We Are Generation Next!

Article taken from the Philippine Daily Inquirer about how my school, Xavier School has revolutionized the way we learn! http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/116111/we-are-generation-next

In Xavier’s School (XS) bid to mold its students into catalysts of social change, the school constantly tries to offer an innovative curriculum both inside and outside the classroom.

In keeping up with the 21st century technological boom, the school has, for the past three years, undergone several revolutionary changes like the One2One program, where students are required to bring either MacBooks or iPads to further enhance their learning experience.

Information supplement

With these gadgets, students are able to take their learning to the next level. When a foreign term or topic is discussed in class, students harness the power of the Internet to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. They also have quick access to Google, Wikis YouTube, and other websites that supplement information in class discussion.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, in which independent learning is pushed, was also introduced to third and fourth year high school students on an optional basis.

An influx of novel clubs like the Xavier School Next Lab was launched to help cater to the students’ learning interests.

Last Thursday marked the start of the third year of the XS Next Lab. This club is a venue for students to learn more about the arts, sciences, technology, and design. Students are encouraged to turn their dreams into reality in the XS Next Lab.

Vision

According Martin Gomez, moderator of XS Next Lab and a Xavier School alumnus who did research with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), “the vision of XS Next Lab is to enable students to become independent tech learners, to express themselves freely with computing (programming) and learn about electronics/hardware/robotics, so they may make things for the future.”

Bringing imagination to life

From learning how to create games, to making robots to assist in household chores, XS Next Lab inspires students to bring their imagination to life through technology.

Xaverians are very enthusiastic about technology and learning the ins and outs of computer programming. As I stepped into the first Next Lab club meeting for this school year, I was surprised at the number of students who were so keen on learning how to build things and programs.

In fact, I found out later that 100 students had to be turned down to limit the club membership to a more manageable 50.

Bowled over

As I got to talk to my fellow members, I was bowled over by an eighth grader who was already creating his own computer game. I also got a chance to chat with a ninth grader who was working on building his own computer. How these kids are able to do these things is beyond me.

When I was 12, I wouldn’t even dare tinker with my gadgets, let alone open them up like what another ninth grader said he routinely does.

To cap off the first club meeting for this school year, our moderator also invited a company called Big Pix Graphics to demonstrate how a 3D printer works. We were all amazed at what the 3D printer could do. From making prototypes to creating life-sized cars, 3D printing is something that will definitely change the way we live.

Endless possibilities

The moment 3D printers are further developed and mass marketed, the possibilities will be endless, so you better watch out or you won’t know what hit you!

We truly live in the technology age, and I’m glad that Xavier School isn’t getting left behind and is even at the forefront of this revolution. With all these innovations and opportunities, along with an enthusiastic bunch of students, I can only imagine greater things ahead.

During my conversation with XS Next Lab President and high school junior King Alandy Dy, he talked about how he wants to bring all the innovative concepts and ideas of students to life through XS Next Lab.

Aside from that, he also hopes that students will join technology and programming competitions and bring pride to Xavier School through XS Next Lab.

Through the XS Next Lab, Xavier School is taking the right steps in persuading their students to think out of the box. And as an XS Next Lab member myself, I am really fortunate to witness the magic right before my very eyes in my final year at Xavier!

The Gift of Counsel & Taking a Leap of Faith – 4th Day of Senior Year

The past few days have been really jam packed and lightning quick yet these first few days of senior year have been simply amazing. Yesterday was a really bi-polar day that ended with my seeing of my SAT score. I was honestly a bit disappointed with the score I got but yesterday was yesterday and today is today. Everyday is a new start to my surprise, today was actually one of the best days of this year so far.

The day started off with the first mass of this school year. It was a mass of the holy spirit and it really gave me time to reflect. It’s really amazing though how the homily was related to a recent article that I wrote for Inquirer about the recent “Man of Steel” movie. I guess this just shows how movies are able to connect us humans and help us relate with each other.

What I really liked about this mass was that during communion, we were given a strip of paper that had one gift of the Holy Spirit written in it with a short piece of reflection. Here’s the one written on mine:

Today God gives you the Gift of Counsel (Right Judgement)

With the gift of right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment avoids sin and live out the values taught by Jesus. The gift of truth that allows the person to respond prudently, and happily to believe our Christ the Lord.

This really struck me and made me pause to reflect and think about the past few days, weeks and months. Everything has been happening so quickly and there have been times where I didn’t know what to do. Up to this day, there are still some confusing choices and decisions that I have to make. However, after reading this, I remembered that I should always go back to the values I’ve been taught from the very beginning and whatever I do, I should always choose to do what is right.

After the mass, everyone was excitedly talking about the NBA finals and almost everywhere you went, you could hear people asking, “Bro, what quarter is it? what’s the score? who’s leading?” Basketball has become a renowned sport here in the Philippines and is getting even more famous by the minute. Just like movies, it’s really nice to see how basketball is able to bring us students together. It’s not a surprising sight to see several students huddled up in a group with one laptop projecting the play by play and stats of an NBA game.

Moving on to the classes I had today, I’m really happy to say that my teachers this year are really interesting and are able to summon a different energy from us students. I’ve never seen my classmates more excited for a class than today. I guess the heavens saw that it was last year already in High School and decided to give us teachers who will really be able to help us maximize our Xavier education in this final year of ours.

More often than not, all it takes is a leap of faith to achieve your dreams! Just like Superman, I took a leap of faith and it has been every bit worth it!

Aside from all that, I also received my batch rank today and I just couldn’t help but smile as I saw the number 1. I know that rankings don’t truly show who we are but at the same time, I was just happy to see all my hard work last year pay-off. A lot of people were congratulating me and it honestly felt so fulfilling. The journey isn’t over yet though. I still have one more year and I definitely will strive to do even better this year!

What really made this day so surreal though was the fact that I had my article published in a national newspaper, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, for the first time. When I got out of school, I just had to go to the nearest bookstore and grab a copy. Words just can’t describe how I felt seeing my name and an article I wrote in the newspaper. It has always been a dream of mine for my name to be seen in a newspaper and also for me to be able to write an article for a newspaper. I guess I can now check that off my bucket list! (check out my article at: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/109433/taking-a-leap-of-faith-superman-did-it-so-can-we)

First time to have my work published in a newspaper….definitely going to treasure this for the rest of my life!

I’m thankful to God for everything that happened today. I’m truly blessed to be able to experience all these things. Senior Year has just begun yet it has already been such an incredible ride! I can’t wait for the upcoming days that will hopefully be even better!

To end, I’d like to quote a principle our Economics teacher showed us today from Greg Mankiw, a Harvard Economics Professor, “The cost of something is what you give up to get it.”

It’s actually quite a simple yet very powerful line. Everything in life has a cost whether it’s monetary or not. This senior year will definitely be full of costs and there will be times where I’ll have to decide whether the costs are worth the somethings. These decisions won’t be easy but with the gift of counsel, I can hopefully take a leap of faith and make the right choices as I try to make the most out of every single day of my senior year!

-DOitChoco