PH Consulate General in New York Launches Virtual Paaralan sa Konsulado
Philippine Consul General to New York Claro S. Cristobal (top, leftmost) with some of the AFTA volunteer teachers and 22nd PSK students during the online opening ceremony of the PSK. (New York PCG photo)
NEW YORK 06 July 2020 –The Philippine Consulate General in New York, in partnership with the Association of Filipino-American Teachers in America, Inc. (AFTA), launched online its 22nd Paaralan sa Konsulado (PSK) with the theme “Mga Batang Pinoy Maalam Sa Panahon ng Pandemya” on 27 June 2020, via the Consulate’s Facebook page.
The PSK is an annual summer workshop for Filipino and Filipino-American children between the ages of 5 and 15, which aims to provide children born and raised in the United States of America opportunities to learn about their Filipino culture and heritage. It will run for five Saturdays, starting 27 June 2020 up to 01 August 2020 (except 04 July 2020) from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, with participants learning about Filipino values, heritage, history, art, songs, dances, games, traditions, and conversational Filipino.
This year, for the first time in the history of PSK, classes will be held through remote learning using the platforms Google Classroom and Zoom, with some portions of the sessions being streamed live on Facebook so that the larger Filipino-American community can participate.
During the opening ceremony, Philippine Consul General to New York Claro S. Cristobal expressed optimism that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the technological challenges, the Consulate General and the AFTA “will not be fazed by these challenges but will be able to beat them and find ourselves growing stronger and achieving much higher goals.” Consul General Cristobal was pleased that students from other States are now able to join the online PSK sessions.
This year’s PSK has reached more participants coming not just from the U.S. northeast, but as far as California, Florida, and Maryland. A total of 94 young Filipino-American students have registered, 80 percent of them are new students while 20 percent are returning students.
In welcoming the new batch of PSK students during the opening ceremony, Consul Arman R. Talbo said that it was initially a challenge for the Consulate team and AFTA teachers to transition the classes and lessons online, but after a series of coordination and with the resourcefulness of the teacher-volunteers drawing from their actual experiences from teaching in U.S. schools, the first PSK virtual classroom vision came to reality.
AFTA President Marcelo Inot presented the AFTA teachers who have volunteered to teach during the 22nd PSK, while PSK 2020 Principal Dara Valconcha delineated expectations for PSK students’ online behavior. PSK 2020 Assistant Principal Rena Pedaria led the students in a karaoke-style community singing of the song “Isang Mundo, Isang Awit.” AFTA teacher Ramil Buenaventura served as the master of ceremonies during the day.
The opening ceremony was capped off by an inspirational talk and performance by Shane Selloria, a Fil-Am child actor, singer and self-taught ventriloquist who will play young Simba in the upcoming Broadway show “The Lion King.”
During the breakout sessions, the Filipino-American kids had the opportunity to learn conversational Filipino, the national symbols of the Philippines, and Filipino values, customs and traditions from AFTA teachers Cheruby Inot, Dr. Roxanne Cajigas, and Ms. Josette Baraquia, respectively.
The next session of PSK is scheduled on 11 July 2020, and it will focus on teaching the kids about modern Filipino heroes, Dr. Jose Rizal, Filipino folk dances and games, including a special topic on how to keep the children safe while they are online. END
PSK students and teachers sing the Philippine National Anthem at the opening of the 22nd Paaralan sa Konsulado. (New York PCG photo)
AFTA teachers who have volunteered to teach during PSK 2020. (Photo by Ram Buena)
Self-taught ventriloquist Shane Selloria with “Winston” performing “May Bukas Pa” at the opening ceremony of the 22nd PSK. (New York PCG photo)
Self-taught ventriloquist Shane Selloria with “Maya” performing “How Far I’ll Go” at the opening ceremony of the 22nd PSK. (New York PCG photo)
PSK students learn conversational Filipino on the first day of PSK online classes. (New York PCG photo)
PSK students learn the national symbols of the Philippines on the first day of PSK online classes. (New York PCG photo)
PSK students learn Filipino values, customs, and traditions on the first day of PSK online classes. (New York PCG photo)
For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpcg.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.newyorkpcg.org, or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinNY/.