DON BOSCO SCHOOL (SALESIAN SISTERS), INC.
3500 V. Mapa Extension, Sta. Mesa, Manila,
Philippines 1016 Telephone No. (632) 87147791
to 92 Telefax No. (632) 87147791 to 92 loc. 103
PAASCU Accredited
May 31, 2020
Dear DBS Parents, Guardians & Lay Mission Partners,
Happy Pentecost Sunday!
In a few weeks, we will soon welcome you to the School Year 2020 – 2021. It will not just be
another new school year, but one which will be spent in a totally different set-up for all the
members of our Educating Community because of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the 2nd half of the 4th Quarter of the SY 2019 – 2020 when face-to-face classes had to cease
due to the threat of the corona virus, we, as an Educating Community, had to face new
challenges which we were able to surmount by God’s grace, our great spirit of collaboration, the
availability of our Aralinks SOLAR-NGS learning management system and the online academic
resources being used in various grade levels. It is indeed a blessing that DBS has gradually
transitioned to the use of traditional and technology-powered teaching and learning methods
from the SY 2015 – 2016 when we first joined the ranks of 21st century schools under the
Phoenix Aralinks program, and in our adoption of online school resources. These will be the
same resources which we will make use of during the SY 2020 – 2021 when we will have to
embrace various forms of distance learning modalities according to our respective situations and
realities as individual families.
DBS Online Campus
Since the Bosconians will be unable to come physically to DBS until a vaccine against the
COVID-19 becomes available, we are opening a virtual DBS campus at http://dbsmanila.online/
where members of our Educating Community can go to for all school-related concerns, including
links to the SOLAR-NGS and to the online academic resources, announcements, and the office
and academic support services offered by the Accounting Office, Registrar’s Office, Guidance
and Testing Center, Health Services Center and the Learning Resource Center. The online
campus is under construction now, and will be launched in time for the beginning of the
enrolment period in mid-June 2020.
Distance Education & Evangelization Plan for Youth in DBS (D.E.E.PL.Y. DBS)
DBS Learning Continuity Plan – SY 2020 - 2021
The ongoing pandemic continues to bring challenges and uncertainties affecting the way schools
all over the world will operate and continue their mission among students and their families. Don
Bosco School responds to these through our Learning Continuity Plan for the School Year
2020 – 2021 called DEEPLY DBS (Distance Education & Evangelization Plan for Youth in
DBS). The name of the learning continuity plan highlights the assurance that the school gives to
all the members of the educating community of the quality Catholic, Salesian and relevant
technology-powered education and faith formation DBS has always provided, this time,
delivered through online and other flexible distance education modalities but in a way that is
highly distinct as characteristically DBS.
We will be issuing a primer containing the details of the DEEPLY DBS Learning
Continuity Plan. However, to answer questions you might be having regarding the incoming
school year, here are some important information we wish to share even before the primer comes
out:
A. Content of the Academic Program
We are coming up with a revised curriculum adjusted to the distance learning set-up and
the shortened school calendar issued by the DepEd. However, we will make sure that the
quality Catholic, Salesian 21st century education DBS is known for will be kept. The
revised curriculum will definitely go beyond the minimum prescribed by the DepEd
when they came up with the Most Essential Learning Competencies, and will include a
solid faith and character formation, and education on the most essential life skills.
The academic program will be complemented with a spiritual formation program,
synchronous and asynchronous co-curricular and extra-curricular activities done on
designated days, and guidance and health services – all delivered online.
B. Modes of Learning Delivery
In whatever form of distance learning DBS students will enrol in, the delivery of learning
experiences will be through the use of modules (lessons will be given as modules)
uploaded in the SOLAR-NGS accounts.
B.1. Online Distance Learning via synchronous and asynchronous means
Synchronous online learning will include real-time classes via video conferencing,
teleconferencing, live-chatting and live-streaming lectures in a virtual classroom.
Asynchronous online learning will include self-guided lesson modules, streaming video
content, virtual resources, posted lecture notes and worksheets, exchanges across
discussion boards and others using the NGS.
In this modality, Nursery to Grade 3 students are REQUIRED to have an adult learning
coach (parent, yaya, tutor) at home whose task is to make sure the student is able to
attend the synchronous sessions, and do their asynchronous tasks. Teaching and
assessment will be done by the DBS teachers.
As part of their formation as Bosconians, Grades 4-12 students are highly encouraged
to strive to be independent learners , i.e. to personally do their school works under the
direction of their subject teachers. Parents must refrain from doing their child’s school
works or giving them help beyond what is normally needed so as to help them maximize
their learning opportunities.
B.2. Homeschooling
This is for Nursery – Grade 3 students whose parents prefer to let their child / children
study from home using modules produced by the school, but following their own
schedule. This is ideal for working parents who may not be available to coach their young
children within the given schedule of those enrolled in the online distance learning
classes. In this modality, Nursery to Grade 3 students are REQUIRED to have an adult
learning coach at home whose task is to TEACH the contents of the modules within
the given time frame and give the formative assessments. Modules and materials for
teaching will be uploaded in the student’s NGS account. These will be used by the adult
learning coach in teaching at home. Quarterly and year-end assessments will, however,
be conducted by assigned DBS teachers.
All Nursery-Grade 3 students who will choose this modality will, nonetheless, be
assigned a class adviser in DBS who will meet them for 30 -45 minutes online at least
once a week – not for classes, but for age-appropriate activities like story-telling, singing,
dancing, moments of prayer, etc. and to give them a sense of belonging to a school
community.
C. Learning Management System (LMS)
We will continue using the SOLAR-NGS as our main LMS when we go through the
distance learning mode next school year. The Aralinks provider has shown us, through
the online trainings and webinars that the school administration, coordinators and
teachers have been attending during these past weeks of the quarantine, that they have
ENHANCED the Next Generation School (NGS) program with additional tools for
teaching and learning, better security features and a more stable cloud storage using
Amazon Web Services. The option to retain NGS is also due to the long-time familiarity
of the Bosconians and the teachers in using this LMS, making the transition from face-to-
face classes to distance learning smoother and less difficult.
D. School Fees
The school fees have been revised, and will be issued together with the 4 th quarter report
cards. Total school fees are lower compared to the previous school years due to the
adjustments made in the miscellaneous and other fees.
E. Use of Textbooks
The booklist for the next SY will only include the online academic resources in English,
Science and Math for Gradeschool, and Math for High School; and e-books in Filipino
and Araling Panlipunan. All other physical books for the other subject areas, and school
supplies provided by the school will not be required / sold to students in the next school
year. The offering of Robotics, as a separate subject, will also be temporarily suspended
until face-to-face classes resume. The SOLAR-NGS cost which used to be reflected in
the booklist is now under the miscellaneous and other fees.
F. Use of Gadgets
Since we will be having a mix of synchronous and asynchronous classes, siblings do not
need to have 1 gadget each for their online classes. Each grade level will have a daily
class program, and there is no grade level that will be required to be on an internet
device the whole day. The school will provide students with sufficient time to complete
their online works.
We will make sure that there will be a balance between online and offline activities for
each subject, also because we know that too much of unsupervised screen time has
harmful effects on a person’s development and health.
G. Class sizes
Aware of the additional difficulties posed by virtual means of interaction through the
internet, synchronous classes from Nursery to Grade 12 will be kept small. Each
teacher will meet online classes with only about 10-15 students at a time. This will be
true all throughout the school year for the Nursery to Grade 3 students; but may be
adjusted for the Grades 4-12 students by the 3rd quarter onwards when students are
already used to the synchronous online method.
There will be days, however, when whole class meetings will be held for non-academic
purposes (weekly adviser’s period, class feastdays, co-curricular activities, SYG,
etc.). The 6-day class cycle will also be temporarily be suspended, and will resume when
we return to face-to-face classes.
H. Class Schedules
For most of the grade levels, students will only have 1-2 synchronous classes
everyday. The length of the class time will depend on the grade level.
Nursery – Grade 3 - 30 minutes JHS - 1 hour
Grades 4-6 - 45 minutes SHS - 2 hours.
The number of subjects of the SHS for each semester will be divided into 2. If there
are 10 subjects in one semester, they will take 5 for 2 months, and the other 5 for the next
2 months, completing 1 semester.
A detailed class schedule for all grade levels will be issued a week before classes
begin.
Meantime, here are some reminders / recommendations now that Manila will be implementing a
GCQ status from June 1-15, 2020.
1. Entry to the campus from June 1-3, 2020 will be restricted. Only the faculty, non-
teaching and support personnel will be allowed to report back to work to clean the school,
to prepare the offices for the resumption of office services by Thursday, June 4, 2020,
and to work on the report cards of the students.
2. When office services resume on June 4, physical distancing and other safety protocols
issued by the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) will still be strictly
enforced among those conducting business in the different offices and among the
members of the school staff.
A. School visitors must be between 21-59 years old, and with no pre-existing health
issues
B. No face mask, no entry
C. Observe disinfection and thermal scanning procedures at the gate
Hanging out (staying without any official business to make) within the school
premises will not be allowed. This includes the receiving area near the main gate, the
parking area and the waiting area in front of the Accounting and Registrar’s Offices.
3. Issuance of 4 th Quarter Grades (Kinder – Grade 10)
For students who have completed their online school works by May 31, 2020, a revised
schedule of the release of the 4th Quarter report cards and year-end awards for Kinder to
Grade 12, and the portfolio of the Nursery students will be followed. On the same
schedule will be the distribution of the students’ school materials left in the classrooms
and the lockers, and the revised schedule of fees. Parents are asked to bring their own
eco bags where they can place their child’s belongings. Grades 7-12 parents of
students renting school lockers should bring their child’s locker key to retrieve the
contents of the lockers.
The new schedule of card-giving is as follows:
June 4 (Thursday) – 9:00 – 11:30 A.M. – Nursery and Kinder
1:00 – 3:30 P.M. – Grade 1
June 5 (Friday) - 9:00 – 11:30 A.M. – Grades 2 and 3
1:00 – 3:30 P.M. – Grades 4-6
June 6 (Saturday) - 9:00 – 11:30 A.M. – Grades 7 and 8
June 9 (Monday) - 9:00 – 11:30 A.M. – Grades 9 and 10
1:00 – 3:30 P.M. – Grades 11 and 12
Parents with children in different grade levels should come on the schedule of the
ELDEST / OLDER CHILD. The report cards of siblings will be claimed from the
class of the eldest / older child. For example: If you have children in Grades 2 and 5,
you are supposed to come on June 5 (Friday) between 1:00 – 3:30 P.M.
Since the distribution of the 4th quarter report cards signal the official end of the SY 2019
– 2020, all school dues for the SY 2019 – 2020 should, as much as possible, be settled for
the year-end report card to be released.
In order to help you prepare for the 4th quarter issuance of cards, the accounting office
will start emailing statements of accounts to those who have unsettled dues by Monday,
June 1, 2020. For finance-related inquiries, you may email the accounting office at
[email protected].
4. PRINTED LEARNING PACKETS for students with incomplete or unaccomplished
online school works
The learning packets will be available in DBS starting on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
Parents have the option to claim them from the Office of the Principal’s secretary or
ask a delivery service like Grab Express, Angkas or Lalamove to get the materials
for them. Payment for the delivery service will be on the parents concerned.
All accomplished learning packets must be returned in a sealed brown envelope
duly labelled with the Student’s Name, Grade & Section to the Office of the
Principal’s Secretary on or before June 10, 2020.
Graduating students (Grades 6 and 12) and Junior High School completers (Grade
10) should see to it that they have fully complied with their school requirements by
May 31, 2020 to be eligible for graduation / moving up.
8. Virtual Year-end Rites
In order to give importance to the efforts of the Bosconians from Nursery to Grade 12 to
make the SY 2019 - 2020 extraordinary through their diligence in their studies and
participation in the extra-curricular and co-curricular fields, we will hold VIRTUAL
celebrations of the Recognition Day, Moving-Up, Completion and Graduation rites which
we will premiere using our school's Facebook page. The proposed dates for the virtual
year-end rites will be on the 3rd week of June 2020.
In connection with this, we have uploaded a survey using Google form especially to get
the parents’ consent about including in the videotaped rites the photos and names of the
awardees. Parents of awardees who answered “NO” to the survey on allowing the
school to use the ir child’s photos labelled with their names will still have their
children included in the video, but the school logo will be placed instead of their
child’s picture. Basis for this will be your reply in the survey.
If you have not yet accomplished the survey, you can find it here: (Title: Online Year-end
rites) https://forms.gle/troM4dZLKwbiz3SJ7
Thank you for your usual collaboration and support! Keep safe, and God bless!
In Mary, Noted:
(Signed) Sr. Josephine R. Garza, (Signed) Sr. Maria Josefina S. Carrasco, FMA
FMA Principal Directress
