Elementary School Lessons

October 24 is United Nations Day.

I’m so glad we go to a school that supports this special day. If truth be told, I am disappointed with schools that celebrate Halloween but NOT United Nations Day. Harrumph.

Here is a photo of the younger daughter with her classmates all dressed up with the country of their choice.

She chose China. The husband at first suggested that we get her a Chinese dress but the daughter insisted we should not buy: RECYCLE was the teacher’s tall order.

We had her wear the husband’s red silk Chinese polo (am thankful we still had this in the closet), with the long sleeves rolled up and a belt to make it look smaller than it actually is. Black leggings and her school shoes that look like the traditional Mary Jane Chinese shoes completed the get-up along with a long white scarf and a bond paper with the word China stapled on it to make it look like a sash.

The children were asked to bring food that represent the country they chose.  We brought shumai or siomai for the class while others brought a lot of different food.

Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal is celebrating his 150th Birth Anniversary this year.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has lined up activities and events all over the country in order to commemorate the occasion.

Click here for more details.

Visit the National Historical Commission of the Philippines website for more info.

For the children’s university week, celebrated every February, the grade four field demonstration was Sayaw sa Bangko.

Sayaw sa Bangko or Sayaw ed Tapew ng Bangko is a folk dance from Pangasinan, a province from the northern Philippines. Performers dance on wooden benches, changing places with each other and at times jumping on and off the bench.

The son is wearing shoes, the pair of slippers which was prepared earlier was forgotten,

Balance and helping each other to stay on the bench is important for the two dancers on the bench.

I have been meaning to post at least a photo or a short article about the time the 4th grader did a reporting in front of the class. Yes, I was there to take photos! Such as I was there during his educational field trip as a chaperone.

Talk about being a mamarazzi huh?

The son wanted to use the laptop for his presentation for his report on Central Visayas but we said no, he has to do the traditional way. He was particularly proud to show their photos in Bohol, home province of hubby’s family where they sometimes spend summer vacations. Bohol is a part of his report.

The report went well I think. I sat at the back of the room and never uttered a word nor moved an inch since it was my son’s moment.

The children went ga-ga over the many souvenirs he gave away like key chains and bracelets. These were given to those who listened well and answered his questions correctly. The classmates also loved the food samples from these provinces that he distributed.

More photos on this soon. I hope.

Land Area: 14663.21 sq km

Population: 6,398,628 (2007) ika-lima sa pinakamaraming tao sa 17 na rehiyon sa Pilipinas

Mga Lalawigan:

• Bohol
• Cebu
• Negros Oriental
• Siquijor

Topograpiya: mabundok at maburol ngunit may bahaging lambak at kapatagan. Napaliligiran ng tubig-dagat.

Klima: May ulan kapag mga buwan ng tag-ulan. May ilang lugar na hindi malinaw ang panahon ng tag-ulan ngunit maiksi ang tag-init. May mga bahaging pantay ang distribusyon ng ulan sa buong taon.

Mga Produkto:

• Mga pananim: mais, palay, gulay, niyog at asukal
• Produktong galing sa pangingisda at pag-aalaga ng hayop
• Yamang-kabundukan: ginto, pilak, karbon, tanso, at batong lupa na ginagawang semento, limestone at uling.

Mga Mamamayan:

• Bohol – Boholan; Bol – anon
• Cebu – Cebuano
• Negros Oriental – Negrense

Here is a link to the full transcript of the State of the Nation Address of President NoyNoy Aquino during the 15th Philippine Congress.

Some excerpts:

Matagal pong naligaw ang pamahalaan sa daang baluktot.

Ganyan din po ang nangyari sa pondo ng MWSS. Kamakailan lamang, pumipila ang mga tao para lang makakuha ng tubig.

Narinig po ninyo kung paano nilustay ang kaban ng bayan. Ang malinaw po sa ngayon: ang anumang pagbabago ay magmumula sa pagsiguro natin na magwawakas na ang pagiging maluho at pagwawaldas.

Kung ang sagot sa kawalan ng katarungan ay pananagutan, ang sagot naman sa kakulangan natin sa pondo ay mga makabago at malikhaing paraan para tugunan ang mga pagkatagal-tagal nang problema.

Mahirap magsimula ang usapan habang mayroon pang amoy ng pulbura sa hangin. Nananawagan ako: huwag po natin hayaang masayang ang napakagandang pagkakataong ito upang magtipon sa ilalim ng iisang adhikain.

Puwede na muling mangarap. Tayo nang tumungo sa katuparan ng ating mga pinangarap.

Palacio del Gobernador is located at the Plaza Roma in Intramuros, Manila  where different historical sites can be seen.

Where Palacio del Gobernador stands used to be where Governor General Diego Fajardo lived. It was said to be the place of the official residence of the governor generals until it was destroyed by an 1863 earthquake.

Click here to read about Intramuros.