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Dear Kindergarten Parents:
 You are probably surprised to receive a separate bulletin that exclusively deals with kindergarten matters. In the past, we had included an occasional Kindergarten News section in the weekly Principal’s Bulletin. In talking over kinder matters with your PTA officers, I suggested a separate bulletin for the kindergarten and everybody concurred that it was an excellent idea. This bulletin will come out once a month throughout the school year.
The SMS Kindergarten is officially in its 3rd Year under the SMS aegis. First and foremost, I would like to thank you, the parents, for choosing to send your child to St. Mary’s School. By doing so, you have affirmed your faith in us to deliver the quality education necessary for the foundation of your child’s education. Specifically, I would like to commend Teacher Lissa for establishing the curriculum, the appropriate child-centered instructional methodology, and the effective implementation of what we have to offer. Lissa is indeed a great teacher. I would also like to thank the Kinder PTA officers, past and present, for supporting our endeavors and rallying up the parent community to be involved in their child’s educational upbringing. It would be extremely difficult and frustrating to have a great school without parental support and involvement. I would also like to give credit to the high school faculty and students, both past and present, who have gone beyond their normal responsibilities to lend a hand during kindergarten activities. SMS is indeed a family school.
Your PTA Officers and I met last Wednesday, July 7, to discuss the slate of activities for this school year. Here are the main highlights of the discussion:
- The Kinder YCAP Day will be held on Friday, July 16, if it is declared a holiday (Cordillera Day). If not, the YCAP Day will be transferred to Sunday, July 18, after Mass. The YCAP will be focused on cleaning the surroundings of the kindergarten building, painting the school house, and repairing the perimeter fence.
- The First Family Fun Day is scheduled on Saturday, August 7, starting at 9:00. The activities planned will focus on interactive games and presentations which involve the child and his parent. It is vital that parents are present with their child. A potluck lunch is also scheduled.
- The Kindergarten will join the launching of the dap-ays, together with the high school on Friday, August 20. The usual parade and school spirit (cheering, etc.) competitions are planned. More details will be published when the plans are finalized.
Future kinder plans include parenting seminars, a health check-up for the children, the Greco-Roman festival, a nature walk and kite flying in Danum, in addition to the traditional Cordillera celebrations in December.
Other Developments:
Parent Teacher-Conferences: Parent conferences with Teacher Lissa will be scheduled towards the last week of July and the first week of August. We would encourage parents to make individual appointments with her after school hours (4:30p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) so that enough time can be allotted for every parent. Please check your calendars and schedule your conference directly with Teacher Lissa.
Adjunct Faculty: Please welcome the adjunct faculty for the Kindergarten. Returning from last year is veteran teacher Daniel Ambasing, who handles PE for Kinder 2. New this year are Larson Calatero, an Ibaloi from Tublay, Benguet, and Bernadette Dekdeken, from Sagada. Larson will handle PE for Kinder 1. Bernadette will serve as a teacher’s aide for Kinder 1 in the mornings. Deacon Andres Pasian, the new school chaplain and Jenny Bicarme, our guidance counselor, will also be involved in the life of the kinder community.
Fundraiser: During our discussion, the topic of this year’s fundraiser and project were brought up. Traditionally, the Kinder PTA has used a major school event like Pista sa Santa Marya to raise money for a specified project for the school (e.g. installing fans, setting up a library with a television set.) Much time and effort are spent in these endeavors, and often, getting cooperation from the community is difficult and uneven. For example, soliciting funds to pay for dinuguan, cooking the dinuguan, and selling the dinuguan all fall into the hands of a selected few, and uneven support and participation during the project almost always lead to frustration and hut feelings. For this reason, previous PTAs resort to just imposing a specified amount among parents (like levying a tax) which is used for the project. In many ways, I agree with the latter approach because it is simpler and much more equitable. For this coming major event, the Greco-Roman Festival, my suggestion is to dispense with selling food as a fundraiser. Let’s have a potluck where everyone brings something and shares with others. This way, we can enjoy the day without the pressure of buying ingredients for large numbers of people, cooking all morning, and selling the stuff; in short, we are now all free to participate in the events. What happens to the fundraiser and the project? I suggest either levying an amount for contributions, or soliciting donors for materials, and then engaging the parent community to provide labor (like the YCAP) to do the project when all the funds and materials are ready. This will be one of the major topics for discussion in the next PTA meeting in the second quarter.
Tuition Increase: As many of you are aware, there was no tuition increase this year, primarily because the funds generated from tuition fees are sufficient to cover the teachers’ salaries and overhead expenses. Currently, your treasurer, Mrs. Chiqui Say-awen, is doing an impact study on how much is needed to cover next school year’s expenses, considering that Teacher Lissa’s salary will substantially increase when she gets tenured after this year. How much and how it will be apportioned between next year’s Kinder I and II will be discussed after we get the figures.
Finally, I would like to congratulate your leaders whom you have chosen to lead the PTA:
Mrs. Wanay Pagadian - President
Mr. Balan Busacay - Vice President
Mrs. Sigrid Bangyay-Rogers - Secretary
Mrs. Chiqui Say-awen - Treasurer
Mr. Dale Balonglong & Mrs. Carol Balisong - Business Managers
Area Representatives:
Mrs. Frauline Capuyan (Nangonogan); Mrs. Karen Abad (Lower Patay); Mrs. Ailyn Yodong (Upper Patay) Mrs. Janice Baaten (Dagdag) and Mrs. Bogan Baybay (Demang-Ambasing)
Until the next Bulletin, best wishes to all of you.
Dennis G. Faustino, Principal
Nemia Lite, Assistant Principal
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