Last time, I shared with you the Free Back-To-School Kit that we've received from our city government. We're grateful to the taxpayers and the initiative of our government, students and parents don't have to spend a lot on buying school materials.
In my previous blog Makati City Gives Out Free Back-To-School Kit, the free kit includes the Japanese-inspired randoseru bag, black shoes, and two sets of uniform.
Yesterday, the teacher of my fourth grade youngest sister informed us that the students must bring another bag for the distribution of another batch of free school materials.
We let my youngest sister bring a huge bag, enough for the books because we thought they're going to distribute the books but we're wrong. They're giving away another set of free school supplies.
This batch of free back-to-school kit consists of pad papers, notebooks, pencils, ballpens, and a anti-dengue kit.
Pad Papers
The pad papers that the students must use depends on their grade level. We're grateful that the free pad papers our school government provides are enough to cover the whole academic year.
There are five (5) grade four pad papers in the kit. I'm not sure if this is enough for the rest of the school year, especially now that they're conducting face-to-face classes and they seldom use their gadgets in taking down notes.
Oh, and did I mention that each student has a school-issued laptop in their classroom? Sooo cool!
Notebooks
Depending on their grade level, pupils also received notebooks in addition to the pad papers. They have a total of eight (8) subjects, including the major ones, and since my youngest sister is now in the fourth grade, eight (8) notebooks were provided for this academic year.
Notice that neither our Mayor's face nor the names of the officials appear on the notebook.
When I was in grade school, such notebooks included the names of the elected authorities, from the Mayor to the Councilors, as well as the faces of our Mayor and Vice Mayor on the back.
Instead of campaigning their names at the back of the notebook, why not include other educational content like Grammar Rules, Multiplication Table, and a lot more?
The pupils are also reminded of those fundamental concepts in this way.
Our government has come a long way.
Pencils and Ballpens
Of course if there are papers and notebooks, there are also pencils and ballpens.
Blue serves as the official color of our city. Maybe because the color blue represents tranquility? Lol. I'm making up explanations for why they choose blue.
We received 5 ballpens and 5 pencils. I think this is enough for the rest of the school year because we still have the ballpens and pencils from the previous years from the free school materials given by the government.
The pencils and the ballpens have the label #ProudMakatizenStudent. Even if I've graduated college several years ago, I must say I'm still a proud Makatizen. I bet these ballpens can beat the G-Tech when it comes to brand haha!
Anti-Dengue Kit
It's the rainy season once again and it means that dengue fever (a virus carried by mosquitoes) is prominent.
Our government added this package to the free Back-To-School supplies in order to safeguard the children.
The Anti-Dengue Kit includes the Anti-Mosquito repellant bracelet and the Mosquito Repellant Lotion.
The mosquito repellant lotion is like the Off Lotion that we usually use to prevent mosquito bites.
Another way of preventing mosquito bites aside from putting the lotion is to use this bracelet.
The anti-mosquito repellant bracelet's size is at least 235x20mm and it's adjustable until 170-230mm.
The capsule inside serves as the anti-mosquito repellant. The kit includes three capsules for replacement.
If you don't want to put the mosquito repellant lotion, you can use the bracelet instead, but I'm not sure if the bracelet really works though.
Having these free educational resources available to public school children is one of the benefits of residing in Makati. Additionally, rewards are given to students who graduated with honors.
The government's campaign encourages students to put more effort into their studies. In addition, they ensure the children's safety by incorporating the anti-dengue kit into their back-to-school program.
The fortunate pupils already have the basic needs to attend school. They only need to study hard and do their best.
Do you also have these free school materials in your city?
📸 All images are mine unless otherwise stated.