Goducate … Go And Educate! – Page 59 – Helping Asians Help Themselves

2015-05-012015-05-04

Schools in Indonesia hold Sing Your English culminating activities

Sing Your English (SYE) is a Goducate program for teaching English through song. It was launched in two schools in Batam, Indonesia, in August 2012. It has since been introduced in more schools not only in Batam, but also in Pekanbaru, Medan, Bandung, and Jakarta.

Last month, all the schools offering SYE held their culminating activities for the program. The culminating activities showcased what the students had learnt in the previous 8 months. The students, who came from levels 1 to 4, performed in front of their parents as well as students from higher levels. They sang their songs and impersonated the SYE Phonics characters. Games were included as part of the event.

The atmosphere was joyful. There was much laughter, and teachers could be seen enjoying the presentations by mimicking the kids’ actions. One parent who spoke on behalf of other parents said in her closing remarks, “Thank you SYE. Thank you for the facilitators who patiently teach our child English. My kids are enjoying the class and even speak English at home”.

One of the strengths of SYE is that students lose their inhibitions about speaking English and use it outside of the classroom. Students enjoy this fun-filled and exciting program and bond well with the teachers.

Students in Batam singing phonics adventure song

*Our guest writer is Cindy Presquito, an SYE teacher

2015-04-242015-04-24

Goducate Junior CDW Club members do well scholastically

Nineteen members of the Benjamin Aguilar Elementary School (BAES) Chapter of the Goducate Junior CDW (community development workers) Club graduated on March 24. Among the club members, nine graduated with academic awards that included first honors, second honors, third honors, five with honorable mentions, and one with special award.

BAES is located in Anabo, Lemery. Lemery is a fourth-class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. Provinces in the Philippines are divided into cities and municipalities (also known as towns), and municipalities are classified by income according to their average annual income over the previous 4 calendar years, with first class municipalities having an income of PHP 55,000,000 ($1,243,938) or more, and sixth class less than PHP 15,000,000 ($339.251).

Junior CDW Club is Goducate’s program for elementary schools in Iloilo, Philippines. Its mission is to educate and empower youths to be readily available and able to assist in helping meet the needs of their community. Goducate believes that the hope of a country lies in the children. The vision is that all Junior CDW Club members will actively participate in helping develop their families and their own communities and will train others to do likewise.

Members of Junior CDW Clubs are students in grades four, five, and six who are willing to participate and be trained. The officers and members of the clubs meet every Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They do fun activities and learn the values of good leadership. They are mentored on how to handle activities, lead songs, organize programs, and be good leaders. They also learn livelihood skills such as making moringa powder and doing vermiculture.

During the School’s 43rd Recognition Program in the morning, BAES awarded a certificate of recognition to Goducate and to Goducate community development workers for their help to the school and its pupils. The 43rd commencement (graduation) exercises were held in the afternoon.

*Our guest writer is Joanna De Leon

2015-04-172015-04-16

Goducate runs “Recollection” event for Dalid National High School in Iloilo

March is graduation month for high-school students in the Philippines. Many schools hold “Recollection”events for their graduating class. These events are geared towards students’ character development. They allow the students to recall the wonderful memories and meaningful lessons of high-school life and to prepare them for the future.

Dalid National High School is in Alimodian, a third-class municipality in Iloilo province. The school’s principal, Ms Ma. Riza Lasquita, and the staff member in charge of the event, Mr Angel Sernadilla, invited Goducate to run the Recollection event. They know that one of the goals of Goducate is to educate children and see them reach their highest potentials. They believe that Goducate can motivate and inspire their students reach for their dreams.

The Recollection was held on March 12. 46 students participated in the whole-day event. The program included fun-filled team-building activities, life-enriching sessions, small-group mentoring of the students, and individual reflections of him/herself.

We hope we were able to give the students an encouraging and inspiring Recollection experience, and that they will treasure the lessons and the new friendships built with the Goducate community development workers.

*Our guest writer is Joanna De Leon