RESEARCH has shown that having a strong support system has many positive benefits, such as higher levels of well-being, better coping skills, and longer and healthier life. Studies have also shown that social support can reduce depression and anxiety.
A strong support the system can often help reduce stress. (www.americanbar.org). It is important to surround ourselves with family and friends for support and comfort in both times of joy and distress. Studies have shown that having supportive relationships is a strong protective factor against mental illnesses and helps to increase our mental well-being. During this time of the pandemic, there is a great difficulty in the face-to-face sharing of ideas, problems, and even friendly moments together with colleagues and friends. The provision of guidance and counseling services to learners is of great difficulty nowadays.
Scouting Troop leaders, who at the same time are classroom teachers are under the leadership of school administrators. Troop leaders need trained school heads in the scouting concepts so that it would be easy for them to provide technical assistance.
Project LeGenDA (Leadership through Gender and Development Activities) in the New Normal Way, has been conceptualized. The project provided virtual technical assistance provided through Commissioners’ Update, on an online platform. This division-led innovation will be participated in by the elementary and secondary school heads in Bohol Division,
This division-led innovation of Project LeGenDA aimed to:
• provide activities for the spiritual, mental, physical, social, and emotional development among school heads in the provision of technical assistance to the troop leaders under their care,
• emphasize the school head’s leadership, perseverance, and sense of responsibility toward herself and to the school community as well,
• encourage school heads to exemplify the Scouting Promise and Law by becoming pro-active in community development
Virtual capability building programs were conducted. Learner and teacher representatives from each district attended the said VCB activities managed by SDO Bohol BSP and GSP Troop Leaders. Project LeGedDA was also adopted in the schools, where scouting concepts were evident in the ways how learners deal with the difficulties in life. Like with the recent calamity, when my children and I, got a problem with my house’s roofing, my children who are real scouts and Scouters responded that they are just like having a camping activity. That is why it was also time to organize the said project during this time of the pandemic.
Bohol Schools Division Office (SDO) is committed to ensuring a safe learning environment, providing psychosocial support to DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel, showcasing promising practices in the teaching-learning processes amidst the threat of CoVid-19 pandemic, and ensuring that GAD-related issues and concerns will be properly addressed with. One of the concerns of SDO Bohol’s top management is the development of advocacy materials to address awareness of gender and development awareness, harmonization, equality, and equity in the community and the workplace.
