StaRSci Students hail unsung heroes

No pilot, no doctor nor a lawyer would

be successful if it wasn’t for the existence of our teach-ers. Our school is our sec-ond home, with our teach-ers as our second parents. StaRSci Hi celebrated the International Teacher’s Day on October 4, with the theme, “My Teacher, My Hero.” There were two parts, the first one in the morn-ing and one in the afternoon. The first part was held in the covered court, conducted by Karen Lou Larroza, Chris-

tine Ann Refuerzo, Kim Thomas Ong and Jershon Ammon Teodoro. Each year level prepared a pres-entation. The first, third and fourth year levels pre-pared a song number while the second year presented a dance number. Games were held, which both the stu-dents and teachers enjoyed. The second part, held at the AVR, was hosted by Roselle Bunayog and Aaron Pineda. The students cre-ated a video presentation showcasing their teachers and their messages for them.

Throughout the program, smile cannot be hidden from our beloved teacher’s faces. The Teacher’s Day was observed in the whole month of October. One of the activities held was the You’re Everything Like Love (Y.E.L.L.) wherein the school bell was rang in the morning and in the afternoon. This as a signal that all the students will have a campus wide yell. In any way we may celebrate it, one purpose re-mains. That is to express our gratitude to our Heroes.

• Danalie C. Salvador

WHERE ARE THE BANANAS? Teachers lose their stress in a game prepared by the students.

A New Look for SRSTHS

Facebook: A Friend or Foe?

Hopeless Education

Expression Evolution

Seniors outlast Juniors

5 FEATURES 8 EDITORIAL 3 FEATURES 6 SPORTS 12

StaRSci Clubs recruit new members

To enhance the stu-dents’ competence in the different aspects of learn-ing, Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School con-

ducted its annual club re-cruitment on June 25, 1 pm. Nine clubs promot-ing each subject area joined the said activity with the

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

UNLEASHING THE HIDDEN SKILLS. Scholars patiently waiting for their turn to sign up for their chosen clubs.

help of the faculty mem-bers and the Supreme Stu-dent Government (SSG). “If you love to dance, step up, take the lead and bring it on!” byLikhangGalaw Dance Troop; “Those who are sporty, just sign in and be in, be one of us.” by the SPORTS Club; “Let nothing in the world be unknown to you”, a message from Histonomics-Eco; “If you want to be a star, join the STARS” from Science, Tech-nology And Research Society. “Crossing boundaries towards excellence in Mathematics”, by SMS (StaRSci Mathemati-cal Society); “Young but care for nature? Join YES-O Club!” from Youth for Environment Society-Organization; GAT_SPARC.COM “Lumikha, Lu-maya, Lumipad”. Two other clubs are: the Music Club and Student Technologists Entrepreneurs of the Philip-pines (STEP). These are the varied taglines that advertise the campaign of each club. Elected presidents of each club were as follows:

GAT_SPARC.COM-Caprice Marie Agarao, Ian Isaac Em-nace-SMS, Mark Michael So-reta-LGDT, Gerald Michael Castillo-YES-O, Merl - Yana Marallag-Music, Karmeena Idanan-Sports, Jane Claire Bulahan-STEP, Mia Alohado-Histonomics-Eco and Ber-nadette Barayang-STARS. The results gave sat-isfaction to the respective club moderators: Mr. Ernesto Baldoza for GAT_SPARC.COM, Ms. Sarah Balagso for Scitech Mathematical Society(SMS), Mr. Pablo Gli-ane for Histonomics-Eco, Ms. Chriselleen Jazel Pasi-lan for LikhangGalaw Dance Troupe(LGDT), Mr. Emer-ald Reyes for SPORTS, Ms. Imelda Moyon for Science, Technology And Research Society(STARS), Ms. Jocelyn Gregorio for Music Club, Mr. Alvin Sta. Maria for Students Technologists Entrepreneurs of the Philippines(STEP), and Ms. Corazon Esteban for Youth Environmen-tal School-Organization.

StaRSci High tops NAT 2010

Among 44 high schools in the Division of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Sci-ence and Technology High School ranked first in the National Achievement Test. 177 second year students for School year 2009-2010 took the exam. The school topped among seven public high schools and 37 private schools in the City of Santa Rosa. They got 1st for English, Science, Fil-ipino and Araling Panlipunan while 2nd for Mathematics. NAT is an annual examination for students in second year high school and Grades III and VI for elementary throughout the country. For the second year high school students, it measures their proficiency in different subject areas.

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

StaRSci Enrollment Dips by 10%

The Santa Rosa Sci-ence and Technology High School conducted its en-rollment for the incom-ing students of Academic Year 2010-2011 on May 4-6. The freshmen totaled 237, while 238 for the sopho-mores, juniors 165 and sen-iors with 248. This gave an

• Maria Kristina R. Imatongoverall of 878 students, which is 10.31% lower than last year’s 928 official enrollees. School year 2010-2011 opened with five sections for the third year level while six for the first, second and fourth year levels on June 14. More space of learn-ing and opportunity for our students and school is expected due to a great fall of students’ number.

NEWS

Did we do enough?We caught

the atten-tion of the

world when the unimaginable tragic event occurred in 2009 bringing many Filipino lives at the verge of despair and turning the whole land deso-lated, peaking the deadliest torrents in the recent history. The helter-skelter state of the Philippines last year had made a great impact in the lives of our fellowmen es-pecially to the provinces that felt the violent strike of the typhoon. The bloodcurdling winds of typhoon named ON-DOY took many lives, and sad to say we didn’t tie the rope tightly to drag them back anew. Many families were sub-merged to the greater heights of raging floods, making sur-vival a vague choice. Villages, towns and offices were also splashed by the dirty waters and what to expect, sludge piled up in the streets even the office’s floors were tinged by the black sticky mud. Millions of properties were damaged and destroyed, farms seemed reservoirs and dead bodies were dumped in tons of mud proliferated everywhere. This was the big picture of our country that dimmed the light of hope to many Filipinos and shut the doors of tomorrow. How did

we cope up to this eye-open-ing phenomenon? How are Filipinos now? Did we prepare more this time that could sur-mount the rebirth of ondoy? As widely accepted as it may seem typhoon-affect-ed families can’t still move to the next chapter of their lives because of the deaths of their loved ones that drown them to the nightmares of unpre-paredness. It is only then that we realized the importance of being prepared in times of abrupt calamity crisis. We woke up that day seeing only the aftermath of the typhoon and carrying the questions, what if it will happen again? Some experts say that in time of disaster, the best thing we can do is to follow the Disaster Risk Reduction. This is a systematic approach that aims to reduce socio-eco-nomic vulnerabilities to disas-ter and helps to identify, assess and reduce the risks of disaster. The act was imple-mented by the National Dis-aster Coordinating Council to assure the public safety in re-sponding to calamity attacks. Going deeper to what had happened last year, it seemed that many failed to apply the principles of this approach. Many Filipinos sought for their own ways to survive such unpredictable occurrences

taking for granted the safety measures that the act offers. We witnessed how Quezon City, Taytay Rizal, Marikina City, Ortigas Exten-sion, Pasig City, San Jose Del Monte, Montalban Rizal and more in the provincial areas of Luzon got drowned in the downpours of Ondoy and sooner as storms hit the coun-try the rest of it will already be trapped killing more and more and more lives. This is what we should now expect. Based on the statisti-cal data, Metro Manila rated to at least 73 persons killed and nearly 70,000 families were displaced by the mas-sive torrents after the tropi-cal storm Ondoy, an alarming figure to increase as the prod-uct of abrupt calamity crisis.

How did the NDCC act before, during and after the calamity? We can all an-swer this simple inquiry by just going back to what had happened in 2009. The public seemed to turn in ruin state when they were surprised by the gustiness of Ondoy. Even single equipment failed to sur-vive in the raging floods. The safety that NDCC thought beforehand was replaced by heightened death tolls, more dead bodies because it’s too late to act in the middle of strong winds. What our fellow-men could only do that time is to inevitably help those that failed to estimate the power of ONDOY. The disaster tested the speed of our officials in responding to such situation and how they could save lives.

In this devastating experience we proved two things. First, our country is still not ready to face such abominable disaster due to its lack of facilities and few trained rescuers. Second, Fili-pinos remain insensitive not only in responding to such disaster but as well to the bot-tom line of this calamity crisis; environmental degradation. We still entail our-selves to the so called Mod-ern Throwaway Society and no doubt if we would experi-ence another this time. Lest we forget to build up the walls that could no longer be breached by the storms to come instead we do our own that made our country lag behind seeing prepared-ness a vital role for survival.

Disaster Preparedness: A Choice to make• Roselle Eloise Bunayog

There’s a choice we’re mak-ing, we’re saving our

own lives…-words taken from the song, “We are the world” origi-nally composed by Michael Jackson together with Lionel Richie, USA for Africa at the time of famine and crisis. The National Disaster Coordinating Council have initiated and made projects concerning the safety of the people when disasters strike. The said council has conduct-ed diverse drills to alert all of the citizens must, especially the students. Still, when these monstrous activities come along the way, countless casu-alties & heavy damages occur. Looking back at what

happened last September 26,2009, Typhoon Ondoy have devastated the regions of Luzon leaving back flooded streets, homeless inhabitants and many more. With the coming of the rainy season, we must prepare ourselves for the worst. We should al-ways bear in mind that, “an ounce of prevention is bet-ter than a pound of cure,” Man has abused nature badly. Rising death tolls expe-rienced from different disas-ters cannot be avoided but can be lessened if mentally alert before, during and after the affliction. Nature has reacted abominably towards man. Shall we wait for it to get worse? Crisis experienced today are of immerse level. Government agencies should take part in providing educa-

tion for the people. But this would not be useful if we do not participate and partake in the conventions given to us. Actions must be done first—save nature, to save lives. We follow the 4Rs of unchaining Mother Nature and that is to reduce, reuse, recycle and most of all RE-SPECT. Respect our environ-ment the way it provides us all the necessities needed by the humans. Respect our nature the way it showed respect to us. For when we show our abusive behavior towards our mother, it would take its revenge worse than what we have showed her. It’s time to make an ac-tion. An action that would de-liberately’ waken all of us. That when we mount out together for tomorrow’s day, everything was simply as it was before.

E D I T O R I A L

Hopeless Education Our parents often say that we should value educa-tion because it is the most precious heritage they could give us. Education is the light that guides us as we jour-ney through life. It gives us hope to a brighter future. Although those stated previously are true, we cannot deny the fact that education in our country needs hope more than it gives. It is threat-ened by a crippled and inca-pacitated system. It cannot do well in a country where cor-ruption and poverty are like thorns that choke its survival. The low quality of education was always blamed on defective educational re-

Letter to the Editor:Wow! Im really excited for the seventh volume of the satellite. i will again grasp wonderful writing ideas from it’s staffers and the quality write-ups will amaze me again. God’s speed staffers. - Judith A. Yap IV - Eisntein

A new time for satellite to come. Indeed the efforts of each writer will again be recognized with the publication of the new volume of the satel-lite we scholars are very much excited to see it. - Joelina V. Kabigting IV - Einstein

The seventh volume of the satellite is worth waiting for. Their fruitful thoughts awes me a lot. i hope to get more ideas from it. God Bless! - Raina Carlin M. Laza - III - Dalton

Well guy’s we really appreciate your excitement about the seventh volume of satellite and the feeling is really fulfilling because we also appreciate our work considering that we work for it, for short period of time nevertheless we did our best to show you what quality write-ups mean. Thank you - The Editor

• Regina Coeli T. Aquino sources and teachers who are below standard. These may be enough reasons, but they may also be more of the fruit of the past that expe-rienced the same dilemma. To improve the quality of our students, the adminis-tration of Noynoy Aquino has shown support to the recom-mendation of adding two more years to a student’s life. We can see that what they want to hap-pen is to gain more knowledge under an extended period of time. More years of schooling will not only bring more in-formation, but also more ex-perience. But if the cost of ex-tending the years in grade and high school will result to the lack and low quality of educa-tion, we’d better think again.

Those who are less privileged have the highest ra-tio of dropouts in primary and secondary level. Majority of public school students do not get to finish high school. That alarming figure may increase if an additional two years are added before a student can graduate in high school. There are serious problems that afflict Philip-pine education. But what-ever they are, they are all the consequences of mate-rial poverty and corruption. Education is not about a degree, it is about compe-tency. It is about the ability of a person to cope and prosper in all aspects of life. Educa-tion is not about technology. It is about how one uses tech-

Dark HorseAfter the 2010

e l e c t i o n , we can now somehow say

that Philippines is starting to make a true change. The shine of yellow ray displacing the blood-spattered administra-tion it preceded claimed its victory for they have been very successful in unchaining the belligerent acts of leadership. Going back to the past, we witnessed different controversies that put scar to the face of our country in the globe. NBN ZTE deal, Hel-lo Garci and Jose Pidal, can you still remember? Scandals that turned to be the talk of the decade, made the peo-ple doubt the credibility of the former administration. Former President Glo-ria Macapagal Arroyo, in her nine years of term was con-fronted by countless argu-ments in any aspect of coun-try’s effeteness. By the time she took the seat in the palace, constant flaws were bombard-

ed to the president resisting her many decisions of procreating a better and stronger republic. However the ideo-logical side of it is actually to the economic development of the country. She was able to raise the country’s kicking economy for it has been con-sidered as the best economic growth for the past thirty years. Moreover, the battle-ground of the capitalists and foreign investors is very vast during her time encouraging many jobs for the Filipinos. But how come that the poverty line exceeds its ex-pected growth when the econ-omy is elevating? According to substantial facts, the term of the former president was the dark age of unemploy-ment for it was considered the longest unemployment crisis in the history. Further-more, the society’s economic aspects have shrunk to un-

nology, skill, and other assets to promote the well-being of his family and himself. The effort to educate is not only about what is being invested to a student. After all, it is not the information that one receives that determines the quality of life. Rather, it is the character and the capac-ity of that person in using the knowledge he’s gained to pursue his aspirations. Education is just one of the victims of the evils of poverty and corruption. If the government and education of-ficials see so much importance in adding two years of school-ing for students, the whole na-tion hopes that they will see how ineffective the program will be if they will not act against the domination of pov-erty and corruption. This sim-ply points to the fact that edu-cation itself is in need of hope.

• Jonel G. Escaño

expected growth rate delving the necessities to trap it up. It is not only in this phase she confirmed her per-ished government. The latest and most controversial Magu-indanao Massacre crowned the Philippines as the deadli-est spot for journalists. If she only become firm in making immediate decisions, if she only felt the grievances of the families, if she only showed noble governance, control-ling the leaders of her wall and if she turned to be an hon-est and corrupt-free leader this issue will not flood the immense publications exist-ing in our country. This will not scar the face of the land. Everything in these gory killings turned to noth-ing. The justice was taken for granted. That’s the story in her time, integrity doesn’t exist. Even though the tri-umph of the incumbent Presi-

dent Aquino has been estab-lished nevertheless, there are these queries that we must all internalize. What have we done to guard our rights as citizens of this country most especially to the hoping poor families to sustain the meals in their wreck table? Did we only protect it through demonstrations or far worse through showing disinter-est to the prevailing issues? Why did it take too long to liberate the life-long impris-onment of our fellowmen?Why did we wait for 2010 election to unlock the bars of suffering and step to the yellow stairs of change? Well, after all as Mrs. Gloria Arroyo overtook the presidency she was still a vic-tor since another opportunity of ruling has been blessed to her and the agony she left behind remains in the hearts of her former people and it will endure in our history So, who is the Dark Horse?

What is your

STAND?We are all aware of the new program of the Department of Education known as K plus 12, adding more years in the primary and secondary levels. This syllabus arise from the fact that the country needs to jive with the developing nations’ system of education for the fast pace of economic sustainabil-ity. However, it seemed to have several loopholes to ponder and consider and it needs the sug-gestion of many especially the youth since they are the ones to benefit or suffer from the said course. The question would be:

Is the agenda advan-tageous or otherwise?

Dina Jane Malaluan(IV-EIN-STEIN): For me, it is advan-tageous because, students are given the opportunity to learn well. At first, it seems like it is hard because for other stu-dents, studying is synonymous to suffering. But have they ever thought of the fact that they will suffer more in the future if they will not be able to learn things? In this world as of our situation today, we all need to be practical. Hard work itself is not enough to make a success. Knowledge is also needed.

Toni Rose R. Ramores(II-PASTEUR):Im telling you that I agree because I have observed that most of the countries around the globe have many intelligent but only old men are working or doing their job. Actually, I don’t care about the long span of time that I’ll be studying because I prefer most of the productivity that a man can do for his beloved country.

Jason R. Montesa(III-RUTHERFORD):On my part, if the K+12 Education Plan becomes successful, then the Philippine education system can become more competi-tive among other countries countries around the world. Though there are still some problems that the government needs to solve before they can successfully implement the plan, the proposed pro-gram is good but it still won’t work if the needed elements to make it work isn’t present.

Poverty: A Worldwide Problem

Poverty is a major prob-lem faced by poor or even rich coun-

tries in the world. The reasons are endless. It may be a re-sult of a country’s inadequate resources, poor quality of education or being overpop-ulated of a certain country. It can also be due to corrupt officials and their complete neglect to their position. But who is really to blame for the hardships that the citizens are suffering due to poverty? Is destitution an endless and eternal problem that will never to be solved? Poverty is not con-fined to Asian countries like

the Philippines. It is a world-wide problem faced by almost majority of the countries in the world. In Asia, Africa and Latin American countries, over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called “absolute poverty”. In Africa, millions of people die every year because of lack of needed funds for foods and medicines for less fortu-nate. Because of it, citizens in a country can’t maintain a minimally adequate standard of living. We can’t escape the reality that poverty is far from being resolved. Even a rich country like USA has its share of problems regarding poverty. Hunger has always been associated with poverty.

It is implicated in more than half of all child deaths world-wide. Half of all children un-der five years of age in South Asia and one third of those in Sub-Saharan Africa are mal-nourished. The government can’t supply their country’s needs because they lack the fund for food and medicine. But how can we ex-actly measure the poverty sta-tus in a certain country? Of course, there are guidelines to help us measure a country’s ability in providing solutions in their country’s poverty. Unemployment rate and in-flation rates are sometimes bases to determine a coun-try’s status regarding poverty and if a country is well off or

poor. Every year, thousands of new graduates fail to land a job, adding to the huge num-ber of workless people in our country. Job mismatch is a big issue to the new gradu-ates and to the government. Because of being jobless, they will be added to the long list of people living in poverty. People must be more practical in voting for those who will sit in the government as officials. They must be aware of those who they are putting in power. Those they will elect are the ones who will help them in the next years to come. For the past few years, the government has always been trying to extend their hands to those in need and exerting effort to provide the needs of its citizens living in poverty. Poverty breeds poverty, and so the govern-ment exerts effort in improv-

ing the quality of education in our country. Solving the problem of poverty is very hard, especially for a coun-try like the Philippines. Yet, every problem has a solution. Strengthening economic ties with other countries, provid-ing a high quality of educa-tion to the students, attracting foreign investors for busi-ness opportunities and eco-nomic growth and opening up more job opportunities for the unemployed are some. Poverty is truly a worldwide problem that has existed for so long. And it will continue to exist, unless we do something to finish it. Each and every citizen of this coun-try, especially the students, and the government must work hand in hand to put an end to poverty. If we will all work together and do our own part, we can conquer poverty.

• Ma. Luisa L. Obiña

Philippines at its turning point

May 10, 2010 marked a new

vision for the Filipinos as new set of leaders emerged on the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections. People have waited for years to wit-ness a change in our society. Having President Noynoy Aquino made Philip-pine history noteworthy not

• Roselle Eloise B. Bunayog

only because he became the highest leader in our country, but because people have ex-pected a lot from him with his mother, Corazon Aquino, be-ing the democratic icon and his father, Former Senator Ninoy Aquino who faced Ferdinand Marcos with pride and cour-age, sacrificed his life for our liberty. It was the second time

that we had a President whose parent became a leader as well. The Arroyo admin-istration turned out to be a downfall to the nation as it dis-played corrupt officials, buried scandals and unsolved crimes. Hearing PNOY’s words made a feeling of determination among the Filipinos. With his famous lines, “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap”, he truly exemplified his integ-rity by removing undeserving officials in the government. Noynoy’s admin-istration became a big al-teration from the previ-ous presidency. Though

started out good, it was imme-diately faced with lurid issues. Taking the hostage crisis that occurred in the Quirino Grandstand, the event is still vivid from the memories of the victims and the whole nation as well. Be-cause of one man who wants to get back in position, killed several innocent tourists af-ter mistreating his brother. Having the Repro-ductive Health Bill as the center of commotion be-tween the Church and the government is a huge inquiry upon PNoy to decide. No one is indeed above the law,

but the Catholic Church has the right to express its con-viction against the matter. With the first five months in power, several challenges have confronted our President. The solution to the problem of the state should not only be taken by the government. We Filipinos have to act out in solving our puzzle. The EDSA Revolution revealed that hand in hand, we were able to oust the abu-sive dictator who took over for more than two decades. History repeats itself. If we have done it before, why can’t we do much better today?

Equality is EvilIs a Roman bet-ting on gladia-tors comparable

to that of a modern day em-ployer firing his workers? Ever since the dawn of mankind, humans lived side by side formed clans, protect-ed their race came up with civ-ilizations or built empires as long as they’re with each oth-er. No man is an island as they say, but is it really because of the others’ help that we were able to survive, or the sight of their helplessness that gave us the feeling of being higher than them so we were able to outlast the “lesser” beings? When the colosseum was built by Vespasian, it was considered as his biggest mis-take. The slaves were killed mercilessly for the sake of the salvation of Rome’s honor re-gardless of the bloodied soil. Romans weren’t delighted

• Eliora Maris M. Medranowith pure blood spill inside the ampitheater but of the feeling that they aren’t as un-lucky as the ones fighting off with the lions. This certainty that somebody’s lesser than them gave the much needed self-esteem and reinforce-ment to their declining glory. The oppresive sight of their underserving rulers by mock-ing at the misery of others. When the Manila hos-tage taking took place last August 23, it was considered as Rolando Mendoza’s biggest mistake. The Chinese citizens felt a staggering blow of pain for their countrymen who suffered a painful end within the Philippine soil. Our glory declined while self-esteems lowered when Hong Kong considered us “non-sentient”.

But suprisingly, we were not the ones who felt the need for other’s sufferings to alleviate our burdens, the Chinese did. A series of reports from Overseas Filipino Work-ers in Hong Kong said that they were pried upon or worse, fired by their Chinese employ-ers after the hostage taking in-cident. Perhaps, it’s how they tried to lessen the oppresive sight of the Filipinos who in-directly killed their people. The humans sentience might be the main reason be-hind these. By being able to feel can we only understand the meaning of being alive, of being happy, of being sad, in bliss, or in torment. These emotions lead to actions that make us want to be equal with those who oppress while those

who oppress will want more than ever to be equal to those who are higher than them. It’s a never ending cycle of try-ing to see the others’ weak-nesses to compare with our strengths. For inequality isn’t evil and equality itself is evil, we continue to hurt each oth-er without realizing that they were the only ones who could understand another human. In the case of the em-ployer and Romans, it’s mere-ly an act of a normal human. They experienced pain so they would like others to feel it also. They wanted equality so they aren’t the only ones who are suffering. What they need is time to heal the angst which was built up inside them. And after the process of healing, never despair when we try to reap back time. For in every memory we recall, we become stronger than before.

Editor’s Corner

To the readers,Our school organ, the satellite has been very participative, for almost seven years, in uplifting awareness and in instilling the values of campus journalism in our school. From the past publications we had, we can say that there were consider-able changes and innovations. The team of staffers exerted their utmost efforts and talents in molding a better and quality write-ups. Thanks to the pre-vious staffers for their unwa-vering support and guidance. Their works served as our steer making everything in it well-done and well-screened. Also our adviser Mr. Peter Alarcon, his knowledge about this urged us to work with excellence.

Students of Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School will surely have a fun school year, welcom-ing and having new friend-ships from the first year lev-el, enjoying new classmates and different environments as well as seeing the school with its latest makeover. One of the major ren-ovations that had taken place was the installation of bridges connecting the school’s two buildings together in the 2nd and 3rd floors. Teachers and students would really enjoy these new structures. These bridges will help ease the

pain of teachers, students and school staff from traveling to and fro from one building to another by using the stairs. Another major improve-ment is the repainting of the school’s buildings. Corridors, posts, stairs and walls had been repainted and furnished for the new school year. Not only did the new paint job en-hance the school’s color but also helped maintain a very good image of the school, that is being a model in cleanli-ness as well as excellence. A new arrangement of classrooms and faculty rooms had also taken place. Building A will now have the 1st and

A New Look for SRSTHS3rd year levels and Building B shall hold the 2nd and 4th year levels. Each classroom had its own developments during the week – long briga-da eskwela, a school project maintained nationwide by the Department of Education (DepEd), held in our school from May 24 to May 28, 2010. Thanks to these reno-vations, everyone would really have a good start in the new school year. Let us keep hop-ing for future developments and improvements, all for the school’s well being and its goal to have a conducive, student- friendly campus and second home to StaRSci’s scholars.

• Colleen Anh C. Pegollo

STARSCI STUDENTS fix their chairs and tables during the Brigada Eskwela.

SSG Officers attend NLTSGO

As part of the man-dated training for Student Leaders, the Center for stu-dent co-curricular affairs chief executive Mr. Joey Pelaez welcomed the Supreme Stu-dent Government officers in Teachers’ Camp Baguio City last August 2-8 for the 8th Na-tional Leadership Training of Supreme Government Officers. With the year’s theme “Team SSG Making the Dream Work”, the student of-ficers coming from varied regions of the Philippines showed its alacrity towards honing leadership skills and building network of team-work within the organization. The seminar stressed the importance of team-

work among SSG officers. Our school, Santa Rosa Sci-ence and Technology High School sent its officers in the said training namely, Jonel Escaño, SSG President and Myra Blesila Antolin, Vice President together with their adviser Ms. Junellie Mae Bawan and other delegates of Santa Rosa City. The or-ganizers disseminated free bags, ID’s and student leader magazines for the first day. The training was not only attended by the officers but as well as their mentors, The Student Trainors from Ateneo known as “Strainers”, TV Personalities, DepEd of-ficials and Mr. Anthony Pan-gilinan, chief distributor of Lighthouse Publishing Inc.

• Jonel G. Escaño

TEAMWORK. Different student leaders from various schools work hand in hand to achieve a common goal.

Laying the Foundation• Colleen Anh C. Pegollo

At about 9 am of May 24, 2010, a good number of

students in Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School gathered around the school’s covered court to join the open-ing ceremony of an important event. This program main-tained and ordered by DepEd aims to prepare schools for a new school year by clean-ing, improving and renovat-ing classrooms, laboratories and faculties of the school. Another objective of the said program is to promote team-work or what we call here in the Philippines as “bayani-han” among teachers, students as well as parents in doing such tasks. This program is called the Brigada Eskwela. Prior to this event is

also the release of sectioning and the classroom assign-ment of each student. The stu-dent will work in the room in which his or her class section is placed for the new school year. Students worked in a different environment with different people, serving as their first activity as a class, getting to know new people and developing tighter bonds of friendship suitable for the beginning of a new year. Before the start of the brigada, students who walked in their classroom saw how dirty it was, piles of dust on the floors, tables and chairs, fading paint of the walls and ceiling, and nonfunctional lights and electric fans brought about by the long vacation. It was a challenge. Students were giv-en individual tasks, but most preferred to work in groups.

There were groups assigned in sweeping, waxing the floors, polishing, washing the old curtains, wiping the windows and walls, cleaning the dusty chalkboard, brushing the elec-tric fans and a lot more. They were also able to plan future projects, elect classroom offic-ers, have new decorations and have an overall classroom in-spection. By May 28, 2010, the program turned out to be a success. The evidence are pre-sent in the school and can be noticed and seen by observers. This Brigada Eskwela is only the first and begin-ning to a lot more projects in the school. All went well during the program and most of the teachers and stu-dents cooperated, laying the foundation for a brighter school year, for the students and for the community.

REVIVED. The school’s new phase of development.

Throughout the decade, countless calamities such as storms, earthquakes, flashfloods, landslides and fires have been hitting our country, resulting to a big number of wounded civilians, wasted vehicles, wrecked infrastructures, broken families and the loss of precious lives. Saddening, isn’t it? The major les-son – be ready. It could happen to you, however little the chance may be. When disaster strikes, don’t be caught unprepared! A responsible scholar is always ready for anything. Here are tips to prevent chaos, panic and confusion once natural or man-made dis-asters strike.Before • Prepare to be self-sufficient for at least three days by putting together an emergency kit, includ-ing: canned and packed food, water, a flashlight, a portable, battery-operated radio or television, bat-teries, medicines, first aid kit, money, seasonal cloth-ing, and sanitation supplies. • Conduct practice drills so you and your fam-ily know the safe locations in your home for each type of emergency. Decide how and where your family will reunite if separated. • Choose an out-of-state friend or relative that separated family members can call to report their whereabouts and conditions. • Learn first aid and CPR from your local Red

Remember how you used to hear your friends mix English and Filipino words in one sentence? How they use the words “gon-na” and “wanna” to replace the phrases “going to” and “want to”? How so very often you hear “duh” and “OMG” come out of everyone’s lips?If you remember those mentioned above, then so do I.For years the youth has created and used so many phrases and expressions. They would al-ways use them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The expressions stated previously are still frequently heard today, but change is constant. Once again, a new wave of expressions is used by the youth. Let me familiar-ize you with these new words.• Jejenese- Why wouldn’t this be on top of the list? This is the official language of the popu-lar jejemons. The letters are composed of alternat-ing upper and lower case letters. In other cases, letters are replaced with numbers. Though the Department of Education declared war against the jejemons, the true blue members of this clique still continue the use of their language.• “imba!”- This shorter term for the word im-balance is popularized and commonly used by those

Cross chapter or other community organizations. • Learn how to shut off gas, water and electric-ity in case the lines are damaged. • Make sure insurance coverage is up-to-date and reflects present property values. Check on flood insurance. • Compile an inventory of home contents. Take pictures and/or video. Store in a safe place. • Check chimneys, roofs, walls and founda-tions for stability. Make sure your house is bolted to its foundation. • Secure your water heater and major appli-ances, as well as tall, heavy furniture, hanging plants, picture frames and mirrors.• Make arrangements for pets. DuringIf you are evacuated:• Follow directions of local officials. Carry your disaster supplies kit with you. • Unplug appliances, turn off electricity, gas, and main water valve. • If time permits, elevate or move furniture to upper floors. • Tell someone outside of storm area where you are going. • Lock home and leave.If you stay at home:• Listen constantly to a battery-powered radio

Expression Evolution• Regina Coeli T. Aquino

or television. • Stay inside away from windows, skylights and glass doors. • If power is lost, turn off major appliances and keep refrigerators and freezers closed. After:• Stay calm. Check on neighbors, especially elderly or disabled. • Turn on your portable radio or television for instructions and news reports. For your own safety, cooperate fully with public safety officials and in-structions. • Use a flashlight to cautiously check for gas and water leaks, broken electrical wiring or sewage lines. If there is damage, turn the utility off at the source. • Check your home for cracks and damage, in-cluding the roof, chimneys and foundation. • Do not use your vehicle unless there is an emergency. Keep the streets clear for emergency ve-hicles. • Take pictures of the damage, both house and contents, for insurance claims. • When electricity is lost for several hours or days, frozen and refrigerated food may not be safe to eat. Do not re-freeze thawed food. Throw away all food that has been under flood waters, except canned food, but wash and sanitize the cans before opening. • Conserve water if your septic system is flooded. • If your system lost pressure, boil water for 3 minutes before consuming. As you obviously know, prevention is better than cure. However, all of these would be nothing without the help and guidance of God. Everyone should be informed of the proper way of dealing and preparing with these disasters. It is something than involves discipline of dealing with and avoid-ing risks. Although, disaster preparedness may seem unnecessary and a waste of time, effort and money, it can go a very long way, and who knows, being pre-pared may even save yours and your loved one’s life someday. So once again I ask you, are you ready?

• Colleen Anh C. Pegollo

ary and fail which means shortcoming or mis-take. An epic fail is any mistake or fault com-mitted by someone that makes him popular.To use in a sentence: “The contest-ant tripping off the stage was an epic fail!”• “over!”- This expression was popular-ized by PBB Big Winner Melai Cantiveros. This term is usually used for exaggeration.To use in a sentence: “The test in Algebra was so hard! Over!”• “major, major!”- This expression originally came from the talked-about answer of Ms. Maria Ve-nus Raj during the Q and A portion of Ms.Universe. This phrase is used to indicate something extravagant.To use in a sentence: “She’s going to throw a major, major party at their house to night!”• “amp!” - It’s not a unit of current, not an amplifier and surely not a drug. This expression was first used in the Philippines by the time Ragnarok Online is on it’s boom. It is used by Filipinos to ex-press anger and disappointment on a situation or in some cases just to add intensity to a statement. To use in a sentence: “Amp! How come I failed in a subject like Physical Education? This is crazy!” I’m sure it’ll take a longer time for me to mention all the expressions used by the youth. Hav-ing an original way of expressing oneself is good, but let us not forget the proper use of English and Filipino for formality and better understanding.

who play DOTA. The word may mean two contrast-ing ideas: 1) You’re so good! and 2) You’re so weak!To use in a sentence: “Our opponent is too good. We can’t even score. Imba!”• “epic fail”- This phrase is formed from the words epic which means legend-

Mount Makiling, the mystical mountain at Los Baños, Laguna has been degrading as time passes by. A great destination for relaxation, for leisure and camping. With the increasing popula-tion in the areas surrounding it, the mountain is now becoming polluted. Pieces of trash are scat-tered along the trail because of the careless people living and visiting the mountain. This needs to stop as environmental concerns are being advocated by NGOs and concerned citizens of the country. The Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME) is one of the new units of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines - Los Baños. It aims to conserve Philip-pine mountain environments and promote the Global Mountain Agenda. It also supports environmen-tal movements like the Keep Makiling Green Movement. The Boy Scouts of the Philippines launched environmental programs like their Go Green Movement which also became a big help to preserve the moun-tain. Through these, the ecological balance in the mountain ecosystem of Mount Makiling is recovered.The Keep Makiling Green Movement, a non-profit organization, has its own lineup of activities which aims to preserve Mount Makiling. An example is the Ecology Fun Trek held last September 11, 2010 at the moun-tain. It’s objective was to lessen the foreign materials found along the trail. NGOs and companies partici-pated in the said event. At the end, Awards and special prizes were given to those who picked up the most trash and to those who won in the Eco Trivia Quiz. A Current activity is the distribution of stickers which serves as a fund raising for the forest rangers. Suggested donations for the sticker is Php 20.00. The move-ment would raise funds for it to be able to buy binoculars for the rangers. Future activities would follow like the Centennial Celebration of Mount Makiling as a National Forest Reserve on November 21, 2010. The initiators of the movement would like to rally out support through the dissemination of information. We could ask our friends to click on “Like” on the Fan Page of the movement on Fa-cebook or we could donate money to the movement. Through these, we could be environmental ad-vocates in any way. Let us help support and preserve the mountain ecosystem of Mount Makiling.

We won’t have gigantic pizzas during school festivals like that of Ashford Academy in Code Ge-ass, we don’t have a greenhouse like that of Special A, we can’t take a shower in school unlike in Shakugan no Shana and our garden is too small compared to that in Mai Hime, but we can still say that Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School is the coolest school ever. We have Foundation Days with different ed-ucational booths. No, it’s not being killjoy, it’s learn-ing while enjoying. Because most of our teachers believe that learning need not be about books but it should be about sharing and gathering information with others while having fun in the process. And that’s what we do even in times wherein we have a school program. We are having fun in classes so we need not skip them, unlike Lelouch who prefers to sleep rather than studying. Luckily, we have spacious classrooms which we keep clean and organized. Even though we might have power interruptions whenever multiple com-puters are used, we stay fresh with windows wide open. We shouldn’t litter around the campus for we have bins wherein you must segregate your trash. Without hassles and disturbances, we can stay fo-cused on our studies even without Akira’s ‘magical’ cookies and tea.

Keep Makiling Green Movement• Adrian Justin D.C. Del Rosario

• Eliora Maris M. Medrano

Our restrooms are kept clean with water on big pails, but sometimes we find the cubicles not enough for all of us to get in especially when we change clothes for P.E. classes. What is important is that we learned how to be patient because we knew everybody needs to use it; others just need to give way. And we need not quarrel about that, there are volunteers already. We can also see teachers doing the same. This is what they taught us to do, so we should be thankful or else we could have ended up quarreling inside the restrooms. And to thank them, we must give respect and never attempt mimicking Shana or you will send teachers crying. Our school also shares the only court with the elementary but we learned how to give and take. They’ve got it today, tomorrow it’s ours. It’s amaz-ing how we’ve turned it into a court for basketball, volleyball, badminton and futsal. It also turned into a stage during programs and even a laboratory for bigger experiments. We learn how to share and also to be resourceful of what we’ve got. Together, we can make almost anything possible instead of fighting for resources not like the Himes’ greed for power. We won’t have gigantic pizzas every time we have a school festival or a greenhouse full of plants wherein we can hold classes but we can beat Lelouch and Takishima when it comes to cleverness and edu-cational attainment. We might not have pools and showers to use for free or luscious green gardens but we are taught values that can outwit Shana and Mai’s supernatural powers. Our school might not have marvelous facilities but what’s important is that we are educated to be cool! Say, isn’t it cool that we are so lucky we are studying here and we can overcome other students, or even anime characters?

A veil of misty droplets hungWonderfully colored by the rays of sun

A beautiful arc set on the rain-washed sky

Where the mighty birds dwell and fly

This colorful painted bowServes as a sign to men below

Rises over land and oceans deepA reminder that God never sleeps

He promised never again to sendA flood to drown those who offend

The rainbow is His sealed promise thusA true love letter written to us.

Changing Paradigm

Regina Coeli AquinoThe moment he stood there

proved that the mass is strongThough he never thought he’ll come

to that point and go all alongHe dreamed not to be an advocate of hopeAnd inherit all the country’s evils and fault.

In his simple life he had this goalTo be true to his country and give his all

That day marked the end of an uncommitted regime

And gave birth to a changing paradigm

His foremost duty is to lift the nation through honest ways

And bring the destiny of the Filipinos back to its rightful place

He came to serve and not to lord overHe promised to accept his people’s marching order

For his exhausted compatriots, the government will be their champion

For the hardworking youth, he’ll improve the system of education

For the persevering worker, he’ll cater jobs and opportunities

For the deprived family, he’ll provide homes within safe communities

The Filipinos have proven their power over their own country

They’ve campaigned for change and succeeded through unity

Let’s keep the faith and continue to prevailLet’s join hands with the leader that we’ve hailed.

On The Court• Michael Leandrew Laraño

He clears to the left, he hits to the rightBut oh! I missed his drop too tightIt’s his serve and I’m ready to begin

Oh how I wish this game I win

I retrieve the bird and hit it so farHe cleared it back like blazing star

It is time for me to smash it right downMy turn to start another round

Short serve to the front? Long serve to the back?My leg is sore, I want to slack

I served it short and he lifted up highI dropped it down, his moves so sly.

I lunged for the bird to keep it in playLuckily he missed! The game’s going my way!

Match point for me, just one more to goI serve the bird but “NOT TOO LOW!”

My turn to serve, the score is twenty- eighteenWill this be over? Will I play again?

My serve is so high, he smashed it once moreBut he missed! My wrist is so sore!

Match point for me as everyone seesI served short, he fell on his knees

The game is over, the points I have wonMy coach happily said “What a job well done!”

The Sign of the Bow

• Regina Coeli T. Aquino

If Tomorrow Never Comes

If tomorrow never comes for someone close to you, how

much would you give in or-der to lengthen his life? Can five pesos ever be enough? Pamela Africa. A cheerful student; the 2008 Ms. StaRSci; a companion; a chess player; a friend. She was the one who kept on asking for five pesos from everyone she sees along the way...before that tragic day. Last March 6, 2010, while on the way home from a Visita Iglesia in Baguio, the bus she was riding at crashed against a tree and took her life

• Eliora Maris M. Medrano away together with our chance to give what she had been ask-ing for. One might think that if only they had given her what she asked for, things might have gone the other way. The bus could have reached to a stop. The driver couldn’t have fallen asleep. She might have survived the crash. If the un-fortunate event did not hap-pen, we could still have her now to laugh with, to study with, and simply be with. Af-ter that, five pesos would have been the most valuable mon-ey. It would have saved her life, our tears, and our memo-ries of lifetime friendships. But God planned oth-erwise. Nothing, even money,

can be enough to stop His will. Every ending is so unpredict-able, that it hurts thinking about it. However, knowing that we would all end the same way tells us that life is short and precious. Being able to live another day is a wonderful gift from above. She just has to go earlier than us. It has nothing to do with what we have failed to do for her. What’s important is what we’ve made her feel during her life here on earth. Let us live everyday like we’re going to die tomor-row. Let our loved ones know how much we love them. Show them how much they mean to us. Let us value them and make life worthwhile.

AN EVERLASTING SMILE. Pamela Tanya S. Africa will for-ever be a part of our hearts.

Scholar in Focus People from the out-side look at us students at StaRSci, like we are geniuses, geeks, nerds and the kind of teenagers who have a book for a best friend. Wondering why? Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School had reached a high standard in terms of quality education it gives its students. The school is using an advanced curriculum different from the ones ordi-nary schools are implement-ing. Teachers in our school came from very professional backgrounds and pass their knowledge to us in many ways. And the most important fac-tor is, of course, the students. Before any fresh grad-uate from elementary can be part of this institution, one has to pass the STENEX, short

for Sci- tech Entrance exami-nation, which is composed of three parts with elimination per segment. This test acts as a human filter, getting only the people who have good grades in their former school and who passed the qualify-ing exams and interview. You would be lucky to be one of those. Once they get in, they face it, the life in StarSci Hi. A person who wakes up at least 5 30 in the morning, goes to school before 7, attends classes, bonds with friends, absorbs lessons, do group activities, faces seat works, quizzes and recitations of 10 or more subjects for 8 hours, goes home late because of ex-

• Colleen Anh C. Pegollo tracurricular activities and cannot enjoy the right time of sleep because of assignments, deadlines and responsibili-ties. That, my friend, is the life of a typical StarSci scholar. Obviously, it’s not easy but, it is something a person can be proud of. Be-cause of hardships, we learn to be strong; we enhance our confidence ,we develop new skills, we discover our capa-bilities, we learn from our mistakes and we realize that there is always a room for im-provement. Being a scholar means being given the op-portunity to prove ourselves worthy of our positions now. We are the major component of the school, scholars, let us show them what we’ve got!

Facebook: A Friend or Foe?• Patrick Vien C. Adraque We often say that so-

cial networking is a new type of communication. Of course, we always wanted to stay in touch with our friends. Un-like the traditional way, people need to do manual writing and we all know it’s kind of boring. That’s why our generation to-day is called as “Generation i”. Why? Because we always want-ed everything to be instant! Facebook is a site used by teens and adults. The Face-book application is owned and operated by Facebook, Inc., which was established in Sep-tember 2006. The founders of Facebook were Chris Hughes,

Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zucker-berg. Thanks to them, because they are the people behind our new way of interacting online. There are benefits we can get from Facebook, and there will always be disadvantages. Some of the advantages we can attain from social networking are: being in touch with loved ones though they are far away and; easier to transact online business like advertising. As we all know, it is widely used on the net and most of all, it give us the freedom of speech.

Some negative thoughts in Facebook are; using it con-sumes much time of the users instead of using it in a pro-ductive way; spam may also spread on the internet by the use of this site and construc-tive criticism may do also. But anyway, it still depends on the person who uses this kind of social network, wheth-er this is to be used in a nice or bad way. As long as we are enjoying and benefiting, there is nothing wrong with using social networking sites. Just remember good netiquette because there will always be a limit in everything we do.

How to Make Good Decisions

• Regina Coeli T. Aquino All of us face dif-ferent problems that re-quire a good decision. But most of the time, we can-not accept the risks that they pose. Often we make wrong and irreversible decisions. Here are some help-ful techniques in deci-sion making that can pro-duce satisfactory solutions.• Strategize and pri-oritize. Work on matters that are critical to you and leave those that are not.• Spread risks if you are not prepared to commit. Avoid making decisions that lock you into a single choice.• Use logic first. Rely-ing exclusively on your emo-

tions triggers rash decisions.• When you’ve used your logic, you can use your intui-tion. Create options based on your experiences and values to make the decision feel right.• Go slow when im-mediate decision is not necessary. Take time in developing options.• Deal with the whole problem. Take risks, and don’t play safe. Uncovering hidden options truly resolve the prob-lem. With a little logic and com-mon sense, you can make en-during and quality decisions.

Source: http://www.studygs.net/problem/adaptivedec.htm

AN OPEN BOOK. One click away from the borderless world.

To equip CALA-BARZON’s po-tential National

Schools Press Conference qualifiers, the Regional Of-fice initiated anew its an-nual Regional Training in Campus Journalism to all scribes of Region IV-A held last September 30-October 1 at La Vista, Pansol, Calamba. The said activity aims to build the skill of student-journalists in different writ-ing interests like editorial, news, feature and its new ad-

ditional press contest, the Online Feature Writing. This was attended by experi-enced speakers in the afore-mentioned fields where they shared their expertise with the eager-learners as well as to the school paper advisers. The said seminar fo-cused on language proficien-cy, sentence construction and diction which play a vital role in uplifting quality write-ups, competitive enough for the National Schools Press Confer-

• Jonel G. Escaño

Scholar Scribes Hone Up for Press Tilt

StaRSci competes in 8th YES Camp

The Santa Rosa Sci-ence and Technology High School joined the 8th Youth for Environment-Organ-ization Summer Camp at Teacher’s Camp, Ba-guio City on April 19-23. With the theme “Sagip Kalikasan, Sagip Buhay (Dis-aster Management through Environmental Protection)” it aims to inform the par-ticipants on climate change mitigation utilizing local and international best practices; inculcate among students the critical role of environmen-tal protection in preventing and coping with the effects of natural disasters such as ty-phoons, floods, earthquakes, and droughts and strengthen the implementation of various

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

DepEd environmental pro-grams and projects in schools. The highlight of the said event was the “Lakan and Lakambini ng Kalikasan” wherein Andrea Palado rep-resented our campus and bested the other candidates who came from the different parts of the Philippines. They had experienced consecutive prejudging nights before the final judgment. The winners were announced and she was hailed as the Lakambini ng Kalikasan 4th runner-up and Best in Kalikasan Costume. Philip Christopher Cruz of III-Dalton also won 2nd place for the Science Quiz Bee after competing with 500 students from differ-ent regions of the Philippines.

“The most important thing I learned in the camp is to never assume. Assum-ing is one of the main causes of panic and distress which may lead to further pressure on one’s mind”, Cruz said. Joseph Salenga of III-Rutherford participated in the Poster-making con-test. The participants were supervised by Ms. Jesusa Habig and Ms. Jocelyn Reyes. The event is jointly organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Special Concerns Office-Youth Desk, the Ka-bataang Sama-Sama Maglil-ingkod (Kasama), Inc., and the Department of Education (DepEd)-Center for Student and Co-Curricular Affairs.

StaRSci Hi joins Division Math Camp Santa Rosa Science and technology High School, together with seven other pub-lic high schools participated in the Division Math camp held at Don Jose National High school, September 24-25. StaRSci dominated most of the contest categories. Aljin Prado of I-Copernicus, Danielle Mari Caye Hizola of II-Pasteur and Raina Carlin Laza of III-Dalton got the first place while Gemina Marie Garcia of IV-Einstein won 3rd place. In the DaMath contest Christian Foronda of I-Co-pernicus and Clark Sherwin

• Kristine Joy V. Fuego Clotario of IV-Einstein won 2nd place while Aldrin Arenas of II-Darwin and Karl Dave Ylarde of III-Boyle dominated the 1st place. In the group cat-egories, StaRSci won first place in the Math Investigation and second place in the Math Trail. The highlight of the said event was the Mr. and Ms. Math Wizard. Our Can-didates, Michael Leandrew Laraño of III-Dalton and Denisse Punongbayan of III-Rutherford were hailed the Mr. and Ms. Geometry. Also Punongbayan won the fol-lowing awards: Best in Tal-ent and Face of the Night.

JOSEPH Conrad Salenga adding spice to his masterpiece.

ence. Our alma mater sent its scholars namely, Jonel Escaño, Carlito Gatdula, Jonel Medina and Joseph Conrad Salenga to engage in the said activity. Through the con-certed efforts of the Regional Office headed by Ms. Cher-rylou De Mesa, Education Program Supervisor II for English-Secondary and Dr. Yolanda Gilbuena, Educa-tion Program Supervisor II for Filipino-Secondary as well as students and advisers the training was made possible.

Students conduct Earthquake Drill

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

Jupiter dominates PopEd probe

“I prepared for just two days that’s why I didn’t expect to win the contest. I am really nervous because I am not ful-ly equipped to join the quiz.” Words that Janina Ju-piter uttered when she topped the Division Population Edu-cation Quiz held in Santa Rosa City Health Center last September 27 with its aim of raising population aware-ness and at the same time curbing its effects on youth. Among the other par-ticipating schools of the divi-sion, StaRSci proved again its

• Jonel G. Escaño excellence through snatching the 1st place in the said contest. Janina Jupiter, a 16-year-old senior student of section Einstein said that she really felt anxious when she saw her contenders. “When I’m already taking the lead, I felt confi-dent already, “she summed up. In her course of review, Ms. Chriselleen Jazel Pasilan, 3rd year MAPEH teacher and Ms. Junellie Mae Bawan, 3rd year Social Studies teacher gave their support by training her until the competition day. “I really expect for Janina’s victory however, I

know that it’s really tough in her part because the questions were not tackled during our review. Nevertheless, we will again send Janina in San Pablo City for the Regional PopEd probe,” Ms. Pasilan revealed. She received Php 3000 cash and a trophy courtesy of our honorable city mayor, Arlene Arcillas-Nazareno. In the said competi-ton , Balibago National High School got the 2nd place fol-lowed by Aplaya National High School. Other partici-pating schools were Southville High School and Pulong Sta. Cruz National High School.

SENIOR students endure the intense heat during the drill.

To minimize casual-ties, Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School car-ried out its annual earthquake drill on June 25, 9:00 a.m. The three bells sig-nalled the start of the drill. The students went to the evacuation site as much as

possible passing through the planned lanes within a short time. After a few minutes, they went back to the cov-ered court for the evaluation. Mr. Emerald Reyes was so glad for having a better time record. “Be-fore, it took 5:45 minutes for all students to evacuate but now only 4:00:92 min-utes,” he proudly announced. Moreover, he stressed that the recorded time for the said drill showed a good sign for an actual evacua-tion during an earthquake. In addition, students ac-tive participation made the activity to flow smoothly. Applied Academ-ics for Excellence (APEX)and the central schools also joined the said activity with the help of the CTMEO and Brgy. Poblacion officials.

StaRSci celebrates Nutrition Day

The Students Tech-nologists and Entrepreneurs of

the Philippines spearheaded the annual Nutrition Day with the theme “Healthy lifestyle ng kabataan, Landas sa Kinabu-kasan”, that aims to promote good health for a better fu-ture to students, on July 29. Various activities were conducted like Poster Making Contest, Nutri Quiz, Cooking Contest, Fresh Fruit Shake Making Contest, Jin-gle Writing Contest, Fruits and Vegetable Carvings, Slo-gan Making Contest, Poem Writing Contest-English and Filipino, and Food Bazaar. Sections from the first year level that topped for group category were: I-Brahe for Cooking, I-Copernicus for Jingle Making contest, I-Galileo in Fresh Fruit Shake Making contest and I-Kelvin for Fresh Fruit Shake Mak-ing. For individual category, 1st place in poster-making contest is Kristine Alexandra Mendez (1st Year Galileo), while Rhys Reb E. Laxa (1st Year Galileo) got 2nd and 3rd is Krizel Mae E. Quogana (1st Year Kepler), 1st is Christine

Joyce D. Beltran (1st Year Co-pernicus) for Nutri Quiz while 2nd is Jose Paulo Andres M. Alon (1st Year Copernicus), and 3rd Place: Roxanne Elysse B. Bunayog (1st Year Galileo). For the second year level, II-Pasteur claimed the champ for Cooking contest, Fresh Fruit Shake Making and Jingle Making Contest while II-Darwin got the 1st place for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Carvings. In individual con-test, Hazel Y. Sarmienta won the 1st place and Sheila Men-doza got 3rd of II-Mendel in Poster-making contest while Gabriel Lorenzo A. Bueta of II-Pateur grabbed 2nd. In Nutri Quiz, Juliet Alyssa P. Cabael of II-Watson won 1st, Sweetselle M. Cardama of II-Linnaeus copped 2nd and Derick B. Canceran of II-Pasteur reaped 3rd place. Tani Rose R. Ramones of II-Pasteur won 2nd place for Fili-pino Poem Writing Contest. Winners for the group competition were: III-Mende-leev for Fresh Fruit and Veg-etable Carvings and Jingle making contest, III-Boyle for Cooking contest while III-Dalton for Fresh Fruit Shake Making Contest. Individual

Category winners were Cath-erine Buena won 2nd place in Slogan Making contest, Joseph Conrad Salenga won 1st in Poster-making contest, both from III-Rutherford, Re-gina Coeli Aquino(Filipino)-1st place and Adrian Justin del Rosario(English)-1st place, both from III-Dalton, for Poem Writing Contest.The sections who outdone the others for fourth year level were IV-Einstein for Fruits and Vegetable Carvings, Jingle Writing Contest, and Fresh Fruit Shake Making Contest while IV-Hertz for the Cook-ing contest. For the students, Achassi Biay of IV-Ampere won 1st in Slogan Making contest and 3rd place is Palm Hazel Alpe for Poem Writing contest, both from IV-Am-pere. 3rd place in Poem Writ-ing contest-Filipino is Cheska Charlene A. Ballesteros, 2nd place in Poem Writing Con-test-English is Patricia Marie Bernasor and 2nd place in Poster-Making contest is John Paul V. Cartagena, all from IV-Hertz. 1st place is Erika Ange-la C. Tumaliuan of IV-Einstein and 3rd place is Nicole Keren J. De Guzman of IV-Archime-des for Poster making contest.

CARVING THE FUTURE. Students take part in fruits and vegetable carving to promote healthy lifestyle among youth.

StaRSci takes part in Robotics Seminar The Santa Rosa Sci-ence and Technology High School Science and T.L.E. teachers and selected students were invited by the City Hall to attend the K’NEX Seminar Workshop on August 16-18. This aims to pro-vide enough knowledge about Construction of Ro-bots and Programming.

All science teachers, Mr. Alvin Sta. Maria, Ms. Mary Grace Capul and Ms. Maria Cristina Pegollo attended the said seminar in the SRSTHS’ AVR and were given a robotics kit in part of the free training.The 200 selected students vis-ited a science fair in La-Salle Canlubang and were facili-tated by the science teachers. The said activity was initiated by V.G. Roxas Co. Inc.

MCL spearheads Environmental Seminar

Malayan Colleges of Laguna (MCL) invited select-ed 3rd year students of Santa Rosa Science and Technol-ogy High School(SRSTHS) for an Environmental awareness Campaign at Southpoint subdivision, Cabuyao, Laguna on Sept. 29. With the theme “Ex-cellence and Virtue in Pro-moting Environmental Awareness: Living and Learn-ing Communities”, the semi-nar aimed to promote knowl-edge about environmental awareness not only to students but also to teachers who par-ticipated the said conference. The Opening program started with a prayer followed thereafter by the National Anthem and the Speakers’

Maria Kristina Imatong and Kristine Joy Fuego

introduction. Engr. Dodjie S. Maestrecampo, the Execu-tive Vice President and COO of Malayan Colleges Laguna, gave the opening remarks. The first speaker, Mr. Rod-erick Monterey, Administra-tive officer of MCL discussed about solid waste manage-ment that is concerned of dis-posal of garbage and also their recycling processes. Pollution, pollutants and its effects to human environment was then explained by the next speaker, Prof. Abigail Rodelas-Angelia, a Science Faculty member of MCL. The last lecturer, Prof. Cervinia Manalo, also a Sci-ence Faculty member, gave her talks about water treatment. An open forum was held after the lectures. Synthe-

sis and Closing remarks were given by Prof. James Ronald O. Mesina, the Director of Community Service and Rela-tions Office of the said college. Simultaneous Workshops and Guided Experiments fol-lowed, which includes Wa-ter testing Treatment and a Tour at the Sewage Treat-ment Plant by the Chemi-cal Engineering Seniors, and Waste management facili-tated by Engr. Jessica Castillo. The said conven-tion was participated in by schools from Santa Rosa City, Calamba City and Cabuyao, Laguna. It ended at 1 o’clock in the afternoon with each students more aware about our environment and minds filled with new ideas.

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

• Maria Kristina R. Imatong

TUGS! Towards Unity a Greater Society

This was the theme of StaRSci Hi’s 2010 Acqui-antance Party held on July 16, 1pm at the SRES Cen-tral III Covered Court. The program started with a Doxology followed by the National Anthem, both sung by the G Singers. It was hosted by Roselle Eloise Bu-nayog, Klarisse Talibsao, Jer-shon Ammon Teodoro and Carlito Gatdula. When it was Likhang Galaw Dance Troupe’s (LDGT) turn to go

onstage, the crowd went wild. Games were held such as Sing-Along dugtong -dutong, Hep-Hep Hooray andHarina Ko, Kaibigan Ko. Thumb Drives, Handker-chieves, earphones and G-Tech Ballpens were given away as the prizes for the winners. This year’s Aquaint-ance Party aimed to promote friendship and camaraderie among the student body. It also served as a welcome Par-ty for the first year students.

• Kristine Joy V. Fuego

DANCE TO THE BEAT! Likhang Galaw Dance Troupe as they entertain the crowd with their moves and grooves.

StaRSci Pumps Up in SRC Cup

• Adrian Justin D.C. Del Rosario

StaRSci Varsity Players started to blaze when

they met their upcom-ing competitors from dif-ferent public and private schools in the City of Santa Rosa as the 3rd SRC Cup was opened at the SM Event Center last October 1, 2010. The said event was participated by athletes from more than 30 public elemen-tary and secondary schools, and 13 private schools from

Singapore hosts 2010 Youth Olympic Games

The Olympic torch lights up again in Sin-

gapore as they conduct the blazing battle for the crown between different countries in the first Youth Olym-pic Games last Aug.14-26. The ceremonies start-ed with the raising of the host country’s flag and a perfor-mance of its national anthem. The host nation then presents elements of its culture by per-forming artistic displays of music, song and dance. What

• Raina Carlin M. Laza

Viktoria Komova of Russia competes in the balance beam in the women’s individual all-around final at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Astounding Smasher

As the moment of truth holds each student’s breath, Aldrin John Peña-flor of the Freshies makes a bang as he grabs the crown during the awarding cer-emonies of badminton Sin-gles B last Intramurals. This small first year student from I-Kelvin is a schoolmate of two Sophomore badminton varsity players and a woodpusher from the 3rd year level during their elemen-tary years. He also represented our city in the said sport dur-

• Michael Leandrew A. Laraño

ing the Southern Tagalog CALABARZON Athletic As-sociation (STCAA) Meet 2010. Aldrin scored 21-3 in the first set and whitewashed his opponent from the Juniors in the last set during his match in the Intrams. He edged Rus-sel Soneja, a Sophie with a score of 21-14, 21-16 during the final round of the game. He showed us that height is not the basis to be a good badminton player. It took him perseverance, dis-cipline and confidence to be-come a smasher that aston-ishes the crowd with his skill.

A Session with the Champion

Interviewed by Carlo Bryan Acosta and Michael Laraño

Swimming is one of the most exciting sports in our country nowadays. So StaRSci students are not only good academically, but also competitive in sports. So one of these is Sandra Go-jar, a student from II- Men-del, which is fond of battling in some swimming competi-tions. So let’s know her better as an athlete by our interview. CB: When did you start swimming? Sandra: I start-ed taking my first swim-ming lesson when I was 6. CB: Winning is not al-ways achieved by others. But

for you, what do you keep in mind to win a competition? Sandra: I just think positively. Michael: Wow! That’s good. I know that you became one of our Na-tional team, when was that? Sandra: When I quali-fied for Southeast Asian group swimming championship. Michael: Okay. That’s interesting. So this is the last question for you. What advices can you give to some who aspires to be an absolute athlete? Sandra: The most im-portant thing for me is to be-

lieve in yourself and in God, because when you gain that attitude, you can do all things even though it’s difficult.

Is it in you?

Gatorade Philip-pines hosted an intensify-ing power training for the StaRSci varsity players held at SRES Central III cov-ered court last Oct. 4, 2010.

• Michael Leandrew A. Laraño

An informative ses-sion about science of sweat, and the disadvantages of being dehydrated fol-lowed the registration of the participants and the in-troduction of the trainers. After the interesting discussion, demonstrators and participants had their first drills for stamina. It seems that it is easy to do but when you’re already there, the court gets wet with your sweat. Each of them was given a bottle of Gatorade to hydrate them. Heavy exercises came after the short rest of the par-ticipants. It tested the strength of their muscles and their en-

durance. It involves the use of “medicine balls” which weigh 4KG, 5KG and 6KG, and different types of pushups which measures the power of their upper arms. The train-ing lasted in just less than 2 hours but it seems that they ran around an oval 30 times as they catch for their breaths. After that vigorous and hard training, the play-ers, together with the train-ers, had their picture taking for souvenir. The coaches from Manila believe that the rigid training can help the players a lot in their upcom-ing tournaments like the SRC Cup and the City Meet.

follows is the “Parade of Na-tions”, during which the par-ticipating athletes marched into the stadium, country by country. Each country’s delegation was led by a sign with the name of their coun-try and their national flag. The President of the organ-izing committee then de-livers a speech. The Games was declared open after it. Teams competed in various sports and went through many games be-fore they have attained their awards. One of the sports be-

ing talked about was track and field. Jebesa Fekru of Ethiopia made it on the top in the Men’s 3000 m. run and Kenryca Shenika Fran-cis in the Women’s division. The fire that burned brightly in the heart of Sin-gapore was put out on Aug. 26 which marked the end of a festival that set new mark-ers for youth and sport. Inter-national Olympic Commit-tee president Jacques Rogge told the 3,600 young athletes: “Years from now, when you reflect on your sports career, you will be able to say ‘I was in Singapore, where it all began’. You will keep this Singapore spirit alive in your countries as true role models.” The 20,000 volunteers who worked be-

hind the scene had shown that spirit and were recognized. Fourteen junior or youth world records were re-written, and future Olympic gems look to have been un-earthed in China’s six-gold swimmer Tang Yi and Russia’s triple-gold gymnast Viktoria Komova. China retained its grip atop the medal stand-ings, ending with 30 golds,

16 silvers and five bronzes.IOC chief Rogge, credited for introducing the YOG, played down talk that he was the father of the Games, but paid tribute to the birthplace of the Olym-pic movement’s new pride and joy: “Let me say that there is one mother – Singapore.”It is a legacy that will re-main Singapore’s forever.

both levels. They introduced their respective schools by blasting out in the highly partisan crowd their yells. Trainings were scheduled before and after classes. Volleyball players train early in the morning, coached by Ms. C. Pasilan and Ms. Y. Paglinawan while basketball players stayed late in the afternoon, head-ed by Mr. Emerald Reyes. A recent tune-up game with Balibago National High School heightened the spirits of the basketball players. They

reigned 56-54, with a scoring run late in the fourth. Down by almost 15 points by the end of the half, their team cap-tain, Charles Irwin A. Gener-alao, dominated the boards to make a comeback. An evalu-ation of the game followed, for the realization of mistakes and better team chemistry. With these good signs, it is very evident that the school varsity players are well-trained by their coach-es and are ready to face on competitive players in the recently opened SRC Cup.

The Intramurals 2010 tipped-off last August

4-5, 2010 at the SRES Cen-tral III covered court. The event was organized by the Sports Club and participat-ed in by almost all students. “The students of StaR-Sci Hi are not only academi-cally inclined but they are also physically competitive.” as said by the Sports Club President Karmeena Idanan. This was very evident dur-ing the first two events of the morning, the Mr. and

Ms. Intramurals 2010 and the cheerdance competition. Yells were so loud for each year level as their rep-resentatives showed off their stance and rapport to the huge crowd. In the end, only the best will reign supreme. Patrick Ba-naticla of the Sophomores and Javila Psalm Solis of the Fresh-men made their way in own-ing this year’s crown in the Mr. and Ms. Intramurals 2010. After the tremendous flaunt of the gorgeous par-ticipants, the Seniors proved

• Adrian Justin Del Rosario

In this impassive community, I know that sportswriters feel that kind of dejection eve-ry time readers immediately turn the page to

the entertainment section after having a copy of the daily broadsheet. The said page, however, contains mostly sto-ries of gossips, uncertain facts and even celebrity scandals. It can also be observed in school papers that students, sadly, prefer the comically-entertaining lampoon-type write-up instead of other sections relevant to them and their school. This fact, I know, saddens sportswriters for the world they delve in revolve on more complicated terms, and thus, less understandable for uninterested students. Even sea-soned journalists do not quite understand sports articles be-cause of its jargons. This specialized language is used by people in certain field, and every sporting event has differ-ent jargons that a sportswriter needs to be familiarized with. “Sportswriting, with its complicated tongue, neither fo-cuses on the complex theories of life nor the who’s who in the latest world of celebrities. Rather, it tells about people’s achievements.” It is about people winning, not losing. Except for the alternative press, publications would not banner a story un-less it does not revolve on scandals, politics, etc. Hence, main-stream newspapers do not banner sports stories unless it is about Manny Pacquiao beating another Mexican contender. It is never that we recognize the victories of our own varsity and national team. Sportswriters explain how ath-letes win, retell the challenges they have met and conquered, and record the statistics that made them the champion. Sportswriting is about people. It is about the people who dedicate their whole life to the mastery of their forte and power of their competitors. Almost always they are playing because of the trust their coaches and fellow schoolmates and supporters are giving them. I know sportswriters see, and feel how athletes are fouled, take a foul or get an unwanted red card. That is why sportswriting is more important than knowing who’ the latest who or what is the biggest laugh of the day. Sportswrit-ing delves into people’s achievements and very seldom in failures. Now I am wondering why the sports section is placed at the back of every tabloid and broadsheets?

that no one can beat them in the cheerdance compe-tition as they grabbed the trophy on the said event. The event lasted for two days. It ended in the evening of August 5 with the announcement of overall winners. The Seniors soared high snatching the Cham-pionship trophy while the Sophomores overtook the Juniors as they earned the 1st runner-up and the Fresh-men, who showed their best in each event but still fell short, earned the 3rd runner-up.

StaRSci kicks it off

Dilemma of a Victory Recorder

SPORTS EDITORIAL

SENIORS SHOW OFF their death-defying stunt that lead them to victory.

Seniors outlast Juniors

After so many sloppy plays, disappointing rebound-ing and sour shooting, Seniors rearranged their defense as they helped one another to seal their team’s fate, and win their second straight championship against the fiery Juniors, 64-48 cushion, SRES Central III covered court, Aug.5, 2010. Seniors’ center C. Generalao knocked down a jumper as he gave his team a margin, 5-3. But Juniors’

fierce point guard, A. Del Rosario, fought back as he boomed a triple, leaving Sen-iors’ defense unattended, 6-10. Not totally contented at all, N. Generalao of Jun-iors released his unblockable shots as the first period ended with so much confidence on the blazing Juniors, 15-21. On the early min-utes of second quarter, M. Condes of the powerhouse Seniors team dominated the boards lifting his team to safer grounds, 23-25. Playing with so much

fluidity on both ends, Sen-iors’ trio, S. Parsad, L. Sotelo and C. Acosta combined with 13 points as they ended the first half with their largest margin of the game, 38-27. “Seniors team owned the boards in the first part of this heart-breaking match. I think, my team should struggle on their inside de-fense in order to take ad-vantage with them”. Coach of Juniors said seriously. Fresh from discuss-ing their tactics and strategies, Juniors made a run led by the

team’s big men, N. Generalao and L. Rivera, which chopped their deficit down to 5, 38-33. Seniors team will not secure any seat for the roaring Juniors, so they made a pre-cision stop. So their shooting guard, B. Teoprin, unloaded thrilling rainbow shots as they lead the third salvo, 50-38. In the final canto, Seniors controlled the match.

• Carlo Bryan C. Acosta

They rose to the occasion as their bench players truly helped the team remain un-beaten and gave the Juniors their stinging loss, 64-48. “To tell you honestly, Juniors team is a tough team to beat. But of our combined determination, we did it, we had our sweetest victory”. Seniors’ big man Charles Generalao said frankly.

THE FIRE STIRS UP. Adrian Justin Del Rosario tries to snatch the ball away from the seniors.

• Kenneth Bryan B. Enriquez