1. Banners of the 12 school divisions of Northern Mindanao (XUGS Photo}
MidanaoToday.com | Ozamiz tops Normin’s campus journalism tilt
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The schools division of Ozamiz has kept the championship title reaped a decade ago, besting 11 other delegations from Northern Mindanao, despite the record-setting performances of Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon in this year’s Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC).
Campus journalists from 17 public and private schools of Ozamiz, with RSPC qualifiers, harvested most of the awards in individual and group contests, the opening and closing ceremonies of which were held at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan Pueblo de Oro Campus gym on May 2 and on May 4, 2024.
Armando Agustin, education program supervisor for Filipino and focal person for campus journalism of the Department of Education in Northern Mindanao (DepEd-10), and Ramon Abrera Jr, DepEd-10 public affairs head, took turns in declaring the top 5 winners in nine individual and four group contest events in elementary and secondary levels.
After over seven hours of announcing the contest results, Ozamiz tallied seven first-placers and 11 top-5 winners in individual writing and non-writing events, and bagged the highest spots of three Radio Broadcasting contests; English in secondary and elementary levels and in Filipino elementary. It’s Collaborative Desktop Publishing output in secondary level English was also region’s best.
Lanao del Norte, however, challenged the defending champion, reaping top honors in six group events: Online Publishing for secondary level both in English and Filipino; Television Newscasting for secondary level both in English and Filipino; and in Collaborative Publishing Elementary English as well as in Secondary Filipino.
In fact, Lanao del Norte produced nine first-place winners in the individual events, but got only three top-5 winners. Its team of radio broadcasters in Elementary Filipino was only second overall, though, thus earned points for the school division for second overall spot—the highest ever ranking for Lanao del Norte, records from the Department of Education Region 10 would show.
Bukidnon, which ranked third overall behind Ozamiz and Lanao del Norte, posted five first-place winners and 13 top-5 winners in individual writing and non-writing contest events, but failed to secure championships in group events.
Though host Cagayan de Oro City Schools Division was outside the top-5 overall ranking, it pocketed the championship in Radio Broadcasting Secondary Filipino. Misamis Oriental Schools Division ruled the Collaborative Desktop Publishing Elementary Filipino group event, while Oroquieta City School Division was the region’s best in Collaborative Desktop Publishing Secondary Filipino.
All other school divisions have at least one first-place winner in individual contest events, except Tangub City School Division although it produced Northern Mindanao best school paper in Elementary Filipino. Iligan, Malaybalay, and Misamis Occidental have two NSPC individual contest qualifiers. Camiguin, El Salvador, Gingoog, Oroquieta, Misamis Oriental, and Valencia have one each.
Only first-place winners in individual and group contest events are qualified to represent the region in the National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) that will be held in Carcar City, Cebu on July 9-13, this year, based on Department of Education (DepEd) guidelines and as announced during the RSPC.
Meanwhile, the search for the best school paper in Northern Mindanao evaluated hundreds of school publications and ranked the news, editorial, feature, science, and sports sections, aside from the paper’s page layouts and overall design.
The White Island Breeze and Luntian: Boses ng Kabataan of Yumbing National High School of Mambajao, Camiguin both bagged the Best School Paper awards for Secondary English and Secondary Filipino and the region’s top qualifiers for the NSPC competitions. The White Island Breeze was the country’s best school paper in the 2023 NSPC.
Tangub City Schools Division’s Ang Kronikol, the official publication of Tangub City Central School was adjudged Best School Paper for Elementary Filipino, while Learners’ Digest of Cogon Integrated School of Ozamiz City School Division was this year’s Best School Paper for Elementary English.
In the search for top-performing school paper advisers and campus journalists, the DepEd-10, through a selection process, proclaimed Dennis Maestrado of Ozamiz City Central School, Ozamiz City, as the 2024 Most Outstanding School Paper Adviser Elementary Level, and Jeru Salem Andrada of La Salle University Integrated School, Ozamiz City, as the 2024 Most Outstanding School Paper Secondary Level.
Marian Jane Maquiling of Ozamiz City National High School was selected as the 2024 Most Outstanding Campus Journalist Secondary Level while Mandy Caguete of Jasaan Central School in the Schools Division of Misamis Oriental was chosen as this year’s Most Outstanding Campus Journalist Elementary Level.
The annual journalistic competitions which the education department conduct at the district, divisional, regional, and national level is pursuant to Republic Act No. 7079, the Campus Journalism Act of 1991. (30)
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