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Building international linkages for world-class quality education
By Eva B. Imingan
Nellie E. Brown Elementary School
Olongapo City
OCNHS did it again!
The Olongapo City National High School (OCNHS) has added another golden feather on its cap when it received international awards and commendation at the Asia-Europe Classroom (AEC-Net) Excellence Awards. The school was recognized for its outstanding achievement in advancing the objectives of the AEC-Net initiatives.
OCNHS Principal Dr. Helen Aggabao, who is also the current national coordinator of the AEC-Net Philippines Chapter, received three Excellence Awards for the implementation of the following projects via the Internet: “Cultural Kaleidoscope 2007,” “The World in a Book 2006” and the “Asia and Europe Money.” These online projects feature cultural exchanges among students and teachers from all over Asia and Europe. 35 students and teachers coming from the different curriculum department of OCNHS led by the OCNHS ICT Coordinator Evelyn Nuesca participated in the projects. OCNHS teachers and students worked together with participants from other countries such as Slovenia, Sweden, Malaysia, Greece.
Aside from these projects, Dr. Aggabao and other OCNHS teachers have also collaborated with students and educators via the Internet and successfully produced other educational projects. The “Young Diplomats” is a project which aims to establish the link between different kinds of celebration in Asia and Europe. It helped students know and better understand the spirit and traditions of different cultures. “Mastering Media: The Sequel” involves reading activities carried out by students of two different nationalities. Students share the experience of reading and analyzing English literary works. The “Local Traditions and Ceremonies” project involved participants from Greece, Ireland, Malaysia, Slovenia and Vietnam and featured the traditions and ceremonies that significant in each country. The “Forms of Theatre” also gained international recognition from the participating countries and from the Asia-Europe Foundation (AEF).
The principal objectives of AEF are: to encourage the advancement of education through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to develop an interactive platform offering innovative and beneficial online learning projects to high schools in Asia and Europe, and to foster collaborations among high school teachers and students in Asia and Europe with a view to promoting cross-cultural learning and multi-cultural exchanges.
The OCNHS teachers who received the prestigious awards were Carolina Barrera for the “Mastering Media: The Sequel”; Johnny Boy Recella for “Young Diplomats”; Emily Samaniego for “Local Traditions and Ceremonies”; and Jose Tala for “Cultural Kaleidoscope.”
Such projects have sparked the interests of all the member participants and were widely appreciated for cultural exchanges and for establishing global unity among youths and educators from all over Asia and Europe, not to mention the academic advancement and enhancement of moral values in establishing their role as “Ambassadors of Goodwill.”
OCNHS is a member school of the Smart Schools Program of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). This partnership helped OCNHS’ achieve its goals in integrating ICT in its education system. OCNHS’ participation in international projects was made possible through the support of Smart.
To OCNHS, these achievements spell the beginning of more international partnerships and projects ahead. Through the leadership of Dr. Aggabao, who has dedicated her life on providing quality instruction to the global Filipino youth, educational innovations in OCNHS have been made possible. When asked about her guiding principles, Dr. Aggabao quipped, “Whatever a man believes and conceives, he/she can achieve.”
With that kind of spirited dedication and commitment to her responsibilities, there is certainly no stopping Dr. Aggabao in her pursuit for excellence and propelling OCNHS to greater heights.
(Published 15 September 2008, Smart Communications, Inc.)
