Category: 2020-2021

Enrollment to BCHS-VSMART HOMESCHOOLING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 2020

[For those enrolled in Modular/Homeschooling(Full or Blended) only]

1. Please send the following information: Student’s Full Name, Parent’s Full Name, and Parents email address to [email protected]

2. Check your email for an invitation to join.

3. Click the sent link to continue setting up your account. (Input an account name, password, and tick agree to the data privacy consent.)

4. Welcome to the BCHS-VSMART HMS!

Here, you will be able to update the school of your kid’s performance status in accomplishing our homeschooling kit.

Fathering This Pandemic

Can we even talk about Father’s Day today? Or any other “significant events” for that matter?

What is there to celebrate when we are so beset by threats and uncertainties? Our rate of infection is still rising.  In our province, it is only a matter of time before we discover that many of us are walking time bombs, ready to unleash the virus anytime, anywhere.

These are challenging times for everyone, doubly for parents. The loss of jobs and economic opportunities are unsettling. As a father, it is hard to imagine how one could continue to provide psychological nurturance and physical safety when there is so much chaos surrounding you.

But survive we must. And to do that, it is important that we break frame, restructure our own expectations and outlook, realign them with present realities.

As fathers, what can we do to lead our families effectively during these trying times? Here are some thoughts while reflecting on the matter.  

Be mindful of your own psychological responses – We are only as good as our own level of awareness. As the head of the family, our psychological health is prime because it will set the emotional atmosphere in the home. If we are not in touch with our feelings or thoughts, we become susceptible to stress responses that are unhealthy, and soon becomes toxic for us and the members of the family.   

Enlist the help of everyone in the household – To be a father does not mean doing all the works. All the more, it does not mean giving all the commands. It means taking the lead, and creating opportunities for every member to occupy its own space and portray his/her role committedly. Now, more than ever, everyone needs to be involved and the family works as a team, with the father taking the lead. 

Establish a routine – We all need structure. When structure is absent, we are weak and in disarray. That is why we feel the threat because our “normal” is disturbed and replaced with uncertainty. As the head of the family, we need to realize that establishing a routine, personal and familial, is a necessity to provide us a psychological anchor for the day and the future.

Bend your knees – Research has shown that a father’s influence in matters of faith especially on the children exceeds far beyond any other comparison. Our whole psychological foundation is best built on prayer and faith. As fathers, our strength does not come from knowing that we are virile and capable, but in recognizing that we are frail despite our skills and position, but God gives us the vision and direction to carry through.

It is hard to be a father these days. And if we are remembered in honor for that difficulty, then let it be. Because it is also very easy to cop out and relinquish our responsibilities. So many lives have been ruined because of fathers (and also mothers) who are weak and selfish, impulsive and reckless, saving their own asses at the expense of their family’s welfare.

They value ego more than anything else. And at the tiniest friction with other’s egos, they self-preserve, leaving others wounded and hurt. And they hail their action in the name of freedom.

Yet it is in the struggle that we know our worth, not in our freedom. It is in the sacrifice that we see what we are capable of giving, not on what we have gained. It is in being a faithful father that we fulfill our divine contract, the only indispensable role we are given to enact.   

For fathers who stay, endure, persevere, sacrifice, evolve, love, and grow in the process; my toast to you. I tell you; your reward is great in heaven. 

Happy Father’s Day!

Daddy Moments

The moment a man becomes a Father, he knows intuitively that his life is never the same again. He knows he is growing into something new, scary, exhilarating, confusing, but powerful.

I am a father of four. Three wild boys and one little princess. Together, they are both a challenge and a delight to me. And the longer I interact with them, the clearer I see that no one could ever replace my role. This is one profession where I become indispensable.

My presence with them is reaping fruits.  I get to experience moments that melt my heart and teach me priceless lessons.

A few days ago, my 3-year-old girl excitedly clung to me and said, “Daddy, naa biya Daddy nag cry, kita ko.” I replied, “Oh really? What happened? Where?” “Kita ko sa phone ni Sophia. Kay nag married siya, iya daughter.”

Acting like crying, I said to her, “Oh, Daddy will also cry when you get married someday, Anak.” Hugging me tightly, she said lovingly, “Oh, don’t cry Daddy. I will not get married!”

I know she will someday, and I will cry, but hopefully it will be tears of joy.  Lesson: Enjoy as much time with your daughter today while she is not yet married.

A couple of days ago also, Kisig, my 11-year-old son got out from the bathroom and asked for a towel. His mother told him, “Why are you not bringing towel, Kisig?” Confidently, as if he really knew what he was doing replied, “Even Daddy does this!” Mom, trying to be more imposing said, “Why are you following Daddy? “Because he is a role model!”

 

Lesson: Talk is cheap. We should not be worried much that our children are not listening to us. We should be worried that they are always looking at us, their role models.

During dinner time, on the first day of school, we asked our children how their day went. Kisig, the eldest, with much bravado said, “I was elected PIO.” Gabe, my 9-year-old, exclaimed, “Oh me, I am secretary.” Oido, our Grade 2 student calmly pronounced, “I am Mayor. I did not even campaign.”

My wife and I looked at Oido in disbelief. He is such a shy boy. And so, we validated his claim. Indeed, he was Mayor of the class! Lesson: Never underestimate your genes to become mayor, and be cool about it.

One last story. Gabe, our second son, was chosen to lead the Kid’s Praise of the Kids for Family and Life World Kid’s Congress held in Cebu. The day before the event, he fell from the monkey bar. He dislocated his arm and bruised badly his nose and face.

In the hospital, we asked him if he wanted to cancel his role so that we can inform the organizers. But we also told him that perhaps God allowed the accident to happen so that he can have a story to tell about God’s goodness. After contemplating for a while, Gabe said he will still lead the Kid’s Praise.

Looking at my son on stage, proclaiming how God saved him from serious injury, and declaring that he be a soldier for Him despite the pain, made me see again that my greatest role as a father is to make sure that my children love and serve the Lord, and enter the glory of heaven, more than anything else. And this I pray constantly.

Happy Father’s Day!

The Case for School

Should you send your child back to school this school year or not?

As a parent, there are a number of factors that you need to consider. First in the list is the safety of your child in school. With Covid 19 lurking around, sending them to school for a physical meet up might be too high a risk to take at this time.

What about online learning? This is feasible. Although not as complete as being present in the classroom and engaging with classmates face-to-face, the teaching and learning process can still be effectively worked out virtually.

But this entails having the paraphernalia such as laptops or desktops and strong connectivity to the internet. This might be a bane to those who cannot afford to secure these equipment and those who are not within reach by internet signals.

Another option is the modular learning. To my mind, this is synonymous to homeschooling. The student will independently work out modules at home and do a regular submission of the same to his school.

Whatever the case, I believe the school year should not be cancelled as others propose. The Department of Education knows this too well, hence, it is creatively pursuing learning modalities that will answer the constraints brought by the pandemic.

Why should schools reopen again? Obviously for many reasons. Chief among them the development of cognitive and academic skills that our children need for their success.

Many claim, especially uninformed parents, that it will not hurt their children if they stop schooling for a year or two. They are wrong. It will hurt children significantly, especially those who belong to the lower income families.

School, or formal training for that matter, develops literacy. Literacy, in many forms (reading, writing, computer, financial, etc.), can only be achieved through formal training. Without structured learning, children can hardly learn the concepts, all the more have mastery over them.

Formal training increases IQ as well. When children learn the skills and problem-solving abilities in school, they are able to navigate competently the challenges besetting them in their environment, increasing their confidence and chances for a successful life.

Now, what if my child’s formal training is stopped for a while? Will it affect his development significantly? You bet.

There is a phenomenon cognitive scientists and educators refer to as “Summer Slide”.  Studies show that a significant loss in learning particularly in reading, math, and science is observed during the summer break.

Why is this so? Because the academic discipline and habit which make neural connections in the brain strong and sturdy are now loosened by inactivity and lack of structured mental exercise. A 2-month summer break, more or less, is long enough to shirk whatever brain connections formed during the school year if the vacation is not spent well for meaningful enrichment.

Summer slide is even more pronounced among the low-income families. Research shows that today, summer learning loss can be tied to economic status. During the school year, lower income children’s academic skills in Kindergarten through 4th grade improve at close to the same rate as those of their more advantaged peers. But over the summer, middle-and-upper income children’s skills continue to improve while lower income children’s do not.

And this effect is cumulative. Summer after summer, low income kids lose roughly two months’ worth of learned skills which accounts for a huge and significant learning gap over the course of the elementary school years.

And we are talking only about summer breaks here. How much more for a year or two?

If parents can make sure that they will compensate for the loss of school with something equally potent for the learning of their children, then it is alright to let them stop, in the name of physical safety.

But if all they can allow is play the whole time, without any structured time for brain exercises and discipline, expect a lag in their cognitive development, and many other aspects of their personality.

Let the schools open now. And do every creative way to continue formal training without unnecessarily putting children’s health at risk.