Authors: Monique Sevilla, Clysley Dayauon, Sianna Canceran, & Cassie Tan
Face-to-face classes are finally back in season and our fellow Bloomfieldians are in store for a very eventful month. On both November 8, 2022, and November 9, 2022, they officially announced the beginning of a new reign within our era; English Month, which was filled with all kinds of events, contests, and activities for our blooming students.
For this particular two-day period, Book Month was also introduced and launched as the start of the overall event. On the first day of this period, it showcased grades 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Whereas on the second day, it catered to grades 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, and 12. Everyone brought their favorite books with them for the Book Parade where they all got the opportunity to stand on stage and get their pictures taken by their respective grades and sections.
Surely enough, the books that these students brought aren’t only for display as they’ll be using them to read with the renewed program called “D.E.A.R”, standing for “Drop Everything And Read”. Students shall enter their classrooms and get ready for their upcoming classes during Class Adviser’s Time, but once the bell rings, they quite literally, drop everything and read. This was implemented to give importance to the wonders and uses of books, as well as so Bloomfieldians could use the time to appreciate the essence of reading.
The Book Month Launching’s opening remarks were made by the school’s beloved English teacher, Ms. Ma. Teresa M. Bayot on both days. She enthusiastically announced the official launching of English Month with a beautiful speech that welcomed Bloomfieldians to a new journey as we make history while enjoying one another’s company. With sugar, spice, and everything nice, we had two batches of Emcees who hosted this event earnestly; Anrhea Salazar and Enzo La’o from the grade 9th level were in charge for the first day, meanwhile, Maria Lydia Evangelista and Prince Patrick Ting from the grade 6th level covered the second day.
Further, into the program, our English teachers introduced several fun games to keep the students engaged, entertained, and energetic. The games included the following: Guess the Book Cover, Guess the Book Title, and Guess the Book by its Six-word/phrase Summary. For each game issued, it was hosted by individual English teachers who taught their specific grades, these mainly being Sir Mark Adrian A. Cuenca, Ms. Bernadeth Rico, and Sir Jesary Marc D. Arnosa, and Ms. Kim Chen A. Tacogue respectively. The level of games got more difficult as the grade levels increased, with some questions taking their time way longer than average. Students roared louder and louder with feelings of joy and competitiveness for every question displayed. Everyone was eager to participate as there were prizes that they could obtain only if they were able to get the right answer and this got our fellow Bloomfieldians motivated. The prize pool included a variety of genres of books, where you get one book for every answer that you get right.
Speaking of which, an English Month wouldn’t be complete without related culminating activities. On those two appointed days, they announced the contests to be assigned to each grade level. For grades 1 and 2, they are to do a poem recitation. For grades 3, 4, 5, and 6, they are to do a declamation contest with the piece “The Rich Man and the Poor Man ''. Moving onto the Junior Highschool Students of grades 7, 8, 9, and 10, they, too, will be having a declamation contest but with a different piece titled “Land of Bondage, Land of the Free '' written by Raul Mangalpus. Last but not the least, for the Senior Highschool Students of grades 11 and 12, an oration will be held using the piece “Grow and be like the Molave '' written by Manuel Luis Quezon.
After an hour’s worth of activities and announcements, the launching ended officially after our dearest principal, Ms. Elsie T. Toreno, closed the program with her inspiring closing remarks. All students returned to their respective classes shortly after.
More awaited events and contests are yet to come, and this is only the beginning. This is for the future and success of all students in Bloomfield Academy, and for the overall growth and flourishment of each aspiring character; keep your head up high with your morals intact, and apply your values to everyone you meet and to everything that you do with kindness and generosity. We must be a man for all amidst these challenges to overcome more obstacles in the future to secure the sweet bliss of our unpromised tomorrows.