Some groups are opposing the program because they said it would be an added burden to the parents. However, the Department of Education stressed out that K to 12 will not bring additional burden to parents because the government will fund the additional 2 years in High School.

To make K to 12 clear, a child should undergo Kindergarten before going to six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School and 2 years of Senior High School.

Teachers will be using the Mother Tongue language (local dialect) in Kindergarten, Grades 1 to 3. Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are based on local culture, history, and reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the learners and easy to understand.

Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are taught as subjects starting Grade 1, with a focus on oral fluency. From Grades 4 to 6, English and Filipino are gradually introduced as languages of instruction. Both will become primary languages of instruction in Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS).

After Grade 1, every student can read in his or her Mother Tongue. Learning in Mother Tongue also serves as the foundation for students to learn Filipino and English easily.

Grade 7 up to Grade 10 is referred to as Junior High School. After finishing Grade 10, a student can obtain Certificates of Competency (COC) or a National Certificate Level I (NC I).

Grades 11 and 12 are Senior High School. There will be a core curriculum for Senior HS.

Each student in Senior High School can choose among three tracks: Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; and Sports and Arts. The Academic track includes three strands: Business, Accountancy, Management (BAM); Humanities, Education, Social Sciences (HESS); and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).

After finishing a Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track in Grade 12, a student may obtain a National Certificate Level II (NC II), provided he/she passes the competency-based assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

NC I and NC II improves employability of graduates in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade.

After finishing high school, students can opt to work part-time or continue tertiary education.

But cleaning is not a very easy task. It takes a lot of hard work and will power to do. Good thing, there’s a household cleaner that makes cleaning a lot more easier – it’s CIF, the revolutionary non-scratch surface cleaner.

CIF Cream Lemon Surface cleaner. More pics at M.O.M.

Last Saturday, M.O.M was among the few mothers and bloggers who were given a chance to witness how CIF works.

It was a pre-Mother’s Day gift. We were treated very special with sumptuous foods at Abe Restaurant located in Serendra Plaza, The Fort.

And after we had lunch, TV host and mother, Suzi Entrata, taught us how to have beautiful endings at home everyday.

Using CIF, you can polish your metal dining chair or your iron mesh patio tables and chairs effortlessly.

With CIF, your gas range will look like brand new. With CIF, your floor tiles, bathroom and kitchen will shine in cleanliness.

How to do it the CIF way? Well, just follow these 2 e-CIF steps!
1) Pour a little Cif Cream onto a sponge.
2) Give the dirty surface a good rub and then rinse or wipe the product off.

The new formula rinses away more easily, leaving no traces except a pleasant and fresh scent. CIF variants are in Original and Lemon.

HERE’S more GOOD NEWS! I want YOU to experience how CIF works.

In behalf of CIF, M.O.M is giving away CIF cream cleaners to 5 lucky readers. And also, don’t forget to leave a comment about your name, email, Fb and Twitter accounts. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit Superbook’s Super Photo Blast Corner in Robinsons Galleria Jumpstreet activity center from May 18 to 24 (mall hours) and experience a fun time with Gizmo and with other Superbook kids.

Pose and have your pictures taken with Gizmo and the rest of your favorite Superbook characters,  watch trailers of the all – new Superbook episodes coming this June and learn more about the re-imagined Superbook.

What a perfect way to spend time with your family while at the mall! Invite your friends, too. Don’t forget the dates: May 18- 24 at the Robinson’s Galleria Jumpstreet. See you!

You can also be a Batang Superbook by signing-up HERE.

ON Monday, May 13, 2013, we are bound to do our duty as citizens of the Philippines to choose our leaders through voting as stated in Section V of the Philippine Constitution or Suffrage

Section 2. The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad.

Voting can be a confusing process to some, especially now that the government is implementing an automated poll system.

For a first time voter or not, I hope this step-by-step list helps you be at ease while choosing your leader.

1) Search for your name in the voter’s list in your respective precinct.

2) If you did not find your name, ask some help from PPCRV volunteers

3) If you find your name, fall in line or wait for your turn to get inside the polling precinct.

4) Proceed to the Board of Election Inspectors or BEI and show them your IDENTIFICATION CARD.

5) Once your name is validated in the ELECTION DAY COMPUTERIZED VOTER’s LIST, get your BALLOT, SECRECY FOLDER and MARKING PEN.

6) Proceed to the voting area and cast your vote by carefully SHADING the ballot.

7) Ask the BEI to assist you in putting your BALLOT in the Precinct Count Optical Scan or P-COS machines.

8) Wait for the confirmation if your BALLOT was successfully counted by the P-COS machine.

9) Have your forefinger INKED. BEI use indelible ink to those who are finished casting their votes.

10) Go home and don’t lobby in the precinct.

Vote responsibly according to your conscience!

Illustration from Prevent Cancer Foundation

DID you know that 12 Filipino women die due to cervical cancer each day?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is the second most common cancer afflicting women worldwide with about 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths each year. It is caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in both men and women.

In line with the celebration of Mother’s Day and the 6th year of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, the Department of Health is offering a FREE cervical cancer screening in government hospitals and rural health facilities this whole month of May.

The cervical cancer screening will be offered to women aged 30-49 years old in 58 DOH-retained hospitals nationwide.

Aside from free screenings nationwide, DOH will also provide FREE quadrivalent HPV vaccinations to 9,000 girls aged 13 years old this coming school year.

The nationwide free cervical cancer screenings and the school-based vaccination program is implemented by the DOH, in partnership with POGS, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines (SGOP), the Philippine Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (PSCPC), and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) Philippines.

What makes a strong immunity? Strong white blood cells that can fight germs and viruses

Everyday, we struggle with our activities at home and at work just to meet our goals of having a good life.

In doing so, we keep on pushing our minds to think and our body to work as long as they can. We always heed the call of our busy lifestyle even though deep inside our mind and body are giving up.

I am a mother at day and a career woman at night.  I always juggle my time in household chores like preparing breakfast or lunch when I arrived home in the morning. And then attend to my daughter who loves to play with me plus other things that keeps me occupied. Getting awake until lunch time makes it really hard for me to get enough sleep.

But also as a mom, never did I forget the old maxim Health is Wealth. If there’s a reward that I owe to myself, it is being in the pink of health. I don’t want my “unhealthy” lifestyle take its toll on me so I go the extra mile to have a strong immunity. Gladly, my doctor gives good advice to take vitamins, but not just Vitamin C.

Doc stressed out that I needed a vitamin that strengthens my white blood cells to boost my immunity. She prescribed Conzace because it has a formula to make stronger white blood cells. Conzace has

• Vitamin C – that develops white blood cells (500mg)
• Vitamins A & E – that intensify the protection of these white blood cells (100 IU of Vitamin E)
• Zinc – that multiplies white blood cells so that we can have the right number of white cells to defend us against sickness. Take note, Conzace has higher Zinc than other popular vitamins in the Philippines. (25mg Zinc)
• All nutrients in Conzace have antioxidant properties.

Conzace can be bought in Mercury, Watsons and other drugstores for P12.40 per capsule.

To further understand the importance of having a healthy white blood cells watch this.

You can also talk to Conzace thru www.facebook.com/conzace

Traveling to Dinadiawan, Dipaculao, Aurora takes a maximum of 8 hours from Manila. This includes 6-hour journey from Manila to Baler (capital of Aurora province). The only bus company that services the province is Genesis Bus with a fare charge of P490.00 per passenger.

You have to leave Manila by 12:00 midnight so by 6:00 a.m., you will be in Baler and can catch the D’ Liner, a local bus ride that travels to Casiguran, Aurora. Fare is P65.00 per person.

The local bus will pass by the municipality of Dipaculao where Barangay Dinadiawan is located. It is roughly 12 kilometers away from Baler but travel time is at 2 hours maximum because you will traverse several mountains.

Don’t worry, the road is very good, though you will definitely hold your grip because there are several steep zigzag road sections or what locals call “bitukang manok” but you will have a glimpse of the blue sea – the Pacific Ocean when the bus reaches the high point.

We stayed at Bayview Blue Beach Resort (or Leah’s Resort). It is beside the national road. Just tell the bus conductor that you’re going to
Blue Beach Dinadiawan and you need not to worry at all.

If you want to explore more, you can ask the resort personnel to take you to the falls. There are 2 falls near the resort, however, we visited only one because the trail going to other falls was not passable.

Going to the Eagle’s Rock, you have to trek for less than an hour, just follow the direction where the water from the falls takes you until you see the sand again.

The place was called Eagle’s Rock because as you can see the majestic rock formation looks like a protruding eagle’s head.

Two days were not enough to explore the place. To tell you, the trip was not planned. It was a pack and go decision which I believe made our journey more exciting. We’ll be back to this place…that I promise.

Well, aside from the ever famous Unlimited text and calls it offer, you can choose from several plan options like the Regular Plan; Group Plan: Unli-Internet Plan and the Elite Plan.

With Regular Plan, you have the flexibility to choose your PHONE, the way you spend and still get access to Sun’s great rates.

The Group Plan, gives you more value for your money. This is also designed for those who seek stronger ties with Sun’s unlimited service.

With the Unli-Internet Plan, you have the power to stay all day long on BBM, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites with it’s 24/7 connectivity.

The Elite plan, takes you to a new level of Unlimited services by offering 24/7 call, text unlimited plus unlimited internet browsing. Unlimited SunTel local landline calls, free SMS to other networks, free IDD minutes to our top countries – all in just one plan!

For as low as P250, you can avail of the Fixed Load plan that is budget friendly, while its Easy Phone plan also gives its subscribers instant rewards.

But the best of all plans today are the Sun Cellular Plan 600 and Plan 999. With these plans, you can avail of Alcatel’s LIGHTEST and THINNEST Phones.

Alcatel Idol is the lightest phone measuring 7.9 mm Other features include 4.7 Touch Screen;Android V 4.1;3G; Wi-Fi Hotspot;; 8MP Camera; Expandable Memory and Dual Core

For the SUN Plan 600 with Alcatel Idol, you can have unlimited Sun Calls and Texts P250 Consumable and 350 Free Text to all Networks.

Alcatel Idol Ultra is available for SUN Plan 999. The phone is 6.45 mm thin; 4.65 Touch Screen; Android V 4.1; 3G; Wi-Fi Hotspot; 8MP camera and Dual Core

With the 999 Plan you can enjoy Unlimited Mobile Internet, Unlimited Sun Calls and 450 Hours Sun Calls. These are really great deals.

The most common place in the house I know where germ and bacterias easily live is the kitchen. According to studies made by P&G they found 60% of germs in the refrigerator, microwave and kitchen faucet while the bathroom faucet has an 50% infection rate.

Clint Navales, P&G Philippines’ Country Communications Leader, discusses the facts and figures on germs that we encounter every day during the P&G Germ Academy media event.

During the P&G Germ Academy press conference last week, I also learned a very interesting information about the dirtiest item inside the home. Would you believe that the phone receiver is the dirtiest item because it has an 80% infection rate?

In case you still don’t know other germ-infested items in the house are the light switch with 60% infection rate; TV remote and door knob with 50% infection rate.

PAMET President Romeo Joseph Ignacio discusses about germs and diseases that we might get from them during the P&G Germ Academy media event.

Fomites, also helps in the transmission of disease. Fomites are objects that are capable of carrying disease-causing germs. Example are:

• Phones and Mobile Phones
• TV Remote Control
• Computer Keyboard
• Computer Mouse
• Sink Taps/Handles
• Sponges/Cleaning Cloth
• Laundry

How are disease transmitted?

1. Pathogen falls on fomites (ex. phones, computer)
2. Person picks up pathogen through contaminated fomite
3. Person touches nose or eyes with contaminated fingers and become infected with pathogen
4. Sick person sneezes, coughs and pathogen falls on fomites or get aerosolized

A P&G Representative doing an actual test using a luminometer.

Cellphone is the dirtiest

Also during the event, P&G used a luminometer - a  photometric device that detects a sample’s level of contamination – on some items like cellphone, identification card and watch from some attendees.

The result showed that the cellphone has more than 3,000 RLU (relative light unit), meaning it is the dirtiest of all. The safest measurement is 500 RLU and below.

Notice that we all use our hands to operate the things stated above and that means our hands are vulnerable to germs and bacterias. It is where the germs and bacterias are easily transferred and diseases are spread. To prevent diseases or infection Health Assistant Secretary Dr Eric Tayag, who was one of the speakers promoted frequent hand-washing.

-O-

We clean the floor, the sink or toilet and even wash our clothes using bleach or detergent bars. Some of us even use alternative cleaning agent such as vinegar and baking soda.

But, Moms did you know that even we use these cleaning agents, germs and bacterias could still survive? Yes. That is because the normal cleaning tools and practices are not effective to prevent germs.

It is BETTER to use disinfectants and products with ANTI-BACTERIAL properties because it really helps fight germs and bacterias and reduce the risk of infection by 99.9%.

Mr. Clint Navales, P&G Country Communications Leader, introduced P&G’s  Antibac line cleaning system at the P&G Germ Academy. These products are Safeguard soap; Safeguard Anti-bacterial Handwash; Safeguard Body Wash; Joy Antibac Dishwashing Liquid; Ariel Antibac Detergent; Downy Antibac Fabric Softener

P&G provides solutions and has a strong line-up of antibacterial products to help maintaining germ-protection.

P&G also shares a few helpful tips that moms can observe in keeping the cleanliness inside their homes:

1. Always prioritize maintaining good hygiene by taking a bath and washing hands, regularly changing clean clothes and using clean towels.
2. Conduct regular cleaning of kitchen sinks to avoid accumulation of leftovers and residue build-up, which can serve as a breeding ground for germs. Also make sure that you clean the microwave, pans, utensils, and other kitchen items even though some of them are not being used regularly.
3. Inside the bathroom, see to it that the cleaning products that you use for your skin are still good to use and not expired. Also make sure that you clean the bathroom sink, floor, walls, faucets, and other surfaces.
4. Make sure that you clean your refrigerator regularly to avoid accumulation of germ build-up.
5. Regularly disinfect the phone receiver as it accumulates the highest number of bacteria that transmits disease-causing germs.

Ms Liwanag and Ate Hilda of DeAF Deaf and SEADC during the read-along program.

Communication is very essential in our daily life. But not all of us are empowered to communicate in the common way – through speaking.

Some of us are handicapped to speak like the mute and the deaf but being disabled still has its special way to express themselves. The only problem is how other people would understand their language.

To break the communication barrier, Krispy Kreme supported the Read Along Program by Development and Accessibility Fund for the Deaf (DeAF Deaf) and Support and Empower Abused Deaf Children, Inc. (SEADC).

Deaf children were taught to read and improve their vocabularies while their hearing parents and peers were given tips on how to properly teach them.

Deaf kids and their mothers reading the book by Happy Ruth Pamintuan.

Krispy Kreme crews were also given a chance to learn sign language so they can understand whenever a deaf customer dropped by their store.

This is just one of a many Share the Gift of joy campaign by Krispy Kreme still in line with its 75th anniversary last year.