Another opportunity to sow the seeds of journalism and the gift of writing came when I was invited to lead the conduct of a campus journalism training for the Department of Education’s District I in Hinigaran on Dec. 7.
What made the training challenging and just as gratifying for our team of campus journalism mentors was the fact that it was exclusively held for grade school learners. Personally, making journalism more understandable to beginners, particularly grade schoolers, was a first time experience after so many years as my trainees have usually been either high school or college students and information industry professionals and school paper advisers.
Ten of the 12 schools in the district sent participants, with the number of trainees totaling a little more than 200, which included school paper advisers.
The 10 schools represented in the training were Anahaw ES, AC Yulo ES, Angela L. Colmenares ES, Camba-og ES, Nanunga ES, Pilar ES, Pahilanga ES, Hinigaran ES-A and Hinigaran ES-B and Tagda ES.
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The training course content covered the DepEd campus journalism fare – news, feature, editorial, column, sports and science and technology writing as well as copyreading and headline writing, cartooning and photojournalism.
With me as mentors in the training were Easter Anne Doza, Nanette Guadalquiver, Keith Brandon Cari-an, Joevel Bartolome and Francis Ryan Pabiania.
It was also an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with advisers, particularly related to campus paper management and publication production.
My session with the advisers was very interactive as they expressed the desire to start producing or come up with better and more competitive newsletters.
A competition for school papers is among the highlights of the DepEd annual campus journalism program, which starts from the district level up to the divisional, regional and national levels.
Our team would like to thank District 1 Supervisor Lourdes Quiso, Ma’am Maria Cora Capariño, principal of host school Hinigaran ES-B, and also the English program administrator, and Ma’am Jesette Judilla, principal of Hinigaran ES-A.
My deepest appreciation is also extended to Ma’am Azila Buga-ay, journalism in charge and English program coordinator of the district, along with her Filipino program counterpart, Ma’am Lyra Santero.
Thanks to Ma’am Reah Gayares of Camba-og ES for the very spirited facilitation of the opening and closing program and teachers Sean Jhon Piornato and Myra Guay of Pilar ES, the rest of the school papers advisers as well as the teachers of HES-B for their assistance and support.
Another seed sown… and hopefully, it will lead soon toward fruition.
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Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. (Ecclesiastes 11:6) | NWI
