thecityicon

Neophyte CH whipped regulars, nailed 8th in ISAW

O(press)ed Freedom

CH pilots limited f2f classes

Pursuant to DepEd Order No. 17, s. 2022, Santiago City National High School (SCNHS) reopened its gate for limited face-to-face (F2F) classes on selected grade levels and programs on May 16.

SCNHS conducted physical classes for grades seven and eight students under the Special Program in the Arts (SPA) and grades 11 and 12 learners under the Technical Vocational Livelihood-Home Economics (TVL-HE) track.

The institution prior explained that participation in F2F classes is not required and will only be restricted to City Highers who have “indicated willingness” to participate.

While on the conduct of on-site learning, Mario James Dela Cruz, school chairperson of the committee on health protocols, emphasized that SCNHS is “very particular” when it comes to implementing the guidelines laid out by DepEd and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to ensure the safety of the learners.

“We strictly adhere to protocols mandated by IATF and even enforce safety measures suitable to the school’s size to guarantee the absence of local transmission between the faculty and students. After all, safety is City High’s top priority,” Dela Cruz stressed.

Meanwhile, SCNHS has expressed optimism that the “successful implementation” will persuade the entirety of the student population about the safety of resuming in-person classes.

Moreover, Dela Cruz also added that returning to F2F classes is of

Infodemic

The City Icon Survey: City Highers susceptible to fake news

necessity for SCNHS to further equip its learners with the necessary skills.

“In the face of global change, pupils must master basic education at a young age in order to compete in the global economy,” he said.

However, Grade 9 City Higher Carl Brioso exhibited dismay over how few the number of schools reopening is, stating that “the longer students stay stuck in the online setup, the further they get robbed of the opportunity to learn effectively.”

“It’s demoralizing to see the numbers still so low. For almost three years, we have been putting up with this setup; we [have] already taken up initiatives demanding a ‘ligtas na balik eskuwela’ and have continued to struggle for a mass-oriented system; it’s up to those in power to do their part,” Brioso asserted.

ARRA MAE G. MARIANO WRITER

The majority—or 66 percent of City Highers are likely to fall victim to fake news; The City Icon survey showed Friday. In a prior survey, 39 out of 50 SCNHS learners considered themselves “confident” in terms of discerning false information, while six students shared that they are “somewhat confident,” and the remaining five claimed that they are “not confident.”

However, among those who responded “confident” and “somewhat confident,” only 11 passed The City Icon’s susceptibility test. The test is divided into two parts: a 15-point quiz wherein respondents are offered two headlines, one from a prominent news organization and one fabricated by the publication staffers, and were asked to identify which is legitimate.

Meanwhile, on the second part of the test, students are requested to assess and verify quotes allegedly accredited to the Philippine presidentiables.

The survey was done virtually through Google Forms from Oct. 19 to 22 and had a sampling margin error of ±2.811 percent.

According to Nico Caballes, one of the respondents who failed the survey, his frequent social media usage challenged his capability to discern what is true and false.

“As someone who uses social media sites often, I’m prone to fake news. They are the bane of the internet. Frankly, while the amenity brought by the internet is certainly advantageous, it damages my capacity to determinate the truth and the falsehoods,” Caballes said.

On the other hand, Xyrene Villanueva, an SCNHS learner who passed the susceptibility test, argued that City Highers should always “look after oneself” upon using the online space.

“The space in which the vast majority of people interconnect with one another calls for being able to ‘look after oneself,’ as not all things that are available online can be considered trustworthy,” she reasoned.

Moreover, Senior High School Teacher Marie Chona Bermusa urged students to ensure that what they share is “truthful, valid, and verified,” especially in “heavily significant matters.”

CONTINUANCE DESPITE DISTURBANCE. After almost three years of enduring the remote setup in education, a teacher at Santiago City National High School (SCNHS), John Paul Capinpin, finally started his limited face-to-face classes with grade seven learners of the Special Program in the Arts last May 16.

SCNHS shoots pass 3k studes vaxxed vs. COVID-19

Santiago City National High School (SCNHS) logs 3,372 students fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus as of March 2022 out of its 4730 students.

Furthermore, based on the data provided by the school, a total of 92 City Highers (1.94 percent) have yet to receive their second dose.

Data presented by SCNHS also showed that the grade eight population registered the highest vaccination rate among the other grade levels at more than 21 percent.

F2F classes

According to Mario James Dela Cruz, a teacher at City High, one of the things that may have prompted the learners to get inoculated is the gradual reopening of schools across the country for face-to-face classes.

“The sudden shift in education had caused damage to students scaling from their academic performance to their mental health. Thus, it cannot be denied that in-person and experiential learning is of absolute necessity for them, and perhaps they see the vaccines as a means to bring back the norm of classes sooner rather than later,” Dela Cruz said. Forefront healthcare Meanwhile, Grade 12 Codey Tarapen addressed himself to his fellow City Highers who are not yet vaccinated, asserting that the COVID-19 vaccines are “on top” of the government measures in containing the virus.

“For almost three years now, we have been adopting preternatural remedies and occult modes of prevention, yet nothing has ever worked. Little did we know that scientists worldwide have been trying to synthesize the most effective end-all-be-all to this pandemic—the vaccines. Thereby, as a City Higher, I urge my fellow learners to get vaccinated,” Tarapen advocated. “Sure, it might not be the actual cure, but there’s a significant drop in the risk of disease among the vaccinated population. With all those gists penned down, one thing is beyond telling: This could be our last straw in getting back on track, but prevailing over is contingent upon the participation of everyone,” she added.

“As society transitions to the new normal, social media and the internet become the primary sources of information. As a result, it is crucial to have a critical mindset and be attentive to incorrect information. Although City Highers as netizens are not key news sources, they hold the ability to propagate information,” Bermusa noted.

Ina bid to render the learners under the Special Program in Journalism (SPJ) with the necessary journalistic skills alongside the values of truth and service to people, Santiago City National High School (SCNHS) administers an intensive-webinar workshop in the safety of the students and the faculty’s home.

Mandatory military service draws flak; City Highers thumb down move

Students from Santiago City National High School (SCNHS) clamor on social media, joining a growing voice of dissent in opposition to a 2022 political aspirant’s proposed mandatory military service.

The issue surfaced following the statement made by Vice-presidential Hopeful and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, vowing that she would push for mandatory military service for Filipinos upon turning 18 to instill patriotism and nationalism if elected.

However, City Highers claimed that instead of patriotism and nationalism, it would rather promote blind obedience and misdirect the youth by encouraging a militaristic view and infringing on basic human rights.

“I stand firmly against the implementation of this compulsory military service. Patriotism and nationalism cannot be inculcated by virtue of obsequious servility. That just invariably champions abject subordination and institutes a hollow of violence that lead-astray young people through militancy and human rights abuse,” Jullian Saturno, a grade 9 SCNHS student’s Facebook post read.

Furthermore, grade 11 City Higher Chrissa Valdez wrote on Twitter:

“We are not, in any way, on a war footing to make it our priority. The pandemic has us in a grave situation economic-wise; it would only be a waste of time and money to have a military mobilization funded. The crisis is also just there, ushering in a new era of urgent innovation and waiting for us to divert our attention to significant scientific changes that we should make.”

According to Valdez, what Duterte-Carpio should be campaigning for instead is the reinforcement of emergency response and recovery plans that can help the country ride out of the pandemic and invest the budget allocated to the manifesto in the continuous improvement of scientific processes.

Relatedly, the mayor’s father, President Rodrigo Duterte, has been attempting to revitalize the compulsory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) ever since he dominated the race for the presidency last 2016, but his bid failed to materialize. Republic Act 9163, also known as the National Service Training Program (NSTP), was legislated in 2001, making the mandatory ROTC policy optional, subsequent to the calls for justice after the death of Mark Welson Chua, ROTC cadet from the University of Santo Tomas (UST), who revealed the corruption that went behind closed doors of the

In coordination with alumni staffers of The City Icon, the school’s official publication, SPJ students were able to learn and garner insights into various categories in the journalism field and its counterparts, such as broadcasting, photojournalism, news reporting, fact-checking, proofreading, and interviewing sources.

Citing the alterations brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic, learners under the journalism curriculum affirms that the initiative serves as an outlet for “transcending the role of campus journalism in the new normal.”

According to Preciouse Samar, a grade 9 SPJ student, the said workshop allows them to rise above the current pandemic and continue fortifying their aptitudes through the guidance of experienced journalists that came before them.

“COVID-19 forced us to live in this new normal, locking the majority in quarantine and erecting barriers to the traditional way of life. However, though challenged by the borders and health restrictions, such activities still managed to keep us up to date in honing our skills through our seniors. It is a great outlet for transcending the role of campus journalism in the new normal,” Samar said. Journalism vs. the mantle of the dominant figures by the numbers

From being at loggerheads with reading, 35 Grade 7 learners from Santiago City National High School (SCNHS) have enhanced their reading skills, progressing to the instructional level.

The said accomplishment was reflected in the results of the posttest administered by SCNHS English teachers among the remedial readers.

The improvement is directly attributed to the implementation of the school’s flagship program, the Diagnosis and Remediation in Reading (DiaRem), which involves “innovative strategy and solution” to address education-related challenges, particularly in literacy.

Amid the absence of the traditional learning mode, DiaRem has continued its operations, dividing the remediation program into five phases.

Phase one of the implementation was the “Planning Phase,” wherein proponents arranged and devised new strategies to keep the program running despite the pandemic.

Phase two was the orientation period, geared to enlighten the students and parents on

Russia-Ukraine war ripples through commodities, CH copes

hike, whereas 19 percent discover it “slightly hard,” and 13 percent meanwhile consider it “not hard.”

With SPJ students having been equipped, Kylie Saclamitao, one of the proponents of the webinar, asserted that SCNHS expects them to practice ethical reportage by “authenticating facts and detesting withdrawals of truth” to contribute to the growth of society despite the persecution of the free press.

“SCNHS is trying to instill amongst the learners the passion for social awareness and responsibility through campus journalism. Succeeding the workshop, we hope that these kinds of sensibilities are awakened in the hearts of our SPJ learners. After all, campus journalists are responsible citizens of society who ought to defend the freedom of the press from autocratic partisans,” Saclamitao added.

Moreover, SPJ learners also underscored the workshop’s significance in light of how the current administration subdues the watchdog role of media.

Drawing things to a close Concluding the workshop, Blessy Espenilla, the last lecturer, conducted stimulant activities to channel the students’ learnings during the entire course of the webinar. The activities involved recitation, enumeration, and article-writing that were tracked online and given criticisms and feedback via Facebook Messenger.

Journalism-related endavors like this are critical, especially at a time wherein our role as watchdogs is undergoing suppression of the Duterte administration. It serves as an eye-opener and force that drives us to pursue our calling even in the midst of sky-scraping influential entities and the low regard for our democratic principles,”

Jessalyn Ventura, a grade 8 SPJ student, stated in an interview.