3 admins attend SHS seminar

Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, Directress-HS Principal leads the two Academic Chairs of GS and HS Departments, Miss Imelda Baltazar and Mr. Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr., respectively, in attending the Gearing Up for a Successful Implementation of the Senior High School seminar held in St. Paul College, Pasig, October 3-4, 2014.

Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, Directress-HS Principal, together with the two Academic Chairs of the Grade School and High School Departments, Miss Imelda Baltazar and Mr. Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr., attended the seminar convened by the St. Paul of Chartres Education Ministry at St. Paul College-Pasig last October 3-4, 2014.

Dubbed Gearing Up for a Successful Implementation of the Senior High School, the seminar was a way for the SPCEM to help the various SPC schools in the Philippines in preparing themselves for the implementation of the Senior High School beginning 2016-2017. Among the 40 Paulinian schools nationwide, only less than 10 of them were yet able to secure permit to open SHS as the others were yet preparing the necessary documents for submission, evaluation, and approval of the Department of Education.

Atty Joseph Noel "Erap" M. Estrada, Executive Director of the Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAPSCU), presented to the administrators the Transition Challenges of SHS Implementation in the Private Schools.

"The requirements for the granting of permit are enumerated in DepED Memo 4, s. 2014," he said. He encouraged the administrators to submit these requirements as it is the duty of the DepED to ensure that the schools that wish offer SHS are capable and viable.

Among other things, he discussed in depth questions on who are qualified to teach in the SHS, how compensation may be resolved on the absorbed faculty from the higher education institutions, labor pains and concerns in the implementation of the SHS,

He encouraged that there should be a balance between the welfare of teachers and faculty vis-a-vis the survival and sustainability of educational institutions.

He explained that there will be 31 subjects in Grades 11 and 12, 15 of which are core subjects, while 16 are the track subjects. Each subject will be 80 hours per semester with a total 2,480 contact hours per semester, with an average of 6.2 teaching hours per day.

He presented the four tracks in the SHS as Music and Arts, College-bound, Work-bound, and Sports-minded. His slides showed that there will be 8 learning areas: language, humanities, communication, mathematics, philosophy, science, social science, and P.E. and Health. The tracks would be Academic, Technical-Vocational-Livelihood, Sports, and Arts and Design.

Quoting from the Section 5 of the IRR, he said "The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and allow schools to localize, indigenize, and enhance the same based on their respective educational and social contexts."

Sr. Felicitas Bernardo, SPC, the Vice President for Academic Services in St. Paul University Surigao, presented updates on the K to 12 and the Senior High School. Using slides which she had gathered from various sources, including those from DepED Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Dina S. Ocampo, Sr. Felicitas related the experience of SPU Surigao on the advanced implementation of the SHS. "Being an early implementer of the SHS, the school had flexibility in coming up with innovative curricular offerings," she declared.

She guided the administrators and lay collaborators on the diligent preparations of the documents needed in seeking for the SHS DepED Permit. She encouraged the SPCEM to have a parallel planning activities similar to what the DepED has been doing.

"Let us change the way we see DepED schools now," she said, as she described the moves of the DepED as more advanced and prepared, especially in the implementation of the K to 12 and the SHS programs.

She showed samples of the documents that SPU Surigao prepared to guide the participants on what to do and to submit.

The seminar also featured an on-site tour to one of the early implementers of the SHS, the University of Makati.

Dr. Milagros Lourdes M. Torres, the Dean of the College of Education, narrated the experiences of UMak on how the university was tapped as one of the premier pilot implementers of the SHS.

The university is offering over 60 specializations mostly on the tech-voc tracks. Most of these tracks are work-bound. She said, the university has partnered with over 700 business establishments and corporations for the on-the-job training needs of the students.

Touring around University of Makati, participants saw the state of the art facilities of their sports centers, science laboratories, lecture rooms, multimedia centers, canteens, and classrooms.

Meanwhile, Sr. Aileen Bonicacio, SPC, Vice President for Christian Formation Services in SPU Surigao, presented the results of the survey conducted among the SPC schools present in the seminar. She said, of the 36 schools, 1 did not submit any intention to open SHS. Of the 35 schools, 24 will offer academic track, 6 will offer arts and design track, 2 will offer sports track, and 26 school will offer tech-voc track.

St. Paul College of Bocaue is currently processing all the necessary documents for it to be granted permit for the Senior High School. The school will offer various fields of specialization on the four tracks.

Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, served as the facilitator on the second day of the seminar. Mr. Guillermo made and read the thank you card given to Sr. Felicitas.