Filipiniana Week

This week was very busy with studying the culture, arts, and transportation in the Philippines. It was tiring to get through the week, but I know the students had a great time and learned a lot.

Monday: We had our openning ceremony, which included a dance performance from a visiting Filipino school, singing the national anthemn, and the new teachers knocking down clay pots filled with candy.

Tuesday: All day field trip. We visited a doll museum, which displayed the history of Marikina and how the people started working the land until now, filled with shops. Next, we had lunch at a park/zoo. After taking a tour of the zoo, we walked across the street to Assumption School – a Catholic school which our school had been pen-pals with. The students got to meet there pen-pals and talk with them. Assumption school shared a dance with us. We shared a song (This is the Day – in English and Tagalog) and gave each child a gospel bracelot, telling them what the colors represented. Finally, our last stop was at the Capiz factory. Capiz is a shiny, really thin shell that the factory has made into photo frames, ornaments, etc. The students really enjoyed seeing how the workers molded the metal around the shell and creating these unique works of art.

You can look at pictures if you follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014944&l=c0076&id=162800020

Thursday: I organized a mini-field trip/service project for just the Kindergateners. Since Kinder was focusing on learning about transportation in the Philippines, I thought it would be fun for the students to actually take one form of transportation. We all walked down to the Valley Golf gate, then we took trikes (which are motorcycles with a side car attached to it – 3 wheels) to a mini-stop by the main street. At the mini-stop we ordered ice cream, then took the trikes back. As we walked up the hill to school again, we took the time to pick up trash as we went along. The Kinders were busy picking up trash for almost 45 minutes – they worked hard!!!

Friday: Fiesta Day. This day, the Elementary students had the chance to play Filipino games, taste a Filipino merienda (snack of sticky rice, peanuts, and nuts), and learn tinikling. Tinikling is a dance which involves two people hitting bamboo poles (one on either side). They beat the poles on the ground and slide them together as a dancers steps over and in between the poles.