In this fashion corner, the future looks bright for Slim’s graduating students

An exhibit at the gallery area of Greenbelt 5 in Makati City is proving to visitors why 23 young fashion designers can proudly say they went to the same school as Martin Bautista, Michael Cinco, Joey Samson, Ezra Santos, and Oliver Tolentino.

The best graduating students of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School are putting their works on display from November 21 to 27, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. This is the first time in the institution’s 51-year history that students up for diplomas are showcasing their creations outside the school.

Viewers can look forward to the results of the students’ final exams: the terno and the wedding gown. Some designers have combined the two, while another has come up with a winter terno.

Products from a draping workshop are also unveiled, as well as the collections of two of this year’s PreviewEmerging Fashion Talents: Li-J Eleazar and Nina Gatan. Included in the latter’s presentation is the pantsuit Marian Rivera wore on this month’s Preview magazine cover.





As a nod to the maestra of couture herself, Salvacion Lim Higgins (Slim), who founded the school with sister Purificacion, reproductions of some of her masterpieces were also crafted by the students specifically for the exhibit.

The pieces took three months to create, from concept to final product.

“It’s really inspiring seeing everyone’s work and (how) they’re really talented,” said Mary Camille Veloso, who is taking up both fashion design and dressmaking courses at Slim’s. “To be able to call them peers or even friends, it makes you want to be a better designer.”

Eleazar, who is now a teaching assistant for dressmaking, is proud to show her and her students’ works to the public. And she has much to take pride in, given the striking results.

“My inspiration was my dad. I thought about the things that are connected to him. I thought about golf, but it was a bit difficult (to accomplish), so I chose the butterfly instead. Whenever I see a butterfly, it reminds me of him. But since others have already created butterfly-inspired designs, I just focused on the shape of the cocoon,” she said.

The cut-outs in her dresses represented the pieces that went missing when her father passed away, while the bright colors stood for the happy memories she shared with him. The dark ones marked the sadness left in his wake.

All elements of a collection he would have been glad to see.

source: interaksyon.com

Amazon makes big Kindle push in US schools

SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com Inc announced an initiative on Wednesday to get its Kindle e-readers and tablet computers into schools, entering a market that has been particularly successful for rival Apple Inc and its iPad device.

Amazon said it has been testing Kindles in recent years with hundreds of kindergarten through 12th grade schools in the United States, selling the devices at bulk discounts and helping them purchase and distribute e-books to students.

On Wednesday, the company unveiled Whispercast, a service that lets schools manage fleets of Kindle devices from one online location.

Administrators and teachers can set up user accounts for each student and arrange them into one or more groups, such as a specific class or grade level. They can also set limits on what students can do with the devices, such as blocking Facebook and web browsing and disabling purchasing, Amazon said.

Amazon’s education push is part of a broader effort by the world’s largest Internet retailer to get Kindles into as many hands as possible. The company sells Kindles at cost and hopes to make money selling e-books and other content such as apps, games, music and video through the devices.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to own a Kindle device. Any time we can make that easier, we do that,” said Jay Marine, vice president of Kindle product management. “And we have a particular mission to increase reading, especially among kids.”

Education is a potentially huge market for tablets and e-readers, partly because they are easier for administrators to manage than personal computers and laptops, according to Carl Howe of consulting firm Yankee Group.

Apple’s iPad has been a big hit with educational institutions in the United States. In the second quarter of 2012, the company said sales of iPads in the U.S. education market almost doubled year-over-year to just under 1 million units.

Amazon’s Marine said Kindles are easier to carry for students than lots of physical books. Students who are learning to read may also be less intimidated by big books, because the content is housed in small, thin devices, he added.

Amazon has been offering discounts on the hardware for bulk purchases by schools. The company does not currently offer bulk discounts on e-books, but Marine said that may come in the future.

Whispercast will also work in coming months with apps that run on Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets, he added.

Clearwater High School in Florida and St Rose of Lima School in Texas are among schools that have been testing Kindles with students.

Clearwater High has been using about 2,000 Kindles for more than two years and recently the test was expanded to more than 122 schools in the same district, according to Principal Keith Mastroides.

The devices make students more enthusiastic about reading and studying in general, he said.

Still, Yankee Group’s Howe said there are limitations on how useful e-books can be in education. Physical books can be re-sold easily, unlike digital versions, he noted.

It is also more difficult for a student to study from multiple e-books at the same time, Howe explained.

“Imagine a student in a library with 10 books with book marks in each one,” he said. “Try doing that with an e-reader. It’s pretty hard and kind of a mess.”

Whispercast is also designed to make it easier for businesses and non-profit organizations to use Kindle devices.

Companies can use the service to centrally distribute documents and other items such as conference agendas or training materials to employees or customers, Amazon said.

source: interaksyon.com

Harassment of gay students declining at US schools — survey

WASHINGTON - Harassment of homosexual students is declining at U.S. schools, but the vast majority still report name-calling or threats, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The drop in anti-gay harassment follows the adoption of anti-discrimination measures at more schools, according to the 2011 National School Climate Survey by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.


"The 2011 survey marks a possible turning point in the school experiences" of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people in high schools and middle schools, said Joseph Kosciw, the group's head of research.

But he said an "alarming number" of LGBT students still faced barriers limiting their ability to get an education.

Just under a third of LGBT students reported verbal harassment taking place frequently or often last year. That is down from almost 45 percent in 2007 and 40.6 percent in 2009, the year of the previous survey.

Physical harassment, like shoving or pushing, that took place frequently or often was reported by 10.8 percent of students, down almost 3 percentage points from 2009. High frequency of physical assault dropped slightly, to 4.6 percent.

But 81.9 percent of LGBT students had been verbally harassed or threatened at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, the survey said.

Just over 38 percent of students said they had been physically harassed in the past year and 18.3 percent were physically assaulted.

Students said having a Gay-Straight Alliance in school led to less homophobic remarks and victimization. Schools with an LGBT-inclusive curriculum also were less likely to feel unsafe and hear offensive comments.

The nationwide survey involved 8,584 students between 13 and 20 years old. - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Schools Pass Debt to the Next Generation

The deleveraging of America is well under way, as individuals and companies recover from the excess borrowing that helped to produce the boom and left many people vulnerable when the bust arrived. Household debt is down nearly $900 billion over the last four years, partly from repayments and partly from defaults.

During the crazy times, homeowners could get mortgages that allowed them to pay less than the full amount of interest being charged, with the rest added to the principal. Commercial property owners generally paid the full amount of interest, but did not have to repay any principal until the loan matured in five or 10 years. For both homes and commercial properties, lenders were willing to rely on extremely optimistic appraisals.

For property buyers, those days are gone,

But for some borrowers, it is still possible to borrow now and pay nothing for decades.

There is a furor in California because the Poway Unified School District, in San Diego County, borrowed money last year on terms that even Countrywide would have laughed at during the boom. It will not pay a dime of interest or principal for more than two decades. Only then will it begin to service the bonds.

It is paying a high price. Although it has a good credit rating — Aa2 at Moody’s and AA– at Standard & Poor’s — it will eventually pay tax-exempt interest of up to 6.8 percent for the borrowings. When it issued more conventional bonds last year, it paid rates that were much lower, ranging up to just 4.1 percent.

For borrowing $105 million in 2011, taxpayers — or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the children and grandchildren of today’s taxpayers — will pay $877 million in interest between 2033 and 2051.

In San Diego, the bond issue first gained attention on The Voice of San Diego, a Web-based publication, which published an article this month headlined “Where Borrowing $105 Million Will Cost $1 Billion: Poway Schools.” As the Voice noted, others, including Joel Thurtell, a Michigan blogger, had written outraged articles about the bond issue. But it was the Voice article that attracted national attention, including a report on CNBC.

It turns out the Poway bond issue is not unique. This kind of borrowing has been going on for years, particularly in California, where the tax revolt that began with Proposition 13 in 1978 has made it harder and harder to finance education or other local government services. Assorted propositions approved by voters have made it very difficult to raise taxes at all.

According to a Thomson Reuters database, school districts issued nearly $4 billion in such bonds last year, and have sold almost $3 billion more this year. Back in 2006, when the credit boom was in full bloom, $9 billion worth of so-called capital appreciation bonds were sold.

The Poway issue is unusual in delaying interest payments for so long, but there have been others. Its neighbor, the San Diego Unified School District, borrowed $150 million in May, promising to begin payments in 2032.

School districts’ logic for borrowing for construction projects always was that those who benefit should pay for a construction project. In the case of the Poway bond, however, it is at least possible that it will be the children of today’s students who end up paying the bill. By then, many of these school buildings may be obsolete, or at least in need of another refurbishing.

In a statement, the Poway district pointed out that the bond issue was the fifth part of a plan to modernize the 24 oldest schools in the district, adding that while that bond “has a total repayment ratio of 9.3 times the principal amount,” the overall borrowing program has a repayment ratio of just 4.2. That means that for every dollar borrowed, $3.20 in interest will be paid.

To put that into perspective, a 30-year mortgage at the same 6.8 percent interest rate would require $1.35 in lifetime interest payments for each dollar borrowed, or a repayment ratio of 2.35.

“The most important value received from the building program that is difficult to quantify is the educational value of providing today’s students with quality learning facilities,” said John Collins, the superintendent of the district, which has 34,000 students. “It is also difficult to calculate the dollar value of savings realized by avoiding the inflated construction costs of postponing the completion of the building program for a decade or more.”

Your guess may be as good as his as to just how inflated those costs will be. But it is hard to believe that the district would not have been better off borrowing on terms that called for repaying the loan more quickly. The interest rate would have been lower, and the power of compound interest would not have caused the total payments to rise into the stratosphere.

But the option of getting reasonable financing may not have been available to the Poway district, or to many of the other districts that have resorted to these capital appreciation bonds. Poway officials had promised not to raise taxes, and this way they won’t have to. At least not until 2033. They set the payments to begin after earlier bonds are paid off.

Nationally, it appears that fewer and fewer school districts have been able, or willing, to find ways to finance new buildings — or even to pay teachers, as property tax revenue plunged with the deflating of the housing bubble and pinched states reduced assistance. State and local governments are spending less and employing fewer people now than they were before the recession. Adjusted for inflation, state and local investment in buildings and other assets is at the lowest level since 1998. Over the last 30 months, the economy has gained about half a million jobs in manufacturing, and lost nearly as many in state and local government.

Should districts issue such bonds? It is not an easy question to answer. Much of this expensive borrowing is a result of local officials searching for a way to meet their responsibilities at a time when opposition to taxes has become a mantra. This generation will not pay for what it needs, so some of its leaders have decided to saddle future generations with the bills.

source: nytimes.com

Classes in much of Metro Manila suspended Monday due to heavy rains

The Department of Education (DepEd) and local officials announced class suspensions Monday in most parts of Metro Manila and some nearby areas due to heavy rains spawned by tropical storm Gener and the southwest monsoon.

According to the Twitter account of DepEd, kindergarten to high school classes are suspended in the cities of Manila, Navotas, Pasay, and Malabon.

In Quezon City, San Juan, Valenzuela and Caloocan, classes from kindergarten to high school in all public and private schools are also suspended, according to advisories from their respective local government units.

In the city of Makati, classes are suspended up to the college level in both public and private schools, the local government announced.

Although there are no storm warnings for metro Manila, the weather bureau has alerted residents of heavy rainfall of up to 20 mm per hour within the 700-km diameter of tropical storm Gener, which is ravaging northern Luzon.

At 12:30 a.m. Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued a red warning for metro Manila signifying intense rain in the next three hours that are likely to cause floods in low-lying areas, especially near rivers.

Pagasa also said the La Mesa Dam was nearing its critical spilling level, and advised residents around it to prepare for evacuation.

Nearby provinces

Classes are also suspended in all levels in Obando, one of the low-lying areas in Bulacan, the DepEd said.

In Cainta, Rizal, which experienced heavy rains reaching nearly 20 mm hour at around midnight that were expected to continue for the next three hours, classes were suspended in all public and private schools from pre-school to high school levels, the Cainta Local Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office said.

In Angono, Rizal, Mayor Gerardo Calderon also announced the suspension of classes from pre-school to secondary levels in all public and private schools.

In Dasmariñas, Cavite, classes from pre-school to high school levels are also suspended, Mayor Jenny Barzaga said. In Carmona, Cavite, Mayor Dahlia Loyola also suspended classes.

Private schools

New Era University and Miriam College in Quezon City announced class suspensions from the pre-school to high school levels.

Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University announced that it will issue an advisory at 4:30 am.

At the University of Santo Tomas, both classes and work were suspended Monday.

"Due to continuous rains and flooding in many areas of Manila, classes in high school, college and graduate levels, as well as work operations are cancelled today July 30, 2012," according to the UST Office of the Secretary-General in a post of the UST official Facebook account.

Growing list of areas and campuses with class suspensions

ANGONO & TANAY, RIZAL - Classes suspended from Pre-school to High School

PARANAQUE - All classes on Monday, July 30 are declared suspended in Paranaque in all levels including college private & public due to rains, wind, and floods. Please pass. - Mayor Jun Bernabe

PASIG - Classes in all levels in Pasig City suspended, says Mayor Bobby Eusebio

TAGUIG - Mayor Cayetano suspended classes in Day Care, Pre-School, Elem, HS levels, including Taguig City University.

MUNTINLUPA - Classes suspened from Pre-school to College

MARIKINA - Pre-School to High School in both public and private

RODRIGUEZ, RIZAL - Classes suspened from Pre-school to College

PASIG - Classes suspened from Pre-school to College

LAGUNA - Gov. Ejercito suspends classes both public and private from pre-school to high-school


SCHOOLS:

Ateneo De Manila - For Loyola Schools, announcement will be made at 4:30AM if classes will push through.

Miriam College - CSC, Grade School to High Scool

University of the East - Classes are suspended from preschool to high school in Manila and Caloocan.

New Era University - Pre-school, elementary, and HS classes for New Era U are suspended tomorrow, July 30. No announcements yet for college level.

Malabon National High School and Malabon Elementary Schools - Classes Suspended

St. Paul's University, Quezon City - No Classes in all levels

University of Santo Tomas - Work and classes in all levels are suspended.

De La Salle University (Taft, Makati, Ortigas campuses and College of St. Benilde) - Classes in all levels and all office operations suspended.

source: gmanetwork.com

All out for Brigada Eskuwela

MANILA, Philippines --- A few days before school opening, people from the academe, government, corporate sector and even embassies are once again reviving the Bayanihan spirit to support the nationwide Brigada Eskuwela campaign.

The Department of Education initiated-program, are banking on the collective spirit of the various sectors in helping physically prepare the country’s thousands of schools in time for the opening of classes this June.

Volunteers from the Ateneo de Manila University, for instance, helped prepare 10 public elementary schools in Quezon City for the resumption of classes on June 11. A project of the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED), the Ateneo fielded about 475 volunteers to help clean, beautify and prepare the General Roxas, Payatas B and its annex, Culiat, Lupang Pangako, Manuel L. Quezon, Old Balara, Balumbato, Payatas C and Fairview Elementary Schools.

The volunteers, composed of Human Resources Management Office (HRMO), Facilities Management Office (FMO), Residence Halls, Ateneo Human Rights Center, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Graduate School of Business (GSB), as well as teachers and students of the Ateneo Grade School cleaned and repainted classrooms, chalkboards, libraries, building facades, corridors and murals in these schools.

Jano Cadiz, an 11-year-old student of the AGS who helped clean some classrooms at the Payatas B Elementary School, said that he wanted to have the experience of helping to become a habit.

Mel Oracion, ACED director specifically requested volunteers to paint chalkboards this year. She said that “only teachers understand how satisfying and motivating it is to write on freshly painted chalkboards.” She added that this is because writing on chalkboards “is an important part of the memories teachers form during the school year.”

Couple for Christ, ACED’s partners in their program called Cornerstone, will also be conducting its own Brigada Eskwela activity and focusing on donating chalk and painting chalkboards.

MORE LGUs UNITE FOR BRIGADA

Meanwhile, General Trias Cavite Mayor Luis ‘Jon-Jon’ Ferrer IV, his brother Congressman Antonio Ferrer, and Cavite Councilors Morit Sison and Kerby Salazar led the Brigada Eskwela project in their locality.

The group was joined by DepEd Superintendents Dr. Edna Bayot and Dr. Cantada, teachers, non-teaching personnel, parents, students and non-government organizations in cleaning up the Governor Ferrer National High in Barangay Pinagtipunan.

Mayor Ferrer is aiming for a 100-percent compliance of the municipality for the program to benefit the thousands of school children who will be enrolled this school year.

Rizal Governor Junjun Ynares lll also led the Brigada Eskuwela kick-off activity at the Old Bosoboso Elementary School, Barangay San Jose in Antipolo City recently. It was participated in by teachers, parents, policemen, barangay tanods, and local officials.

The Australian government, on the other hand, has provided approximately Php4.7 million (A$109,000) to support Brigada Eskwela activities in 80 public schools –30 in Metro Manila and 50 in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

AUSTRALIA REACHES OUT

Australia provided each school with at least Php60,000 worth of materials and supplies for minor repairs repainting and cleaning.

The Australian Embassy is likewise participating in the Brigada Eskwela activities at the Silangan Elementary School in Taguig City. Its staff will also participate in the painting and cleaning of classrooms this week in five schools in the city.

Australia and Taguig City are key partners in piloting a disaster risk management program called BRACE (Building the Resilience and Awareness of Metro Manila Communities to Natural Disasters and Climate Change Impacts). Australia, through the BRACE program, will assist urban communities “brace” for the impact of natural disasters. BRACE will demonstrate that by “building back better”, the damage bill for future disasters – both in human and economic terms – can be significantly lessened.

Australia is also helping to coordinate Brigada Eskwela activities in schools where there are large populations of indigenous learners through the Philippines’ Response to Muslim and Indigenous Peoples’ Education (PRIME) program.

“Our participation in Brigada Eskwela is part of Australia’s significant commitment to helping improve the quality of teaching and learning in the Philippines,” Ambassador Tweddell said.

Finally, one of the fastest growing developers, the Property Company of Friends Inc. (PRO-FRIENDS) has led in the kick-off of Brigada Eskuwela activities in the Pal-Agon, Amparo Elementary School in Pavia, Iloilo.

Volunteers from the company partnered with teachers, barangay officials and Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta in rehabilitating the school stage and re-painting classrooms. The volunteers also donated new reference books and materials for the school clinic. They also conducted a story-telling session to encourage the kids’ love for literature. One other integral part of their program is propagating a new vegetable garden to promote a healthy and nutritious diet to the students and volunteer parents.

source: mb.com.ph

Metro Manila hosts most number of colleges allowed to hike tuition

Metro Manila will have the most number of private universities and colleges to increase their tuition in June, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said, adding that it already approved fee hikes for 256 schools nationwide.

Higher tuition will be charged in 67 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Metro Manila, followed by 41 in Region XI (Davao Region), and 36 in Region IV-A (Calabarzon), the Commission said.

The Commission added that 30 schools have been allowed to impose increased tuition in Region VI (Western Visayas), 28 in Region III (Central Luzon), and 16 in Region V (Bicol), 15 in Region X (Northern Mindanao), and 14 in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula).
Tuition fee increases have also been approved for 12 schools in both Region VII (Central Visayas) and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN), 7 in Region I (Ilocos), and six each in the Cordillera Administrative Region and CARAGA.

Five schools in Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) and two in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) were also allowed to impose higher tuition, the body said.

Increase in tuition ranges from seven percent up to 15 percent.

Schools in Region II are reported to have the highest percent of increase at 15 percent, followed by CARAGA (13 percent); Region 1 (12 percent); Regions XI and V with 11 percent; Region 3 (10 percent); NCR, Regions VI, VII, VIII, and IX (9 percent); Regions IVA and CAR (8 percent) and Region XI (7 percent).

The number of schools that have sought--and eventually secured approval to hike fees--is lower, compared to last year’s 324 HEIs, CHED said.

These schools comprise "roughly only 10 percent" of the 2,247 HEIs nationwide, including in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

source: interaksyon.com