Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval on Monday, Aug. 22, welcomed the students of Malabon Elementary School (MES) and Malabon National High School (MNHS) on their first day of face-to-face (F2F) classes.
"Napaka exciting nitong araw na ito. Talagang we are looking forward to this first day of school. Dalawang taon tayong hindi nagkaroon ng face-to-face , kaya lahat po ng paghahanda ay ginawa namin para maging safe at maging maayos ang unang araw ng pagpasok sa eskwelahan (This day is very exciting. We are really looking forward to this first day of school. We haven't had a face-to-face in two years, so we made all the preparations to make the first day of school safe and smooth)," Sandoval said during the flag raising ceremony of the MES.
"For the rest of the school year, we hope na maging maayos tayo sa lahat ng ating mga preparasyon (all our preparations will be good) ," she added.
Sandoval reminded the kinder to senior high school students, their teachers, and parents to always observe health and safety protocols by wearing face masks, observing social distancing, and frequent washing of hands as the threat of Covid-19 remains.
According to the city government, there are 43 schools in the city which started their face-to-face classes, with some implementing blended learning, on Monday.
It added that there are around 3,760 learners enrolled in MES and 3,439 in MNHS.
The city government also provided "lugaw" or porridge, "sorbetes" (ice cream), and "taho" or soybean curd to the learners.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Sandoval said they are encouraging all city residents to get their Covid-19 vaccines as well as booster shots.
Following the order of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd), Sandoval said that they prepared and coordinated with the schools, the City Health Department, and the barangay health centers with regards to the steps to be taken in the event of Covid-19 infection in the schools.
"First of all, pag yung bata ay may symptoms, actually regardless kung Covid or not, they should stay home na. Kasi mahirap din yung magkahawaan sa lagnat ( First of all, when the child has symptoms, regardless if it's Covid or not, he or she should stay home to avoid spreading the infection)," Sandoval added.
She added that the city government is eyeing to set up Covid-19 inoculation sites in the schools even if the city had already exceeded its vaccination target.
As of Aug. 20, the city has listed a total of 316,174 fully vaccinated (1st and 2nd doses) residents, while 93,197 received their first booster. There are also 13,088 individuals who already received their second booster shots.
Present in the flag ceremonies were District 1 Councilor Maricar Torres, Malabon Schools Division Office (SDO) Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) Dr. Mauro De Gulan, Assistant SDS Dr. Ernest Cabrera, and Public Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Noemi Baysa.
"Itong pagkakataon na to ay pwede na po nating makalaro ang mga kaklase natin, makausap. Pero siyempre huwag natin kakalimutan na mag-aral ng mabuti ha (Now you can play and talk with your classmates. But of course, let's not forget to study hard)," the mayor reminded the students.