News and Developments 
First Batch of High School Graduates
The Golden Link has its first batch of high school graduates last March 30, 2008. It had ten students. Simultaneously, 22 pupils from Grade 6 also graduated from elementary school. This is the third batch of Grade 6 students.
The high school graduates with their class adviser, Janice Gapaz.
The grade 6 graduating students with their class adviser, Eiren Aquino.
College Department to Open 2009
The Board of Trustees of the Golden Link School has approved the plan to open the college department. Three courses will initially be offered: Bachelor in Secondary Education, Bachelor in Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Arts in English.
2008 Summer Class with 400 plus students
This year, the summer class had more than 400 enrollees from nursery level to high school. Half of them belong to the preschool level. Some of the students had previously enrolled in the summer class but who were not regularly enrolled in Golden Link School. They had looked forward to this summer class again.
Kern Foundation Offers Matching Grant
The Kern Foundation of the United States, headed by John Kern, has offered to match any funds raised for the Golden Link of up to US$30,000 for this calendar year. This was offered by Mr. Kern to the Theosophical Order of Service of the United States, headed by Tim Boyd, its president. Tim has now written to various theosophical groups around the world to raise at least US$30,000 so that it will be effectively doubled by the Kern Foundation. Donors in the Philippines can either donate directly to the TOS USA or through the Philippine TOS. For information, see the website of TOS USA.
Singapore Lodge, New Zealand TS, Canada TS and other TS groups donate to Golden Link
The Singapore Lodge of the Theosophical Society donated S$11,600 or P348,000, which was given to TSP President Vic Hao Chin Jr. during his visit last December, 2007, where he was asked to speak about the work of the Theosophical Order of Service in the Philippines. The donation was raised by the Lodge after many of their members visited Golden Link during the Indo-Pacific Conference in Manila. They also shipped three boxes of books and school materials to the school.
New Zealand similarly donated a total of US$10,381 for various projects of the Theosophical Order of Service, including the Golden Link School for its scholarships and general funds, and the Geoffrey Hodson Fund..
The Canadian Theosophical Association also sent US$700 as its support of the scholarship program of the Golden Link School.
In the Philippines, Mr. William and Tita Chua also donated the amount of P130,000.
A large majority of the students of Golden Link are subsidized, either fully or partially. These donations will be used for either the scholarships, facilities or the new building extension which started contruction last April, 2008. We are very gratefully to the donors for their kindness and support.
Above, Singapore Lodge President Chong Sanne giving some remarks after he turned over to Vic Hao Chin, Jr., Chairman of Golden Link School, the donation of the members.
Indo-Pacific Delegates Visit Golden Link
The
delegates of the Indo-Pacific Conference of the Theosophical Society
visited the Golden Link School last Nov. 5, 2007. The students hosted a
short program for them consisting of speeches, a drama, a dance and a
song. The visitors came from many countries: France, Australia, New
Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil and of course the Philippines.
After the visit, many of the visitors spontaneously donated to the school, while Singapore later raised a fund that amounted to S$11,500 or about 327,000 pesos. Several members from New Zealand, Australia and Singapore have also started to gather books fot the library of the school.
Diana Dunningham Chapotin Holds Session with Students
Diana is the International Secretary of the Theosophical Order of Service. She lives in France but was born in New Zealand. She came to the campus for a second time last Nov. 8, 2007 and visited a few classes. Then she had a session with the entire high school department where she asked them to respond to questions about life.
After her return to France, Diana sent a newsletter worldwide about the Golden Link School which was uploaded in the website of the Theosophical Order of Service in the United States. We have mirrored the webpage and you can see the newsletter by clicking here.
New Building to Rise
In preparation for the opening of the College Department, the school will construct another extension building on the west side of the main building. It will have four floors and will be mainly devoted to the college department. The construction is expected to start in February, 2008.
Geoffrey Hodson Scholarship Fund to be Launched
A scholarship fund in honor of Geoffrey Hodson will be established through the initiative of John and Elizabeth Sell, compilers of the forthcoming book entitled Sharing the Light, which contains the collected articles of Geoffrey Hodson. From the royalty of the book and from other donations, the fund hopes to sustain permanent scholarships for the Golden Link School.
A Safari Field Trip
The students of Golden Link were able to witness huge animals at close range when they visited the Subic Safari last Nov. 30, 2007 (for pre-school and elementary) and Dec. 7, 2007 (for high school). Riding in enclosed jeepneys, the students were able to go where tigers were roaming in open field. They also saw different snakes, crocodiles and other animals.
Participation in Spelling and Declamation Competitions
Five students of the Golden Link School participated in external contests sponsored by Sterling Products. Anjanette Alejo, Jeanine Rugas and Christobal Gamon joined the Declamation Contest while Mary Joy Dimas and Joshua Estrada October 27, 2007 at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Fourth Year Studes Take NCAE
Last August 28, 2007, the fourth year students took the National Career Assessment Examinations conducted by the Department of Education. A proctor from another school came to Golden Link to oversee the examination. The results will be known by January, 2008.
Youth Camp and Pupil's Camp Held
The annual four-day youth camp of the Golden Link School was held last Nov. 15-18, 2007, while the Pupils' Camp for elementary students was held Sep. 5-7, 2007. They were very touching events, especially the youth camp for high school. Several students were in tears while expressing their feelings towards their parents, while several parents in turn tearfully expressed their gratitude to the school for the dramatic changes that they witnessed in their children after only six months.
Year End Program
The students prepared the annual Year-End Program where they had dramas, songs, dances and speeches last December 16, 2007. For the first time, the high school students presented a Shakespeare play, "The Merchant of Venice." They also dramatized O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," and the Greek legend about "Damon and Pythias." The first year students wrote their own play entitled "The Poor But Rich Boy," about a boy who was poor in money but rich in character.
Linggo ng Wika and UN Day
The students held separate programs to commemorate the Linggo ng Wika (August 12, 2007) and the United Nations Day (October 21, 2007). During the Linggo program, they prepared various dramas and numbers in Filipino. During the UN Day, the students paraded around the community wearing different national costumes of other countries.
Enrollees Now 251
This school year 2007-8, the enrollment in Golden Link School rose to 251 students, an increase from the previous year's 193. The high school department has now 74 students, 10 of whom are in the 4th year. The elementary department has 141 pupils, while 36 are in preschool. Of these students, 176 are under either full or partial scholarship, being supported local and foreign sponsors..
