THOUSANDS of pupils and students trooped to public and private schools on Monday (August 22, 2022), the official opening of classes, leaving behind their being “zoom-bies” using internet for modules for their lessons at home.
They have just started the face-to-face (F2F) with their former classmates and respective teachers after a hiatus of over two and a half years due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
The F2F was based on the directive issued earlier by Vice-President and education secretary Sara Duterte despite the seemingly increasing positive COVID-19 cases in the province.
Full F2F classes in schools in the province will take effect on November 2, 2022, unless changed by the Department of Education (DepED), report said.
Bohol Schools Division Superintendent Bianito Dagatan was reported to have said that some schools still have the discretion to hold F2F, or a blended or distance learning thru use of modules produced by DepEd depending on each capability.
The usual traffic jam is back recurring in mostly busy city streets, like the one in Bohol Wisdom School, City Central Elementary School, Cogon Elementary along San Jose Street and in national highway fronting Bohol National High.
Aside from traffic enforcers, police officers and barangay tanods were also seen deployed and assisting school children crossing the pedestrian lanes in most big towns, like Ubay.
The health protocols, like wearing of face masks at all times, hand washing with alcohol and physical distancing are expected to be observed. Report said that vaxxed or not, children still are admitted to the classes.
Krista Aparicio, 10, a grade 4 pupil at Cantumogcad, Buenavista, Bohol, said in exclusive interview that she was excited to be back in school after over two years due to the pandemic.
She said she’s happy to see her classmates, once again, for she was unable to see them for quite sometime. She said she just stayed at home and read her books or modules provided by her teachers.
Indeed, she’s looked happier than ever before as she’s playing a paper-made plane while on recess when this writer tried to approached her in their newly-found school compound.
The old makeshift school, a few meters away from the new building, was badly destroyed by super typhoon “Odette,’ according to school in-charge Celerina Jumao-as in separate interview.
She said that they’re still in the process of completing the new two-classroom building made of light materials while school floor has yet to be concreted.
The nearby new one-classroom building painted with white outside is already finished and supposedly inaugurated on Monday. But the Save the Children foundation, which provided the said new building, postpone the turnover ceremony the following day (August 23, 2022).
Barangay chairman Saturnine Petalcorin said in separate interview that he’s personally helping carpenters to finish the building funded by the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) f the DepEd.
Jumao-as thanked the barangay officials for the help to make this school stand again in a lot donated and compacted for the sake of the children’s education.
She’s also grateful to the unnamed donors for the G.I. sheets and other materials needed for the construction.
The next thing to do is to push for making it an elementary school, Jumao-as said.
For now, it appears the school and the children are contented for what they have, two new buildings and a spacious playround.
The school has: grade five and six, 16 pupils; grade four, 10; grade three, 12; grade two and grade one, 7 apiece; and kinder 10. (rvo)
