I am here in Mandaluyong for 10 days along with a 2nd grade teacher from Delaware. While we’re here, we will be working mostly at Jose Rizal University, or JRU. When we arrived at the school, we had the most wonderful welcome by the teachers and students! They sang us songs, presented us with flowers, made lovely speeches, and treated us to a special meal. We felt very special! They even made us honorary ID badges! Although the word university is part of the name of JRU, it actually has classes all the way from Kindergarten up through graduate school. This is a VERY big school! There are more than 1,000 students in the elementary school (Kindergarten to grade 6); 4,000 students in the high school (grades 7 to 11), and 1,000 students in the graduate school.
JRU is a private school, so their classes are a bit smaller than the public school classes I’ve seen – they have around 40 students in each class. On my first day here, I was able to stop in and visit some classrooms in the elementary school and high school. Here are some of the photos I took. I'll add more soon! What questions do you have about school here in the Philippines? Ask me in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them!
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Last weekend I had the chance to get out of Mandaluyong and do some exploring! On Saturday I headed to the Province of Laguna, which is South of Mandaluyong. The first town I visited, Liliw, sits at the base of Mount Banahaw. It is known as the shoe capital of the Philippines. Almost every shop you go to sells handmade shoes! While I was there I visited Saint John the Baptist Church, had lunch, and did a little shopping in the market. Liliw is also known for its sweet treats. Yum! After Liliew I headed to Paete. This town is known as the woodcarving capital of the Philippines. Paete is a lakeside town located along the shores of Laguna de Bay. Many people who live in Paete continue with the centuries-old tradition of carving and painting wood. While I was there, I got to talk with some people carving wood and to observe them hard at work making their beautiful creations. What a great day!
On Friday I travelled to Mandaluyong, another city in the Philippines. This is where I will spend the next 10 days! Mandaluyong is located to the east of Manila. Curious about the name Mandaluyong? One local tale is that there was a young man named Luyong who wanted to marry the chieftain's daughter, Manda. Because the chieftain did not approve, Manda and Luyong decided to run away together. The place they ended up living was called Mandaluyong. One of Mandaluyong's nicknames is "Tiger City". They call it that because they have been strong and have worked hard to improve their city. Mandaluyong is also called the "Shopping Mall Capital of the Philippines" because there are a LOT of malls here. When it is very hot out, people go to the malls to spend time in the air conditioning. Although this is not the hottest time of year, it sure does feel hot to me! Every day the temperature gets into the 90s and it is very humid. Randolph readers, what is the temperature in Arlington today?
Today we had our first school visits here in Manila! In the morning we went to visit Pitogo High School and in the afternoon we went to East Rembo Elementary School. The first day of the school year is June 13th, so the teachers and school staff have been hard at work getting everything ready! Even though school is not yet in session, many teachers and students were there to welcome us. Pitogo High School has more than 4,800 students. Since the school is so big, each class has between 50 – 60 students! Wow! They also do not have all of the students come at the same time; some come from 6:00am until 12:00pm; others come from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. This is also the first year that grade 11 will be offered. Prior to this year, high school only went from grade 7 to grade 10.
East Rembo Elementary School (ERES) is a public elementary school in Manila. It has grade kindergarten all the way up through grade 6. It is a big school with more than 2,400 students. Because there are so many students, some come to school in the morning and others come to school in the afternoon. Their classes are big – between 40 and 50 students in each class! This school has a beautiful library, and interactive white boards in most of the classrooms. Students also get their own tablet! |
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