At least 145 pupils from kindergarten to grade six of the Tan-awan Elementary School in Tubigon, Bohol received schoolbags containing school supplies during last Saturday’s “Balik Eskwela Fun Day Year III”, a special project of The FREEMAN Foundation.
Pupils received schoolbags donated by Pilipino Star Ngayon containing writing/composition notebooks, pad paper, pencil, ballpen, ruler, eraser, crayon, paste, sharpener and a pair of scissors donated by Operation Damayan, Frank Fe, Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, some TF employees, and TF readers/subscribers/donors.
Prior to the fun day, mass feeding program and distribution of chewable Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) tablets, the 16-man Core Group of The FREEMAN Foundation did minor repairs, cleaned up, and beautified a room that was converted into a community library to hold the more than 1,000 assorted books the foundation received from schools and universities here.
The recipient school located seven kilometers away from Tubigon town proper, nestled on the mountaintop which is about 1,600 feet above sea level, was considered as a beneficiary of the Foundation after an ocular inspection conducted in 2005. The inspection revealed of the school’s need for new desks, school supplies for pupils, a mini-library, and a building to house the television set and Dream Satellite equipment donated by Star’s Operation Damayan, as well as the viewing room.
Before the distribution of school supplies, the foundation handed over to Aileen Gerigdig, school-in-charge, a DVD player and educational compact discs in addition to the 25-inch Kolin color TV which was turned over to the school last year. The teachers had already undergone an orientation on how to use the ViStar Integrated Receiver/Decoder, a digital satellite receiver made for Dream Satellite which is into the manufacture of tools for visual programming.
Gerigdig, during the program, reported that with the help of the Parents-Teachers Community Association, they were able to build a steel case for the equipment. She said the equipment, which are effective tools in mass coaching, have greatly benefited both teachers and students. “Teachers have made significant improvements in their teaching methodologies, while pupils enjoy the advantages of visual learning,” she said.
The FREEMAN general manager Melandro “Boy” Mendoza explained to teachers and parents that the library will not only be for the use of the pupils, but the entire community as well. “Out-of-school children and youth may also use the facility,” Mendoza said.
He added that those parents who would want to assist their children in their assignments may also gain access to lessons provided by the Dream Satellite equipment. Subscription to channel providers offering educational programs as diverse as National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network, to name a few, has already been paid by the Star Group of Publications, the country’s biggest print media group. — Garry B. Lao/MEEV