JEDDAH, 1 December — Students and pupils of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ) bested hundreds of contestants from other international schools in the city in a battle of brains hosted and conducted on Thursday by the Philippines Institute of Certified Public Accountants PICPA).
Hosneya Mangotara and Ella Beatrize, both of IPSJ, scored the highest points in the high school and elementary categories of the "I Quest 2001," respectively.
Held at the IPSJ Social Hall, the contest was divided into the elementary and high school divisions, which drew pre-selected participants from the Achievers International School, Al-Afkar International School, Jeddah Reef International School, and IPSJ.
Only the spirited performance of Anisa Sadain of Achievers International School, who placed 4th in the high school category, prevented IPSJ from sweeping the major prizes.
In addition to Mangotara and Bautista, the other winners were:
High School — Somayyah Abdullah, 2nd place; Frederick Felizco, 3rd place; Anisa Sadain of Achievers International, 4th place; and Marie Kriz Rodriguez, 5th place.
Elementary — Joseph Raphael Bunao, 2nd place; Ryan Jeffrey Balbacal, 3rd place; Kristine Marie Marzo, 4th place; and Kristine Nengasca, 5th place.
The winners went home with trophies and other valuable gifts and prizes, courtesy of major sponsor Sky Freight Forwarders, along with Nivea, Sarawat Superstores, Internet @ Café, Tihama Advertising, Arab National Bank Telemoney, the Association of Filipino Civil Engineers (AFCE), and friends of PICPA.
"A teacher’s toil is richly rewarded seeing how his pupils perform excellently in an academic contest like this," grade school coach and adviser Jun Ramil said it all for fellow IPSJ teachers, who basked in glory with the honors achieved by their wards.
Dr. Gil Alcaraz, also of IPSJ, said that plans are afoot to hold a similar contest sometime in February."
The quiz bee, a yearly project of PICPA chapter in Jeddah, was chaired by Mr. And Mrs. Jun Manapat. The project is under the chapter’s committee on community services headed by Evelyn Santos.
Danny Abenes, the chapter’s incumbent president, said the quiz bee is meant to complement the efforts of various schools in promoting excellence among their students.
Abenes also said PICPA hopes to expand the coverage of the next contest to include other Philippine schools in the Western Region.
"With more schools participating, the level of competition is expected to be elevated further," he added.
