By Mr. Fidel Y. Pleños
Science Week 2024 was a blast! It was exciting, interesting and meaningful. This year, its celebration was extra special because it focused more on environmental action. The theme “Creating Paths of Hope for the Environment and the Planet” reflected the idea of taking care of and protecting our environment. The activities led by the GS Science Area provided opportunities for pupils to appreciate nature more and build Ignatian consciousness on the different environmental issues through arts, intellectual contest, and field experiences.
Science through Arts
Pupils learned about the environment and the challenges we face through witnessing, making, and expressing their ideas and insights through art. During their lunch break, learners from all grade levels had an environmental film festival where they watched different short films about the beauty and environmental issues experienced in our planet. They watched films that have greatly impacted their consciousness as they shared their learnings and insights with their fellow pupils and teachers. They also participated by grade level in a poster-making contest. They showcased their skills in the visual arts and showed their own interpretation of the celebration’s theme.
The best representation of the theme was expressed by the representatives of Grade 4 – St. Isaac Jogues, Grade 5 – St. Alberto Hurtado, and Grade 6 – St. Aloysius Gonzaga. Those who were not part of the competition were also able to express their creativity through the Earth Art where they used recyclable and indigenous materials in making their own imageries of nature. These activities allowed the pupils to appreciate our planet, provide simple solutions, and showcase their creativity through art.
Science in an Intellectual Contest
Science is a systematized body of knowledge. How else can we show appreciation of this great mass of information than a battle of the brains? Chosen representatives from each class in the different grade levels have proven their high level of intellect through the Science Quiz Bowl. The competition was divided into easy, moderate, and difficult rounds. One can only be amazed how scientifically smart the pupils were as they racked their brains out to answer questions that puts their scientific knowledge and 21st century skills to the test. The Magis Eagles Arena was filled with prayers and cheers as the rest of the pupils showed their support to their class representatives. All the teams equally showed great potential but only one team per grade level emerged as this year’s Science Quiz Bowl Champions: Grade 2 – St. John Ogilvie, Grade 3 – St. Claude la Colombiere, Grade 4 – St. Isaac Jogues, Grade 5 – St. Alberto Hurtado, and Grade 6 – St. Peter Claver.
Science in the Field
The highlight of the Science Week celebration was the Space Time Roadshow.
Pupils experienced and learned more about space and our very own planet, Earth, in five different stations. Station 1 was the Space and Earth Exhibit, wherein pupils learned about rocks, minerals, and the abundant natural resources of our planet from a practicing Geologist. Station 2 was the Space Race that allowed pupils to create their own water rockets with the use of recyclable materials. The learners’ joyful cheers and laughters were deafening as they launched their rockets up in the air together with their groupmates. Station 3 was the Space Lens that allowed the pupils to observe the Sun using binoculars and telescopes. Station 4 was the Space Dome that left the learners amazed and awed struck with the 3D presentation of the different celestial bodies. Lastly, Station 5 was the Space Talk, wherein the pupils learned about celestial objects and space in an engaging discussion with a real-life Astronomer. The pupils were very interested that the theater was filled with questions and intellectual curiosity about the space and beyond. Truly, it was a great learning experience and in the words of one of the learners, “Science is fun and exciting”.
Science in Action
Learners were also engaged in taking action to keep our environment clean. The Track-Your-Trash Competition encouraged the learners to keep their classroom clean and organized and to advocate for a cleaner and greener building and campus. With the help of the subject area coordinators, the classes were monitored for their cleanliness and orderliness during the science week celebration. The classes that were able to rise to the challenge are Grade 1 – Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Grade 2 – St. John Ogilvie, Grade 3 – St. Paul Miki, Grade 4 – St. Stanislaus Kostka, Grade 5 – St. Rene Goupil, and Grade 6 – St. Peter Canisius. The cleanest classrooms received a certificate, and a trophy made of recyclable materials.
Indeed, the Science Week was a success and was full of memorable moments. It allowed our pupils to be aware of our environment and the different issues affecting it. And it left us with the hope that our Ateneo Hearters will use what they have learned to help take action and become leaders in protecting and conserving our planet.
