St. Robert Bellarmine Center for Learning

One of the school’s activities for the Nutrition Month is the dental check-up of all the pupils. The yearly Dental Check-Up is one of the most awaited activities by SRBCL kids during the month of July and this school year it was held last July 24, Friday with the school’s dentist, Dr. Roque “Bo” Eugenio at the helm.

Before the check-up proper, the preschool kids were first given a short talk by Dr. Eugenio on the importance of proper dental health before being escorted to the designated dental clinic in the school. Aside from new knowledge, the talk also gave the preschool kids, especially the Toddler and Nursery aged kids a chance to see that there’s no reason for them to be scared of dentists.

Dr. Bo, as he is fondly called by the kids, has an uncanny knack for putting even the most frightened kids at ease. He took time out from his busy dental practice in Antipolo and made the long trip to Dagupan just to be with the school kids whom he have seen for more than four years now.

Dra. Ching Lozano, a local dental practitioner and a good friend of Dr. Bo once again provided the equally able “second chair” during the dental check-up.

This year’s Nutrition Month at SRBCL begins with talks on health and proper nutrition for the primary school level pupils (Grades I – IIII) and on common diseases and first aid for the intermediate level pupils (Grades IV – VI). Both talks were given by the school’s nurse, Ms. Sharmaine Joy S. Quinto last July 23, Thursday.

The children showed much enthusiasm during the talk, enjoying the very interesting presentation prepared by Ms. Quinto. The Grades I – III showed what they have learned from the lecture and in their Science classes during the question and answer portion, and the Grades IV – VI gamely joined in on the demonstration part of the activity. First aid measures such as the Heimlich maneuver and the proper procedure for hand washing were some of the skills taught and demonstrated to the children during the talk.

The Nutrition Month is annually held by all public and private schools in the Philippines in the month of July in accordance with the Department of Education’s and National Nutrition Council’s (NNC) memorandum. This year’s Nutrition Month theme is “Wastong Nutrisyon Kailangan, Lifestyle Diseases Iwasan.”

SRBCL participated in a nationwide earthquake preparedness drill last July 17 as part of the July activities, declared the National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM). The drill was likewise scheduled to coincide with the commemoration of the July 16, 1990 earthquake that struck a large portion of Central and Northern Luzon and devastated the city of Dagupan.
The school’s drill involved the participation of the pupils, faculty, administration and staff and it simulated a response to an earthquake of similar magnitude to the July 1990 earthquake. The 1990 earthquake struck most of Central Luzon with a 7.9 magnitude.

At a prearranged signal, the school bell rang insistently for approximately two minutes, marking the time for the simulated earthquake. All the participants stopped whatever it was they were doing, went for cover, like ducking under a table or desk. Once the ringing stopped, marking the end of the “earth’s shaking “ the participants quickly moved towards the exits, covering their heads with their laced hands and once outside looked and stayed in a free space where they assembled and started a body count to make sure that everybody got out of the building safely.

Earthquake and fire drills are important since studies show that during real emergencies, “muscle memory” helps people respond quickly even if they cannot at that moment fully comprehend the gravity of their situation. Considering that the Philippines lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it is a must that everybody is armed with the knowledge of how to react during times of emergencies.

Busy schedules notwithstanding, a handful of SRBCL parents were present during the Parent Orientation held last July 3, Friday at SRBCL Hall. Present was the school’s whole administration and faculty line-up who took turns giving background information on the school’s mission, philosophy and goals and discussing issues that would affect the pupils during their stay at SRBCL.

This year’s orientation was a little different from the past years given that the teachers prepared a video presentation for each of the topic discussed to provide more visual interest.

Understandably, more than a few parents were visibly absent since the orientation was scheduled on a workday. Hence, the school will be distributing a Student-Parent handbook in the coming days. The handbook will include not only the school’s philosophy and goals, but also the school’s Code of Conduct, testing and exam policies, grading system, guidelines for class cancellations and guidelines for watchers and fetchers. A copy of the school’s calendar is likewise included.