This Chinese New Year, Grades 2-6 joined the fun under the neon glow of another blacklight puppet show prepared by the GS LRC.
In the story of the Great Race written by Dawn Casey, a legendary race was created by the Jade Emperor to decide who would be honored with a place in the Zodiac calendar. The show brought to life the cunning Rat, the steadfast Ox, the majestic Tiger, and the other ten animals competing for a place in the stars.
As the story unfolded, the students couldn’t contain their excitement as they wondered which animal would be the ultimate champion of the race! With each twist and turn in the tale, their anticipation grew, and they cheered for their favorite characters with bated breath.
Many of the students liked the story that they watched the show repeatedly! See below the performance
Last February 6 and 7, in celebration of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, the GS LRC hit the hallways to spread the love of reading to our busy faculty and staff.
BooXS to Go first visited the Grade School workroom and the other offices in the Grade School area, where more teachers participated in the event. The EED workroom was also visited by the magic of reading on the second day.
Borrowing books took on an added thrill as the teachers eagerly scratched their luck on scratch cards! Each borrower had the opportunity to win an array of prizes, from snacks to Fully Booked gift cards!
Truly, love was in the air for our lucky borrowers!
During the celebration of Literacy Month at Xavier School, our grade school students embarked on an enchanting literary adventure through LRC Airlines. Excitement filled the air as students from grades 2 to 6 prepared to embark on a magical journey through literary worlds.
The librarians and staff designed the bulletin board with an airplane and a sea of clouds to welcome them to LRC Airlines.
The circulation desk was dressed up to become an Immigration desk, setting the tone for the literary adventure that lay ahead.
Inside the library is a display of cosmic adventure with planets and a rocket ship in line with the theme of this year’s Literacy Month, “Literature Reimagined: Turning Words Into Worlds”.
Students raced through time to accomplish the Book Passport. The boys who finished the passport received a book certificate in the form of a boarding pass. They were challenged to borrow books from 12 different genres and subject areas. The crowd favorites were books from a series, one-word title, a Filipino book, books about sports or games, and books about food.
For the whole month of November, the library buzzed with activity as boys from grades 2 to 6 eagerly combed through shelves in search of the books they were tasked to read and find in the LRC. Boys from grades 2 to 6 accepted the challenge and spent the whole month scouring the library and reading books every day.
As the activity progressed, students shared their thoughts on the activity:
“I love the Book Passport! I can’t wait to finish it!”
“It’s hard to find one-word title books, but I’m gonna find one!”
“I like the LRC Airlines; this is your best display ever!”
“I already borrowed five books from the Book Passport; I can finish it on time!”
Thank you, and congratulations to all those who participated and accomplished the Book Passport activity. Let the Book Passport be your gateway into the magical world of literature!
As part of our celebration of Literacy Month 2023, the GS LRC together with the Reading and Language department have invited prize-winning children’s book author and poet, Genaro Gojo Cruz.
Genaro Gojo Cruz was born in Tondo, Manila. He studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education (BSE) major Social Sciences in Philippine Normal University. He took his M.A. major in Philippine Studies in De Lasalle University. Aside from being an award-winning author, he is also a professor in De Lasalle University.
He has written lots of children’s books that discuss a variety of topics including the progressive book “Ako ay may titi”. His desire to add more books that the children will enjoy was so strong that he kept on writing award winning titles. He wanted to encourage children to keep on reading as it’s a way to develop our culture. Students were very fascinated that the time was not enough for all their questions!
Aside from giving a talk about the Filipino culture on reading, he also held a mini book fair for the students who would like to start their journey as readers and writers.
The Grade School Learning Resource Center, in collaboration with the Reading and Language Departments, invited Ms. Yvette Fernandez—a renowned children’s author celebrated for her illustrative books depicting the life of Filipino figures and a captivating storyteller who brings Filipino culture to young minds.
During her presentation, Ms. Yvette shared the inspiration behind her acclaimed work, “Halu-halo espesyal.” While she was in New York, she longed for the Filipino delicacies she often shared with her family and friends, particularly her sister and Lola. To lessen her homesickness, she often daydreamed about her favorite Filipino treats: turon, champorado with tuyo, bibingka, ensaymada, and her beloved halu-halo. The students resonated with Ms. Yvette’s remarks that these Filipino foods are the best.
One of Ms. Yvette’s niche is telling the life stories of extraordinary Filipino personalities. Some of her popular works are “What’s Ap?: the story of Apl.de.ap”, “Princess Lea: the life story of Lea Salonga”, “Yorme!: the life story of Isko Moreno”, “Ninoy, Cory, and Noynoy”, “Big John: the life story of John Gokongwei Jr.”, among others.
In her book, “What’s Ap?: the story of Apl.de.ap,” Ms. Fernandez sheds light on the inspiring journey of Apl.de.ap, the Filipino-American rapper and singer from the Black Eyed Peas, who pursued his dreams despite suffering from near blindness and poor vision.
Another notable Filipino that Ms. Fernandez has written about is the former Mayor of Manila, Isko Moreno. The mayor’s rags-to-riches story wowed the students as most of them only knew him as the Mayor of Manila. During the talk, the students were surprised and fascinated that Isko was once an actor, a basurero, and a pedicab driver before his life in local politics.
Ms. Fernandez shared her writing process and how she finds the next thing (or person) to write about. She mentioned that some of them are commissions, and some of them are the persons she knew or has worked with.
After the talk, Ms. Yvette graciously answered the students’ questions on how they can become better writers and storytellers. She emphasized the importance of reading more stories–whether it’s long or short.
Thank you, Ms. Yvette Fernandez, for sharing your time and talent with the students. You have inspired them to write their own stories and become proud of their Filipino heritage.
BooXS Rock! 