OLPS Holds Orientation for New Students, Aiming to Foster a Strong Start

The aforementioned event was successfully held at the school’s gymnasium, greeted with an opening number by the OLPS Blue Marching Condors and followed by the OLPS Blue Nightingales who led the Philippine National anthem. The orientation began with an intermission from the SSHSSC and JHSSCT and opening remarks from School Head and Principal, Sr. Anabel dela Cruz, SPC. 

The program officially started with the introduction of the student council officers and a talk segment from SSHSSC President, Danika Ley Cruz, who discussed the challenges she encountered as a new student who only started last year. With a bright tone, she encouraged the audience to put themselves out there and show what they are capable of despite being transferees.

Another notable segment was the ‘Club and Facilities Talk’ where different school organizations, such as: The OLPSian Times, OLPS Blue Nightingales, and OLPS Blue Marching Condors introduced their agenda and its benefits to further promote their clubs to the new students. This was followed by a talk from Mr. Reynaldo Gatlabayan and a segment from the CCF called ‘O-Prism Talk’ which discusses the OLPSian-Paulinian religion, identity, and most importantly, its spiritual mission. Presented by Ms. Sheena Desano, from the Guidance center, was a segment called ‘Social Talk’ in which she explains through a game, where the students would build two circles and they would introduce themselves to each other. The game paid attention to the importance of interaction and connection between students. Succeeding Ms. Desano’s talk was Mrs. Grace Pastor’s lecture about the importance of discipline and the rules within the campus.

The highlight of the program was the TOURific Race, where the new students had to roam around the school premises to participate in different games that cater to specific subjects such as Science, Mathematics, English, Araling Panlipunan, Filipino, Robotics, and more. To win the race, one team must gain more points than the other team within the set time limit. 

In an interview with SSHSSC President, Danika Ley Cruz, she mentioned that the TOURific Race was certainly the highlight of the program “[…] Pinaghandaan talaga namin yan. And because of that, makikita mo talaga ‘yung connection ng students,” she continued, “Like kahit hindi pa nagsisimula ‘yung klase, close na sila dahil sa activity na ‘yun.” She also mentioned and thanked the rest of the council as this was their first event to ever organize. However, this also served as a reminder for her that there are still a lot to improve. “Sa council ko masasabi na madami pa [ang] kailangan i-improve. But I can say that I’m thankful for the members, especially kay Ms. Gilda Romero, kasi we couldn’t have done it without her help.”

The program ended with an awarding of certificates to some of its participants, and to the student volunteers who participated in organizing the event. With that said, the council stated that the program was a huge success.