SDO SAN JUAN SHINE CHANNEL: A Local Channel for Makabagong San Juaneños

As the Department of Education pushes for education to continue despite the pandemic crisis brought about by Covid-19, the Schools Division Office launched its online platform called “NEWs SAN JUAN LIVE” on September 18, 2020. This is the SDO Channel, thriving news and public affairs channel dedicated to stream SDO San Juan’s initiatives and implementation of Learning Continuity Plan. It aims to communicate a package of education interventions and its related plans to a wider audience and to provide clear guidance, operational direction, technical assistance, and a means to attract potential stakeholders that can help implement strategic programs, projects, and activities to achieve desirable targets to make education possible under the new normal.

OIC-Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Cecille G. Carandang cited in one of the Kumustahan sessions that, “It is important that we are able to tell our parents, learners, and the community of what we are doing in preparation for the opening of the school year. We can use the available technology to reach out to the public and get support from different stakeholders so they will know how else to contribute in our plans.” Meanwhile, she recommended organizing a production team who will help maintain and ensure regular streaming of the said program. The team is composed of a technical director, production director, cameramen, researchers, anchors, and editors who are all under the direct supervision of the SDS and ASDS as the over-all chairman and assistant chairman, respectively. Episodes that include video news articles/segments that may be taken from relevant and worthy activities of the school/division, and other DepEd-related issues and concerns will possibly be aired to the Official Deped Tayo San Juan City Facebook Page at 2:00 to 3:00 pm timeslot.

Following that directive, the two chiefs of the Curriculum Implementation Division (CID) and the School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD), Dr. Helen G. Padilla and Dr. Dominique T. Rivera respectively, sat down with their people with the guidance from OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Buenafe E. Sabado, and came up with the Project SHINE (Share, Nurture, Inspire and Educate).

It has six segments to be featured such as the following: 1) Munting Tinig, focusing on the learners and how they are coping with the demands of home-based learning; 2) Teach Talk, focusing on teachers for their strategies and other preparations for distance education; 3) Hirit ni Juan which centers on the different stakeholders who are willing to partner with DepEd San Juan in any possible ways; 4) Mental Health Awareness and Psychosocial Support, which primarily announces to the field how DepEd San Juansupports and protect or promote the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of its personnel.

Through this program, many talents have been discovered- “nakakatuwa ang experience ko rito dahil kahit na wala kang proper training sa pag-anchor ay nailalabas ang natatagong abilidad at makikita pa ako worldwide!” shared by one of the teacher anchor. Another teacher once said, “ Natuto akong magsulat ng script, gumawa ng kuwento at mag-edit ng simple video” and she was very thankful to SDO for having a project like this.

Truly, without hesitation, many teachers now are ready to face the camera of the new normal, para sa bata at para sa bayan!