The Lasallian Crossroads Newsletter

Design and Best Editing, while Ms.JaneQuilisadiowontheBest SupportingActressaspartofthe cast.

GoldenBells,togetherwith the 20 short film entries was screened at Cinematheque Centre Negros from November 22 26.

B E U - L R C h o l d S h i f t e d T a l k 2 0 2 2

BasicEducationLearningResource Center held a Shifted Talk on the importanceofreadingforGrades7 10 on November24,2022viaZoom andFacebookLive.

AnaMarikaGlaraga,an alumnae and currently a Special Education teacherinNorthDakota,sharedthe benefitsthatshegotfromreading

from her formative years until adulthood.

MeanwhileSirJonathanDavila,a grade 9 English teacher in the Integrated School discussed the important ideas he obtained from reading literary and academic materials/EunisseLabrador

Salle-BasicEducationUnit (USLS-BEU) celebrated the Koinobori Festival held on November 12, 2022 at the new Integrated School building lobby to commemorate Children’s Day.

Participating students from the were able to design their own Koinobori with some of the participants attending via zoom

BEU, several La Salle schools around the countrysuchastheDeLa Salle College of St. Benilde, De La Salle University - Dasmarinas, and La Salle UniversityOzamiz as well as The Japan Foundation, Manila and other organizations participated in the event /MatthewLocson

Grades7,10attendSNbondingactivities

Grade 7 and Grade 10 attend the Spirit Night bonding with the theme “Mamma Mia: Here we go again!” on November 14, 2022, at the Upper Grades Covered Court.

The said event is the first face to face Spirit Night activity spearheaded by the Grades7and10batchofficers.

Activitiesincludedinter pair competitions and a zumba session./KarelleSayson

Grade school students showcase their artistry as they wave their Koinobori.

Mrs. Mapa introduces the details of the activity.

Zumba Moves. Grade 10 and 7 students dance to the modern beat.

AGlitchintheMatrix

BY EUNISSE LABRADOR

Whilemanydecidedtoseclude themselveswithinthecomfortoftheir home during the start of the global pandemic, which is an unexpected situation that suddenly surfaced, to prevent the chances of becoming victims of the virus, the question of how education will be carried out from that point was raised Schools resolved to online distance learning as a response to this, adopting the Canvas website in our case and making use of Zoom or Google Meet toattendclasses implementingthe ShifEdsysteminturn.

Nearlythreeyearshavepassed since then, and thanks to the efforts of scientists the world is gradually transitioning back to how it was before,butwhilemassgatheringsare allowedtotakeplace,establishments are still operating at a limited capacity Schoolsarenoexceptionto this rule because students suddenly found themselves sitting in their classroomoncemore,justwithhalfof theclassprojectedonascreenwhile lessons are being taught simultaneously This system of learningthatourschoolcallsHyflexis a recent adoption that was implemented, dividing the classroom into two sets and having them come to school at alternating weeks, save for those who had opted to go Full Online.

It also makes things easier for the students since they’ll only be carrying their laptops on their person compared to when they had to carry a lot of books in the past However, frequent brownouts, loss of connection, and many other problems have become too much of a problem to the point that it would affect the student’s overall learning experience if something isn’t done to address the issue with the ones behind the screen being the most affected

Those onsite can carry on and continue having the discussion, but those who are joining the classes via Zoom would have to play the waiting game until electricity or connection returns the worst part about this is that the area has frequent brownouts, so they’ll only be hearing radiosilencefromthemeetingroom.

Asaresult,timewouldbewastedand the “Zoomies” would have to spend the afternoon schedule catching up with the lesson due to the lack of discussion when they could be doing their asynchronous assignments instead Thisisalsoaproblemforthe “Roomies” considering that they wouldn’t be able to access their Canvas course tiles for the lesson, whichwillmakeitslightlyharderforit tobediscussedwellduetotheslight delay

ThoughHyflexhasitsflawsandall,its functionality cannot be denied. This system is currently one of the best solutions to the mass gathering problem that some schools have thought of, it observes health protocolsandlessensthechancesof transmitting COVID 19, something that the world is currently recovering from The change in the education system is indeed a sign of the times, but despite the glitches in the matrix, humanswillcontinuetofindsolutions to the problem and adapt to their situation

Achillrunsoveryouasthecoldairsmoothlyruns through your skin like a pack of wild ants. It’s been three whole hours and you can’t move, no, you haven’t been moving in the first place. It’s getting darker and darker and the only movements you make are inch long struggles to escape You close your eyes and wish that instead, you stayed home, stayed safe now you just accept your fate and shedatearortwoinremorse.Youknow,asdramatic as this sounds, this is the average life of a Filipino commuterintraffic.

With Hyflex in full swing, it has proven to be quite an effective medium in limiting the number of students inside the campus since there are more than a thousand in our universityalone.

BY JOAQUIN YULO

Everyday,over32millionvehicles cram within Manila’s Epifanio De Los Santos Avenue, waiting to finally arriveattheirrespectivedestinations. This is not only incredibly time consuming, but it is also egregious for the environment simply because of the multifarious carbon emissions that are released every day. Traffic congestion in the Philippines is an emerging issue that is ubiquitous and something has to be done beforetheeffectsworsen

EDSAtrafficistheworst,that’sfor sure I’ve been there myself and let me tell you, it’s the reason why we don’t travel to Manila that often In fact, the Philippine traffic index is 198.33,equivalenttotheninthhighest traffic in the world a stat that I’m sureisn’tsomethingtobeproudof In a year, the average person would spend over 150 hours in traffic, but that’sjustthebenchmarktoday.

It’snofantasythatthePhilippinesisa traffic wonderland, it’s a reality and nothingisbeingdoneaboutit.

It’s a simple equation, more cars in traffic = more pollution Last year, the roads racked up the highest traffic volume at 3.2 million cars per day that translates to 3.2 million emissionsof4metrictonsofharmful greenhouse gases every year The adverse effects of this can be felt in thepainoflosingalovedonefroma typhoon or the desperation of losing income from extended El Niňo season Here’s the reality we’ve beencuttingourtreesandnow,we’re polluting the air The Philippines is literally turning into that scene from TheLorax.

Ofcourse,itcan’tbeallbadnews Recent updates suggest that the authorities are, at the very least, trying to fix this. So far, they’ve come upwiththePUVMmodernization,

which cuts the carbon emissions of jeepneys, and the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations), which is a policy that puts the government’s intended reforms in the sector into action. That’sthegoodnews:Wearestarting to make baby steps in improving, cleaning and making our transportation sector more efficient andeco friendly

Likeanystory,horrorornot,there has to be an ending Fortunately, we gettodecidethatourselves.Trafficin the country is, to this day, still pretty negative, and absolutely quotidian The authorities are acting, but in a semi slow and almost non existent manner There is action, just maybe notenough.Iwonder,whatcanwedo to compensate? After all, the authoritiesarenottheonlyonesstuck intrafficeverymorning,wearetoo.

Reduction and Management Council

The Mobile Operational System for Emergency (MOSES) is linked to project NOAH, and it has the ability to receive real time weather and flood informationfromPAGASA Italsogives users the privilege to access weather data such as temperature and moisture.

RefreshBY ISABELLA SEVERINO

Amidst all of the opinions and problems surrounding the development of the Philippines as a country, our information and communications technology (ICT) situation is the one to be the most excitedabout.Seenparticularlyinthe recent responses to revising the world into a post pandemic way of life, we have seen that it is more “normal” for us now to connect virtually rather than in face to face settings ThePhilippines’wayofdoing this is by implementing various programstodisseminateinformation in the now most popular platform to shareknowledge theinternet

One reason why you should look forwardtoourdevelopmentusingICT isbecauseitissimplythefastestway to reach out to people Especially in the Philippines, anything can spread like wildfire. However, we don’t need “chismis” to spread information aboutanupcomingeventor

calamity anymore, because of different online programs and projects like project NOAH or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Trendingonsocialmediacanalsobe one of the easiest things to do, and there are many Filipino icons that we have now because of how fast somethingcangoviral

Another reason to look forward to thischangeisthattheseupdatesare now real time. Instead of waiting for adayortwoforanupdateoncurrent events,wecannowhaveitrightthen and there with a quick refresh on a publication website like Rappler An example of this is the alarm from a mobile device that goes off that disturbs the students' experience when there’s an earthquake nearby or a possible flood or landslide caused by “Orange Rainfall” from NDRRMCortheNationalDisasterRisk

The final reason to get pumped upaboutthisleapisbecauseofyou the netizens According to www.statista.com (2020), the Philippines have been called the social media capital of the world, because most social media users have an extraordinarily high usage time of about four hours per day. This is also supported by the same site, seeing the fact that as of 2019, there were approximately 74 million smartphone users in the Philippines, andithascontinuedtorisesince2015 It is forecasted that by 2025, there would be around 90 million smartphoneusersinthecountry

Thefutureofourcountrydepends on our ability to adapt to the circumstancesandadjustfor thecomfortofpeople,thereforethisis thebestwaytoshowthatFilipinosare ready to tackle this sudden challenge with the use of our favorite thing, the internet We are ready to change our waysforconvenienceandsafety,and a lot of benefits are coming our way It’s your turn refresh your page, refreshthefuture!

The theatre was thick with people as they were waiting patiently for the big screen to finally come to life A few started a little chatter guessing how the films would be, whileothersbegancheckingtheirphonesinsearchforthe profile of the actors Looking for some place to sit, I finally foundtheperfectspotattheheartofthetheatre Whenthe show started, I could not just look away and miss the chance to see my fellow Lasallians' superb acting. I see Sir Nonilon Torpez, one of the Math teachers that made my childhood, Bernadette Deldig, our Student Government's Executive President, my classmate and fellow writer, and Ms JaneQuilisadio,theEnglishteacherwhoburgeonedmy love for writing, who are all casts of the award winning shortfilminNegros

GoldenBellsisashortfilmentrytotheSineNegrenseFilm Festival which takes its inspiration from a family run business located on one of the busiest streets in Bacolod City Like any other small business managed by family members,GoldenBellsexperiencedhighsandlows

I and my team took the opportunity to interview the LasallianpersonalitieswhoshoneasbrightasGoldenBells Itmademesoproudtoseethemcarrytheshieldofgreen andwhiteandexcel.ThewordsofourbelovedAlmaMater song looped in my head, "We'll hold your banner high and bright"Truly,itwasanexperience

WhenoneasksforaNegrensedirectorwhohasagood sense of passion and an even bigger sense of purpose and community, one would easily not fail to acknowledge Mr. Kurt Soberano. It all began during grade school when Kurt would act in plays and work with numerous directors That was when he thought, “I should give it a go, too,” during his days as a college student,whenalmostnobodywascreatingfilms Itwas in his directing days when he realized that he was ubiquitouslyapplyingtheLasallianvalueshepickedup in school, service, and faith. In a movie set with Kurt, each person has a purpose, paired with a service to deliver that purpose. In fact, he prioritizes making everyone feel at home during his sets, and paired with faith and including the Lord in his everyday decisions, this Filipino director continues to soar Today, Kurt is a multi awarded filmmaker, with his recent film, Golden Bells,hittingyetanotherbullseye.Accordingtohim,the entire crew should be proud of themselves, yet humble atthesametime,whilenevergivinguponchasingtheir heart’sdesires.Afterall,anartistneverstops.

There is no giving up on what you love to do, whether it is teaching, telling a story, creating art, acting on stage, working with others. Anythingthatonedoesisaformof worship. You give back to the Heavenly Father the joy, the love for others, the small miracles, the kindness He gave you. There is always something to do and discover,storiestotell,friendship to nurture, people to love, all thesekeepmegoing.

Dir. Kurt Soberano

MissBernadetteThereseDeldig asBetty

Nurturing,determined,andselfless Thesearesimplyjust3wordsthatcould justly define her. Betty, played by Bernadette Deldig is a young and obedient daughter who fulfills her role well helping their family business, Jameson Enterprises while taking care of the family at the same time Betty manned the cashier while her sister Dina assisted from time to time Soon after, an unexpected turn of events arose, resulting in their father’s death. After this suddenoccurrence,BettythengotmarriedandlivedalifeofherowninIloilo One could simply ask how Bernadette could’ve accomplished playing Betty despite the different encounters she faced throughout filming, but then simply being strong willed alone as an answer would then be an understatement. We can clearly see a distinct correlation between the personality of Bernadette, beingtheperseveringyoungwomansheisincontrasttoBetty

"Ever since I was a little girl, there was always something about the stage that fascinated me in ways that I can’t quite explain AneventinmylifethatreallyignitedsomethinginmetoventureintoactingwaswhenIwas10,IsawLeaSalonga in Les Misérables and Eva Noblezada in Miss Saigon on Youtube I remember being so moved that I almost felt like time stopped, and I saw nothing but a new dream emerge right in front of my eyes acting Seeing two Filipina women set global stages on fire empowered me. After that “awakening”, I got into declamation, polished my craft through the years, andnow,debutonthebigscreen Sayingthatoutloudisactuallysurrealtome Godreallydoesworkinamazingways"

Mrs.JaneQuilisadio asEster

Despitebeinganaward winningactress,Mrs Quilisadioisafun,easygoing,and charismatic mother to the grade school students of the University of St La Salle whoisnowateacheratLiceo.

TeacherJaneaseveryonefondlycallsher,neverthoughtofventuringintofilm According to her, her love for acting all started when she was in college at Collegio San Agustin Bacolod, where she would do some inter department play competitionsandvariousworkshopsdonebyexceptionaldirectors.

"IspentasummerinPETA(PhilippineEducationalTheaterAssociation) Nexttheater workshop was in the Actors workshop with Laurice Guillen's group. Then, Peque Gallaga brought his entire team to La Salle Bacolod in 1990, and Negros Summer workshops started. The workshops not only offered acting, production work, directing, and scriptwriting but film production and others as well A lot of theater groupsandproductionsinschoolsandcommunitiesgrewandflourishedoutofhis mentorship,expertise,andgenerosityinsharinghiscraft Theaterproductionsentail time and finances Venturing into films was the next best thing The stories were brought to the audience I was blessed to be granted auditions and got roles and workedwiththebestdirectorsintheisland"

Lasallians’senseofvolunteerism

In a valiant effort to help those who were affected by the recent Typhoon Paeng, some Lasallians went to the barangay hall of Barangay Mambulac in Silay City and gave their support to the locals in the form of an outreachprogram

The outreach program, titled “Project TULONG”, was organized by the Liceo Scout Club USLS, in collaboration with the Interact Club of Liceo De La Salle; Explorer Scouts USLS; and Serafin V. Aguilar Chapter No 10, Order ofDeMolay

During the event, 37 volunteers, 31 students and 6 teachers, spent their time with the affected residents, from doing dance exercises with them to playing games with them. Afterwards, the volunteers assisted in the feeding program, where they gave out cups of arroz caldoandpiecesofpandesaltotheresidents

However, the spirit of volunteerism extended beyond the volunteers whowerepresentinthearea.Aftereatingtheirsnacks,theresidents werethengivenmanydifferentkindsofclothes,whichallwerepart ofdonationsthatcamefromthekindheartsofLasalliandonors

Kyle Balbin, a member of the Order of DeMolay who also spearheaded the program, had expressed in his closing remarks gratitude for all the students, teachers, volunteers, and donors who made the program possible He also said that he hopes to have moreprogramslikethisoneinthefuture /MatthewLocson

BYMATTHEWLOCSON

What is Negros Forest Park? What is Negros Forest Park?

A prized biodiversity center aimed towards breeding and fostering local Negros wildlife in hopes of reviving populations in the wild established by Fernando Gutierrez and Pavel Hospodarsky back in 2010 The park is currently being run by The Talarak Foundation Inc.

YES! Especially if you're an animal enthusiast. The sad reality is that, you can only see some of these species here Which is why it is a great experience if you'd like to something so rare in person

What-Ifs

By Anne Therese Vasquez

ThethinblanketsoverAdeline’sheadare absolutelyuselessinmufflingAllene’s incessantramblingaboutherdate Turnsout thatitwasn'tatotalfailurelikehowher brother,Alexei,triedtopredictittobe inthe shortspanofthirtyminutes,shewasgivenan awfullyintimateinsightintoalltheevents happeningonherdate,Xylos,life

Fromhishometowntohisfavouritefood,she knowsitallbynow,andshedoesn'teven knowtheguy!Notthatshe'snothappyfor her,itsjusttheconstantmentionofXylo becameabitannoyingafterawhile "Doyou wanttogohavebrunchwithus?There’sa newrestaurantintownthatyou'dabsolutely love,"theoldergirlasksafteragoodforty minutescooingoverXylosvoice Adeline pursesherlipsasshesoothesthecreaseson thepillowplacedontopofherlap "notreally Iwouldn'twanttointrudeonyourlovey doveymoments,"sherespondsmeekly

Allenelaysdownonherbedandholdsupher teddybearintheair, awh,whynot?Xylo’s reallychill,Ipromise,"shepersists,smiling wistfullyatthebear

"Fromwhatyou'vetoldme,hereallyseems likeheis,butIwouldntwanttothirdwheel, shesaysinaslightlybittertone

Wewontdoanything,Ipromise

Idunno thetwoofyoulookingateachother lovinglywouldbeenoughtomakemeseem likeabigthirdwheelintheeyesof bystanders, sheretorts Ifyourenervous aboutyourdate,it'llbefine Xylosoundslikea greatperson Alleneshutsupimmediately uponhearingherremark;sheplacesthe teddybearonherchestandhugsitclose

"Finethen,Iguesswecangotherewithjust thetwoofusnexttime butcanIaskyou somethingthough?"Adelinelooksather weirdly

"What?"

"Howareyou?"

There’sashortmomentofsilencebefore Adelinetakesadeepbreath,andinasoft voicereplies, Iminlove

Theoldergirltakesadeepbreath,eyelids flutteringclose Tookyoulongenoughto realise"

"I’mscared,"Adelineadds Shesitsuponher bedindeepthought "Ididn'twanttofallfor him Idontwanttorisklosinghimifherejects mebecausehe'smybestfriendbefore anythingelse Evenifhedidreciprocatemy feelings,whatarethechancesthatwe'lllast foreverandnotbreakup?"

Allenefrowns,herexpressiondisplaying severalsignsofdisappointment:furrowed brows,lipsinathinline,nosescrunchedup "You'rewonderingwhatwillhappenifhe breaksyourheart?

SometimesAdelinewondershowAllene couldreadhersowell Shewondershowa friendwhomsherarelytalkstocouldclick withherandreadherlikeanopenbookthat easily

Adelinehumsinreply,"theideaoflove soundedsosimple I’vedaydreamedaboutit forhours,butnowthatI’mactuallyinthis situation,I’mterrified"

"Isthatwhatyouthink?isthatwhyyou'reso scaredofcommitment,hm?

"Thecall outwasunnecessary,"Adeline groans "Butyou'reright I’mworriedthateven ifwedolastthatIwon'tbegoodenoughfor himandthathedeservessomuchbetter becausehereallydeservesallthat,you know?he'samazing "

"Isthatall?”Adelineshakesherhead,“notjust that I’mterrifiedofleavinghim Youknow howIam,Icanneveralwaysstayinone place,whatifhedoesn’twantthat?”

“Wellonlyonewaytofindout,”Alleneshrugs, “gocatchuptohim,maybegettheclosure youwant”

“He’sattheairport”

“Wellthereyougo,”Alleneexhales,chuckling softly,“isitrunningthroughtheairportkindof love?

Theyoungergirlrollshereyesandreplies, “I’mnotrunningthroughtheairport he’d thinkIwasinsane”

“I’mjustsaying “

“Allene,c’mon,theairport?”Adelinecutsher offandgrabsthepacketofchipsshe’s holding HowwouldIevenfindhim?

Alleneshrugsandsaysinasmallsheepish voicethathasAdelinesendinghimadirty look,“Idunno,withthepoweroflove?”

“That’sdumb,”shecomments Adelinewon’t admitit,butdeepdown,shewould She’drun likeafranticmaniactotheairporttolookfor AlexeiKlarido(22)SetterfortheDivision1, AcresVolleyballTeam

Adelinesitsinbeddeepinthought Fateisn’t somethingtobemessedwith,andusingup allthatgoodluckforalovelifesheisn’tsure whattheoutputwouldbeisrisky Losing someoneasimportantasAlexei,herbest friend,isabigthingtoriskandAdelineisn’t sureifshecantakeabandonmentthatwell

Allenesighs, youreacoward,love Its supposedtobeajoke Allenesaiditina lightheartedtonewithanexaggeratedlong sighpairedwithalaughattheend,but Adelinecan’thelpbutthinkthatshe’sright

Well,suckstobemethen

Yes,wehaveanationalsport

BY LANCE FERNANDEZ

TheFilipinoMbappé BrianSayon