Enjoying Wonderful World

January 13, 2016

Ebenezer Junior: British School Manila (BSM) KS2 Production

The final week of Term 1 in British School Manila featured the Key Stage 2 extravaganza Ebenezer Junior, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. Combining both traditional elements and contemporary, the story unveiled the spirit of Christmas in all of us.

Excitement built as parents eagerly queued up outside on Tuesday evening 8th of December 2015. There was PTA-provided mulled wine, nibbles and Christmas props carefully arranged in the foyer area. Excitement grew further on entering the hall and there were many wows as parents saw the scenery and set up for the first time, feeling they may have walked into a West End production by mistake. It was really breath-taking. Carols rang out, the lights were dimmed, the fire glowed in the hearth, snowflakes sparkled and the stage and backdrop looked truly spectacular.

That was all prior to the show. The show itself matched the heights of the set. The singing was joyous and powerful, and quite rousing. The dances were a real joy and a wonderful way to round up and the children clearly loved performing them. Actors and actresses brought characters to life with clarity and purpose and all the children looked the part in their period costumes. Confident public performance is an important part of developing children’s life skills at BSM, and they worked hard rehearsing to reach this standard.

Ebenezer Junior was a truly wonderful production, one of those special BSM community events that roused the Christmas spirit. The cast sang ‘Charity’ as part of the show and Christmas is about giving. Our parents were very generous over the two shows in donating almost PHP 80,000 to our community service partners.

The British School Manila (BSM) is a highly regarded co-educational British international school established in 1976. The School is proud to uphold the high standard of the British education system and we take full advantage of our multi-cultural setting. We are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and also a member of The Federation of British International Schools in Southeast Asia and East Asia (FOBISSEA) and The Independent Association of Prep School (IAPS).

At present 900+ students aged 3-18 are on BSM’s roll and 35 nationalities are represented. British children make up 33%, Filipino 22%, Canada 9%, Australians 8% and American 6% of the total population.

January 11, 2016

DepEd, private partners completed 1st PPP school project

Twitter : @PPP_Ph

The Department of Education (DepEd) and its private partners have completed the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP) Phase I. Last December 04, 2015, the 9, 296 classrooms were already constructed and delivered in three (3) regions: Region I, III and IV-A. This is the first PPP project of the said agency.

The PSIP Phase I involved the design, financing and construction of about 9,296 one-storey and two-storey classrooms, including furniture and fixtures. The project aims to supplement the current program of DepEd in reducing classroom backlog. Over 400,000 students are expected to benefit from this PPP project.

The project was procured through a competitive two-stage public bidding process in accordance with R.A. 6957 as amended by R.A.7718 or the Philippine BOT Law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. During the bidding of the PSIP Phase I project, it attracted 18 prospective bidders, 6 were prequalified and the project was awarded to two bidders. The government signed a concession agreement with the private partners (Bright Future Educational Facilities, Inc. and Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc.-Megawide Construction Corporation) last October 08, 2012. Before the signing, in September 04, 2012, the project’s notice of award was issued to the private partners.

Meanwhile, for the Phase II of the PPP for School Infrastructure Project, there are already 1,690 completed and delivered classrooms as of October 31, 2015. This PPP project will benefit the following regions: Cordillera Administrative Region, Region I, II, III, X, and XIII.

Fun, Smart, Quick and Creative Education at Quipper School

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Academic success is something that many students want. This academic and also non-academic success will surely help with their career in the future.

Young people today are expert learners. How to make learning easy? The key is to make learning UN-boring. Fun, Smart, Quick and Creative Education at Quipper School.

With Quipper School, a whole new learning experience for teachers, students and all!

At Quipper school where everyone has easy access to quality education and is empowered to create a better future.

Quipper use technology to improve the quality of education by creating the best teaching and learning experience.

Quipper School is a free e-learning platform that helps teachers manage multiple classes and assess each student’s individual performance.

Quipper School allows the students to go through a series of Q&A’s until they fully understand. Students master specific topics, layering their knowledge while enjoying Quipper School's activities.

“At Quipper, we want to make the world a smarter, better connected place. We want to empower teachers and students by supplementing traditional methods with a platform that's powerful and exciting, but simple too. Teachers, join us today and start boosting your students' results!" said Masayuki Watanabe, CEO of Quipper.

Quipper helps both the teach and the students for the K-12 program, through online education or e-learning .

The Philippines implemented the K-12 program started 2013. The K-12 program which covers 13 years of basic education in the following key stages – Kindergarten to Grade 3, Grades 4 to 6, Grades 7 to 10 (which is called Junior High School) and Grades 11 to 12 (called Senior High School).

Philippines is on the fifth year of the implementation of the K-12 Program. The last mile is the Senior High School. All 221 divisions of the Department of Education (DepEd) have finished planning and have figures on enrollment a year in advance. The increase in the number of years for pre-university requirements means the College General Education curriculum will have fewer units. Subjects that have been taken up in the K-12 Basic Education will be removed from the College General Education curriculum.

There are ready-made materials for teachers created by local subject matter experts aligned with the K-12 curriculum.

Teachers can inspire students by empowering them. Teachers take the learning revolve around the students world as much as possible. Students have to make connections in their reading, so connecting their world to the work makes all the difference.

For teachers

LINK for teachers

Teachers manage classes, send assignments to their students and get analytics on the performance of their students.

Quipper School Link allows teachers to manage their classes, split their students into groups, create assignments and get digestible data on how their students are performing.

CREATE for creating content

Teachers can simply and painlessly publish their own educational content for their schools or classes.

For students

LEARN for students

Students build their knowledge through 'mastery' of topics, modules and courses, earning rewards and having fun as they go.

Quipper School Learn enables students to complete their teachers' specific assignments and to access full courses; they can also isolate their strengths and weaknesses all while earning coins in recognition of their progress.

Teachers and students are also able to communicate seamlessly between the platforms via private messages and public announcements.

At Quipper school, free e-learning platform for teachers and students with ready-made lessons and quizzes. No strings, no hidden charges. Register and start using their core service for free.

Quipper Video – an online service that offers top-notch video content and online assessments to cater to 21st century learners.

Online video lessons and assessments for students to learn anytime anywhere.

Quipper live - Online class platform for teachers and students where lessons are interactive and real-time.

Learn is also available as an Android.

Quipper School unites and empowers teachers and students online, increasing knowledge and improving results.

Quipper School in the Philippines is located at the 23rd floor of GT Tower, Ayala Avenue and H.V. dela Costa Street, Makati City.

Visit their website via http://www.quipper.com/ or e-mail them at support@quipper.com.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in "The Revenant," a story of harsh survival

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the highly-thrilling cinematic "The Revenant," a story of harsh survival. Inspired by true events from the sparse accounts of the legendary fur trapper and trader. This 19th-century survival epic is awash in stunning vistas and features an uncompromising, award-worthy turn from its star.

Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Glass became a revenant, someone believed to be dead who has returned to life after going through a harrowing series of events fighting for his life when left to survive in the wild set during the 19th century American Frontier.

Surviving the wild by pure instinct prior the advent of emergency call buttons such as 911 and high-tech gadgets is what makes the latest Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio film, “The Revenant” this year’s highly-thrilling cinematic experience – directed, produced and co-written by Academy Award winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu.

Immersing audiences in the unparalleled beauty, mystery and dangers of life in 1823 America, the film explores one man’s transformation in a quest for survival.

“The Revenant” explores primal drives not only for life itself but for dignity, justice, faith, family and home. The film’s wilderness-based production mirrored the harsh conditions Glass and company actually lived through in the 1800s. Iñárritu and his whole cast and crew were up for all that was thrown at them, welcoming the challenges of shooting in Canada and Argentina, regions known for unpredictable weather and untouched wilds, in order to fully understand the experience of fur trappers in the early 19th century.

Glass’s mythology began in 1823, when he was among thousands joining the fur trade, a driving new force in the US economy. It was a time when many saw the wild as a spiritual void that demanded to be tamed and conquered by the steeliest of men. And so they poured into the unknown, plying unmapped rivers, disappearing into impossibly lush forests, seeking not only excitement and adventure but also profits -- often in fierce competition with the Native tribes for whom these lands had long been home.

Many such men died anonymously, but Glass entered the annals of American folklore by flat-out refusing to die. His legend sparked after he faced one of the West’s most feared dangers: a startled grizzly bear. For even the most tested frontiersmen that should have been the end. But not for Glass, in Iñárritu’s telling of the tale, a mauled Glass clings to life – then suffers a human betrayal that fuels him to continue at any cost. In spite of tremendous loss, Glass pulls himself from an early grave – clawing his way through a gauntlet of unknown perils and unfamiliar cultures on a journey that becomes not just a search for reckoning but for redemption. As Glass moves through the frontier in turmoil, he comes to reject the urge for destruction that once drove him. He has become a “revenant” -- one returned from the dead.

One of the movie’s most thrilling scene, the bear attack that threatens to end Glass’s life, immediately took DiCaprio into a mano-a-mano struggle with one of nature’s most skilled predators. “The bear attack was incredibly difficult and arduous,” DiCaprio recalls, “but it’s profoundly moving. In the film, Alejandro puts you there almost like a fly buzzing around this attack, so that you feel the breath of Glass and the breath of the bear. What he achieved is beyond anything I’ve seen. Glass has to find a way to deal with this full-grown animal on top of him. He’s at the brink of death – and you are fully immersed in this moment with him.”

“The Revenant is a story of harsh survival but also one of inspirational hope,” Iñárritu says. “For me, the important part was to convey this adventure with a sense of wonder and discovery, as an exploration of both nature and human nature.”

“The Revenant” opens in cinemas February 3 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The newest 'romantic balladeer' Edward Benosa's high hopes for 2016

One of the newest celebrity in the Philippine's showbiz world - Edward Benosa, half-Spanish, half-Filipino singer and song writer, Pop balladeer, not just with good voice but with good looks and good attitude.

Edward Benosa and Arnold Reyes during the Bloggers Conference held at the Limbaga 77, Quezon City, January 8, 2016.

Edward's career is manage by award-winning stage actor and singer Arnold Reyes who was impressed not just by his looks, but by Edward’s vocal range— “at ‘yung boses niya, tunog imported”.He did blind audition on The Voice in June 2013 where he sang his own version of the Bruno Mars hit “It Will Rain”.

Edward has been working hard to prove just how serious he is. He’s been doing double-time on his vocals, spending countless hours listening to music and taking in the advice that he got from the coaches and other veteran musical artists like Garry V.

What Edward Benosa is looking forward to in 2016?

Based on how his 2015 turned out, singer Edward Benosa is looking forward to a really good year in 2016.

Here are some of the newest romantic balladeer Edward's achievements in 2015:

Edward's hit song “Di Man Lang Nagpaalam” which made it to the country’s top music charts.

Edward's hit song won for him a loyal following

He won two awards - one a Best New Artist trophy from the Star Awards for Music

Best New Artist trophy from the MOR Awards of radio station 101.9FM.

He sees these awards as an affirmation that he is in the right place, and that he should continue pushing forward with his career in 2016.

“Sa isang nagsisimula na tulad ko, o kahit sinong nagsisimula, mabigyan ka ng Best New Artist of the year, parang enough reason na ‘yon na ipagpatuloy mo itong ginagawa mo. Susundan na kailangan, ipagpatuloy ang sinimulan,” he says.

Edward’s goal is to sustain the momentum of his achievements in 2016. He wants to get into new things, maybe do a concert, record another album and even try more theater.

He is making the phrase “moving forward” his goal for next year. He is happy that groups like the Philippine Movie Press Club (which is behind the annual Star Awards for Music) and MOR 101.9 have seen his potential and by giving him awards and recognition, are encouraging him to do more with what he has.

“Siguro nakikita ‘yung potential ko to be this person na malaki pa yung pwede ko ma-achieve as a singer, sa craft ko, na-a-appreciate nila na ako ‘yung bago ngayon, as a pop rock balladeer.”

His manager, stage and screen actor Arnold Cruz Reyes, believes that Edward will go pretty far in 2016. When Edward won the awards in 2015, he was surprised but says things aren’t going to stop there.

There is much more for Edward to achieve in 2016.

Arnold says it is obvious that Edward, while a newbie singer and occasional actor, is meant to go places and encourages him only to work harder and pay attention to the advice of people who want to see him succeed even more next year. “Consistent naman kasi, na-nominate siya na Best New Artist of the Year. Nu’ng nangyari nga, sabi ko, ‘Uy nakakatuwa, napapansin tayo,” says Arnold, who’s hoping Edward will be able to build on his past achievements to have an even greater year in 2016.

Edward says that one way of ensuring a better year in 2016 is also to stay positive and not to mind the bashers and critics. Like when he won those two awards, there were people who didn’t think he deserved to win and asked: “Sino siya? Hindi namin siya kilala.”

He just wants to be positive going into 2016. Regardless of what people say, he will keep pressing forward. Even if there are critics, he says, he intends to see things constructively and make positivity his motto for next year.

He just wants to take everything in a positive light, criticism or not. He has a goal, and he knows what he has to do to get there. He will not let negative talk or criticism get in the way.

“Kung meron man mang-bash, okay pa rin ‘yon, at least napag-uusapan pa rin,” says Edward. “Hindi naman maiiwasan ‘yung gano’n, kaya sabi ko, i-positivize na lang.”

Edward has high hopes for 2016. He is excited about all the new things coming his way, and is eager to get things started.

“Ang daming bonus ni God para sa akin,” he says with a big smile. Edward is grateful for all the things that happened in 2015, and is looking to make an even bigger splash in 2016.

EDWARD BENOSA - Di Man Lang Nagpaalam (Official Music Video)