Soaring even higher.
Montessori De Sagrada Familia’s school publication advisers, Reinlois Felipe of the Elementary Department and Vhon Joseph Solomon of the High School Department delivered the goods as they topped their respective counterparts in the 21st Word Cup Philippines National Journalism Conference and Contests at Angels’ Hills in Tagaytay City, Philippines, May 4-5.
More than 300 participants across 15 regions in the Philippines partook in this annual national gathering of campus scribes and school paper advisers alike as they showcased their journalistic prowess in this 2-day affair by the Word Cup Associated Editors Co. and Ed Calibre International, which aims to further equip campus journalists and publication advisers with skills and utilize them to have an impact on society.
The program composed of series of lectures, and the contest after every discussion. The categories were divided within the 2 days, with News Writing, Features Writing, and Editorial Writing in the morning of Day 1, and with Mobile Journalism, Sports Writing, and Copyreading and Headline Writing in the afternoon. For Day 2, the photojournalists were in for a treat as they went to the Tagaytay Picnic Groove as early as 7:00 AM to take photos for their outputs in Photojournalism, while back at Angel’s Hills was the commencement of Science Writing and Column Writing. The conference ended in the afternoon with the awarding of certificates and medals to the winners of each category.
For the SPA category, Sir Reinlois brought home 1st Place in Copyreading and Headline Writing, and 3rd Place in Science Writing, both in English medium. According to him, “Hindi ko talaga siya na-view as competition since the organizers presented a pressing issue within the scientific community in our country”. “Parang bonus na lang ‘yung dalawang awards”, he added. As for Sir Vhon, he bagged 1st Place in Sports Writing and the Best Portrait Photo in the photojournalism activity. He emphasized the importance the upskilling of the school paper advisers. As he stated, “We cannot give what we do not have, so as SPAs we also need to learn continuously in order perform our roles effectively and to properly guide and mentor our campus journalists.” He also stressed that, “Hindi naman tayo display or figurehead lang, so we must be a well-functioning school paper adviser. And in order to achieve that, we must be equipped as well with the needed skills.”
This was the first time that MDSF joined Word Cup and, for both Sir Reinlois and Sir Vhon, Word Cup is indeed a genuine journalism experience. And as publication advisers, they only adhered to high standards to ensure that they optimize their impact as mentors of the Sagradan Juniors and Sagradan Penpushers, respectively.