The Official English School Publication of Rizal National Science High School | Binangonan I, Division of Rizal, Region IV-A CALABARZON | Issue No. 1 Vol. 15 | October-July 2021
DECLINING CASE FOR FACE-TO-FACE
More than a year into pandemic, odds for return of physical classes remain grim among Riscians BY LANCE AREVADA
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ith schools shifting to distance learning this year, Grade 8 student Airish Alonso and three of her siblings, currently in college and elementary, needed to proportionally share their internet connection to attend their online classes and comply with activities. While this problem continues to remain a challenge for her family, a remedy they have agreed to do is to prioritize those who need the internet the most, such as answering her quiz online for example. “If papipiliin po ako, face-to-face po of course, kasi po mas masaya po talaga na makasama yung classmates and mas mabilis po akong matuto sa school,” Alonso shared. However, she acknowledged that while she is hoping to return to school, it is still unrealistic given the country’s current pandemic situation and progress in mass vaccination. After more than seven months of distance learning, a survey by the Isotopes revealed that a narrow majority or 54.7% out of 563 students of Rizal National Science High School (RNSHS) are undecided if it is safe to return to school for the upcoming School Year (SY) 2021-2022, while 38.7% deemed it unsafe and only 6.6% agreeing. CONTINUE ON PAGE 2
STORIES TO BE TOLD
NEWS Like young US voters, PH youth too can make changes thru technology
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As school year comes to end, most students continue to wrestle with new normal of education
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BY CRISTINE FOLLERO AND THERESA REVES
ith the current School Year 2020-2021 finally ending, students of Rizal National Science High School (RNSHS) raised their continued struggles and difficulties in adapting to the new normal setup for education.
A survey by The Isotopes revealed that while most Riscians have access to educational resources and technological requirements to support online distance learning (ODL), almost half of them still rated the effectiveness of distance learning to a score of ‘3’, with 5 being the highest.
“Marami talaga akong na-encounter na problema sa resources tulad ng kawalan ng internet connection tsaka problema sa gadgets. Malaki ang impact noon sa pagaaral ko kasi nakakasagabal talaga siya sa paggawa ko ng mga school works,” Grade 12 student, Jeleen Canoy said
in an interview. Responses from the poll, formally called Riscian Pulse: The Isotopes 2021 General Survey, showed that the difficulties most commonly encountered were lack of resources, internet connection problems, and emotional stress during classes.
OPINION Change and its Costs
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FEATURE Behind the Masks and Beyond the Sacrifices of the Fallen Hero from Cainta
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SCIENCE Test, Trace, Isolate: Binangonan continues to ramp up COVID-19 response
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