In a world where knowledge is the cure, the Philippines faces a challenge in ensuring its students have access to the most effective learning tools.  While traditional methods may not be fully optimized, the Department of Education's (DepEd) recent initiative, "Catch-Up Fridays," as stated in DepEd Memorandum No. 1, s. 2024, offers a promising approach. Catch-Up Fridays aims to bolster reading proficiency among Filipino students. This focus on a foundational skill is a positive step in the right direction. By dedicating time to reading, the program has the potential to significantly improve literacy rates. However, the program's execution can be improved. The initial rollout faced hurdles due to a lack of preparation time.  Moving forward, ensuring clear communication and providing teachers with adequate training will be crucial. Additionally, addressing concerns about resource allocation and differentiated instruction will enhance the program's effectiveness. The

Staying true to the commitment of the Schools Division of Sarangani to improving reading skills among its learners and with a goal of achieving functional literacy for all students according to their grade levels, the Curriculum and Implementation Division, together with Save the Children, has launched the Catch-up Clubs (CuCs) Project. In SY 2022-2023, with the return of the full in-person classes, DepEd Sarangani and Save the Children signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote and protect children's right to quality education. This project is aimed at providing reading remediation to upper primary grade students (Grades 4-6) who have been affected by the pandemic and supports the Division Reading Program Implementation and the 3Bs initiative or the "Hamon: Bawat Bata Bumabasa" and the Brigada Pagbasa of DepEd. The program employs a fun-based learning approach and incorporates play-based social and emotional learning activities.  To support the implementation of the

The Schools Division of Sarangani recently held a series of re-orientations for teachers across all municipalities in Sarangani, in accordance with Division Memorandum 11 s. 2023.  The objective was to help teachers understand how to conduct reading assessments, track students' progress in reading, and provide appropriate reading interventions based on the 2023 1st quarter DMEPA results. The re-orientation was led by the Chief of the Curriculum Implementation Division, Donna S. Panes, along with the Filipino EPS Analiza Domingo, Reading Coordinator John Jerson P. Constantino, Division Librarian Maylene Grigana, and CLAFI partners April Domingo and Renato Panes.  The team visited different municipalities to conduct workshops, answering questions and clarifying any confusion about the guidelines for implementing the reading interventions. The re-orientation is also preparing schools for the upcoming district- and division-wide tracking of students' progress through validation of

As the nation celebrates National Reading Month 2022, promoting love for reading among students and raising awareness of the vital role of reading and literacy in developing critical thinking in the youth, DepEd Sarangani conducted programs anchored to the theme of cultivating genuine love for reading among the learners. This is in accordance with RA No.10556 in which declares every 27th of November as “Araw ng Pagbasa” and month of November as Buwan ng Pagbasa. December 3, marks the culmination of the Division Reading Month Celebration conducted at the 1st class municipality and the capital of the Province of Sarangani- Alabel after the reiteration of the whole month celebration of the school and district based national reading month as stipulated in DM -CI-2022 – 389 2022 Pambansang Buwan at Araw ng Pagbasa and Division Memorandum No. 282 s. 2022 Division Celebration of 2022 National Reading Month. The program started with preliminaries and orientations on the conduct of the differen

Sarangani is poised to win another set of awards on the national level -- this time, from the 2022 National Literacy Awards. For their contributions to the improvement of literacy, the Municipality of Malungon and the Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation, Inc. (CLAFI) were chosen as the representatives of Region XII-SOCCSKSARGEN for outstanding local government unit and outstanding literacy program, respectively, in the National Literacy Awards 2022. The Municipality of Malungon has been actively supporting the programs of DepEd Sarangani through its ICAN in Education (Innovation and Collaboration in Attaining No Limitation in Education) Program. During the pandemic, the LGU of Malungon established the One Malungon Radio, which helped bridge education through tele-RBI or Radio-Based Instruction. Meanwhile, CLAFI has been a constant partner of the Division of Sarangani in various programs and projects, especially through its Summer Big Brother, a volunteer-led reading program, whi

The flame of volunteerism keeps on blazing for the Read-at-Home program as DepEd Sarangani and Mindanao State University College of Education sign a memorandum of understanding for the deployment of 41 Bachelor in Elementary Education students as volunteer tutors. Said students shall be serving Malungon Central Elementary School, Alabel Central Integrated SPED Center, Policarpio H. Millona Integrated School, Jose Ah Young Integrated School, Maasim Central Elementary School and Fermin Fuster Elementary School.        Photos by Jonathan Agreda Here are the roles and responsibilities of the volunteer tutor as well as the conditions that they must meet: Living in the Municipality or the community where the school is located Cooperate with the assigned teacher facilitator Handle maximum of 5 learners only. Submit reports needed to the Facilitating Teacher. Prepare daily journal on the experiences of being a student-teacher. Prepare and assist cooperating teacher in the preparation of materi

The Division of Sarangani sees reading as a crucial skill in the success of the different distance learning delivery modalities implemented in the new normal.   The Read-at-Home program has been implemented in a number of schools since October and continues to be spread throughout the division as the school year progresses. As the third quarter of the school year 2020-2021 opens, the Division Reading Monitoring Team conducted a monitoring of the implementation of the Read-at-Home program, a reading enhancement and catch-up program initiated by the division of Sarangani. The team visited Datal Basak IP School, Maasim Central Elementary School, Kablacan IS, Isidro Hulom ES, and Happy Valley IS in the municipality of Maasim. Each school reported on the progress and the impact of the Read-at-Home program implementation in their respective schools. The schools also showcased their initiatives and best practices. John Constantino, the Alternate Division Reading Coordinator is thankful to Con

DepEd Sarangani continues to strengthen its reading program despite the pandemic. The Read-at-Home program has encouraged volunteers to help kids in their neighborhood to read. Individuals and organizations heeded the call and they were recognized during the Reading Month culmination.