I wanna share to you guys a rough draft I made for my NSTP2. It’s for an 8-week immersion in Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila wherein we’re going to teach kids ages 6-14, 3 hours per week. So far I managed to finish 2 weeks worth out of the required eight week plan. It’s not yet final since I’m still brainstorming for more ideas. Suggestions are warmly welcome. 😀

I. Week 1
a. Activity-Getting to Know Each Other (Objectives written below)
i. Pagpapakilala ng mga estudyante at ng kanilang mga guro para maging komportable ang pakikitungo nila sa isa’t isa.
ii. Ang maayos na pagpapakilala sa simula pa lang ay makakapagsiguro ng maayos na pagtuturo sa mga bata habang maaga.

b. Preparatory Tasks (Before the Activity)
i. Aalamin muna ang tungkol mga batang tuturuan namin. Kulang pa ang naibigay na impormasyon na binigay sa’min: 30 kids aged 6-14 years.
ii. Aalamin naming kung hanggang saan ang kanilang antas sa pag-aaral, kung marunong sila sa pagsulat at pagbasa, at iba pa na maari naming malaman para ma-set sa kanilang kakayahan an gaming pagtuturo sa kanila.
c. Division of Tasks *In case of unexpected developments, one of us would fill in for someone not available.
i. Documentarian (2)
ii. In-charge of Food and refreshments (2)
iii. Orientors (4)
d. Materials Needed
i. Cartolina
ii. Pentel Pen (permanent)
iii. Whiteboard marker/Chalk
iv. Manila Paper
e. Budget Allocated
i. Php 800 (Estimate)
f. Expected Output
i. Not only do the students got to know us better and that a sense of closeness was establish earlier on, we expect that the students have their total trust on us and thus returning for another session the following week.

II. Week 2
a. Activity 2-Introduction to Writing
i. Considering that we are teaching kids whose ages ranged from 6 to 14, it will be hard for younger kids to cope up to the lessons being taught to them compared to those who are older.
ii. It might be okay for us to teach them basic phonics to the younger kids while having older ones help us as aids. This would help them value the essence of group unity, coordination and cooperation.
iii. But in the case that many are already capable of writing and reading, we’re going to have a writing activity wherein we let the students write essays and have them read before the entire class.
b. Preparatory Tasks
i. Prepare small notebooks/writing pads, pencils, erasers and other necessary writing materials.
ii. We will also implement a “rewards” system to help encourage students on doing their essays. They’ll be given a “reward” for having their essays read aloud before the class. These “rewards” are candies and chocolates.
c. Division of Tasks
i. Teacher
ii. In-charge of Foods and Drinks
iii. In-charge of Candies and Sweets (to be used for activity)
iv. Documentarian
v. Teacher’s Aide
d. Materials Needed
i. Notebook/Writing Pads
ii. Pencils (Sharpened)
iii. Sharpeners (Two-three)
e. Budget Allocated
i. Php800 (Estimate)
1. To be used for buying of writing materials, foods and drinks (sandwich and zesto).
f. Expected Output
i. It is expected that they will be able to develop not only their writing skills but also their self-esteem as well. Self-esteem is needed to fully express a person’s feelings through writing

     The nightmare of virtual inanimosity returns to strike back at me for the nth time! I can’t believe the overwhelming trust given to me by my Profes1 classmates, most which I barely even know. I was voted ***gulp*** “president” of the “republic” to help lead my constituent towards a fair and better world.

     I have leadership issues, ranging back during frosh year. I still vividly remember Ferdie pointing at me, telling Sir Aldwin “Gepsych/Intecom” Sanchez that I’m the block president. I denied his allegation but the whole block agreed that I should lead the class. It came at the wrong time since for most of our first term in CSB, I was too pre-occupied with a lot of stuff, which made so much of a workaholic. Me being a busybody equates me being cranky and overly stressed out. Grrr….

      I wonder how I would fare this time, considering that I had foregone some excess weight in the past. I don’t know if I have the qualifications of a good leader, knowing I was much of a slave and a control-freak than a chief executive.

         The control-freak in me still lies within. Unfortunately, for a weekly three-hour class, I no longer foresee a recurring of past events which eventually reached its peak when I fatally created my own one-entry version of “The Vicious Circle” (if you’re a regular viewer of 90210, you would know).

Pray for me 🙁

      I’m not gonna mention her name but she shared something with me. I’m not gonna tell anything much but I’m merely gonna say my two cent’s worth of she’s going through.

     I completely understand her situation.  People close to her are oblivious to what she’s going through. She’s stressed out not because of her studies but to something else. Because of it, she’s doing something to cope with her complete distraught towards it. She herself confessed to me that she doing something to discontinue once and for all.

    Okay, that’s as far as I can go so here’s what’s on my mind:

      Mabuti na rin na inamin niya. Unang hakbang ito para sa kanyang pakikipagsapalaran patungo sa panunumbalik ng self-esteem niya. Ang masasabi ko lang, kahit anong problemang na pinapaharap sa kanya ng tadhana, wala siyang magagawa kungdi harapin ang mga iyon. Hindi niya dapat iwasan ang mga ito, maski takbuhan dahil susulpot at susulpot pa rin niyan.

        Hindi naman perpekto ang tao, walang taong ang may walang problema sa buhay. Lahat tayo ay may problema sa buhay. Bahagi ng pagiging tao ang pagkakaroon natin ng mga problema, at nasa atin ang kamay para bigyan ng kalutasanan ang mga tulad nito.

      Ang paraan niya para harapin ang problema ay hindi lutas sa problema. Mas lalo itong magpapalala sa sitwasyon niya. Ikasasama pa niya ito.

       Ang pagiging positibo tungo sa buhay niya at sa sarili niya ay talagang makakatulong. kailagan niyang palakasin ang kanyang lakas ng loob para labanan ang nagdadala sa kanya ng sobrang lungkot at depression.

     Hindi natin napipili ang mga taong gusto nating kapiling pero hindi ibig sabihin ay hindi natin sila pakikisamahan. Kailangan lang natin ma-adjust sa ugali nila, pero kailangan rin natin i-adjust ang sarili natin para na rin sa kanila. Hindi plastikan ang nais nating pakikipagtungo sa kanila pero respeto at tamang pag-iintindi ang susi sa mabuting samahan.

I wish her the best for her bold endeavors!

         Nakakatawa ‘tong nangyari sa’kin kanina lang, hehehe! PInayagan na ako ng prof ko na umalis na nag maaga matapos kong kumpletuhin ang mga plates ko sa kanya para sa Techdrw na ginaganap lang tuwing Wednesday mula ika-6 hanggang ika-9 n.g. Umalis na akong SDA, pasado alas otso ng gabi. Nung nasa may P. Ocampo na ako, may mga nakasabay ako na mga atleta ng school.

      Naglakad ako kasabay ng mga atletang iyon hanggang sa may kung ano ang nagpapatid sa paa ko. Dahil doon, biglang nawalan ako ng balanse sa aking katawan. Ilang beses akong pala-bagsak pero pinipilit kong balansihin ang bigat ng katawan ko. Hanggang sa aking tuluyan paghulog, ginamit ko lang ang kaliwang kamay ko para ma-break ang fall ko.

   Napahiya ako sa mga taong naka-saksi sa nangyari. Iyung mga nakasabay kong mga atleta, nagulat sila bigla, nauna na sa paglakad tapos mukhang napatawa sila sa nangyari sa’kin habang ang ibang mga tao, nakatingin lang sa’kin na parang “Huh? Anong nangyari diyan?”. Tawa na lang ako.

Turns out, napatid ako sa may sidewalk malapit sa driveway ng isang payparking place katabi ng Kenny Rogers, bago dumiretso patungong himpilan ng LRT-Vito Cruz. 😀

Fast Notes: 1)Surprised to see that a lot of people took great notice to the banner change. Wanna thank the 7 people (and counting) who viewed the page. :D, 2)Within three months or less, I’ll be compiling the pictures taken during the mini-fair and turn them into a possible slideshow movie. I already have some interesting soundtracks in mind which I wanna incorporate into the movie :D, 3)Advance congratulations to the newly-elected and soon-to-be inaugurated 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama. May the force be with (and also with you) :D.

       I have came up with this radical idea of using the magic of probability when dealing about long lines at the SDA lobby. Just this afternoon, I saw three long lines queing for the three available elevators out of the more than 5(?) elevators in SDA (They can’t be run at the same time).

    The first two lines were long and the elevators they were waiting for are somewhere between the 5th and 12th floors going up. The third line was long as well, but t’was shortened by the elevator which was already at the bottom floor. I chose to line up along the third one since the probability of getting in faster is greater than the other two lines whose elevators have yet to come down.

    More on that on a later entry, I wanna share to you this incident happened whule I was on my way up to the 11th floor inside the elevator. I was at the very back, enabling me to see people who are coming in and out from where I am now (I wanna say ‘elevator’ but it’s getting redundant in this paragraph).

    When the elevator tooked a stop at the 7th floor, I saw two familiar figures. One of them, a girl, was wearing a checkered red-and-black polo shirt with long sleeves that got tucked in. At first, I thought she was Alyssa. Another one, a girl too, possesses a short hairdo with her hair dyed on a different color, thinking initially that she’s Alex.

    I took another good look at the two and realized that it’s not them. Knowing Alyssa and Alex, I know Alyssa won’t dare wear black booths and that Alex doesn’t wear high heels and a long skirt unless mandated by law (go figure).

    Natawa na lang ako kasi mapagkakamalan mo talaga sila, lalo na ang Alyssa clone hehehe!

Si Puwet pala nasa Canada, kaya pala ang dami niyang pictures na galing abroad na naka-posted sa Facebook niya. Kanina lang nagkaroon kami ng YM conversation live na live from Alberta, Canada. Kanis, siya pa ang nag-abroad, ako hindi pa rin…Joke! Mamimiss siya ng marami! 😀

Tinanong ko siya kung saan na siya ngayon sa Canada. Sabi niya, sa may Alberta. Nagtatrabaho siya sa isang retailing store ng isang kilalang brand, American Eagle. Plano nga niya na mag-aral pagdating ng tag-lagas sa September kaso sa isang college lang kasi mahal ang universities nila doon.

Kala ko, since naka-mobile siya, mauubusan siya ng load sa katetext/YM niya sakin. Iyun pala ay me wi-fi ang telepono niya. SOSYAL!

Afterwards, sabi niya, matutulog na daw siya kaso napatanong siya kung nakita ko si Gng. Nuqui doon. Heto nangyari:

Wait a minute. Have you seen Ginang?>
James

Jennifer Anne Arlay

James

Jennifer Anne Arlay

I told her how Gng. ruined my 15th birthday and Jenifer was laughinat an unlikely time. So we bid adieu.

          It’s that time of the year again when SJA gives back to its students by way of the now-annual mini-fair. A reprieve from the daily stresses of grade school and high school life (oh my high school, feeling sorry kay saya!). A time when former teachers, veteran teachers-institutions, and neophyte teachers collide. A time when alumni of the distant past and not-so-distant past returns to reminisce and have that “oh-so-Jamer” feeling once again.

      This year however was different, at least for some. My youngest brother, a senior, thought of this as his final time to celebrate the Mini-Fair as a student of St. James Academy. In less than 3 months, he’ll be walking down the aisle to get his high school diploma, finally ending his tenure in the school as he graduates.
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      For me, this was the second time I went to the Mini-Fair as an alumnus of the school. Whenever I go there, I would always see the same set of people I’ve so used to see when I was still a student. My old teachers (albeit the fact that one-by-one they’re all leaving), my friends from the younger years (albeit the fact that year-by-year they graduate), and my old hangout places (albeit the fact that as time passes by, old structures are replaced by newer once, like the old big tree and the old playhouse of the kindergarten students near the Gate 3).

      Last Thursday, I already have a gut feeling that certain people that I know are coming to the fair so I decided that I should go there as well. Once there, I saw Jeco (sporting Vic Zhou-like hair), Mark (still tall), Ria (sporting diva-esque long straight hair), Dianne N. (budding architect-in-the-making), the “twins” Anna Ruth and Criezl a.k.a. Paloma, Ali who came all the way from CSB as proven by his required observance of the SHRIM dress code, and Eswhy/Ellysa (had her hair coloured). Also there was a seemingly slimmer Mr. Rivera, and a “glowing” Mr. Macam. Meanwhile Mr. Robino is still the “secluded aktibista-like self” that he is while overseeing the general populace from the faculty room, among others.

      Booths present were the “buttons” booth, the “pabunot” booth, the countless food-and-drinks booths, the fun-and-games booth, the notorious Hulidap booth, and the popular message/dedication booth a.k.a. 103.9 DSJA-FM/ 103.9 SJA Radio with Mr. Louie Odulio as its station manager. Rides incllude the box carousel, the “couples” carousel, and the dinosaur ride.

     That day, I was able to take a whopping 380+ pics (including the not-so good ones) using my Digital San Lorenzo Ruiz/Single Lens Reflex camera. As usual, I’m not present in any of the pcs taken by me but fortunately, Jeco took several pics of me candidly and recent had them posted on Multiply.

      The next day, the last day (a Friday which is today hehehe), I did not intend on coming back to the fair but Louie (Mary Louise not Elka) texted me if I’m going. I was to reply her back, saying about my intention not to come but unfortunately I ran out of cellphone load. That same day, I was to go to Quiapo to have my negatives made into contact prints for my Fotogra. While there, it was then I thought that I should come to the fair in case my cousin decided to come there as well (her class in EAC ends in the afternoon).

      It was only when I was in Bayan have I been successful on loading my phone to text Louie and tell her I’m going. Inside, a lot more alumni from not only my batch but also from batch 08 and those below Batch 07 were present.

      Among from my batch who came today were Mark (again), Paolo Catalo, Dharyl (Patama ng pangalan please), Elka, Bebe (her birthday is today), Sandhee, Ace, rock vixen Yssa, Kriel, Renz, Gabo, Cyrene, Martin (whom I almost didn’t recoginze due to him not wearing glasses and sporting emo-like hair) and Piton.
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Off-campus, I chanced on seeing Tope near Araneta Square who was also on his to SJA, fresh from his last class in UST. Last Thursday A non-Jamer but former fellow ka-Taekwondo, Jaydee (HS grad of Notre Dame of Greater Manila and now attending FEU) saw me while waiting for a jeepney ride en route to Valenzuela/Caloocan in Concepcion. I didn’t recognize his face at first but when I took a good look at him, I realized that it was him. Meanwhile, a week ago (a Saturday), I saw Batch 08 member Paolo Gozon who was on his way home I’m guessing. He’s wearing a Letran uniform so I assume that he came from school. He was present at Friday’s final hoorah for the Mini-Fair.

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I’m looking forward for next year’s Mini-Fair. And hopefully, by that time, there’s still going to be one.