Moonstruck

Something struck me last night when everything seemed perfectly peaceful.

The moon was half smiling and the canopy of acacia leaves were hanging still under her stark steady gaze. My legs were on a steady stride and my breath catching up my pace on the half dim elliptical asphalt road.

Footsteps of students in formal attire and backpacks punctuated the choral voices rehearsing to reach the perfect note in the background. Bicycles passed by once in a while and it's halfway of March.

Most concrete benches along the path lie idle. The stop lights would flick to red, but it just did not meant to stop me and a dozen of others from jogging.

Then came the two; a young man and a lady. Their shadows spread on the ground, their smiles are as bright as the silver moon.

"I am already starting," he said behind his spectacles.

"And you should start as well," his hands extending from his heart towards her direction - pony-tail falling on her shoulders, in jeans and rugged backpack.

A feeling like those in movie dates on a Saturday night of yesteryears, the wind suddenly blew across the field and my cheeks felt cold.

The moon got its way to suspend things like those in a hazy dream.

Valenzuela City BPO Job Fair Draws “Promising Talent Pool”

TO THE NEXT LEVEL. Shortlisted candidates receive a heads up from Billy James Cruz, talent acquisition officer from TeleDevelopment.

 

The city government, in coordination with the Rotary Club of Valenzuela, recently held a job fair in VCCPA Theater that accommodated applicants interested in pursuing a career in business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

Ms. Luningning Martin, head of the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) said, this joint undertaking between the city and the civic group is able to bring TeleDevelopment Services, a company that provide clients with global outsourcing and back-office solutions, for a one-day recruitment campaign in the city.

“That’s good news to our graduating students as well as to our constituents who wants to step up with their career,” Ms. Martin declared. She said City Mayor Win Gatchalian wants his constituents to play active roles in the $7.3 billion dollar BPO industry.

 

JOBSEEKERS. The city facilitated the one-day job fair to assist constituents in finding better career options offered by the burgeoning BPO industry.

 

Mr. Ricardo Yu of the Rotary Club said the BPO industry is already a major driving force in the economy that substantially employs a significant segment of the country’s workforce.

Of late, the Philippines has been named as the “Best BPO Destination in the World” twice by the London-based National Outsourcing Association (NOA) and is attributed mainly to its career-driven people. “I see no reason why Valenzuelanos should be left behind,” he said.

This statement was later supported by Mr. Billy James Cruz, talent acquisition officer who headed the six-person recruitment team from TeleDevelopment. Of the almost 230 applicants, he revealed at least 10 percent of them got shortlisted. “It’s a lot better compared to other places where our hit rate usually pegs at five percent,” he said.

 

HOT SEATS. The one-day job fair drew over 200 applicants, mostly graduating students from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela.

Mr. Cruz further said, applicants were idealist, optimistic but street smart. “They know what they want,” he said, “that’s why Valenzuela should nurture and support its promising talent pool.”

 

Text and Images by Mark Lester S. Cayabyab

Valenzuela City Public Information Office

http://www.valenzuela.gov.ph/press.php?id=200900629&tbl=press

 

Livid PUP students smash desks, chairs to protest 2,000% TFI

"Nag-walk-out sa kanilang klase ang daan-daang estudyante ng Polytechnic University of the Philippines sa Sta. Mesa, Manila para iprotesta ang nakaambang pagtaas ng kanilang matrikula!

Giit nila, walang konsultasyon at hindi makatarungan ang halos 2,000% dagdag singil sa matrikula! Sa tindi ng galit ng mga estudyante, kuhang kuha sa video ang nagliparang mga gamit sa eskwelahan! Exclusive, nagpa-Patrol, Ryan Chua."

TV Patrol World/ABS-CBN, Biyernes, Marso 19, 2010

Update: The PUP Board of Regents is set to discuss the pending proposal to raise tuition from P12 per unit to P200 per unit on March 29 - Malaya

Valenzuela City Grade 2 mentors grasp teaching methods beyond chalk and blackboard

After the City of Valenzuela notched a banner year in 2009 with the most number of classrooms built, students and teachers stand to gain from yet another shot in the arm in uplifting the quality of basic education in the city.

The "WIN ang Edukasyon Program" recently completed a three-day seminar-workshop for grade two public school teachers in partnership with NGO partner Synergeia Foundation, a consortium of individuals and institutions committed to work together in improving the quality of basic education in the country.

TEACHER FOR TEACHERS. Valenzuela City public school teachers grasp new ways of teching from a facilitator at the recent Win ang Edukasyon Program's seminar workshop. Photo by Valenzuela City YSL Office.

The program gathered some 250 English and Mathematics teachers for a three-Saturday course held in Parada National High School.

Fifteen lecturers and resource persons invited by Synergeia from the Ateneo de Manila University and the DepEd Division of Bulacan facilitated the training that promotes information and communications technology as an essential component in today's classroom teaching methods.

Workshop facilitators used the English and Mathematics workbooks provided for free by the city government for the students as basis for their training modules.

"We must better prepare our elementary school teachers, not only with their mastery of the subject, but also in the ways they can motivate their students to begin appreciating the lessons and its applications, Valenzuela City Local School Board Chairman Mayor Win Gatchalian said.

WINNING FORMULA. City Mayor Win Gatchalian stresses the importance of a multi-stakeholder collaborative efforts in uplifting the quality of education in the country.

 

"Times have become more technology driven and students have gotten more attuned with modern conveniences, our teachers should likewise learn to update and adopt by integrating multi-media approach with their traditional ways," he added.

The teachers however drew mix reactions citing the multi-media approach was particularly new to them and access to technology was limited.

In light of this development, Valenzuela DepEd Division Superintendent Dr. Flordeliza Mayari, however said, the Local School Board is strongly committed to capacity building measures for the teachers with their transition phase.

She said the city government has already bankrolled the development of computer laboratories in Valenzuela's public schools and would provide all the necessary help that would improve the performance of teachers through systematic reforms and other processes.