#NEWS | Batch 2022 celebrates Humanities Festival 2019
By Kaira Balcos and Anton Malagar
The annual Humanities Festival of Philippine Science High School Main Campus (PSHS-MC) was held from November 12 to 15, 2019. In line with the celebration of Pisay’s 55th anniversary, this year’s theme was “Stronger at 55”.
The first of all the Batch 2022 activities, the essay writing competition, began before Humanities Week. One student from each section was chosen to participate, and each batch was given a different topic. Grade 10’s topic was on the climate crisis and the private and public sector.
Student representatives had to answer the question, “How can you — as students, citizens and future scientists — help strengthen the protection of our environment from our socio-political institutions and man-made industries?”
The winners were announced on November 15, during the closing ceremony. Veronica Guinto (Muon) and Ram Mayo (Truth) were awarded third and second, respectively. First prize was given to Aezil Resultay, the representative of Charm.
The first event during the festival proper was Dunong, the Humanities Quiz Bee, held on November 12. Three representatives from each section were asked to answer questions from four subjects: Social Science, English, Filipino and Health. Trivia questions were added to the mix as well. Students were even given the opportunity to help their contestants through the audience questions.
The quiz bee ended with a clincher round, to break a tie between two teams. The teams of Tau and Muon scored for third and second, with only a ten point difference. With a lead of 30 points, the team of Gluon prevailed to be the champions.
“When the results were announced, I felt relieved, as I believe the effort, the pressure, and the teamwork we put in the contest were worth it in the end,” said Rafa Escareal, one of the champions.
To finish off, two speakers were invited to share their knowledge with the batch. The first was Auraeus Solito, the director of Pisay the movie. He shared his experiences about working in the Filipino indie film industry, and how his efforts brought him to international acclaim.
The second speaker was a well-loved Pisay alumna from Batch 2018, Marla Abao, who mainly spoke about her experiences from her six years in high school. The whole batch listened intently as she shared anecdotes, from her student council stories to those about international contests. Her inspiring speech left the students in awe, successfully concluding the start of the week.
The English One Act Tragedy event, the first of the class project presentations, happened the next afternoon. The plays were judged based on four criteria: acting, movement and rhythm, substance, and overall effect.
The tragedies were the Grade 10 students’ second quarter English projects. Each class was divided into five groups, each assigned to write a script. The plays were then presented in a classroom setting, and each class chose a script to compete against others from the batch.
One of the most crucial steps in the entire process was of course, the scriptwriting. “The scriptwriting was a very fulfilling but also a very draining process,” said Ram Mayo, the scriptwriter of Truth’s tragedy. “Finding the story you want to tell is a really hard journey. I went through multiple drafts of different stories trying to find one that resonated with me to capture what I thought was the pure essence of a tragedy.”
The students worked hard in the days of preparation leading up to the actual presentation. “For me, preparing for the tragedy performance was all about commitment. The pressure was there; but seeing that everyone supported each other, everything seemed easier,” said Elyanna Sy, one of Photon’s main actors.
Despite some moments of laughter, the entire batch, as well as the judges and the teachers, were impressed with the outputs.
Third place went to “Ignition” by Photon, a story which centered on a mayor, willing to do anything to make his business deal push through. Second was awarded to “The Curtain Falls” by Truth, which focused on an actor who was diagnosed with dementia. Tau’s “To The World’s End” scored first, a story about a schizophrenic valedictorian and his best friend.
“I’m honestly so grateful,” said Kaira Balcos, Tau’s director. “I wrote this play, knowing in my mind that it would be difficult to execute. But I’m so lucky to have had amazing actors who were able to project beyond expectations. That’s what really brought everything together.”
The Sayaw Interpretasyon Competition was held on the fourth and final day of the Humanities Festival. The event showcased the dance performances of Grade 10 sections, each tasked to prepare an interpretative dance for a Filipino song from a randomly assigned era.
All the sections exerted their best efforts on the weeks leading up to the competition. “Of course it wasn’t easy. We spent countless number of hours conceptualizing and choreographing and even more hours practicing the performance with the class,” said Jillian Bautista and Celine Montales, the choreographers of Electron.
Even so, the difficulty of the competition only strengthened class unity and cooperation. “Overall I could definitely say that the performances were really carried out by the class,” said Raven Foronda, class president of Photon. “I think the key was really the fact that we were having fun during practices. Not because we liked dancing or acting, but because we enjoyed the company of one another.”
On the day of the actual competition, Batch 2022 did not fail to amaze. Students and teachers alike were impressed with the presentations.
Gluon and Photon especially garnered praise for their exceptional performances, claiming the third and second place, respectively. First place was awarded to Electron, who impressed the entire school community with their dance of the song “Bawat Kaluluwa” by IV of Spades.
With or without awards, the students’ hard work was fulfilling in the end.
“Knowing 2022, we just don’t consider these projects as grade components but also something where we can show our talents,” said Aezil Resultay, the batch president. “I think the presentations exceeded our expectations, as always. I’m just really, really proud of this batch.”
