HIGHLIGHTS

Book Week Review: “Me and My Earth”

Ms. Ninglou Yap, N-F Class Adviser

Posted Tuesday, 06-Feb-2007 1:44 PM

               In so many words, Galileo once said that you cannot teach a man anything because learning is innate.  All you can do is bring it out in him.  Book Week was an experience where Nursery boys in Xavier learned  outside the confines of traditional classroom instruction. Learning took place in a fun manner where the students participated and had fun at the same time.

               It was heartwarming to see them dance during the last SIKLAB celebration.  They showed great independence as they joyfully danced to the rhythm of the Chinese song without needing much assistance from their class advisers. They were such great kids during their practices as they went through the motions of sitting down, standing up, and doing the dance over and over again, unmindful of the fact that it was sometimes hot and they were tired already.  Hats off to these cooperative young boys!

              It was also delightful to see the Nursery students during the Book Parade wearing their colorful costumes and headdresses as they trooped around the quadrangle in the Grade School.  Each class from both Nursery and Prep represented a book about the environment where the costumes and the headdresses were patterned after.  The Nursery boys were also holding placards to express their love and concern for the environment as the Grade 1 pupils sat down to watch.  It is important to note that the boys were strongly encouraged to use recyclable materials as part of the environmental campaign during the Book Week.

              As part of the culminating activity, the boys worked hard in making their own class storybooks.  Although the Nursery class advisers facilitated in the story book making, it was quite amazing to see the fantastic imagination of these kids as they authored, and drew the pictures of the storybooks.  Awards were given to the best storybooks and each class was honored as well based on different categories, like Most Original, Most Creative, etc.  The opportunity for creating a book was a first time experience for these boys as they were so used to just reading and learning from it.  Creating a story is something that they can be proud of.  The activity unraveled creative talents and varied interests of the students.

               During that week, the parents of the boys also played an active role in contributing to the array of enriching activities.  Selected mommies and daddies were storytellers of the day.  They were all great in motivating the boys through their stories.  Some of them even came completely in costume and others brought props and giveaways to the delight of the boys.

              Ms. Zarah Gagatiga of the Grade School LRC was also kind enough to grace the occasion with her creativity and her own set of spellbinding stories. What an awesome experience it was for the boys to see how Ms. Gagatiga could make a simple story come alive through her effective use of voice, songs and costumes.  Imagine using only a handkerchief to catch the attention of these dynamic boys and make them gape and gasp with interest and excitement! 

               Furthermore, the entire week also gave the boys a chance to share their own favorite storybooks with their classmates through DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Time.  They were given a chance to exchange and read each other’s books during merienda time for 10 minutes.  This showed them that like playing, reading books can also be fun especially when it is shared with a friend.

              The entire week was successful and enriching for everybody.  Utmost appreciation and gratitude is extended to all the teachers who were very hardworking in facilitating the class storybook making, book parade, and headdress making.  The Nursery teachers also acknowledge the participation of the parent storytellers and Ms. Gagatiga. We hope that next year’s Book Week would be as fun and meaningful as we’ve had this year! 

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