SISC is a home that envisions its monarchs to learn from core values and principles. The revolving theme for the academic year 2021-2022 is “Nurturing the 5Cs (Competence, Character, Commitment to Achieve, Collaboration, Creativity) through Academic Rigor with Grit and Growth Mindset.” Most of the keywords like ‘Grit’ and ‘Growth Mindset’ are repeatedly emphasized every academic year to be a channel to help students learn and achieve their goals through these core principles.
Every year, SISC welcomes parents and guardians to what they like to call a ‘Coffee Chat’ (where they may also bring other beverages like tea) to show them how SISC instills these core values in their children, and provide the overall picture of their learning process. This year SISC seeks to answer the question of: "How will the school make this online set-up a better experience now that the pandemic has upended the way of living for the last two years?"
Facite Diferentem
Ms. Maricar Abaricia, the level facilitator of eighth grade says, "Coffee Chat is for advisers and parents to get to know each other. Not the slam book type or good to know, but to formally introduce ourselves. Coffee chat is also a way for us to orient the parents on what to expect for this AY. It’s like their own version of orientation [but] for parents this time."
Before the SISC Invocation, parents and students alike took part in a Kahoot icebreaker to pay tribute to Southville trivia. Ms. Maricar Abaricia, along with Patrick "Pat" Corvera who hosted the icebreaker, commented on how the students (and parents) are very immersed in the culture of Southville. The questions incorporated aspects such as Southville’s humble beginnings and the definition of Facite Diferentem: We can make a difference.
Following the icebreaker was an opening remark from our school principal, Teacher Marie Vic Suarez. In her speech, she commented on how began her journey in Southville in the Elizalde campus, currently known as the STAR campus, where she was a preschool teacher— this is the underlying reason why she prefers to be called teacher over miss. In the lexicon of making a difference, Teacher Avic gives the parents and guardians insights and statistics about Southville’s history up until its current approach including Wildly important goals or WIG and survey results. She then posed a question: “How will we nurture during online learning and teaching?”
Making learning human again
Teacher Avic believes that the solution to this is if we can “make learning human again.” She cites three necessary components to achieving this: social presence—communication; cognitive presence—critical thinking; and teaching presence—learning outcomes.
“While this is a challenging time for everybody, it is particularly difficult for adolescents,”
CAPS Basic Education Head Maryknoll San Pedro quotes from Dr. Lauren Strelitz at Stanford Children’s health, during her talk on caring for teenagers. Ms. Knoll believes that this is an elusive concept. She also thinks that the present is just a temporary situation. She believes that overall we should encourage healthy habits, foster, sympathize and not dismiss what adolescents are currently feeling.
Breakout Sessions
Advisers and co-advisers can do a plethora of things during the breakout sessions. Most teachers also included the class’ picture on the first day. Others introduced themselves, their country assignment, and some facts that relate to it. They also implemented the VOLT rules, introduced class officers, their roles, and familiarized them with the subject teachers.
For Ms. Cristine “Tin” Rose Yap and Sir Michael “Mike” Gravamen, they had a lot in store for their 7-Gratitude parents.
“Every student in our class was a new student. We (Sir Mike and Ms. Tin) usually work collaboratively. I prepared the most important parts of our weekly activities. For new parents, that is very important. It’s a must to be presented to them.”
Most of the concern was about moodle quizzes and submissions. Ms. Tin also says she emphasized other things like the VOLT Integrity code, and had to ask for their consent before making a Viber group chat. Nonetheless, she commended her section for being very participative during their class discussions.
Ms. Bernice “Ice” Mata and Sir Pat Corvera had much intel about their conversations with 8-Integrity parents. Prior to this, Ms. Ice was looking forward to meeting them. “We had our own presentation slides and we discussed the things we do in class,” she said. Sir Pat added: “It’s really just the general overview of what we share to you as students, and basically the basic procedures to follow in the classrooms.” They had also introduced synchronous and guided learning— to which a parent asked the difference between guided learning and asynchronous classes. It was almost the same, except that during guided learning, the teacher would be readily available to anybody who has queries or issues understanding the topic. “Students are invited to stay in the main call if they have any problem.”
In the 7-Kindness classroom with Sir Rikki Joi “RJ” Capioso and Ms. Precious Daluz, one parent raised a concern on Integrity. “How will we assess that the kids are really doing their tasks?” She mentions how if her son needs to answer something (during discussion forums or essay-writing), it is very likely that he develops a tendency to up answers now that it is just one Google search away. Sir RJ’s response to this was in accordance with their activities and weekly quizzes. “In our summative assessments we don't only look for their answers but we also look for how they get there [their solutions in Math], also in midterms and final exams." Others had questions on how Southville makes their students more immersed and refrains them from using one-liners during essays or during discussion forums.
At the end of the Q&A, the parents and advisers would have a photo opportunity to commemorate their first meeting for this academic year. Their next meeting would be the first term parent-teacher conference.
As the program came to a close the Deputy Principal for Grades 6-9 Gladys Mintu commented on how equipped the teachers are: "SISC was able to prepare teachers for VOLT classes by requiring them to enroll in a course: Learning to Teach Online. There's a series of VOLT training as well from the senior leadership team down to the faculty and staff. SISC continues to enhance its internet infrastructure."
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