DepEd Special Science School produces Math champions

By Hannibal C. Talete

MANILA, June 29 (PNA Feature) -- Winners are made and not born. And they can come from a public school -- the Tanauan North Central School (TNCS) in Batangas.

Jasper Amadeus Opulencia stands tall among winners in the Sixth International Math and Science Olympiad in Jakarta, Indonesia in November last year. His being from public school made him stand out from other representatives from the Philippines who came mostly from private schools. He won a bronze medal for Mathematics.

“Jasper hasn’t even gone through an MTG (Math Teachers’ Guild) training, unlike his co-competitors in the Math Olympiad who came mostly from Chinese schools,” said Dr. Cecille G. Carandang, district supervisor in Batangas and former TNCS principal.

Obviously, Jasper hasn’t won without an effort.

He was among the pupils who have been intensively honed under the TNCS Special Science Elementary School (SSES) where pupils should not have a grade lower than 80 percent in any subject. They should keep an average grade of 85 percent which is really difficult to keep for most grade-schoolers who, in general, still think of play first before anything.

Before they are even accepted in SSES, they should undergo rigid screening and identification.

Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Mona Dumlao-Valisno said government is giving a priority to programs that will enhance the Filipino youth’s interest and expertise in science and technology.

“If we have to advance toward industrialization and be able to catch up with our neighbors, there is no doubt in our mind that we have to invest heavily in science and math education,” said Valisno.

The TNCS has been singled out as a pilot area for the SSES project since this was introduced by the DepEd in School Year (SY) 2007-2008. It was one of only 57 pilot schools chosen nationwide.

And its track record speaks for itself. Pupils from TNCS have made it to national mathematics competitions such as the Metrobank-MTAP (Math Teachers Association of the Philippines)-DepEd Math Challenge. TNCS’s MTAP 2001 winners were Jeric Alcala, Diane Carmela Querrero, and Raymond Anthony Tercero.

Its graduates go to science high schools or other high schools with highly competitive entrance tests.

TNCS is able to produce excellent pupils because the school invests in its teachers as well by encouraging them to upgrade their professional skills and pursue post graduate studies. That is why TNCS has been certified as a Level 1 school, a distinguishing mark of professional management according to a DepEd accreditation.

As a pilot SSES, TNCS implements a globally-recognized system of teaching and learning science -- the La Main a La Pate, according to Yolly Quijano, director of the DepEd Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE).

The French word for “hands-on,” La Main a La Pate (LMAP) is an inquiry-based manner of learning especially in primary and secondary schools. LMAP was founded by 1992 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics Georges Charpak and French Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France (FAS-IF) scientists to revive children’s interest in Science.

SSES pupils are given the chance to conduct investigative research which builds learners’ skills and attitudes needed in scientific discovery. Thus, they learn by being extraordinarily curious, creative, and inventive.

Through the project, DepEd envisions SSES graduates to become scientists in the future who will take an active part in national development and economic growth. This, DepEd believes, can only come from a highly-skilled, innovation-oriented workforce that can offer science-based solutions to global needs.

From only 57 pilot schools, DepEd has expanded SSES to 100 in SY 2009-2010.

There is so much prestige in being a student of SSES. TNCS also gets the prestige from running one, but a lot of responsibility too. “We orient parents not to be complacent in supporting their children because any pupil can get the boot anytime if they are not able to meet the standard,” said Carandang.

For TNCS, it has experienced an outpouring of support from the local government and the community because of the outstanding pupils it has produced. In the National Quiz Bee in April this year, Jasper again won second place in Math.

Beginning this school year, he will be attending the country’s elite science school, Philippine Science High School, as a freshman.

“There is a sacrifice because he will be away from his family,” said Carandang.

But such sacrifice must be truly worth it -- for Jasper, for the many other SSES talents, and over the long term, for the future of the Philippines. (PNA Feature)
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