Sunday, July 12, 2015

How Pasil ES Revitalizes School Canteen

For the past ten years ago, Pasil Elementary School had no school canteen. More than four hundred school children went outside of the campus for snacks during morning break. Some privately-owned sari-sari stored were established outside along the National Highway at the facade of the biggest school in Indanan South District. There were also small stores inside the school campus but it did belong to the school. It was attached to houses of community members residing in the playground of the school. Some community members engaged in conflict among themselves because of business competition for the school children.


In 2014, Faisal A. Kadil, Head Teacher III of Pasil Elementary School organized the Homeroom PTA, Campus PTCA and SGC (School Governing Council). One of the tangible projects of the associations and council was the revitalization of the school canteen. He encouraged every officer from Homeroom PTA up to SGC to have a down-payment capital for the management of canteen at the amount of fifty (P 50.00) pesos only. Similarly, every teacher was motivated to do the same strategy just to operationalize  the DepED mandate of the implementation of canteen in every public elementary school. Some parents and community members who were good in making local cake, native foods and drinks or acceptable juice were impressed to display in the school canteen with percentage shared to the canteen. Many members of the PTA/PTCA/SGC agreed the policy set by the Head Teacher III of Pasil Elementary School. Most of the edible merchandise in the school canteen were local made and prepared by the parents and other community members of Barangay Pasil, Indanan, Sulu. School children would no longer go out of the school campus during break. The Head Teacher III used to monitor the activities of the canteen from Monday to Friday. He assigned PTCA officers and one teacher to manage the operation of the canteen. In short, the association of the school serves as the owner of the canteen. It is no longer purely run by the teachers and the school head like those days in '90's period that made the community residents jealous and some of them did not support the teachers in many school undertakings.

Former Sulu - 1st District Representative and former Sulu Governor, Hji. Yusop H. Jikiri was the key player in giving Pasil Elementary School chance to put up canteen in the school campus. He talked harmoniously with the residents to move out their respective houses from the school playground. He paid the houses of the residents just to maintain the conducive atmosphere of the school for teaching and learning conditions of Pasil ES. In 2007 during his reign as Congressman, he hired expert architect to design the concrete panel of Pasil Elementary School whose donated school site is more two hectares. He also asked the favor of every resident not to establish any sari-sari store inside the campus. Whoever would like to engage in selling any goods for the school children should do it outside of the campus. Thus, all vendors were forced to put up their stores along the sidewalk of Indanan-Parang National Highway or in the facade of the school. Former Congressman Jikiri really did great contribution to the revitalization of the school canteen.

Faisal A. Kadil, the School Head and the teachers did much effort how their school canteen would come to its vitality in a sense that the District In-Charge used to remind them its DepED mandate. Besides, it was already discussed among school administrators by Division Nurse, Hja. Shareen M. Lakibul in the ISD Office last year together with the proper implementation of EHCP (Essential Health Care Program). Alhamdulillah, Pasil ES achieved it in a shorter period of time.


The Head Teacher III of Pasil Elementary School, Faisal A. Kadil is also planning to invite the school nurses to inspect the menus displayed in the canteen for further safety of school children's foods and snacks every break or recess. Based on his post in Facebook website, the school is in a constant planning how Gulayan sa Paaralan be strengthened to sustain the school feeding out of the harvests. In the same manner, he also targets the products of the gardening to be processed as foods for the school canteen of the children.




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