Category: BRIDGES Articles

On January 23, 2021, Childlink Learning Center had a webinar called “Communicating Beyond the Syntax of Language: Thriving in the Midst of the Pandemic” with Dr. Henry Tenedero as the speaker. This seminar was attended by the parents, High school students, and the faculty.  During the seminar, Dr. Henry spoke about the meaning of communication. He stated that communication is the key to creating inspirational, motivational, uplifting, and engaging positive environments. It also brings out better understanding in each individual.As the speaker said, “Do not assume that what you say is completely understood right away. Communication breaks down because we look at it as we are, not as what it is and that is why we should always ask, ask, and ask,” he said. Communication goes beyond just talking. A person can talk as much as they want, but if others cannot understand, then there is no communication.

As a student and as child, I have realized that it takes time to communicate properly with others. Therefore, I have to be patient, understanding, and open-minded. Since I communicate with different people who do things differently, I must do my best to adjust and understand their methods and try different things in order for them to understand my point of view and for me to understand their point of view. If I ever come across someone who I try to explain things to but they don’t understand, then it just means that I have to try a different approach. I now know that communication can’t be rushed. It has to be carefully considered and thought of as words are powerful, what you say can’t be erased.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

Son: Daddy, may I ask you a question?
Dad: Yeah sure, what is it?

Son: Daddy, how much do you make an hour?
Dad: (Angrily)That’s none of your business! Why do you ask such a thing?
Son: I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?
Dad: If you must know, I make $50 an hour.
Son: (Bowing his head dejectedly) Oh….

There was a  short silence as his son thought.

Son: Daddy, may I please borrow $25?

The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolities.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money!

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.

 

“Are you asleep, son?” He asked.

“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $25 you asked for…”

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you, daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled-up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money and then looked up at his father.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.

“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”

Upon hearing this, the father felt crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

Taken from: https://www.littlethings.com/8-year-old-buys-some-of-dads-time/

 

Have you been spending enough time with your families? When was the last time you did something together without any distractions from work, school, social media, etc.? With the celebration of Family Month last September concluding not too long ago, we wanted to share this story with our Childlink community to remind our families that nothing, no money or precious stones in the world, could ever replace the LOVE of family.

Did you know that the International Peace Day is one of the yearly celebrations Childlink has observed since its early years in 1997? And now, many years later, Linkers still carry on the tradition to continuously renew our commitment to seeking peace in the community.

This year, the theme for the International Day of Peace by the United Nations was “Climate Action for Peace” as climate change has been proven to directly impact international peace and security. The theme by the UN, in a way, aligns with Childlink’s own theme for the school year – “Linkers: Champions of Character, Competence, and Compassion.” When we truly are champions of character, we would choose to do and initiate good acts in our communities; as champions of competence, we would have the ability to carry out our duties to the community excellently and make our own change for the environment; and as champions of compassion, we would choose to do what we can prevent the effects of climate change from spreading too far and to always lend a helping hand all those troubled by the effects of climate change.

Apart from our intimate celebration in school, Childlink was also able to celebrate the International Day of Peace at the SM Seaside City Cebu together with other schools in Cebu. It was a grand and impactful event with performances from our beloved rondalla, choir, and high school French class along with performances from other schools. The entire experience allowed us to once again reflect on our role as young students of the world.

Some may wonder, what is the point of celebrating Peace Day? Will it even make a difference? To which, we Linkers would answer: with all the violence and problems we face in society, this is all the more reason to continue celebrating it because it’s just one of the ways we can continue to devote ourselves to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and people from different places. In the words of our principal, Maria Theresa Tio, “Each one of you can make ripples, and these ripples will eventually become waves.”

 

Written by: Russelle Sampang

Last August 23, 2019, Childlink held scouting investiture ceremonies for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. According to Teacher Floramae Yamido, the teacher coordinator for Senior Girl Scouts, “[The] Scouting Investiture is [done] for investing new recruits,” referring to new students and those scouts who were advancing to the next program rank – for example, Star Scouts becoming Junior Girl Scouts or Junior Boy Scouts becoming Senior Boy Scouts. “For the rest […], they will have a rededication ceremony.” Continued Teacher Floramae.

During the event last August, KAB Scouts, Star Scouts, Junior Girl Scouts, Junior Boy Scouts, Senior Girl Scouts, and Senior Boy Scouts from the Grades 1, 4, and 7, along with new students were inaugurated into the scouting movement.

Scouting is important in instilling the spirit of volunteerism and love for public service among young children in the country. It is good training for young boys and girls to become future leaders by helping them build camaraderie and rapport with other children their age, teaching them life skills, and making them become more confident in themselves and in what they can contribute to society.

“The essence of unity is being able to communicate with one another. Communication brings unity and, here in school, we use many languages to communicate with one another like English, Filipino, Bisaya, [and] Chinese. Some of you can even speak Japanese and French and other languages. We must then learn to communicate effectively and use our languages to show appreciation for one another and that we care for one another. And so, today, we celebrate not just our pambansang wika but also all the languages we have and use here in school.” – Ma. Theresa Tio, School Director

Last August 15, Childlink Learning Center celebrated Languages Week, our equivalent of the national celebration of Buwan ng Wika. This event is celebrated to showcase our pride as Filipinos and also to show appreciation for the other languages spoken in school. Every year, the Linkers perform Filipino poems and songs, and prepare costumes to represent and give honor to our heritage. Other students will also prepare performances in other languages such as English and Chinese.

This year, the Linkers did their best to match the theme “Wikang Katutubo: Tungo sa Isang Bansang Filipino.” Each grade level prepared a unique and graceful performance to compete with other grade levels. These performances were then judged by parent and teacher representatives. Each level had individual competitors. Grades 1 and 2 performed a role play on Filipino culture, Grades 3 and 4 recited a Chinese poem, and Grades 5 and 6 gave their rendition of Filipino poems. All levels did their best but, in the end, the Grades 2, 4, and 6 won the competition in each of their respective categories for the Elementary division.

For the High School division, students performed a play with the theme “Equality for all the People, No Matter What Race.” For their performance, the students of Grades 8 and 10 were grouped together, as were the students of Grades 7,9 and 11. All the Linkers gave wonderful presentations but only one group could be selected and that would have to be the one with the most outstanding performance. In this case, it was the Grades 8 and 10 who emerged as the champions for the High School Division.

 

It really was a successful Buwan ng Wika, or in Childlink’s case, Languages Week celebration. The Linkers learned a lot about Filipino culture, there was a creative immersion into how other languages were used, and all the students got to practice different kinds of acts and performances. We can’t wait until next year!

FAMILY

 

Family day is a day to spend time with your family, a day to have fun and bond with them. This isn’t going to be some cliché article about family. This time, I want to talk more about the other side of “family” – the imperfect and, at times, ugly side. You see, not everyone was raised in families that could openly show love and affection to them as children, not everyone grew up in “perfect homes” with Mom and Dad around all the time. So, to all of you who aren’t excited by the thought of spending a day with family, this one is for you.

Broken families, abusive homes, and neglectful parents that are never there when you need them, it’s hard for some of us to imagine but for others, it’s their harsh reality. Children of these sad homes are bound to feel dejected at times and may not see family day as something worth celebrating. The point of this article, though, is to remind all those children, all of you out there, that Family Day isn’t just for celebrating with your biological family. It’s also a time to spend with your Childlink Family, your friends who give you the motivation to go to school and be better every day.

So, if you ever feel lonely or unloved in your own home, come out and talk to friends. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to find another family of your own!

 

Written By: Victoria Louise B. McGuinness

Last September 29, Childlink celebrated their Annual Family Day at SM Seaside Cebu City with the theme “Linkers: Champions of Character, Competence, and Compassion”. Every year, Childlink pinpoints 4 values that Linkers should possess. This year’s values then became incorporated into 4 different groups: Sporty, Creative, Empathetic and Intellectual.

The day kicked off with a Zumba exercise and the parade of teams which was then followed by a Character Portrayal competition. Then followed our tradition of doing the annual team cheering competition and dance competition, without which Family Day would not be complete. Fun-filled games were also in store — parents and students alike were tested for their knowledge of different hit songs from various generations. Indeed, it was a sight to behold to see all the families come together, laughing, singing, and simply having a great time with one another. The day ended with the most anticipated game of them all: bowling. It was very heartwarming to look at parents coach their children better techniques or how friends cheer for one another. The atmosphere, although competitive, had a light, easy-going vibe—the kind that we have only when we are around our family and friends.

Family Day reminds us of the essence of sportsmanship and teamwork, but most of all, the value of family. It gives us all a chance to reflect: Have we been spending enough time together lately? How often do we have moments like these? Have we taken for granted the moments we share?

These moments, although swift and fleeting, happen only once and rarely even twice. Family Day reminds us to value each and every moment spent with our families. Despite the many things we do, we must always find time for ourselves and those whom we love.

 

Written by: Andrea Rentuza

This is a fictional story by Jessemarie Lloyd F. Tio on “How Family Day Came to Be” It was made in honor of the annual Family Day celebration.

Once upon a time, in the old biblical times, there lived a boy named Arthur and a girl name Remia. They both lived in a small town called Arkta. They both grew up knowing each other and were friends since they were born. One day, when they were grown up, Arthur realized he’d fallen in love with Remia and Remia felt the same way. They got married and had two children, a daughter named Mara and a song named Ark.

Arthur and Remia and their children Mara and Ark lived in a very happy home but they were always so busy. One day, they decided to create a yearly celebration called the “Happy Family Day”, a day where they would only spend time with one another. From then on, more and more families heard about the celebration and decided to join in.

Childlink carries on the celebration of Happiness and Love. We celebrate Family Day because we believe it brings families closer to each other and because Family, Happiness, and Love are things that can’t be bought by money but by being one with each other.

Leadership training is an annual event that happens in the early weeks of school. The main focus of this activity is to develop the leadership skills of our student council officers, classroom officers, and Z Club officers who will lead and guide their fellow students for the rest of the school year.

Being a School of Character, Childlink isn’t necessarily focused on bringing up students with the “Perfect Character”, rather, the school is most concerned about making sure every Linker realizes their leadership potential because good character comes with obedience and good leadership – this is what the Leadership Training is for.

So what is Leadership Training? This is an annual training workshop, seminar, and team building activity that is intended for students to develop their leadership skills and to help them build a leadership mindset. It is an overnight activity attended by student officers from Grades 5 and above, although, in past years, non-officers have also been welcome to join. It is the goal of the activity that students end the overnight training with an understanding of true leadership, the essence of being a leader, and how to become a good leader.

This year’s leadership training involved games and other activities to build teamwork because, as the sayings go, a true leader is a good follower as well. One of the best lessons the participants learned about leadership is that it isn’t about leading the team by planning and doing everything; It’s about guiding the team and enjoying the process of getting to your goal together.

Although Leadership Training is held annually, it still feels special and different every year. Not only because our activities are different every year, but also because we get to experience it with new people every time. Our favorite moments really come in the times we get to listen to and share about one another’s different opinions and personal experiences. In just a span of one night, everyone felt closer to one another, regardless of their year level; and, despite the challenges given by our teacher facilitators, we students enjoyed every moment. It really was a night of learning, of happiness, of building new friendships, and of developing leaders,

“We’re all pieces of this really big puzzle. Just be the piece you are so you’re doing the part to complete the picture.”

 

Written by: Victoria Louise B. McGuinness

On July 26, 2019, Childlink Learning Center held its annual overnight Leadership Training in line with its continuous aim to build their students’ leadership skills. Class officers from Grades 5 to 11 were to attend as this training was geared towards helping them succeed in carrying out their responsibilities as leaders.

The facilitators, Teachers Vienna Navarez, Jeverlyn Mangkikis, Cecille Estrelloso, and Lealine Hermosilla were tasked with preparing enjoyable but challenging games that would teach the young students leadership lessons like how to cooperate better in a group, how to value communication, and how to use their creativity to solve a problem or contribute to an effort.

While sharing their thoughts on the leadership training, some students were able to share the difficulties of being a leader, how sometimes inspiring members to work and do their best is difficult and pressuring, it can be to handle so much responsibility, but in the end, the group was able to encourage one another. One of the facilitators, Teacher Jeverlyn, also gave advice to the leaders, telling them that to be a good leader starts in the mind, if you develop the character and mindset of a leader, you will succeed. The event then concluded with all the Linkers in attendance giving their commitment as leaders in the school.

 

Written by: Eugenie Villamor