#FEATURE | Parents Volunteerism: Unleashing the power of the parents
by Endaniel Aldrix Felix
We are aware of the Student Council, our representatives that serve our best interests by addressing concerns, organizing activities and handling events. Their primary role is coordinating the different batches and helping maintain the well-being of the PSHS community.
Like our Student Council, our parents and faculties also form an organization that serves the same function which is the Parent-Teacher Council (PTC). It consists of parent volunteers and batch advisers that are willing to help the students create an environment where they can grow as well-rounded individuals.
The PTC also has separate batch councils and one superior council, the Executive Parent-Teacher Council (EPTC). The EPTC serves many purposes like supervising projects and activities of various PTCs, giving direct directions to PTC, and more.
The EPTC consists of the president and vice president external of each Batch PTC, batch advisers from Grade 7 to 10, senior high school advisers, and the chief of Division of Student Affairs (DSA).
Achievements This Year
Through the hard work and sacrifices of teachers and parent volunteers, the EPTC held successful events and programs this year.
The EPTC celebrated the World Teacher’s Day October 5 at the Gymnasium which was attended by almost 150 teachers.
“The event earned positive feedback from the teachers. The activity was well organized and students were involved in conceptualizing the awards and selecting awardees. Importantly, the teachers appreciated the awards very much,” said by Ms. Mary Grace S. Trinidad, EPTC president.
“[We] also held the General Assembly for the parents. The general assembly reported the past achievements of the EPTC and present the future plan. Plans like organizing for an assisting project that the administration proposes. One of the proposal is organizing Kapihan type meetings/discussions in order to provide parents with opportunities to discuss and raise issues.”
In addition, the EPTC helped in SAGIPisay. “The main objective of this project is [the] collection of goods intended for the victims of typhoon Ompong, in collaboration with the Student Council.”
Last December 6, the EPTC organized an Ice Cream Day to treat the students so they may have positive energy and mood to face the dreaded periodic exams the following week, according to Ms. Trinidad.
With mental health being an utmost concern of the parent community, the EPTC sponsored a forum on mental health entitled: Desperate Teens: The Silent Epidemic. “It was a 3-hour interactive session to be given by Dr. Czarina Pagay, a psychiatrist. There were 170 parents who attended the forum.”
The forum discussed the different aspects of mental health and how parents can detect mental health problems in order to help their children.
The EPTC also plans to start a beautification project in some areas of the campus. The plan includes “the drop-off area, the gazebo in front of the boy’s dorm, the walkway between ASTB and SHB, the parking area near ASTB, the calachuchi area, and the outside of PSHS-MC.” They will assign per batch one area to be renovated for the convenience of the PSHS community.
Concerns and Requests
Because the PTC relies on active parent volunteerism to execute their projects, the cooperation of all the parents and teachers is very important. The funds used in projects are mostly from donations and fundraisers handled by parent volunteers.
“We hope to implement our planned activities. We need time and support from the parents. We also need to raise funds to achieve our goals. It’s a partnership also with parents, administration, and students”.
The EPTC also wants to help in addressing the issue in the mental health of students that might be suffering from it.
“Mental health is a real concern in Pisay. The administration has formed a Mental health committee and parents are represented in this committee. Mental health should be addressed systematically at home, school, and other venue,” said Ms. Trinidad.
“As EPTC President, we coordinate closely with the Student Council. We hope that the issue of mental health is addressed as soon as possible. Students should also voice out what they think about their studies, schedules, loads and many others” she continued.
Aside from the parents’ initiatives, the PTC hopes that the school will take good care of their children’s well-being inside the campus.
“I hope that the school continues to support and understand our kids. The present partnership of the school and the parents is very good and we hope to continuously have a good working relationship with [each other]. The school should continuously reach out and listen to the concerns of the students. We hope that the school assists the teachers in understanding the needs intellectually and emotionally of our students,” said Ms. Trinidad.
DISCLAIMER: This article was written last S.Y. (S.Y. 2018–2019)
