Acad elites raise banner in inter-school tilts

Proving once more that excellence runs in the community, several Teresians claimed victory in various competitions throughout the year.

On-point at ON-KAT

Sta. Teresa College once more joined the fray at the Online Karibok ang Tuktok after skipping the event two years prior. It consisted of contests for elementary, junior high, and senior high levels held from November 8 to 12. Jerome Ceralde and Shacelle Caldoza bagged 2nd in essay writing and 3rd in dagliang talumpati in the senior high division, respectively. Audrey Geanne Padua also placed 5th in pagsulat ng sanaysay, junior high division. Moreover, the grade school contenders had a field day. Arc Jean Dalawangbayan finished 2nd in pagsulat ng sanaysay; Precious Chloe Abrugena, 3rd in poster making; Julia Louraine Carmona, 4th in digital art making; and Gerico Arce, 5th in photo contest. For Caldoza, the competition was more exciting than nerve-wracking. According to her, she did not feel too nervous on the day of the contest since she looked forward to proving her mettle for the STC community. On the other hand, Mrs. Carolyn Agbing, coach of the senior high school quiz bee team, expressed how the participants could have benefited from a longer period of preparation. “There should be a thorough, longterm preparation instead of just days or weeks before the contest. Ideally, students should be preparing everyday…especially these days, marami nang distractions,” she stated.

In its first iteration of the online format, the event added digital art making and filmmaking categories to its usual roster of events; only extemporaneous speech, dagliang talumpati, and quiz bee were conducted synchronously.

Aces in arithmetic

Meanwhile, Brianne Raphaelle Mae I. Dela Luna clinched bronze at the Thailand International Mathematical Olympiad Heat Round, Primary I division held last October 24.

This was facilitated by the Math Olympiad’s Training League Incorporated (MOTLI), the local partner of the Olympiad Champion Education Center based in Hong Kong.

To prepare for the event, Dela Luna enrolled in the Math Education Program conducted by the Asian Math-Sci League, Inc. (AMSLI) Philippines, on top attending the Kumon program. Despite having competed at the international level at a young age, her mother believes that she would not be subjected to unnecessary pressure in the future since she inherently enjoys studying. When asked about what others may emulate from her to likewise excel at math, she summed up her answers in two points: study hard and listen to one’s parents. Ceralde also competed in the Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge, Senior Division last June. He qualified after scoring at the 80th percentile in the Singapore Math Global Assessment conducted by AMSLI through Zoom earlier in April.