DepEd Kindergarten Summer Program

Today is the start of the Kindergarten Summer Preschool program that the Department of Education initiated which aims at ensuring Grade 1 entrants of the upcoming school year are equipped with the learning experiences and skills essential for them to take on their next level of academic work. It targets potential Grade 1 students without preschool experience by June 2011. This is the second year that the DepEd is implementing such program and my second year in teaching summer classes as well.

This year's first day turnout was better than that of last year's because a number of pupils (42 kids) came to school today to attend their first day of class compared to the 5 pupils last year. So it is a progress. I have to commend DepEd for coming up with such a great program centered on preschool because this stage is the most crucial stage for learning.

The summer classes will be conducted in eight weeks (April 11 - June 3) and we teachers have been given modules of what routines to conduct starting from day 1. This program is promising and I hope we will be realizing a recognizable progress soon.

That Christmas Feeling

Christmas is in the air and I am going to tell you a funny observation I have had through all the three Christmases I have had in teaching.

Every year I ask my pupils to bring Christmas decors so that we could decorate our classroom in order to feel the Christmas spirit. You see, most of my pupils are of Islam religion, at least 75% of them are. But every year I have noticed that it is those who are Muslims who donates exceptional (and sometimes expensive) decorations and they do not even celebrate the season!

Yesterday afternoon, when I started hanging the decorations, one parent (who is a Muslim) suggested that we should also put up a Christmas tree and I was like answered her back, "Are you sure?" Every year I decorate the room with leis, and other common ornaments but I keep away from putting up a tree so that the conservatives will not feel that I am imposing or forcing their children to celebrate Christmas wherein they don't celebrate the season in their religion. But then I thought wrong, all of the parents of my pupils wanted us to actually celebrate the Season and I am so happy because the kids will be able to feel what I have always felt about Christmas when I was younger.

We will be having our homeroom PTA meeting tomorrow where they will be able to see their ornaments hanged and displayed. Next stop: Christmas Party.