As a gesture of sustained partnership, the Department of Educational Communication (DEC) provided assistance to the Bernaldo N. Calara Elementary School (BNCES) for the school’s Brigada Eskwela this year. Academic and non-academic staff of DEC and the College of Development Communication (CDC), as well as other donors, donated school supplies that were turned over to BNCES on August 26, 2022.
Asst. Prof. Romel A Daya, DEC chair, and Ms. Renz Frances D. Abagat-Manrique, coordinator of DEC’s Kalinga sa Eskwela Program, led the turnover of donations to BNCES on the last day of Brigada Eskwela. These donations were received through a short turnover program attended by the BNCES faculty members and DEC staff. Ms. Ma. Ellen A. Camacho and Ms. Imelda M. Mejia of BNCES expressed their appreciation of DEC and CDC’s continuing support for BNCES.
The donations included face masks, disinfectants, hand soaps, paint and brushes, and cleaning materials for the school, and learning materials for its economically disadvantaged students.
A public school that caters mostly to students from low income-bracket families and beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the BNCES has been one of DEC’s long-standing partners in extension, public service, and field instruction. Since 2012, it has served as a learning laboratory for CDC students enrolled in educational communication courses. It was also a project site for students enrolled in other courses offered by CDC such as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) – Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and Literacy Training Service (LTS).
Through the Kalinga sa Eskwela Program, several groups of DEVC 144 (Media-based Learning Systems) and NSTP 2 – LTS students produced educational materials in the first semester of academic year 2021-2022 and handed these over to the school in a virtual ceremony on January 13. Ms. Camacho and Mrs. Mejia shared that they had been using these educational materials in class activities to the delight of their students.
Brigada Eskwela is an annual event held by the Department of Education in preparation for the new school year. This year’s event, which started on August 1, aims to prepare schools for the return to face-to-face classes. (Renz Frances D. Abagat-Manrique and Miguel Victor T. Durian)
