The Continuing Saga (of my undying love for Anissa's school)

Let's rewind a bit to last week...

Anissa informed us that she'll be competing in her first ever volleyball tournament next week. We were truly excited for her because we know how important this is, being a member of the school's varsity team. I asked for details naturally, but she said they weren't available yet. Fine. Over the weekend, she asked for P1,000 to pay for her uniforms on Monday. Where's the circular? None. The school was asking for money (again) without the benefit of a written notice to the parents. STRIKE ONE. But we had to give it to her anyway because she said they were to measure everyone on Monday and pay thereafter. Monday afternoon when she got home from school, she showed me a Waiver for the tournament. NOT A CIRCULAR, mind you. Just a waiver which I had to sign to allow her to go with the rest of the team to the Pasig Community School for one whole day TODAY for the tournament. Again I want to stress...NO CIRCULAR, just a waiver. The exact location of the venue wasn't even mentioned anywhere on that pathetic slip of paper which was so unprofessionally printed out. Sayang, I should have taken a picture of it to prove to everyone how tastelessly and hastily it was done.

Is a ONE-DAY advanced notice acceptable? They don't have school today due to a benchmarking activity of the teachers, maybe that's why the tournament was scheduled today. But why a ONE-DAY notice??? They're being very very consistent here! Lagi nalang last minute ng last minute and they expect the parents to adjust their schedules just like that to accomodate. Good thing I'm off from work.

So at 6am we were on our way to school and I told Anissa I would have to talk to either her moderator or coach to get more details on the activity. I wasn't about to let go of my child for one whole day without even knowing where she's going and what's going to happen while she's away! WOULD YOU??? The coach was very nice. I told her about my concerns and guess what??? She confided that they too were informed of everything just yesterday. When I asked her where this other school was, she also didn't have an answer for me. They were just told to accompany the team and stay there the whole day to compete. HOW ORGANIZED! But I had found an ally in Coach Sha, because she proceeded to tell me how disappointed she and the other coaches are about the school's inability to prepare them for things like this. I asked her to please contact the moderator on her cellphone to find out where the venue is and she did. The moderator was on her way out of the school to the benchmarking activity along with all the other grade school teachers. She gave the coach directions which the coach couldn't even relay properly to me because the moderator did it in a rush. And parang she just told the coach, sige bahala na kayo sa mga bata.

MY POINT? I've entusted my child in this school's care every single day, schoolyear after schoolyear. The least they can do is take their responsibilities seriously. Mas importante pa sa kanila magpa sign ng waiver to make sure they're not blamed for anything that may happen during an out-of-school activity but they never do their part to give us parents the peace of mind we deserve. This is absolutely unacceptable.

Magiging permanent fixture na yata ako sa Principal's Office. I won't be surprised if they post my picture in the lobby for the security people to see, para next time hindi na ako papasukin. But as a parent, I feel it's my right to put them in their place. I pay them to educate my child and to take care of her. The school is supposed to be a child's second home, the teachers their parents. But this school has just disappointed me over and over again. I should have volunteered to be one of the parent reps of Anissa's class.

Oh! And before I forget...the coach told me, "Pag hindi po natapos lahat ng games today, ico-continue daw po tomorrow." So I reacted..."But all the Grade 6 students are taking their Math and Science long tests tomorrow!" Guess what she said? "PO??? Hindi naman po namin alam yon." So she called the moderator again on her cell and I was totally stunned by the reply. "Kung itutuloy daw po yung games tomorrow, paglalaruin pa rin daw po lahat ng Grade 6 varsity. Mag special exams nalang daw po sila for Math and Science to be scheduled at a later time." I constantly try to teach Anissa the importance of academics over extra-curricular activities and it's the school itself who has twisted values.

My patience tank is running very very low.