Metal detector: Effective or not?

STUDENTS questioned the use of a metal detector at Divine Grace School, particularly in the high school building, after finding out that a grade 10 student (identity withheld) sneaked in with a kitchen knife, he brought last March 30.

The knife was said to be used for the preparation for their Learner’s Day performance, which included fake weapons. But his classmates testified to seeing him with a prohibited object. They surrendered it to the school administators, but still made them question the usefulness of the metal detector as well as their own security inside the school premises.

The school started using a metal detector last January 30 after the news concerning the death of a 13-year-old student from Culiat High School, which is a 28-minute drive or 14.0 kilometers from

Mini chaos mars ‘Bigay Puso’ comeback

STORY BY ERIKA MAE FRECHEL PEÑA

DIVINE Grace School brought back its annual ‘Bigay Puso’ project last December 16 after getting mothballed for almost three years due to the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic at the school covered court.

Spearheaded by the DGS community— the stakeholders and the Board of Trustees— the Administrators and Student Administrative Council officers prepared more than 200 packs for the people who received tickets.

The program went well and was systematic except that other people waiting outside were messy and uncooperative.

Moreover, they were no longer able to get tickets since they were limited.

"It's inevitable that happens, I mean, I understand why there's chaos, there were free relief goods and most of the families don’t have money for Christmas, so let them go first for the opportunity,” Grade 10 representative and The Graceans junior high school Editor-in-Chief Kristina Czarina Trinidad said.

"I can't blame them, but I hope next time they'll be organized too. They are in line, and no one is making trouble because it is dangerous if there is an injury, or a stampede happens,” she added.

Even DGS security officer Erickson de Jesus kept trying to fix and explain the policy of this program.

Finding a new home for HUMSS, GAS

STORY BY RIANNE NICOLE CORPIN

SENIOR high school students at Divine Grace School belonging to the Humanities and Social Sciences and General Academic strands had been struggling transferring rooms from the SHS building to the junior high school building due to the preparation for the renovation and implementation of new facilities.

The HUMSS and GAS students were officially removed from Ernesto Hall.

Only the GAS students reportedly were supposed to be the one moving because their room on the third floor will be renovated into a science and computer laboratory. However, the teachers agreed to include the HUMSS to lessen their time to walk between the two buildings and use it in their classes instead.

All of the students of HUMSS and GAS have been staying at the JHS building at the third floor, in front of the

SHS building.

Students from the Marx section of HUMSS maintained they still prefer to settle at Ernesto Building. They felt that it was unfair that they have been removed from the SHS building.

“Mahirap talaga tanggapin ang mga bagay sa simula, lalo na noong mga unang linggo ng paglipat namin at lalo na nung nalaman namin na ang HUMSS at GAS ang pinaka-unang strand ng DGS nung nagsisimula palang ang K-12 Program, tapos kami ang natrato ng ganoon,” HUMSS strand Mayor King David Manghi said.

However, amidst the sadness, he still said that it was for the innovation, improvement, and marketing of DGS to provide facilities for the students.

Both strands had resided in JHS building for four months and they couldn’t tell for how much longer they will stay.

STORY BY PRECIOUS JANA MOLLEDA

DGS.

The student was stabbed resulting to a death, with witnesses given psychological first aid after.

The weapon used was a knife which caused a stir upon the minds of students and administrators with regards to the safety and security inside the DGS.

“I first noticed a pupil carrying a kitchen knife in fifth grade because they were so enraged at a classmate. So, even though the school now has metal detectors, there was still a recent incident in which a student brought a sharp object and we happened to see it lying on a table,” a student, whose identity was also withheld, said.

He also talked about how disheartened he was knowing there was a metal detector, but it was not used properly for their safety.

10 of 10 students claimed the false sense of security and disagreed on the metal detector being useful and the risks being minimized.

The metal detector was used only for a while, but then used seldom. Not every person who comes inside the building was searched properly, concerning them if it could lead to a threat to their safety.

On the other hand, the metal detector being a cause of hassle was others’ complaint. It was used on them, but it did not necessarily lessen the risk for the security, and it did not care what it was. It was also not confiscated.

According to them, they could easily lie that it was a piece of harmless metal object, and they would get away with it.