University Science High School (USHS)

#School Profile: USHS General Orientation

   

Magandang Buhay, everyone!

Tuesday, August 7th 2018 was our (my SEA-Teachers friends and I) first day to visit the cooperating school – the school where we are going to do our teaching practices at. Luckily, we came at the right moment when the new school year has just began! So, it was the first day for both students and us in this new school year! 😁

In the early morning, we were invited by the school principal, Ma’am Reyes, to join the school orientation at Gymnasium. We were introduced to all of students (there were 422 students from grade 7 to 12 gathered at the gym) and were asked to present the Indonesian culture! I still remember how excited yet nervous I was to be presented in front of them. What an unforgettable moment!😆

Let me give a brief description first about the school where my challenging teaching practicum would be held ♡

I was having the CLSU Science High School which is often shortened to "University Science High School" (USHS) as my cooperating school. It is located inside the campus of Central Luzon State University, in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. As its name, this school is under the College of Education of Central Luzon State University. It established by virtue of the CLSU Board of Regents under the Board Resolution No. 1622 in June 14, 1976. This school is established as a prime school for students who are inclined to pursue science and technology courses. As stated in its vision, mission, and objectives, the school believes that education is the prime instrument of the national development and the key to excellence and global competitiveness. You can watch the following video to know more about the school!

Video of USHS

During the program, we had Ma’am Bang as our school coordinator in guiding and informing all the things regarding to the internship. She invited us to have a short school tour and introduced us to all of faculty members.
Back in 2013, the education system in the Philippines was one of only three countries which were without senior high school. The old curriculum only required the standard kindergarten, six years in elementary, and four years in high school before going to college. As a new era in the education system implements the K-12 Basic Education curriculum, the Philippines now offers two years Senior High School (SHS) in the country. University Science High School in this new school year has 422 students in total, graded from four years junior high school and two years senior high school. 

The total number of USHS school days for the S.Y. 2018-2019 is 206 and the allowed percentage of absence given for students is only 20% of it. The lessons are held for five days, from Monday to Friday, and starts at 7.30 AM to 5 PM. There are 24 professional educators in total. Some of them are also lecturers in College of Education, Central Luzon State University.

For the facilities, the University Science High School has two main buildings where most of classroom are there, an opened-building (named Tambayan) which is usually used for outdoor class, the gymnasium (Umali Gymnasium), the canteen, and the open court. Most of classes are in the first building except for grade 7 and 11 – they were in the extension building, near the gymnasium. The school also provides facilities to support the teaching and learning process, such as audio and visual room, science laboratory, computer laboratory, and the library.

From left to right: the main building - the extension building - Tambayan - Umali Gymnasium - computer lab - biology lab - the classroom - the class corridor

Just like a human, an academic institution cannot stand alone. It needs support from its stakeholders, which may affect the process of students' growth and development.
University Science High School has several stakeholders which play vital roles as the academic supporting system.
The first one worth to mention is staffs' roles related to school administration and conducive learning environment. They are responsible in ensuring the safe keeping of all records, cleanliness and safety of the surroundings, and assure that the environment and facilities are conducive for learning.
The second one in the list is parents. It is believed that parents play vital roles in supporting students' growth in education. So that, University Science High School conducts an organisation called PTA (Parent-Teachers Organization) in order to connect the students' parents with the teacher. By joining the organization, the school hopes that parents will commit to make their involvement be more significant.

The PTA Assembly in 8 Inventors

The next important one is professional educators. Teachers have important roles in academical thing. Besides being the role models in the classroom, teachers also play a role as the second parents of the students. They need to make sure that all of students are observed.
Last but not least, the university science high school, which is under Central Luzon State University, needs full support from the university for the entire of the school's operation. The university are responsible to provide facilities and professionals one to support the learning process so the students can achieve their learning goals.

Back to the USHS orientation – We were explained by the school principal that the orientation was about introducing the grading system, curriculum and another academic administrations to students. The purpose of the orientation was to make students understand about how they are going to be graded and what kind of documents that they are going to have in every quarter. So, the students know what awaits them in the future once they are recognized as USHS students.

The USHS General Orientation

From the orientation, I found that the University Science High School (USHS) implements K to 12-year curriculum as the basic education system (it has been implemented since 2013). The Semester Final Grade and Semester General Average will be reported in whole number. There will be four quarters in one school year. The two quarters determine the Final Grade in a semester while the average of the 4 quarters determine the Final Grade.

USHS adopts the said order of DepEd, regarding to the grading system, with some modifications. The basic percentage for students’ completeness across the country is 75%. However, USHS has its own policy called Retention Policy. In Retention Policy, if USHS learners pass and get 75% in their report card but do not meet 85% , they will still pass for the next level, but those students will be advised to transfer to another school – the regular one. So, all of USHS students are advised to meet minimum 80 for all of the subject in the end of the school year. That’s so challenging, right? 😀 No wonder if the number of students from Junior High School to Senior High School will experience a significant reduction. As Ma'am Lalaine said, "They are not only good, they are the best ones." YAP!

The Grading System for SHS students

The Grading System for JHS students

Curriculum Analysis

As I have explained above, the curriculum being implemented by the Philippines education system is K-12 Basic Education Curriculum. In this post, I'd like to make brief descriptions about the curriculum implemented in the University Science High School, specifically for Junior High School curriculum.

The regular subjects for junior high school in University Science High School are Filipino, English, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan (Social science), MAPEH, Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP)/ Civic Education, and Research. All of subjects are estimated for 32 hours in a week.

Besides the regular subjects, there are also additional subjects for every grade. The additional subjects take 3 hours in a week. However, each level will have different additional subjects according to the mapping determined by the school.

Those additional subjects are Technological skills I (computer technology and media) for grade 7, Technological skills II (computer programming and introductory robotics) for grade 10, Environmental Science for grade 8, Foreign Language (basic Spanish/Thai/Malay/basic mandarin/basic Nihonggo) for grade 8 and 9, and Advanced algebra for grade 9.

For science subject, Physics has just taught in grade 9, while Chemistry is for grade 10 students. 

Each subject has its different scoring system and percentages, but still referred to the grading system on K-12 curriculum. For the English subject, the students are graded based on three criteria which are written work (30%), performance task (50%), quarterly assessment (20%). The three aspects which are cognitive, psychomotor, and affective should be considered in grading the students. These three aspects should be adjusted in planning the lesson too.

Another interesting thing I found about this school!

The education system implemented by USHS has an ‘interesting’ policy regarding to the grading system. In line with the implementation of K to 12 curriculum, the DepEd orders all state universities and colleges to adopt the Policy Guidelines on Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program.

There are several awards that the school offers to students, they are:

1.    Classroom Awards.

These awards are given as recognition to learners in each section. It includes;

·         Conduct Awards

students must have obtained a rating of at least 75% (21 out of 28) Always Observed (AO) at the end of the school year. Students also must have not sanctioned with offences punishable by suspension or higher sanction within the school year according to the Department’s service manual and child protection policies. The conduct awards are given to learners in the end of school year. All subject teachers of a student will rate the student in each core value. The rating that will appear in the card is the rating with the highest frequency.

·         Academic Excellence Award

At the end of the quarter or school year, the Academic Excellence Award is given to learners from Grade 1-12 who attained a General Average of at least 90 and passed ALL learning areas. The Average Grade per Quarter is reported as a whole number following DepEd Order No.8, s. 2015.

·         Recognition for Perfect Attendance

This award is given at the end of every quarter to encourage learners to attend and actively participate in class. Perfect attendance means that a learner must be present in all of his/her classes, and must have no absences for the entire quarter. Learners who are officially representing the school for various purposes may also qualify for this award.

2.      Grade Level Awards.

These awards are given to qualify learners for every grade level at the end of the school year. Grade Level Awardees are deliberated by the Awards Committee (AC) if learners met the given criteria. It includes;

·         Academic Excellence Award

·   Leadership Award – this is given to learners in Grade 6, 10, 12 who have demonstrated exemplary skills in motivating others and organizing projects that have significantly contributed to the betterment of the school/community.

·  Most Outstanding Performance in Specific Disciplines Awards (candidates for completion and graduation)

Criteria: 1. Academic Rating 2. Skill in the Discipline 3. Attitude toward the discipline 4.Contribution to the school related to the discipline

20% 40% 20% 20%

·         Special Recognition – this one is given to learners who represented and/or won in the competitions (division, regional, national or international level)

What do awardees receive?

The prize for the awardees students can be CLSU Gold Medals (with highest Honor's), CLSU Silver Medals (with high honor), CLSU Bronze Medals (with honor), Certificates, even a number of money (the last awardee students got PPs 10,000 or Rp 3,000,000)

I guess, the student must be really motivated for doing their best in every school days! 😀 

It is such an honorable opportunity for me for being chosen as one of participants who is having USHS as the cooperating school. From what I had known about this school, no wonder if Ma’am Lalaine told us that the USHS students are not only good, but they are the best ones  😁 Wohooooo..I’m very pounding and challenged to face what awaits me in one month ahead! 💪😆