News and Developments
2008, No. 2
For previous issues, click below:
2008, No. 1
Enrollees now 326
The Golden Link student population is now 326, an increase of 30% over the previous year's 251 students.
New Building Almost Ready
The new 4-story extension building of Golden Link will be ready by September, 2008. This is in preparation for the college department which is scheduled to be opened on Jun, 2009, as soon as the Commission on Higher Education approves it. The college will offer bachelor's degrees in elementary education and secondary education.
New Zealand TOS Donates Books and Educational Equipment
The Theosophical Order of Service of New Zealand, under the initiative of Maureen Paterson, has donated one containerload of used books and educational equipments for the Golden Link School. The donation consists of more than 11,000 books, magazines and encyclopedias, as well as sports, video and musical instruments. The project was launched by Maureen after she returned from a visit to the Philippines where she attended the Indo-Pacific Conference of the Theosophical Society and visited Golden Link School. The donors were individuals including a Rotary Club.
Golden Link Teachers Teach English in China
Two Golden Link teachers, Janice Gapaz and Eiren Aquino, went to China for three weeks to teach English in two schools in Fujian provinceXiangZi Central Elementary School and Shishi Seventh Middle School. The classes included training the English teachers of the two schools. Janice and Eiren personally taught in practically all the classes in the two schools which have English subjects, in addition to giving special training to two selected groups of students who showed special aptitudes in learning English. The two schools organized three programs where the students delivered speeches, sang English songs and presented dramas.
Special Mandarin Classes for August
The Golden Link School held twice-a-week classes in Mandarin language for elementary and high school students, as well as a special class for the faculty members. The four teachers of Mandarin are faculty members of the two schools in China where Janice and Eiren taught for three weeks last May, 2008. The four teachers are here in the Philippines for a month to deepen their proficiency in English under an exchange program of the Golden Link School. Their Mandarin classes are held every Tuesdays and Friday afternoons. The students have begun to greet each other with "Ni Hao," (equivalent to Good Morning or Afternoon) or say "Xie xie!" (Thank you!).
Ateneo de Manila trains GLS Pingpong Players
The Ateneo de Manila University Athletic Department is training the Table Tennis players of Golden Link School every Sunday. The training started last August 2, 2008, under the supervision of Coach Floyd Lobaton who also coaches the College Table Tennis Varsity Team of Ateneo. The GLS players go to the gymasium of Ateneo and are trained with the help of the Ateneo Varsity Team.
Juniors and Seniors Holds Special Exhibits
The Third and Fourth Year high school students held science and history exhibits at Golden Link School. The Fourth Year's exhibit theme was on environmental protection and energy conservation, whereas the Third Year students had an exhibit on the growth of human civilization including the periods prior to the emergence of Homo Sapiens. The students were divided into teams and they took care of guiding and verbally explaining to visitors the content of their exhibits. Visitors are treated to a short presentation at the end of each visit.
