DISCOVER POTENTIAL. DISCOVER THE FUTURE.

​Dear Parents, 

Today we'd like to talk about a recent event that we are so proud to have at our school every year:  Business Week! 

Stalls were set up, signs were posted, and wares were showcased for our own little market. 

The students made turon, palitaw, lumpiang togue, ice candy, sago't gulaman and a lot more... No wonder one of their favorite parts of the event was eating what they made.

They also crafted fun accessories like key chains and designed the shop signs that advertised their products.

Our students surprised us with how savvy they were during the event…

Some students focused on the product side of things, making them more appealing to customers and producing more of the popular dishes like togue. Others made adjustments to financial aspects like adjusting the price to suit customer demand.
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They also learned how to speak to customers and handle transactions so everyone got served quickly.

​Why are we so invested in teaching our students about business?
Dear parents, we believe that we are filling an important gap in knowledge that will help shape our students into financially responsible and forward-thinking individuals. Not only does it incorporate integrated learning by combining math, science, and communication, students are exposed to the “real world.” They learn how products are made and the cost of labor, raw materials, and how to leverage them into profit.​

​It was an awesome sight to see everyone working hard together to essentially operate their very own businesses, from production, to sales and customer service. Special deliveries were made quite quickly and happily.  After the event, we asked some of the students if they had a good time and if it was a learning experience for them – we were met with a resounding YES!

​Here are some of the feedback we received from our students:

“My most memorable experience is when I learned to work and how business works.”
“I learned that it is important that kids like us can experience being an entrepreneur.”
“I learned that we should work really hard to earn money and should have patience to get your goal.”
“We learned how to save money and share it with others, like donating to the immersion.”

​Parents also observed positive changes at home.  To earn some capital, they were introduced to chores they don't normally do; they also learned how to independently make iced candy, milk tea, palitaw and many others.

It would be our honor to watch them confidently move forward into the future with all the fun and meaningful lessons we learn at our school.

Dear parents, how exciting it is to see how hard our students worked for themselves and for others, and how these lessons will positively impact their future.

We hoped you enjoyed reading about Business Week! We still have more fun and learning to look forward to in the year ahead – so stay tuned to the blog.

Until the next post!

Dear Parents,

Valentine’s Day is such a wonderful occasion - it’s a day to celebrate love!

Going around Metro Manila, I’m sure you’ve seen the multitudes of couples in cafes, restaurants, on the streets, flowers in hand and smiles on their faces.

But Valentine’s Day is not just for couples. It’s a great time to also show your love for your family! So why not come up with new traditions that you can do every year at home?

​And remember: Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to only be on February 14… In fact, since families are sources of love and security for children, these activities can be done anytime during the year.

Here are some ideas:

Heart Jar
On the night before Valentine’s Day, grab a glass jar, some paper, and a pair of scissors. Cut the paper into hearts, and ask everyone to write down one thing they love about each family member and drop it in the heart jar. The next day - which is Valentine’s Day - read them one by one.

Valentine’s Dinner
Sharing the love at dinner doesn’t have to be at a fancy restaurant. In fact, it’s a great excuse to get everyone together to help out at the kitchen! Make Valentine’s-themed dishes like heart-shaped pancakes, desserts with pink frosting - get creative. What matters is that you spend quality time together.

I love you post-it notes
Get a stack of post-it notes and have everyone help write “I love you” and other sweet messages on each one. Then split up and stick it everywhere around the house that’s somewhat hidden but they’re sure others will see eventually. Try the inside of a refrigerator door, on someone’s pair of shoes, the bathroom mirror, the first page on a school notebook, etc.

Spread the love
What better way to teach your children how to show love to others than by practicing simple acts of kindness? If there’s a local charity you want to donate to, or an organization that takes care of the less fortunate, let your children in on it. Teaching by example is the best way children learn good values.

​We even had our own activities in school to celebrate love day! Every month, we have what we call a “monthly value” – for this month, it was love. Every single student and teacher had their own envelopes up on our bulletin board and they served as “mailboxes.” Students and teachers alike then put notes in those mailboxes, and we got to open them last Friday.

And dear parents, we hope you enjoyed your gifts! Each class from pre-school to highschool prepared simple tokens like chocolate balls, cookies, and even plants.

Dear parents, Valentine’s Day isn’t just an excuse to have special desserts, binge on chocolates and admire flowers - it’s a great opportunity to heal others through unconditional love.

We hope you enjoyed this article - stayed tuned to our blog to get more ideas like these, updates on upcoming school events and parenting tips from teaching experts.

Until the next post!

Dear parents,

Happy Monday! 

To continue our discussion on new age skills and learning techniques, today we’d like to talk about the advantages of teaching students how to ask questions.

Our school integrates what's called the Question Formulation Technique in our lessons. In the simplest words possible, it’s a classroom technique where students learn by asking questions.

Studies actually show that learning by asking questions taps comprehension and memory enhancement. What’s more, it teaches students to take ownership of their learning.
The QFT Framework is built around two components: QFocus and the QFT rules.

QFocus

Usually, a visual aid is employed that students can use as the focal point of their inquiry - it can vary from an abstract image to a tree or to a person.

It can also be a simple statement such as: “The sky is blue” - anything works, as long as it isn’t a question.

​The Rules

1. Ask as many questions as you can.
2. Do not stop to judge, discuss, or answer any questions.
3. Write down every question as stated.
4. Change any statement into a question.

Why is it important to ask questions?

Curiosity has inspired all scientific discoveries.

Why does an apple fall from a tree?
How do birds fly?
How do planets stay in orbit?
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Asking questions is the beginning of self-driven learning about a subject and encourages us to think like scientists, unrelentingly making our own discoveries.

What are the advantages?
​Safe Learning Environment
Just having the opportunity to ask questions is empowering for students to take a more active role in their own education. They are also more engaged and the classroom becomes a dynamic environment.

Builds Integrated Life Skills
Just the act of formulating the right question to draw out the answer you need already taps many integrated skills like critical thinking, research, and resourcefulness.

Encourages Meta-Cognition
Meta-cognition means awareness of your thought process. By developing this skill, students will be able to pinpoint their own intellectual strengths and develop them as they grow older.  They are not only learning new words or equations - they are learning how to think efficiently and effectively.

Trains students to be proactive and have initiative in learning
Being proactive is one of the most important traits a student can have in this new job economy. Right now, so much of our growth is in our hands. 

We can learn almost anything under the sun, create new relationships, and even build amazing things much faster and easier than we ever could before.

Dear parents, isn’t it great that we’re discovering new, more effective ways to teach our youth? We can hardly wait for what the future will bring.

Until the next post!

Bugg, Julie & Mcdaniel, Mark. (2012). Selective Benefits of Question Self-Generation and Answering for Remembering Expository Text. Journal of Educational Psychology. 104. 922. 10.1037/a0028661. 

Dear Parents, 

In the spirit of the upcoming Business Week, today we want to talk about a question I'm sure we've all been asked as kids... 

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

The usual answers were astronaut, doctor, or maybe even teacher. But as we look into the bright eyes of our little ones as they answer "YouTuber!" or "Robot builder!" - well, we can' t deny things are very different nowadays. 

The same way that the Industrial Revolution greatly changed the job economy, today we are going through another technological growth spurt - one that is totally unprecedented. So we'd best prepare. 

Here are some of the new careers your child will consider as he or she gets older:

A professional who uses virtual reality technology to simulate experiences for customers. These could be for the purpose of entertainment or for marketing.

A professional who writes code and designs parameters that "teach" machines how to find patterns in big data. Machine Learning is part of Artificial Intelligence.

A professional who understands how to extract big data (from machine learning software) and can apply it to their particular industry like real estate, commerce, etc.

A professional who designs the user experience for when a person visits a website, uses an app, works with software and for any interaction with digital tools.

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And so many more... Nowadays, they can work from anywhere around the world!

Dear parents, we're so excited to see all the great things that our children will be able to build in the future - so we want to make sure to arm them with the right tools for the job.

Traditional education institutions have truly served to teach us the fundamentals of modern knowledge, and built our character as valuable members of society - among many more lessons.

But now it’s so encouraging to see more options for families who want to prepare for the future - perhaps more than when you and I were younger. 

​Our integrated curriculum such as our Business Class and Computer Science, as well as our general approach to teaching and learning, allow students hands on experiences that help our students see connections across disciplines and apply content and knowledge to real life situations, which give them more a dynamic and personalized learning experience.

In addition to the above, through Project and Problem-based Learning in high school, students acquire, use and develop important skills like critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, oral communication and more.

We also have Family Missions to expose students to reality outside their world - to realize they can do something today, and through these experiences remain proactive until they get older. It’s also a great chance for us to give back to our amazing community. 

Dear parents, again, the future is awesome. We look forward to working together to prepare our youth to make big waves in our country. 

Until the next post!