TUGUEGARAO CITY”•Two sections each of Grade 3 and 6 students will occupy the new classrooms donated by SM Foundation to the Carig Elementary School here.
The two-story, four-classroom school building is the first donated structure constructed within the campus as a result of a public-private partnership between the Department of Education and SM Prime Holdings through the SM Foundation.
SM Foundation is an active member of the Adopt-a-School Program of the Department of Education. The Foundation has so far constructed 82 school buildings with a total of 256 classrooms nationwide.
According to School Principal Emely Tango, the building was a “welcome donation after the eight school buildings in the campus were damaged by typhoon ‘Lawin’ in October 2016.”
Tango says the school lost two buildings, while the roofs of the other buildings were blown away.
The donated building comes complete with chairs, tables, blackboards, wall clocks, electric fans and washrooms with water closets.
PTA president Jennalyn Defensor and other parents are working on improving the water system so there will be an abundant supply of water within the campus, Tango said. Funds from PTA campaigns are enabling them to connect the campus pipes to the main source along the highway.
The school, which sits on a 1,000-sq m property donated by Conchita Guliao, has a student population of 500 coming from Carig Sur and Carig Norte. They now have 14 classrooms with a teacher-complement of 18, including the principal.
A unique feature of the classroom are left-handed chairs built by the disabled for use of eight left-handed students in Grade 3. Fe Mappala and Marilou de Leon, Grade 3 teachers, are so happy with the special chairs which will certainly “make the pupils comfortable as they learn.”
Linda Atayde, SM Foundation Executive Director for Education, and SM Foundation Trustee Ramon “Chito” Macapagal flew to Tuguegarao to formally turn over the building to Principal Tango, DepEd Assistant Superintendent for Tuguegarao Alfred Gumaru, and City Mayor Bienvenido de Guzman. Savemore Tuguegarao Operations Manager Ronald Brillantes and Kristine Iris Ceballos, Assistant Mall Manager for SM Tuguegarao Downtown, also graced the event.