City Division School Press Conference 2012

It was a nostalgic experience covering the Division School Press Conference (DSPC) 2012 which started on September 12 and concluded last September 14 at Dasmarias II Central School. DSPC is the second level of campus journalism competition preceded by the Media Convergence where student-journalism from public and private elementary and secondary level in the Division of Dasmarias City contend for the spots which will lead them to the Regional Press Conference. The venue was filled with hopefuls from all the contingents. Approximately 4000 teachers and students combined joined this years DSPC. There were eight competitions with two categories (English and Filipino) for both elementary and high school divisions. The student-journalists competed in editorial writing, news writing, feature writing, sports writing, copy reading, editorial cartooning, radio broadcasting and photo journalism. Press conferences in grade school and high school are different from college press cons. In grade school and high school, you have to endure the intensive training under your respective coaches and to handle pressure despite being a little school girl and boy. Then you have to stay in whatever classroom assignment your school would get from the host district, in this case, majority of the contingents spent three days and two nights in the classroom of Dasmarias II Central School. If you were there to witness the awarding, youll be carried away by the reactions and emotions of the winners and their proud coaches. Others were surprised to hear their names called and were not able to hold back the tears of joy and victory. There were disappointed faces but were sport enough to accept their loss. This press conference would not be possible if not for the effort of the facilitators, the host district, the parents and coaches, and of course, the campus journalists who all gave their best effort in making the 2012 Division Schools Press Conference a huge success.

The Magic Stays with You: The ICA Faculty and Staff EK Excursion
Last November 25, 2012, the faculty and staff of ICA headed by Mrs. Celia S. Rasing had a company outing at Enchanted Kingdom. The bus left at 10:30 a.m. Stories and chats cropped up as the teachers travelled to Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Upon arrival, the teachers brought out their cameras and phones to grasp the endearing view of the Enchanted Kingdom. There was a jam-pack of people at EK for it was weekend. In spite of the long queue in each ride, we did not let ourselves miss the fun-filled experience of riding them. In the EKstreme Tower Ride, the free-fall drop experience literally took the teachers breath away. Another ride that gave the teachers the chill was Anchors Away. This large anchor swings back and forth for a couple of minutes, making their stomachs flip the same way. Also, the teachers did not fail the chance of experiencing the Rio Grande Rapids as well as the probability of being drenched from head to toe. It was 8:00 in the evening when we passed-by a number of people who were watching the performance of Ian Jacinto and the Siblings jam-packed with people willing to party. We stopped to watch these lovely people performing popular songs. They were so amazing that people were just watching, as if theyve seen a ghost. Ian Jacinto and the Siblings performs at Enchanted Kingdom every weekend. Before the performance ends, a man-made snow fell which made the ambiance of the place more captivating. To cap off the whole EK experience, the teachers watched the 5-minute fireworks display. Loads of pictures, souvenirs, laughter and stories were brought home by the teachers as they return to Dasmarias City.

Mar Dunong Semi-Finals

City officials, headed by Mr. Red Alano, had prepared much for the semi-finals of the Mar Dunong Word Challenge (City Spelling Bee Competition) slated last October 15 for the middle school level and October 17 for the high school level at the Animo Center De La Salle Health Sciences Institute. Red Alano, city tourism and public information officer, encouraged the top 50 contestants from both public and private elementary and high school students by showing this years prizes which include college scholarship and a brand new laptop. For the semi-finals, the students will no longer use their pencil and ballpen; instead, they will have to spell out the words orally. From this period, only 25 students will progress to the Grand Finals for the chance to be this years Spelling Bee champion. According to Mr. Alano, the event is one of the priority projects of Mayor Jennifer A. Barzaga which aims to uplift the quality of education in this city. The competition started last August of this year primarily to sharpen the skills of the students in the public and private schools on the proper use of the English language.