanco assured. NO WINDOW GRILLS Almost all classrooms in the building were also found to lack window grills, which made it easy for the suspect to remove jalousie windows and gain entry. “We could not add any window grills as the Senior High School owns the room we used. I hope the school will address this issue and add CCTV cameras around the building,” a Grade 7 adviser pointed out. Full story on PAGE 3
Students clamor on water shortage, grapple with lack of functional comfort rooms by JUSTINE JAY M. TABO
Zamboanga del Sur National High School (ZSNHS) has been facing a water shortage these past few years, which has resulted in dirty and non-functional restrooms, making it too difficult for students to relieve themselves, creating discomfort and leading to possible health concerns. The school has attempted to address this issue by adding more water tanks to improve the situation; however, even with these efforts, more than the additional tanks are needed to resolve the problem entirely. “The comfort room we have in our building is very dirty that I would rather relieve myself in other places, I hope the school will resolve this problem as soon as possible,” a Grade 10 student disclosed. In addition, the school being situated at an elevated place is another factor contributing to the dilemma of insufficient water supply catering to an estimated 4,000 Junior High School and 2,000 Senior High School students. “We are trying to solve this issue by looking for a budget so we can add water tanks from time to time,” Dr. Fe A. Bibanco, the school principal, assured. Meanwhile, Bibanco emphasized that efforts are underway to allocate funds for additional water tanks and noted that the school is gradually installing more tanks to address this issue.
Campus scribes decry ill-treatment of school paper by AMBER M. PUENTE-GARCIA & MIKKO H. CABRESTANTE
The campus journalists of the Zamboanga del Sur National High School expressed their sentiment upon discovering that copies of the hard-earned publication had been reduced to packing materials and painting stuff for classroom renovations. “I feel hurt and offended about what happened because we worked very hard and even sacrificed our academics and quality time with our families to produce our school paper, but seeing those students putting no value on the hard-earned fruit of our labor and our hard work is so hurting,” Bimbo Andrey Anito, The Reflections editor in chief, said. Some students revealed that they needed to be made aware of the significance of the school paper, making them decide to use its pages as packing materials. “We thought that the newspaper we received was just an ordinary one, and honestly, we did not even read the paper,” a student shared. Dr. Fe A. Bibanco, the school principal, suggested that Filipino and English teachers should orient students on the importance of the school paper and how they can learn significant information from it. On the other hand, Bibanco conveyed her appreciation and commendation to the English campus journalists for working hard and producing a national-winning campus school paper during the National Schools Press Conference held on July 8-12 at Carcar City.