Children nowadays have a fast pace of life relatively different from the previous eras where the way of life is focused on simplicity. The presence of advanced technology today has been a great factor for everybody to be adaptive for a purposeful change where all, especially the children, should benefit to its full extent. However, the present condition with the pandemic lurking to everybody’s safety, is seemingly degrading the ability of children to cope or adjust to the changes. Thus, the importance of resiliency must be gradually understood by the children through proper orientation or training which the school could offer freely with the consent of their parents as partners of education. It is through orientation that children gain ideas or insights on how they can be resilient to any abrupt change and manage numerous factors that could make them feel stressed. The school has always the greatest task to transform the children’s vulnerability to their advantage and strength with the assistance of their parents and the community as well.

In this regard, Timoteo Paez Elementary School spearheaded by its school principal Mrs. Glenda D. Tabaquirao, and through the initiative of the guidance teachers, conducted a virtual orientation last October 9, 2021, via MS Teams with the theme “PROMOTING RESILIENCE IN STRESS MANAGEMENT TO LEARNERS: A PREPARATION AS SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS”.

 The program was attended by the Grade Four teachers and 241 Grade Four learners. The speakers of the said orientation – Ms. Marilou Celino, Mr. Richard Sanosa, and Ms. Ma. Luisa Ricasio showed their unwavering support and utmost dedication in promoting resiliency among learners most especially during these challenging times where resiliency is critical to most of the learners.

One of the topics was “Tips for learners to be resilient”. It was discussed by Ms. Marilou Celino. She tackled about the tips that learners can do to divert their negative feelings and thoughts to something helpful and positive. She also highlighted that whenever one encounters problems and trials, he/she should always think of possible solutions on how to overcome them. Hence, one must handle the situations positively rather than taking it negatively. “Learning stress and stress management” was conveyed to the learners by Mr. Richard L. Sanosa.  In addition to Ms. Celino’s topic, Mr. Sanosa talked about the simple technique on how to release stress and anxiety for kids. He emphasized that stress is always part of life, so it is wise to help kids learn to manage and cope with it as early as possible. Therefore, he gave the learners some helpful techniques that they can do once feel triggered by stress. The last speaker, Ms. Luisa G. Ricasio talked about “How to practice self-care”. Ms. Ricasio gave tips on how to properly care oneself, and pointed out the importance of physical, mental, and emotional health.

At the end of the orientation, active participation of the learners was very evident as they share their insights about the topics discussed and brace themselves for another year of conquering the challenge of the new normal.