JEDDAH, 20 May 2007 - An e-learning system is in place for students at the Philippine Sunrise International School in Jeddah in the coming school year, the school administration has said.
With support from LG Electronics, classrooms from pre-elementary to high school will be equipped with LCD projectors, computer screens and laptop with DSL connection for online discussions, said school spokesman Eli P. Sarmiento in a news release.
Sarmiento said the e-learning system will be the "first of its kind among the Philippine Schools in Saudi Arabia."
"Learning will be a unique experience for the pupils and students of the school," he said.
To prepare for e-Day, June 9, PSIS, or Sunrise as it is better known, has required its teachers to undergo computer trainings.
Sunrise was established in 2004 by Filipino parents through a cooperative known as Overseas Family Cooperative (OFC). It is now in its fourth year of operation, and now under the umbrella of Dawhat Al-Jazeera School.
Run by principal Ofelia A. Laguardia, under supervision of the OFC Board of Directors currently chaired by Dawood Engay, Sunrise is said to be one of the fastest-growing Filipino schools in the Kingdom.
Last month, the school board approved the construction of nine new classrooms. Two separate facilities have been built for boys and girls, compliance with the directives of the Saudi Ministry of Education, said Sarmiento.
While it has only three years of operation to boot, the school boasts of plenty of accomplishments, academic or non-academic.
Sarmiento noted that many of Sunrise's high school graduates have passed the admission tests of top institutions in the Philippines, notably the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, and Mapua Institute of Technology. Some have also passed the SAT I and II and TOEFL, examinations based in the United States.
Sunrise claims to be the first Filipino school in the Kingdom to initiate an educational assistance program to support less-fortunate children in availing of free education. Ten students benefited from the program for school year 2006-2007.
The school is a favorite venue for various community activities such as seminars, trainings, symposiums, meetings, and sports and has served as the home of Serenata, a non-profit singing group composed of Filipino children in Jeddah, which renders performances for a cause.
Sunrise was the first to host the First School Olympics, with six Philippine Schools in Jeddah participating. It was also the first to win the title as Overall Regional Champion during the Regional Sports Tournament hosted by the Second Philippine International School (SPIS) in Riyadh last December.
Early this year, Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador and her team from Manila conducted an ocular inspection of the school's facilities to find out if Sunrise could qualify for accreditation to teach the Philippine educational curriculum.
